Seed quality in genetic resources conservation : a case study at the Centre for Genetic Resources, the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Groot, S.P.C.; Groot, de E.C.

2008-01-01

This report describes an analysis of the impact of workflow and storage conditions at the Centre for Genetic Resources the Netherlands (CGN) on the quality of seed samples in their genebank collection which is maintained under low temperature and low relative humidity conditions. Emphasis is placed

PanDA: Exascale Federation of Resources for the ATLAS Experiment

CERN Document Server

Barreiro Megino, Fernando Harald; The ATLAS collaboration; Maeno, Tadashi; Wenaus, Torre; Nilsson, Paul; Klimentov, Alexei; Oleynik, Danila; Panitkin, Sergey; Petrosyan, Artem; Vukotic, Ilija

2015-01-01

After a scheduled maintenance and upgrade period, the world’s largest and most powerful machine - the Large Hadron Collider(LHC) - is about to enter its second run at unprecedented energies. In order to exploit the scientific potential of the ma- chine, the experiments at the LHC face computational challenges with enormous data volumes that need to be analysed by thousand of physics users and compared to simulated data. Given diverse funding constraints, the computational resources for the LHC have been deployed in a worldwide mesh of data centres, connected to each other through Grid technologies. The PanDA (Production and Distributed Analysis) system was developed in 2005 for the ATLAS experiment on top of this heterogeneous infrastructure to seamlessly integrate the computational resources and give the users the feeling of a unique system. Since its origins, PanDA has evolved together with upcoming computing paradigms in and outside HEP, such as changes in the networking model, cloud computing and HPC. I...

Self managing experiment resources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stagni, F; Ubeda, M; Charpentier, P; Tsaregorodtsev, A; Romanovskiy, V; Roiser, S; Graciani, R

2014-01-01

Within this paper we present an autonomic Computing resources management system, used by LHCb for assessing the status of their Grid resources. Virtual Organizations Grids include heterogeneous resources. For example, LHC experiments very often use resources not provided by WLCG, and Cloud Computing resources will soon provide a non-negligible fraction of their computing power. The lack of standards and procedures across experiments and sites generated the appearance of multiple information systems, monitoring tools, ticket portals, etc... which nowadays coexist and represent a very precious source of information for running HEP experiments Computing systems as well as sites. These two facts lead to many particular solutions for a general problem: managing the experiment resources. In this paper we present how LHCb, via the DIRAC interware, addressed such issues. With a renewed Central Information Schema hosting all resources metadata and a Status System (Resource Status System) delivering real time information, the system controls the resources topology, independently of the resource types. The Resource Status System applies data mining techniques against all possible information sources available and assesses the status changes, that are then propagated to the topology description. Obviously, giving full control to such an automated system is not risk-free. Therefore, in order to minimise the probability of misbehavior, a battery of tests has been developed in order to certify the correctness of its assessments. We will demonstrate the performance and efficiency of such a system in terms of cost reduction and reliability.

Availability and Quantity of Human and Material Resources of Nigerian Universities' HIV Youth Friendly Centres: Implication for Policy Implementation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A.G. Akintomide

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The study assessed the availability and quality of human and material resources at the Campus-based Youth Friendly Centres in Southwestern Nigeria. The survey research design was adopted and the study was carried out among ten counsellors and centre coordinators of Youth Friendly Centres in four higher institutions of learning in Southwest Nigeria using interview guide and observation checklist to collect data. The result revealed that there were no enough counsellors at the YFCs and some of the counsellors available at the centres did not have enough qualification to render HIV counselling. It was also revealed that material resources were moderately available at most of the centres but not up to the require standard stipulated by the World Health Organization.

Wind Resource Assessment – Østerild National Test Centre for Large Wind Turbines

OpenAIRE

Hansen, Brian Ohrbeck; Courtney, Michael; Mortensen, Niels Gylling

2014-01-01

This report presents a wind resource assessment for the seven test stands at the Østerild National Test Centre for Large Wind Turbines in Denmark. Calculations have been carried out mainly using wind data from three on-site wind lidars. The generalized wind climates applied in the wind resource calculations for the seven test stands are based on correlations between a short period of on-site wind data from the wind lidars with a long-term reference. The wind resource assessment for the seven ...

ATLAS Visitors Centre

CERN Multimedia

claudia Marcelloni

2009-01-01

ATLAS Visitors Centre has opened its shiny new doors to the public. Officially launched on Monday February 23rd, 2009, the permanent exhibition at Point 1 was conceived as a tour resource for ATLAS guides, and as a way to preserve the public’s opportunity to get a close-up look at the experiment in action when the cavern is sealed.

LHCb: Self managing experiment resources

CERN Multimedia

Stagni, F

2013-01-01

Within this paper we present an autonomic Computing resources management system used by LHCb for assessing the status of their Grid resources. Virtual Organizations Grids include heterogeneous resources. For example, LHC experiments very often use resources not provided by WLCG and Cloud Computing resources will soon provide a non-negligible fraction of their computing power. The lack of standards and procedures across experiments and sites generated the appearance of multiple information systems, monitoring tools, ticket portals, etc... which nowadays coexist and represent a very precious source of information for running HEP experiments Computing systems as well as sites. These two facts lead to many particular solutions for a general problem: managing the experiment resources. In this paper we present how LHCb, via the DIRAC interware addressed such issues. With a renewed Central Information Schema hosting all resources metadata and a Status System ( Resource Status System ) delivering real time informatio...

The experience of work in a call centre environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sanet Hauptfleisch

2006-10-01

Full Text Available This qualitative research study explored the work experience in a call centre environment in an information technology call centre based in South Africa, which service foreign customers exclusively. Three data collection methods were used, namely narratives, in-depth interviews with call centre consultants, and observation. Following a grounded theory approach, four themes were elicited, namely the perceptions of team members, uncertainty created by a constantly changing environment, perceived distances due to management practices, and depersonalisation experienced while actually dealing with customers. In addition to this, the reported impact of these themes on work performance was explored and compared to existing research.

National data centre preparedness exercise 2015 (NPE2015): MY-NDC progress result and experience

Science.gov (United States)

Rashid, Faisal Izwan Abdul; Zolkaffly, Muhammed Zulfakar

2017-01-01

Malaysia has established the National Data Centre (MY-NDC) in December 2005. MY-NDC is tasked to perform the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban-Treaty (CTBT) data management as well as providing relevant information for Treaty related events to the Malaysian Nuclear Agency (Nuclear Malaysia) as the CTBT National Authority. In the late 2015, MY-NDC has participated in the National Data Centre Preparedness Exercise 2015 (NPE 2015) which aims to access the level of readiness at MY-NDC. This paper aims at presenting the progress result of NPE 2015 as well as highlighting MY-NDC experience in NPE 2015 compared to previous participation in NPE 2013. MY-NDC has utilised available resources for NPE 2015. In NPE 2015, MY-NDC has performed five type of analyses compared with only two analyses in NPE 2013. Participation in the NPE 2015 has enabled MY-NDC to assess its capability and identify rooms for improvement.

Unified storage systems for distributed Tier-2 centres

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cowan, G A; Stewart, G A; Elwell, A

2008-01-01

The start of data taking at the Large Hadron Collider will herald a new era in data volumes and distributed processing in particle physics. Data volumes of hundreds of Terabytes will be shipped to Tier-2 centres for analysis by the LHC experiments using the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG). In many countries Tier-2 centres are distributed between a number of institutes, e.g., the geographically spread Tier-2s of GridPP in the UK. This presents a number of challenges for experiments to utilise these centres efficaciously, as CPU and storage resources may be subdivided and exposed in smaller units than the experiment would ideally want to work with. In addition, unhelpful mismatches between storage and CPU at the individual centres may be seen, which make efficient exploitation of a Tier-2's resources difficult. One method of addressing this is to unify the storage across a distributed Tier-2, presenting the centres' aggregated storage as a single system. This greatly simplifies data management for the VO, which then can access a greater amount of data across the Tier-2. However, such an approach will lead to scenarios where analysis jobs on one site's batch system must access data hosted on another site. We investigate this situation using the Glasgow and Edinburgh clusters, which are part of the ScotGrid distributed Tier-2. In particular we look at how to mitigate the problems associated with 'distant' data access and discuss the security implications of having LAN access protocols traverse the WAN between centres

SLA-based optimisation of virtualised resource for multi-tier web applications in cloud data centres

Science.gov (United States)

Bi, Jing; Yuan, Haitao; Tie, Ming; Tan, Wei

2015-10-01

Dynamic virtualised resource allocation is the key to quality of service assurance for multi-tier web application services in cloud data centre. In this paper, we develop a self-management architecture of cloud data centres with virtualisation mechanism for multi-tier web application services. Based on this architecture, we establish a flexible hybrid queueing model to determine the amount of virtual machines for each tier of virtualised application service environments. Besides, we propose a non-linear constrained optimisation problem with restrictions defined in service level agreement. Furthermore, we develop a heuristic mixed optimisation algorithm to maximise the profit of cloud infrastructure providers, and to meet performance requirements from different clients as well. Finally, we compare the effectiveness of our dynamic allocation strategy with two other allocation strategies. The simulation results show that the proposed resource allocation method is efficient in improving the overall performance and reducing the resource energy cost.

Sytemic lupus erythematosus presenting with protein losing enteropathy in a resource limited centre: a case report

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ratnayake Eranda C

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Introduction Systemic lupus erythematosus is a disease which may initially present with varying symptoms, most commonly a photosensitive rash and arthritis. Protein losing enteropathy is a recognized but rare presenting manifestation. Diagnosing protein losing enteropathy in resource limited centres is challenging but possible through the exclusion of other possible causes of hypoalbunaemia. Case Presentation We report a case of protein losing gastroenteropathy secondary to intestinal lymphangiectasia as the initial manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus in a 57 year old Sri Lankan (South Asian male patient. The diagnosis was made by the exclusion of other causes of hypoalbuminaemia as the gold standard investigations for protein losing enteropathy were not available at this centre. Conclusions Protein losing enteropathy is a diagnosis of exclusion in resource limited centres in the world. Systemic lupus erythematosus should be considered in the differential diagnosis of protein losing enteropathy. Intestinal lymphangiectasia should also be recognized as a possible pathophysiological mechanism.

A new model of collaborative research: experiences from one of Australia's NHMRC Partnership Centres for Better Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Wutzke, Sonia; Redman, Sally; Bauman, Adrian; Hawe, Penelope; Shiell, Alan; Thackway, Sarah; Wilson, Andrew

2017-02-15

There is often a disconnection between the creation of evidence and its use in policy and practice. Cross-sectoral, multidisciplinary partnership research, founded on shared governance and coproduction, is considered to be one of the most effective means of overcoming this research-policy-practice disconnect. Similar to a number of funding bodies internationally, Australia's National Health and Medical Research Council has introduced Partnership Centres for Better Health: a scheme explicitly designed to encourage coproduced partnership research. In this paper, we describe our experiences of The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre, established in June 2013 to explore the systems, strategies and structures that inform decisions about how to prevent lifestyle-related chronic disease. We present our view on how the Partnership Centre model is working in practice. We comment on the unique features of the Partnership Centre funding model, how these features enable ways of working that are different from both investigator-initiated and commissioned research, and how these ways of working can result in unique outcomes that would otherwise not have been possible. Although not without challenges, the Partnership Centre approach addresses a major gap in the Australian research environment, whereby large-scale, research-policy-practice partnerships are established with sufficient time, resources and flexibility to deliver highly innovative, timely and accessible research that is of use to policy and practice.

PanDA: Exascale Federation of Resources for the ATLAS Experiment at the LHC

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(SzGeCERN)643806; The ATLAS collaboration; Caballero-Bejar, Jose; De, Kaushik; Hover, John; Klimentov, Alexei; Maeno, Tadashi; Nilsson, Paul; Oleynik, Danila; Padolski, Siarhei; Panitkin, Sergey; Petrosyan, Artem; Wenaus, Torre

2016-01-01

After a scheduled maintenance and upgrade period, the world’s largest and most powerful machine - the Large Hadron Collider(LHC) - is about to enter its second run at unprecedented energies. In order to exploit the scientific potential of the machine, the experiments at the LHC face computational challenges with enormous data volumes that need to be analysed by thousand of physics users and compared to simulated data. Given diverse funding constraints, the computational resources for the LHC have been deployed in a worldwide mesh of data centres, connected to each other through Grid technologies. The PanDA (Production and Distributed Analysis) system was developed in 2005 for the ATLAS experiment on top of this heterogeneous infrastructure to seamlessly integrate the computational resources and give the users the feeling of a unique system. Since its origins, PanDA has evolved together with upcoming computing paradigms in and outside HEP, such as changes in the networking model, Cloud Computing and HPC. It ...

Role of the national INIS centre in the knowledge preservation programme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rashkova, N.; Georgieva, A.

2004-01-01

Possible ways of involvement of a small INIS Centre (on the example of the Bulgarian Centre) in the IAEA Knowledge Preservation Programme are discussed. The specific of the INIS activities, experience, and established access to scientific resources in the country present a good base for the extension of the Centre's functions towards nuclear knowledge accumulation and providing information about research and training programmes, as well as access to factual information in the nuclear field. Approaches for organising of the resources identification and developing of tools for management of information not included in the INIS database are suggested. As a first step, Bulgarian INIS Centre has identified some of the areas with accumulated knowledge as well as universities and institutes with valuable ongoing research. A local database for technical and scientific documentation is under development. (authors)

Research and quality improvement experience and knowledge: a nursing survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Fox, Jolene; Bagley, Lisa; Day, Suzanne; Holleran, Renee; Handrahan, Diana

2011-07-01

To assess nursing staff's background and research and quality improvement (QI) experience. In this corporation, participation in research and QI is encouraged, but little is known about nurses' experiences. A web-based survey was distributed. Nursing staffs from an academic/teaching medical centre and other intra-corporation non-academic facilities were compared. Respondents included: 148 (52.9%) medical centre and 132 (47.1%) non-medical centre subjects. Medical centre respondents had a higher proportion previously engaged in research, currently engaged in research and previously engaged in QI. Productivity (grant, published and presented) was low for both groups but statistically lower for the non-medical centre group. Medical centre employees used research resources more often than the non-medical centre. Time was the most frequently mentioned barrier to participation in research and QI initiatives. A moderate proportion of respondents had research and QI experience, yet productivity and use of resources was low. Nurses at non-academically focused facilities were in most need of assistance. Familiarizing nurses with resources and providing protected time may increase productivity. Developing an infrastructure to support nursing research is a worthy goal. Information about interest and experience of nurses can aid management in determining how to focus financial resources. © 2011 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Completing the cycle : Energy and Resource Recovery Centres

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dickson, D. [Pearl Earth Sciences, Corp., Ajax, Ontario (Canada)]. E-mail: ddickson@pearlearth.com

2006-07-01

Pearl Earth Sciences, Corp.'s Energy and Resource Recovery Centres support technologies that will provide long-term environmental and economical benefits to industry and society at large. Using a closed-loop production process with zero emissions we offer producers of waste a solution for their end of life products. Our prime goals are to have the flexibility to respond to individual waste market challenges using innovative ultra-high-temperature plasma conversion technology and to focus on the production of value-added industrial products such as a clean synthesis gas (ProGaz), Hydrogen, metals and other recovered materials. The syn-gas with its high hydrogen content can be used in the emerging 'distributed power generation' markets, to power automotive, stationary and portable fuel cells, as well as Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles; chemical processing or direct feed to a pipeline.

Completing the cycle : Energy and Resource Recovery Centres

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dickson, D.

2006-01-01

Pearl Earth Sciences, Corp.'s Energy and Resource Recovery Centres support technologies that will provide long-term environmental and economical benefits to industry and society at large. Using a closed-loop production process with zero emissions we offer producers of waste a solution for their end of life products. Our prime goals are to have the flexibility to respond to individual waste market challenges using innovative ultra-high-temperature plasma conversion technology and to focus on the production of value-added industrial products such as a clean synthesis gas (ProGaz), Hydrogen, metals and other recovered materials. The syn-gas with its high hydrogen content can be used in the emerging 'distributed power generation' markets, to power automotive, stationary and portable fuel cells, as well as Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles; chemical processing or direct feed to a pipeline

A new model of collaborative research: experiences from one of Australia’s NHMRC Partnership Centres for Better Health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sonia Wutzke

2017-02-01

Full Text Available There is often a disconnection between the creation of evidence and its use in policy and practice. Cross-sectoral, multidisciplinary partnership research, founded on shared governance and coproduction, is considered to be one of the most effective means of overcoming this research–policy–practice disconnect. Similar to a number of funding bodies internationally, Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council has introduced Partnership Centres for Better Health: a scheme explicitly designed to encourage coproduced partnership research. In this paper, we describe our experiences of The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre, established in June 2013 to explore the systems, strategies and structures that inform decisions about how to prevent lifestyle-related chronic disease. We present our view on how the Partnership Centre model is working in practice. We comment on the unique features of the Partnership Centre funding model, how these features enable ways of working that are different from both investigator-initiated and commissioned research, and how these ways of working can result in unique outcomes that would otherwise not have been possible. Although not without challenges, the Partnership Centre approach addresses a major gap in the Australian research environment, whereby large-scale, research–policy–practice partnerships are established with sufficient time, resources and flexibility to deliver highly innovative, timely and accessible research that is of use to policy and practice.

Northern Resource Centre: a first step toward a University of the North

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1978-01-01

The Science Council of Canada has argued that there is a need for a balanced science policy for northern development. Objectives would be to promote the welfare of northern people, especially the indigenous peoples, through encouragement of appropriate developments designed to aid, where the people desire, community development, the retention of traditional life styles and cultures, as well as opportunities for participation in wage activities which support this general objective. This objective encompasses the extension of appropriate health and dental care, housing, and municipal services. Additionally, environmental considerations including land-use policies, should be important components in the decision-making process for northern projects. Renewable energy resource development should have a higher priority than at present. The goal is the economic and social sufficiency of northern communities. Economically viable nonrenewable resource projects should be encouraged. Recommendations to be followed for establishing the Northern Resource Centre are described. (MCW)

Location-based solutions in the Experience centre

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Dan Witzner; Alapetite, Alexandre; Holdgaard, Nanna

In this paper we present a prototype system for location-based guiding. A user survey has been conducted and the observations are used to support design choices. The prototype allows for both indoor and outdoor navigation at and in the vicinity of the experience centre NaturBornholm1 in Denmark u...... using a combination of Bluetooth, GPS and QR-codes. Bluetooth and GPS are used for location-based information and QR-codes are used to convey user preferences....

Location-based solutions in the Experience centre

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Witzner Hansen, Dan; Alapetite, Alexandre Philippe Bernard; Holdgaard, Nanna

2008-01-01

In this paper we present a prototype system for location-based guiding. A user survey has been conducted and the observations are used to support design choices. The prototype allows for both indoor and outdoor navigation at and in the vicinity of the experience centre NaturBornholm1 in Denmark u...... using a combination of Bluetooth, GPS and QRcodes. Bluetooth and GPS are used for location-based information and QR-codes are used to convey user preferences....

Location-based solutions in the Experience centre

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Dan Witzner; Alapetite, Alexandre; Holdgaard, Nanna

2009-01-01

In this paper we present a prototype system for location-based guiding. A user survey has been conducted and the observations are used to support design choices. The prototype allows for both indoor and outdoor navigation at and in the vicinity of the NaturBornholm' experience centre in Denmark u...... using a combination of Bluetooth, Near Field Communication (NFC), GPS and QR codes. Bluetooth, NFC and GPS are used for location-based information and QR codes are used to convey user preferences....

Resourcing of Experience in Co-Design

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ylirisku, Salu; Revsbæk, Line; Buur, Jacob

2017-01-01

, knowledge to benefit its cultivation is expected to be highly valuable in contemporary multi-cultural design work. This paper approaches the study of the involvement of various stakeholders in design projects through a lens of resourcing experience. Building from G. H. Mead’s pragmatist theory, we devise...... and Scandinavia. By identifying ways in which experience is resourced in specific design interactions, the paper illustrates resourcing to be responsive, conceptual and habitual. The paper concludes by pinpointing strategic means that design teams may use in order to enable rich involvement and resourcing...

User and group storage management the CMS CERN T2 centre

Science.gov (United States)

Cerminara, G.; Franzoni, G.; Pfeiffer, A.

2015-12-01

A wide range of detector commissioning, calibration and data analysis tasks is carried out by CMS using dedicated storage resources available at the CMS CERN Tier-2 centre. Relying on the functionalities of the EOS disk-only storage technology, the optimal exploitation of the CMS user/group resources has required the introduction of policies for data access management, data protection, cleanup campaigns based on access pattern, and long term tape archival. The resource management has been organised around the definition of working groups and the delegation to an identified responsible of each group composition. In this paper we illustrate the user/group storage management, and the development and operational experience at the CMS CERN Tier-2 centre in the 2012-2015 period.

User and group storage management the CMS CERN T2 centre

CERN Document Server

Cerminara, G; Pfeiffer, A

2015-01-01

A wide range of detector commissioning, calibration and data analysis tasks is carried out by CMS using dedicated storage resources available at the CMS CERN Tier-2 centre. Relying on the functionalities of the EOS disk-only storage technology, the optimal exploitation of the CMS user/group resources has required the introduction of policies for data access management, data protection, cleanup campaigns based on access pattern, and long term tape archival. The resource management has been organised around the definition of working groups and the delegation to an identified responsible of each group composition. In this paper we illustrate the user/group storage management, and the development and operational experience at the CMS CERN Tier-2 centre in the 2012-2015 period.

PanDA: Exascale Federation of Resources for the ATLAS Experiment at the LHC

Science.gov (United States)

Barreiro Megino, Fernando; Caballero Bejar, Jose; De, Kaushik; Hover, John; Klimentov, Alexei; Maeno, Tadashi; Nilsson, Paul; Oleynik, Danila; Padolski, Siarhei; Panitkin, Sergey; Petrosyan, Artem; Wenaus, Torre

2016-02-01

After a scheduled maintenance and upgrade period, the world's largest and most powerful machine - the Large Hadron Collider(LHC) - is about to enter its second run at unprecedented energies. In order to exploit the scientific potential of the machine, the experiments at the LHC face computational challenges with enormous data volumes that need to be analysed by thousand of physics users and compared to simulated data. Given diverse funding constraints, the computational resources for the LHC have been deployed in a worldwide mesh of data centres, connected to each other through Grid technologies. The PanDA (Production and Distributed Analysis) system was developed in 2005 for the ATLAS experiment on top of this heterogeneous infrastructure to seamlessly integrate the computational resources and give the users the feeling of a unique system. Since its origins, PanDA has evolved together with upcoming computing paradigms in and outside HEP, such as changes in the networking model, Cloud Computing and HPC. It is currently running steadily up to 200 thousand simultaneous cores (limited by the available resources for ATLAS), up to two million aggregated jobs per day and processes over an exabyte of data per year. The success of PanDA in ATLAS is triggering the widespread adoption and testing by other experiments. In this contribution we will give an overview of the PanDA components and focus on the new features and upcoming challenges that are relevant to the next decade of distributed computing workload management using PanDA.

Client Centred Desing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ørngreen, Rikke; Nielsen, Janni; Levinsen, Karin

2008-01-01

In this paper we argue for the use of Client Centred preparation phases when designing complex systems. Through Client Centred Design human computer interaction can extend the focus on end-users to alse encompass the client's needs, context and resources....

Knowledge Translation of Interprofessional Collaborative Patient-Centred Practice: The Working Together Project Experience

Science.gov (United States)

MacDonald, Colla J.; Archibald, Douglas; Stodel, Emma; Chambers, Larry W.; Hall, Pippa

2008-01-01

The Working Together (WT) project involved the design and delivery of an online learning resource for healthcare teams in long-term care (LTC) so that knowledge regarding interprofessional collaborative patient-centred practice (ICPCP) could be readily accessed and then transferred to the workplace. The purpose of this paper is to better…

BBMRI-ERIC as a resource for pharmaceutical and life science industries: the development of biobank-based Expert Centres.

Science.gov (United States)

van Ommen, Gert-Jan B; Törnwall, Outi; Bréchot, Christian; Dagher, Georges; Galli, Joakim; Hveem, Kristian; Landegren, Ulf; Luchinat, Claudio; Metspalu, Andres; Nilsson, Cecilia; Solesvik, Ove V; Perola, Markus; Litton, Jan-Eric; Zatloukal, Kurt

2015-07-01

Biological resources (cells, tissues, bodily fluids or biomolecules) are considered essential raw material for the advancement of health-related biotechnology, for research and development in life sciences, and for ultimately improving human health. Stored in local biobanks, access to the human biological samples and related medical data for transnational research is often limited, in particular for the international life science industry. The recently established pan-European Biobanking and BioMolecular resources Research Infrastructure-European Research Infrastructure Consortium (BBMRI-ERIC) aims to improve accessibility and interoperability between academic and industrial parties to benefit personalized medicine, disease prevention to promote development of new diagnostics, devices and medicines. BBMRI-ERIC is developing the concept of Expert Centre as public-private partnerships in the precompetitive, not-for-profit field to provide a new structure to perform research projects that would face difficulties under currently established models of academic-industry collaboration. By definition, Expert Centres are key intermediaries between public and private sectors performing the analysis of biological samples under internationally standardized conditions. This paper presents the rationale behind the Expert Centres and illustrates the novel concept with model examples.

A model to forecast data centre infrastructure costs.

Science.gov (United States)

Vernet, R.

2015-12-01

The computing needs in the HEP community are increasing steadily, but the current funding situation in many countries is tight. As a consequence experiments, data centres, and funding agencies have to rationalize resource usage and expenditures. CC-IN2P3 (Lyon, France) provides computing resources to many experiments including LHC, and is a major partner for astroparticle projects like LSST, CTA or Euclid. The financial cost to accommodate all these experiments is substantial and has to be planned well in advance for funding and strategic reasons. In that perspective, leveraging infrastructure expenses, electric power cost and hardware performance observed in our site over the last years, we have built a model that integrates these data and provides estimates of the investments that would be required to cater to the experiments for the mid-term future. We present how our model is built and the expenditure forecast it produces, taking into account the experiment roadmaps. We also examine the resource growth predicted by our model over the next years assuming a flat-budget scenario.

Trauma patient discharge and care transition experiences: Identifying opportunities for quality improvement in trauma centres.

Science.gov (United States)

Gotlib Conn, Lesley; Zwaiman, Ashley; DasGupta, Tracey; Hales, Brigette; Watamaniuk, Aaron; Nathens, Avery B

2018-01-01

Challenges delivering quality care are especially salient during hospital discharge and care transitions. Severely injured patients discharged from a trauma centre will go either home, to rehabilitation or another acute care hospital with complex management needs. This purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of trauma patients and families treated in a regional academic trauma centre to better understand and improve their discharge and care transition experiences. A qualitative study using inductive thematic analysis was conducted between March and October 2016. Telephone interviews were conducted with trauma patients and/or a family member after discharge from the trauma centre. Data collection and analysis were completed inductively and iteratively consistent with a qualitative approach. Twenty-four interviews included 19 patients and 7 family members. Participants' experiences drew attention to discharge and transfer processes that either (1) Fostered quality discharge or (2) Impeded quality discharge. Fostering quality discharge was ward staff preparation efforts; establishing effective care continuity; and, adequate emotional support. Impeding discharge quality was perceived pressure to leave the hospital; imposed transfer decisions; and, sub-optimal communication and coordination around discharge. Patient-provider communication was viewed to be driven by system, rather than patient need. Inter-facility information gaps raised concern about receiving facilities' ability to care for injured patients. The quality of trauma patient discharge and transition experiences is undermined by system- and ward-level processes that compete, rather than align, in producing high quality patient-centred discharge. Local improvement solutions focused on modifiable factors within the trauma centre include patient-oriented discharge education and patient navigation; however, these approaches alone may be insufficient to enhance patient experiences. Trauma patients

Birth centre confinement at the Queen Victoria Medical Centre: four years' experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Morris, N; Campbell, J; Biro, M A; Lumley, J; Rao, J; Spensley, J

1986-06-09

A review of the first four years of the functioning of the birth centre at the Queen Victoria Medical Centre is presented. In that time, 1040 pregnant women were accepted for confinement there. Of these, 52 withdrew for non-obstetric reasons, while 470 were transferred to alternative obstetrical care--274 because of antepartum complications and 196 because of intrapartum problems. Therefore, 518 women were delivered in the birth centre. The care of the women is entrusted almost entirely to a team of midwives and this review demonstrates an enviable safety record.

Optimal distributed energy resources and the cost of reduced greenhouse gas emissions in a large retail shopping centre

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Braslavsky, Julio H.; Wall, Josh R.; Reedman, Luke J.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Optimal options for distributed energy resources are analysed for a shopping centre. • A multiobjective optimisation model is formulated and solved using DER-CAM. • Cost and emission trade-offs are compared in four key optimal investment scenarios. • Moderate investment in DER technologies lowers emissions by 29.6% and costs by 8.5%. • Larger investment in DER technologies lowers emissions by 72% at 47% higher costs. - Abstract: This paper presents a case study on optimal options for distributed energy resource (DER) technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in a large retail shopping centre located in Sydney, Australia. Large retail shopping centres take the largest share of energy consumed by all commercial buildings, and present a strong case for adoption of DER technologies to reduce energy costs and emissions. However, the complexity of optimally designing and operating DER systems has hindered their widespread adoption in practice. This paper examines and demonstrates the value of DER in reducing the carbon footprint of the shopping centre by formulating and solving a multiobjective optimisation problem using the Distributed Energy Resources Customer Adoption Model (DER-CAM) tool. An economic model of the shopping centre is developed in DER-CAM using on-site-specific demand, tariffs, and performance data for each DER technology option available. Four key optimal DER technology investment scenarios are then analysed by comparing: (1) solution trade-offs of costs and emissions, (2) the cost of reduced emissions attained in each investment scenario, and (3) investment benefits with respect to the business-as-usual scenario. The analysis shows that a moderate investment in combined cooling, heat and power (CCHP) technology alone can reduce annual energy costs by 8.5% and carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions by 29.6%. A larger investment in CCHP technology, in conjunction with on-site solar photovoltaic (PV) generation, can deliver

Toward common working tools: Arab League Documentation and Information Centre experience

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Redissi, M [ALDOC (Tunisia)

1990-05-01

The adoption of Arab common working tools in information handling has been one of the priorities of Arab League Documentation and Information Centre (ALDOC). Problems arising from the processing of Arabic language have been progressively settled. The Tunisian experience in the elimination of transliteration is worth mentioning. (author). 17 refs.

Toward common working tools: Arab League Documentation and Information Centre experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Redissi, M.

1990-05-01

The adoption of Arab common working tools in information handling has been one of the priorities of Arab League Documentation and Information Centre (ALDOC). Problems arising from the processing of Arabic language have been progressively settled. The Tunisian experience in the elimination of transliteration is worth mentioning. (author). 17 refs

Woman-centred care during pregnancy and birth in Ireland: thematic analysis of women's and clinicians' experiences.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Hunter, Andrew

2017-09-25

Recent policy and service provision recommends a woman-centred approach to maternity care. Midwife-led models of care are seen as one important strategy for enhancing women\\'s choice; a core element of woman-centred care. In the Republic of Ireland, an obstetric consultant-led, midwife-managed service model currently predominates and there is limited exploration of the concept of women centred care from the perspectives of those directly involved; that is, women, midwives, general practitioners and obstetricians. This study considers women\\'s and clinicians\\' views, experiences and perspectives of woman-centred maternity care in Ireland.

Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) will be the first in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) technology demonstration on Mars. Competitively...

MINT Incineration and Renewable Energy Centre - experience and challenge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohamad Puad Abu

2005-01-01

MIREC is the acronym for MINT Incineration and Renewable Energy Centre which was established in the year 2000 to carry out research and provide services on matters related to incineration technology and renewable energy. Throughout this period, many challenges and experiences has been faced by MIREC. Three research contracts with the value of nearly RM 1 million have been signed. Four laboratory scale burners have been designed and fabricated. Three mathematical models have been developed. Three programs on enhancement image have been published. Three papers have been published in the international journal. In order to achieve all these, many obstacles were faced by MIREC. This paper will discuss on the experiences and challenges that could be shared together with MINT staff. (Author)

Experiences of violence, burnout and job satisfaction in Korean nurses in the emergency medical centre setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoon, Hee Sook; Sok, Sohyune R

2016-12-01

The aim of this study was to examine the experience of violence in relation to burnout and job satisfaction in Korean nurses in the emergency medical centre setting. Participants were 236 nurses in the emergency medical centre setting of three metropolitan areas in Korea. Measures included a general characteristics form, characteristics related to experiences of violence, the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire. Data were collected from June 2013 to February 2014. In the prediction model, 33.4% of burnout was explained and 35.7% for job satisfaction. The greatest influence on burnout was handling violence, followed by verbal abuse. The greatest influence on job satisfaction was physical threat, followed by handling violence. The study shows that burnout and job satisfaction of Korean nurses in the emergency medical centre setting are related to experiences of violence such as verbal abuse, physical threat and physical violence, as well as handling violence. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Medical data transmission system for remote healthcare centres

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonzalez, E A; Cagnolo, F J; Olmos, C E; Centeno, C A; Riva, G G; Zerbini, C A

2007-01-01

The main motivation of this project is to improve the healthcare centres equipment and human resources efficiency, enabling those centres for transmission of parameters of medical interest. This system facilitates remote consultation, in particular between specialists and remote healthcare centres. Likewise it contributes to the qualification of professionals. The electrocardiographic (ECG) and electroencephalographic (EEG) signals are acquired, processed and then sent, fulfilling the effective norms, for application in the hospital network of Cordoba Province, which has nodes interconnected by phone line. As innovative aspects we emphasized the low cost of development and maintenance, great versatility and handling simplicity with a modular design for interconnection with diverse data transmission media (Wi-Fi, GPRS, etc.). Successfully experiences were obtained during the acquisition of the signals and transmissions on wired LAN networks. As improvements, we can mention: energy consumption optimization and mobile communication systems usage, in order to offer more autonomy

Management of aplastic anaemia in pregnancy in a resource poor centre.

Science.gov (United States)

John, Celestine Osita; Korubo, Kaladada; Ogu, Rosemary; Mmom, Chigozirim Faith; Mba, Alpheus Gogo; Chidiadi, Ezenwa-Ahanene; Akani, Chris

2016-01-01

Aplastic anaemia occurring in pregnancy is a rare event with life threatening challenges for both mother and child. We present a successful fetomaternal outcome despite the challenges in the management of this rare condition in a tertiary but resource poor centre. This is case of a 37 year old Nigerian woman G6P0 +5 managed with repeated blood transfusions from 28 weeks of gestation for bone marrow biopsy confirmed aplastic anaemia following presentation with weakness and gingival bleeds. She had a cesarean section at 37 weeks for pre-eclampsia and oligohydraminous with good feto-maternal outcome. She was managed entirely with fresh whole blood and received 21 units. Aplastic Anaemia in Pregnancy is a rare event with poor feto maternal prognosis. Successful management is possible with good multi-disciplinary approach and availability of supportive comprehensive obstetric care.

Discussion on the Implementation of the Patient Centred Medical Home model - Experiences from Australia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Safa Majidi Rahbar

2017-07-01

adaptation of PCMH model to Australian context Trial and evaluation of tools for transitioning practices to HCHs using an action based research approach, leading to improvements in the handbook. Workshop objective: To share insights and facilitate a structured discussion about practical experience in implementing the elements of the Patient Centred Medical Home, tools that have been effective, challenges that have emerged and approaches used to overcome these challenges. Discussion generated through the workshop will be used to inform further work on the Australian Handbook for Transitioning to the Health Care Home. Workshop outcome: As a result of the workshop it is anticipated that participants will have an increased understanding of the medical home model, hear rich implementation experiences from different contexts and become aware of further tools for model implementation and refinement. Workshop structure: - Brief overview of model implementation taking place in Australia - Smaller group discussion about medical home implementation challenges and successes - Structured workshop group discussion drawing together key insights, common challenges and practical steps, resources or further research needed for address these challenges. Target audience: Policy makers, Primary Health Networks/Organisations, clinicians, practice staff and anyone interested in how to support practices to transition into Medical Homes

Woman-centred care during pregnancy and birth in Ireland: thematic analysis of women's and clinicians' experiences.

Science.gov (United States)

Hunter, Andrew; Devane, Declan; Houghton, Catherine; Grealish, Annmarie; Tully, Agnes; Smith, Valerie

2017-09-25

Recent policy and service provision recommends a woman-centred approach to maternity care. Midwife-led models of care are seen as one important strategy for enhancing women's choice; a core element of woman-centred care. In the Republic of Ireland, an obstetric consultant-led, midwife-managed service model currently predominates and there is limited exploration of the concept of women centred care from the perspectives of those directly involved; that is, women, midwives, general practitioners and obstetricians. This study considers women's and clinicians' views, experiences and perspectives of woman-centred maternity care in Ireland. A descriptive qualitative design. Participants (n = 31) were purposively sampled from two geographically distinct maternity units. Interviews were face-to-face or over the telephone, one-to-one or focus groups. A thematic analysis of the interview data was performed. Five major themes representing women's and clinicians' views, experiences and perspectives of women-centred care emerged from the data. These were Protecting Normality, Education and Decision Making, Continuity, Empowerment for Women-Centred Care and Building Capacity for Women-Centred Care. Within these major themes, sub-themes emerged that reflect key elements of women-centred care. These were respect, partnership in decision making, information sharing, educational impact, continuity of service, staff continuity and availability, genuine choice, promoting women's autonomy, individualized care, staff competency and practice organization. Women centred-care, as perceived by participants in this study, is not routinely provided in Ireland and women subscribe to the dominant culture that views safety as paramount. Women-centred care can best be facilitated through continuity of carer and in particular through midwife led models of care; however, there is potential to provide women-centred care within existing labour wards in terms of consistency of care, education of

CADC and CANFAR: Extending the role of the data centre

Science.gov (United States)

Gaudet, Severin

2015-12-01

Over the past six years, the CADC has moved beyond the astronomy archive data centre to a multi-service system for the community. This evolution is based on two major initiatives. The first is the adoption of International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA) standards in both the system and data architecture of the CADC, including a common characterization data model. The second is the Canadian Advanced Network for Astronomical Research (CANFAR), a digital infrastructure combining the Canadian national research network (CANARIE), cloud processing and storage resources (Compute Canada) and a data centre (Canadian Astronomy Data Centre) into a unified ecosystem for storage and processing for the astronomy community. This talk will describe the architecture and integration of IVOA and CANFAR services into CADC operations, the operational experiences, the lessons learned and future directions

Project for a renewable energy research centre

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea Giachetta

2011-04-01

Full Text Available In Liguria, where sustainable approaches to the design, construction and management of buildings enjoy scant currency, the idea of a company from Milan (FERA s.r.l. setting up a research centre for studies into renewable energy resources, could well open up very interesting development opportunities.The project includes: environmental rehabilitation (restoration projects; strategies for the protection of water resources and waste management systems; passive and active solar systems (solar thermal and experiments with thermodynamic solar energy; hyperinsulation systems, passive cooling of buildings; use of natural materials; bio-climatic use of vegetation. The author describes the project content within the context of the multidisciplinary work that has gone into it.

Challenges in successfully developing three regional radiotherapy centres. The NCCI experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greenham, Stuart

2011-01-01

Full text: This presentation will provide an overview of the processes, experience, challenges and success involved in the establishment of the North Coast Cancer Institute (NCCI). The NCCI is a network of three Integrated Oncology centres in Northern New South Wales offering integrated Medical, Radiation and Haematology outpatient services. NCCI was developed as part of the introduction of radiotherapy into a region previously without access to a local radiotherapy service and as a result with poor radiotherapy utilisation and referral rates. NCCI commenced radiotherapy services in Coffs Harbour in May 2007 followed by Port Macquarie in August of the same year and finally in Lismore in May 20 I O. Radiotherapy services commenced with Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy and Image guided radiotherapy as standard of care for some disease sites with remote access to planning systems and electronic workflow process supporting the treatment process. Forming a small team to simultaneously design, build and establish two new treatment centres to take advantage of the most contemporary treatment modalities while also planning for a third centre was a significant challenge. The challenges and successful outcomes will be discussed as part of this presentation.

How Do Quality Practices Affect the Results?: The Experience of Thalassotherapy Centres in Spain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Álvarez-García

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Most thalassotherapy centres in Spain do not have any quality certification but they are carrying out several actions of quality management in an attempt to obtain better results. Consequently, the aim of this research is to study if the implementation of quality practices on thalassotherapy centres has the same impact on companies’ results as on the results of those companies that got the quality certifications. In addition, the relationships between different factors considered are going to be studied. Our sample is composed of Spanish thalassotherapy centres, and the statistical technique used is based on structural equation modelling, in particular partial least squares (PLS regression. The data were provided by the answers given by 31 managers (70.45% of the selected sample to a structured questionnaire based on previous research and statistically validated. The results of this research allow us to conclude that these kinds of organizations have implemented informal practices to improve the quality of the service in terms of leadership, personnel management, alliances, and resources and show that the practices that have been carried out by these centres to enhance the quality of the service have an impact on companies’ results. Managers of these kinds of establishments that want to improve customer results should focus their efforts on continuous improvement, whereas, if they are pursuing enhancement of other results, their efforts should be focused on process management.

Adoption of Technology and Augmentation of Resources for Teaching-Learning in Higher Education

OpenAIRE

P. M. Suresh Kumar

2017-01-01

Learner centred education through appropriate methodologies facilitates effective learning as teaching-learning modalities of higher education are considered to be relevant to the learner group. Curriculum delivery and pedagogy should incorporate multitude of learning experiences and innovative learning methodologies through adoption of technology. Plenty of resources external to the curriculum come into use, which offer valuable learning experiences. Augmentation of resources for teaching...

Elastic Extension of a CMS Computing Centre Resources on External Clouds

Science.gov (United States)

Codispoti, G.; Di Maria, R.; Aiftimiei, C.; Bonacorsi, D.; Calligola, P.; Ciaschini, V.; Costantini, A.; Dal Pra, S.; DeGirolamo, D.; Grandi, C.; Michelotto, D.; Panella, M.; Peco, G.; Sapunenko, V.; Sgaravatto, M.; Taneja, S.; Zizzi, G.

2016-10-01

After the successful LHC data taking in Run-I and in view of the future runs, the LHC experiments are facing new challenges in the design and operation of the computing facilities. The computing infrastructure for Run-II is dimensioned to cope at most with the average amount of data recorded. The usage peaks, as already observed in Run-I, may however originate large backlogs, thus delaying the completion of the data reconstruction and ultimately the data availability for physics analysis. In order to cope with the production peaks, CMS - along the lines followed by other LHC experiments - is exploring the opportunity to access Cloud resources provided by external partners or commercial providers. Specific use cases have already been explored and successfully exploited during Long Shutdown 1 (LS1) and the first part of Run 2. In this work we present the proof of concept of the elastic extension of a CMS site, specifically the Bologna Tier-3, on an external OpenStack infrastructure. We focus on the “Cloud Bursting” of a CMS Grid site using a newly designed LSF configuration that allows the dynamic registration of new worker nodes to LSF. In this approach, the dynamically added worker nodes instantiated on the OpenStack infrastructure are transparently accessed by the LHC Grid tools and at the same time they serve as an extension of the farm for the local usage. The amount of resources allocated thus can be elastically modeled to cope up with the needs of CMS experiment and local users. Moreover, a direct access/integration of OpenStack resources to the CMS workload management system is explored. In this paper we present this approach, we report on the performances of the on-demand allocated resources, and we discuss the lessons learned and the next steps.

Investment into the future of microbial resources: culture collection funding models and BRC business plans for biological resource centres.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, David; McCluskey, Kevin; Stackebrandt, Erko

2014-01-01

Through their long history of public service, diverse microbial Biological Resource Centres (mBRCs) have made myriad contributions to society and science. They have enabled the maintenance of specimens isolated before antibiotics, made available strains showing the development and change of pathogenicity toward animals, humans and plants, and have maintained and provided reference strains to ensure quality and reproducibility of science. However, this has not been achieved without considerable financial commitment. Different collections have unique histories and their support is often tied to their origins. However many collections have grown to serve large constituencies and need to develop novel funding mechanisms. Moreover, several international initiatives have described mBRCs as a factor in economic development and have led to the increased professionalism among mBRCs.

Multi-centre experience of implementing image-guided intensity-modulated radiotherapy using the TomoTherapy platform

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dean, J.C.; Tudor, G.S.J.; Mott, J.H.; Dunlop, P.R.; Morris, S.L.; Harron, E.C.; Christian, J.A.; Sanghera, P.; Elsworthy, M.; Burnet, N.G.

2013-01-01

Use of image guided (IG) intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) is increasing, and helical tomotherapy provides an effective, integrated solution. Practical experience of implementation, shared at a recent UK TomoTherapy Users' meeting, may help centres introducing these techniques using TomoTherapy or other platforms. Seven centres participated, with data shared from 6, varying from 2500 - 4800 new patients per year. Case selection of patients “most likely” to benefit from IG-IMRT was managed in all centres by multi-professional groups comprising clinical oncologists, physicists, treatment planners and radiographers. Radical treatments ranged from 94% to 100%. The proportions of tumour types varied substantially: head and neck: range 0%–100% (mean of centres 50%), prostate: 3%–96% (mean of centres 28%). Head and neck cases were considered most likely to benefit from IMRT, prostate cases from IGRT, or IG-IMRT if pelvic nodes were being treated. IMRT was also selected for complex target volumes, to avoid field junctions, for technical treatment difficulties, and retreatments. Across the centres, every patient was imaged every day, with positional correction before treatment. In one centre, for prostate patients including pelvic treatment, the pelvis was also imaged weekly. All centres had designed a ‘ramp up’ of patient numbers, which was similar in 5. One centre, treating 96% prostate patients, started with 3 and increased to 36 patients per day within 3 months. The variation in case mix implies wide applicability of IG-IMRT. Daily on-line IGRT with IMRT can be routinely implemented into busy departments

Using drawings to understand the child's experience of child-centred care on admission to a paediatric high dependency unit.

Science.gov (United States)

Foster, Mandie; Whitehead, Lisa

2018-01-01

Family- and child-centred care are philosophies of care used within paediatrics where the family and/or the child are central to healthcare delivery. This study explored the lived experience of hospitalized school-aged children admitted to a paediatric high dependency unit in New Zealand to gain insight into child-centred care from a child's perspective. An interpretive thematic approach was used where the child was asked to draw a picture of 'a person in the hospital' that was further explored through interviews. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim with an inductive thematic analysis completed, drawing on the child-centred care framework. Twenty-six school-aged children participated. The pictures included drawings of family, staff, children and themselves. The themes generated from the interviews were relationships with themselves, family and staff and psychosocial, emotional and physical support. Children described themselves as co-creators of their own healthcare experience, consistent with child-centred care, while drawing on the principles of family-centred care. Further exploration of the concepts of 'participation versus protection' and 'child as becoming versus child as being' will contribute to translation and integration of child-centred care and family-centred care principles into practice, theory, research and policy.

Long-term Field Experiments as Important Source of Knowledge - Aims of the BonaRes Data Centre

Science.gov (United States)

Grosse, Meike; Hierold, Wilfried

2017-04-01

BonaRes is short for "soil as a sustainable resource for the bioeconomy". It is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under the umbrella of the National Research Strategy BioEconomy 2030. BonaRes consists of ten interdisciplinary research project consortia and the 'BonaRes - Centre for Soil Research' (see also Wollschläger et al 2016). It is one task of the BonaRes Data Centre as part of the 'BonaRes - Centre for Soil Research', to collect data and meta-data of agricultural long-term field experiments (LTFE) in Germany. The definition of LTFE in the context of BonaRes is a minimum duration of twenty years and a static design. LTFE are essential research infrastructures for agricultural sciences and soil sciences amongst other disciplines. Some LTFE run since a very long time; the start of the oldest one in Germany was 1878. Therefore, in many cases valuable time series exist. Data sets of LTFE shall be compiled and made publicly available by the BonaRes Data Centre. The public availability together with an easy access will lead to an enhanced usability of the data. This probably makes the LTFE itself more valuable through an improved visibility and may also help to maintain the LTFE. Beyond the data compilation there is the possibility for every data owner to make a data publication, which offers an additional value for the data owner after his first right of use. A first step towards a joint database is a compilation of all existing LTFE in Germany with meta information to each trial. This information is shown in an interactive web map, what is completely new in that context. Besides the exact position of the LTFE the following metadata are shown: name of the LTFE, website (if available), institution, land use category, participation in existing networks, research theme, start (and maybe end) of the trial, and research parameters. Details on the meta information will be presented in the speech. Literature Wollschläger, U; Helming

Operational experience of UNESCO centres for psychosocial rehabilitation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garnets, O.

2003-01-01

Community Centres of social and psychological rehabilitation for the population suffered from Chernobyl catastrophe have been created in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus. Objectives assigned to the Community Centres for psychosocial rehabilitation on the affected population were as follows: improving mental health of all age and social groups in the community; encouraging interactions within the community; empowering community members to take control over their lives; developing social responsibility; promoting problem-solving skills. The Community Centres network has developed psychosocial assistance models relevant to post-catastrophe period (aggravated by social and economic crisis) that might be applied to different types of crises in communities

Scaling-up Sustainable Land Management Practices through the Concept of the Rural Resource Centre: Reconciling Farmers' Interests with Research Agendas

Science.gov (United States)

Takoutsing, Bertin; Tchoundjeu, Zacharie; Degrande, Ann; Asaah, Ebenezar; Tsobeng, Alain

2014-01-01

Purpose: Formal agricultural research has generated vast amount of knowledge and fundamental insights on land management, but their low adoption has been attributed to the use of public extension approach. This research aims to address whether and how full participation of farmers through the concept of Rural Resource Centre (RRC) provides new…

Nuclear technology centre. Preserving and developing competence and resources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tiren, I.

1995-01-01

The Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm provides one third of Sweden's capacity for engineering studies and technical research at the post-high-school level. Altogether, the institute includes about 8000 students and 900 active postgraduate students and has a staff of nearly 2500. The research activities cover a broad spectrum of the natural sciences and technology, as well as architecture, industrial economics, urban planning, work science and environmental technology. In 1993, a Nuclear Technology Centre was established at the institute. The purpose of this Centre is to stimulate education and research in nuclear technology in order to contribute to the preservation and development of competence in the nuclear field. The formation of the Centre should be regarded as one of several recent initiatives aimed at maintaining a high level of safety and reliability in the operation of nuclear power plants at a time when there are political manoeuvres to phase out nuclear energy in Sweden. The paper summarizes the motives that led to the formation of the Centre, its goals and organization, and its initial activities and results. The paper may be of interest to similar organizations in other countries which are also faced with uncertainties regarding the future of existing nuclear power plants or of current programmes, and which consider that co-operation between the industry and universities is an important factor in ensuring the quality of technological development. (author). 4 refs

Resources | IDRC - International Development Research Centre

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

Through IDRC's resource library, we share our results, provide support to ... Our Research Support team provides the resources and tools researchers need to ... It also includes information on how to structure and design your policy brief to ...

Leisure-time youth centres as health-promoting settings: Experiences from multicultural neighbourhoods in Sweden.

Science.gov (United States)

Fredriksson, Ingela; Geidne, Susanna; Eriksson, Charli

2018-02-01

The aim of this paper is to advocate for the importance of meaningful leisure time for young people from a health-promotion perspective using experiences from two youth centres in multicultural neighbourhoods in Sweden. In this practice-based study, data were collected between 2012 and 2014 at two youth centres in multicultural, socially deprived suburbs in Sweden using surveys with 12- to 16-year-old adolescents ( n = 207), seven individual interviews with staff and three cooperation partners in the neighbourhoods, and six group interviews with adolescents (50% girls). Quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods were used for analysis. As part of the youth centres' strategies, they are open and inclusive, foster supportive relationships, emphasise youth empowerment, and integrate family, school and community in their work. The youth centres are health-promoting settings with regard to four of the action areas in the Ottawa Charter: build healthy public policy, create supportive environments, strengthen community actions and develop personal skills. There is a need for a variety and a combination of various structured and unstructured leisure-time activities because young people's background and life situation plays a role for their participation in leisure-time activities. We conclude that youth centres are well placed to be or to become health-promoting settings if the activities takes place in a structured environment.

Discussion on the trend of information resource utilization in nuclear power enterprise

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng Lihong

2010-01-01

Content of abstract The use for information resources of nuclear power enterprises will play increasingly vital role in network environment and market competition. Based on the digitization library and archives management conception, Nuclear power enterprise intelligence information service should achieve its function as 'the reference centre of the of administration and decision-making', 'the implement centre of work', 'the museum that witnesses the development and assimilates experience', 'the resource centre for employee's training' for the enterprise combining with the archives center resource by using the technology of digitization and network to deepen the professional edit and research and searches service, which establishes incorporate information management environment for the enterprise. In the process of digitization and informationization management for scientific and technical information construction, enterprise should perform according to its state by stages, ensuring a field carrying out a job according to reality. With the transformation of intelligence information service pattern, an enterprise should pay attention to the ability improvement and the role transformation of the intelligence agent, also to the intellectual property rights during the process and use of information resources. (authors)

The CMS experiment inaugurated a new visitor centre at its Cessy site on 14 June

CERN Multimedia

2001-01-01

The CMS visitor centre has been built on a platform overlooking CMS construction. It contains a set of clear descriptive posters describing the experiment, along with a video projection showing animations and movies about CMS construction.

Planning for interprofessional change in primary health care: exploring the use of the Interprofessional Resource Centre

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patterson C

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Christine Patterson,1 Heather Arthur,1,2 Gladys Peachey,1 Julie Vohra,1 David Price,3 Dave Pearson,4 Rob Mariani51School of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; 2Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario/Michael G DeGroote Endowed Chair in Cardiovascular Nursing Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; 3Department of Family Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; 4Central West Local Health Integration Network, Brampton, ON, Canada; 5Ascentum Consulting, Ottawa, ON, CanadaImportance: Resources to support change are needed for solo practitioners who are transitioning to family health teams (FHTs which involve multiple health disciplines working together to provide team-based care.Objective: The purpose of this project was: (1 to explore the use of an online resource, the Interprofessional Resource Centre (IRC, when planning for interprofessional change and; (2 to explore the experience of planning interprofessional change.Design and setting: Six FHTs organized under the structure of one Local Health Integrated Network (LHIN in Ontario, Canada.Intervention: Participants in six FHTs were directed to the IRC to support planning interprofessional change. In addition, two of the six FHTs participated in pilot site meetings with investigators where they received in-person support to apply the information from the IRC to an interprofessional activity.Results: Pilot site participants reported the IRC was useful for planning, but they cited lack of time to use it as a key barrier. When planning for interprofessional change, providers experienced challenges with physician buy-in and team dynamics. As a strategy for change, providers would like to learn from other FHTs who have experienced success with interprofessional change; at the LHIN level, they saw a need for more educational opportunities. Participation was found to be low among those only receiving online support.Conclusion and

Laparoscopic adrenalectomy: Single centre experience.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

O'Farrell, N J

2012-02-01

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic adrenalectomy is an attractive alternative to the traditional open approach in the surgical excision of an adrenal gland. It has replaced open adrenalectomy in our institution and we review our experience to date. METHODS: All cases of laparoscopic adrenalectomies in our hospital over eight years (from 2001 to May 2009) were retrospectively reviewed. Patient demographics, diagnosis, length of hospital stay, histology and all operative and post-operative details were evaluated. RESULTS: Fifty-five laparoscopic adrenalectomies (LA) were performed on 51 patients over eight years. The mean age was 48 years (Range 16-86 years) with the male: female ratio 1:2. Twenty-three cases had a right adrenalectomy, 24 had a left adrenalectomy and the remaining four patients had bilateral adrenalectomies. 91% were successfully completed laparoscopically with five converted to an open approach. Adenomas (functional and non functional) were the leading indication for LA, followed by phaeochromocytomas. Other indications for LA included Cushing\\'s disease, adrenal malignancies and rarer pathologies. There was one mortality from necrotising pancreatitis following a left adrenalectomy for severe Cushing\\'s disease, with subsequent death 10 days later. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic adrenalectomy is effective for the treatment of adrenal tumours, fulfilling the criteria for the ideal minimally invasive procedure. It has replaced the traditional open approach in our centre and is a safe and effective alternative. However, in the case of severe Cushing\\'s disease, laparoscopic adrenalectomy has the potential for significant adverse outcomes and mortality.

Virtual community centre for power wheelchair training: Experience of children and clinicians.

Science.gov (United States)

Torkia, Caryne; Ryan, Stephen E; Reid, Denise; Boissy, Patrick; Lemay, Martin; Routhier, François; Contardo, Resi; Woodhouse, Janet; Archambault, Phillipe S

2017-11-02

To: 1) characterize the overall experience in using the McGill immersive wheelchair - community centre (miWe-CC) simulator; and 2) investigate the experience of presence (i.e., sense of being in the virtual rather than in the real, physical environment) while driving a PW in the miWe-CC. A qualitative research design with structured interviews was used. Fifteen clinicians and 11 children were interviewed after driving a power wheelchair (PW) in the miWe-CC simulator. Data were analyzed using the conventional and directed content analysis approaches. Overall, participants enjoyed using the simulator and experienced a sense of presence in the virtual space. They felt a sense of being in the virtual environment, involved and focused on driving the virtual PW rather than on the surroundings of the actual room where they were. Participants reported several similarities between the virtual community centre layout and activities of the miWe-CC and the day-to-day reality of paediatric PW users. The simulator replicated participants' expectations of real-life PW use and promises to have an effect on improving the driving skills of new PW users. Implications for rehabilitation Among young users, the McGill immersive wheelchair (miWe) simulator provides an experience of presence within the virtual environment. This experience of presence is generated by a sense of being in the virtual scene, a sense of being involved, engaged, and focused on interacting within the virtual environment, and by the perception that the virtual environment is consistent with the real world. The miWe is a relevant and accessible approach, complementary to real world power wheelchair training for young users.

Experiences of women who planned birth in a birth centre compared to alternative planned places of birth. Results of the Dutch Birth Centre Study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hitzert, M.; Hermes, M.A.; Scheerhagen, M.; Boesveld, L.C.; Wiegers, T.A.; Akker-van Marle, M.E.; Dommelen, P. van; Pal-de Bruin, K.M. de; Graaf, J.P. de

2016-01-01

Objective to assess the experiences with maternity care of women who planned birth in a birth centre and to compare them to alternative planned places of birth, by using the responsiveness concept of the World Health Organization. Design this study is a cross-sectional study using the ReproQ

Experiences of women who planned birth in a birth centre compared to alternative planned places of birth. Results of the Dutch Birth Centre Study.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hitzert, M.; Hermus, M.; Scheerhagen, M.; Boesveld, I.C.; Wiegers, T.; Akker-van Marle, M.E. van den; Dommelen, P. van; Pal-de Bruin, K.M. van der; Graal, J. P. de

2016-01-01

Objective: to assess the experiences with maternity care of women who planned birth in a birth centre and to compare them to alternative planned places of birth, by using the responsiveness concept of the World Health Organization. Design: this study is a cross-sectional study using the ReproQ

Birth centre confinement at the Queen Victoria Medical Centre. I. Obstetric and neonatal outcome.

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, J; Hudson, H; Lumley, J; Morris, N; Rao, J; Spensley, J

1981-10-03

A review of hte first 175 confinements at the Queen Victoria Medical Centre Birth Centre is presented. The design, structure and function of hte Birth Centre is described and the safety of the programme demonstrated. Seventy-four pregnancies (42%) accepted for Birth Centre confinement required transfer because of antepartum or intrapartum complications. There were satisfactory obstetric and neonatal outcomes in all pregnancies. The first year's experience has allowed a reassessment of the risk factors, which will permit greater use of the Birth Centre without any increases risk to mothers or babies.

International Experience of Resource Management in the North

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Rasmus Ole

2005-01-01

sustainable development requires the linking new economic practices with conditions that make them possible, including a general acceptance among both inhabitants, planners and politicians. Such a linkage between scientific insight, practical experience, and public acceptance is possible through......: - Distorted economies: - Property rights, resource access and traditional resource usage: - Human resource impact: - Social impact: - Institutional impact: - New settlement patterns Besides raising the general question of the need for research on the environmental and social impact of development in the North...

Patient-centred outcomes research: perspectives of patient stakeholders.

Science.gov (United States)

Chhatre, Sumedha; Gallo, Joseph J; Wittink, Marsha; Schwartz, J Sanford; Jayadevappa, Ravishankar

2017-11-01

To elicit patient stakeholders' experience and perspectives about patient-centred care. Qualitative. A large urban healthcare system. Four patient stakeholders who are prostate cancer survivors. Experience and perspectives of patient stakeholders regarding patient-centred care and treatment decisions. Our patient stakeholders represented a diverse socio-demographic group. The patient stakeholders identified engagement and dialogue with physicians as crucial elements of patient-centred care model. The degree of patient-centred care was observed to be dependent on the situations. High severity conditions warranted a higher level of patient involvement, compared to mild conditions. They agreed that patient-centred care should not mean that patients can demand inappropriate treatments. An important attribute of patient-centred outcomes research model is the involvement of stakeholders. However, we have limited knowledge about the experience of patient stakeholders in patient-centred outcomes research. Our study indicates that patient stakeholders offer a unique perspective as researchers and policy-makers aim to precisely define patient-centred research and care.

Retrospective analysis of paediatric achalasia in India: Single centre experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sunita Singh

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Developing countries at tertiary referral centre. The aim of this study was to share our experience of paediatric achalasia in Indian scenario. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of children <16 years, operated for achalasia at our centre, from December 1998 to December 2011. Results: Total 40 patients (mean age 39 ± 4.29 months, including 1 patient of megaesophagus were operated over 13 years of period; 17 patients (associated congenital H-type tracheoesophageal fistula in one patient, non- responders/ lost follow-up for minimum of 3 years in 16 patients were excluded from the study. The response rate of parents in follow-up was 60.0%. Mean symptoms duration was 27.88 ± 2 months. Most common symptoms were regurgitation and failure to thrive (78.2%. Mean symptom scoring in follow-up after 3 year was 1 ± 0.7 compared to 5 ± 0.51 at the time of admission (P < 0.012. One infant expired (mediastenitis, one developed adhesive intestinal obstruction and one needed posterior re-myotomy (for megaesophagus. There were no treatment failures in mean follow-up of 40.2 ± 5.07 months. Conclusions: Cardiomyotomy with partial fundoplication is the best modality of treatment for paediatric achalasia cardia, even from parents′ perspective.

User experience in libraries applying ethnography and human-centred design

CERN Document Server

Borg, Matt

2016-01-01

Modern library services can be incredibly complex. Much more so than their forebears, modern librarians must grapple daily with questions of how best to implement innovative new services, while also maintaining and updating the old. The efforts undertaken are immense, but how best to evaluate their success? In this groundbreaking new book from Routledge, library practitioners, anthropologists, and design experts combine to advocate a new focus on User Experience (or UX ) research methods. Through a combination of theoretical discussion and applied case studies, they argue that this ethnographic and human-centred design approach enables library professionals to gather rich evidence-based insights into what is really going on in their libraries, allowing them to look beyond what library users say they do to what they actually do. Edited by the team behind the international UX in Libraries conference, "User Experience in Libraries" will ignite new interest in a rapidly emerging and game-changing area of resear...

Myanmar: The Community Learning Centre Experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Middelborg, Jorn; Duvieusart, Baudouin, Ed.

A community learning centre (CLC) is a local educational institution outside the formal education system, usually set up and managed by local people. CLCs were first introduced in Myanmar in 1994, and by 2001 there were 71 CLCs in 11 townships. The townships are characterized by remoteness, landlessness, unemployment, dependency on one cash crop,…

Thyroid cancer: experiences at the Regional Cancer Centre, Trivandrum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pradeep, V.M.; Gangadharan, P.; Nair, Krishnan M.

1999-01-01

Above 300 thyroid cancers are seen at the Regional Cancer Centre annually. There has been an increase in the number of TC registered over the years. This is at least partly due to improved diagnostic services and availability of 131 I therapy. Almost 90 % of the cases seen at the Centre are well-differentiated cancers

Healthcare resource use and costs of managing children and adults with lysosomal acid lipase deficiency at a tertiary referral centre in the United Kingdom.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julian F Guest

Full Text Available To estimate clinical progression and resource utilisation together with the associated costs of managing children and adults with LAL Deficiency, at a tertiary referral centre in the UK.A retrospective chart review was undertaken of patients in the UK with a confirmed diagnosis of LAL Deficiency who were managed at a LAL Deficiency tertiary referral treatment centre. Patients' pathways, treatment patterns, health outcomes and resource use were quantified over differing lengths of time for each patient enabling the NHS cost of patient management in tertiary care to be estimated.The study population comprised 19 patients of whom 58% were male. Mean age at the time of initial presentation was 15.5 years and the mean age at diagnosis was 18.0 years. 63%, 53% and 42% of patients had hepatomegaly, abnormal lipid storage and splenomegaly at a mean age of presentation of 17.8, 17.1 and 20.9 years, respectively. Over a period of 50 years there were a mean of 48.5 clinician visits and 3.4 hospital admissions per patient. The mean NHS cost of patient management at a LAL Deficiency tertiary referral treatment centre, spanning a period of over 50 years was £61,454 per patient.This study provides important insights into a number of aspects of the disease that are difficult to ascertain from published case reports. Additionally, it provides the best estimate available of NHS resource use and costs with which to inform policy and budgetary decisions pertaining to managing this ultra-orphan disease.

Healthcare resource use and costs of managing children and adults with lysosomal acid lipase deficiency at a tertiary referral centre in the United Kingdom.

Science.gov (United States)

Guest, Julian F; Ingram, Andy; Ayoub, Nadia; Hendriksz, Christian J; Murphy, Elaine; Rahman, Yusof; McKiernan, Patrick; Mundy, Helen; Deegan, Patrick

2018-01-01

To estimate clinical progression and resource utilisation together with the associated costs of managing children and adults with LAL Deficiency, at a tertiary referral centre in the UK. A retrospective chart review was undertaken of patients in the UK with a confirmed diagnosis of LAL Deficiency who were managed at a LAL Deficiency tertiary referral treatment centre. Patients' pathways, treatment patterns, health outcomes and resource use were quantified over differing lengths of time for each patient enabling the NHS cost of patient management in tertiary care to be estimated. The study population comprised 19 patients of whom 58% were male. Mean age at the time of initial presentation was 15.5 years and the mean age at diagnosis was 18.0 years. 63%, 53% and 42% of patients had hepatomegaly, abnormal lipid storage and splenomegaly at a mean age of presentation of 17.8, 17.1 and 20.9 years, respectively. Over a period of 50 years there were a mean of 48.5 clinician visits and 3.4 hospital admissions per patient. The mean NHS cost of patient management at a LAL Deficiency tertiary referral treatment centre, spanning a period of over 50 years was £61,454 per patient. This study provides important insights into a number of aspects of the disease that are difficult to ascertain from published case reports. Additionally, it provides the best estimate available of NHS resource use and costs with which to inform policy and budgetary decisions pertaining to managing this ultra-orphan disease.

Management of Cervical Cancer: Strategies for Limited-Resource Centres - A Guide for Radiation Oncologists

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2013-01-01

Cervical cancer remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality among women globally, even though it is the cancer with the greatest demonstrated potential for secondary prevention. In some regions of the world the incidence is alarmingly high, such as in sub-Saharan Africa, some countries in Latin America, India and South-East Asia. This disease is highly preventable and curable at a relatively low risk and low cost when screening of asymptomatic women is available, together with appropriate diagnosis, treatment and follow-up. In developing clinical guidelines, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has selected forms of cancer or clinical situations that are very common in low and middle income Member States and for which radiation oncologists consistently express a need for guidance. Clinical guidelines for the management of cervical cancer do exist in the published literature. However, these guidelines have usually been developed in and for affluent environments where all modern diagnosis and treatment modalities are available for the practitioner. In limited resource environments, the radiation oncologist is faced with the question, what would be the minimally acceptable line of action with the limited resources available? Clinical guidelines focusing on low and middle income countries provide a practical tool to these practitioners. This publication is aimed at the radiation oncologist working in centres with limited resources and treating a large number of patients with cervical cancer on a daily basis. The approach and techniques are intended to be simple, feasible and resource sparing to the extent that this is possible when dealing with a complex treatment modality. The Division of Human Health is placing special emphasis on the subject of cervical cancer, which is addressed not only in this guide but also in regional training courses and coordinated research projects on the subject

Resource curse: An analysis of causes, experiences and possible ways forward

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stevens, Paul; Dietsche, Evelyn

2008-01-01

Higher prices for oil, gas and mineral resources have again raised questions about how exporting countries can counter the challenges of resource curse. International experience managing the risks of resource curse has varied. Summarising the continuing discussion on meeting the challenges of the resource curse, this paper addresses four questions: What are the positive and negative effects of high oil, gas and mineral prices on exporters? What have been the experiences with managing natural resource revenues? Can good institutions ensure that natural resource revenues have a positive impact on development? And what is the direction for the way forward? We argue that the current emphasis on 'institutions' as a potential solution has largely ignored under what conditions institutions are formed and changed. (author)

Ansab Resource Centre: A Sustainable way for Resource Generation

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

lremy

success in mobilizing resources to sustain itself and its work towards conserving biodiversity and poverty .... women and men realizing US $5.54 million in additional monetary benefits through 502 economic .... Barriers faced, Solutions found.

Including alternative resources in state renewable portfolio standards: Current design and implementation experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heeter, Jenny; Bird, Lori

2013-01-01

As of October 2012, 29 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico have instituted a renewable portfolio standard (RPS). Each state policy is unique, varying in percentage targets, timetables, and eligible resources. Increasingly, new RPS polices have included alternative resources. Alternative resources have included energy efficiency, thermal resources, and, to a lesser extent, non-renewables. This paper examines state experience with implementing renewable portfolio standards that include energy efficiency, thermal resources, and non-renewable energy and explores compliance experience, costs, and how states evaluate, measure, and verify energy efficiency and convert thermal energy. It aims to gain insights from the experience of states for possible federal clean energy policy as well as to share experience and lessons for state RPS implementation. - Highlights: • Increasingly, new RPS policies have included alternative resources. • Nearly all states provide a separate tier or cap on the quantity of eligible alternative resources. • Where allowed, non-renewables and energy efficiency are being heavily utilized

The Future of Leisure Time Centres in Decin

OpenAIRE

Hochwalderová, Světluše

2014-01-01

This Bachelor thesis deals with the issue of extracurricular education in Decin. The goal of the thesis is to find out whether the conditions for providing extracurricular education in leisure time centres and basic schools can influence the future of leisure time centres. Another goal of the thesis is to map and analyse the offer ot extracurricular activities in leisrue time centres and basic schools. The theoretical part is based on literature, laws, regulations and available resources. The...

A conjoint choice experiment to study attributes related to the selection of stores in shopping centres

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oppewal, H.; Louviere, J.J.; Timmermans, H.J.P.; Chias, J.; Sureda, J.

1993-01-01

This paper first reviews approaches to modeHing consumer choice of shopping destination and argues that models typically have included only few attributes related to the selection or variety of stores in a shopping centre. Next a conjoint choice experiment is described in which profiles of

Mutual aid: native employment centre swings into action with help from industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lorenz, A.

1998-01-01

Establishment of the First Nations Employment and Training Centre on the Tsuu Tina Reserve, near Calgary, was recently announced by the Indian Resource Council, an organization that represents most of Canada's oil and gas producing tribes. The Centre is a result of cooperation between the Council and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP). Its objective is to identify training needs in the industry and then deliver the training commensurate with those needs. It will maintain a database of employment information, serve as a referral agency and work towards the overall goal of self-sufficiency. The training centre will be the hub of a wheel from which training programs at various First Nations colleges and reserves will branch off. Resources and expertise will be provided by the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology and the Petroleum Industry Training Service. Interest in the new Centre is high as more than 50 inquiries have been received in the first week following the announcement. Self-sufficiency is high on the Indian Resources Council's agenda. Not surprisingly, the new employment and training centre is seen as an important first step towards building a skilled work force that will, in due course, lead to self-sufficiency. The intensive consultation between First Nations leaders and industry representatives that preceded the establishment of the Centre is also expected to improve relations between the sometimes contradictory interests of industry and First Nations in the resource-rich countryside of western and northern Canada

Visits to Tier-1 Computing Centres

CERN Multimedia

Dario Barberis

At the beginning of 2007 it became clear that an enhanced level of communication is needed between the ATLAS computing organisation and the Tier-1 centres. Most usual meetings are ATLAS-centric and cannot address the issues of each Tier-1; therefore we decided to organise a series of visits to the Tier-1 centres and focus on site issues. For us, ATLAS computing management, it is most useful to realize how each Tier-1 centre is organised, and its relation to the associated Tier-2s; indeed their presence at these visits is also very useful. We hope it is also useful for sites... at least, we are told so! The usual participation includes, from the ATLAS side: computing management, operations, data placement, resources, accounting and database deployment coordinators; and from the Tier-1 side: computer centre management, system managers, Grid infrastructure people, network, storage and database experts, local ATLAS liaison people and representatives of the associated Tier-2s. Visiting Tier-1 centres (1-4). ...

Associating science and development - the Trieste Centre

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hamende, A.

1982-01-01

The International Centre for Theoretical Physics, located in Trieste, Italy, is supported by income from the Italian Government, from UNESCO and from the IAEA. The Centre organizes research sessions, workshops and extended courses on advanced topics in the physical and mathematical sciences and encourages scientists, especially from developing countries, to visit the ICTP for extended periods. With the aim of facilitating the transfer of knowledge to scientists from developing countries, the Centre's current scientific programme is divided up into five major disciplines: physics and energy; physics and frontiers of knowledge; physics and technology; physics and the environment and natural resources; applicable mathematics

The Emergence and Impact of MNC Centres of Excellence

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holm, Ulf; Pedersen, Torben

This study explores an important element in the development of the multinational corporation. Whilst previously the parent company was seen as the centre, and the foreign subsidiaries as the periphery, today, it is recognized that different subsidiaries have different roles, and are linked to each...... they emerge and analysing their impact on corporate strategy. In the development of the multinational corporation different subsidiaries have different roles, and some become "Centres of Excellence" (COE) controlling resources on which other parts of the corporation depend. This work investigates COEs...... other in a complicated pattern. One crucial aspect of this is that some subsidiaries become "Centres of Excellence" (COE) controlling resources on which other parts of the corporation depend for their operations. This work investigates the existence of COEs in different countries, examining why...

A common-pool resource experiment in acequia communities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nejem Raheem

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Farmers and rural advocates in New Mexico assert that traditional irrigators are better adapted to water scarcity and variability than other communities. Data to actually test this are often scarce, but such information could be useful for planning the state’s water future, especially as climate change predictions tend toward less reliable supplies. This paper reports results from a common pool resource (CPR experiment that simulates irrigating behavior using two groups: rural irrigators and undergraduate students. Despite predictions to the opposite, there was no significant difference between mean withdrawals or predictions of other players’ behavior. On average, both groups withdrew above the social optimum but below the Nash equilibrium. This work appears to be the first example of a common pool resource experiment conducted with traditional New Mexican irrigators.

Addiction research centres and the nurturing of creativity: National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre, India--a profile.

Science.gov (United States)

Ray, Rajat; Dhawan, Anju; Chopra, Anita

2013-10-01

The National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC) is a part of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, a premier autonomous medical university in India. This article provides an account of its origin and its contribution to the field of substance use disorder at the national and international levels. Since its establishment, the NDDTC has played a major role in the development of various replicable models of care, the training of post-graduate students of psychiatry, research, policy development and planning. An assessment of the magnitude of drug abuse in India began in the early 1990s and this was followed by a National Survey on Extent, Patterns and Trends of Drug Abuse in 2004. Several models of clinical care have been developed for population subgroups in diverse settings. The centre played an important role in producing data and resource material which helped to scale up opioid substitution treatment in India. A nationwide database on the profile of patients seeking treatment (Drug Abuse Monitoring System) at government drug treatment centres has also been created. The centre has provided valuable inputs for the Government of India's programme planning. Besides clinical studies, research has also focused on pre-clinical studies. Capacity-building is an important priority, with training curricula and resource material being developed for doctors and paramedical staff. Many of these training programmes are conducted in collaboration with other institutions in the country. The NDDTC has received funding from several national and international organizations for research and scientific meetings, and, most recently (2012), it has been designated as a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre on Substance Abuse. © 2012 The Authors, Addiction © 2012 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Managing a tier-2 computer centre with a private cloud infrastructure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bagnasco, Stefano; Berzano, Dario; Brunetti, Riccardo; Lusso, Stefano; Vallero, Sara

2014-01-01

In a typical scientific computing centre, several applications coexist and share a single physical infrastructure. An underlying Private Cloud infrastructure eases the management and maintenance of such heterogeneous applications (such as multipurpose or application-specific batch farms, Grid sites, interactive data analysis facilities and others), allowing dynamic allocation resources to any application. Furthermore, the maintenance of large deployments of complex and rapidly evolving middleware and application software is eased by the use of virtual images and contextualization techniques. Such infrastructures are being deployed in some large centres (see e.g. the CERN Agile Infrastructure project), but with several open-source tools reaching maturity this is becoming viable also for smaller sites. In this contribution we describe the Private Cloud infrastructure at the INFN-Torino Computer Centre, that hosts a full-fledged WLCG Tier-2 centre, an Interactive Analysis Facility for the ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC and several smaller scientific computing applications. The private cloud building blocks include the OpenNebula software stack, the GlusterFS filesystem and the OpenWRT Linux distribution (used for network virtualization); a future integration into a federated higher-level infrastructure is made possible by exposing commonly used APIs like EC2 and OCCI

Going private: clinicians' experience of working in UK independent sector treatment centres.

Science.gov (United States)

Waring, Justin; Bishop, Simon

2012-02-01

With increased possibility that public healthcare services in the UK will be outsourced to the private sector, this study investigates how clinicians working in Independent Sector Treatment Centres perceive the differences between public and private sectors. Qualitative interviews with 35 clinicians recruited from two ISTCs. All participants were transferred to the independent sector from the public National Health Service. Interview data were analysed to identify shared experience about the variable organisation and delivery of services. Clinicians perceived differences between public and independent sectors in the areas of 'environment and facilities', 'management', 'work organisation and care delivery', and 'patient experience'. The independent sector was described as offering a positive alternative to public services in regard to service environment and patient experience, but there were concerns about management priorities and the reconfiguration of work. Clinicians' experience of moving between sectors reveals mixed experiences. Although some improvements might legitimise the growing role of the independent sector, there remain doubts about the commercialisation of services, the motives of managers and the impact of clinical roles and capabilities. With policies looking to expand the mixed economy of public healthcare services, the study suggests clinicians will not automatically embrace a move between sectors. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

A comparison of labour and birth experiences of women delivering in a birthing centre and at home in the Netherlands.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Borquez, H.A.; Wiegers, T.A.

2006-01-01

OBJECTIVE: to compare the labour and birth experiences of women who delivered at home without complications with the experiences of women who delivered in a birth centre without complications. DESIGN: a descriptive study using postal questionnaires at 1-6 months after birth of a consecutive sample

Experiences of Everyday Occupation among People with Psychiatric Disabilities - Relationships to social interaction, the worker role and day centre attendance

OpenAIRE

Argentzell, Elisabeth

2012-01-01

The thesis aims to explore subjective experiences of everyday occupation, social interaction and the view of the worker role among people with psychiatric disabilities(PD), while also addressing the importance of day centre attendance. The thesis consists of one qualitative study, exploring which characteristics in everyday occupation provide meaning to people with PD, and three quantitative studies based on questionnaires to both day centre attendees and non-attendees. Study I showed that fe...

Experiences and Lessons Learnt with Collaborative e-Research Infrastructure and the application of Identity Management and Access Control for the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Kershaw, P.

2016-12-01

CEDA, the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis, hosts a range of services on behalf of NERC (Natural Environment Research Council) for the UK environmental sciences community and its work with international partners. It is host to four data centres covering atmospheric science, earth observation, climate and space data domain areas. It holds this data on behalf of a number of different providers each with their own data policies which has thus required the development of a comprehensive system to manage access. With the advent of CMIP5, CEDA committed to be one of a number of centres to host the climate model outputs and make them available through the Earth System Grid Federation, a globally distributed software infrastructure developed for this purpose. From the outset, a means for restricting access to datasets was required, necessitating the development a federated system for authentication and authorisation so that access to data could be managed across multiple providers around the world. From 2012, CEDA has seen a further evolution with the development of JASMIN, a multi-petabyte data analysis facility. Hosted alongside the CEDA archive, it provides a range of services for users including a batch compute cluster, group workspaces and a community cloud. This has required significant changes and enhancements to the access control system. In common with many other examples in the research community, the experiences of the above underline the difficulties of developing collaborative e-Research infrastructures. Drawing from these there are some recurring themes: Clear requirements need to be established at the outset recognising that implementing strict access policies can incur additional development and administrative overhead. An appropriate balance is needed between ease of access desired by end users and metrics and monitoring required by resource providers. The major technical challenge is not with security technologies themselves but their effective

The nuclear research centre at Bariloche, Argentina

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abriata, J.P.

2001-01-01

The nuclear research centre at Bariloche (CAB) is one of the four centres under the Atomic Energy Commission of Argentina (CNEA). The research programme of CAB addresses various issues like nuclear reactor development, nuclear fuel and fuel cycle, applications of radioisotopes and radiation, and waste management. There is also a basic nuclear science component. The human resource development in the areas of physics and nuclear engineering is done in an associated Balseiro Institute which has undergraduate and graduate programmes as well as doctoral and postdoctoral research. The Centre interacts well with the society and provides services in the nuclear area. It has a close interaction with the nuclear sector of Argentina as also with many international organisations. Regulatory control over the Centre is carried out by the Nuclear Regulatory Authority of Argentina. (author)

Exploiting opportunistic resources for ATLAS with ARC CE and the Event Service

Science.gov (United States)

Cameron, D.; Filipčič, A.; Guan, W.; Tsulaia, V.; Walker, R.; Wenaus, T.; ATLAS Collaboration

2017-10-01

With ever-greater computing needs and fixed budgets, big scientific experiments are turning to opportunistic resources as a means to add much-needed extra computing power. These resources can be very different in design from those that comprise the Grid computing of most experiments, therefore exploiting them requires a change in strategy for the experiment. They may be highly restrictive in what can be run or in connections to the outside world, or tolerate opportunistic usage only on condition that tasks may be terminated without warning. The Advanced Resource Connector Computing Element (ARC CE) with its nonintrusive architecture is designed to integrate resources such as High Performance Computing (HPC) systems into a computing Grid. The ATLAS experiment developed the ATLAS Event Service (AES) primarily to address the issue of jobs that can be terminated at any point when opportunistic computing capacity is needed by someone else. This paper describes the integration of these two systems in order to exploit opportunistic resources for ATLAS in a restrictive environment. In addition to the technical details, results from deployment of this solution in the SuperMUC HPC centre in Munich are shown.

Sensory Experience Memory in Resource Therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Emmerson, Gordon J

2017-01-01

A sensory experience memory (SEM) is an emotional memory that may be either connected to an intellectual memory or it may have become dissociated from its corresponding intellectual memory. Sensory experience memories are the cause of a number of pathologies, including PTSD, panic disorder, and anxiety. When a personality state that holds a negative SEM assumes the conscious, the client may display negative emotional reactions that appear unwarranted. SEMs can also play a central role in therapy to resolve pathology. Resource therapy (RT) incorporates the understanding of SEMs in both diagnosis and treatment. RT will be used in this article to illustrate the importance of working with SEMs, but therapists can translate the use of SEMs to other therapeutic modalities.

A human capital predictive model for agent performance in contact centres

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chris Jacobs

2011-10-01

Research purpose: The primary focus of this article was to develop a theoretically derived human capital predictive model for agent performance in contact centres and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO based on a review of current empirical research literature. Motivation for the study: The study was motivated by the need for a human capital predictive model that can predict agent and overall business performance. Research design: A nonempirical (theoretical research paradigm was adopted for this study and more specifically a theory or model-building approach was followed. A systematic review of published empirical research articles (for the period 2000–2009 in scholarly search portals was performed. Main findings: Eight building blocks of the human capital predictive model for agent performance in contact centres were identified. Forty-two of the human capital contact centre related articles are detailed in this study. Key empirical findings suggest that person– environment fit, job demands-resources, human resources management practices, engagement, agent well-being, agent competence; turnover intention; and agent performance are related to contact centre performance. Practical/managerial implications: The human capital predictive model serves as an operational management model that has performance implications for agents and ultimately influences the contact centre’s overall business performance. Contribution/value-add: This research can contribute to the fields of human resource management (HRM, human capital and performance management within the contact centre and BPO environment.

Archives of the Dance (22): Pioneer Women – early British modern dancers (the National Resource Centre for Dance, University of Surrey).

OpenAIRE

Carter, Alexandra

2010-01-01

Pioneer Women was an AHRC-funded project based on archives held at the National Resource Centre for Dance, University of Surrey. Two of the largest collections, those on Madge Atkinson and Natural Movement, and Ruby Ginner’s Revived (later Classical) Greek Dance, are categorized and interrogated for not only what they reveal of the work of these two dance artists, but also for how they resonate with dominant cultural trends in the arts. The research privileges a much under-explored or theoriz...

International Development Research Centre - Special Examination ...

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

OAG-BVG

2008-03-27

Mar 27, 2008 ... The government's attention to these matters is needed. .... that they can identify problems and make decisions that promote ... Canadian resources for research for development by creating, .... effect on the Centre's mandate and strategic objectives. ...... between fresh perspectives and corporate memory.

A new visitor centre for CMS

CERN Document Server

2001-01-01

At the inauguration of the new CMS visitor centre. The CMS experiment inaugurated a new visitor centre at its Cessy site on 14 June. This will allow the thousands of people who come to CERN each year to follow the construction of one the Laboratory's flagship experiments first-hand. CERN receives over 20,000 visitors each year. Until recently, many of them were taken on a guided tour of one of the LEP experiments. With the closure of LEP, however, trips underground are no longer possible, and the Visits' Service has put in place a number of other itineraries (Bulletin 46/2000). Since the CMS detector will be almost entirely constructed in a surface hall, it is now taking a big share of the limelight. The CMS visitor centre has been built on a platform overlooking CMS construction. It contains a set of clear descriptive posters describing the experiment, along with a video projection showing animations and movies about CMS construction. In the coming weeks, a display of CMS detector elements will be added, as...

Code of Conduct on Biosecurity for Biological Resource Centres: procedural implementation.

Science.gov (United States)

Rohde, Christine; Smith, David; Martin, Dunja; Fritze, Dagmar; Stalpers, Joost

2013-07-01

A globally applicable code of conduct specifically dedicated to biosecurity has been developed together with guidance for its procedural implementation. This is to address the regulations governing potential dual-use of biological materials, associated information and technologies, and reduce the potential for their malicious use. Scientists researching and exchanging micro-organisms have a responsibility to prevent misuse of the inherently dangerous ones, that is, those possessing characters such as pathogenicity or toxin production. The code of conduct presented here is based on best practice principles for scientists and their institutions working with biological resources with a specific focus on micro-organisms. It aims to raise awareness of regulatory needs and to protect researchers, their facilities and stakeholders. It reflects global activities in this area in response to legislation such as that in the USA, the PATRIOT Act of 2001, Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001; the Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001 and subsequent amendments in the UK; the EU Dual-Use Regulation; and the recommendations of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), under their Biological Resource Centre (BRC) Initiative at the beginning of the millennium (OECD, 2001). Two project consortia with international partners came together with experts in the field to draw up a Code of Conduct on Biosecurity for BRCs to ensure that culture collections and microbiologists in general worked in a way that met the requirements of such legislation. A BRC is the modern day culture collection that adds value to its holdings and implements common best practice in the collection and supply of strains for research and development. This code of conduct specifically addresses the work of public service culture collections and describes the issues of importance and the controls or

The Belgian nuclear research centre

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moons, F.

2001-01-01

The Belgian Nuclear Research Centre is almost exclusively devoted to nuclear R and D and services and is able to generate 50% of its resources (out of 75 million Euro) by contract work and services. The main areas of research include nuclear reactor safety, radioactive waste management, radiation protection and safeguards. The high flux reactor BR2 is extensively used to test fuel and structural materials. PWR-plant BR3 is devoted to the scientific analysis of decommissioning problems. The Centre has a strong programme on the applications of radioisotopes and radiation in medicine and industry. The centre has plans to develop an accelerator driven spallation neutron source for various applications. It has initiated programmes to disseminate correct information on issues of nuclear energy production and non-energy nuclear applications to different target groups. It has strong linkages with the IAEA, OECD-NEA and the Euratom. (author)

Cultural Centre, Destination Cultural Offer and Visitor Satisfaction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Benxiang Zeng

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to establish the link between tourists’ perceptions on cultural offers and their overall satisfaction, and explore the implication of this link for sustainable tourist destination management. Assessing online customers’ reviews, this study identifies a positive correlation between visitors’ perspectives and experiences at the on-site cultural centre and visitors’ destination satisfaction. It suggests that the on-site cultural centre plays a critical role in building up visitors’ perception on cultural attributes of the destination, and its impact on visitor satisfaction is a double-edged sword. Visitors’ positive perspectives on the cultural centre enhance visitors’ experiences and contribute to their destination satisfaction; however, not only does a negative perspective on their cultural and spiritual experience compromise visitors’ satisfaction, but also subsequent negative online reviews damage the destination image and discourage visitor return/visit. The findings help destination management organisations to better understand visitors’ preference for cultural centres and therefore to improve visitors’ cultural experience. This paper appeals for further study of on-site cultural centres’ role in forming destination cultural attributes, and of social media’s potential in enriching cultural experience.

International Centre for Theoretical Physics. Scientific activities in 1980

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1981-09-01

The Centre's scientific programme for 1980 falling under five main fields, i.e. Physics and Energy, Physics and Technology, Physics and Frontiers of Knowledge, Applicable Mathematics and Planning Models, and Physics of the Environment and of Natural Resources, is briefly discussed. Participation in the research and training-for-research activities of the ICTP during 1980 and the stable resources for the period 1970 to 1981 are shown in tables. A detailed ''post-spectus'' of the seminars, meetings, and courses which the centre organized in 1980 is given. A list of titles of the preprints and internal reports produced during the year is also given for each area of activity

Advances in ATLAS@Home towards a major ATLAS computing resource

CERN Document Server

Cameron, David; The ATLAS collaboration

2018-01-01

The volunteer computing project ATLAS@Home has been providing a stable computing resource for the ATLAS experiment since 2013. It has recently undergone some significant developments and as a result has become one of the largest resources contributing to ATLAS computing, by expanding its scope beyond traditional volunteers and into exploitation of idle computing power in ATLAS data centres. Removing the need for virtualization on Linux and instead using container technology has made the entry barrier significantly lower data centre participation and in this paper, we describe the implementation and results of this change. We also present other recent changes and improvements in the project. In early 2017 the ATLAS@Home project was merged into a combined LHC@Home platform, providing a unified gateway to all CERN-related volunteer computing projects. The ATLAS Event Service shifts data processing from file-level to event-level and we describe how ATLAS@Home was incorporated into this new paradigm. The finishing...

Interactive screen experiments-innovative virtual laboratories for distance learners

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hatherly, P A; Jordan, S E; Cayless, A

2009-01-01

The desirability and value of laboratory work for physics students is a well-established principle and issues arise where students are inherently remote from their host institution, as is the case for the UK's Open University. In this paper, we present developments from the Physics Innovations Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (piCETL) in the production and technology of the virtual laboratory resources, interactive screen experiments, and the benefits and drawbacks of such resources. We also explore the motivations behind current implementation of interactive screen experiments and examine evaluation strategies and outcomes through a series of case studies

Challenges in interprofessional collaboration: experiences of care providers and policymakers in a newly set-up Dutch assault centre.

Science.gov (United States)

Zijlstra, Elza; Lo Fo Wong, Sylvie; Teerling, Anne; Hutschemaekers, Giel; Lagro-Janssen, Antoine

2018-03-01

Sexual and family violence are problems that affect many women and men, and the negative health consequences of violence are numerous. As adequate acute interprofessional care can prevent negative health consequences and improve forensic medical examination, a Centre for Sexual and Family Violence was set up. We aimed to improve our understanding of the challenges in interprofessional collaboration in a newly set-up centre for sexual and family violence. We conducted a qualitative study with semi-structured interviews about the experiences with interprofessional collaboration of 16 stakeholders involved in the Centre for Sexual and Family Violence Nijmegen. Participants were selected by purposive sampling. Participants found that the interprofessional collaboration had improved communication and competences. However, there were challenges too. Firstly, the interprofessional collaboration had brought parties closer together, but the collaboration also forced professionals to strongly define their boundaries. Mutual trust and understanding needed to be built up. Secondly, a balance had to be struck between pursuing the shared vision - which was to improve quality of care for victims - and giving space to organizations' and professionals' own interest. Thirdly, care for victims of sexual and family violence could be demanding on healthcare providers in an emotional sense, which might jeopardize professional's initial motivation for joining the Centre for Sexual and Family Violence Nijmegen. The interprofessional collaboration in an assault centre improves quality of care for victims, but there are also challenges. The tasks of an assault centre are to create opportunities to discuss professional roles and professional interests, to build up good interpersonal relations in which trust and understanding can grow, to formulate a strong and shared victim-centred vision and to support care providers with training, feedback and supervision. © 2017 Nordic College of Caring

Civil society participation in the management of the common good: a case of ethics in biological resource centres

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrici Calvo Cabezas

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The management of commons is now at the centre of researchers’ attention in many branches of science, particularly those related to the human or social sciences. This paper seeks to demonstrate how civil society participation in common goods or resources is not only possible but is also desirable for society because of the medium and long-term benefits it offers involved and/or affected parties. To this end, we examine the falsity of the discourse underlying the supposed incompetence of civil society to cooperate interpersonally in the pursuit of common objectives, and also analyse a specific example of the necessary and possible participation of civil society in managing common goods through biobanks.

Conceptual design of an ALICE Tier-2 centre. Integrated into a multi-purpose computing facility

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zynovyev, Mykhaylo

2012-06-29

This thesis discusses the issues and challenges associated with the design and operation of a data analysis facility for a high-energy physics experiment at a multi-purpose computing centre. At the spotlight is a Tier-2 centre of the distributed computing model of the ALICE experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland. The design steps, examined in the thesis, include analysis and optimization of the I/O access patterns of the user workload, integration of the storage resources, and development of the techniques for effective system administration and operation of the facility in a shared computing environment. A number of I/O access performance issues on multiple levels of the I/O subsystem, introduced by utilization of hard disks for data storage, have been addressed by the means of exhaustive benchmarking and thorough analysis of the I/O of the user applications in the ALICE software framework. Defining the set of requirements to the storage system, describing the potential performance bottlenecks and single points of failure and examining possible ways to avoid them allows one to develop guidelines for selecting the way how to integrate the storage resources. The solution, how to preserve a specific software stack for the experiment in a shared environment, is presented along with its effects on the user workload performance. The proposal for a flexible model to deploy and operate the ALICE Tier-2 infrastructure and applications in a virtual environment through adoption of the cloud computing technology and the 'Infrastructure as Code' concept completes the thesis. Scientific software applications can be efficiently computed in a virtual environment, and there is an urgent need to adapt the infrastructure for effective usage of cloud resources.

Conceptual design of an ALICE Tier-2 centre. Integrated into a multi-purpose computing facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zynovyev, Mykhaylo

2012-01-01

This thesis discusses the issues and challenges associated with the design and operation of a data analysis facility for a high-energy physics experiment at a multi-purpose computing centre. At the spotlight is a Tier-2 centre of the distributed computing model of the ALICE experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland. The design steps, examined in the thesis, include analysis and optimization of the I/O access patterns of the user workload, integration of the storage resources, and development of the techniques for effective system administration and operation of the facility in a shared computing environment. A number of I/O access performance issues on multiple levels of the I/O subsystem, introduced by utilization of hard disks for data storage, have been addressed by the means of exhaustive benchmarking and thorough analysis of the I/O of the user applications in the ALICE software framework. Defining the set of requirements to the storage system, describing the potential performance bottlenecks and single points of failure and examining possible ways to avoid them allows one to develop guidelines for selecting the way how to integrate the storage resources. The solution, how to preserve a specific software stack for the experiment in a shared environment, is presented along with its effects on the user workload performance. The proposal for a flexible model to deploy and operate the ALICE Tier-2 infrastructure and applications in a virtual environment through adoption of the cloud computing technology and the 'Infrastructure as Code' concept completes the thesis. Scientific software applications can be efficiently computed in a virtual environment, and there is an urgent need to adapt the infrastructure for effective usage of cloud resources.

Experiences from a communication training programme of paid carers in a residential rehabilitation centre for people with traumatic brain injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Behn, Nicholas; Togher, Leanne; Power, Emma

2015-01-01

To determine the impact of a communication training programme by exploring the experiences of paid carers who attended the programme in a residential rehabilitation centre for people with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Five paid carers attended a communication training programme which comprised 17 hours (across 8 weeks). Semi-structured interviews were conducted pre- and post-training. Analysis used a generic procedure with constant comparative analysis to identify categories across and within interview transcripts. Paid carers described improved knowledge and use of strategies, improved communication, positive emotional experiences and barriers and facilitators to consider for future communication training programmes. Training communication skills of paid carers in a residential rehabilitation centre had a positive impact on their conversations with people with TBI. These positive changes support quantitative findings for the effectiveness of communication training.

Synergy between the CIMENT tier-2 HPC centre and the HEP community at LPSC in Grenoble (France)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Biscarat, C; Bzeznik, B

2014-01-01

Two of the most pressing questions in current research in Particle Physics are the characterisation of the newly discovered Higgs-like boson at the LHC and the search for New Phenomena beyond the Standard Model of Particle Physics. Physicists at LPSC in Grenoble are leading the search for one type of New Phenomena in ATLAS. Given the rich multitude of physics studies proceeding in parallel in ATLAS, one limiting factor in the timely analysis of data is the availability of computing resources. Another LPSC team suffers from the same limitation. This team is leading the ultimate precision measurement of the W boson mass with DØ data, which yields an indirect constraint on the Higgs boson mass which can be compared with the direct measurements of the mass of the newly discovered boson at LHC. In this paper, we describe the synergy between CIMENT, a regional multidisciplinary HPC centre, and the HEP community in Grenoble in the context of the analysis of data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC collider and the D0 experiment at the Tevatron collider. CIMENT is a federation of twelve HPC clusters, of about 90 TFlop/s, one of the most powerful HPC tier-2 centres in France. The sharing of resources between different scientific fields, like the ones discussed in this article, constitutes a great asset because the spikes in need of computing resources are uncorrelated in time between different fields.

Experience with procuring, deploying and maintaining hardware at remote co-location centre

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bärring, O; Bonfillou, E; Clement, B; Santos, M Coelho Dos; Dore, V; Gentit, A; Grossir, A; Salter, W; Valsan, L; Xafi, A

2014-01-01

In May 2012 CERN signed a contract with the Wigner Data Centre in Budapest for an extension to CERN's central computing facility beyond its current boundaries set by electrical power and cooling available for computing. The centre is operated as a remote co-location site providing rack-space, electrical power and cooling for server, storage and networking equipment acquired by CERN. The contract includes a 'remote-hands' services for physical handling of hardware (rack mounting, cabling, pushing power buttons, ...) and maintenance repairs (swapping disks, memory modules, ...). However, only CERN personnel have network and console access to the equipment for system administration. This report gives an insight to adaptations of hardware architecture, procurement and delivery procedures undertaken enabling remote physical handling of the hardware. We will also describe tools and procedures developed for automating the registration, burn-in testing, acceptance and maintenance of the equipment as well as an independent but important change to the IT assets management (ITAM) developed in parallel as part of the CERN IT Agile Infrastructure project. Finally, we will report on experience from the first large delivery of 400 servers and 80 SAS JBOD expansion units (24 drive bays) to Wigner in March 2013. Changes were made to the abstract file on 13/06/2014 to correct errors, the pdf file was unchanged.

OER, Resources for Learning--Experiences from an OER Project in Sweden

Science.gov (United States)

Ossiannilsson, Ebba S. I.; Creelman, Alastair M.

2012-01-01

This article aims to share experience from a Swedish project on the introduction and implementation of Open Educational Resources (OER) in higher education with both national and international perspectives. The project, "OER--resources for learning", was part of the National Library of Sweden Open Access initiative and aimed at exploring, raising…

Need and feasibility of telemedicine in non-urban day care centres.

Science.gov (United States)

Setia, Monika; DelliFraine, Jami L

2010-01-01

There appear to have been no studies of telemedicine in rural day care centres. We have assessed the feasibility of using telemedicine in eight rural day care centres in Pennsylvania, from the day care centres' perspective. The average number of children in these centres was 76 (range 20-150). The centres sent an average of 4.7 children home each month because of illness. Using telephone and face-to-face interviews, we assessed their perceived need for and familiarity with telemedicine, as well as their openness and preparedness for implementing telemedicine. Most day care centres reported a need for telemedicine and were open to learning how to use it. Some centres were concerned about adequate space for the equipment, but overall, the centres felt that their resources were adequate. Telemedicine in rural day care centres appears to be feasible, and would have the potential to save time and money for parents, as well as perhaps improving health care for children in rural areas.

Making the most of person-centred education by integrating flipped and simulated teaching: An exploratory study.

Science.gov (United States)

Saunders, Annette; Green, Rosy; Cross, Merylin

2017-11-01

Preparing a person-centred nursing workforce to work in diverse settings is a global health priority. Nursing students' first placement experience is a key transitional moment that shapes professional understanding and motivation to become a nurse. This paper reports the outcomes of combining flipped and simulated learning to enhance nursing students' understanding of person-centred care, the professional nursing role and preparation for placement. The study design was exploratory, the setting, an undergraduate nursing program in an Australian University. Participants included first year nursing students, academic tutors and clinical facilitators. Data collected via survey, semistructured interviews and focus group discussion were analysed descriptively and thematically. Over 90% of students surveyed considered the unit structure, content and resources prepared them well for placement. Pre-class preparation and simulated tutorial activities facilitated student engagement and knowledge translation. Students, tutors and clinical facilitators valued the person-centred approach. Tutors considered the unit materials and focus enhanced students' professional understanding. Clinical facilitators deemed students well-prepared for placement. These results from multiple perspectives, though limited, support combining the flipped classroom and person-centred simulation in nursing education as a strategy to prepare students for clinical placement, translate person-centred values into practice and promote professional understanding and role socialisation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Recherche | Page 5 | CRDI - Centre de recherches pour le ...

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

Tapping income from the Nefza Forest | CRDI - Centre de ... Researchers from Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco worked together to identify practical opportunities to use non-timber resources to increase income while .

Safety and predictability of conscious sedation in dentistry -- a multi-centre regional audit: South and West Wales experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Muthukrishnan, A; McGregor, J; Thompson, S

2013-10-01

There are no previously published reports of audits in conscious sedation from a group comprising the general dental services (GDS), community dental services (CDS) and hospital dental services (HDS). The main aim of this audit was to assess current practice within the group in relation to the safety and predictability of dental treatment undertaken with the aid of conscious sedation. A total of nine centres collected data prospectively on 1,037 sedation episodes over the course of one year. Audit standards were locally agreed based on current evidence and local experience. They were set at a completion rate of 90% and an adverse incident rate of 2% or less. Based on the data collected, a completion rate of 92% and a minor adverse incident rate of 2.6% were recorded. The participating centres met the standards set locally for this audit. Current practice in the participating centres was found to be safe and predictable. The audit tool is being refined to improve the quality of data collection. Further research and service evaluation is recommended.

Boosting Scientific Exploitation of Sentinel Data: The Earth Observation Data Centre for Water Resources Monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

Wagner, Wolfgang; Fröhlich, Johannes; Stowasser, Rainer; Wotawa, Gerhard; Hoffmann, Christian; Federspiel, Christian; Nortarnicola, Claudia; Zebisch, Marc; Boresch, Alexander

2014-05-01

an increasing trend towards more specialisation and cooperation. Also this strategy has already led to remarkable advances in the provision of high-quality scientific EO data sets. Nonetheless, many of these collaborative developments stand on shaky grounds given that the scientific and technical know-how and the data processing capabilities remain largely fragmented. This is because the cooperation between different EO teams is typically project-based and can end abruptly after the end of a project. In other words, few EO teams cooperate on a more strategic level that involves e.g. the sharing of software code or the joint use of common IT resources. In recognition of the problems discussed above, and with a view on the high potential of the upcoming Sentinel satellites for monitoring of global water resources (Wagner et al. 2011, Hornáček et al. 2012), we are proposing the foundation of an Earth Observation Data Centre for Water Resources Monitoring (EODC-Water). The EODC-Water will be a collaborative undertaking of research organisations, public agencies and private industry with the goal to foster the use of EO data for monitoring of global water resources. It will do so by proving a collaborative computer cloud that connects several data centres throughout Europe, thereby enabling the archiving, distributing, and processing of large EO data sets. The basic idea is to move the processing to the data instead of moving the data to where the software is. This sounds simple, but its realisation will overhaul the way of how EO data processing and distribution are organised. Another important element of EODC-Water will be its partner organisations which have agreed to participate in a collaborative software development process for establishing end-to-end EO data processing chains. EODC-Water will boost the scientific exploitation of EO data by allowing its scientific users to focus their efforts on scientific problems rather than having to deal with standard

Bioinformatics meets user-centred design: a perspective.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katrina Pavelin

Full Text Available Designers have a saying that "the joy of an early release lasts but a short time. The bitterness of an unusable system lasts for years." It is indeed disappointing to discover that your data resources are not being used to their full potential. Not only have you invested your time, effort, and research grant on the project, but you may face costly redesigns if you want to improve the system later. This scenario would be less likely if the product was designed to provide users with exactly what they need, so that it is fit for purpose before its launch. We work at EMBL-European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI, and we consult extensively with life science researchers to find out what they need from biological data resources. We have found that although users believe that the bioinformatics community is providing accurate and valuable data, they often find the interfaces to these resources tricky to use and navigate. We believe that if you can find out what your users want even before you create the first mock-up of a system, the final product will provide a better user experience. This would encourage more people to use the resource and they would have greater access to the data, which could ultimately lead to more scientific discoveries. In this paper, we explore the need for a user-centred design (UCD strategy when designing bioinformatics resources and illustrate this with examples from our work at EMBL-EBI. Our aim is to introduce the reader to how selected UCD techniques may be successfully applied to software design for bioinformatics.

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

Log in(active tab) · Request new password. Username *. Enter your IDRC - International Development Research Centre username. Password *. Enter the password that accompanies your username. IDRC Login (for IDRC staff / team members only) · What we do · Funding · Resources · About IDRC. Knowledge. Innovation.

Experiences and performance of the Harshaw dosimetry system at two major processing centres

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tawil, R.A.; Olhalber, T.; Rathbone, B.

1996-01-01

The installations, operating practice, dose algorithms and results and maintenance experience at two major dosimetry processing centres are described. System selection considerations and a comprehensive quality programme are described in the light of the publication of testing requirements by various dosimetry regulatory organisations. Reported information from Siemens Dosimetry Services comprises their selection of dosemeters and processing equipment including service history, a description of their dose computation algorithm, and detailed results of their testing against DOELAP standards. Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories (PNL) provides a description of their dosemeters and equipment with service history; in addition, a discussion of their new neural network approach to a dose computation algorithm and test results from that algorithm are presented. (Author)

Visitor centres at nuclear facility sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-01-01

Communications strategies in the nuclear field are often based on the creation of visitor centres at nuclear facility sites. Today, the design, as well as the realization and management of such centres has become a specialized function, and its role is very complementary to the nuclear operator's. It also uses the latest technology in the field of audio-visual, experiment and interactivity. This publication contains the proceedings of an international seminar organized by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency on the role of visitor centres at nuclear facility sites. It includes the main papers presented at this Seminar

Nuclear research centres in the 21st century: The French perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Graviere, M. de la

2001-01-01

In France the reactor technology is mature and R and D needs for reactors are small. However, there are substantial R and D needs in the electro-nuclear field. These include optimization of operation of nuclear power plants and the associated factories and to have a long term vision for the nuclear technologies. The State continues to be a major provider of resources for the long term strategic objectives. However, lack of resources has resulted in shutting down of some large facilities and it is becoming difficult to refurbish some large experimental tools. The possibility of earning resources through solving complex problems beyond the nuclear field is, therefore, under exploration. Nuclear research centres are also looking into new advanced technologies (energy, micro electronics, materials, bio-technology) and for development of partnership with other public research organisations. The issue of preservation of expertise is being addressed by development of networks between the European centres working in the same field. Cost and risk sharing of nuclear R and D is being pursued by collaboration with countries outside Europe, namely the USA, Japan and China. Public perception of nuclear energy is being enhanced by opening CEA centres to the public. (author)

Female Intimate Partner Violence Survivors' Experiences with Accessing Resources

Science.gov (United States)

McLeod, Amy L.; Hays, Danica G.; Chang, Catherine Y.

2010-01-01

This phenomenological study investigates the types of personal and community resources that female intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors used when leaving an abusive male partner. Three African American and 2 European American IPV survivors, ages 24 to 38 years, described positive and negative experiences with social support, personal…

[Support for families through a Disability Resource Unit].

Science.gov (United States)

Micaëlli, Delphine

The Disability Resource Unit of the mother and infant welfare protection centre aims to facilitate the care of children with a disability in day care centres or at school. Thanks to the creation of a doctor-children's nurse partnership, the unit provides families with personalised support. Listening, availability and empathy are essential in order to meet as best as possible the specific needs of the child and the parents' expectations. Interview with Véronique Labidoire, child care worker and technical advisor in the Disability Resource Unit of the Gironde's mother and infant welfare protection centre. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Paediatric percutaneous nephrolithotomy: single-centre 10-year experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhageria, Anand; Nayak, Brusabhanu; Seth, Amlesh; Dogra, Prem Nath; Kumar, Rajeev

2013-08-01

Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) is a standard management option for complex and large renal calculi. In children, there is some concern over potential perioperative complications. We reviewed our 10 years of experience of PCNL in children and present our data. Data for paediatric patients who underwent PCNL at our centre in the last decade were retrieved. PCNL was performed in standard prone position under fluoroscopic guidance. Patient characteristics, outcomes and complications were reviewed. Complications were graded according to the modified Clavien system. A comparison was also made between supracostal and infracostal accesses. 95 children underwent PCNL in our institute in the last decade. 7 patients had bilateral PCNL. The most common presentation was flank pain (85%). 83% patients were stone-free after first PCNL and overall 94% were stone free after second-look PCNL and auxillary procedures. 6 cases had clinically insignificant residual fragments. Supracostal puncture was performed in 32 cases. Complications were higher in the supracostal puncture group (16 (50%)) and included fever in 11, sepsis in 2 and hydrothorax in 3 patients. There were 7 (10%) complications in the infracostal group: fever in 5 and perinephric collection in 2 patients. 16 patients had grade 1, 9 had grade 2 and another 2 cases developed grade 3 complications. PCNL is a safe and effective procedure in children. It enables excellent stone clearance with minimal number of interventions. Copyright © 2013 Journal of Pediatric Urology Company. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Human-centred automation programme: review of experiment related studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grimstad, Tone; Andresen, Gisle; Skjerve, Ann Britt Miberg

2000-04-01

Twenty-three empirical studies concerning automation and performance have been reviewed. The purposes of the review are to support experimental studies in the Human-Centred Automation (HCA) programme and to develop a general theory on HCA. Each study was reviewed with regard to twelve study characteristics: domain, type of study, purpose, definition of automation, variables, theoretical basis, models of operator performance, methods applied, experimental design, outcome, stated scope of results, strengths and limitations. Seven of the studies involved domain experts, the rest used students as participants. The majority of the articles originated from the aviation domain: only the study conducted in HAMMLAB considered process control in power plants. In the experimental studies, the independent variable was level of automation, or reliability of automation, while the most common dependent variables were workload, situation awareness, complacency, trust, and criteria of performance, e.g., number of correct responses or response time. Although the studies highlight important aspects of human-automation interaction, it is still unclear how system performance is affected. Nevertheless, the fact that many factors seem to be involved is taken as support for the system-oriented approach of the HCA programme. In conclusion, the review provides valuable input both to the design of experiments and to the development of a general theory. (Author). refs

Including Alternative Resources in State Renewable Portfolio Standards: Current Design and Implementation Experience

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heeter, J.; Bird, L.

2012-11-01

Currently, 29 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico have instituted a renewable portfolio standard (RPS). An RPS sets a minimum threshold for how much renewable energy must be generated in a given year. Each state policy is unique, varying in percentage targets, timetables, and eligible resources. This paper examines state experience with implementing renewable portfolio standards that include energy efficiency, thermal resources, and non-renewable energy and explores compliance experience, costs, and how states evaluate, measure, and verify energy efficiency and convert thermal energy. It aims to gain insights from the experience of states for possible federal clean energy policy as well as to share experience and lessons for state RPS implementation.

Experiences from implementation of ICT for resource management in small construction companies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svidt, Kjeld; Christiansson, Per

2006-01-01

This paper summarizes experiences from the process of implementation of ICT-based systems for resource management in small construction companies. The initial decision process, system requirements specification and integration, education and staff training, and end user experiences were followed ...

The "basic" approach: a single-centre experience with a cost-reducing model for paediatric cardiac extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

Science.gov (United States)

Padalino, Massimo A; Tessari, Chiara; Guariento, Alvise; Frigo, Anna C; Vida, Vladimiro L; Marcolongo, Andrea; Zanella, Fabio; Harvey, Michael J; Thiagarajan, Ravi R; Stellin, Giovanni

2017-04-01

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a lifesaving but expensive therapy in terms of financial, technical and human resources. We report our experience with a 'basic' ECMO support model, consisting of ECMO initiated and managed without the constant presence of a bedside specialist, to assess safety, clinical outcomes and financial impact on our health system. We did a retrospective single-centre study of paediatric cardiac ECMO between January 2001 and March 2014. Outcomes included postimplant complications and survival at weaning and at discharge. We used activity based costing to compare the costs of current basic ECMO with those of a 'full optional' dedicated ECMO team (hypothesis 1); ECMO with a bedside nurse and perfusionist (hypothesis 2), and ECMO with a bedside perfusionist (hypothesis 3). Basic cardiac ECMO was required for 121 patients (median age 75 days, median weight 4.4 kg). A total of 107 patients (88%) had congenital heart disease; 37 had univentricular physiology. The median duration of ECMO was 7 days (interquartile range [IQR], 4-15 days). Overall survival at weaning and at 30 days in the neonatal and paediatric age groups was 58.6% and 30.6%, respectively; these results were not significantly different from Extracorporeal Life Support Organization data. Cost analysis revealed a saving of €30 366, €22 144 and €13 837 for each patient on basic ECMO for hypotheses 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Despite reduced human, technical and economical resources, a basic ECMO model without a bedside specialist was associated with satisfactory survival and lower costs. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.

Recipient ineligibility after liver transplantation assessment: a single centre experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Arya, Aman; Hernandez-Alejandro, Roberto; Marotta, Paul; Uhanova, Julia; Chandok, Natasha

2013-06-01

Candidacy for liver transplantation is determined through standardized evaluation. There are limited data on the frequency and reasons for denial of transplantation after assessment; analysis may shed light on the short-term utility of the assessment. We sought to describe the frequency and reasons for ineligibility for liver transplantation among referred adults. We studied all prospectively followed recipient candidates at a single centre who were deemed unsuitable for liver transplantation after assessment. Inclusion criteria were age 18 years and older and completion of a standard liver transplantation evaluation over a 3-year period. Patients were excluded if they had a history of prior assessment or liver transplantation within the study period. Demographic and baseline clinical data and reasons for recipient ineligibility were recorded. In all, 337 patients underwent their first liver transplantation evaluation during the study period; 166 (49.3%) fulfilled inclusion criteria. The mean age was 55.4 years, and 106 (63.9%) were men. The 3 most common reasons for denial of listing were patient too well (n = 82, 49.4%), medical comorbidities and/or need for medical optimization (n = 43, 25.9%) and need for addiction rehabilitation (n = 28, 16.9%). Ineligibility for transplantation after assessment was common, occurring in nearly half of the cohort. Most denied candidates could be identified with more discriminate screening before the resource-intensive assessment; however, the assessment likely provides unforeseen positive impacts on patient care.

Prenatally Diagnosis and Outcome of Fetuses with Cardiac Rhabdomyoma – Single Centre Experience

Science.gov (United States)

Bejiqi, Ramush; Retkoceri, Ragip; Bejiqi, Hana

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND Cardiac rhabdomyoma (CRs) are the most common primary tumour of the heart in infants and children. Usually are multiple and, basing on the location can cause a haemodynamic disturbance, dysrhythmias or heart failure during the fetal and early postnatal period. CRs have a natural history of spontaneous regression and are closely associated with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). It has an association with tuberous sclerosis (TS), and in those, the tumour may regress and disappear completely, or remain consistent in size. AIM: We aimed to evaluate the prenatal diagnosis, clinical presentation and outcome of CRs and their association with TSC in a single centre. The median follow-up period was three years (range: 6 months - 5 years). MATERIAL AND METHODS: We reviewed medical records of all fetuses diagnosed prenatally with cardiac rhabdomyoma covering the period January 2010 to December 2016 which had undergone detailed ultrasound evaluation at a single centre with limited technical resources. RESULTS: Twelve fetuses were included in the study; mostly had multiple tumours and a total of 53 tumours were identified in all patients - the maximum was one fetus with16 tumours. All patients were diagnosed prenatally by fetal echocardiography. In two patient’s haemodynamic disturbances during the fetal period was noted and pregnancies have been terminated. After long consultation termination of pregnancy was chosen by the parents in totally 8 cases. In four continuing pregnancies during the first year of live tumours regressed. TSC was diagnosed in all patients during the follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Cardiac rhabdomyoma are benign from the cardiovascular standpoint in most affected fetuses. An early prenatal diagnosis may help for an adequate planning of perinatal monitoring and treatment with the involvement of a multidisciplinary team. Large tumour size, the number of tumours and localisation may cause hydrops, and they are significantly associated with poor

Queer periods: attitudes toward and experiences with menstruation in the masculine of centre and transgender community.

Science.gov (United States)

Chrisler, Joan C; Gorman, Jennifer A; Manion, Jen; Murgo, Michael; Barney, Angela; Adams-Clark, Alexis; Newton, Jessica R; McGrath, Meaghan

2016-11-01

Menstruation has long been viewed as an important aspect of women's health. However, scholars and healthcare providers have only recently begun to recognise that transgender men and people with masculine gender identities also menstruate, thus little is known about their attitudes toward and experiences with menstruation. A sample of masculine of centre and transgender individuals with a mean age of 30 years was recruited online to complete measures of attitudes toward menstruation and menstrual suppression and to answer exploratory questions about their experiences managing menstruation. Participants reported mixed attitudes toward menstruation, but generally positive attitudes toward menstrual suppression. Many participants said that they try to avoid public restrooms during menstruation because of practical and psychological concerns. Implications of our findings for the transgender health are discussed.

promoting integrated water resources management in south west

African Journals Online (AJOL)

eobe

1, 2 SOUTH WEST REGIONAL CENTRE FOR NATIONAL WATER RESOURCES CAPACITY BUILDING NETWORK,. FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF ... that an integrated approach to water resource development and management offers the best ...

"A small cog in a large wheel": an exploratory study into the experiences of porters, ward clerks and domestics working in an English Cancer Centre.

Science.gov (United States)

Mack, Hazel; Froggatt, Katherine; McClinton, Pam

2003-09-01

The effect of working in an oncology environment on nurses has been widely researched but the experiences of non-clinical staff such as ancillary workers in the oncology environment have rarely been examined. This exploratory study had three aims: to explore ancillary workers' understandings of cancer, their experiences of working in a Cancer Centre and their training and support needs. Working within a naturalistic paradigm, a descriptive exploratory design was utilised employing in-depth interviews and drawing on aspects of grounded theory for data analysis. Findings indicated that these ancillary workers lacked an in-depth understanding of cancer. The experience of working in a Cancer Centre appeared to bring both costs and benefits to these ancillary workers. These ancillary workers enjoyed the level of contact they have with patients in a Cancer Centre and subsequently ascribed great value to their jobs. However, they felt that health-care professional colleagues did not always value their contribution to the care of patients. There are implications for nurses and other health-care staff working in oncology alongside these ancillary staff in terms of valuing and supporting them in the work that they do.

African experiences of humanitarian cardiovascular medicine: the Cardiac Centre of St. Elizabeth Catholic General Hospital, Shisong.

Science.gov (United States)

Budzee, Sr Appolonia; Tchoumi, Jc Tantchou; Giamberti, Alessandro; Ambassa, Jc; Cirri, Sylvia; Butera, Gianfranco

2012-06-01

The cardiac centre of Shisong inaugurated few years ago is a good example of the mobilization of humanitarian resources from the north and south for the improvement of cardiovascular diagnosis and treatment in Africa. From the inauguration of the Center to December 2011, 23 surgical missions have been organized, (5 peadiatric and 18 adults) and 204 patients have been operated with the help of the partners: Associazione Bambini Cardiopatici nel Mondo and Cuore Fratello. The Catheterisation Laboratory has performed a total of 117 diagnostic and interventional procedures while 22 pace makers were implanted (12 single-chambers and 10 dual-chambers). Many problems and challenges are faced everyday but with the enthusiasm, the dynamism and the professional skills of the personnel, the help of the partners we see a bright future.

Do flow principles of operations management apply to computing centres?

CERN Document Server

Abaunza, Felipe; Hameri, Ari-Pekka; Niemi, Tapio

2014-01-01

By analysing large data-sets on jobs processed in major computing centres, we study how operations management principles apply to these modern day processing plants. We show that Little’s Law on long-term performance averages holds to computing centres, i.e. work-in-progress equals throughput rate multiplied by process lead time. Contrary to traditional manufacturing principles, the law of variation does not hold to computing centres, as the more variation in job lead times the better the throughput and utilisation of the system. We also show that as the utilisation of the system increases lead times and work-in-progress increase, which complies with traditional manufacturing. In comparison with current computing centre operations these results imply that better allocation of jobs could increase throughput and utilisation, while less computing resources are needed, thus increasing the overall efficiency of the centre. From a theoretical point of view, in a system with close to zero set-up times, as in the c...

Web server of the Centre for Photonuclear Experiments Data of the Scientific Research Institute for Nuclear Physics, Moscow State University: Hypertext version of the nuclear physics database

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boboshin, I N; Varlamov, A V; Varlamov, V V; Rudenko, D S; Stepanov, M E [D.V. Skobel' tsyn Scientific Research Institute for Nuclear Physics, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Centre for Photonuclear Experiments Data (Russian Federation)

2001-02-01

The nuclear databases which have been developed at the Centre for Photonuclear Experiments Data of the D.V. Skobel'tsyn Scientific Research Institute for Nuclear Physics, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, and put on the Centre's web server, are presented. The possibilities for working with these databases on the Internet are described. (author)

Web server of the Centre for Photonuclear Experiments Data of the Scientific Research Institute for Nuclear Physics, Moscow State University: Hypertext version of the nuclear physics database

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boboshin, I.N.; Varlamov, A.V.; Varlamov, V.V.; Rudenko, D.S.; Stepanov, M.E.

2001-01-01

The nuclear databases which have been developed at the Centre for Photonuclear Experiments Data of the D.V. Skobel'tsyn Scientific Research Institute for Nuclear Physics, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, and put on the Centre's web server, are presented. The possibilities for working with these databases on the Internet are described. (author)

Building a Multi-centre Clinical Research Facilitation Network: The ARC Experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ian Nicholson

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Introduction: In order to practice evidence-based veterinary medicine, good quality clinical evidence needs to be produced, in order that it can be apprasied systematically by the EBVM network, and used by vets. There is very little good-quality veterinary evidence for most of the veterinary procedures carried out every day across the world. Very few, if any, individuals have all the necessary qualities (case-load, time, research expertise, financial support to be able to systematically produce good-quality, and relevant, clinical research on their own, in a timely manner. The Association for Veterinary Soft Tissue Surgery (AVSTS www.avsts.org.uk is an affiliate group with the British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA, and functions as a clinical network of like-minded individuals. In 2013 AVSTS sought to create a role for itself in facilitating the production (by its members of multi-centre clinical research of relevance to its members.Materials and methods: Members of AVSTS were asked to join the AVSTS Research Cooperative (ARC, with a veterinary epidemiologist and an experienced multi-centre veterinary clinical researcher (to help with study design and statistical planning, and the Animal Health Trust clinical research ethics committee. An email list was established, and a page was set up on the AVSTS website, to allow information to be disseminated. The AVSTS spring and autumn meetings were used as a regular forum by ARC, to discuss its direction, to generate interest, to create and promote specific studies (in order to widen participation amongst different centres, and to update members about previous studies.Results: Membership of ARC has grown to 224 people, although the epidemiologist left. One multi-centre study has been published, two have been presented and await publication, one has been accepted for presentation, two other studies are gathering data at present, and further studies are in the pipeline. There has been

World uranium resources, production and demand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lindholm, I.

1988-01-01

Reasonably assured resources of uranium in WOCA (World Outside the Centrally Planned Economies Area) countries recoverable at less than US $80/kg U increased by about 9% between 1983 and 1985 and currently stand at 1.5 million tonnes. Uranium also exists in significant quantities in higher cost resources or in less known resources. However, the annual exploration expenditure is less than 20% that of the 1979 level. Uranium production in WOCA countries was higher than consumption during the period 1965 to 1984 and considerable stocks were accumulated. However, the production figures for 1985 were estimated to be slightly less than those of consumption. Production from centres now on stand-by or new centres will probably be necessary around 1990. Analysis of the longer term production possibilities indicates that uranium supplies will probably not be constrained by an ultimate resource adequacy. Constraints, if any, are more likely to be of political nature. (author). 11 figs, 1 tab

Using a Metro Map Metaphor for organizing Web-based learning resources

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grønbæk, Kaj; Bang, Tove; Hansen, Per Steen

2002-01-01

This paper briefly describes the WebNize system and how it applies a Metro Map metaphor for organizing guided tours in Web based resources. Then, experiences in using the Metro Map based tours in a Knowledge Sharing project at the library at Aarhus School of Business (ASB) in Denmark, are discussed...... is to create models for Intelligent Knowledge Solutions that can contribute to form the learning environments of the School in the 21st century. The WebNize system is used for sharing of knowledge through metro maps for specific subject areas made available in the Learning Resource Centre at ASB. The metro....... The Library has been involved in establishing a Learning Resource Center (LRC). The LRC serves as an exploratorium for the development and the testing of new forms of communication and learning, at the same time as it integrates the information resources of the electronic research library. The objective...

[Hi-Fi simulation: Teaching crisis resource management to surgery residents].

Science.gov (United States)

Georgescu, Mihai; Tanoubi, Issam; Drolet, Pierre; Robitaille, Arnaud; Perron, Roger; Patenaude, Jean Victor

2015-02-01

High-fidelity (HiFi) simulation has shown its effectiveness for teaching crisis resource management (CRM) principles, and our institutional experience in this area is mainly with anesthesiology residents. We recently added to our postgraduate curriculum a new CRM course designed to cater to the specific needs of surgical residents. This short communication describes the experience of the University of Montreal Simulation Centre (Centre d'Apprentissage des Attitudes et Habiletés Cliniques CAAHC) regarding HiFi simulationbased CRM and communication skills teaching for surgical residents. Thirty residents agreed to participate in a simulation course with pre-established scenarios and educational CRM objectives on a voluntary basis. When surveyed immediately after the activity, all residents agreed that the educational objectives were well defined (80% "strongly agree" and 20% "agree"). The survey also showed that the course was well accepted by all participants (96% "strongly agree" and 4% "agree"). Further trials with randomized groups and more reliable assessment tools are needed to validate our results. Still, integrating HiFi simulation based CRM learning in the surgical residency curriculum seems like an interesting step.

India | Page 89 | IDRC - International Development Research Centre

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

Economic growth is driving population growth in Indian cities, particularly in small and medium-sized centres. This rapid urbanization is fueling conflict over scarce resources, including land, water, and public investment. With a high proportion of the poor living and working in the informal sector and unplanned settlments, ...

Christ-centred ethical behaviour and ecological crisis: What resources do the concepts of order in creation and eschatological hope offer?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martinus P. de Wit

2013-04-01

Full Text Available The ecological crisis, as well as a limited ethical response, forces a reflection on the transformative potential of Christian ethics on an idolatrous society largely shaped by a dominant economic culture. The aim of the article was to explore how the concepts of creation order and eschatological hope may be helpful in the understanding and formulation of a Christ-centred ethical response to the ecological crisis. A review of the relevant literature was presented, limited to insights from Reformational philosophy and eco-theology into the concepts of creation order and eschatology. The main internal tensions of using the concepts of creation order and eschatological hope as resources in Christ-centred eco-ethics were highlighted and discussed. Some implications for the further explanation and development of Christ-centred eco-ethics are outlined.Christosentriese etiese gedrag en ekologiese krisis: Watter hulpbronne bied die konsepte van orde in die skepping en eskatologiese hoop? Die ekologiese krisis, asook ’n beperkte etiese antwoord hierop, dwing ’n besinning oor die vernuwende potensiaal van Christelike etiek vir ’n afgodiese samelewing wat grootliks gevorm is deur ’n dominante ekonomiese kultuur. Die doel van hierdie artikel was om te ondersoek hoe die konsepte van orde in die skepping en eskatologiese hoop nuttig kan wees in die verstaan en die formulering van ’n Christus- gesentreerde etiese antwoord op die ekologiese krisis. ’n Oorsig van die relevante literatuur, beperk tot insigte uit die Reformatoriese filosofie en ekoteologie oor die konsepte van orde in die skepping en eskatologie, is aangebied. Die belangrikste interne spanningsvelde in die gebruik van die konsepte skeppingsorde en eskatologiese hoop in ’n Christus-gesentreerde eko-etiek is uitgelig en bespreek. Sekere implikasies vir die verdere verduideliking en die ontwikkeling van ’n Christus-gesentreerde eko-etiek is beskryf.

OGUMI-A new mobile application to conduct common-pool resource experiments in continuous time.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gunnar Brandt

Full Text Available OGUMI is an Android-based open source mobile application for conducting Common-Pool Resource Experiments, Choice Experiments, and Questionnaires in the field, in the laboratory, and online. A main feature of OGUMI is its capacity to capture real-time changes in human behaviour in response to a dynamically varying resource. OGUMI is simple (for example, likewise other existing software, it does not require expertise in behavioural game theory, stable, and extremely flexible with respect to the user-resource model running in the background. Here we present the motivation for the development of OGUMI and we discuss its main features with an example application.

Previous experiences and emotional baggage as barriers to lifestyle change - a qualitative study of Norwegian Healthy Life Centre participants.

Science.gov (United States)

Følling, Ingrid S; Solbjør, Marit; Helvik, Anne-S

2015-06-23

Changing lifestyle is challenging and difficult. The Norwegian Directorate of Health recommends that all municipalities establish Healthy Life Centres targeted to people with lifestyle issues. Little is known about the background, experiences and reflections of participants. More information is needed about participants to shape effective lifestyle interventions with lasting effect. This study explores how participants in a lifestyle intervention programme describe previous life experiences in relation to changing lifestyle. Semi-structured qualitative in-depth interviews were performed with 23 participants (16 women and 7 men) aged 18 - 70 years. The data were analysed using systematic text condensation searching for issues describing participants' responses, and looking for the essence, aiming to share the basis of life-world experiences as valid knowledge. Participants identified two main themes: being stuck in old habits, and being burdened with emotional baggage from their previous negative experiences. Participants expressed a wish to change their lifestyles, but were unable to act in accordance with the health knowledge they possessed. Previous experiences with lifestyle change kept them from initiating attempts without professional assistance. Participants also described being burdened by an emotional baggage with problems from childhood and/or with family, work and social life issues. Respondents said that they felt that emotional baggage was an important explanation for why they were stuck in old habits and that conversely, being stuck in old habits added load to their already emotional baggage and made it heavier. Behavioural change can be hard to perform as psychological distress from life baggage can influence the ability to change. The study participants' experience of being stuck in old habits and having substantial emotional baggage raises questions as to whether or not Healthy Life Centres are able to help participants who need to make a lifestyle

Comparison of Environmental Attitudes and Experiences of Five-Year-Old Children Receiving Preschool Education in the Village and City Centre

Science.gov (United States)

Durkan, Nazmi; Güngör, Hande; Fetihi, Leyla; Erol, Ahmet; Gülay Ogelman, Hülya

2016-01-01

The purpose of the study is to compare environmental attitudes and experiences of five-year-old children receiving preschool education in the village and city centre. The first group comprised 54 five-year-old children who received preschool education and attended kindergartens of two primary schools in the Karateke and Kocabas villages of Honaz…

Experiences related to the role of a cost centre manager in a public ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A cost centre in a hospital setting is an identifiable department, for example a nursing care unit, which has been practically assigned an account number in the hospital accounting system. The purpose of a cost centre is to control clinical and administrative costs, as well as accumulated expenses by that identified ...

The experimental operation of a seismological data centre at Blacknest

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grover, F.H.

1978-10-01

A short account is given of the development and operation of a unit within Blacknest which acts as a centre for handling data received from overseas seismological array stations and stations in the British Isles and also exchanges data with other centres. The work has been carried out as a long-term experiment to assess the capability of small networks of existing research and development stations to participate in the monitoring of a possible future Comprehensive Test Ban treaty (CTB) and to gain experience of the operational requirements for Data Centres. A preliminary assessment of a UK National Technical Means (NTM) for verifying a CTB is obtained inter alia. (author)

Parental experience of family resources in single-parent families having a child with cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, I-Chen; Mu, Pei-Fan; Chiou, Tzeon-Jye

2008-10-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the essence of family experiences in terms of family resources and how these assist a single-parent caring for a child with cancer. When families face stresses caused by cancer, they need to readjust their roles, interactive patterns and relationships, both inside and outside the family. During the adaptation process, family resources may assist recovery from stress and a return to equilibrium. Most research has emphasised the support resources available to two-parent families during the treatment process. There is a lack of information on the experiences of single-parent families and their available resources together with the functions and roles played by family resources during the adjustment process. Qualitative. Five major themes were identified: (i) facing the disease with courage; (ii) hope kindled by professionals; (iii) constructing parental role ability; (iv) assisting the children to live with the illness; and (v) family flexibility. The results of the current study demonstrate that single-parent families with a child suffering from cancer employ family resources to assist family adjustment and to maintain family function/equilibrium. These results explain the dynamic interactions between the multiple levels of resources available to the family. The study results provide evidence-based information that identifies the nature of family resources in single-parent families and describes how these resources can be applied to assist the families.

The Second Victim Experience and Support Tool: Validation of an Organizational Resource for Assessing Second Victim Effects and the Quality of Support Resources.

Science.gov (United States)

Burlison, Jonathan D; Scott, Susan D; Browne, Emily K; Thompson, Sierra G; Hoffman, James M

2017-06-01

Medical errors and unanticipated negative patient outcomes can damage the well-being of health care providers. These affected individuals, referred to as "second victims," can experience various psychological and physical symptoms. Support resources provided by health care organizations to prevent and reduce second victim-related harm are often inadequate. In this study, we present the development and psychometric evaluation of the Second Victim Experience and Support Tool (SVEST), a survey instrument that can assist health care organizations to implement and track the performance of second victim support resources. The SVEST (29 items representing 7 dimensions and 2 outcome variables) was completed by 303 health care providers involved in direct patient care. The survey collected responses on second victim-related psychological and physical symptoms and the quality of support resources. Desirability of possible support resources was also measured. The SVEST was assessed for content validity, internal consistency, and construct validity with confirmatory factor analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis results suggested good model fit for the survey. Cronbach α reliability scores for the survey dimensions ranged from 0.61 to 0.89. The most desired second victim support option was "A respected peer to discuss the details of what happened." The SVEST can be used by health care organizations to evaluate second victim experiences of their staff and the quality of existing support resources. It can also provide health care organization leaders with information on second victim-related support resources most preferred by their staff. The SVEST can be administered before and after implementing new second victim resources to measure perceptions of effectiveness.

A woman-centred childbirth model | Maputle | Health SA Gesondheid

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A model for woman-centred childbirth was developed through four phases in accordance with the objectives of the study, namely, a description of mothers' experiences of childbirth and that of attending midwives of managing mothers during childbirth concept analysis of woman-centred care, model development, and an ...

Current Solutions: Recent Experience in Interconnecting Distributed Energy Resources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Johnson, M.

2003-09-01

This report catalogues selected real-world technical experiences of utilities and customers that have interconnected distributed energy assets with the electric grid. This study was initiated to assess the actual technical practices for interconnecting distributed generation and had a particular focus on the technical issues covered under the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1547(TM) Standard for Interconnecting Distributed Resources With Electric Power Systems.

Operations of the World Data Centre for Geomagnetism, Edinburgh

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S J Reay

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The British Geological Survey has operated a World Data Centre for Geomagnetism since 1966. Geomagnetic time-series data from around 280 observatories worldwide at a number of time resolutions are held along with various magnetic survey, model, and activity index data. The operation of this data centre provides a valuable resource for the geomagnetic research community. The operation of the WDC and details of the range of data held are presented. The quality control procedures that are applied to incoming data are described as is the work to collaborate with other data centres to distribute and improve the overall consistency of data held worldwide. The development of standards for metadata associated with datasets is demonstrated, and current efforts to digitally preserve the BGS analogue holdings of magnetograms and observatory yearbooks are described.

Proximity to the treating centre and outcomes following subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Kelly, Cian J; Spears, Julian; Urbach, David; Wallace, M Christopher

2011-01-01

In the management of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), the potential for early complications and the centralization of limited resources often challenge the delivery of timely neurosurgical care. We sought to determine the impact of proximity to the accepting neurosurgical centre on outcomes following aneurysmal SAH. Using administrative data, we analyzed patients undergoing treatment for aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage at neurosurgical centres in Ontario between 1995 and 2004. We compared mortality for patients receiving treatment at a centre in their county (in-county) versus those treated from outside counties (out-of-county). We also examined the impact of distance from the patient's residence to the treating centre. The mortality rates were significantly lower for in-county versus out-of-county patients (23.5% vs. 27.6%, p=0.009). This advantage remained significant after adjusting for potential confounders (HR=0.84, p=0.01). The relationship between distance from the treating centre and mortality was biphasic. Under 300 km, mortality increased with increasing distance. Over 300 km, a survival benefit was observed. Proximity to the treating neurosurgical centre impacts survival after aneurysmal SAH. These results have significant implications for the triage of these critically ill patients.

Lessons learned implementing a province-wide smoking cessation initiative in Ontario's cancer centres.

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, W K; Truscott, R; Cameron, E; Peter, A; Reid, R; Selby, P; Smith, P; Hey, A

2017-06-01

A large body of evidence clearly shows that cancer patients experience significant health benefits with smoking cessation. Cancer Care Ontario, the provincial agency responsible for the quality of cancer services in Ontario, has undertaken a province-wide smoking cessation initiative. The strategies used, the results achieved, and the lessons learned are the subject of the present article. Evidence related to the health benefits of smoking cessation in cancer patients was reviewed. A steering committee developed a vision statement for the initiative, created a framework for implementation, and made recommendations for the key elements of the initiative and for smoking cessation best practices. New ambulatory cancer patients are being screened for their smoking status in each of Ontario's 14 regional cancer centres. Current or recent smokers are advised of the benefits of cessation and are directed to smoking cessation resources as appropriate. Performance metrics are captured and used to drive improvement through quarterly performance reviews and provincial rankings of the regional cancer centres. Regional smoking cessation champions, commitment from Cancer Care Ontario senior leadership, a provincial secretariat, and guidance from smoking cessation experts have been important enablers of early success. Data capture has been difficult because of the variety of information systems in use and non-standardized administrative and clinical processes. Numerous challenges remain, including increasing physician engagement; obtaining funding for key program elements, including in-house resources to support smoking cessation; and overcoming financial barriers to access nicotine replacement therapy. Future efforts will focus on standardizing processes to the extent possible, while tailoring the approaches to the populations served and the resources available within the individual regional cancer programs.

India | Page 94 | IDRC - International Development Research Centre

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

“I was bitten by dogs. Men gave me no respect.” Read more about Empowering women-owned businesses in India. Language English. Le Centre de recherches pour le développement international (CRDI) appuie le projet Research into Open Educational Resources for Development ou ROER4D (Recherche sur les ...

HRD initiatives to realize the Mission Programmes of Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baldev Raj; Sai Baba, M.; Sundararajan, Vidya; Srikanthan, R.; Madanmohan, Jalaja; Venugopal Rao, G.

2009-01-01

IGCAR has developed the expertise and built comprehensive facilities to realize the mission programme of the Centre. The efforts would lead to achieving the world leadership and meet the expectation and aspiration of the nation for ensuring energy security. Taking into consideration the enhanced role FBRs are likely to play in contributing to the nuclear power component of the nation, there is a need to augment skilled manpower for the critical assignments to take up challenges in the design of plant, development of equipment and processes. Thus human resource development has been one of the areas of emphasis in the management philosophy of the Centre. Initiating the Training School programme at Kalpakkam, identifying research scholars to take up the problems in interface areas for achieving breakthroughs, attracting young people and empowering them has been the 'mantra' adopted at the Centre. Multilevel mentoring process has been built in and mentoring the young talent has been our priority. In this paper, we discuss our approach to overall human resource development at our Centre

Laparoscopic surgery for complicated diverticular disease: a single-centre experience.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Royds, J

2012-10-01

The role of laparoscopic surgery in the management of patients with diverticular disease is still not universally accepted. The aim of our study was to evaluate the results of laparoscopic surgery for diverticular disease in a centre with a specialist interest in minimally invasive surgery.

A qualitative study on barriers in the prevention of anaemia during pregnancy in public health centres: perceptions of Indonesian nurse-midwives.

Science.gov (United States)

Widyawati, Widyawati; Jans, Suze; Utomo, Sutarti; van Dillen, Jeroen; Janssen, A L M Lagro

2015-02-26

Anemia in pregnancy remains a major problem in Indonesia over the past decade. Early detection of anaemia in pregnancy is one of the components which is unsuccessfully implemented by nurse-midwives. This study aims to explore nurse-midwives' experiences in managing pregnant women with anaemia in Public Health Centres. We conducted a qualitative study with semi-structured face to face interviews from November 2011 to February 2012 with 23 nurse-midwives in five districts in Yogyakarta Special Province. Data analysis was thematic, using the constant comparison method, making comparison between participants and supported by ATLAS.ti software. Twelve nurse-midwives included in the interviews had less than or equal to 10 years' working experience (junior nurse-midwives) and 11 nurse-midwives had more than 10 years' working experience (senior nurse-midwives) in Public Health Centres. The senior nurse-midwives mostly worked as coordinators in Public Health Centres. Three main themes emerged: 1) the lack of competence and clinical skill; 2) cultural beliefs and low participation of family in antenatal care programme; 3) insufficient facilities and skilled support staff in Public Health Centres. The nurse-midwives realized that they need to improve their communication and clinical skills to manage pregnant women with anaemia. The husband and family involvement in antenatal care was constrained by the strength of cultural beliefs and lack of health information. Moreover, unfavourable work environment of the Public Health Centres made it difficult to apply antenatal care the pregnant womens' need. The availability of facilities and skilled staffs in Public Health Centre as well as pregnant women's husbands or family members contribute to the success of managing anaemia in pregnancy. Nurse-midwives and pregnant women need to be empowered to achieve the optimum result of anaemia management. We recommend a more comprehensive approach in managing pregnant women with anaemia

Occupational deprivation in an asylum centre:

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Morville, Anne-Le; Erlandsson, Lena-Karin

2013-01-01

This article presents a study of three asylum-seeking men from Iran and Afghanistan. It aimed to explore how and if they experienced occupations as occupations in a Danish asylum centre and how their life experience shaped their choice and value of current occupations. In-depth narrative interviews...... explored the participants’ occupational history and its influence on their occupations in the asylum centre. A thematic analysis showed that the participants had been subjected to occupational disruption and deprivation by politically oppressive systems even before their flight. Their occupations...... in Denmark were to a certain extent influenced by their earlier occupations and the current occupational deprivation they all experienced was due to limited possibilities in the centre. Although they tried their best to fill their days and create structure, there was a loss of valued occupations...

A track chamber with controlled heat centres as a vertex detector for very high energy physics experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shcherbakov, Yu.A.

1989-01-01

A high-pressure vertex detector for high energy experiments is proposed on the basis of development of a new track detector of charged particles, which is a chamber with controlled centres. A possible design of this chamber is discussed. Laser illumination of a streamer chamber allows enough light for reading the information by means of a CCD device. Some characteristics of the set-up are considered in the paper. A possibility of using a new method for suppression of diffusion is discussed. 30 refs.; 7 figs.; 3 tabs

Évaluation des télécentres communautaires

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

La plupart des études d'évaluation auront pour objectif de mesurer les .... Les télécentres peuvent faire du contrôle régulier une de leurs tâches de gestion ...... Planning, monitoring and évaluation of programme performance: a resource book.

Progress in mind: focus on alcohol use disorders, an elsevier resource centre.

Science.gov (United States)

Nutt, D J; Rehm, J; van den Brink, W; Gorwood, P; Buchsbaum, M S

2015-04-30

Harmful use of alcohol is one of the top five risks for burden of disease globally and in Europe; in 2012, 3.3 million net deaths (approximately 6% of all global deaths) were attributable to this risk factor. It is also linked to the development of a wide spectrum of alcohol use disorders, ranging from mild manifestations to a severe disease known as alcohol dependence. Alcohol dependence is a progressive, chronic, and relapsing brain disease resulting from the prolonged effects of alcohol on the brain. Alcohol dependence imposes a significant societal burden, with indirect societal costs reaching up to 0.64% of European countries׳ annual gross domestic product. With these facts in mind, it is important to recognize and manage alcohol dependence. Although the biological mechanisms behind the development of alcohol dependence are not fully known, factors that have been shown to influence its development include genetic predisposition, psychological problems, and social interactions. Alcohol use has also been linked to the development of hypertension, liver cirrhosis, chronic pancreatitis, multiple types of cancer, and psychiatric comorbidities such as depression and anxiety disorders. With such severe effects on both individuals and society, it is important to recognize the characteristic signs and symptoms of alcohol dependence and explore new ways to better manage patients with this brain disease. Effective treatment approaches for alcohol dependence include biological, behavioral, and social components addressing the multiple aspects of this disease. Comprehensive, educational platforms in which to explore the many facets of this disease such as the Progress in Mind: Focus on Alcohol Use Disorders Resource Centre, will provide clinicians with the tools necessary for recognizing patients with alcohol dependence and managing their disease along with related comorbidities. Online Access: http://progressinmind.elsevierresource.com. Copyright © 2015. Published by

Laparoscopic pelvic lymphadenectomy: experience of a Gynaecological Cancer Centre in the UK.

Science.gov (United States)

Karanjgaokar, Vrunda C; Wright, Jeremy T; Murphy, Damian J; Mann, Christopher H

2012-04-01

The role of laparoscopic lymphadenectomy in the management of gynaecological cancers has been established over the last two decades, having been first described in Dargent and Selvat (L'envahissement ganglionnaire pelvin. Medsi-Mcgraw Hill, Paris, 1989). It has been shown that laparoscopic lymphadenectomy can be performed in the majority of patients and is associated with a low complication rate. However, the technique continues to be undertaken in only a relatively small number of Gynaecological Cancer Centres in the UK owing to the long learning curve and wide variations in training. At the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust Gynaecological Cancer Centre in the Greater Midlands Cancer Network laparoscopic lymphadenectomy has been performed since 1999 in the management of early cervical and high grade endometrial cancers. We have undertaken a retrospective audit (1999-2009) of these 42 cases to assess the feasibility of the procedure as well as to assess the complication rate. We are presenting the first reported series of exclusive laparoscopic transperitoneal lymphadenectomies from a Gynaecological Cancer Centre in the UK.

Long term adequacy of uranium resources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steyn, J.

1990-01-01

This paper examines the adequacy of world economic uranium resources to meet requirements in the very long term, that is until at least 2025 and beyond. It does so by analysing current requirements forecasts, existing and potential production centre supply capability schedules and national resource estimates. It takes into account lead times from resource discovery to production and production rate limitations. The institutional and political issues surrounding the question of adequacy are reviewed. (author)

Incremental cost-effectiveness of trauma service improvements for road trauma casualties: experience of an Australian major trauma centre.

Science.gov (United States)

Dinh, Michael M; Bein, Kendall J; Hendrie, Delia; Gabbe, Belinda; Byrne, Christopher M; Ivers, Rebecca

2016-09-01

respect to years of life saved in road trauma patients. What are the implications for practitioners? The results suggest that adequate resourcing of trauma centres to enable quality improvement programs may be a cost-effective measure to reduce in-hospital mortality following road trauma.

CMS Centres Worldwide - a New Collaborative Infrastructure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taylor, Lucas

2011-01-01

The CMS Experiment at the LHC has established a network of more than fifty inter-connected 'CMS Centres' at CERN and in institutes in the Americas, Asia, Australasia, and Europe. These facilities are used by people doing CMS detector and computing grid operations, remote shifts, data quality monitoring and analysis, as well as education and outreach. We present the computing, software, and collaborative tools and videoconferencing systems. These include permanently running 'telepresence' video links (hardware-based H.323, EVO and Vidyo), Webcasts, and generic Web tools such as CMS-TV for broadcasting live monitoring and outreach information. Being Web-based and experiment-independent, these systems could easily be extended to other organizations. We describe the experiences of using CMS Centres Worldwide in the CMS data-taking operations as well as for major media events with several hundred TV channels, radio stations, and many more press journalists simultaneously around the world.

Historic town centre management - The real estate industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ciubotaru Mihai

2018-01-01

Full Text Available In modern times, many of the socio-economic aspects of our lives (beside the classical understanding of the term industry “evolved(?” into industries: music, arts in general, sports, education, health....have become professionally managed industries. Historical town centres provide goods and services and, in this context, can be regarded as industries, as a whole. All the elements of an industry can be identified in these complex “places”: provision of goods and services, human resources issues, technology, marketing, regulatory and legal aspects, management...all of which pointing towards an approach that needs to be looked at as such. The most important industry in hist oric town centres is the real estate industry.

Family-centred care: a qualitative study of Chinese and South Asian immigrant parents' experiences of care in paediatric oncology.

Science.gov (United States)

Watt, L; Dix, D; Gulati, S; Sung, L; Klaassen, R J; Shaw, N T; Klassen, A F

2013-03-01

Over the past two decades, there is increasing emphasis being placed upon providing family-centred care (FCC) in paediatric oncology settings. However, there is a lack of knowledge of FCC in paediatric oncology from the perspectives of immigrant parents. The purpose of this paper is to describe Chinese and South Asian immigrant parents' experiences of FCC in paediatric oncology settings in Canada. This study adopted a constructivist grounded theory approach. Fifty first generation Chinese and South Asian parents of children with cancer who were at least 6 months post-diagnosis were recruited from six Canadian paediatric oncology centres. Interviews were conducted in English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Urdu, Punjabi or Hindi, and transcribed into English. Analysis involved line-by-line, focused and theoretical coding, and the use of the constant comparison method. Findings indicated that overall parents were highly satisfied with the care and services they received, and their experiences were reflective of the key elements of FCC. However, there were some areas of concern identified by participants: parents not perceiving themselves as a member of the medical team; inconsistency in the quality and co-ordination of services among healthcare providers; disrespectful and mechanical manner of a few healthcare providers; and parents' discomfort with healthcare providers communicating sensitive health-related information directly with their child. In order to successfully provide family-centred services to immigrant parents of children with cancer, better communication of the elements of FCC between healthcare staff and families is needed to negotiate a clear role for the parents as partners of the healthcare team. Moreover, a better understanding of how family relationships are structured in immigrant families will assist healthcare providers to balance the best interests of the child with that of the family as a unit. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Production Experiences with the Cray-Enabled TORQUE Resource Manager

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ezell, Matthew A [ORNL; Maxwell, Don E [ORNL; Beer, David [Adaptive Computing

2013-01-01

High performance computing resources utilize batch systems to manage the user workload. Cray systems are uniquely different from typical clusters due to Cray s Application Level Placement Scheduler (ALPS). ALPS manages binary transfer, job launch and monitoring, and error handling. Batch systems require special support to integrate with ALPS using an XML protocol called BASIL. Previous versions of Adaptive Computing s TORQUE and Moab batch suite integrated with ALPS from within Moab, using PERL scripts to interface with BASIL. This would occasionally lead to problems when all the components would become unsynchronized. Version 4.1 of the TORQUE Resource Manager introduced new features that allow it to directly integrate with ALPS using BASIL. This paper describes production experiences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory using the new TORQUE software versions, as well as ongoing and future work to improve TORQUE.

Telecentres, Access and Development: Experience and Lessons ...

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

Universal access to ICTs has in recent years become a policy goal for many national ... is able to make use of a publicly available resource, such as information and ... access centres (public telephones, cybercafes, telecentres, business centres, etc.) ... The book examines the relationship between shared access centres, the ...

Enhancing person-centred communication in NICU

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Weis, Janne; Zoffmann, Vibeke; Egerod, Ingrid

2015-01-01

Aims of this article were (a) to explore how parents of premature infants experience guided family-centred care (GFCC), and (b) to compare how parents receiving GFCC versus standard care (SC) describe nurse-parent communication in the neonatal intensive care unit....

Openness--A Way Forward: Development Education Research Centre

Science.gov (United States)

Hare-Heremia, Mahora

2014-01-01

Education is a vital aspect in the lives of humankind. It contributes and shapes our future as citizens of the world. To understand it is to discover the many hidden talents the world has in store for all. The Development Education Research Centre (DERC) holds many resources that aid in the development of education at a global level. With the…

The Sylvia Fedoruk Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation: advancing knowledge through partnerships

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alexander, N.; Root, J.H., E-mail: neil.alexander@usask.ca, E-mail: john.root@usask.ca [Sylvia Fedoruk Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation, Saskatoon, SK (Canada); Chad, K., E-mail: karen.chad@usask.ca [Univ. of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK (Canada); Bereznai, G., E-mail: george.bereznai@uoit.ca [Univ. of Ontario Inst. of Tech., Faculty of Energy Systems and Nuclear Science, Oshawa, ON (Canada); Dalzell, M.T.J., E-mail: matthew.dalzell@usask.ca [Sylvia Fedoruk Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation, Saskatoon, SK (Canada)

2014-07-01

The vision of the Sylvia Fedoruk Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation is to place the Canadian province of Saskatchewan among global leaders in nuclear research, development and training through partnerships with industry and academia for economic and social benefit. Saskatchewan is one of the world's largest producers of uranium and home to pioneering research in nuclear medicine, most notably the development of cobalt-60 teletherapy. The Fedoruk Centre is striving to build on this legacy through the attainment of four strategic goals: (1) building nuclear expertise and capacity through the support to academic programs and research projects in partnership with industry, academic institutions and research organizations in nuclear medicine, materials research, energy and the environment; (2) enhancing innovation in partnership with the research community and industry; (3) engaging communities and increasing understanding of risks, benefits and potential impacts of nuclear technologies; and (4) ensuring the sustainability and accountability of the Centre and its resources. The Fedoruk Centre's mandate includes the stewardship of select nuclear facilities, the first being a 24 MeV cyclotron and nuclear substances laboratory as a resource for the development of novel imaging agents, training and production of radioisotopes for clinical diagnoses. By attracting new research leadership in the nuclear domain, developing networks of expertise, training highly-qualified personnel in nuclear disciplines, stimulating industrial partnerships, and creating conditions for fact-based conversation regarding nuclear issues, the Fedoruk Centre is working to establish a research and innovation capacity to support a vibrant nuclear sector in Saskatchewan. (author)

The Sylvia Fedoruk Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation: advancing knowledge through partnerships

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alexander, N.; Root, J.H.; Chad, K.; Bereznai, G.; Dalzell, M.T.J.

2014-01-01

The vision of the Sylvia Fedoruk Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation is to place the Canadian province of Saskatchewan among global leaders in nuclear research, development and training through partnerships with industry and academia for economic and social benefit. Saskatchewan is one of the world's largest producers of uranium and home to pioneering research in nuclear medicine, most notably the development of cobalt-60 teletherapy. The Fedoruk Centre is striving to build on this legacy through the attainment of four strategic goals: (1) building nuclear expertise and capacity through the support to academic programs and research projects in partnership with industry, academic institutions and research organizations in nuclear medicine, materials research, energy and the environment; (2) enhancing innovation in partnership with the research community and industry; (3) engaging communities and increasing understanding of risks, benefits and potential impacts of nuclear technologies; and (4) ensuring the sustainability and accountability of the Centre and its resources. The Fedoruk Centre's mandate includes the stewardship of select nuclear facilities, the first being a 24 MeV cyclotron and nuclear substances laboratory as a resource for the development of novel imaging agents, training and production of radioisotopes for clinical diagnoses. By attracting new research leadership in the nuclear domain, developing networks of expertise, training highly-qualified personnel in nuclear disciplines, stimulating industrial partnerships, and creating conditions for fact-based conversation regarding nuclear issues, the Fedoruk Centre is working to establish a research and innovation capacity to support a vibrant nuclear sector in Saskatchewan. (author)

Indian aspects of drug information resources and impact of drug information centre on community.

Science.gov (United States)

Chauhan, Nitesh; Moin, Sabeeya; Pandey, Anushree; Mittal, Ashu; Bajaj, Umakant

2013-04-01

Drug information centre refer to facility specially set aside for, and specializing in the provision of drug information and related issues. The purpose of drug information center is to provide authentic individualized, accurate, relevant and unbiased drug information to the consumers and healthcare professionals regarding medication related inquiries to the nation for health care and drug safety aspects by answering their call regarding the all critical problems on drug information, their uses and their side effects. Apart from that the center also provides in-depth, impartial source of crucial drug information to meet the needs of the practicing physicians, pharmacists and other health care professionals to safeguard the health, financial and legal interests of the patient and to broaden the pharmacist role visible in the society and community. The service should include collecting, reviewing, evaluating, indexing and distributing information on drugs to health workers. Drug and poisons information centers are best established within major teaching hospitals. This allows access to clinical experience, libraries, research facilities and educational activities. Information present in the current paper will not only enlighten the role of drug information center but also focused on the rational use of drug.

Indian aspects of drug information resources and impact of drug information centre on community

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nitesh Chauhan

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Drug information centre refer to facility specially set aside for, and specializing in the provision of drug information and related issues. The purpose of drug information center is to provide authentic individualized, accurate, relevant and unbiased drug information to the consumers and healthcare professionals regarding medication related inquiries to the nation for health care and drug safety aspects by answering their call regarding the all critical problems on drug information, their uses and their side effects. Apart from that the center also provides in-depth, impartial source of crucial drug information to meet the needs of the practicing physicians, pharmacists and other health care professionals to safeguard the health, financial and legal interests of the patient and to broaden the pharmacist role visible in the society and community. The service should include collecting, reviewing, evaluating, indexing and distributing information on drugs to health workers. Drug and poisons information centers are best established within major teaching hospitals. This allows access to clinical experience, libraries, research facilities and educational activities. Information present in the current paper will not only enlighten the role of drug information center but also focused on the rational use of drug.

Students developing resources for students.

Science.gov (United States)

Pearce, Michael; Evans, Darrell

2012-06-01

The development of new technologies has provided medical education with the ability to enhance the student learning experience and meet the needs of changing curricula. Students quickly adapt to using multimedia learning resources, but these need to be well designed, learner-centred and interactive for students to become significantly engaged. One way to ensure that students become committed users and that resources become distinct elements of the learning cycle is to involve students in resource design and production. Such an approach enables resources to accommodate student needs and preferences, but also provides opportunities for them to develop their own teaching and training skills. The aim of the medical student research project was to design and produce an electronic resource that was focused on a particular anatomical region. The views of other medical students were used to decide what features were suitable for inclusion and the resulting package contained basic principles and clinical relevance, and used a variety of approaches such as images of cadaveric material, living anatomy movies and quizzes. The completed package was assessed using a survey matrix and found to compare well with commercially available products. Given the ever-diversifying arena of multimedia instruction and the ability of students to be fully conversant with technology, this project demonstrates that students are ideal participants and creators of multimedia resources. It is hoped that such an approach will help to further develop the skill base of students, but will also provide an avenue of developing packages that are student user friendly, and that are focused towards particular curricula requirements. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2012.

The Australian centre for RF bioeffects research (ACRBR) - an NHMRC centre of research excellence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wood, A.; Croft, R.; Abramson, M.; Anderson, V.; Cosic, I.; Finnie, J.; McKenzie, R.

2004-01-01

research are already adequately covered the internationally based IARC study. However, epidemiological research investigating associations of mobile phone exposure and non-malignant health outcomes in the general community is less well treated. A cohort study of teenage school children, an age group identified as a priority research area, will be monitored for an initial period of three years. Dosimetry: Technical reviews consistently identified rigorous dosimetry as a key issue for ensuring the validity of results within a given study and consistency of results between studies. This requires that a well-characterised standard methodology and suite of tools be utilised for the provision of dosimetry to research programs that are run within the Centre. The technical reviews have also raised concerns regarding the application of compliance techniques in RF human exposure standards, based on adult models, to children. Further, there remain questions as to applicability of current compliance techniques to the rapidly changing new communications technologies, particularly as they relate to nonhandset issues (wireless LANs, mobile data enabled palmtops and laptops etc). The Centre will undertake both physical and computational studies to improve the understanding of dosimetric sensitivity to normal population variations such as size, ethnicity, and age and how these impact on current compliance techniques employing standard human models cited in many protocols The Centre will not only advance the international body of knowledge on this subject, but also train new scientists in this multifaceted area of research. Outcomes of the research will be input into public policy and standards setting and regulatory processes. The Centre will also act as a publicly accessible information resource centre on this highly sensitive issue for the general community. Copyright (2004) Australasian College of Physical Scientists and Engineers in Medicine

Resource allocation and budgetary mechanisms for decentralized health systems: experiences from Balochistan, Pakistan.

OpenAIRE

Green, A.; Ali, B.; Naeem, A.; Ross, D.

2000-01-01

This paper identifies key political and technical issues involved in the development of an appropriate resource allocation and budgetary system for the public health sector, using experience gained in the Province of Balochistan, Pakistan. The resource allocation and budgetary system is a critical, yet often neglected, component of any decentralization policy. Current systems are often based on historical incrementalism that is neither efficient nor equitable. This article describes technical...

Job Resources, Physician Work Engagement, and Patient Care Experience in an Academic Medical Setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Scheepers, Renée A; Lases, Lenny S S; Arah, Onyebuchi A; Heineman, Maas Jan; Lombarts, Kiki M J M H

2017-10-01

Physician work engagement is associated with better work performance and fewer medical errors; however, whether work-engaged physicians perform better from the patient perspective is unknown. Although availability of job resources (autonomy, colleague support, participation in decision making, opportunities for learning) bolster work engagement, this relationship is understudied among physicians. This study investigated associations of physician work engagement with patient care experience and job resources in an academic setting. The authors collected patient care experience evaluations, using nine validated items from the Dutch Consumer Quality index in two academic hospitals (April 2014 to April 2015). Physicians reported job resources and work engagement using, respectively, the validated Questionnaire on Experience and Evaluation of Work and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. The authors conducted multivariate adjusted mixed linear model and linear regression analyses. Of the 9,802 eligible patients and 238 eligible physicians, respectively, 4,573 (47%) and 185 (78%) participated. Physician work engagement was not associated with patient care experience (B = 0.01; 95% confidence interval [CI] = -0.02 to 0.03; P = .669). However, learning opportunities (B = 0.28; 95% CI = 0.05 to 0.52; P = .019) and autonomy (B = 0.31; 95% CI = 0.10 to 0.51; P = .004) were positively associated with work engagement. Higher physician work engagement did not translate into better patient care experience. Patient experience may benefit from physicians who deliver stable quality under varying levels of work engagement. From the physicians' perspective, autonomy and learning opportunities could safeguard their work engagement.

How do people with learning disability experience the city centre? A Sheffield case study.

Science.gov (United States)

McClimens, Alex; Partridge, Nick; Sexton, Ed

2014-07-01

The use of city centre spaces by people with learning disability is not much debated in the literature. Here we include the thoughts and opinions of groups of people with learning disability as we undertook some guided walks through Sheffield city centre. We found that few of the participants had independent access to the city centre. Many cited concerns over personal safety and the most, on few occasions when they did visit, did so with family and/or paid staff for pre-planned purposes, usually linked to shopping. The need for appropriate support figured prominently. There is also a need to re-assess what we mean by social inclusion for this cohort. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Extraordinary experiences in its cultural and theoretical context.

Science.gov (United States)

von Lucadou, Walter; Wald, Franziska

2014-06-01

The growing complexity, opaqueness and specialization of many areas of life and - above all - a booming psychological and esoteric market create the necessity for counselling and advice for individuals who encounter so-called 'paranormal' experiences. These experiences are often interpreted as 'transpersonal' or 'spiritual', depending on the cultural background and religious traditions. The term 'spiritual crisis' has become a fashionable diagnosis with some transpersonal psychotherapists. Paranormal experiences, regardless of their acceptance of academic psychology and psychiatry, are still a taboo subject in society. The Parapsychological Counselling Office in Freiburg is a professional unit with governmental support, which helps individuals to cope with such experiences adequately. The work and responsibilities of the counselling centre are presented. A large collection of cases in the form of letters, which were sent in by individuals wanting to communicate their unusual or extraordinary experiences have been analysed. Some of the results are reported here. Finally, we discuss a special form of 'inexplicable experiences' based on a theoretical model. Its recommendations seem counter-intuitive but are ultimately successful. The model starts from a system-theoretical viewpoint and uses concepts such as complementarity and entanglement of generalized quantum theory (GQT) and the model of pragmatic information (MPI). Since it turned out that individuals who contact the counselling centre also offer their own interpretations and 'explanation', the question arises, how these resources can be used to help clients.

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre: annual report 1986-87

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-01-01

The Research and Development (R and D) work and achievements of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Bombay, during the financial year 1986-1987 are reported. The R and D activities of BARC cover the entire nuclear fuel cycle, production and use of radioisotopes, radiation protection and also basic research in several disciplines. The report is presented in the chapters entitled: Physical Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Materials and Materials Science, Life Sciences, Radioisotopes, Reactors, Fuel Cycle, Health and Safety, Electronics and Instrumentation, Engineering and General Services. At the end of each chapter are listed the journal articles published, the paper presented at conferences, symposia etc. and technical reports issued by the scientists of BARC in the subject field indicated by the title of the chapter. The R and D work of the outstation units of BARC, namely, Nuclear Research Laboratory at Srinagar, High Altitute Research Laboratory at Gulmarg, Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre at Calcutta and Gauribidanur Seismic Array near Bangalore are also described in the report. The report concludes with a brief account of: (1) transfer of technologies developed at the Centre, (2) activities related to human resource development for nuclear programmes of the country, and (3) progress of design and construction work of Centre for Advanced Technology at Indore. (M.G.B.)

Food Security and Climate Change in Cambodia | CRDI - Centre de ...

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

Given the country's dependence on agriculture and natural resources, tackling climate change and food security together is essential. ... L'honorable Chrystia Freeland, ministre du Commerce international, a annoncé le lancement d'un nouveau projet financé par le Centre de recherches pour le développement international ...

[The experience of a health centre undergoing an ecological transition].

Science.gov (United States)

Bironneau, Rémy

2018-03-01

A health centre and its staff have undertaken a sustainable health approach which aims to reduce the impact of the environment on health. One of the initiatives focused on the improvement of indoor air quality. A change to practices was possible thanks to a participative approach, the support of the staff and constant communication. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Croatian Airports as Potential European Flight Crew Training Centres

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomislav Gradišar

2012-10-01

Full Text Available The paper deals with the possibilities of offering Croatianailports as potential flight crew training centres on the Europeanmarket of se!Vices. With her available ai1port capacities,mainly those located on the Adriatic coast, Croatia has significantadvantages compared to other countries of Westem andCentral Europe. The most important condition for establishinga specialised training centre for the European market is the harmonisationof the national aviation regulations i.e. the implementationof global and European standards of flight crewtraining, as well as conditions that have to be met by a specialisedtraining centre from the aspect of the necessary infrastructure.The study has evaluated the potential airports of Rijeka,Pula and Losinj, acc01ding to the basic criteria of their geo-Lraffic location, infrastructure resources (technical elements ofrunway, navigation equipment, abport se1vices, availability ofspecial equipment for flight crew training on the ground and inthe ail; as well as climate conditions.

Resource Alignment ANADP

OpenAIRE

Grindley, Neil; Cramer, Tom; Schrimpf, Sabine; Wilson, Tom

2014-01-01

Aligning National Approaches to Digital Preservation: An Action Assembly Biblioteca de Catalunya (National Library of Catalonia) November 18-20, 2013, Barcelona, Spain Auburn University Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) Digital Curation Centre (DCC) Digital Preservation Network (DPN) Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) University of North Texas Virginia Tech Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) Innovative Inte...

Indirect Reciprocity, Resource Sharing, and Environmental Risk: Evidence from Field Experiments in Siberia

Science.gov (United States)

Howe, E. Lance; Murphy, James J.; Gerkey, Drew; West, Colin Thor

2016-01-01

Integrating information from existing research, qualitative ethnographic interviews, and participant observation, we designed a field experiment that introduces idiosyncratic environmental risk and a voluntary sharing decision into a standard public goods game. Conducted with subsistence resource users in rural villages on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Northeast Siberia, we find evidence consistent with a model of indirect reciprocity and local social norms of helping the needy. When participants are allowed to develop reputations in the experiments, as is the case in most small-scale societies, we find that sharing is increasingly directed toward individuals experiencing hardship, good reputations increase aid, and the pooling of resources through voluntary sharing becomes more effective. We also find high levels of voluntary sharing without a strong commitment device; however, this form of cooperation does not increase contributions to the public good. Our results are consistent with previous experiments and theoretical models, suggesting strategic risks tied to rewards, punishments, and reputations are important. However, unlike studies that focus solely on strategic risks, we find the effects of rewards, punishments, and reputations are altered by the presence of environmental factors. Unexpected changes in resource abundance increase interdependence and may alter the costs and benefits of cooperation, relative to defection. We suggest environmental factors that increase interdependence are critically important to consider when developing and testing theories of cooperation PMID:27442434

[Young first-time parents' experiences with family-centred postpartal health care in Switzerland].

Science.gov (United States)

Kläusler-Troxler, Marianne; Kurth, Elisabeth; Spirig, Rebecca

2014-08-01

Routine postnatal care normally addresses only the mother and her child. In Switzerland, counselling for all parents and their children is provided by family nurses in a community-based health care setting. We implemented a new approach to ensure father involvement within the framework of the Calgary Family Assessment (CFAM) and the Calgary Intervention Model CFIM of Wright and Leahey (2013) in the northwest of Switzerland. This qualitative study explored how mothers and fathers experienced the newly developed family-centred consultation. Data collection was performed by means of participant observation and semi- structured interviews with a sample of five first-time parents with healthy neonates. Data were analysed by using content analysis according to Mayring. Mothers and fathers experienced family-centred consultation as effective. They felt more secure and confident "to handle the new situation" and obtained trustful, concrete and professional support to take care of their baby, particularly with regard to breast feeding, crying and sleeping patterns. Fathers felt included into postnatal care from the beginning. Family nursing offers a useful framework for family-centred postnatal health care.

Federated data storage system prototype for LHC experiments and data intensive science

Science.gov (United States)

Kiryanov, A.; Klimentov, A.; Krasnopevtsev, D.; Ryabinkin, E.; Zarochentsev, A.

2017-10-01

Rapid increase of data volume from the experiments running at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) prompted physics computing community to evaluate new data handling and processing solutions. Russian grid sites and universities’ clusters scattered over a large area aim at the task of uniting their resources for future productive work, at the same time giving an opportunity to support large physics collaborations. In our project we address the fundamental problem of designing a computing architecture to integrate distributed storage resources for LHC experiments and other data-intensive science applications and to provide access to data from heterogeneous computing facilities. Studies include development and implementation of federated data storage prototype for Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG) centres of different levels and University clusters within one National Cloud. The prototype is based on computing resources located in Moscow, Dubna, Saint Petersburg, Gatchina and Geneva. This project intends to implement a federated distributed storage for all kind of operations such as read/write/transfer and access via WAN from Grid centres, university clusters, supercomputers, academic and commercial clouds. The efficiency and performance of the system are demonstrated using synthetic and experiment-specific tests including real data processing and analysis workflows from ATLAS and ALICE experiments, as well as compute-intensive bioinformatics applications (PALEOMIX) running on supercomputers. We present topology and architecture of the designed system, report performance and statistics for different access patterns and show how federated data storage can be used efficiently by physicists and biologists. We also describe how sharing data on a widely distributed storage system can lead to a new computing model and reformations of computing style, for instance how bioinformatics program running on supercomputers can read/write data from the federated storage.

Recurrent Pneumonia in Children: A Reasoned Diagnostic Approach and a Single Centre Experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Montella, Silvia; Corcione, Adele; Santamaria, Francesca

2017-01-29

Recurrent pneumonia (RP), i.e., at least two episodes of pneumonia in one year or three episodes ever with intercritical radiographic clearing of densities, occurs in 7.7%-9% of children with community-acquired pneumonia. In RP, the challenge is to discriminate between children with self-limiting or minor problems, that do not require a diagnostic work-up, and those with an underlying disease. The aim of the current review is to discuss a reasoned diagnostic approach to RP in childhood. Particular emphasis has been placed on which children should undergo a diagnostic work-up and which tests should be performed. A pediatric case series is also presented, in order to document a single centre experience of RP. A management algorithm for the approach to children with RP, based on the evidence from a literature review, is proposed. Like all algorithms, it is not meant to replace clinical judgment, but it should drive physicians to adopt a systematic approach to pediatric RP and provide a useful guide to the clinician.

Rapid establishment of the European Bank for induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (EBiSC - the Hot Start experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul A. De Sousa

2017-04-01

eTOC: The report focuses on the EBiSC experience of rapidly establishing an operational capacity to procure, bank and distribute a foundational collection of established hiPSC lines. It validates the feasibility and defines the challenges of harnessing and integrating the capability and productivity of centres across Europe using commonly available resources currently in the field.

Evidence into practice: evaluating a child-centred intervention for diabetes medicine management The EPIC Project

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rycroft-Malone Joanne

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background There is a lack of high quality, child-centred and effective health information to support development of self-care practices and expertise in children with acute and long-term conditions. In type 1 diabetes, clinical guidelines indicate that high-quality, child-centred information underpins achievement of optimal glycaemic control with the aim of minimising acute readmissions and reducing the risk of complications in later life. This paper describes the development of a range of child-centred diabetes information resources and outlines the study design and protocol for a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the information resources in routine practice. The aim of the diabetes information intervention is to improve children and young people's quality of life by increasing self-efficacy in managing their type 1 diabetes. Methods/Design We used published evidence, undertook qualitative research and consulted with children, young people and key stakeholders to design and produce a range of child-centred, age-appropriate children's diabetes diaries, carbohydrate recording sheets, and assembled child-centred, age-appropriate diabetes information packs containing published information in a folder that can be personalized by children and young people with pens and stickers. Resources have been designed for children/young people 6-10; 11-15; and 16-18 years. To evaluate the information resources, we designed a pragmatic randomized controlled trial to assess the effectiveness, cost effectiveness, and implementation in routine practice of individually tailored, age-appropriate diabetes diaries and information packs for children and young people age 6-18years, compared with currently available standard practice. Children and young people will be stratified by gender, length of time since diagnosis ( 2years and age (6-10; 11-15; and 16-18 years. The following data will be collected at baseline, 3 and 6 months: PedsQL (generic

Embracing Student Experience in Inclusive Design Education through Learner-Centred Instruction

Science.gov (United States)

Altay, Burçak; Ballice, Gülnur; Bengisu, Ebru; Alkan-Korkmaz, Sevinç; Paykoç, Eda

2016-01-01

This paper explores the process and outcome of using learner-centred methods to develop students' empathic design abilities during an educational workshop on inclusive design. In the first section of the paper, we suggest the significance of incorporating inclusive design within the education of design disciplines. Then, we introduce a workshop on…

General-purpose computer networks and resource sharing in ERDA. Volume 3. Remote resource-sharing experience and findings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1977-07-15

The investigation focused on heterogeneous networks in which a variety of dissimilar computers and operating systems were interconnected nationwide. Homogeneous networks, such as MFE net and SACNET, were not considered since they could not be used for general purpose resource sharing. Issues of privacy and security are of concern in any network activity. However, consideration of privacy and security of sensitive data arise to a much lesser degree in unclassified scientific research than in areas involving personal or proprietary information. Therefore, the existing mechanisms at individual sites for protecting sensitive data were relied on, and no new protection mechanisms to prevent infringement of privacy and security were attempted. Further development of ERDA networking will need to incorporate additional mechanisms to prevent infringement of privacy. The investigation itself furnishes an excellent example of computational resource sharing through a heterogeneous network. More than twenty persons, representing seven ERDA computing sites, made extensive use of both ERDA and non-ERDA computers in coordinating, compiling, and formatting the data which constitute the bulk of this report. Volume 3 analyzes the benefits and barriers encountered in actual resource sharing experience, and provides case histories of typical applications.

Control Centre operations as the focus for building station teamwork - issues and resource impacts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mathews, G.; Lane, L.; Davey, E.

2006-01-01

Effective teamwork among station work groups is essential for plant production and safety in all phases of plant operation. To achieve effective teamwork, all contributing work groups must have ongoing access to and share a common perspective on station work priorities, and recognize how their individual contributions fit with and support the contributions of other groups in support of the larger station goals. Achieving and maintaining this alignment in perspective across all workgroups can be a challenge in large organizations. This paper discusses the experience at Darlington in building and maintaining station teamwork among the station workgroups in support of day-to-day plant operations. The issues encountered and the resource impacts of specific teamwork supporting practices adopted are outlined. (author)

Uranium 2003 resources, production and demand

CERN Document Server

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Paris

2004-01-01

Uranium 2003: Resources, Production and Demand paints a detailed statistical profile of the world uranium industry in the areas of exploration, resource estimates, production and reactor-related requirements. It provides substantial new information from all major uranium production centres in Africa, Australia, Eastern Europe and North America and for the first time, a report for Turkmenistan. Also included are international expert analyses and projections of nuclear generating capacity and reactor-related uranium requirements through 2020.

Person-centred care during prolonged weaning from mechanical ventilation, nurses' views: an interview study.

Science.gov (United States)

Cederwall, Carl-Johan; Olausson, Sepideh; Rose, Louise; Naredi, Silvana; Ringdal, Mona

2018-03-19

To determine: 1) if the three elements of person-centred care (initiating, working and safeguarding the partnership) were present, and 2) to identify evidence of barriers to person-centred care during prolonged weaning from mechanical ventilation. Secondary analysis of semi structured interviews with 19 critical care nurses using theoretical thematic analysis. This study was conducted in three Swedish intensive care units, one in a regional hospital and two in a university hospital. Three themes and nine subthemes related to person-centred care were identified. The three themes included: 1) 'finding a person behind the patient' related to the 'initiating the partnership' phase, 2) 'striving to restore patient́s sense of control' related to 'working the partnership' phase and 3) 'impact of patient involvement' related to 'safeguarding the partnership' phase of person-centred care'. Additionally a further theme 'barriers to person-centred care' was identified. We found evidence of all three person-centred care routines. Barriers to person-centred care comprised of lack team collaboration and resources. Facilitating patients to actively participate in decision-making during the weaning process may optimise weaning outcomes and warrants further research. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

CMS Centres Worldwide - a New Collaborative Infrastructure

CERN Document Server

Taylor, Lucas

2011-01-01

Webcasts, and generic Web tools such as CMS-TV for broadcasting live monitoring and outreach information. Being Web-based and experiment-independent, these systems could easily be extended to other organizations. We describe the experiences of using CMS Centres Worldwide in the CMS data-taking operations as well as for major media events with several hundred TV channels, radio stations, and many more press journalists simultaneously around the world.

Student-Centred Experiments with Stream Invertebrates

Science.gov (United States)

Vaughan, Ian; Larsen, Stefano; Durance, Isabelle; Ormerod, Steve

2011-01-01

Field experiments are at the core of ecology, yet rarely find their way into education, probably due to a combination of technical challenges and risks associated with fieldwork. This may compromise student education and perception of the subject, making interesting, readily manageable experiments extremely important. We describe how the daily…

The Experience of Persons With Multiple Sclerosis Using MS INFoRm: An Interactive Fatigue Management Resource.

Science.gov (United States)

Pétrin, Julie; Akbar, Nadine; Turpin, Karen; Smyth, Penelope; Finlayson, Marcia

2018-04-01

We aimed to understand participants' experiences with a self-guided fatigue management resource, Multiple Sclerosis: An Interactive Fatigue Management Resource ( MS INFoRm), and the extent to which they found its contents relevant and useful to their daily lives. We recruited 35 persons with MS experiencing mild to moderate fatigue, provided them with MS INFoRm, and then conducted semistructured interviews 3 weeks and 3 months after they received the resource. Interpretive description guided the analysis process. Findings indicate that participants' experience of using MS INFoRm could be understood as a process of change, influenced by their initial reactions to the resource. They reported experiencing a shift in knowledge, expectations, and behaviors with respect to fatigue self-management. These shifts led to multiple positive outcomes, including increased levels of self-confidence and improved quality of life. These findings suggest that MS INFoRm may have a place in the continuum of fatigue management interventions for people with MS.

Meet our Neighbours - a tactile experience

Science.gov (United States)

Canas, L.; Lobo Correia, A.

2013-09-01

Planetary science is a key field in astronomy that draws lots of attention and that engages large amounts of enthusiasts. On its essence, it is a visual science and the current resources and activities for the inclusion of visually impaired children, although increasing, are still costly and somewhat scarce. Therefore there is a paramount need to develop more low cost resources in order to provide experiences that can reach all, even the more socially deprived communities. "Meet our neighbours!-a tactile experience", plans to promote and provide inclusion activities for visually impaired children and their non-visually impaired peers through the use of astronomy hands-on low cost activities. Is aimed for children from the ages of 6 to 12 years old and produce data set 13 tactile images of the main objects of the Solar System that can be used in schools, science centres and outreach associations. Accessing several common problems through tactile resources, with this project we present ways to successfully provide low cost solutions (avoiding the expensive tactile printing costs), promote inclusion and interactive hands-on activities for visually impaired children and their non-visually impaired peers and create dynamic interactions based on oral knowledge transmission between them. Here we describe the process of implementing such initiative near target communities: establishing a bridge between scientists, children and teachers. The struggles and challenges perceived during the project and the enrichment experience of engaging astronomy with these specific groups, broadening horizons in an overall experience accessible to all.

Elucidating the role of recovery experiences in the job demands-resources model.

Science.gov (United States)

Moreno-Jiménez, Bernardo; Rodríguez-Muñoz, Alfredo; Sanz-Vergel, Ana Isabel; Garrosa, Eva

2012-07-01

Based on the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model, the current study examined the moderating role of recovery experiences (i.e., psychological detachment from work, relaxation, mastery experiences, and control over leisure time) on the relationship between one job demand (i.e., role conflict) and work- and health-related outcomes. Results from our sample of 990 employees from Spain showed that psychological detachment from work and relaxation buffered the negative impact of role conflict on some of the proposed outcomes. Contrary to our expectations, we did not find significant results for mastery and control regarding moderating effects. Overall, findings suggest a differential pattern of the recovery experiences in the health impairment process proposed by the JD-R model.

User Experience for Disabled Users in Open Educational Resources Websites

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rosa Navarrete

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Open Educational Resources (OER are digital materials for teaching-learning purpose released under an open license that are available through websites. In the last decade, some governments have encouraged the development and using of OER in order to contribute to the achievement of the right to education for everyone, a fundamental right included in The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Besides, inclusion of people with disabilities is a global concern that need to be addressed in all living aspects including education.In this research we address the user experience in OER websites —considering the perspective of users with disabilities— in order to recognize possible barriers in web design. The conformance criteria considered for this reviewing are mandatory aspects of user experience in relation to Web accessibility and Web usability.

User Experience for Disabled Users in Open Educational Resources Websites

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rosa Navarrete

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Open Educational Resources (OER are digital materials for teaching-learning purpose released under an open license that are available through websites. In the last decade, some governments have encouraged the development and using of OER in order to contribute to the achievement of the right to education for everyone, a fundamental right included in The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Besides, inclusion of people with disabilities is a global concern that need to be addressed in all living aspects including education. In this research we address the user experience in OER websites —considering the perspective of users with disabilities— in order to recognize possible barriers in web design. The conformance criteria considered for this reviewing are mandatory aspects of user experience in relation to Web accessibility and Web usability.

Earthquake and failure forecasting in real-time: A Forecasting Model Testing Centre

Science.gov (United States)

Filgueira, Rosa; Atkinson, Malcolm; Bell, Andrew; Main, Ian; Boon, Steven; Meredith, Philip

2013-04-01

Across Europe there are a large number of rock deformation laboratories, each of which runs many experiments. Similarly there are a large number of theoretical rock physicists who develop constitutive and computational models both for rock deformation and changes in geophysical properties. Here we consider how to open up opportunities for sharing experimental data in a way that is integrated with multiple hypothesis testing. We present a prototype for a new forecasting model testing centre based on e-infrastructures for capturing and sharing data and models to accelerate the Rock Physicist (RP) research. This proposal is triggered by our work on data assimilation in the NERC EFFORT (Earthquake and Failure Forecasting in Real Time) project, using data provided by the NERC CREEP 2 experimental project as a test case. EFFORT is a multi-disciplinary collaboration between Geoscientists, Rock Physicists and Computer Scientist. Brittle failure of the crust is likely to play a key role in controlling the timing of a range of geophysical hazards, such as volcanic eruptions, yet the predictability of brittle failure is unknown. Our aim is to provide a facility for developing and testing models to forecast brittle failure in experimental and natural data. Model testing is performed in real-time, verifiably prospective mode, in order to avoid selection biases that are possible in retrospective analyses. The project will ultimately quantify the predictability of brittle failure, and how this predictability scales from simple, controlled laboratory conditions to the complex, uncontrolled real world. Experimental data are collected from controlled laboratory experiments which includes data from the UCL Laboratory and from Creep2 project which will undertake experiments in a deep-sea laboratory. We illustrate the properties of the prototype testing centre by streaming and analysing realistically noisy synthetic data, as an aid to generating and improving testing methodologies in

Nine meta-functions for science museums and science centres

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Achiam, Marianne; Sølberg, Jan

2017-01-01

Science centres and science museums face challenges such as increased accountability, increased demands for accessibility, and growing competition from leisure experiences. On their own, the traditional museum practices of preservation, communication, and research are insufficient to address...... Ecsite conference, to map out how these institutions address modern-day challenges. This analysis generates a new framework of nine meta-functions for science centres and science museums that can guide and help qualify discussions about their present and future activities. We discuss the new meta...

Persons with physical disabilities’ experiences of rehabilitation services at Community Health Centres in Cape Town.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C.K. Kahonde

2010-02-01

Full Text Available Background: Rehabilitation is of fundamental importance for the persons with disability to achieve functional independence and have an improved quality of life. To enhance the effectiveness of rehabilitation, it  is  important  to  seek  clients’  perspectives  of  the  rehabilitation  services and  to  incorporate  these  perspectives  into  the  planning  and  delivery  of rehabilitation  services.  The  aim  of  this  study  was  to  explore  the  persons with  physical  disabilities’  experiences  of  the  rehabilitation  services  they received at Community Health Centres (CHCs. Methods: In-depth  qualitative  interviews  were  used  to  collect  data.  Ten  persons  with  physical  disabilities,  who  had  received  rehabilitation  services at CHCs participated in the in-depth interviews. The interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim.  Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data.  Results: The  clients  experienced  problems  with  accessing  transport  and  obtaining  information  from  the  service providers. Experiences regarding clients’ involvement in the rehabilitation were varied. All the clients reported positive experiences regarding their interaction with service providers and family involvement. Conclusion: The experiences of the participants who accessed CHCs for rehabilitation were positive and negative. The service providers should therefore address the aspects of rehabilitation that were negatively experienced.

Studying human-automation interactions: methodological lessons learned from the human-centred automation experiments 1997-2001

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Massaiu, Salvatore; Skjerve, Ann Britt Miberg; Skraaning, Gyrd Jr.; Strand, Stine; Waeroe, Irene

2004-04-01

This report documents the methodological lessons learned from the Human Centred Automation (HCA) programme both in terms of psychometric evaluation of the measurement techniques developed for human-automation interaction study, and in terms of the application of advanced statistical methods for analysis of experiments. The psychometric evaluation is based on data from the four experiments performed within the HCA programme. The result is a single-source reference text of measurement instruments for the study of human-automation interaction, part of which were specifically developed by the programme. The application of advanced statistical techniques is exemplified by additional analyses performed on the IPSN-HCA experiment of 1998. Special importance is given to the statistical technique Structural Equation Modeling, for the possibility it offers to advance, and empirically test, comprehensive explanations about human-automation interactions. The additional analyses of the IPSN-HCA experiment investigated how the operators formed judgments about their own performance. The issue is of substantive interest for human automation interaction research because the operators' over- or underestimation of their own performance could be seen as a symptom of human-machine mismatch, and a potential latent failure. These analyses concluded that it is the interplay between (1) the level of automation and several factors that determines the operators' bias in performance self-estimation: (2) the nature of the task, (3) the level of scenario complexity, and (4) the level of trust in the automatic system. A structural model that expresses the interplay of all these factors was empirically evaluated and was found able to provide a concise and elegant explanation of the intricate pattern of relationships between the identified factors. (Author)

Optimizing the resource usage in Cloud based environments: the Synergy approach

Science.gov (United States)

Zangrando, L.; Llorens, V.; Sgaravatto, M.; Verlato, M.

2017-10-01

Managing resource allocation in a cloud based data centre serving multiple virtual organizations is a challenging issue. In fact, while batch systems are able to allocate resources to different user groups according to specific shares imposed by the data centre administrator, without a static partitioning of such resources, this is not so straightforward in the most common cloud frameworks, e.g. OpenStack. In the current OpenStack implementation, it is only possible to grant fixed quotas to the different user groups and these resources cannot be exceeded by one group even if there are unused resources allocated to other groups. Moreover in the existing OpenStack implementation, when there aren’t resources available, new requests are simply rejected: it is then up to the client to later re-issue the request. The recently started EU-funded INDIGO-DataCloud project is addressing this issue through “Synergy”, a new advanced scheduling service targeted for OpenStack. Synergy adopts a fair-share model for resource provisioning which guarantees that resources are distributed among users following the fair-share policies defined by the administrator, taken also into account the past usage of such resources. We present the architecture of Synergy, the status of its implementation, some preliminary results and the foreseen evolution of the service.

ELECTRONIC EDUCATION IN UNDERGRADUATE RADIOLOGY: THE EXPERIENCE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MALAGA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francisco Sendra Portero

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Since 1998, radiology teaching and learning electronic resources have been developed at the University of Málaga. Some experiences on undergraduate radiology education are presented in this paper: a self-conducted training on radiology called “A Walk through Radiology”, some projects to create and develop radiology consulting tools, a project about audio-recorded virtual lectures (AMERAM, started on 2005, and a Web portal to collect radiology education Internet resources. Finally, we conclude with some reflections about the experience along these years, which has contributed to improve the student’s radiology learning in our centre and has supplied educative tools to students and postgraduates of this and other cities. We consider that the European Space of Higher Education learning philosophy, student centered and self-learning based, gives a vital role to undergraduate electronic education tools.

Sustainable Aquatic Resource Management Initiative | IDRC ...

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

... identify key choices in a state-of-the-art publication. They will also undertake field research in collaboration with the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES), University of the West Indies, on the application of new thinking (resilience, Complex Adaptive Systems theory) to coastal practices.

Manche centre

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-05-01

After a general presentation of radioactivity and radioactive wastes and of the French national agency for the management of radioactive wastes (ANDRA), this brochure gives a general overview of the Manche low- and medium-level radioactive waste disposal centre: principles of storage safety, waste containers (first confinement barrier), storage facility and cover (second confinement barrier), the underground (third confinement barrier), the impact of the centre on its environment, and the control of radioactivity in the vicinity of the centre. (J.S.)

Psychological capital, work engagement and organisational commitment amongst call centre employees in South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janet C. Simons

2013-11-01

Research purpose: The purpose of the research was to determine the relationship between psychological capital, work engagement and organisational commitment amongst call centre employees; and further, to determine whether psychological capital and work engagement hold predictive value for the organisational commitment of call centre employees. Motivation for the study: There is a gap in research in understanding and enabling positive resource capacities in highly stressful work contexts such as call centres. Research design, approach and method: A cross-sectional survey design was used. A sample of 106 call centre employees from a South African organisation participated in the research. The measuring instruments included a demographic questionnaire, the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES and the Organisational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ. Main findings: Significant positive relationships were found between psychological capital, work engagement and organisational commitment. The results showed work engagement as being the only significant predictor of organisational commitment. Practical/managerial implications: Call centre employers need to develop and implement workplace interventions that would increase the psychological capital of call centre employees. Contribution/value-add: The research findings will benefit both call centre employees and management. The study highlighted the importance of the role of optimism as a subdimension of psychological capital in developing work engagement and organisational commitment amongst call centre employees.

Culture and postpartum mood problems: similarities and differences in the experiences of first- and second-generation Canadian women.

Science.gov (United States)

Mamisachvili, Lana; Ardiles, Paola; Mancewicz, Grazyna; Thompson, Sherry; Rabin, Kapri; Ross, Lori E

2013-04-01

Few studies have examined the role of culture in a woman's experience of postpartum mood problems (PPMP). This study explored differences and similarities in experiences of PPMP between first- and second-generation Canadian women. In this exploratory qualitative study, we interviewed nine first-generation and eight second-generation women who were clients of the Women's Health Centre at St. Joseph's Health Centre in Toronto, Canada. Using semistructured interviews, we explored how women perceived and experienced PPMP. Four themes reflected cultural issues: PPMP stigma, relationship with parents/in-laws, internalization of society's expectations of motherhood, and identity issues/relationship with self. The results of this study contribute to a limited literature on possible contributing factors to PPMP and can inform development of resources for delivering culturally appropriate mental health care for women dealing with PPMP.

Newborn vitamin K prophylaxis: an analysis of information resources for parents and professionals.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Hayleigh; Wheeler, Benjamin; Kerruish, Nikki

2016-12-02

Vitamin K prophylaxis represents one of the first healthcare decisions families make for their newborn. Information resources are an important component of this process. This study aimed to identify and analyse written information about vitamin K. Resources concerning vitamin K prophylaxis for both parents and health professionals were accessed through tertiary hospitals in New Zealand and Australia, midwives associated with Queen Mary Maternity Centre (Dunedin, New Zealand), antenatal class providers in the Dunedin, New Zealand area, and an online search of Australian and New Zealand government and hospital websites, as well as the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) in the US. These materials were assessed with regard to coverage of information relevant to vitamin K prophylaxis, whether a statement of the recommended option was included, and information concerning parental choice. In Australia, the majority of centres use the Australian Government National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) resource. In New Zealand, eight different resources are in use. There was variation between resources in all aspects, including use of different incidence rates for vitamin K deficiency bleeding (VKDB). No New Zealand resources were available in languages other than English. The resources for health professionals also varied, and the two available New Zealand consensus statements (Ministry of Health and College of Midwives) differed in terms of their main recommendation. Many different information resources are available regarding vitamin K prophylaxis in New Zealand. Standardisation of such information would be more equitable and would facilitate easier review of content and translation into multiple languages.

Cost Analysis of Operation Theatre Services at an Apex Tertiary Care Trauma Centre of India.

Science.gov (United States)

Siddharth, Vijaydeep; Kumar, Subodh; Vij, Aarti; Gupta, Shakti Kumar

2015-12-01

Operating room services are one of the major cost and revenue-generating centres of a hospital. The cost associated with the provisioning of operating department services depends on the resources consumed and the unit costs of those resources. The objective of this study was to calculate the cost of operation theatre services at Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre, AIIMS, New Delhi. The study was carried out at the operation theatre department of Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre (JPNATC), AIIMS from April 2010 to March 2011 after obtaining approval from concerned authorities. This study was observational and descriptive in nature. Traditional (average or gross) costing methodology was used to arrive at the cost for the provisioning of operation theatre (OT) services. Cost was calculated under two heads; as capital and operating cost. Annualised cost of capital assets was calculated according to the methodology prescribed by the World Health Organization and operating costs were taken on actual basis; thereafter, per day cost of OT services was obtained. The average number of surgeries performed in the trauma centre per day is 13. The annual cost of providing operating room services at JPNATC, New Delhi was calculated to be 197,298,704 Indian rupees (INR) (US$ 3,653,679), while the per hour cost was calculated to be INR 22,626.92 (US$ 419). Majority of the expenditures were for human resource (33.63 %) followed by OT capital cost (31.90 %), consumables (29.97 %), engineering maintenance cost (2.55 %), support services operating cost (1.22 %) and support services capital cost (0.73 %). Of the total cost towards the provisioning of OT services, 32.63 % was capital cost while 67.37 % is operating cost. The results of this costing study will help in the future planning of resource allocation within the financial constraints (US$ 1 = INR 54).

Awareness and utilization of open access resources in Asom Bur ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study examined the extent of awareness and utilization of open access resources in University of Mkar library (Asom Bur Learning Resource Centre). One hundred (100) undergraduate students out of a total of about One thousand and fifty (1,050) were randomly selected. Descriptive survey design was employed and ...

An assessment of student experiences and learning based on a novel undergraduate e-learning resource.

Science.gov (United States)

Mehta, S; Clarke, F; Fleming, P S

2016-08-12

Purpose/objectives The aims of this study were to describe the development of a novel e-learning resource and to assess its impact on student learning experiences and orthodontic knowledge.Methods Thirty-two 4th year dental undergraduate students at Queen Mary University of London were randomly allocated to receive electronic access to e-learning material covering various undergraduate orthodontic topics over a 6-week period. Thirty-one control students were not given access during the study period. All students were asked to complete electronic quizzes both before (T0) and after (T1) the study period and a general questionnaire concerning familiarity with e-learning. The test group also completed a user satisfaction questionnaire at T1. Two focus groups were also undertaken to explore learners' experiences and suggestions in relation to the resource.Results The mean quiz result improved by 3.9% and 4.5% in the control and test groups, respectively. An independent t-test, however, demonstrated a lack of statistical significance in knowledge gain between control and test groups (P = 0.941). The qualitative feedback indicated that students believed that use of the resource enhanced knowledge and basic understanding with students expressing a wish to ingrain similar resources in other areas of undergraduate teaching.Conclusions Use of the novel orthodontic e-resource by 4th year undergraduate students over a 6-week period did not result in a significant improvement in subject knowledge. However, the e-learning has proven popular among undergraduates and the resources will continue to be refined.

PanDA: Exascale Federation of Resources for the ATLAS Experiment at the LHC

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Megino Fernando Barreiro

2016-01-01

The PanDA (Production and Distributed Analysis system was developed in 2005 for the ATLAS experiment on top of this heterogeneous infrastructure to seamlessly integrate the computational resources and give the users the feeling of a unique system. Since its origins, PanDA has evolved together with upcoming computing paradigms in and outside HEP, such as changes in the networking model, Cloud Computing and HPC. It is currently running steadily up to 200 thousand simultaneous cores (limited by the available resources for ATLAS, up to two million aggregated jobs per day and processes over an exabyte of data per year. The success of PanDA in ATLAS is triggering the widespread adoption and testing by other experiments. In this contribution we will give an overview of the PanDA components and focus on the new features and upcoming challenges that are relevant to the next decade of distributed computing workload management using PanDA.

Working in caseload midwifery care: the experience of midwives working in a birth centre in North Queensland.

Science.gov (United States)

Edmondson, Marissa C; Walker, Sandra B

2014-03-01

Pregnancy, birth and child rearing are significant life events for women and their families. The demand for services that are family friendly, women focused, safe and accessible is increasing. These demands and rights of women have led to increased government and consumer interest in continuity of care and the establishment in Australia of birth centres, and the introduction of caseload midwifery models of care. The aim of this research project was to uncover how birth centre midwives working within a caseload model care constructed their midwifery role in order to maintain a positive work-life balance. A Grounded Theory study using semi-structured individual interviews was undertaken with seven midwives who work at a regional hospital birth centre to ascertain their views as to how they construct their midwifery role while working in a caseload model of care. The results showed that caseload midwifery care enabled the midwives to practice autonomously within hospital policies and guidelines for birth centre midwifery practice and that they did not feel too restricted in regards to the eligibility of women who could give birth at the centre. Work relationships were found to be a key component in being able to construct their birth centre midwifery role. The midwives valued the flexibility that came with working in supportive partnerships with many feeling this enabled them to achieve a good work-life balance. The research contributes to the current body of knowledge surrounding working in a caseload model of care as it shows how the birth centre midwives construct their midwifery role. It provides information for development and improvement of these models of care to ensure that sustainability and quality of care is provided to women and their families. Copyright © 2013 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Access to electronic resources by visually impaired people

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jenny Craven

2003-01-01

Full Text Available Research into access to electronic resources by visually impaired people undertaken by the Centre for Research in Library and Information Management has not only explored the accessibility of websites and levels of awareness in providing websites that adhere to design for all principles, but has sought to enhance understanding of information seeking behaviour of blind and visually impaired people when using digital resources.

Extending the farm on external sites: the INFN Tier-1 experience

Science.gov (United States)

Boccali, T.; Cavalli, A.; Chiarelli, L.; Chierici, A.; Cesini, D.; Ciaschini, V.; Dal Pra, S.; dell'Agnello, L.; De Girolamo, D.; Falabella, A.; Fattibene, E.; Maron, G.; Prosperini, A.; Sapunenko, V.; Virgilio, S.; Zani, S.

2017-10-01

The Tier-1 at CNAF is the main INFN computing facility offering computing and storage resources to more than 30 different scientific collaborations including the 4 experiments at the LHC. It is also foreseen a huge increase in computing needs in the following years mainly driven by the experiments at the LHC (especially starting with the run 3 from 2021) but also by other upcoming experiments such as CTA[1] While we are considering the upgrade of the infrastructure of our data center, we are also evaluating the possibility of using CPU resources available in other data centres or even leased from commercial cloud providers. Hence, at INFN Tier-1, besides participating to the EU project HNSciCloud, we have also pledged a small amount of computing resources (˜ 2000 cores) located at the Bari ReCaS[2] for the WLCG experiments for 2016 and we are testing the use of resources provided by a commercial cloud provider. While the Bari ReCaS data center is directly connected to the GARR network[3] with the obvious advantage of a low latency and high bandwidth connection, in the case of the commercial provider we rely only on the General Purpose Network. In this paper we describe the set-up phase and the first results of these installations started in the last quarter of 2015, focusing on the issues that we have had to cope with and discussing the measured results in terms of efficiency.

Developing person-centred practice in hip fracture care for older people.

Science.gov (United States)

Christie, Jane; Macmillan, Maureen; Currie, Colin; Matthews-Smith, Gerardine

2016-12-14

To facilitate a multidisciplinary collaborative approach to developing person-centred practice in hip fracture care for older people. Collaborative inquiry, a form of action research, was used to collect data for this study. It involved exploration of dilemmas, questions and problems that are part of human experience. Clinical leaders from different disciplines (n=16), who work with older people with hip fractures at different stages of the care pathway, participated in a series of facilitated action meetings. The practice development techniques used in this study included: identifying the strengths and limitations of the current service, values clarification, creating a shared vision, sharing clinical stories, reviewing case records, and reflecting on the experiences of three older people and two caregivers. Hip fracture care was based on meeting service targets, national guidelines and audits. Care was fragmented across different service delivery units, with professional groups working independently. This resulted in suboptimal communication between members of the multidisciplinary group of clinical leaders and care that was process-driven rather than person-centred. Spending time away from clinical practice enabled the multidisciplinary group to collaborate to understand care from the patients' and caregivers' perspectives, and to reflect critically on the care experience as a whole. To develop a person-centred workplace culture, the multidisciplinary team requires facilitated time for reflection. Ongoing facilitative leadership would enable the multidisciplinary team to collaborate effectively to deliver safe, effective person-centred practice in hip fracture care for older people.

The experience of CDTN/CNEN, Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear: A medium size nuclear research centre in Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sobrinho, P.

2001-01-01

At first a university research centre, then a captive research centre of the state owned company in charge of establishing a nuclear industry in Brazil, then a research centre of CNEN (the Brazilian Nuclear Energy Authority), nearing its 50 th anniversary, CDTN has a rich experience. even keeping the project portfolio around a number of traditional nuclear energy areas such as nuclear reactors, materials, environment, process engineering, waste management, radiological protection, the institution experienced an evolution in the substance of the proposed projects. This evolution represents the different institutional insertions, but the major changes occurred at a time when, due to a lesser demand from the nuclear sector and other factors, the explicit idea of producing outputs for the benefit of society received a large acceptance from the employees. The challenges to the institution at this time are commented upon. Retirements, coupled to the lack of job openings, work together for the decrease in the staff number, one major challenge. Up to a certain point, private companies have been hired to fill some of the organisational needs, but it is felt that a limit to this policy is being reached. It is argued that, even in the absence of a strong demand from the energy generation sector, a number of opportunities are still available to a NRC in a developing country. Maturity of nuclear energy and applications of radiation tend to transfer the focus of the activities from the fundamentals of nuclear science and technology to quality related issues, a requirement of the modern times. quality systems cannot substitute for the in depth knowledge of the fundamentals. (author)

The ideal Atomic Centre; Le Centre Atomique ideal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mas, R [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Saclay (France). Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires

1965-07-01

The author presents considerations which should prove to be of interest to all those who have to design, to construct and to operate a nuclear research centre. A large number of the ideas presented can also be applied to non-nuclear scientific research centres. In his report the author reviews: various problems with which the constructor is faced: ground-plan, infrastructure, buildings and the large units of scientific equipment in the centre, and those problems facing the director: maintenance, production, supplies, security. The author stresses the relationship which ought to exist between the research workers and the management. With this aim in view he proposes the creation of National School for Administration in Research which would train administrative executives for public or private organisations; they would be specialised in the fields of fundamental or applied research. (author) [French] L'auteur propose une base de reflexions a tous ceux qui doivent concevoir, realiser et faire vivre un Centre d'Etudes Nucleaires. Un grand nombre des idees exprimees peut d'ailleurs s'appliquer a un Centre d'Etudes Scientifiques non nucleaires. Dans son ouvrage, l'auteur passe en revue les differents problemes qui se posent au constructeur: plan, masse, infrastructure, batiments et grands appareils du Centre, et ceux qu'a a resoudre le directeur: entretien, fabrication, approvisionnements, securite. L'auteur insiste sur l'aspect des rapports qui doivent exister entre les chercheurs et ceux qui les administrent. Il propose a cette fin la creation d'une Ecole Nationale d'Administration de la Recherche qui formerait des cadres administratifs pour les organismes publics ou prives, specialises dans la Recherche fondamentale ou appliquee. (auteur)

Size effect on deformation twinning in face-centred cubic single crystals: Experiments and modelling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liang, Z.Y.; De Hosson, J.T.M.; Huang, M.X.

2017-01-01

In addition to slip by dislocation glide, deformation twinning in small-sized metallic crystals also exhibits size effect, namely the twinning stress increases with decreasing sample size. In order to understand the underpinning mechanisms responsible for such effect, systematic experiments were carried out on the small-sized single-crystalline pillars of a twinning-induced plasticity steel with a face-centred cubic structure. The flow stress increases considerably with decreasing pillar diameter from 3 to 0.5 μm, demonstrating a substantial size effect with a power exponent of 0.43. Detailed microstructural characterization reveals that the plastic deformation of the present pillars is dominant by twinning, primarily via twin growth, indicating that the size effect should be related to deformation twinning instead of slip by dislocation glide. Subsequent modelling works indicate that twinning can be accomplished by the dissociation of the ion-radiation-induced vacancy Frank loops in the damaged subsurface layer of the pillars, and the size effect is attributed to the ion-radiation-induced compressive stress in the subsurface layer, which decreases with pillar diameter.

The DIY Digital Medical Centre.

Science.gov (United States)

Timmis, James Kenneth; Timmis, Kenneth

2017-09-01

Healthcare systems worldwide are confronted with major economic, organizational and logistical challenges. Historic evolution of health care has led to significant healthcare sector fragmentation, resulting in systemic inefficiencies and suboptimal resource exploitation. To attain a sustainable healthcare model, fundamental, system-wide improvements that effectively network, and ensure fulfilment of potential synergies between sectors, and include and facilitate coherent strategic planning and organisation of healthcare infrastructure are needed. Critically, they must be specifically designed to sustainably achieve peak performance within the current policy environment for cost-control, and efficiency and quality improvement for service delivery. We propose creation of a new healthcare cluster, to be embedded in existing healthcare systems. It consists of (i) local 24/7 walk-in virtually autonomous do-it-yourself Digital Medical Centres performing routine diagnosis, monitoring, prevention, treatment and standardized documentation and health outcome assessment/reporting, which are online interfaced with (ii) regional 24/7 eClinician Centres providing on-demand clinical supervision/assistance to Digital Medical Centre patients. Both of these are, in turn, online interfaced with (iii) the National Clinical Informatics Centre, which houses the national patient data centre (cloud) and data analysis units that conduct patient- and population-level, personalized and predictive(-medicine) intervention optimization analyses. The National Clinical Informatics Centre also interfaces with biomedical research and prioritizes and accelerates the translation of new discoveries into clinical practice. The associated Health Policy Innovation and Evaluation Centre rapidly integrates new findings with health policy/regulatory discussions. This new cluster would synergistically link all health system components in a circular format, enable not only access by all arms of the health

Insights on compassion and patient-centred nursing in intensive care: A constructivist grounded theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Jakimowicz, Samantha; Perry, Lin; Lewis, Joanne

2018-04-01

To explore patient-centred nursing, compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue from intensive care nurses' perspectives. Compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue can influence critical care nurses' decisions to either continue or leave the profession, and could impact the compassionate patient-centred nursing care patients receive during their ICU admission. This qualitative research design was informed by Charmaz's Grounded Theory Constructivist methodology. In-depth interviews were conducted with 21 critical care nurses of two ICUs in Australia during 2016. Interview data were analysed using grounded theory processes. Findings reflected positive and negative impacts on critical care nurses' ability to deal compassionately with their patients. Effects on patient-centred nursing and critical care nurses' own well-being were revealed. A core category of "Expectations" emerged, explaining the tension between critical care nurses' biomedical, clinical skills and knowledge versus compassionate, patient-centred nursing care. This tension was clarified and expanded in subcategories of "Life in the Balance," "Passion and Pressure," "Understanding and Advocacy" and "Tenacity and Fragility". Providing patient-centred nursing may enhance critical care nurses' experience of compassion satisfaction, in turn impacting delivery of compassionate patient-centred nursing to generate a virtuous circle. Critical care nurses who feel respected and supported by their management team and colleagues experience feelings of compassion satisfaction, leading to greater engagement and care towards their patient. Systematically addressing critical care nurses' needs to successfully balance biomedical with compassionate nursing care may lead to greater well-being in the critical care nursing workforce and improve patient experience of intensive care. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The visual advice centre Eindhoven, an experiment in Dutch low vision care

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Neve, J.J.; Jorritsma, F.F.; Kinds, G.F.; Kooijman, A.C.; Looijestijn, P.L.; Welling, J.A.; Wildt, van der G.J.

1994-01-01

The Visual Advice Centre Eindhoven (VAC-E) provides the partially sighted with advice and prescriptions for low vision aids and illumination on the basis of an examination of their individual needs and their residual visual abilities. In the Dutch context of low vision care the V AC-E can be

Sarwat Salem | IDRC - International Development Research Centre

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

Two years later he moved to the Centre's Regional Office of East and Central Africa, where he served for 10 years before returning to the Cairo office. Sarwat has extensive finance, administrative, and management experience. He is a member of the Order of Chartered Professional Accountants of Quebec and he holds a ...

Closing the gender leadership gap: a multi-centre cross-country comparison of women in management and leadership in academic health centres in the European Union.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuhlmann, Ellen; Ovseiko, Pavel V; Kurmeyer, Christine; Gutiérrez-Lobos, Karin; Steinböck, Sandra; von Knorring, Mia; Buchan, Alastair M; Brommels, Mats

2017-01-06

and newly created management structures. Developing comprehensive gender-sensitive health workforce monitoring systems and comparing progress across academic health centres in Europe could help to identify the gender leadership gap and utilise health human resources more effectively.

Nurse managers' experiences in continuous quality improvement in resource-poor healthcare settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Kakyo, Tracy Alexis; Xiao, Lily Dongxia

2017-06-01

Ensuring safe and quality care for patients in hospitals is an important part of a nurse manager's role. Continuous quality improvement has been identified as one approach that leads to the delivery of quality care services to patients and is widely used by nurse managers to improve patient care. Nurse managers' experiences in initiating continuous quality improvement activities in resource-poor healthcare settings remain largely unknown. Research evidence is highly demanded in these settings to address disease burden and evidence-based practice. This interpretive qualitative study was conducted to gain an understanding of nurse managers' Continuous Quality Improvement experiences in rural hospitals in Uganda. Nurse managers in rural healthcare settings used their role to prioritize quality improvement activities, monitor the Continuous Quality Improvement process, and utilize in-service education to support continuous quality improvement. The nurse managers in our sample encountered a number of barriers during the implementation of Continuous Quality Improvement, including: limited patient participation, lack of materials, and limited human resources. Efforts to address the challenges faced through good governance and leadership development require more attention. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Integrated energy efficient data centre management for green cloud computing : the FP7 GENiC project experience

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Torrens, J.I.; Mehta, D.; Zavrel, V.; Grimes, D.; Scherer, Th.; Birke, R.; Chen, L.; Rea, S.; Lopez, L.; Pages, E.; Pesch, D.

2016-01-01

Energy consumed by computation and cooling represents the greatest percentage of the average energy consumed in a data centre. As these two aspects are not always coordinated, energy consumption is not optimised. Data centres lack an integrated system that jointly optimises and controls all the

Greening Spanish primary schools: students and teachers attitudes to centres committed to sustainability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Poza-Vilches María de Fátima

2016-01-01

Full Text Available An environmental audit study is presented, based on the opinions of students and teachers about the possibilities of improvements to the environmental resource management of twelve primary education centres in the region of Andalucía (Spain, and the guidelines for implementing programs for curriculum greening that are committed to the environment and that makes it possible to undertake actions of sustainable development both inside and outside the classroom. The research follows a diagnostic methodology, focused on describing the models of environmental resources management at primary education centres in Andalucía, as well as their sustainability actions, commitments and programs from the perspective of both teachers and students. Finally, the results have been confirmed that there is a need to redefine the strategies for environmental management, intervention and participation of the entire educational community, approaching this from the design of educationally innovative actions focused on the socio-environmental problems of the local area.

Canadian Irradiation Centre

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-05-01

The Canadian Irradiation Centre is a non-profit cooperative project between Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, Radiochemical Company and Universite du Quebec, Institut Armand-Frappier, Centre for Applied Research in Food Science. The Centre's objectives are to develop, demonstrate and promote Canada's radiation processing technology and its applications by conducting applied research; training technical, professional and scientific personnel; educating industry and government; demonstrating operational and scientific procedures; developing processing procedures and standards, and performing product and market acceptance trials. This pamphlet outlines the history of radoation technology and the services offered by the Canadian Irradiation Centre

Developing an evaluation framework for consumer-centred collaborative care of depression using input from stakeholders.

Science.gov (United States)

McCusker, Jane; Yaffe, Mark; Sussman, Tamara; Kates, Nick; Mulvale, Gillian; Jayabarathan, Ajantha; Law, Susan; Haggerty, Jeannie

2013-03-01

To develop a framework for research and evaluation of collaborative mental health care for depression, which includes attributes or domains of care that are important to consumers. A literature review on collaborative mental health care for depression was completed and used to guide discussion at an interactive workshop with pan-Canadian participants comprising people treated for depression with collaborative mental health care, as well as their family members; primary care and mental health practitioners; decision makers; and researchers. Thematic analysis of qualitative data from the workshop identified key attributes of collaborative care that are important to consumers and family members, as well as factors that may contribute to improved consumer experiences. The workshop identified an overarching theme of partnership between consumers and practitioners involved in collaborative care. Eight attributes of collaborative care were considered to be essential or very important to consumers and family members: respectfulness; involvement of consumers in treatment decisions; accessibility; provision of information; coordination; whole-person care; responsiveness to changing needs; and comprehensiveness. Three inter-related groups of factors may affect the consumer experience of collaborative care, namely, organizational aspects of care; consumer characteristics and personal resources; and community resources. A preliminary evaluation framework was developed and is presented here to guide further evaluation and research on consumer-centred collaborative mental health care for depression.

The new AMS control centre

CERN Multimedia

Anaïs Schaeffer

2011-01-01

Construction work for the future AMS control room began in November 2010 and should be finished this June. The new building, which will have been completed in record time thanks to the professionalism of the project team, will soon be ready to receive the initial data from the AMS experiment.     Luigi Scibile and Michael Poehler, from the GS department, at the AMS control centre construction site.   The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) is due to wing its way towards the International Space Station (ISS) on board the shuttle Discovery in April. Mainly intended for research on antimatter and dark matter, the data collected by AMS will be sent to Houston in the United States and then directly to CERN’s new Building 946. Construction work for the AMS control centre building on the Route Gentner at CERN’s Prévessin site started in November 2010 and must be completed in time to receive the first data from the spectrometer in June. “It normall...

CMS Centre at CERN

CERN Multimedia

2007-01-01

A new "CMS Centre" is being established on the CERN Meyrin site by the CMS collaboration. It will be a focal point for communications, where physicists will work together on data quality monitoring, detector calibration, offline analysis of physics events, and CMS computing operations. Construction of the CMS Centre begins in the historic Proton Synchrotron (PS) control room. The historic Proton Synchrotron (PS) control room, Opened by Niels Bohr in 1960, will be reused by CMS to built its control centre. TThe LHC@FNAL Centre, in operation at Fermilab in the US, will work very closely with the CMS Centre, as well as the CERN Control Centre. (Photo Fermilab)The historic Proton Synchrotron (PS) control room is about to start a new life. Opened by Niels Bohr in 1960, the room will be reused by CMS to built its control centre. When finished, it will resemble the CERN Contro...

Splenic injuries at Bugando Medical Centre in northwestern Tanzania: a tertiary hospital experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chalya Phillipo L

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Splenic injuries constitute a continuing diagnostic and therapeutic challenge to the trauma or general surgeons practicing in developing countries where sophisticated imaging facilities are either not available or exorbitantly expensive. The purpose of this review was to describe our own experience in the management of the splenic injuries outlining the aetiological spectrum, injury characteristics and treatment outcome of splenic injuries in our local environment and to identify predictors of outcome among these patients. Methods A prospective descriptive study of splenic injury patients was carried out at Bugando Medical Centre in Northwestern Tanzania between March 2009 and February 2011. Statistical data analysis was done using SPSS software version 17.0. Results A total of 118 patients were studied. The male to female ratio was 6.4:1. Their ages ranged from 8 to 74 years with a median age of 22 years. The modal age group was 21-30 years. The majority of patients (89.8% had blunt trauma and road traffic accidents (63.6% were the most frequent cause of injuries. Most patients sustained grade III (39.0% and IV (38.1% splenic injuries. Majority of patients (86.4% were treated operatively with splenectomy (97.1% being the most frequently performed procedure. Postoperative complications were recorded in 30.5% of cases. The overall length of hospital stay (LOS ranged from 1 day to 120 days with a median of 18 days. Mortality rate was 19.5%. Patients who had severe trauma (Kampala Trauma Score II ≤ 6 and those with associated injuries stayed longer in the hospital (P 2000 mls, HIV infection with CD4 ≤ 200 cells/μl and presence of postoperative complications were significantly associated with mortality (P Conclusion Trauma resulting from road traffic accidents (RTAs remains the most common cause of splenic injuries in our setting. Most of the splenic injuries were Grade III & IV and splenectomy was performed in majority of

Management of Hypothyroid Cases in Nuclear Medicine Centre, Dhaka-An Initial Experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Afroz, S; Nasreen, F; Hossain, S; Begum, R; Taslima, BDA

2001-01-01

Hypothyroidism is a common and well treatable disease. Regular follow up and good compliance of the patients are the main key features for a successful outcome. In our country, most of the patients come from a poor socio-economic background and are referred to the Nuclear Medicine Centre for thyroid function tests. As the referral is from either Surgeons, ENT specialists or general physicians and the cost for repeated investigations are quite expensive, the patients gradually lose interest in regular follow-ups. In addition, they do not take thyroxine regularly and the ultimate fate is disappointing. Realizing these problems we decided to threat those patients in our centre and offer them a nominal charge for the hormonal estimations and follow up managements. A total number of 174 patients were studied in 5 years (1997-2001). Out of 174 patients 48 patients were toxic patients receiving radioiodine and the rest 126 were hypothyroid due to other causes. 72.41% patients had regular follow up and amongst them, 57.14% became euthyroid. The test were improving. (author) 11 refs., 2 tabs

Human-centred Methods of Social and Technical Design

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Lauge Baungaard

Different inderstandings of design are presented.The historical background of human-centred designis described.Methods of social shaping are described in detailand the author's research experiences with using these methods in differentinternational projects presented and a model tointegrate...... technical and social perspective of design is suggested....

Human-centred Governance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bason, Christian

2017-01-01

Design approaches are now being applied all over the world as a powerful approach to innovating public policies and services. Christian Bason, author of Leading public design: Discovering human-centred governance, argues that by bringing design methods into play, public managers can lead change...... with citizens at the centre, and discover a new model for steering public organisations: human-centred governance....

Interfacing Nuclear Security and Safeguards through Education and Support Centre Networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nikonov, D.

2015-01-01

This paper presents the work of the International Nuclear Security Education Network (INSEN) and the International Nuclear Security Training and Support Centre Network (NSSC) as the means to achieve sustainable human resource development in member states. The paper also examines how both security and safeguards can benefit from collaborative and coordinated activities when such networks focus on practical achievements. (author)

A designated centre for people with disabilities operated by Health Service Executive, Dublin 16

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Hunter, Andrew

2017-09-25

Recent policy and service provision recommends a woman-centred approach to maternity care. Midwife-led models of care are seen as one important strategy for enhancing women\\'s choice; a core element of woman-centred care. In the Republic of Ireland, an obstetric consultant-led, midwife-managed service model currently predominates and there is limited exploration of the concept of women centred care from the perspectives of those directly involved; that is, women, midwives, general practitioners and obstetricians. This study considers women\\'s and clinicians\\' views, experiences and perspectives of woman-centred maternity care in Ireland.

A designated centre for people with disabilities operated by St Catherine's Association Limited, Wicklow

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Hunter, Andrew

2017-09-25

Recent policy and service provision recommends a woman-centred approach to maternity care. Midwife-led models of care are seen as one important strategy for enhancing women\\'s choice; a core element of woman-centred care. In the Republic of Ireland, an obstetric consultant-led, midwife-managed service model currently predominates and there is limited exploration of the concept of women centred care from the perspectives of those directly involved; that is, women, midwives, general practitioners and obstetricians. This study considers women\\'s and clinicians\\' views, experiences and perspectives of woman-centred maternity care in Ireland.

Mobile phone use for a social strategy to improve antiretroviral refill experience at a low-resource HIV clinic: patient responses from Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Adetunji, Adedotun A; Muyibi, Sufiyan A; Imhansoloeva, Martins; Ibraheem, Olusola M; Sunmola, Adegbenga; Kolawole, Olubunmi O; Akinrinsola, Oluwasina O; Ojo-Osagie, James O; Mosuro, Olusola A; Abiolu, Josephine O; Irabor, Achiaka E; Okonkwo, Prosper; Adewole, Isaac F; Taiwo, Babafemi O

2017-05-01

In sub-Saharan African areas where antiretroviral (ARV) drugs are not available through community pharmacies, clinic-based pharmacies are often the primary source of ARV drug refills. Social pressure is mounting on treatment providers to adjust ARV refill services towards user-friendly approaches which prioritize patients' convenience and engage their resourcefulness. By this demand, patients may be signalling dissatisfaction with the current provider-led model of monthly visits to facility-based pharmacies for ARV refill. Mobile phones are increasingly popular in sub-Saharan Africa, and have been used to support ARV treatment goals in this setting. A patient-centred response to on-going social pressure requires treatment providers to view ARV refill activities through the eyes of patients who are negotiating the challenges of day-to-day life while contemplating their next refill appointment. Using focus groups of five categories of adult patients receiving combination ARV therapy, we conducted this cross-sectional qualitative study to provide insight into modifiable gaps between patients' expectations and experiences of the use of mobile phones in facility-based ARV refill service at a public HIV clinic in Nigeria. A notable finding was patients' preference for harnessing informal social support (through intermediaries with mobile phones) to maintain adherence to ARV refill appointments when they could not present in person. This evolving social support strategy also has the potential to enhance defaulter tracking. Our study findings may inform the development of ARV refill strategies and the design of future qualitative studies on client-provider communication by mobile phones in under-resourced HIV treatment programmes.

Creating a specialist protein resource network: a meeting report for the protein bioinformatics and community resources retreat.

Science.gov (United States)

Babbitt, Patricia C; Bagos, Pantelis G; Bairoch, Amos; Bateman, Alex; Chatonnet, Arnaud; Chen, Mark Jinan; Craik, David J; Finn, Robert D; Gloriam, David; Haft, Daniel H; Henrissat, Bernard; Holliday, Gemma L; Isberg, Vignir; Kaas, Quentin; Landsman, David; Lenfant, Nicolas; Manning, Gerard; Nagano, Nozomi; Srinivasan, Narayanaswamy; O'Donovan, Claire; Pruitt, Kim D; Sowdhamini, Ramanathan; Rawlings, Neil D; Saier, Milton H; Sharman, Joanna L; Spedding, Michael; Tsirigos, Konstantinos D; Vastermark, Ake; Vriend, Gerrit

2015-01-01

During 11-12 August 2014, a Protein Bioinformatics and Community Resources Retreat was held at the Wellcome Trust Genome Campus in Hinxton, UK. This meeting brought together the principal investigators of several specialized protein resources (such as CAZy, TCDB and MEROPS) as well as those from protein databases from the large Bioinformatics centres (including UniProt and RefSeq). The retreat was divided into five sessions: (1) key challenges, (2) the databases represented, (3) best practices for maintenance and curation, (4) information flow to and from large data centers and (5) communication and funding. An important outcome of this meeting was the creation of a Specialist Protein Resource Network that we believe will improve coordination of the activities of its member resources. We invite further protein database resources to join the network and continue the dialogue.

Human resources for the nuclear sector in the Republic of Niger

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hassane, S.

2004-01-01

Full text: 1. Introduction: It is interesting to examine how the need to develop and maintain skills in term of human resources was dealt with Niger's nuclear sector. Although the country is one of poorest in the world, some insight can be derived from its experience. The Niger politics and strategies for both demand and supply side of human resources in the nuclear sector are to promote tangible socio-economic impact to the achievement of major sustainable development priorities. Member state of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) since 1968, Niger was started during the same year, its nuclear activities by extraction and processing uranium from open pit mine of SOMAIR. With 2960 tons of uranium from two big mines, Niger becomes the 3rd world producer. Training and education are critical components of the development of human resources related to the nuclear sector in Niger Republic. The country has gone through a number of initiatives to consolidate its legal framework concerning radiation safety. The National Centre of Radio Protection (NCRP), under the Ministry of Heath, is operational and is responsible for national regulatory activities programme, while the Ministry of Mines and Energy regulates uranium mining and milling activities. Both regulatory authorities need to develop their human resources to be able to inspect users and enforce regulatory requirements in all areas. 2. Human resources suppliers: In order to establish a pool of competency, mining companies send their workers to France for education and training. Incentives (good social condition, salaries etc) were provided to attract people to work in nuclear programme. Many foreign professionals were short-term consultants, but many of them are employed by the companies, forming a pool of well-skilled and motivated professionals. One way that was used to enhance and maintain the pool of trained professionals was the technical co-operation with the IAEA In this regard, we thank IAEA who has

Attracting foreign R&D through international centres of excellence: early experiences from Chile

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Klerkx, Laurens; Guimón, José

2017-01-01

International centres of excellence (ICE) in which foreign research organizations are attracted to developing and emerging countries via dedicated funding schemes to support technological catching-up and strengthening of innovation systems, can have benefits for both host countries and their

A qualitative study of the role of workplace and interpersonal trust in shaping service quality and responsiveness in Zambian primary health centres.

Science.gov (United States)

Topp, Stephanie M; Chipukuma, Julien M

2016-03-01

Human decisions, actions and relationships that invoke trust are at the core of functional and productive health systems. Although widely studied in high-income settings, comparatively few studies have explored the influence of trust on health system performance in low- and middle-income countries. This study examines how workplace and inter-personal trust impact service quality and responsiveness in primary health services in Zambia. This multi-case study included four health centres selected for urban, peri-urban and rural characteristics. Case data included provider interviews (60); patient interviews (180); direct observation of facility operations (two weeks/centre) and key informant interviews (14) that were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Case-based thematic analysis incorporated inductive and deductive coding. Findings demonstrated that providers had weak workplace trust influenced by a combination of poor working conditions, perceptions of low pay and experiences of inequitable or inefficient health centre management. Weak trust in health centre managers' organizational capacity and fairness contributed to resentment amongst many providers and promoted a culture of blame-shifting and one-upmanship that undermined teamwork and enabled disrespectful treatment of patients. Although patients expressed a high degree of trust in health workers' clinical capacity, repeated experiences of disrespectful or unresponsive care undermined patients' trust in health workers' service values and professionalism. Lack of patient-provider trust prompted some patients to circumvent clinic systems in an attempt to secure better or more timely care. Lack of resourcing and poor leadership were key factors leading to providers' weak workplace trust and contributed to often-poor quality services, driving a perverse cycle of negative patient-provider relations across the four sites. Findings highlight the importance of investing in both structural factors and organizational

A qualitative study of the role of workplace and interpersonal trust in shaping service quality and responsiveness in Zambian primary health centres

Science.gov (United States)

Topp, Stephanie M; Chipukuma, Julien M

2016-01-01

Background: Human decisions, actions and relationships that invoke trust are at the core of functional and productive health systems. Although widely studied in high-income settings, comparatively few studies have explored the influence of trust on health system performance in low- and middle-income countries. This study examines how workplace and inter-personal trust impact service quality and responsiveness in primary health services in Zambia. Methods: This multi-case study included four health centres selected for urban, peri-urban and rural characteristics. Case data included provider interviews (60); patient interviews (180); direct observation of facility operations (two weeks/centre) and key informant interviews (14) that were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Case-based thematic analysis incorporated inductive and deductive coding. Results: Findings demonstrated that providers had weak workplace trust influenced by a combination of poor working conditions, perceptions of low pay and experiences of inequitable or inefficient health centre management. Weak trust in health centre managers’ organizational capacity and fairness contributed to resentment amongst many providers and promoted a culture of blame-shifting and one-upmanship that undermined teamwork and enabled disrespectful treatment of patients. Although patients expressed a high degree of trust in health workers’ clinical capacity, repeated experiences of disrespectful or unresponsive care undermined patients’ trust in health workers’ service values and professionalism. Lack of patient–provider trust prompted some patients to circumvent clinic systems in an attempt to secure better or more timely care. Conclusion: Lack of resourcing and poor leadership were key factors leading to providers’ weak workplace trust and contributed to often-poor quality services, driving a perverse cycle of negative patient–provider relations across the four sites. Findings highlight the importance

Processing of LLRW arising from AECL nuclear research centres

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buckley, L.P.; Le, V.T.; Beamer, N.V.; Brown, W.P.; Helbrecht, R.A.

1988-11-01

Operation of nuclear research reactors and laboratories results in the generation of a wide variety of solid and liquid radioactive wastes. This paper describes practical experience with processing of low-level radioactive wastes at two major nuclear research centres in Canada

Assessment of climate change impact on water resources in the Pungwe river basin

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andersson, Lotta; Samuelsson, Patrick; Kjellstroem, Erik (Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Inst., Norrkoeping (Sweden)), e-mail: lotta.andersson@smhi.se

2011-01-15

The Rossby Centre Regional Climate Model (RCA3) and the hydrological model HBV were linked to assess climate change impacts on water resources in the Pungwe basin until 2050. RCA3 was capable of simulating the most important aspects of the climate for a control period at the regional scale. At the subbasin scale, additional scaling was needed. Three climate change experiments using ECHAM4-A2, B2 and CCSM3-B2 as input to RCA3 were carried out. According to the simulations annual rainfall in 2050 would be reduced by approximately 10% with increasing interannual variability of rainfall and dry season river flow and later onset of the rainy season. The ECHAM4-A2 driven experiment did also indicate a slight increase of high flows. If the results indeed reflect the future, they will worsen the already critical situation for water resources, regarding both floods and droughts. Uncertainties, however in the downscaled scenarios make it difficult to prioritize adaptation options. This calls for inclusion of more climate change experiments, in an ensemble of climate scenarios possibly by using a combination of dynamical and statistical downscaling of general circulation models, as well as extending the simulations to 2100 to further ensure robustness of the signal

Methods in Mapping Usability of Malaysia’s Shopping Centre

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdul Ghani Aida Affina

2016-01-01

Full Text Available With more than 200 number of shopping centre in Klang Valley itself, we the consumer actually have vast of choices. Instead of the machineries varieties from the lower class product till the posh one, each of those shopping centres eventually offers the typical product same as others. Those shopping centers are competing with each other and in great endeavour to attract more consumers, to visit and spend. As for the visitor, the typical product and boring ambience seems similar in all malls, and is looking something beyond the standard. Something that promising quality embedded in shopping centre which evokes the various emotions of the user along their journey in malls. This quality is known as usability. Usability; as defined generally is a global user’s experience response with product, environment, service or facilities. It is an assessment in extracting the qualities of shopping centre design. In mapping it, there are a few synthesizing methods to implement it. Therefore, this paper purposely to review the method that been used in usability of Malaysia’s shopping centre research with a few references on previous research done in usability assessment by predecessor’s scholars. With the accentuation on three elements that anchoring what the usability is: effectiveness, efficient and satisfaction, it is hope that this overview can lead other researcher in portraying its relationship with the quality and ‘user friendly’ design of shopping centre.

Creating a specialist protein resource network: a meeting report for the protein bioinformatics and community resources retreat

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Babbitt, Patricia C.; Bagos, Pantelis G.; Bairoch, Amos

2015-01-01

During 11–12 August 2014, a Protein Bioinformatics and Community Resources Retreat was held at the Wellcome Trust Genome Campus in Hinxton, UK. This meeting brought together the principal investigators of several specialized protein resources (such as CAZy, TCDB and MEROPS) as well as those from...... protein databases from the large Bioinformatics centres (including UniProt and RefSeq). The retreat was divided into five sessions: (1) key challenges, (2) the databases represented, (3) best practices for maintenance and curation, (4) information flow to and from large data centers and (5) communication...

Perceptions of patient-centred care at public hospitals in Nelson Mandela Bay

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Sihaam Jardien-Baboo

2016-10-01

Full Text Available In South Africa, the quality of health care is directly related to the concept of patient-centred care and the enactment of the Batho Pele Principles and the Patients' Rights Charter. Reports in the media indicate that public hospitals in the Eastern Cape Province are on the brink of collapse, with many patients being treated in condemned hospitals which lacked piped water, electricity and essential medical equipment. Receiving quality care, and principally patient-centred care, in the face of such challenges is unlikely and consequently leads to the following question: “Are patients receiving patient-centred care in public hospitals?” A qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual study was conducted to explore and describe the perceptions of professional nurses regarding patient-centred care in public hospitals in Nelson Mandela Bay. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a total of 40 purposively selected professional nurses working in public hospitals in Nelson Mandela Bay, Eastern Cape Province. Interviews were analysed according to the method described by Tesch in Creswell (2009:192. Professional nurses perceive patient-centred care as an awareness of the importance of the patient's culture, involving the patient's family, incorporating values of love and respect, optimal communication in all facets of patient care and accountability to the patient. Factors which enable patient-centred care were a positive work environment for staff, nursing manager's demonstrating exemplary professional leadership, continuous in service education for staff and collaborative teamwork within the interdisciplinary team. Barriers to patient-centred care were a lack of adequate resources, increased administrative work due to fear of litigation and unprofessional behaviour of nursing staff.

Teacher experiences in the use of the "Zoology Zone" multimedia resource in elementary science

Science.gov (United States)

Paradis, Lynne Darlene

This interpretive research study explored the experiences of teachers with the use of the Zoology Zone multimedia resource in teaching grade three science. Four generalist teachers used the multimedia resource in the teaching of the Animal Life Cycle topic from the Alberta grade three science program. The experiences of the teachers were examined through individual interviews, classroom visits and group interviews. Three dimensions of the study, as they related to elementary science teaching using the Zoology Zone multimedia resource were examined: (a) technology as a teaching resource, (b) science education and constructivist theory, and (c) teacher learning. In the area of planning for instruction, the teachers found that using the multimedia resource demanded more time and effort than using non-computer resources because of the dependence teachers had on others for ensuring access to computer labs and setting up the multimedia resource to run on school computers. The teachers felt there was value in giving students the opportunity to independently explore the multimedia resource because it captured their attention, included appropriate content, and was designed so that students could navigate through the teaming activities easily and make choices about how to proceed with their own learning. Despite the opportunities for student directed learning, the teachers found that it was also necessary to include some teacher directed learning to ensure that students were learning the mandated curriculum. As the study progressed, it became evident that the teachers valued the social dimensions of learning by making it a priority to include lessons that encouraged student to student interaction, student to teacher interaction, small group and whole class discussion, and peer teaching. When students were engaged with the multimedia resource, the teacher facilitated learning by circulating to each student and discussing student findings. Teachers focussed primarily on the

Perceptions of a simulated general dental practice facility - reported experiences from past students at the Maurice Wohl General Dental Practice Centre 2001-2008.

Science.gov (United States)

Davies, B R; Leung, A N; Dunne, S M

2009-10-24

This article assesses the perceived value of a simulated general dental practice centre as reported by past undergraduates over five years. Various aspects of teaching and related outcomes are explored based on responses received from anonymous questionnaires. A team based approach to cooperative learning led by current practitioners experienced in primary dental care was seen as pivotal to the huge success of the teaching model. Moreover the role of cooperative learning and its influence on building individual clinical confidence and acumen was considered highly beneficial as part of the transition from novice to expert. An anonymous questionnaire was distributed to students six months after qualification for a period of five years. The last registered postal address held by the Institute was used for this purpose. The years surveyed were: 2001-2002, 2002-2003, 2003-2004, 2005-2006 and 2007-2008. The questionnaire provided for both qualitative aspects of feedback and a quantitative representation of the overall perception of effectiveness of the General Dental Practice Centre, as expressed by a visual analogue scale. In total 135 questionnaires were returned representing a return rate of 53%. From the responses received 99% of the students reported that they enjoyed their sessions at the Centre with 96% expressing satisfaction with the teaching regime. The mean visual analogue scale rating the centre overall was reported as 83%, with a year on year increase ranging from 76-92%. Rich qualitative data were derived from free text responses. A simulated general dental practice centre was highly rated by past dental students in terms of the overall learning experience received and its relevance to later vocational training. By far the most consistently reported attribute was the opportunity to practise close support four handed dentistry with a nurse. Training in practice management and organisational skills were viewed as important with effective teamwork and a

78 FR 57921 - Patch International, Inc., QuadTech International, Inc., Strategic Resources, Ltd., and Virtual...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-20

... International, Inc., Strategic Resources, Ltd., and Virtual Medical Centre, Inc.; Order of Suspension of Trading... lack of current and accurate information concerning the securities of Virtual Medical Centre, Inc... October 1, 2013. By the Commission. Jill M. Peterson, Assistant Secretary. [FR Doc. 2013-23043 Filed 9-18...

A promising poison information centre model for Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carine Marks

2016-06-01

Conclusion: A number of benefits might result from such a poisons centre network hub, including: (1 Improved cooperation between countries on poisoning problems; (2 Harmonisation and strengthening of research and surveillance; (3 Common standards and best practices e.g. regulating chemicals, data management, and staff training; and (4 Greater bargaining power to secure resources. Further investigation is needed to identify the most suitable location for the network hub, the activities it should fulfil, and the availability of specialists in poisons information who could become members of the hub.

RTEMS Centre - Support and Maintenance Centre to RTEMS Operating System

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, H.; Constantino, A.; Freitas, D.; Coutinho, M.; Faustino, S.; Mota, M.; Colaço, P.; Sousa, J.; Dias, L.; Damjanovic, B.; Zulianello, M.; Rufino, J.

2009-05-01

RTEMS CENTRE - Support and Maintenance Centre to RTEMS Operating System is a joint ESA/Portuguese Task Force initiative to develop a support and maintenance centre to the Real-Time Executive for Multiprocessor Systems (RTEMS). This paper gives a high level visibility of the progress, the results obtained and the future work in the RTEMS CENTRE [6] and in the RTEMS Improvement [7] projects. RTEMS CENTRE started officially in November 2006, with the RTEMS 4.6.99.2 version. A full analysis of RTEMS operating system was produced. The architecture was analysed in terms of conceptual, organizational and operational concepts. The original objectives [1] of the centre were primarily to create and maintain technical expertise and competences in this RTOS, to develop a website to provide the European Space Community an entry point for obtaining support (http://rtemscentre.edisoft.pt), to design, develop, maintain and integrate some RTEMS support tools (Timeline Tool, Configuration and Management Tools), to maintain flight libraries and Board Support Packages, to develop a strong relationship with the World RTEMS Community and finally to produce some considerations in ARINC-653, DO-178B and ECSS E-40 standards. RTEMS Improvement is the continuation of the RTEMS CENTRE. Currently the RTEMS, version 4.8.0, is being facilitated for a future qualification. In this work, the validation material is being produced following the Galileo Software Standards Development Assurance Level B [5]. RTEMS is being completely tested, errors analysed, dead and deactivated code removed and tests produced to achieve 100% statement and decision coverage of source code [2]. The SW to exploit the LEON Memory Management Unit (MMU) hardware will be also added. A brief description of the expected implementations will be given.

DGNB certified Healthcare Centres

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brunsgaard, Camilla; Larsen, Tine Steen

2015-01-01

for sustainability and wants a certification. This research investigates the decision‐making and design process (DMaDP) behind four DGNB certified Healthcare Centres (HCC) in Northern Jutland in Denmark. In general, knowledge about the DMaDP is important. However it is important to know what part DGNB plays...... a dialog about DGNB and energy concept is important even before anyone start sketching. Experiences with the different approaches will be further outlined in the paper.Future research has the intention to collect further knowledge about DGNB and DMaDP in practise. This project was limited to Healthcare...

Town Centre Redevelopment Strategies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vagnby, Bo Hellisen

After many years of urban growth Danish downtowns are facing some important choices. Shall the stake one-sidedly be on the town centres as driving forces for growth and 'city marketing', or do they still have a role to play in a broader socio-economic context? In the paper we look back on eight...... as slum clearence and urban renewal. To a certain extent parallels are drawn to international experiences, especially where these are of such a nature that they can be assumed transferred to Danish connctions. Conclusively, the strategies are discussed in the light of the turn of Danish urban planning...

Grain centre mapping - 3DXRD measurements of average grain characteristics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Oddershede, Jette; Schmidt, Søren; Lyckegaard, Allan

2014-01-01

characteristics of each grain (such as their centre-of-mass positions, volumes, phases, orientations and/or elastic strain tensor components), while the exact locations of the grain boundaries are unknown. In the present chapter a detailed description of the setup and software for both grain centre mapping...... and the closely related boxscan method is given. Both validation experiments and applications for in situ studies of microstructural changes during plastic deformation and crack growth are given. Finally an outlook with special emphasis on coupling the measured results with modelling is given....

UICEE Centre for Problem Based Learning (UCPBL) at Aalborg University

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fink, Flemming Kobberøe; Enemark, Stig; Moesby, Egon

2002-01-01

University is considered to have a strong position in Problem-Based Learning (PBL) with many years of experience. Within engineering education co-operation with industry has also always been a field of high importance for Aalborg University and part of the PBL concept. An increasing number of universities...... and engineering schools worldwide are consequently seeking consultancy and cooperation with Aalborg University. The establishment of UCPBL is therefore welcomed as a possibility to merge these activities into one organisational structure and to strengthen the effort of improving engineering education......UICEE Centre for Problem-Based Learning (UCPBL) is a global centre for Problem-Based Learning located at Aalborg University, Denmark UCPBL is established as a partner to the UNESCO International Centre for Engineering Education (UICEE) located at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. Aalborg...

Strengthening Research Capacity to Enhance Natural Resources ...

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

... to Enhance Natural Resources Management and Improve Rural Livelihoods ... and contribute to the food and income security of the rural poor by enhancing the ... of its 2017 call for proposals to establish Cyber Policy Centres in the Global South. ... partnering on a new initiative, aimed at reducing the emerging risk that.

Developing Online Learning Resources: Big Data, Social Networks, and Cloud Computing to Support Pervasive Knowledge

Science.gov (United States)

Anshari, Muhammad; Alas, Yabit; Guan, Lim Sei

2016-01-01

Utilizing online learning resources (OLR) from multi channels in learning activities promise extended benefits from traditional based learning-centred to a collaborative based learning-centred that emphasises pervasive learning anywhere and anytime. While compiling big data, cloud computing, and semantic web into OLR offer a broader spectrum of…

Improving the Status of Human and Material Resources in Public ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Improving the Status of Human and Material Resources in Public Primary School in Oyo States ... the Millennium Development Goals project in the State. ... libraries, well-equipped first aid centres, adequate electronically projected instructional ...

Experiences with the ALICE Mesos infrastructure

Science.gov (United States)

Berzano, D.; Eulisse, G.; Grigoraş, C.; Napoli, K.

2017-10-01

Apache Mesos is a resource management system for large data centres, initially developed by UC Berkeley, and now maintained under the Apache Foundation umbrella. It is widely used in the industry by companies like Apple, Twitter, and Airbnb and it is known to scale to 10 000s of nodes. Together with other tools of its ecosystem, such as Mesosphere Marathon or Metronome, it provides an end-to-end solution for datacenter operations and a unified way to exploit large distributed systems. We present the experience of the ALICE Experiment Offline & Computing in deploying and using in production the Apache Mesos ecosystem for a variety of tasks on a small 500 cores cluster, using hybrid OpenStack and bare metal resources. We will initially introduce the architecture of our setup and its operation, we will then describe the tasks which are performed by it, including release building and QA, release validation, and simple Monte Carlo production. We will show how we developed Mesos enabled components (called “Mesos Frameworks”) to carry out ALICE specific needs. In particular, we will illustrate our effort to integrate Work Queue, a lightweight batch processing engine developed by University of Notre Dame, which ALICE uses to orchestrate release validation. Finally, we will give an outlook on how to use Mesos as resource manager for DDS, a software deployment system developed by GSI which will be the foundation of the system deployment for ALICE next generation Online-Offline (O2).

Enabling Grid Computing resources within the KM3NeT computing model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Filippidis Christos

2016-01-01

Full Text Available KM3NeT is a future European deep-sea research infrastructure hosting a new generation neutrino detectors that – located at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea – will open a new window on the universe and answer fundamental questions both in particle physics and astrophysics. International collaborative scientific experiments, like KM3NeT, are generating datasets which are increasing exponentially in both complexity and volume, making their analysis, archival, and sharing one of the grand challenges of the 21st century. These experiments, in their majority, adopt computing models consisting of different Tiers with several computing centres and providing a specific set of services for the different steps of data processing such as detector calibration, simulation and data filtering, reconstruction and analysis. The computing requirements are extremely demanding and, usually, span from serial to multi-parallel or GPU-optimized jobs. The collaborative nature of these experiments demands very frequent WAN data transfers and data sharing among individuals and groups. In order to support the aforementioned demanding computing requirements we enabled Grid Computing resources, operated by EGI, within the KM3NeT computing model. In this study we describe our first advances in this field and the method for the KM3NeT users to utilize the EGI computing resources in a simulation-driven use-case.

The Search for Centre

Science.gov (United States)

Nunes, April

2006-01-01

This paper acknowledges the importance of a dancer's centre but likewise highlights the problematic nature of the communication of this concept from dance teacher to student. After a brief introduction of orthodox approaches in finding centre, this paper suggests a method of locating centre through the ancient somatic technique.

Splenic injuries at Bugando Medical Centre in northwestern Tanzania: a tertiary hospital experience

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

Background Splenic injuries constitute a continuing diagnostic and therapeutic challenge to the trauma or general surgeons practicing in developing countries where sophisticated imaging facilities are either not available or exorbitantly expensive. The purpose of this review was to describe our own experience in the management of the splenic injuries outlining the aetiological spectrum, injury characteristics and treatment outcome of splenic injuries in our local environment and to identify predictors of outcome among these patients. Methods A prospective descriptive study of splenic injury patients was carried out at Bugando Medical Centre in Northwestern Tanzania between March 2009 and February 2011. Statistical data analysis was done using SPSS software version 17.0. Results A total of 118 patients were studied. The male to female ratio was 6.4:1. Their ages ranged from 8 to 74 years with a median age of 22 years. The modal age group was 21-30 years. The majority of patients (89.8%) had blunt trauma and road traffic accidents (63.6%) were the most frequent cause of injuries. Most patients sustained grade III (39.0%) and IV (38.1%) splenic injuries. Majority of patients (86.4%) were treated operatively with splenectomy (97.1%) being the most frequently performed procedure. Postoperative complications were recorded in 30.5% of cases. The overall length of hospital stay (LOS) ranged from 1 day to 120 days with a median of 18 days. Mortality rate was 19.5%. Patients who had severe trauma (Kampala Trauma Score II ≤ 6) and those with associated injuries stayed longer in the hospital (P trauma scores (KTS II), grade of splenic injuries, admission systolic blood pressure ≤ 90 mmHg, estimated blood loss > 2000 mls, HIV infection with CD4 ≤ 200 cells/μl and presence of postoperative complications were significantly associated with mortality (P Trauma resulting from road traffic accidents (RTAs) remains the most common cause of splenic injuries in our setting. Most

Experiences of patients and service providers with out-patient rehabilitation services in a rehabilitation centre in the Western Cape Province

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anne Kumurenzi

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Rehabilitation is important for persons with disabilities as it contributes to their sense of autonomy, self-worth and social participation, and improves their quality of life. Improving the quality of rehabilitation services requires the dialogue of patients’ perceptions with those of service providers, in order to recommend informed reform. Objective: The objective was to explore the experiences of persons with physical disabilities and service providers, regarding the multi-disciplinary rehabilitation services provided at a community-based out-patient rehabilitation centre. Methods: A qualitative, exploratory study design was used to collect the data. A focus group was conducted with conveniently selected persons with physical disabilities. Three in-depth interviews were conducted with purposively selected key informants. All ethical considerations were adhered to during the implementation of the study. Results: Patients and service providers had different experiences regarding accessibility to rehabilitation services, and similar experiences with patient education and intensity of rehabilitation. Although the patients experienced that the service providers had sufficient knowledge and skills to manage them, services providers expressed that they lacked certain skills. Conclusions: The experiences expressed highlighted the need to improve rehabilitation services in terms of increasing the capacity of service providers and providing transport services for persons with disabilities.

The CERN Data Centre readies for Run 2

CERN Multimedia

Katarina Anthony

2015-01-01

While the world waits for Run 2 data with growing anticipation, the CERN Data Centre is battening down the hatches. Run 2 is set to see a significant increase in the amount of data produced by the LHC experiments, with more than one hundred additional petabytes expected over the next three years. How will CERN manage this flood of results? The Bulletin checks in with the IT Department to find out...   The CERN Data Centre: the heart of CERN's entire scientific, administrative, and computing infrastructure. With every second of run-time, gigabytes of data will come pouring into the CERN Data Centre to be stored, sorted and shared with physicists worldwide. To cope with this massive influx of Run 2 data, the CERN Data and Storage Services group focused on three areas: speed, capacity and reliability. First on the list, the group set out to increase the rate at which they could store data. "During Run 1, we were storing 1 gigabyte-per-second, with the occasional peak of 6 giga...

Intermodal Logistics Centres and Freight Corridors – Concepts and Trends

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Norbert Wagener

2017-09-01

Full Text Available . Background: The development of international freight corridors, as the Trans European Network and new rail and inland shipping corridors in Asia and Africa, require efficient logistics centres along these corridors which serve as intermodal interfaces and provide a variety of different logistics service functions. The definition of the term logistics centre differs between countries and implies different functionalities. Locations are often selected randomly and business models are opportunity driven, especially in highly dynamic and less regulated new emerging economies. In particular Freight Villages as a special form of logistics centres have a high impact on regional development and serve as cargo generator for freight corridors. Consideration of general principles how to establish Freight Villages could improve the effectiveness of these logistics centres along freight corridors. Methods: Based on a literature review a comprehensive and hierarchical definition of logistics centres will be discussed and applied. From experiences in the development of logistics centres in several countries, especially in Germany and Lithuania, challenges and concepts concerning regulatory framework, determination of location and business and financing models are discussed. Results: Concerning the definition of logistics centres a hierarchical definition is applied which comprises different levels of logistics centres depending on the scope of the value adding and the functionality. As general principles for the development of Freight Villages the active role of the state, master planning, objective location finding, participation and co-operation of different stakeholders in the business model and a stepwise scheme for financing are introduced. Major trends for the future development of Freight Villages are the digitalization of supply chains, the application of new intermodal technologies and of innovative telematics systems, solutions for low emission and

Calibration of the cameras of the H.E.S.S. {gamma}-ray astronomy experiment and observations of the Galactic Centre above 100 GeV; Etalonnage des cameras de l'experience d'astronomie {gamma} H.E.S.S. et observations du centre galactique au-dela de 100 GeV

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rolland, L

2005-05-15

The H.E.S.S. experiment (High Energy Stereoscopic System) consists of four imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes to study the southern astrophysical sources above 100 GeV. This thesis presents the detector as well as the analysis chain. The calibration methods are described in details and the systematic errors on the image amplitude are derived. Then, an analysis based on a semi-analytical model of the electromagnetic shower development in the atmosphere is presented. Tools to reconstruct the energy spectrum and the morphology of the very high energy {gamma}-ray sources are presented and applied to the Crab Nebula. Systematic errors associated to the spectrum analysis are estimated. All these techniques were applied to study the Galactic Centre emission above 100 GeV. The nature of the source detected in 2003 and 2004 observations is still unknown and its spectrum, variability and morphology are studied. Various candidates are proposed, among them the supermassive black hole Sgr A* located at the dynamical centre of the Milky Way, the supernova remnant Sgr A Est or interactions of accelerated particles with the dense medium of this region. In this thesis, the signal was interpreted in terms of dark matter annihilation (neutralinos or Kaluza-Klein bosons) in a dense halo located at the Galactic Centre. This analysis showed that, in the framework of these models, dark matter annihilation alone can not explain the H.E.S.S. signal. The main component would thus come from astrophysical sources. (author)

Integrated resource management of biomass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goodwin, E.R.

1992-01-01

An overview is presented of the use of biomass, with emphasis on peat, as an alternative energy source, from an integrated resource management perspective. Details are provided of the volume of the peat resource, economics of peat harvesting, and constraints to peat resource use, which mainly centre on its high water content. Use of waste heat to dry peat can increase the efficiency of peat burning for electric power generation, and new technologies such as gasification and turbo expanders may also find utilization. The burning or gasification of biomass will release no more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere than other fuels, has less sulfur content than solid fuels. The removal of peat reduces methane emissions and allows use of produced carbon dioxide for horticulture and ash for fertilizer, and creates space that may be used for forestry or agricultural biomass growth. 38 refs

Engaging nurses in genetics: the strategic approach of the NHS National Genetics Education and Development Centre.

Science.gov (United States)

Kirk, Maggie; Tonkin, Emma; Burke, Sarah

2008-04-01

The UK government announced the establishment of an NHS National Genetics Education and Development Centre in its Genetics White Paper. The Centre aims to lead and coordinate developments to enhance genetics literacy of health professionals. The nursing program takes a strategic approach based on Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior, using the UK nursing genetics competences as the platform for development. The program team uses innovative approaches to raise awareness of the relevance of genetics, working collaboratively with policy stakeholders, as key agents of change in promoting competence. Providing practical help in preparing learning and teaching resources lends further encouragement. Evaluation of the program is dependent on gathering baseline data, and the program has been informed by an education needs analysis. The challenges faced are substantial and necessitate international collaboration where expertise and resources can be shared to produce a global system of influence to facilitate the engagement of non-genetic nurses.

SOCIAL ADAPTATION OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES THROUGH ESTABLISHMENT OF PUBLIC REHABILITATION CENTRES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tesler Kirill Igorevich

2012-10-01

The solution is to establish public rehabilitation centres that perform recreational, educational, sports, cultural, social, technological and production functions. This solution is most needed for blind and visually impaired people, because they experience particular problems in travelling in the urban environment. Establishment of the barrier-free environment can solve the problem of socialization of disabled people, because it contemplates all functional processes that they need. Integration of various functional units within public rehabilitation centres helps improve the living conditions of disabled people, and at the same time it contributes to the profitability of these centres as a whole and provides the necessary impetus boosting the development of techniques and technologies required for low mobility groups of people.

Person-centred web-based support--development through a Swedish multi-case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Josefsson, Ulrika; Berg, Marie; Koinberg, Ingalill; Hellström, Anna-Lena; Nolbris, Margaretha Jenholt; Ranerup, Agneta; Lundin, Carina Sparud; Skärsäter, Ingela

2013-10-19

Departing from the widespread use of the internet in modern society and the emerging use of web applications in healthcare this project captures persons' needs and expectations in order to develop highly usable web recourses. The purpose of this paper is to outline a multi-case research project focused on the development and evaluation of person-centred web-based support for people with long-term illness. To support the underlying idea to move beyond the illness, we approach the development of web support from the perspective of the emergent area of person-centred care. The project aims to contribute to the ongoing development of web-based supports in health care and to the emerging field of person-centred care. The research design uses a meta-analytical approach through its focus on synthesizing experiences from four Swedish regional and national cases of design and use of web-based support in long-term illness. The cases include children (bladder dysfunction and urogenital malformation), young adults (living close to persons with mental illness), and two different cases of adults (women with breast cancer and childbearing women with type 1 diabetes). All of the cases are ongoing, though in different stages of design, implementation, and analysis. This, we argue, will lead to a synthesis of results on a meta-level not yet described. To allow valid comparisons between the four cases we explore and problematize them in relation to four main aspects: 1) The use of people's experiences and needs; 2) The role of use of theories in the design of person-centred web-based supports; 3) The evaluation of the effects of health outcomes for the informants involved and 4) The development of a generic person-centred model for learning and social support for people with long-term illness and their significant others. Person-centred web-based support is a new area and few studies focus on how web-based interventions can contribute to the development of person-centred care. In

The Aube centre; Le Centre de l`Aube

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-07-01

This educational booklet is devoted to a general presentation of the Aube radioactive wastes storage centre. After a short presentation of the Andra, the French national agency for the management of radioactive wastes, it gives some general information about radioactive wastes (origin, classification), containers (quality assurance and different types), wastes transportation (planning, safety), and about the Aube centre itself: description, treatment and conditioning of drums (compacting and injection), storage facilities, geological situation of the site, and environmental controls. (J.S.)

Early experience with open heart surgery in a pioneer private hospital in West Africa: the Biket medical centre experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Onakpoya, Uvie Ufuoma; Adenle, Adebisi David; Adenekan, Anthony Taiwo

2017-01-01

More than forty years after the first open heart surgery in Nigeria, all open heart surgeries were carried out in government-owned hospitals before the introduction of such surgeries in 2013 at Biket Medical Centre, a privately owned hospital in Osogbo, South-western Nigeria. The aim of this paper is to review our initial experience with open heart surgery in this private hospital. All patients who underwent open heart surgery between August 2013 and January 2014 were included in this prospective study. The medical records of the patients were examined and data on age, sex, diagnosis, type of surgery, cardiopulmonary bypass details, complications and length of hospital stay were extracted and the data was analysed using SPSS version 16. Eighteen patients comprising of 12 males and 6 females with ages ranging between 8 months and 52 years (mean= of 15.7 +/- 15 years) were studied. Pericardial patch closure of isolated ventricular septal defect was done in 7 patients (38.9%) while total correction of isolated tetralogy of Fallot was carried out in 5 patients (27.8%). Two patients had mitral valve repair for rheumatic mitral regurgitation. Sixty day mortality was 0%. Safe conduct of open heart surgery in the private hospital setting is feasible in Nigeria. It may be our only guarantee of hitch free and sustainable cardiac surgery.

The academic medical centre and nongovernmental organisation partnership following a natural disaster.

Science.gov (United States)

Sarani, Babak; Mehta, Samir; Ashburn, Michael; Nakashima, Koji; Gupta, Rajan; Dombroski, Derek; Schwab, C William

2012-10-01

The global response to the 12 January 2010 earthquake in Haiti revealed the ability to mobilise medical teams quickly and effectively when academic medical centres partner non-governmental organisations (NGO) that already have a presence in a zone of devastation. Most established NGOs based in a certain region are accustomed to managing the medical conditions that are common to that area and will need additional and specialised support to treat the flux of myriad injured persons. Furthermore, an NGO with an established presence in a region prior to a disaster appears better positioned to provide sustained recovery and rehabilitation relief. Academic medical centres can supply these essential specialised resources for a prolonged time. This relationship between NGOs and academic medical centres should be further developed prior to another disaster response. This model has great potential with regard to the rapid preparation and worldwide deployment of skilled medical and surgical teams when needed following a disaster, as well as to the subsequent critical recovery phase. © 2012 The Author(s). Journal compilation © Overseas Development Institute, 2012.

Uranium 2011: Resources, Production and Demand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2012-01-01

In the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident, questions are being raised about the future of the uranium market, including as regards the number of reactors expected to be built in the coming years, the amount of uranium required to meet forward demand, the adequacy of identified uranium resources to meet that demand and the ability of the sector to meet reactor requirements in a challenging investment climate. This 24. edition of the 'Red Book', a recognised world reference on uranium jointly prepared by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and the International Atomic Energy Agency, provides analyses and information from 42 producing and consuming countries in order to address these and other questions. It offers a comprehensive review of world uranium supply and demand as well as data on global uranium exploration, resources, production and reactor-related requirements. It also provides substantive new information on established uranium production centres around the world and in countries developing production centres for the first time. Projections of nuclear generating capacity and reactor-related requirements through 2035, incorporating policy changes following the Fukushima accident, are also featured, along with an analysis of long-term uranium supply and demand issues

Developing a Science and Technology Centre for Supporting the Launching of a Nuclear Power Programme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Badawy, I.

2013-01-01

The present investigation aims at developing a science and technology centre for supporting the launching of a nuclear power [NP] programme in a developing country with a relatively high economic growth rate. The development approach is based on enhancing the roles and functions of the proposed centre with respect to the main pillars that would have effect on the safe, secure and peaceful uses of the nuclear energy -particularly- in the field of electricity generation and sea-water desalination. The study underlines the importance of incorporating advanced research and development work, concepts and services provided by the proposed centre to the NP programme, to the regulatory systems of the concerned State and to the national nuclear industry in the fields of nuclear safety, radiation safety, nuclear safeguards, nuclear security and other related scientific and technical fields including human resources and nuclear knowledge management.

Imperial College Reactor Centre annual report. 1983

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-01-01

It is reported that the reactor operated reliably during the year with less than half a day of operating time lost by faults or failures. Brief accounts of the 34 research projects at the Centre are given, and a list of teaching experiments or visits is included. These include undergraduate and post-graduate teaching. Commercial requests for irradiations and neutron activation analysis are reported as increasing. (U.K.)

International Centre for Theoretical Physics: Scientific activities in 1986

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-10-01

A review of the scientific activities of the Centre in 1986, including workshops, research and training-for-research is presented. The scientific program consists of eight main fields: Physics and Energy, Fundamental Physics, Physics of Condensed Matter, Applied Physics, Mathematics, Physics of the Environment and of National Resources, Physics of the Living State, Physics and Development. In addition to a brief description of each workshop, symposium, college and meeting, tables summarizing the participation of ICTP activities are given. A list of preprints and internal reports issued in 1986 is included

Status of the ETOILE centre at the end of 2010

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balosso, J.; Pommier, P.; Wasmer, G.

2011-01-01

Since its last presentation during the National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS)-ETOILE symposium of March 2009, the ETOILE project went through a series of steps that have altered its general organization but has consolidated its future. Many programmes have been pushed forward altogether, as previously announced. First, the tendering process developed as a tentative public-private partnership reached an unsuccessful end. This decision was made in full agreement with the administrative authorities. Second, the solution to include in the project a high-performance research facility capable of prolonging the present research programmes, as well as to attract and host visiting research teams was greatly improved. A dual-purpose centre, with mutualisation of the costs and resources, is now being proposed: the ETOILE Hadrontherapy Care Centre and the ETOILE Platform for Research and Development in Hadrontherapy (PRDH-ETOILE). This project was warmly welcomed by research and teaching institutions, and industrials. Third, the governmental health authorities gained full and satisfactory information through a long process of evaluation and negotiation and issued, in October 2010, a set of recommendations to go ahead with this solution, among which: the ''green light'', of course, to launch a new tendering process with a public body project ownership; the engagement of the State to create a specific national public health centre to host the care activities and to allow its funding through the health insurance system; the latter clause being granted provided the research part is auto-funded; the agreement to send an increasing number of patients to already existing carbon ion care centres abroad, in order to constitute a cohort of hadrontherapy cases in France, to begin treatments and studies, and later on training for the opening of the Centre. Thus, 2011 should be a very busy, and hopefully successful, year for ETOILE. (author)

Experiences of using the Theoretical Domains Framework across diverse clinical environments: a qualitative study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Phillips CJ

2015-03-01

Framework (TDF is an integrative framework developed from a synthesis of psychological theories as a vehicle to help apply theoretical approaches to interventions aimed at behavior change. Purpose: This study explores experiences of TDF use by professionals from multiple disciplines across diverse clinical settings. Methods: Mixed methods were used to examine experiences, attitudes, and perspectives of health professionals in using the TDF in health care implementation projects. Individual interviews were conducted with ten health care professionals from six disciplines who used the TDF in implementation projects. Deductive content and thematic analysis were used. Results: Three main themes and associated subthemes were identified including: 1 reasons for use of the TDF (increased confidence, broader perspective, and theoretical underpinnings; 2 challenges using the TDF (time and resources, operationalization of the TDF and; 3 future use of the TDF. Conclusion: The TDF provided a useful, flexible framework for a diverse group of health professionals working across different clinical settings for the assessment of barriers and targeting resources to influence behavior change for implementation projects. The development of practical tools and training or support is likely to aid the utility of TDF. Keywords: barriers and enablers, behavioral change, evidence-based practice, implementation, health care, Theoretical Domains Framework

Social interaction among people with psychiatric disabilities--does attending a day centre matter?

Science.gov (United States)

Argentzell, Elisabeth; Leufstadius, Christel; Eklund, Mona

2014-09-01

Engaging in social interaction has, for people with psychiatric disabilities, been shown to enhance well-being and the experience of meaning and to generally prevent the worsening of mental illness. The aim of the study was to investigate how day centre attendees differed from non-attendees regarding different aspects of social interaction and to investigate how occupational factors, including day centre attendance, and previously known predictors were related to social interaction in the study sample as a whole. A total of 93 day centre attendees and 82 non-attendees with psychiatric disabilities were examined regarding social interaction, subjective perception of occupation, activity level, sense of self-mastery and socio-demographic and clinical variables. Data were analysed with non-parametric statistics, mainly logistic regression. Social support was mainly provided by informal caregivers such as family members. The day centre attendees had more social relations but did not experience better quality or closeness in their relationships than non-attendees. Important factors for social interaction were subjective perceptions of daily occupation, being married/cohabiting, self-mastery and severity of psychiatric symptoms. Alternative ways of enhancing social interactions in the community is needed, targeting the group's feeling of satisfaction and value in daily life together with self-mastery. © The Author(s) 2013.

Analyzing the Influence of Customer Experience of Call Centre Towards Brand Loyalty of Telkomsel Users in Manado

OpenAIRE

Item, Alwins Januard

2013-01-01

A fairly rapid growth in Indonesian telecommunications industry has encourages the competition among existing providers. The need to increase customer satisfaction through CRM for every company is now considered to be more important. Nowadays, call centre not only limited to provide convenience feeling to the customers in keep in touch with the company. The extended function of this service can be use to build loyalty to a brand. Telkomsel as one of the famous provider also provide call centr...

Management of aplastic anaemia in pregnancy in a resource poor ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Management of aplastic anaemia in pregnancy in a resource poor centre. ... This is case of a 37 year old Nigerian woman G6P0+5managed with repeated blood ... aplastic anaemia following presentation with weakness and gingival bleeds.

Recruiting ENT and Audiology patients into pharmaceutical trials: evaluating the multi-centre experience in the UK and USA.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanchez, Victoria A; Hall, Deborah A; Millar, Bonnie; Escabi, Celia D; Sharman, Alice; Watson, Jeannette; Thasma, Sornaraja; Harris, Peter

2018-01-21

Recruiting into clinical trials on time and on target is a major challenge and yet often goes unreported. This study evaluated the adjustment to procedures, recruitment and screening methods in two multi-centre pharmaceutical randomised controlled trials (RCTs) for hearing-related problems in adults. Recruitment monitoring and subsequent adjustment of various study procedures (e.g. eligibility criteria, increasing recruiting sites and recruitment methods) are reported. Participants were recruited through eight overarching methods: trial registration, posters/flyers, print publications, Internet, social media, radio, databases and referrals. The efficiency of the recruitment was measured by determining the number of people: (1) eligible for screening as a percentage of those who underwent telephone pre-screening and (2) randomised as a percentage of those screened. A total of 584 participants completed the pre-screening steps, 491 screened and 169 participants were randomised. Both RCTs completed adjustments to the participant eligibility, added new study sites and additional recruitment methods. No single recruitment method was efficient enough to serve as the only route to enrolment. A diverse portfolio of methods, continuous monitoring, mitigation strategy and adequate resourcing were essential for achieving our recruitment goals.

SAP Nuclear Competence Centre

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andrlova, Z.

2009-01-01

In this issue we continue and introduce the SAP Nuclear Competence Centre and its head Mr. Igor Dzama. SAP Nuclear Competence Centrum is one of the fi rst competence centres outside ENEL headquarters. It should operate in Slovakia and should have competencies within the whole Enel group. We are currently dealing with the issues of organisation and funding. We are trying to balance the accountability to the NPP directors and to the management of the competence centres at Enel headquarters; we are looking at the relations between the competence centres within the group and defining the services that we will provide for the NPPs. author)

Large-scale fuel cycle centres

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smiley, S.H.; Black, K.M.

1977-01-01

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has considered the nuclear energy centre concept for fuel cycle plants in the Nuclear Energy Centre Site Survey 1975 (NECSS-75) Rep. No. NUREG-0001, an important study mandated by the US Congress in the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 which created the NRC. For this study, the NRC defined fuel cycle centres as consisting of fuel reprocessing and mixed-oxide fuel fabrication plants, and optional high-level waste and transuranic waste management facilities. A range of fuel cycle centre sizes corresponded to the fuel throughput of power plants with a total capacity of 50,000-300,000MW(e). The types of fuel cycle facilities located at the fuel cycle centre permit the assessment of the role of fuel cycle centres in enhancing the safeguard of strategic special nuclear materials - plutonium and mixed oxides. Siting fuel cycle centres presents a smaller problem than siting reactors. A single reprocessing plant of the scale projected for use in the USA (1500-2000t/a) can reprocess fuel from reactors producing 50,000-65,000MW(e). Only two or three fuel cycle centres of the upper limit size considered in the NECSS-75 would be required in the USA by the year 2000. The NECSS-75 fuel cycle centre evaluation showed that large-scale fuel cycle centres present no real technical siting difficulties from a radiological effluent and safety standpoint. Some construction economies may be achievable with fuel cycle centres, which offer opportunities to improve waste-management systems. Combined centres consisting of reactors and fuel reprocessing and mixed-oxide fuel fabrication plants were also studied in the NECSS. Such centres can eliminate shipment not only of Pu but also mixed-oxide fuel. Increased fuel cycle costs result from implementation of combined centres unless the fuel reprocessing plants are commercial-sized. Development of Pu-burning reactors could reduce any economic penalties of combined centres. The need for effective fissile

Bone Anchored Hearing Aid (BAHA) in children: Experience of a tertiary referral centre in Portugal.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosa, Francisco; Silva, Ana; Reis, Cláudia; Coutinho, Miguel; Oliveira, Jorge; Almeida E Sousa, Cecília

The aim of this study is to describe the experience of a tertiary referral centre in Portugal, of the placement of BAHA in children. The authors performed a retrospective analysis of all children for whom hearing rehabilitation with BAHA was indicated at a central hospital, between January 2003 and December 2014. 53 children were included. The most common indications for placement of BAHA were external and middle ear malformations (n=34, 64%) and chronic otitis media with difficult to control otorrhea (n=9, 17%). The average age for BAHA placement was 10.66±3.44 years. The average audiometric gain was 31.5±7.20dB compared to baseline values, with average hearing threshold with BAHA of 19.6±5.79dB. The most frequent postoperative complications were related to the skin (n=15, 28%). There were no major complications. This study concludes that BAHA is an effective and safe method of hearing rehabilitation in children. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and Sociedad Española de Otorrinolaringología y Cirugía de Cabeza y Cuello. All rights reserved.

Effects of unstratified and centre-stratified randomization in multi-centre clinical trials.

Science.gov (United States)

Anisimov, Vladimir V

2011-01-01

This paper deals with the analysis of randomization effects in multi-centre clinical trials. The two randomization schemes most often used in clinical trials are considered: unstratified and centre-stratified block-permuted randomization. The prediction of the number of patients randomized to different treatment arms in different regions during the recruitment period accounting for the stochastic nature of the recruitment and effects of multiple centres is investigated. A new analytic approach using a Poisson-gamma patient recruitment model (patients arrive at different centres according to Poisson processes with rates sampled from a gamma distributed population) and its further extensions is proposed. Closed-form expressions for corresponding distributions of the predicted number of the patients randomized in different regions are derived. In the case of two treatments, the properties of the total imbalance in the number of patients on treatment arms caused by using centre-stratified randomization are investigated and for a large number of centres a normal approximation of imbalance is proved. The impact of imbalance on the power of the study is considered. It is shown that the loss of statistical power is practically negligible and can be compensated by a minor increase in sample size. The influence of patient dropout is also investigated. The impact of randomization on predicted drug supply overage is discussed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Handling Worldwide LHC Computing Grid Critical Service Incidents : The infrastructure and experience behind nearly 5 years of GGUS ALARMs

CERN Multimedia

Dimou, M; Dulov, O; Grein, G

2013-01-01

In the Wordwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG) project the Tier centres are of paramount importance for storing and accessing experiment data and for running the batch jobs necessary for experiment production activities. Although Tier2 sites provide a significant fraction of the resources a non-availability of resources at the Tier0 or the Tier1s can seriously harm not only WLCG Operations but also the experiments' workflow and the storage of LHC data which are very expensive to reproduce. This is why availability requirements for these sites are high and committed in the WLCG Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). In this talk we describe the workflow of GGUS ALARMs, the only 24/7 mechanism available to LHC experiment experts for reporting to the Tier0 or the Tier1s problems with their Critical Services. Conclusions and experience gained from the detailed drills performed in each such ALARM for the last 4 years are explained and the shift with time of Type of Problems met. The physical infrastructure put in place to ...

The Case for Information Brokering During Major Change: The Experience of the Transition Support Office of the McGill University Health Centre.

Science.gov (United States)

Klag, Malvina; Richer, Marie-Claire

2016-01-01

This paper describes the emergence of an "information brokerage" in the project management office of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) in Montreal. This process evolved during unprecedented transformation linked to a redevelopment project. Information brokering became a core function in the MUHC's context of major change. To develop an information brokering model, the paper draws upon the literature on knowledge brokering, applies Daft and Lengel's (1986) seminal framework on information processing in organizations, and builds on the MUHC experience. The paper proposes that knowledge brokering and information brokering are related, yet distinct in content, purpose and structure.

A high resolution global wind atlas - improving estimation of world wind resources

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Badger, Jake; Ejsing Jørgensen, Hans

2011-01-01

to population centres, electrical transmission grids, terrain types, and protected land areas are important parts of the resource assessment downstream of the generation of wind climate statistics. Related to these issues of integration are the temporal characteristics and spatial correlation of the wind...... resources. These aspects will also be addressed by the Global Wind Atlas. The Global Wind Atlas, through a transparent methodology, will provide a unified, high resolution, and public domain dataset of wind energy resources for the whole world. The wind atlas data will be the most appropriate wind resource...

Hepatic transplantation outcomes for carefully selected cirrhotic patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: experience at a small- to medium-volume centre.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Qasim, A

2012-02-01

BACKGROUND: Hepatic transplantation outcomes for cirrhotic patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) at a small- to medium-volume centre are not fully known due to relative novelty of patient selection criteria. AIM: To determine hepatic transplantation outcomes for HCC at a small- to medium-volume centre. Patients and methods Hepatocellular carcinoma patients were listed for transplantation according to the International Guideline and further categorized as those fulfilling or exceeding Milan or University of San Francisco (UCSF) criteria on explanted liver morphology. Outcomes including mortality, retransplantation, and tumour recurrence rate were analysed. RESULTS: Twenty-six patients had HCC and on explanted liver morphology, Milan and UCSF criteria met 15 and 18 patients, respectively. Patients and graft survival at 3 months, 1 and 5 years were 100, 96, 84, and 88, 84, 77%, respectively. Outcomes favoured Milan criteria but did not reach statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: Hepatic transplantation for HCC at a small-to medium-volume transplant centre had comparable survival outcomes to high-volume centres.

Bilateral adrenal masses: a single-centre experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nilesh Lomte

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Background Bilateral adrenal masses may have aetiologies like hyperplasia and infiltrative lesions, besides tumours. Hyperplastic and infiltrative lesions may have coexisting hypocortisolism. Bilateral tumours are likely to have hereditary/syndromic associations. The data on clinical profile of bilateral adrenal masses are limited. Aims To analyse clinical, biochemical and radiological features, and management outcomes in patients with bilateral adrenal masses. Methods Retrospective analysis of 70 patients with bilateral adrenal masses presenting to a single tertiary care endocrine centre from western India (2002–2015. Results The most common aetiology was pheochromocytoma (40%, followed by tuberculosis (27.1%, primary adrenal lymphoma (PAL (10%, metastases (5.7%, non-functioning adenomas (4.3%, primary bilateral macronodular adrenal hyperplasia (4.3%, and others (8.6%. Age at presentation was less in patients with pheochromocytoma (33 years and tuberculosis (41 years compared with PAL (48 years and metastases (61 years (P<0.001. The presenting symptoms for pheochromocytoma were hyperadrenergic spells (54% and abdominal pain (29%, whereas tuberculosis presented with adrenal insufficiency (AI (95%. The presenting symptoms for PAL were AI (57% and abdominal pain (43%, whereas all cases of metastasis had abdominal pain. Mean size of adrenal masses was the largest in lymphoma (5.5cm followed by pheochromocytoma (4.8cm, metastasis (4cm and tuberculosis (2.1cm (P<0.001. Biochemically, most patients with pheochromocytoma (92.8% had catecholamine excess. Hypocortisolism was common in tuberculosis (100% and PAL (71.4% and absent with metastases (P<0.001. Conclusion In evaluation of bilateral adrenal masses, age at presentation, presenting symptoms, lesion size, and biochemical features are helpful in delineating varied underlying aetiologies.

Bilateral adrenal masses: a single-centre experience

Science.gov (United States)

Bandgar, Tushar; Khare, Shruti; Jadhav, Swati; Lila, Anurag; Goroshi, Manjunath; Kasaliwal, Rajeev; Khadilkar, Kranti; Shah, Nalini S

2016-01-01

Background Bilateral adrenal masses may have aetiologies like hyperplasia and infiltrative lesions, besides tumours. Hyperplastic and infiltrative lesions may have coexisting hypocortisolism. Bilateral tumours are likely to have hereditary/syndromic associations. The data on clinical profile of bilateral adrenal masses are limited. Aims To analyse clinical, biochemical and radiological features, and management outcomes in patients with bilateral adrenal masses. Methods Retrospective analysis of 70 patients with bilateral adrenal masses presenting to a single tertiary care endocrine centre from western India (2002–2015). Results The most common aetiology was pheochromocytoma (40%), followed by tuberculosis (27.1%), primary adrenal lymphoma (PAL) (10%), metastases (5.7%), non-functioning adenomas (4.3%), primary bilateral macronodular adrenal hyperplasia (4.3%), and others (8.6%). Age at presentation was less in patients with pheochromocytoma (33 years) and tuberculosis (41 years) compared with PAL (48 years) and metastases (61 years) (P<0.001). The presenting symptoms for pheochromocytoma were hyperadrenergic spells (54%) and abdominal pain (29%), whereas tuberculosis presented with adrenal insufficiency (AI) (95%). The presenting symptoms for PAL were AI (57%) and abdominal pain (43%), whereas all cases of metastasis had abdominal pain. Mean size of adrenal masses was the largest in lymphoma (5.5cm) followed by pheochromocytoma (4.8cm), metastasis (4cm) and tuberculosis (2.1cm) (P<0.001). Biochemically, most patients with pheochromocytoma (92.8%) had catecholamine excess. Hypocortisolism was common in tuberculosis (100%) and PAL (71.4%) and absent with metastases (P<0.001). Conclusion In evaluation of bilateral adrenal masses, age at presentation, presenting symptoms, lesion size, and biochemical features are helpful in delineating varied underlying aetiologies. PMID:27037294

Using a Science Centre as a School Lab ? a Case Story

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Helene

2004-01-01

responsibility for their own learning committed themselves to learn the scientific language. The study shows that in school science there has to be scaffolding around a project to insure that all students gain experience with science as a learning process in an environment with self-motivated, self......The study has the overall goal of finding suggestions for improving school visits to Science Centres and similar places. One such centre (Experimentarium) has established a partnership with a nearby school to investigate possibilities for cooperation. This case story tells about a project where...... tenth graders were trained to become museum ?explainers? as part of their science education. The objectives were to investigate if it was possible to obtain a quality out-of?school experience using the Experimentarium as a science lab. The intention of the study was to look at science learning...

Sustainable Development in the Engineering Curriculum: Teaching and Learning Resources

OpenAIRE

Penlington, Roger; Steiner, Simon

2014-01-01

This repository of teaching and learning resources is a companion to the 2nd edition of “An Introduction to Sustainable Development in the Engineering Curriculum”, by Roger Penlington and Simon Steiner, originally created by The Higher Education Academy Engineering Subject Centre, Loughborough University. \\ud The purpose of this collection of teaching and learning re-sources is to provide access, with a brief resumé, to materials in curricula reform, recognition awards, and university movemen...

Human-centred automation: an explorative study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hollnagel, Erik; Miberg, Ann Britt

1999-05-01

The purpose of the programme activity on human-centred automation at the HRP is to develop knowledge (in the form of models and theories) and tools (in the form of techniques and simulators) to support design of automation that ensures effective human performance and comprehension. This report presents the work done on both the analytical and experimental side of this project. The analytical work has surveyed common definitions of automation and traditional design principles. A general finding is that human-centred automation usually is defined in terms of what it is not. This is partly due to a lack of adequate models and of human-automation interaction. Another result is a clarification of the consequences of automation, in particular with regard to situation awareness and workload. The experimental work has taken place as an explorative experiment in HAMMLAB in collaboration with IPSN (France). The purpose of this experiment was to increase the understanding of how automation influences operator performance in NPP control rooms. Two different types of automation (extensive and limited) were considered in scenarios having two different degrees of complexity (high and low), and involving diagnostic and procedural tasks. Six licensed NPP crews from the NPP at Loviisa, Finland, participated in the experiment. The dependent variables applied were plant performance, operator performance, self-rated crew performance, situation awareness, workload, and operator trust in the automation. The results from the diagnostic scenarios indicated that operators' judgement of crew efficiency was related to their level of trust in the automation, and further that operators trusted automation least and rated crew performance lowest in situations where crew performance was efficient and vice versa. The results from procedural scenarios indicated that extensive automation efficiently supported operators' performance, and further that operator' judgement of crew performance efficiency

Intervention group as a resource of Occupational Therapy: an experience with menopausal women

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Soraya Diniz Rosa

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Intervention group as a resource of Occupational Therapy is the main theme of this study. Herein we present an experience carried out in two universities in the areas of occupational therapy, pharmacy and medicine, more specifically in the field of gynecology regarding the care of climacteric woman. The first intervention occurred in 2004 with trainees of the occupational therapy course and medical school residents. However, the study was restarted in 2010 with expansion to the human resources and knowledge areas. The methodology was based on the transcripts of the remarks made after each group meeting, which was coordinated by the Occupational Therapy. Results showed that the intervention group process has helped participants in the understanding of this stage of life and has interfered in the changing of habits and attitudes, with great improvement in daily life organization. We concluded that the use of intervention group as a resource of Occupational Therapy and the liaison with other areas are of great importance because they enable the construction of a unique treatment plan for the group, given the contribution from each clinical area.

IAEA To Launch Centre On Ocean Acidification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2012-01-01

activities which are not currently funded at national or international levels. The centre's role will be to facilitate, promote and communicate these activities related to global actions on ocean acidification, including international observation, joint platforms and facilities, collaboration between natural and social sciences, exchange of students and scientists, joint experiments, definition of best practices, open-access bibliographic database, data management, capacity building and dissemination. (IAEA)

ATLAS distributed computing: experience and evolution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nairz, A

2014-01-01

The ATLAS experiment has just concluded its first running period which commenced in 2010. After two years of remarkable performance from the LHC and ATLAS, the experiment has accumulated more than 25 fb −1 of data. The total volume of beam and simulated data products exceeds 100 PB distributed across more than 150 computing centres around the world, managed by the experiment's distributed data management system. These sites have provided up to 150,000 computing cores to ATLAS's global production and analysis processing system, enabling a rich physics programme including the discovery of the Higgs-like boson in 2012. The wealth of accumulated experience in global data-intensive computing at this massive scale, and the considerably more challenging requirements of LHC computing from 2015 when the LHC resumes operation, are driving a comprehensive design and development cycle to prepare a revised computing model together with data processing and management systems able to meet the demands of higher trigger rates, energies and event complexities. An essential requirement will be the efficient utilisation of current and future processor technologies as well as a broad range of computing platforms, including supercomputing and cloud resources. We will report on experience gained thus far and our progress in preparing ATLAS computing for the future

Defining and describing birth centres in the Netherlands - a component study of the Dutch Birth Centre Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Hermus, M A A; Boesveld, I C; Hitzert, M; Franx, A; de Graaf, J P; Steegers, E A P; Wiegers, T A; van der Pal-de Bruin, K M

2017-07-03

During the last decade, a rapid increase of birth locations for low-risk births, other than conventional obstetric units, has been seen in the Netherlands. Internationally some of such locations are called birth centres. The varying international definitions for birth centres are not directly applicable for use within the Dutch obstetric system. A standard definition for a birth centre in the Netherlands is lacking. This study aimed to develop a definition of birth centres for use in the Netherlands, to identify these centres and to describe their characteristics. International definitions of birth centres were analysed to find common descriptions. In July 2013 the Dutch Birth Centre Questionnaire was sent to 46 selected Dutch birth locations that might qualify as birth centre. Questions included: location, reason for establishment, women served, philosophies, facilities that support physiological birth, hotel-facilities, management, environment and transfer procedures in case of referral. Birth centres were visited to confirm the findings from the Dutch Birth Centre Questionnaire and to measure distance and time in case of referral to obstetric care. From all 46 birth locations the questionnaires were received. Based on this information a Dutch definition of a birth centre was constructed. This definition reads: "Birth centres are midwifery-managed locations that offer care to low risk women during labour and birth. They have a homelike environment and provide facilities to support physiological birth. Community midwives take primary professional responsibility for care. In case of referral the obstetric caregiver takes over the professional responsibility of care." Of the 46 selected birth locations 23 fulfilled this definition. Three types of birth centres were distinguished based on their location in relation to the nearest obstetric unit: freestanding (n = 3), alongside (n = 14) and on-site (n = 6). Transfer in case of referral was necessary for all

City profile: Transformation and injustice in Mumbai | CRDI - Centre ...

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

13 déc. 2016 ... In this 2014 profile, researchers with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences Centre for Urban Policy and Governance provide a foundation for understanding the many faces of Mumbai, and how its relatively low levels of public crime mask the many ways in which residents experience violence in their daily ...

The UK Centre for Astrobiology: A Virtual Astrobiology Centre. Accomplishments and Lessons Learned, 2011-2016.

Science.gov (United States)

Cockell, Charles S; Biller, Beth; Bryce, Casey; Cousins, Claire; Direito, Susana; Forgan, Duncan; Fox-Powell, Mark; Harrison, Jesse; Landenmark, Hanna; Nixon, Sophie; Payler, Samuel J; Rice, Ken; Samuels, Toby; Schwendner, Petra; Stevens, Adam; Nicholson, Natasha; Wadsworth, Jennifer

2018-02-01

The UK Centre for Astrobiology (UKCA) was set up in 2011 as a virtual center to contribute to astrobiology research, education, and outreach. After 5 years, we describe this center and its work in each of these areas. Its research has focused on studying life in extreme environments, the limits of life on Earth, and implications for habitability elsewhere. Among its research infrastructure projects, UKCA has assembled an underground astrobiology laboratory that has hosted a deep subsurface planetary analog program, and it has developed new flow-through systems to study extraterrestrial aqueous environments. UKCA has used this research backdrop to develop education programs in astrobiology, including a massive open online course in astrobiology that has attracted over 120,000 students, a teacher training program, and an initiative to take astrobiology into prisons. In this paper, we review these activities and others with a particular focus on providing lessons to others who may consider setting up an astrobiology center, institute, or science facility. We discuss experience in integrating astrobiology research into teaching and education activities. Key Words: Astrobiology-Centre-Education-Subsurface-Analog research. Astrobiology 18, 224-243.

A patient-centred team-coaching concept for medical rehabilitation.

Science.gov (United States)

Körner, M; Becker, S; Dinius, J; Müller, C; Zimmermann, L; Rundel, M

2018-01-01

Team coaching enhances teamwork and subsequently improves patient-centredness in medical rehabilitation clinics. Even though interprofessional teamwork is regarded as a crucial factor in medical rehabilitation, to date no evaluated team-coaching approaches are available for improving interprofessional teamwork in medical rehabilitation in Germany. Based on a systematic literature search and interviews with staff, managers, and patients of rehabilitation clinics, we developed a team-coaching approach that is standardized in its process but based on the individual needs and requests of each clinic. It takes a systemic perspective and is goal-oriented and solution-focused. The approach mainly serves to provide impulses to make use of resources within the team and to support a self-directed organisational learning process. It is manualized and can, therefore, be used by professionals aiming to improve interprofessional teamwork in their clinic. A multi-centre, cluster-randomized controlled study that was conducted to evaluate the team-coaching approach showed positive results. Team organization, knowledge integration, and responsibility can be improved, and, therefore, the implementation of the patient-centred team-coaching approach in interprofessional rehabilitation teams can be recommended.

Identifying patient-centred recommendations for improving patient safety in General Practices in England: a qualitative content analysis of free-text responses using the Patient Reported Experiences and Outcomes of Safety in Primary Care (PREOS-PC) questionnaire.

Science.gov (United States)

Ricci-Cabello, Ignacio; Saletti-Cuesta, Lorena; Slight, Sarah P; Valderas, Jose M

2017-10-01

There is a growing interest in identifying strategies to achieve safer primary health-care provision. However, most of the research conducted so far in this area relies on information supplied by health-care providers, and limited attention has been paid to patients' perspectives. To explore patients' experiences and perceptions of patient safety in English general practices with the aim of eliciting patient-centred recommendations for improving patient safety. The Patient Reported Experiences and Outcomes of Safety in Primary Care questionnaire was sent to a random sample of 6736 primary care users registered in 45 English practices. We conducted a qualitative content analysis of responses to seven open-ended items addressing patients' experiences of safety problems, lessons learnt as a result of such experiences and recommendations for safer health care. A total of 1244 (18.4%) participants returned completed questionnaires. Of those, 678 (54.5%) responded to at least one open-ended question. Two main themes emerged as follows: (i) experiences of safety problems and (ii) good practices and recommendations to improve patient safety in primary care. Most frequent experiences of safety problems were related to appointments, coordination between providers, tests, medication and diagnosis. Patients' responses to these problems included increased patient activation (eg speaking up about concerns with their health care) and avoidance of unnecessary health care. Recommendations for safer health care included improvements in patient-centred communication, continuity of care, timely appointments, technical quality of care, active monitoring, teamwork, health records and practice environment. This study identified a number of patient-centred recommendations for improving patient safety in English general practices. © 2017 The Authors Health Expectations Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Design and operational experience of the centre for the collection treatment and storage of low level radioactive wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zorrilla, S.

1986-01-01

The activities of the Centre for Collection, Treatment and Storage of Low-Level Radioactive Wastes (CRTADRBN) are presented. The objective of this centre is the final storage of radioactive waste and radiation sources generated by medicine, industry teaching and research. Safety, storage capacity and economy are considered in the design. The types of treatment for liquid wastes are described and the containement system is specified. (M.C.K.) [pt

Building and Managing Electronic Resources in Digital Era in India with Special Reference to IUCAA and NIV, Pune: A Comparative Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Sahu, H. K.; Singh, S. N.

2015-04-01

This paper discusses and presents a comparative case study of two libraries in Pune, India, Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics and Information Centre and Library of National Institute of Virology (Indian Council of Medical Research). It compares how both libraries have managed their e-resource collections, including acquisitions, subscriptions, and consortia arrangements, while also developing a collection of their own resources, including pre-prints and publications, video lectures, and other materials in an institutional repository. This study illustrates how difficult it is to manage electronic resources in a developing country like India, even though electronic resources are used more than print resources. Electronic resource management can be daunting, but with a systematic approach, various problems can be solved, and use of the materials will be enhanced.

ASPIRE: An automated sample positioning and irradiation system for radiation biology experiments at Inter University Accelerator Centre, New Delhi

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kothari, Ashok; Barua, P.; Archunan, M.; Rani, Kusum; Subramanian, E.T.; Pujari, Geetanjali; Kaur, Harminder; Satyanarayanan, V.V.V.; Sarma, Asitikantha; Avasthi, D.K.

2015-01-01

An automated irradiation setup for biology samples has been built at Inter University Accelerator Centre (IUAC), New Delhi, India. It can automatically load and unload 20 biology samples in a run of experiment. It takes about 20 min [2% of the cell doubling time] to irradiate all the 20 samples. Cell doubling time is the time taken by the cells (kept in the medium) to grow double in numbers. The cells in the samples keep growing during entire of the experiment. The fluence irradiated to the samples is measured with two silicon surface barrier detectors. Tests show that the uniformity of fluence and dose of heavy ions reaches to 2% at the sample area in diameter of 40 mm. The accuracy of mean fluence at the center of the target area is within 1%. The irradiation setup can be used to the studies of radiation therapy, radiation dosimetry and molecular biology at the heavy ion accelerator. - Highlights: • Automated positioning and irradiation setup for biology samples at IUAC is built. • Loading and unloading of 20 biology samples can be automatically carried out. • Biologicals cells keep growing during entire experiment. • Fluence and dose of heavy ions are measured by two silicon barrier detectors. • Uniformity of fluence and dose of heavy ions at sample position reaches to 2%

International research centre launched

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1965-01-01

Full text: The first scientific research and educational institution to be set up on a completely international basis was officially inaugurated in Trieste on 5 October 1964 by the Director General of IAEA, Dr. Sigvard Eklund, when he opened the first seminar of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics. As evidence of the international nature of the institution he noted that the scientists who would work and teach there during the first year represented sixteen different countries. By the end of 1964, the Centre building was nearing completion and three of the five floors were occupied. A successful symposium had been held on the subject of plasma physics, and a score of professors and fellows were at work, from Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Greece, India, Japan, Jordan, the Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. A dozen scientific papers had been issued as preprints. The main purpose of the Centre is to foster the advancement of theoretical physics through training and research; at first the chief subject will be high-energy and elementary particle physics. Plasma physics, low energy physics and solid-state physics will also be dealt with. Special attention is paid to the needs of the developing countries. Of the 25 fellows selected for the academic year 1964-65, more than half are from South America, Africa and Asia. In conjunction with the Research Centre, there is an Advanced School for theoretical Physics to provide graduate training for fellows who need such preparation before they embark upon research. The Centre works under the guidance of a Scientific Council comprising the president, Prof. M. Sandoval-Vallarta (Nuclear Energy Commission of Mexico); Prof. A. Abragam (Saclay, France); Prof. R. Oppenheimer (Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, USA); Dr. V. Soloviev (Dubna, USSR); Prof V.F. Weiskopf (Director General, CERN) ; Prof Abdus Salam (Imperial College, London) ; Prof. P. Budini (University of Trieste

CMS tracker slides into centre stage

CERN Document Server

2006-01-01

As preparations for the magnet test and cosmic challenge get underway, a prototype tracker has been carefully inserted into the centre of CMS. The tracker, in its special platform, is slowly inserted into the centre of CMS. The CMS prototype tracker to be used for the magnet test and cosmic challenge coming up this summer has the same dimensions -2.5 m in diameter and 6 m in length- as the real one and tooling exactly like it. However, the support tube is only about 1% equipped, with 2 m2 of silicon detectors installed out of the total 200 m2. This is already more than any LEP experiment ever used and indicates the great care needed to be taken by engineers and technicians as these fragile detectors were installed and transported to Point 5. Sixteen thousand silicon detectors with a total of about 10 million strips will make up the full tracker. So far, 140 modules with about 100 000 strips have been implanted into the prototype tracker. These silicon strips will provide precision tracking for cosmic muon...

Off-centre motion in doped cubic oxides: A general view on the instability

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aramburu, J.A.; Garcia-Fernandez, P., E-mail: garciapa@unican.es; Moreno, M.

2015-10-16

Highlights: • Recent experiment showing an off-centre motion in MgO:Ni{sup 2+} is unlikely to be correct. • Correspondence between small ionic radius and off-centre motion does not exist. • Small impurity charge or small coupling to the lattice facilitate off-centre motion. - Abstract: The existence of an off-centre distortion for impurities in cubic oxides is explored by Density Functional Theory calculations. We find that models based on ionic radii are inadequate to explain the off-centre instability. By contrast, increase of the nominal impurity charge or decrease of the host lattice constant act against the off-centre distortion. This explains why the motion of just the Ni{sup 2+} impurity can happen in SrO, in agreement with experimental data, while not for smaller Cr{sup 3+} or Ti{sup 4+} ions in the same lattice. Moreover, the different electronic structure and coupling to the host lattice are shown to be behind a small but positive force constant for Na{sup +} and Mn{sup 2+} in SrO. Our results indicate that an off-centre motion in MgO:Ni{sup 2+} is rather unlikely and that the local contributions to the instability in pure BaTiO{sub 3} are not enough to induce ferroelectricity if just the movement of Ti{sup 4+} ion is considered.

Optimization of the HLT Resource Consumption in the LHCb Experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frank, M; Gaspar, C; Herwijnen, E v.; Jost, B; Neufeld, N; Schwemmer, R

2012-01-01

Today's computing elements for software based high level trigger processing (HLT) are based on nodes with multiple cores. Using process based parallelization to filter particle collisions from the LHCb experiment on such nodes leads to expensive consumption of memory and hence significant cost increase. In the following an approach is presented to both minimize the resource consumption of the filter applications and to reduce the startup time. Described is the duplication of threads and the handling of files open in read-write mode when duplicating filter processes and the possibility to bootstrap the event filter applications directly from preconfigured checkpoint files. This led to a reduced memory consumption of roughly 60% in the nodes of the LHCb HLT farm and an improved startup time of a factor 10.

The challenges facing the European Union Centres of Excellence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dupre, Bruno; )

2012-10-01

On 19 April 2012, the United Nation Security Council congratulated the European Union for its initiative on centres of excellence in the nuclear, radiological, biological, and chemical fields. The time for glowing reports is over. Three years after its creation, the support of EU Member Sates, the Security Council, the G8, the IEAE, the WHO, the USA, Interpol, the ICRC, has been obtained. Other diplomatic, organisational, and communicative challenges have now arisen regarding implementation. The manifest challenges include: 1/Political exploitation of the centres. Following a recent round table in Algiers, the Algerian press ran headlines such as 'terrorism, the Malian crisis arrives in Algiers' CBRN centres of excellence' and 'Bouteflika, the centres of excellence slight'. 2/Communication errors. A unanimously approved expert in South East Asia became a persona non grata over the last six months despite not making any fundamental mistake, aside from his inability to evaluate the degree of a country's sensitivity and pride. The countries in the region went so far as to threaten to pull out of the Manila centre as a result of this ultimately minor error in communication. 3/The scope of the centres' role complicates the grasp of its objectives. To date, the focus has essentially been on non-proliferation and the fight against CBRN terrorism, under the well-established theme of Resolution 1540. The shift of CBRN focus, at the behest of certain regions, on to real natural risks (pandemics) or industrial risks (protection of crucial infrastructure following an earthquake, flooding, or a tsunami) fundamentally changes the teams' make-up and the mobilization of resources. The emergency services culture is different to that of nonproliferation. However, they both very much address CBRN risks and threats. 4/The limits of the 'bottom-up' approach. To date, the centres' success has been due to the lack of restrictive rules. The policy is to enlist willing third-party States

A 6-YEAR EXPERIENCE OF HEART TRANSPLANTATION IN FEDERAL ALMAZOV NORTH-WEST MEDICAL RESEARCH CENTRE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. V. Shlyakhto

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Aim. To estimate the results of 6-year experience of heart transplantation (HT in Federal Almazov North-West Medical Research Centre. Methods. From 2010 to 2015 we have performed 65 HT. Mean age was 44.3 ± 14 years old (from 10 to 64 years old. We used biventricular assist device (BIVAD, Berlin Heart Excor support in 7 heart transplant candidates before HT. 19 patients (29% received thymoglobulin, whereas 46 patients (71% had basiliximab to induce immunosuppression.Results. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machines were implanted in 5 patients (7.7% after HT due to acute right ventricular failure. Suture annuloplasty (the Batista procedure for tricuspid valve repair was carried out in 3 cases (4.6%. Venovenous hemodiafi ltration was used in 11 patients (16.9%. A total of 598 endomyocardial biopsies (EMB were performed after HT. Evidence of cellular rejection (R1 and R2 was presented in 286 biopsies (48%. The 30-day in-hospital mortality rate was 3.1%. The 6-month survival rate after HT was 92%, 1-year – 91% and overall survival for the 6-year period of observation – 89.2%. Maximum observation period was 71 months.Conclusions. The 6-year experience of HT in our Center has shown a high level of survival. BIVAD Excor support can be effectively used as a «bridge» to HT. Prevention of graft loss due to acute rejection in heart transplant recipients can be achieved only through regular EMB monitoring. The rate of viral infection increased in 2 months after HT.

Monitoring of computing resource utilization of the ATLAS experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rousseau, David; Vukotic, Ilija; Schaffer, RD; Dimitrov, Gancho; Aidel, Osman; Albrand, Solveig

2012-01-01

Due to the good performance of the LHC accelerator, the ATLAS experiment has seen higher than anticipated levels for both the event rate and the average number of interactions per bunch crossing. In order to respond to these changing requirements, the current and future usage of CPU, memory and disk resources has to be monitored, understood and acted upon. This requires data collection at a fairly fine level of granularity: the performance of each object written and each algorithm run, as well as a dozen per-job variables, are gathered for the different processing steps of Monte Carlo generation and simulation and the reconstruction of both data and Monte Carlo. We present a system to collect and visualize the data from both the online Tier-0 system and distributed grid production jobs. Around 40 GB of performance data are expected from up to 200k jobs per day, thus making performance optimization of the underlying Oracle database of utmost importance.

Gulf Canada Resources Limited 1998 annual report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1999-01-01

A review of operations in 1998 and financial information from Gulf Canada Resources Limited is provided to keep shareholders abreast of company performance. Gulf Canada Resources Limited explores for, develops, produces and markets conventional and synthetic crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. In 1998, the company's main operating centres were in western Canada (where it owns a nine per cent interest in the Syncrude Joint Venture), Indonesia, the North Sea and Australia. The report summarizes the company's energy resource activities, presents a detailed review of operations, and provides consolidated financial statements, and common share information. Although Gulf Canada Resources sold $ 1.2 billion worth of non-producing assets during the year, year end proved reserves of 838 million barrels of oil equivalent were less than ten per cent lower than a year earlier, reflecting reserve additions of 100 million barrels of oil equivalent. tabs., figs

The underground geothermal resource about Bure is not exceptional. Answers by the ANDRA to critics made by associations on the geothermal resource in the Cigeo study area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin, Marc-Antoine

2013-01-01

As some documents published by associations stated that the site chosen for Cigeo (Industrial centre for geological storage of nuclear materials and wastes) could be a geothermal resource of interest, the ANDRA herein states again that this resource is neither exceptional nor attractive in the present technological and economical conditions. In order to precisely answer to the arguments stated by the associations, it notably refers to some drillings performed in this area. It discusses drilling conditions and tests, test result interpretation, measurements, the process transparency, and the actual assessment of geothermal resources

International Centre for Theoretical Physics: scientific activities in 1982

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1983-08-01

Research and training-for-research were carried out in the following areas: physics and energy (nuclear physics, solar energy), physics and frontiers of knowledge (elementary particles and fundamental theory), physics of the living state, physics and technology (condensed matter physics), applicable mathematics and planning models (applicable mathematics, mathematical ecology), physics of the environment and of natural resources (geomagnetism, ionospheric and magnetospheric physics, atmospheric physics), and physics and development. Activities included both research at the Centre and a number of workshops and symposia. The subjects treated are briefly summarized, and references to preprints and internal reports are given

It's all change at the Computer Centre

CERN Multimedia

Laëtitia Pedroso

2011-01-01

The IT and EN Departments are modernising the infrastructure of the Computer Centre to improve the conditions in which the equipment has to operate and to increase capacity. The construction work has already begun and is due to be completed in October 2012.   Every year CERN experiences around ten power cuts lasting from less than a second to several hours. In most cases the two protection systems - the UPS* and the diesel generators – are able to ensure that the operation of the Computer Centre is not affected. As Vincent Doré, the project leader for the IT Department, and Paul Pepinster, the EN Department's technical coordinator in charge of modernising the infrastructure, explains: "Building 513 has two types of computing facilities – the "non-critical" ones, such as the servers for "off-line" computing, which have UPS systems ensuring that they can operate for 10 minutes after a power cut, and the "critical&...

Cardiac patients' perception of patient-centred care: a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Esmaeili, Maryam; Cheraghi, Mohammad A; Salsali, Mahvash

2016-03-01

The aim of this study was to explore cardiac patients' perception of patient-centred care. Despite patient's importance in the process of care, less attention has been paid to experiences and expectations of patients in definitions of patient-centred care. As patients are an important element in process of patient-centred care, organizing care programs according to their perceptions and expectations will lead to enhanced quality of care and greater patient satisfaction. This study is a descriptive qualitative study. Content analysis approach was performed for data analysis. Participants were 18 cardiac patients (10 women and 8 men) hospitalized in coronary care units of teaching hospitals affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences. We collected the study data through conducting personal face-to-face semi-structured interviews. The participants' perceptions of patient-centred care fell into three main themes including managing patients uncertainty, providing care with more flexibility and establishing a therapeutic communication. The second theme consisted of two sub-themes: empathizing with patients and having the right to make independent decisions. Receiving patient-centred care is essential for cardiac patients. Attention to priorities and preferences of cardiac patients and making decisions accordingly is among effective strategies for achieving patient-centred care. Cardiac care unit nurses ought to be aware that in spite of technological developments and advances, it is still important to pay attention to patients' needs and expectations in order to achieve patient satisfaction. In planning care programs, they should consider accountability towards patients' needs, flexibility in process of care and establishing medical interactions as an effective strategy for improving quality of care. © 2014 British Association of Critical Care Nurses.

Les télécentres, centres de communications polyvalents | CRDI ...

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

12 juil. 2011 ... ... la raison de leur absence et beaucoup répondent qu'ils ont eu une ... fournisseur de service Internet du télécentre, qui se trouve à Maputo ... Le télécentre s'est révélé être un fournisseur de services utile et recherché par les ...

Carnivalesque Enactment at the Children's Medical Centre of Rabin Hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Lev-Aladgem, Shulamith

2000-01-01

Describes the basic characteristics of the "carnivalesque enactment" and its therapeutic potential. Explains a case study of the drama project at the Rabin Children's Medical Centre, how the carnivalesque enactment was developed step by step, and the kind of effect it stimulated among the children. Suggests new theatrical experiments with…

Family-centred service coordination in childhood health and disability services: the search for meaningful service outcome measures.

Science.gov (United States)

Trute, B; Hiebert-Murphy, D; Wright, A

2008-05-01

Potential service outcome measures were tested for their utility in the assessment of the quality of 'family centred' service coordination in the provincial network of children's disability services in Manitoba, Canada. This study is based on in-home survey data provided by 103 mothers at 6 and 18 months following assignment of a 'dedicated' service coordinator. Service outcome indicators included measures of parent self-esteem, parenting stress, family functioning and the need for family support resources. Hierarchical regression analyses showed no relationship between level of quality of family-centred service coordination and standardized psychosocial measures of parent and family functioning. However, family centredness of service coordination was found to predict significant reduction in level of family need for psychosocial support resources after 18 months of contact with a service coordinator. Outcome measures that are focused on specific and tangible results of service coordination appear to be of higher utility in service quality assessment than are more global, standardized measures of parent and family functioning.

Complex Liver Resections for Colorectal Metastases: Are They Safe in the Low-Volume, Resource-Poor Caribbean Setting?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shamir O. Cawich

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. Although many authorities suggest that major liver resections should only be carried out in high-volume specialized centres, many patients in the Caribbean do not have access to these health care systems. Presentation of a Case. A 50-year-old woman with a solitary colorectal metastasis invading the inferior vena cava underwent an extended left hepatectomy with caval resection and reconstruction. Several technical maneuvers were utilized that were suited to the resource-poor environment. Conclusion. We suggest that good outcomes can still be attained in the resource-poor, low-volume centres once dedicated and appropriately trained teams are available.

Grammar Correction in the Writing Centre: Expectations and Experiences of Monolingual and Multilingual Writers

Science.gov (United States)

Eckstein, Grant

2016-01-01

Although most writing centres maintain policies against providing grammar correction during writing tutorials, it is undeniable that students expect some level of grammar intervention there. Just how much students expect and receive is a matter of speculation. This article examines the grammar-correction issue by reporting on a survey of L1, L2,…

The Resource Curse - A Natural Experiment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zenthöfer, A.F.

2011-01-01

This paper compares Mauritius and Trinidad and Tobago which have a very similar climate, history, institutional framework, ethnic composition, size, etc., but are different in the natural resources they possess. Trinidad and Tobago has achieved a higher per capita GDP based on its petrodollars, but

Evaluating quality of health services in health centres of Zanjan district of Iran.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohammadi, Ali; Mohammadi, Jamshid

2012-01-01

To assess quality of health services in Zanjan health centres based on clients' expectations and perceptions. The study was conducted by using service quality (SERVQUAL) scale on a sample of 300 females, clients of health care centres in the district of Zanjan, selected by cluster sampling. The results indicated that there were negative quality gaps at five SERVQUAL dimensions. The most and least negative quality gap mean scores were in reliability dimension (-2.1) and tangible (-1.13) respectively. There was statistically significant difference between clients' perceptions and expectations mean scores at all of the five service quality dimensions (P<0.001). The negative quality gap level in health service dimensions can be used as a guideline for redistribution of resources and managerial attempts to reduce quality gaps and improvement of health care quality.

Can a Discrete Choice Experiment contribute to person-centred healthcare?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kaltoft, Mette Kjer; Nielsen, Jesper Bo; Salkeld, Glenn

2015-01-01

In person-centred decision making the relative importance of the considerations that matter to the person is elicited and combined, at the point of decision, with the best estimates available on the performance of the available options on those criteria. Whatever procedure is used to implement...... this in a clinical decision, average preferences emerging from group or subgroup research cannot contribute directly, since they can have only a statistical relationship with the preferences of the individual person. The precise relationship is knowable by eliciting those of the individual concerned, but there would...... of how this could happen, the ambiguity often arising from the use and positioning of the apostrophe in the words persons and patients. Only when the person opts out of preference provision and asks to be treated as ‘average’, can the results of a DCE have clinical relevance in genuinely person...

Provision of hearing aids to children in Bangladesh: costs and cost-effectiveness of a community-based and a centre-based approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Ekman, Björn; Borg, Johan

2017-08-01

The aim of this study is to provide evidence on the costs and health effects of two alternative hearing aid delivery models, a community-based and a centre-based approach. The study is set in Bangladesh and the study population is children between 12 and 18 years old. Data on resource use by participants and their caregivers were collected by a household survey. Follow-up data were collected after two months. Data on the costs to providers of the two approaches were collected by means of key informant interviews. The total cost per participant in the community-based model was BDT 6,333 (USD 79) compared with BDT 13,718 (USD 172) for the centre-based model. Both delivery models are found to be cost-effective with an estimated cost per DALY averted of BDT 17,611 (USD 220) for the community-based model and BDT 36,775 (USD 460) for the centre-based model. Using a community-based approach to deliver hearing aids to children in a resource constrained environment is a cost-effective alternative to the traditional centre-based approach. Further evidence is needed to draw conclusions for scale-up of approaches; rigorous analysis is possible using well-prepared data collection tools and working closely with sector professionals. Implications for Rehabilitation Delivery models vary by resources needed for their implementation. Community-based deliver models of hearing aids to children in low-income countries are a cost-effective alternative. The assessment of costs and effects of hearing aids delivery models in low-income countries is possible through planned collaboration between researchers and sector professionals.

Training centres - organization and management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kovar, P.

1986-01-01

In the lecture 'Training centres - organization and management' some principles and requirements which influence the organization, management and activity pattern of nuclear training centres, are briefly introduced. It is demonstrated, step by step, how these general principles are implemented in the development of the Czechoslovak nuclear power programme, it means, how the training of the NPP personnel proceeds in Czechoslovak nuclear training centres. General principles which are selected: a connection between the capacity of the training centre and the scope and needs of the nuclear power programme, a position of the training center within the institutional set-up, a structure and organization of the training system which complies with the system of NPP construction, reflect the pattern and the activity of the nuclear training centre and nuclear power technical level, a research group of workers in the nuclear training centre, main tasks and technical facilities, management of the training process and a transfer of knowledge and research results into the training process. The lecture is supplemented by pictures and slides. (orig.)

Geothermal prospects in British Columbia: Resource, market and regulatory aspects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghomshei, M.M.; Brown, T.L.S.; MacRae, J.M.

1992-01-01

British Columbia is host to about 15 young volcanic centres and 60 hot springs, all evidence of presence of geothermal resources. Most high-grade geothermal prospects in British Columbia are located along 3 volcanic belts in the south-western region of the province. It is estimated that a minimum of 800 MWe can be generated from the known prospects in this region. Significant low-grade geothermal resources exist in several provincial regions. Market applications consistent with the geothermal resources known and expected to occur in British Columbia include electrical generation, process and other direct heat uses and recreation. Leasing, exploration and development operations for high-grade geothermal resources are addressed by the British Columbia open-quotes Geothermal Resources Actclose quotes which defines geothermal resources and reserves all rights to the Crown in the right of the Province

Student experience and academic success: comparing a student-centred and a lecture-based course programme

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Severiens, S.; Meeuwisse, M.; Born, M.

2015-01-01

Past research has shown that, under certain conditions, student-centred and small-scale course programmes result in more academic success. The present study investigates these conditions in further detail. It is examined whether, in comparison to a course programme that is relatively more

CMS tier structure and operation of the experiment-specific tasks in Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nowack, A

2008-01-01

In Germany, several university institutes and research centres take part in the CMS experiment. Concerning the data analysis, a couple of computing centres at different Tier levels, ranging from Tier 1 to Tier 3, exists at these places. The German Tier 1 centre GridKa at the research centre at Karlsruhe serves all four LHC experiments as well as four non-LHC experiments. With respect to the CMS experiment, GridKa is mainly involved in central tasks. The Tier 2 centre in Germany consists of two sites, one at the research centre DESY at Hamburg and one at RWTH Aachen University, forming a federated Tier 2 centre. Both parts cover different aspects of a Tier 2 centre. The German Tier 3 centres are located at the research centre DESY at Hamburg, at RWTH Aachen University, and at the University of Karlsruhe. Furthermore the building of a German user analysis facility is planned. Since the CMS community in German is rather small, a good cooperation between the different sites is essential. This cooperation includes physical topics as well as technical and operational issues. All available communication channels such as email, phone, monthly video conferences, and regular personal meetings are used. For example, the distribution of data sets is coordinated globally within Germany. Also the CMS-specific services such as the data transfer tool PhEDEx or the Monte Carlo production are operated by people from different sites in order to spread the knowledge widely and increase the redundancy in terms of operators

Young people with psychiatric disabilities and their views of day centres.

Science.gov (United States)

Gunnarsson, A Birgitta; Eklund, Mona

2017-05-01

Young people with psychiatric disabilities may require support in structuring their everyday life. To learn more about the relevance of day centres in this respect, this study aimed to examine the experiences of young people with psychiatric disabilities. A particular focus was on the perceptions of meaningful occupation when visiting day centres, their reasons for not choosing this option when given it and what they desired instead. A qualitative design based on individual interviews was used. Twelve women and eight men between 18 and 35 years, with a need for organized daily occupations, participated as informants. Qualitative content analysis revealed three categories: 'Being in a context', 'Balancing between developing and stagnating', and 'Longing for something more'. The findings indicated that the occupations were inherently age neutral, as were the possibilities for socializing. There was a desire for more activities in the community and more support for engaging in occupations that other young people did. A major issue in the accomplishment of this was the need to earn money, and the lack of opportunities for doing that in the day centre context was a considerable drawback. The findings highlight the importance of identifying young people's views when designing day centres.

Bubble propagation in Hele-Shaw channels with centred constrictions

Science.gov (United States)

Franco-Gómez, Andrés; Thompson, Alice B.; Hazel, Andrew L.; Juel, Anne

2018-04-01

We study the propagation of finite bubbles in a Hele-Shaw channel, where a centred occlusion (termed a rail) is introduced to provide a small axially uniform depth constriction. For bubbles wide enough to span the channel, the system’s behaviour is similar to that of semi-infinite fingers and a symmetric static solution is stable. Here, we focus on smaller bubbles, in which case the symmetric static solution is unstable and the static bubble is displaced towards one of the deeper regions of the channel on either side of the rail. Using a combination of experiments and numerical simulations of a depth-averaged model, we show that a bubble propagating axially due to a small imposed flow rate can be stabilised in a steady symmetric mode centred on the rail through a subtle interaction between stabilising viscous forces and destabilising surface tension forces. However, for sufficiently large capillary numbers Ca, the ratio of viscous to surface tension forces, viscous forces in turn become destabilising thus returning the bubble to an off-centred propagation regime. With decreasing bubble size, the range of Ca for which steady centred propagation is stable decreases, and eventually vanishes through the coalescence of two supercritical pitchfork bifurcations. The depth-averaged model is found to accurately predict all the steady modes of propagation observed experimentally, and provides a comprehensive picture of the underlying steady bifurcation structure. However, for sufficiently large imposed flow rates, we find that initially centred bubbles do not converge onto a steady mode of propagation. Instead they transiently explore weakly unstable steady modes, an evolution which results in their break-up and eventual settling into a steady propagating state of changed topology.

DISCOVERY LEARNING APPROACH IN IMPROVING ARABIC ABILITY OF PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS IN RELIGIOUS TRAINING CENTRE OF MAKASSAR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masrariah Amin

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Discovery Learning can be defined as the learning that takes place when the student is not presented with subject matter in the final form, rather he/she is required to find out the concepts by him/her self. This research aims to describe and analyze discovery learning method to strategically improve the comprehension and reasoning ability of Arabic pre-service teachers, which can motivate and enhance their creativity in order to enrich their insight about Arabic teaching as well, especially those who are in training centre. This research was undertaken in two classes of Makassar Religious Training Centre during June-August 2016. The design of this research is experiment with discovery learning approach with randomized pretest-posttest control group design. It was done randomly when to choosing the participants to be experiment and control group. Based on hypothesis testing, discovery learning has positive effects on the pre-service teachers’ Arabic ability in training centre to understand and analyze Arabic. Therefore, based on two-variance analysis; control and experiment group, there is difference on teachers’ comprehension and reasoning ability in learning Arabic between experiment and control group by using discovery learning and conventional method.

Call Centre- Computer Telephone Integration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dražen Kovačević

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Call centre largely came into being as a result of consumerneeds converging with enabling technology- and by the companiesrecognising the revenue opportunities generated by meetingthose needs thereby increasing customer satisfaction. Regardlessof the specific application or activity of a Call centre, customersatisfaction with the interaction is critical to the revenuegenerated or protected by the Call centre. Physical(v, Call centreset up is a place that includes computer, telephone and supervisorstation. Call centre can be available 24 hours a day - whenthe customer wants to make a purchase, needs information, orsimply wishes to register a complaint.

Time to learn: the outlook for renewal of patient-centred education in the digital age.

Science.gov (United States)

Glick, T H; Moore, G T

2001-05-01

Major forces in society and within health systems are fragmenting patient care and clinical learning. The distancing of physician and trainee from the patient undermines learning about the patient-doctor relationship. The disconnection of care and learning from one successive venue to another impedes the ability of trainees to learn about illness longitudinally. As a conceptual piece, our methods have been those of witnessing the experiences of patients, practitioners, and students over time and observing the impact of fragmented systems and changing expectations on care and learning. We have reflected on the opportunities created by digital information systems and interactive telemedicine to help renew essential relationships. Although there is, as yet, little in the literature on educational or health outcomes of this kind of technological enablement, we anticipate opportunities for a renewed focus on the patient in that patient's own space and time. Multimedia applications can achieve not only real-time connections, but can help construct a "virtual patient" as a platform for supervision and assessment, permitting preceptors to evaluate trainee-patient interactions, utilization of Web-based data and human resources, and on-line professionalism. Just as diverse elements in society are capitalizing upon digital technology to create advantageous relationships, all of the elements in the complex systems of health care and medical training can be better connected, so as to put the patient back in the centre of care and the trainee's ongoing relationship to the patient back in the centre of education.

Addressing the challenges of patient-centred design

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karen LaBat

2009-11-01

Full Text Available Patient-centred design is a relatively new term, but a longstanding concept in clinical practice. This discussion looks at patient-centred design and explores the relationships of patient-centred design to universal design, user-centred design and the newer human-centred design. It also explores why interdisciplinary approaches are needed for patient-centred design and how interdisciplinary collaboration works to address the challenges of patient centred design. Successful patient-centred solutions can grow from collaborations which include shared visions, understanding of both the nature and degree of variation in the patient,materials, and the designed solution, clear regular communication among all parties with careful definition of terms, and respect for the inherent cultures of all disciplines involved.

Thailand's nuclear research centre

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamkate, P.

2001-01-01

The Office of Atomic Energy for Peace, Thailand, is charged with three main tasks, namely, Nuclear Energy development Plan, Utilization of Nuclear Based technology Plan and Science and Technology Plan. Its activities are centred around the research reactor TRR-1/M1. The main areas of contribution include improvement in agricultural production, nuclear medicine and nuclear oncology, health care and nutrition, increasing industrial productivity and efficiency and, development of cadre competent in nuclear science and technology. The office also has the responsibility of ensuring nuclear safety, radiation safety and nuclear waste management. The office has started a new project in 1997 under which a 10 MWt research reactor, an isotope production facility and a waste processing and storage facility would be set up by General Atomic of USA. OAEP has a strong linkage with the IAEA and has been an active participant in RCA programmes. In the future OAEP will enhance its present capabilities in the use of radioisotopes and radiation and look into the possibility of using nuclear energy as an alternative energy resource. (author)

Patient anxiety in magnetic resonance imaging centres: Is further intervention needed?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tischler, Victoria; Calton, Tim; Williams, Michael; Cheetham, Anna

2008-01-01

Background: Anxiety is commonly reported by patients attending for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanning. This cross sectional postal survey sought the views of radiographers regarding: levels of patient anxiety, methods used to manage this before and during scanning, and the need for additional interventions to reduce anxiety. Results: Participants reported that they used procedures such as information leaflets, pre-scan visits and music to inform patients about the scan procedure and to reduce anxiety. Despite this, high levels of patient anxiety were reported, leading to scan disruption in some centres. The causes of anxiety concurred with previous research findings, for example, the scan environment, noise levels and fear of what the scan may reveal. Most participants were opposed to the idea of a multi-media intervention to reduce anxiety but this was often related to resource restrictions. Conclusions: Despite most centres using anxiety reducing techniques, many still report scan disruption suggesting there is a need to improve support for patients

Human-centred approaches in slipperiness measurement

Science.gov (United States)

Grönqvist, Raoul; Abeysekera, John; Gard, Gunvor; Hsiang, Simon M.; Leamon, Tom B.; Newman, Dava J.; Gielo-Perczak, Krystyna; Lockhart, Thurmon E.; Pai, Clive Y.-C.

2010-01-01

A number of human-centred methodologies—subjective, objective, and combined—are used for slipperiness measurement. They comprise a variety of approaches from biomechanically-oriented experiments to psychophysical tests and subjective evaluations. The objective of this paper is to review some of the research done in the field, including such topics as awareness and perception of slipperiness, postural and balance control, rating scales for balance, adaptation to slippery conditions, measurement of unexpected movements, kinematics of slipping, and protective movements during falling. The role of human factors in slips and falls will be discussed. Strengths and weaknesses of human-centred approaches in relation to mechanical slip test methodologies are considered. Current friction-based criteria and thresholds for walking without slipping are reviewed for a number of work tasks. These include activities such as walking on a level or an inclined surface, running, stopping and jumping, as well as stair ascent and descent, manual exertion (pushing and pulling, load carrying, lifting) and particular concerns of the elderly and mobility disabled persons. Some future directions for slipperiness measurement and research in the field of slips and falls are outlined. Human-centred approaches for slipperiness measurement do have many applications. First, they are utilized to develop research hypotheses and models to predict workplace risks caused by slipping. Second, they are important alternatives to apparatus-based friction measurements and are used to validate such methodologies. Third, they are used as practical tools for evaluating and monitoring slip resistance properties of foot wear, anti-skid devices and floor surfaces. PMID:11794763

Establishing a `Centre for Engineering Experimentation and Design Simulation': a step towards restructuring engineering education in India

Science.gov (United States)

Venkateswarlu, P.

2017-07-01

Reforms in undergraduate engineering curriculum to produce engineers with entrepreneurial skills should address real-world problems relevant to industry and society with active industry support. Technology-assisted, hands-on projects involving experimentation, design simulation and prototyping will transform graduates into professionals with necessary skills to create and advance knowledge that meets global standards. To achieve this goal, this paper proposes establishing a central facility, 'Centre for Engineering Experimentation and Design Simulation' (CEEDS) in autonomous engineering colleges in India. The centre will be equipped with the most recent technology resources and computational facilities where students execute novel interdisciplinary product-oriented projects benefiting both industry and society. Students undertake two projects: a short-term project aimed at an engineering solution to a problem in energy, health and environment and the other a major industry-supported project devoted to a product that enhances innovation and creativity. The paper presents the current status, the theoretical and pedagogical foundation for the centre's relevance, an activity plan and its implementation in the centre for product-based learning with illustrative examples.

Analysis of fuel centre temperatures and fission gas release data from the IFPE Database

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schubert, A.; Lassmann, K.; Van Uffelen, P.; Van de Laar, J.; Elenkov, D.; Asenov, S.; Boneva, S.; Djourelov, N.; Georgieva, M.

2003-01-01

The present work has continued the analysis of fuel centre temperatures and fission gas release, calculated with standard options of the TRANSURANUS code. The calculations are compared to experimental data from the International Fuel Performance Experiments (IFPE) database. It is reported an analysis regarding UO 2 fuel for Western-type reactors: Fuel centre temperatures measured in the experiments Contact 1 and Contact 2 (in-pile tests of 2 rods performed at the Siloe reactor in Grenoble, France, closely simulating commercial PWR conditions); Fission gas release data derived from post-irradiation examinations of 9 fuel rods belonging to the High-Burnup Effects Programme, task 3 (HBEP3). The results allow for a comparison of predictions by TRANSURANUS for the mentioned Western-type fuels with those done previously for Russian-type WWER fuel. The comparison has been extended to include fuel centre temperatures as well as fission gas release. The present version of TRANSURANUS includes a model that calculates the production of Helium. The amount of produced Helium is compared to the measured and to the calculated release of the fission gases Xenon and Krypton

ITT - Fonds d'activités du BRA : l'IPS | CRDI - Centre de recherches ...

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

Cette subvention permettra à l'Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) du Sri Lanka, bénéficiaire de l'Initiative Think Tank, de réaliser des recherches de qualité, axées sur les politiques, sur la migration économique. La recherche sera centrée sur des questions soulevées par la National Human Resources and Employment Policy ...

Neighbourhood Centres – Organisation, Management and Finance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Jacob Norvig

to identify different financial models and analyse economic sustainability. As regards organisational and management models data were collected through documentary sources and by means of personal interviews and field visits to ten centres. Even within the analysed limited population of centres economic...... public subsidy. Some of the centres have high number of users on a daily basis, whereas others are only rarely used. It is explored how organisation, management and financial set-up differs among the centres. Quantitative data on financial issues and annual accounts of fifteen centres were analysed...... and institutional sustainability varies significantly. In organisational terms centres range from fully-integrated in the municipal administration to independent voluntary managed centres. In terms of financial, or economic, models variation is less pronounced as all centres to some degree are dependent on current...

An evaluation of the utilisation of the virtual environment for radiotherapy training (VERT) in clinical radiotherapy centres across the UK

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

James, Sarah; Dumbleton, Claire

2013-01-01

Aim: The purpose of the survey was to evaluate the utilisation of the Virtual Environment for Radiotherapy Training (VERT) in clinical radiotherapy centres across the UK. Methods: A survey questionnaire was constructed using the Survey Monkey™ tool to evaluate the utilisation of the Virtual Environment for Radiotherapy Training. Once constructed, an online link to the survey questionnaire was emailed to all radiotherapy centre managers in the UK (n = 67) who were invited to provide one response per centre. The survey comprised forty-five questions which were grouped into eleven sections. Key results: The results indicate that 61% of UK radiotherapy centres have VERT installed, twenty centres are currently without a VERT installation and only 1 centre is intending to install a system in the near future. The results also indicate that the use of VERT varies considerably in differing radiotherapy centres with the most frequent use of VERT being for the training of staff, specifically for the training of pre-registration therapeutic radiographers and preparation time for trainers. The majority of centres using VERT for any of the purposes investigated feel it provides benefits. Conclusions and recommendations: The survey highlighted the varied use of VERT in radiotherapy centres across the UK and indicated that when VERT is used in clinical radiotherapy centres, a wide variety of benefits are experienced. Because of the variation in use, it is concluded that the benefits of the VERT installations in radiotherapy centres across the UK are not being fully realised. It is recommended that all radiotherapy service managers commit adequate resources to develop and implement VERT fully and effectively so that its full potential is realised in all radiotherapy centres across the UK

Natural resources endowment and economic growth: The West African Experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohamed Jalloh

2013-06-01

Full Text Available This study aims at investigating the nexus between natural resource endowment and economic growth using a sample of West African countries. The study adopted a Barrow-type growth model to analyse the impact of natural resource wealth on economic growth. A dynamic panel estimation technique was employed using relevant data from West African Countries. The results from the panel regressions indicate that natural resource endowments have very minimal impact in terms of promoting economic growth in West Africa, more so in resource rich countries. In terms of relative effects, the results indicate that a 10% increase in natural resource export reduces growth in income per capita by approximately 0.4%. Part of the factors explaining this finding amongst others; include high corruption in the public sector as well as the frequency of civil conflicts in resource rich economies of West Africa. For the natural resources of the region to fully benefit its citizens, these countries require , urgently, to improve management of natural resource export revenues and to apply effective policy measures to eradicate/ mitigate incidences of rampant corruption in the public sector.

Efficiency evaluation for pooling resources in health care: An interpretation for managers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vanberkel, P.T.; Boucherie, Richardus J.; Hans, Elias W.; Hurink, Johann L.; Litvak, Nelli

Subject/Research problem Hospitals traditionally segregated resources into centralized functional departments such as diagnostic departments, ambulatory care centres, and nursing wards. In recent years this organizational model has been challenged by the idea that higher quality of care and

Decision Support Systems for Water Resources Management in Developing Countries: Learning from Experiences in Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlo Giupponi

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Decision support system (DSS tools are rather popular in the literature on water resources management. The European Project “Splash” conducted a survey of the literature and of DSS implementation in developing countries with specific reference on Africa. Experts in the field were consulted through an ad hoc questionnaire and interviews. The results of the survey indicate that the exchange of experiences amongst projects with similar objectives or even the same case study is very limited, with a tendency towards restarting every time from scratch. As a consequence, it seems that DSS developments have produced only limited positive impacts. Most experts contacted shared either the frustration deriving from the limited impacts on intended end-users, who rarely used the tool after the project end, or in the case of ongoing projects, the preoccupation for future maintenance. Responses from the questionnaires indicate that priority efforts should not focus on developing the tools, but rather on improving the effectiveness and applicability of integrated water resource management legislative and planning frameworks, training and capacity building, networking and cooperation, harmonization of transnational data infrastructures and, very importantly, learning from past experiences and adopting enhanced protocols for DSS development.

Analysis facility infrastructure (Tier-3) for ATLAS experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonzalez de la Hoz, S.; March, L.; Ros, E.; Sanchez, J.; Amoros, G.; Fassi, F.; Fernandez, A.; Kaci, M.; Lamas, A.; Salt, J.

2008-01-01

In the ATLAS computing model the tiered hierarchy ranged from the Tier-0 (CERN) down to desktops or workstations (Tier-3). The focus on defining the roles of each tiered component has evolved with the initial emphasis on the Tier-0 and Tier-1 definition and roles. The various LHC (Large Hadron Collider) projects, including ATLAS, then evolved the tiered hierarchy to include Tier-2's (Regional centers) as part of their projects. Tier-3 centres, on the other hand, have been defined as whatever an institution could construct to support their Physics goals using institutional and otherwise leveraged resources and therefore have not been considered to be part of the official ATLAS computing resources. However, Tier-3 centres are going to exist and will have implications on how the computing model should support ATLAS physicists. Tier-3 users will want to access LHC data and simulations and will want to enable their resources to support their analysis and simulation work. This document will define how IFIC (Instituto de Fisica Corpuscular de Valencia), after discussing with the ATLAS Tier-3 task force, should interact with the ATLAS computing model, detail the conditions under which Tier-3 centres can expect some level of support and set reasonable expectations for the scope and support of ATLAS Tier-3 sites. (orig.)

Energy centre microgrid model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pasonen, R.

2011-09-15

A simulation model of Energy centre microgrid made with PSCAD simulation software version 4.2.1 has been built in SGEM Smart Grids and Energy Markets (SGEM) work package 6.6. Microgrid is an autonomous electric power system which can operate separate from common distribution system. The idea of energy centre microgrid concept was considered in Master of Science thesis 'Community Microgrid - A Building block of Finnish Smart Grid'. The name of energy centre microgrid comes from a fact that production and storage units are concentrated into a single location, an energy centre. This centre feeds the loads which can be households or industrial loads. Power direction flow on the demand side remains same compared to the current distribution system and allows to the use of standard fuse protection in the system. The model consists of photovoltaic solar array, battery unit, variable frequency boost converter, inverter, isolation transformer and demand side (load) model. The model is capable to automatically switch to islanded mode when there is a fault in outside grid and back to parallel operation mode when fault is removed. The modelled system responses well to load changes and total harmonic distortion related to 50Hz base frequency is kept under 1.5% while operating and feeding passive load. (orig.)

Learning from Learning: the experiences with implementing Adaptive Collaborative Forest Management in Zimbabwe.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mutimukuru, T.; Almekinders, C.J.M.

2011-01-01

Convinced that participatory resource management is the way forward in the conservation of natural resources, despite the increasing criticism of participatory approaches, the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) initiated a multi-country adaptive collaborative management (ACM)

[The contribution of the Russian Research Centre of Medical Rehabilitation and Balneotherapeutics to the development of the health resort business in this country].

Science.gov (United States)

Povazhnaia, E A; Bobrovnitskiĭ, I P

2013-01-01

The definition of the notion of health resort business is proposed in the context of the legislation pertinent to the natural therapeutic resources, health and recreational localities, spa and resort facilities currently in force in this country. The main landmark events in the history of the Russian Research Centre of Rehabilitative Medicine and Balneotherapeutics are highlighted, its role in the development of balneotherapeutic science and health resort business is described. The major achievements of the Centre in the investigations of therapeutic properties of natural physical factors (climate, mineral waters, peloids, etc.), their action on the human organism, the possibilities of their application for the treatment and prevention of various pathological conditions in and outside health resort facilities are presented. The contribution of the specialists of the Centre to the search for and discovery of new resort resources is emphasized. Community needs in balneotheraputic treatment are estimated, scientific basis for its organization, principles and normatives of health resort business are discussed along with the problems of sanitary control and protection. The activities of the Centre as an organizer of the unique system of rehabilitative and balneotherapeutic aid to the population are overviewed. Scientifically substantiated indications and contraindications for the spa and resort-based treatment of various diseases are proposed in conjunction with the methods for the application of physiotherapeutic factors. The tasks currently facing the Centre and prospects for its future research activities in the fields of rehabilitative medicine and balneotherapeutics are discussed.

RTEMS CENTRE- Support and Maintenance CENTRE to RTEMS Operating System

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, H.; Constantino, A.; Coutunho, M.; Freitas, D.; Faustino, S.; Mota, M.; Colaço, P.; Zulianello, M.

2008-08-01

RTEMS stands for Real-Time Operating System for Multiprocessor Systems. It is a full featured Real Time Operating System that supports a variety of open APIs and interface standards. It provides a high performance environment for embedded applications, including a fixed-priority preemptive/non-preemptive scheduler, a comprehensive set of multitasking operations and a large range of supported architectures. Support and maintenance CENTRE to RTEMS operating system (RTEMS CENTRE) is a joint initiative of ESA-Portugal Task force, aiming to build a strong technical competence in the space flight (on- board) software, to offer support, maintenance and improvements to RTEMS. This paper provides a high level description of the current and future activities of the RTEMS CENTRE. It presents a brief description of the RTEMS operating system, a description of the tools developed and distributed to the community [1] and the improvements to be made to the operating system, including facilitation for the qualification of RTEMS (4.8.0) [2] for the space missions.

From margins to centre: an oral history of the wartime experience of Iranian nurses in the Iran-Iraq War, 1980-1988.

Science.gov (United States)

Peyrovi, Hamid; Parsa-Yekta, Zohreh; Vosoughi, Mohammad Bagher; Fathyian, Nasrollah; Ghadirian, Fataneh

2015-01-01

The extensive nature of the Iraq-Iran war converted to a human tragedy with large casualties; it has affected nursing discipline dramatically. To analyse the history of the wartime experience of Iranian nurses in Iran-Iraq War. The current study was conducted with oral history. The study sample consisted of 13 Iranian nurses who served in the war zones during the wartime. Purposive and snowball sampling were used to recruit the participants. During the face-to-face interviews, participants were asked to describe their experience in the war zones during the war years. Data collection and analysis took place from April to August 2013, when saturation was reached. All interviews were tape recorded and transcribed and then analysed with thematic content analysis. Finally, five themes and 18 subthemes emerged from data analysis of significant statements from 17 interviews. The five emerged themes included (1) 'From margin to centre', (2) 'Development of referral care', (3) 'Personal and professional growth and development', (4) 'The emerging pillar of culture in war nursing' and (5) 'Threats to nursing at the war'. Nursing in Iran at wartime has a difficult path to development. There are powerful implications for clinical practice. It is recommended to continue collection, archiving and analysing the wartime experiences of Iranian nurses.

Low and medium activity nuclear waste disposal characterisation laboratory. Example of Spanish E1 Cabril Disposal Centre Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boulanger, G.; Augustin, X.

1993-01-01

Low and medium activity radioactive waste generated in Spain by power reactors, research laboratories, etc. is stored in the E1 Cabril Disposal Centre. This Centre, based on a French design, provides a characterisation function for the stored waste and corresponding containers. Technicatome, prime contractor for the French disposal centre, and contributing to the design and construction of the E1 Cabril Centre, played an important part in the R and D work for this laboratory, and the manufacture of certain items of equipment. This laboratory, applying experience acquired in France by the CEA, comprises a set of buildings providing for active and inactive test operations

Supporting Secondary Novices' Efforts to Implement Student- and Discourse-Centred Pedagogical Practices

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Gary

2012-01-01

Novice secondary mathematics teachers attempting teaching consonant with NCTM (1991) Professional Standards for Teaching Mathematics experience stresses related to those attempts. Foremost among those stresses are challenges while orchestrating student-centred, whole-class discussions. Such discussions can create uncertainty and stress as novices…

Improving the layout of recycling centres by use of lean production principles.

Science.gov (United States)

Sundin, Erik; Björkman, Mats; Eklund, Mats; Eklund, Jörgen; Engkvist, Inga-Lill

2011-06-01

There has been increased focus on recycling in Sweden during recent years. This focus can be attributed to external environmental factors such as tougher legislation, but also to the potential gains for raw materials suppliers. Recycling centres are important components in the Swedish total recycling system. Recycling centres are manned facilities for waste collection where visitors can bring, sort and discard worn products as well as large-sized, hazardous, and electrical waste. The aim of this paper was to identify and describe the main flows and layout types at Swedish recycling centres. The aim was also to adapt and apply production theory for designing and managing recycling centre operations. More specifically, this means using lean production principles to help develop guidelines for recycling centre design and efficient control. Empirical data for this research was primarily collected through interviews and questionnaires among both visitors and employees at 16 Swedish recycling centres. Furthermore, adapted observation protocols have been used in order to explore visitor activities. There was also close collaboration with a local recycling centre company, which shared their layout experiences with the researchers in this project. The recycling centres studied had a variety of problems such as queues of visitors, overloading of material and improper sorting. The study shows that in order to decrease the problems, the recycling centres should be designed and managed according to lean production principles, i.e. through choosing more suitable layout choices with visible and linear flows, providing better visitor information, and providing suitable technical equipment. Improvements can be achieved through proper planning of the layout and control of the flow of vehicles, with the result of increased efficiency and capacity, shorter visits, and cleaner waste fractions. The benefits of a lean production mindset include increased visitor capacity, waste

To study the existing system of surgical safety for cataract surgery at tertiary care ophthalmic centre to implement WHO surgical safety checklist

OpenAIRE

Ruchi Garg; Neeraj Garg; Shakti Kumar Gupta; J. S. Titiyal; R. Mahesh

2016-01-01

Background: Dr. Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, named after the first President of India, was established on the 10th of March, 1967 as a National centre for ophthalmic science, to provide state of the art patient care, expand human resources for medical education and undertake research to find solutions to eye health problems of national importance. Average numbers of cataract surgeries performed per month are 700 to 1000. Methods: Anticipating implementation in 50% cases...

Transporting ideas between marine and social sciences: experiences from interdisciplinary research programs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lucy M. Turner

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The oceans comprise 70% of the surface area of our planet, contain some of the world’s richest natural resources and are one of the most significant drivers of global climate patterns. As the marine environment continues to increase in importance as both an essential resource reservoir and facilitator of global change, it is apparent that to find long-term sustainable solutions for our use of the sea and its resources and thus to engage in a sustainable blue economy, an integrated interdisciplinary approach is needed. As a result, interdisciplinary working is proliferating. We report here our experiences of forming interdisciplinary teams (marine ecologists, ecophysiologists, social scientists, environmental economists and environmental law specialists to answer questions pertaining to the effects of anthropogenic-driven global change on the sustainability of resource use from the marine environment, and thus to transport ideas outwards from disciplinary confines. We use a framework derived from the literature on interdisciplinarity to enable us to explore processes of knowledge integration in two ongoing research projects, based on analyses of the purpose, form and degree of knowledge integration within each project. These teams were initially focused around a graduate program, explicitly designed for interdisciplinary training across the natural and social sciences, at the Gothenburg Centre for Marine Research at the University of Gothenburg, thus allowing us to reflect on our own experiences within the context of other multi-national, interdisciplinary graduate training and associated research programs.

Comparison of children’s food and beverage intakes with national recommendations in New York City child-care centres

Science.gov (United States)

Dixon, L Beth; Breck, Andrew; Khan, Laura Kettel

2016-01-01

Objective The present study compared foods and beverages provided to and consumed by children at child-care centres in New York City (NYC) with national nutrition recommendations. Design The study used survey, observational and centre record data collected from child-care centres. Food and beverage intakes from two days of observation and amounts of energy and nutrients were estimated using the US National Cancer Institute’s Automated Self-Administered 24 h Recall system. Setting Meal and snack time at 108 child-care centres in low-income communities in NYC. Subjects Children aged 3–4 years old in classrooms selected by the directors of the participating child-care centres. Results Foods and beverages provided to and consumed by children (n 630) met >50% of the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) for most nutrients. Intakes of fibre and vitamins D and E were Foods and beverages provided >50% of the recommended average daily intake amounts for total grains, fruits and fruit juices, and dairy, but foods and vegetables. Intake of oils was below the allowance for energy levels, but foods and beverages with solid fats and added sugars exceeded the limits by 68%. Conclusions Providing more whole grains, vegetables and low-fat dairy and fewer foods with solid fats and added sugars may improve children’s diet quality when at child-care centres. Centre staff may need training, resources and strategies in order to meet the nutrition recommendations. PMID:27280552

CERN and the Wigner Research Centre for Physics inaugurate CERN data centre’s extension in Budapest, Hungary

CERN Multimedia

Wigner Research Centre for Physics, Hungary

2013-01-01

On 13 June 2013 CERN and the Wigner Research Centre for Physics inaugurated the Hungarian data centre in Budapest, marking the completion of the facility hosting the extension for CERN computing resources. About 500 servers, 20,000 computing cores, and 5.5 Petabytes of storage are already operational at the site. The dedicated and redundant 100 Gbit/s circuits connecting the two sites are functional since February 2013 and are among the first transnational links at this distance. The capacity at Wigner will be remotely managed from CERN, substantially extending the capabilities of the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG) Tier-0 activities and bolstering CERN’s infrastructure business continuity.

Mothers’ perceptions of family centred care in neonatal intensive care units

OpenAIRE

Finlayson, Kenneth William; Dixon, Annie; Smith, Chris; Dykes, Fiona Clare; Flacking, Renee

2014-01-01

Objective\\ud \\ud To explore mothers’ perceptions of family centred care (FCC) in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in England.\\ud Design\\ud \\ud The qualitative experiences of 12 mothers from three NICUs in the UK were elicited using individual interviews. A thematic network analysis was conducted on the transcribed interviews\\ud Main outcome measures\\ud \\ud A central global theme supported by a number of organizing themes were developed reflecting the views of the mothers and their experi...

Resource reflecting functor and its application to non-uniformity

Science.gov (United States)

Srinivasan, Priyaa Varshinee; Sanders, Barry C.; Cockett, Robin

In this work, we formulate an abstract approach to translate one resource theory to another. We adopt the notion of resource theories as partitioned symmetric monoidal categories and extend this notion by considering resource-reflecting functors between resource theories. A functor F is a structure preserving map and F is said to be resource-reflecting if F (g) being a free transformation implies that the transformation g is also free. Thus, a resource-reflecting functor demonstrates that the existence of a free transformation between two resources in the domain resource theory can be inferred from the existence of a free transformation in the codomain theory. As an example, we construct one such functor from the resource theory of non-uniformity to a resource theory of majorization. Thus, our work lays a foundation for expressing similarities between resource theories and for applying results achieved in one resource theory to another. An abstract approach to the translation between theories enables common patterns to be identified between resource theories thereby reducing the effort of solving the same problem for different theories. BCS appreciates financial support from Alberta Innovates, NSERC, China's 1000 Talent Plan and the IQIM, which is an NSF Physics Frontiers Centre (NSF Grant PHY-1125565) with support of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (GBMF-2644).

Storm: A Manager for Storage Resource in Grid

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghiselli, A.; Magnoni, L.; Zappi, R.

2009-01-01

Nowadays, data intensive applications demand high-performance and large-storage systems capable of serving up to various Peta bytes of storage space. Therefore, common solutions adopted in data centres include Storage Area Networks (San) and cluster parallel file systems, such as GPFS from IBM and Lustre from Sun Microsystems. In order to make these storage system solutions available in modern Data Grid architectures, standard interfaces are needed. The Grid Storage Resource Manager (SRM) interface is one of these standard interfaces. Grid storage services implementing the SRM standard provide common capabilities and advanced functionality such as dynamic space allocation and file management on shared storage systems. In this paper, we describe Storm (Storage Resource Manager). Storm is a flexible and high-performing implementation of the standard SRM interface version 2.2. The software architecture of Storm allows for an easy integration to different underlying storage systems via a plug-in mechanism. In particular, Storm takes advantage from storage systems based on cluster file systems. Currently, Storm is installed and used in production in various data centres, including the WLCG Italian Tier-1. In addition, Economics and Financial communities, as represented by the EGRID Project, adopt Storm in production as well.

Fertilization effects of organic waste resources and bottom wood ash: results from a pot experiment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eva Brod

2012-12-01

Full Text Available We conducted a pot experiment to study the fertilization effects of four N- and P-rich organic waste resources alone and in combination with K-rich bottom wood ash at two application rates (150 kg N ha–1 + 120 kg K ha–1, 300 kg N ha-1 + 240 kg K ha–1. Plant-available N was the growth-limiting factor. 48–73% of N applied with meat and bone meal (MBM and composted fish sludge (CFS was taken up in aboveground biomass, resulting in mineral fertilizer equivalents (MFE% of 53–81% for N uptake and 61–104% for yield. MFE% of MBM and CFS decreased for increasing application rates. Two industrial composts had weak N fertilization effects and are to be considered soil conditioners rather than fertilizers. Possible P and K fertilization effects of waste resources were masked by the soil’s ability to supply plant-available P and K, but effects on plant-available P and K contents in soil suggest that the waste resources may have positive effects under more nutrient-deficient conditions.

The Factors and Features of Museum Fatigue in Science Centres Felt by Korean Students

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Minchul; Dillon, Justin; Song, Jinwoong

2018-03-01

One of the objectives of science education in science centres has been the enhancement of interest in science. However, museum fatigue has a negative impact on interest. Museum fatigue has been described as physical tiredness or a decrease in visitors' interest in a museum. The learning experience of students in science centres is also influenced by museum fatigue. The purpose of this study is to identify the phenomena of museum fatigue in science centres and to identity how it is manifested. First, we identified the factors causing museum fatigue in science centres using the data from an open-ended questionnaire which was given to 597 primary, middle and high school students in South Korea. From the responses to the questionnaire, 50 factors causing museum fatigue in science centres were identified. A second Likert-type questionnaire with the 50 factors of museum fatigue in science centres was administered to 610 primary, middle and high school students in South Korea. Using reliability and factor analyses, we developed a framework of the factors causing museum fatigue in science centres, which consists of three contexts, 12 categories and 50 factors. Secondly, through statistical analyses including T test and ANOVA analysis, the features of students' museum fatigue in science centres were analysed and compared regarding student gender, school level, interest in science, grade of school science, the number of visits, and type of visit. The results, which were found to be statistically significant, are reported and discussed. The findings of this study are intended to serve for a deeper understanding and practical improvement of science learning in science centres.

The politics of patient-centred care.

Science.gov (United States)

Kreindler, Sara A

2015-10-01

Despite widespread belief in the importance of patient-centred care, it remains difficult to create a system in which all groups work together for the good of the patient. Part of the problem may be that the issue of patient-centred care itself can be used to prosecute intergroup conflict. This qualitative study of texts examined the presence and nature of intergroup language within the discourse on patient-centred care. A systematic SCOPUS and Google search identified 85 peer-reviewed and grey literature reports that engaged with the concept of patient-centred care. Discourse analysis, informed by the social identity approach, examined how writers defined and portrayed various groups. Managers, physicians and nurses all used the discourse of patient-centred care to imply that their own group was patient centred while other group(s) were not. Patient organizations tended to downplay or even deny the role of managers and providers in promoting patient centredness, and some used the concept to advocate for controversial health policies. Intergroup themes were even more obvious in the rhetoric of political groups across the ideological spectrum. In contrast to accounts that juxtaposed in-groups and out-groups, those from reportedly patient-centred organizations defined a 'mosaic' in-group that encompassed managers, providers and patients. The seemingly benign concept of patient-centred care can easily become a weapon on an intergroup battlefield. Understanding this dimension may help organizations resolve the intergroup tensions that prevent collective achievement of a patient-centred system. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Communications strategy for the Chernobyl Centre

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kurilchik, Mykola; Green, Len

2000-01-01

This Communications Strategy was developed for the International Chernobyl Centre (ICC) as part of a joint UK/Ukraine project, sponsored by the Department of Trade and Industry and NNC Limited. The Plan was developed during four weeks of workshop discussions in the UK between staff from the centre and experienced PR Professionals from NNC Limited. The requirements for a sustained communications activity at the ICC go much further than simply enhancing or promoting the Centre's scientific and technical activities. Raising sufficient awareness of the Centre among potential funding agents and commercial partners is critical to its future development as a major centre for international co-operation and research. It is only through establishing and developing effective communications that the Centre will become well enough known and understood both within the Ukraine, and internationally, to secure its long term future. However, as the workshop programme unfolded, it also became clear that communications was in itself a legitimate and necessary function of the Centre, and part of the foundations of its existence. The Centre has a fundamental role as an 'information exchange', collecting and communicating information from within the Ukraine to the rest of the world, and interpreting world interest and attitudes to the Ukraine Government and nuclear industry. As such compliments the efforts of individual power plant and corporate PR functions within the Ukraine nuclear energy sector

Uranium 2003: resources, production and demand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-01-01

The 'Red Book', jointly prepared by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and the International Atomic Energy Agency, is a recognised world reference on uranium. This edition, the 20., presents the results of a thorough review of world uranium supplies and demand as of 1 January 2003 based on official information received from 43 countries. Uranium 2003: Resources, Production and Demand paints a statistical profile of the world uranium industry in the areas of exploration, resource estimates, production and reactor related requirements. It provides substantial new information from all major uranium production centres in Africa, Australia, Eastern Europe and North America and for the first time, a report for Turkmenistan. Also included are international expert analyses and projections of nuclear generating capacity and reactor-related uranium requirements through 2020. The long lead times required to bring resources into production underscore the importance of making timely decisions to pursue production capability well in advance of any supply shortfall. (author)

Uranium 2009: Resources, Production and Demand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-01-01

With several countries currently building nuclear power plants and planning the construction of more to meet long-term increases in electricity demand, uranium resources, production and demand remain topics of notable interest. In response to the projected growth in demand for uranium and declining inventories, the uranium industry - the first critical link in the fuel supply chain for nuclear reactors - is boosting production and developing plans for further increases in the near future. Strong market conditions will, however, be necessary to trigger the investments required to meet projected demand. The 'Red Book', jointly prepared by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and the International Atomic Energy Agency, is a recognised world reference on uranium. It is based on information compiled in 40 countries, including those that are major producers and consumers of uranium. This 23. edition provides a comprehensive review of world uranium supply and demand as of 1 January 2009, as well as data on global uranium exploration, resources, production and reactor-related requirements. It provides substantive new information from major uranium production centres around the world, as well as from countries developing production centres for the first time. Projections of nuclear generating capacity and reactor-related uranium requirements through 2035 are also featured, along with an analysis of long-term uranium supply and demand issues

The impact of single and shared rooms on family-centred care in children's hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Curtis, Penny; Northcott, Andy

2017-06-01

To explore whether and how spatial aspects of children's hospital wards (single and shared rooms) impact upon family-centred care. Family-centred care has been widely adopted in paediatric hospitals internationally. Recent hospital building programmes in many countries have prioritised the provision of single rooms over shared rooms. Limited attention has, however, been paid to the potential impact of spatial aspects of paediatric wards on family-centred care. Qualitative, ethnographic. Phase 1; observation within four wards of a specialist children's hospital. Phase 2; interviews with 17 children aged 5-16 years and 60 parents/carers. Sixty nursing and support staff also took part in interviews and focus group discussions. All data were subjected to thematic analysis. Two themes emerged from the data analysis: 'role expectations' and 'family-nurse interactions'. The latter theme comprised three subthemes: 'family support needs', 'monitoring children's well-being' and 'survey-assess-interact within spatial contexts'. Spatial configurations within hospital wards significantly impacted upon the relationships and interactions between children, parents and nurses, which played out differently in single and shared rooms. Increasing the provision of single rooms within wards is therefore likely to directly affect how family-centred care manifests in practice. Nurses need to be sensitive to the impact of spatial characteristics, and particularly of single and shared rooms, on families' experiences of children's hospital wards. Nurses' contribution to and experience of family-centred care can be expected to change significantly when spatial characteristics of wards change and, as is currently the vogue, hospitals maximise the provision of single rather than shared rooms. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Discussion on 'Centres of excellence' in Africa

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Riad, S.

1999-01-01

In Africa, Centres of Excellence should be oriented to build up scientific and technological capacity in the four topics of international Monitoring System related technologies, namely, seismic monitoring, hydro acoustic monitoring, infrasound monitoring and radionuclides monitoring. Training programs on these topics should be a major objective. A network of such centres should be established in a number of African countries. Centres should be equipped with means and materials for on-line course dispatch to interested training centres or research institutions. African centres should develop strong relationship among themselves through information and data exchange and sharing, harmonization of training programs. National data centres may be established as a component of the African Centre of Excellence. States Signatories may authorize the establishment of a specific fund to support the activities of the African center

Fundamentals of human resource management : emerging experiences from Africa

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Itika, J.

2011-01-01

The fundamentals of human resource management are extensively described in European and American literature. This book summarises the general human resource management philosophies, theories, strategies and techniques and links them to the specific African context. The usefulness of these general

Overview of long-term field experiments in Germany - metadata visualization

Science.gov (United States)

Muqit Zoarder, Md Abdul; Heinrich, Uwe; Svoboda, Nikolai; Grosse, Meike; Hierold, Wilfried

2017-04-01

BonaRes ("soil as a sustainable resource for the bioeconomy") is conducting to collect data and metadata of agricultural long-term field experiments (LTFE) of Germany. It is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under the umbrella of the National Research Strategy BioEconomy 2030. BonaRes consists of ten interdisciplinary research project consortia and the 'BonaRes - Centre for Soil Research'. BonaRes Data Centre is responsible for collecting all LTFE data and regarding metadata into an enterprise database upon higher level of security and visualization of the data and metadata through data portal. In the frame of the BonaRes project, we are compiling an overview of long-term field experiments in Germany that is based on a literature review, the results of the online survey and direct contacts with LTFE operators. Information about research topic, contact person, website, experiment setup and analyzed parameters are collected. Based on the collected LTFE data, an enterprise geodatabase is developed and a GIS-based web-information system about LTFE in Germany is also settled. Various aspects of the LTFE, like experiment type, land-use type, agricultural category and duration of experiment, are presented in thematic maps. This information system is dynamically linked to the database, which means changes in the data directly affect the presentation. An easy data searching option using LTFE name, -location or -operators and the dynamic layer selection ensure a user-friendly web application. Dispersion and visualization of the overlapping LTFE points on the overview map are also challenging and we make it automatized at very zoom level which is also a consistent part of this application. The application provides both, spatial location and meta-information of LTFEs, which is backed-up by an enterprise geodatabase, GIS server for hosting map services and Java script API for web application development.

Five years' experience at a single centre of craniocerebral injury from winnowing fan blades.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Apoorva; Shankar, Ravi; Pandey, Rajendra P; Keshri, Virendra; Singh, Kulwant; Sharma, Vivek

2010-02-01

India, an agriculture-based country, relies heavily on indigenous farm machinery. In our study we present 31 patients with winnowing fan blade head injury, operated on at our centre between 2004 and 2008. The mechanism and nature of the injuries, operative methods, outcome and methods of prevention are discussed with special reference to the occurrence of this type of injury in the pediatric population. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Aube centre

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-07-01

This educational booklet is devoted to a general presentation of the Aube radioactive wastes storage centre. After a short presentation of the Andra, the French national agency for the management of radioactive wastes, it gives some general information about radioactive wastes (origin, classification), containers (quality assurance and different types), wastes transportation (planning, safety), and about the Aube centre itself: description, treatment and conditioning of drums (compacting and injection), storage facilities, geological situation of the site, and environmental controls. (J.S.)

Implementation of the new information centre of CRESESB; Implantacao do Centro de Informacoes do CRESESB

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Galdino, Marco Antonio; Silva, Patricia de Castro da; Souza, Hamilton Moss de [Centro de Pesquisas de Energia Eletrica (CEPEL), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Dept. de Tecnologias Especiais], Emails: marcoag@cepel.br, patricia@cepel.br, moss@cepel.br; Lomardo, Louise Land B.; Mello, Estefania Neiva de [Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), Niteroi, RJ (Brazil). Lab. de Conservacao de Energia e Conforto Ambiental], Emails: lovin@cruiser.com.br, estefania@predialnet.com.br

2007-07-01

CRESESB - The Reference Center for Solar and Wind Energy (Centro de Referencia para as Energias Solar e Eolica Sergio de Salvo Brito) was established in 1994 through an agreement between CEPEL and MME - Brazilian Ministry for Mines and Energy. The main objective of CRESESB is to foster the development of solar and wind energy in Brazil through the dissemination of information and supporting of studies and projects. During the last 10 years, new agreements between CEPEL and MME took part, in order to support the activities of CRESESB. The construction of the new Information Centre of CRESESB is one of the objectives of the current agreement. The operation of this Information Centre intends to increase the activities of personnel training and technical/scientific divulgation of CRESESB. Also, it will add to the Efficient Solar House (Casa Solar Eficiente) of CRESESB, already operating for 9 years for demonstration purposes. The present paper will describe the project details of the CRESESB's Information Centre, its resources and the planned activities. (author)

Cardiovascular disease prevention in low resource settings: lessons from the Heartfile experience in Pakistan.

Science.gov (United States)

Nishtar, Sania

2003-01-01

This paper outlines activities of the Heartfile Program in Pakistan (http://heartfile.org). The program focuses on cardiovascular disease prevention and health promotion, and includes several initiatives that encompass building policy, reorienting health services, and developing community interventions that utilize the print and electronic media and outreach at the grass-root level to incorporate social marketing approaches. Initiated by the nonprofit private sector, the program now links with major public sector primary healthcare programs, and is currently spearheading formulation of the National Action Plan on Noncommunicable Disease Prevention and Control in Pakistan. In addition, the program is being refined, validated, and packaged as a replicable model for other developing countries and in low resource settings, utilizing appropriate principles of franchising with inbuilt components sensitive to cultural and social adaptations. A review of the planning process, implementation strategy, and fund-raising experience is presented. Strategies unique to low resource settings, such as the development of cost- and time-efficient strategic alliances and partnerships, have also been highlighted. In addition, specific caveats are identified as being helpful to private sector development of chronic disease prevention programs in resource-constrained settings, and a road map to a sustainable public-private sector partnership is provided.

Employee reactions to human resource management and performance in a developing country

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Karsten, Luchien; Ghebregiorgis, F.

2007-01-01

Purpose - This paper seeks to examine employee reactions to human resource management (HRM) and performance. It placed employees on a centre stage in analysing HRM to provide theoretical insights. Design/methodology/approach - To explore the theme, a survey of 252 employees drawn from eight

Person-centred interactions between nurses and patients during medication activities in an acute hospital setting: qualitative observation and interview study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bolster, Danielle; Manias, Elizabeth

2010-02-01

There is increasing emphasis on person-centred care within the literature and the health care context. It is suggested that a person-centred approach to medication activities has the potential to improve patient experiences and outcomes. This study set out to examine how nurses and patients interact with each other during medication activities in an acute care environment with an underlying philosophy of person-centred care. A qualitative approach was used comprising naturalistic observation and semi-structured interviews. The study setting was an acute care ward with a collaboratively developed philosophy of person-centre care, in an Australian metropolitan hospital. Eleven nurses of varying levels of experience were recruited to participate in observations and interviews. Nurses were eligible to participate if they were employed on the study ward in a role that incorporated direct patient care, including medication activities. A stratified sampling technique ensured that nurses with a range of years of clinical experience were represented. Patients who were being cared for by participating nurses during the observation period were recruited to participate unless they met the following exclusion criteria: those less than 18 years of age, non-English speaking patients, and those who were unable to give informed consent. Twenty-five patients were observed and 16 of those agreed to be interviewed. The results of the study generated insights into the nature of interactions between nurses and patients where person-centred care is the underlying philosophy of care. Three major themes emerged from the findings: provision of individualised care, patient participation and contextual barriers to providing person-centred care. While the participating nurses valued a person-centred approach and perceived that they were conducting medication activities in a person-centred way, some nurse-patient interactions during medication activities were centred on routines rather than

Stakeholders' Perceptions of Quality and Potential Improvements in the Learning Resources Centers at Omani Basic Education Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Al Musawi, Ali; Amer, Talal

2017-01-01

This study attempts to investigate the stakeholders' perceptions of quality and prospective improvements in the learning resources centres (LRC) at Omani basic education schools. It focuses on different aspects of the LRCs: organisation, human resources, technological, and educational aspects along with the difficulties faced by these LRCs and…

Production experience and performance for ATLAS data processing on a Cray XC-50 at CSCS

CERN Document Server

Sciacca, Francesco Giovanni; The ATLAS collaboration

2018-01-01

Predictions for requirements for the LHC computing for Run 3 and for Run 4 (HL_LHC) over the course of the next 10 years, show a considerable gap between required and available resources, assuming budgets will globally remain flat at best. This will require some radical changes to the computing models for the data processing of the LHC experiments. The use of large scale computational resources at HPC centres worldwide is expected to increase substantially the cost-efficiency of the processing. In order to pave the path towards the HL-LHC data processing, the Swiss Institute of Particle Physics (CHIPP) has taken the strategic decision to migrate the processing of all the Tier-2 workloads for ATLAS and other LHC experiments from a dedicated x86_64 cluster that has been in continuous operation and evolution since 2007, to Piz Daint, the current European flagship HPC, which ranks third in the TOP500 at the time of writing. We report on the technical challenges and solutions adopted to migrate to Piz Daint, and o...

Analysis facility infrastructure (Tier-3) for ATLAS experiment

CERN Document Server

González de la Hoza, S; Ros, E; Sánchez, J; Amorós, G; Fassi, F; Fernández, A; Kaci, M; Lamas, A; Salt, J

2008-01-01

In the ATLAS computing model the tiered hierarchy ranged from the Tier-0 (CERN) down to desktops or workstations (Tier-3). The focus on defining the roles of each tiered component has evolved with the initial emphasis on the Tier-0 and Tier-1 definition and roles. The various LHC (Large Hadron Collider) projects, including ATLAS, then evolved the tiered hierarchy to include Tier-2’s (Regional centers) as part of their projects. Tier-3 centres, on the other hand, have been defined as whatever an institution could construct to support their Physics goals using institutional and otherwise leveraged resources and therefore have not been considered to be part of the official ATLAS computing resources. However, Tier-3 centres are going to exist and will have implications on how the computing model should support ATLAS physicists. Tier-3 users will want to access LHC data and simulations and will want to enable their resources to support their analysis and simulation work. This document will define how IFIC (Insti...

Third-Generation Cephalosporin-Resistant Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis: A single-Centre Experience and Summary of Existing Studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennifer Chaulk

2014-01-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP is the most prevalent bacterial infection in patients with cirrhosis. Although studies from Europe have reported significant rates of resistance to third-generation cephalosporins, there are limited SBP-specific data from centres in North America.

Centre for urban ecotechnology in ``Oeksnehallen``

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1992-03-01

The Lord Mayor`s Department of the municipality of Copenhagen, Denmark, has with support from this project made a proposal for the establishment of the Centre for Urban Ecotechnology in ``Oeksnehallen``, located in the Vesterbro area of the city. The centre should contribute to the dissemination of knowledge on ecological techniques (regarding passive solar energy etc.) to the inhabitants of Vesterbro and other citizens of Copenhagen, and also serve as a centre in an European context. The ecological demonstration centre will cover an area of two thousand square meters and will also include a cafe, a room for showing coloured slides, facilities for exhibitions created by the center and interested firms etc. The centre should play an important role as part of the ecological concept of urban renewal in Vesterbro. (author).

Netherlands Reactor Centre

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1976-01-01

Briefly reviews the last year's work of the twenty year old Netherlands Reactor Centre (RCN) in the fields of reactor safety, fissile material, nuclear fission, non-nuclear energy systems and overseas co-operation. The annual report thus summarised is the last one to appear under the name of RCN. The terms of reference of the organisation having been broadened to include research into energy supply in general, it is to be known in future as the Netherlands Energy Research Centre (ECN). (D.J.B.)

Factors associated with "Ikigai" among members of a public temporary employment agency for seniors (Silver Human Resources Centre) in Japan; gender differences.

Science.gov (United States)

Shirai, Kokoro; Iso, Hiroyasu; Fukuda, Hideki; Toyoda, Yasuhiro; Takatorige, Toshio; Tatara, Kozo

2006-02-27

"Ikigai" is culturally defined in the society of Japan as a comprehensive concept describing subjective well-being. It is considered to be related to life-satisfaction, self-esteem, morale, happiness as well as evaluation towards meaning of one's life. Although previous studies examined factors associated with Ikigai with smaller samples, consistent results have not been obtained, especially from the viewpoint of gender differences. Identification of gender-specific factors related with Ikigai among the elderly, may be of value to enhance subjective well-being. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed among 4,737 randomly selected members of the Silver Human Resources Centre (SHRC), a public temporary employment agency for seniors, in Osaka, Japan. This represents about 10% of all registered members (n = 41,593) in the 38 SHRC centres in Osaka. A total of 4,376 subjects (male: 2,913; female: 1,463) provided a satisfactory response to the questionnaire (response rate: 92%). The status whether they have "Ikigai" or not was evaluated by self-anchoring scale ranging from 0 to 5 (0 = lowest rate and 5 = highest rate of having "Ikigai"). Also, self-rated life-change score through work (-3 to 3) was evaluated by three items, i.e.) changes in (1) the number of friends through work, (2) social interests and (3) the quantity of conversation with others (1 = increase, 0 = no change, and -1 = decrease). The factors associated with "Ikigai" for total subjects were the number of rooms in one's residence, annual income, healthy life style score (Breslow), the number of working days through SHRC, satisfaction with one's life history and life-change sore through work. The multivariable odds ratio (95% CI) of having "Ikigai" was 1.9 (1.1-3.3) for persons with no change in life thorough work compared with subjects with a score of Ikigai" were the number of rooms in their residence, annual income, the number of working days through SHRC, subjective assessment of health

Proposal for a new Electrical Supply of the Computer Centre for LHC

CERN Document Server

Funken, A

2001-01-01

To handle the future LHC experiment needs, the Computer Centre will go through a complete change of data processing methods. A total of five Computing farms will be built covering an area of 2,000 m2. The electrical power required for the new Computing farms will increase by five fold to 2 MW. This will have major impact on the technical infrastructures. Focusing on electrical issues, this paper initially explains the principle of the present electrical supply and the major drawbacks. Taking advantage of the opportunity offered by these big changes and conclusions drawn from the recent ST/EL reports, the strategy of electrical supply of building 513 is reviewed, in particular the Diesel backup supply. On this basis and benchmarking with similar Computer Centres, a proposal for a new electrical supply is presented, the objectives being to meet the increase in demand, reliability and safe operation of the Computer Centre.

Endovascular Management of Acute Embolic Occlusion of the Superior Mesenteric Artery: A 12-Year Single-Centre Experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raupach, J.; Lojik, M.; Chovanec, V.; Renc, O.; Strýček, M.; Dvořák, P.; Hoffmann, P.; Guňka, I.; Ferko, A.; Ryška, P.; Omran, N.; Krajina, A.; Čabelková, P.; Čermáková, E.; Malý, R.

2016-01-01

PurposeRetrospective evaluation of 12-year experience with endovascular management of acute mesenteric ischemia (AMI) due to embolic occlusion of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA).Materials and methodsFrom 2003 to 2014, we analysed the in-hospital mortality of 37 patients with acute mesenteric embolism who underwent primary endovascular therapy with subsequent on-demand laparotomy. Transcatheter embolus aspiration was used in all 37 patients (19 women, 18 men, median age 76 years) with embolic occlusion of the SMA. Adjunctive local thrombolysis (n = 2) and stenting (n = 2) were also utilised.ResultsWe achieved complete recanalization of the SMA stem in 91.9 %. One patient was successfully treated by surgical embolectomy due to a failed endovascular approach. Subsequent exploratory laparotomy was performed in 73.0 % (n = 27), and necrotic bowel resection in 40.5 %. The total in-hospital mortality was 27.0 %.ConclusionPrimary endovascular therapy for acute embolic SMA occlusion with on-demand laparotomy is a recommended algorithm used in our centre to treat SMA occlusion. This combined approach for the treatment of AMI is associated with in-hospital mortality rate of 27.0 %

Endovascular Management of Acute Embolic Occlusion of the Superior Mesenteric Artery: A 12-Year Single-Centre Experience

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Raupach, J., E-mail: janraupach@seznam.cz; Lojik, M., E-mail: miroslav.lojik@fnhk.cz; Chovanec, V., E-mail: chovanec.v@seznam.cz; Renc, O., E-mail: ondrejrenc@seznam.cz [Faculty of Medicine at Charles University and University Hospital, Department of Radiology (Czech Republic); Strýček, M., E-mail: m.strycek@gmail.com [Faculty of Medicine at Charles University (Czech Republic); Dvořák, P., E-mail: petr.dvorak@fnhk.cz; Hoffmann, P., E-mail: hoffmpet@fnhk.cz [Faculty of Medicine at Charles University and University Hospital, Department of Radiology (Czech Republic); Guňka, I., E-mail: gunka@email.cz; Ferko, A., E-mail: a.ferko@seznam.cz [Faculty of Medicine at Charles University and University Hospital, Department of Surgery (Czech Republic); Ryška, P., E-mail: ryska@fnhk.cz [Faculty of Medicine at Charles University and University Hospital, Department of Radiology (Czech Republic); Omran, N., E-mail: nidal81@gmail.com [Faculty of Medicine at Charles University and University Hospital, Department of Cardiac Surgery (Czech Republic); Krajina, A., E-mail: krajina@fnhk.cz; Čabelková, P., E-mail: pavla.cabelkova@fnhk.cz [Faculty of Medicine at Charles University and University Hospital, Department of Radiology (Czech Republic); Čermáková, E., E-mail: cermakovae@lfhk.cuni.cz [Faculty of Medicine at Charles University, Computer Technology Center (Czech Republic); Malý, R., E-mail: malyr@volny.cz [Faculty of Medicine at Charles University and University Hospital, Department of Medicine (Czech Republic)

2016-02-15

PurposeRetrospective evaluation of 12-year experience with endovascular management of acute mesenteric ischemia (AMI) due to embolic occlusion of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA).Materials and methodsFrom 2003 to 2014, we analysed the in-hospital mortality of 37 patients with acute mesenteric embolism who underwent primary endovascular therapy with subsequent on-demand laparotomy. Transcatheter embolus aspiration was used in all 37 patients (19 women, 18 men, median age 76 years) with embolic occlusion of the SMA. Adjunctive local thrombolysis (n = 2) and stenting (n = 2) were also utilised.ResultsWe achieved complete recanalization of the SMA stem in 91.9 %. One patient was successfully treated by surgical embolectomy due to a failed endovascular approach. Subsequent exploratory laparotomy was performed in 73.0 % (n = 27), and necrotic bowel resection in 40.5 %. The total in-hospital mortality was 27.0 %.ConclusionPrimary endovascular therapy for acute embolic SMA occlusion with on-demand laparotomy is a recommended algorithm used in our centre to treat SMA occlusion. This combined approach for the treatment of AMI is associated with in-hospital mortality rate of 27.0 %.

Experiences of the return to work process after stroke while participating in a person-centred rehabilitation programme.

Science.gov (United States)

Öst Nilsson, Annika; Eriksson, Gunilla; Johansson, Ulla; Hellman, Therese

2017-09-01

In Sweden, less than 50% of those getting stroke in working age return to work (RTW). Effective rehabilitation programmes need to be developed and therapeutic aspects understood. To explore and describe how persons with stroke experience their RTW process while participating in a person-centred rehabilitation programme focusing on RTW. Seven persons with mild or moderate stroke were interviewed twice during the intervention in the vocational training phase using semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed using grounded theory. Having a coordinator by their side gave support and guidance during the RTW process. Knowledge of stroke, strategies and a straightforward communication created a structure for the RTW process. Expressing one's own wishes increased opportunities to influence and decide which path to follow in order to reach the goal. Straightforward, open and recurring communication facilitated the possibility to adapt to the situation. These aspects increased insight and awareness which facilitated the RTW process. The findings indicate that a precondition for a fruitful RTW process was that suitable platforms at work were created in which the actors involved could cooperate. This knowledge might also be valuable in the RTW process for people with other diagnosis.

Fuel cycle centres

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hagen, M.

1977-01-01

The concept of co-locating and integrating fuel cycle facilities at one site is discussed. This concept offers considerable advantages, especially in minimizing the amount of radioactive material to be transported on public roads. Safeguards and physical protection as relating to such an integrated system of facilities are analysed in detail, also industrial and commercial questions. An overall risk-benefit evaluation turns out to be in favour of fuel cycle centres. These centres seem to be specifically attractive with regard to the back end of the fuel cycle, including on-site disposal of radioactive wastes. The respective German approach is presented as an example. Special emphasis is given to the site selection procedures in this case. Time scale and cost for the implementation of this concept are important factors to be looked at. Since participation of governmental institutions in these centres seems to be indispensable their respective roles as compared to industry must be clearly defined. The idea of adjusting fuel cycle centres to regional rather than national use might be an attractive option, depending on the specific parameters in the region, though results of existing multinational ventures are inconclusive in this respect. Major difficulties might be expected e.g. because of different national safety regulations and standards as well as commercial conditions among partner countries. Public acceptance in the host country seems to be another stumbling block for the realization of this type of multinational facilities

Kalanchoe winteri Gideon F.Sm., N.R.Crouch & Mich.Walters (Crassulaceae), a new species from the Wolkberg Centre of Endemism, South Africa

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Crouch, NR

2016-01-01

Full Text Available University, Port Elizabeth, 6031 South Africa (email: smithgideon1@gmail.com; epnfigueiredo@gmail.com). 4. Centre for Functional Ecology, Departamento de Ciências da Vida, Universidade de Coimbra, 3001-455 Coimbra, Portugal. 5. Natural Resources...

IAEA establishes International Seismic Safety Centre

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

Full text: The IAEA today officially inaugurated an international centre to coordinate efforts for protecting nuclear installations against the effects of earthquakes. The International Seismic Safety Centre (ISSC), which has been established within the IAEA's Department of Nuclear Safety and Security, will serve as a focal point on seismic safety for nuclear installations worldwide. ISSC will assist countries on the assessment of seismic hazards of nuclear facilities to mitigate the consequences of strong earthquakes. 'With safety as our first priority, it is vital that we pool all expert knowledge available worldwide to assist nuclear operators and regulators to be well prepared for coping with major seismic events,' said Antonio Godoy, Acting Head of the IAEA's Engineering Safety Section and leader of the ISSC. 'The creation of the ISSC represents the culmination of three decades of the IAEA's active and recognized involvement in this matter through the development of an updated set of safety standards and the assistance to Member States for their application.' To further seismic safety at nuclear installations worldwide, the ISSC will: - Promote knowledge sharing among the international community in order to avoid or mitigate the consequences of extreme seismic events on nuclear installations; - Support countries through advisory services and training courses; and - Enhance seismic safety by utilizing experience gained from previous seismic events in member states. The centre is supported by a scientific committee of high-level experts from academic, industrial and nuclear safety authorities that will advise the ISSC on implementation of its programme. Experts have been nominated from seven specialized areas, including geology and tectonics, seismology, seismic hazard, geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, equipment, and seismic risk. Japan and the United States have both contributed initial funds for creation of the centre, which will be based at

Job resources and recovery experiences to face difficulties in emotion regulations at work: a diary study among nurses

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Blanco-Donoso, L.M.; Garrosa, E.; Demerouti, E.; Moreno-Jiménez, B.

2017-01-01

The present study examines the role of daily difficulties in emotion regulation at work in nurse’s daily well-being and how certain job resources and recovery experiences influence this relationship. We hypothesized that daily difficulties to regulate emotions at work would be significantly and

Decentred Centre in John Fowles’s The Magus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aleks Matosoğlu

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Decentred Centre in John Fowles’sThe Magus Abstract John Fowles’ The Magus (1966 has been the focus of criticism for many years. This study regards the character of Conchis as a decentred “centre” in the structure of the novel and as in the experience of the contemporary humanity. Conchis becomes in the eyes of Nicholas an all-knowing figure, an accumulation of Western thought since the Greek civilization. He produces signs to be read as he himself becomes a body of various signs that construct him as the metaphysical centre that Western thinkers have relied upon. His narration becomes superior to Nicholas’ and he himself becomes only a narrative voice. The voice from the times of Plato has been considered as a direct expression of the thoughts in one’s mind and thus superior to writing that is permeated with the undecidability of meaning in the absence of the speaker and the addressee. In the novel, words as an endless play of metaphors take the place of voice. There is no knowable reality outside the play words or metaphors which is an endless chain of signifiers that lead to other signifiers. Every time Nicholas turns to Conchis to find the centre outside the play of the language, he finds other signifiers. Thus, Conchis as a meaning-making centre is dethroned. He is not the sole operator of the masks that divert from their presumed original target when they are read. Nicholas is just another production of the literary tradition who reads the signs only to produce other signs. Conchis in the beginning of the novel renounces fiction for science but along the course of the novel, we see that words are never reliable whether in fiction or in science.

Preparation of emergency care centre exercises

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schnadt, H.; Miska, H.

2011-01-01

Setup and operation of emergency care centres (sometimes also addressed as emergency reception centres) are part of emergency response in the environs of nuclear power plants. The preparation of an exercise scenario for such a centre is very demanding on the responsible agency. Therefore, a computer code has been developed which helps to translate the exercise objectives into instructions for figurants which simulate the affected population. These instructions are intended to steer a determined flow of people through the emergency care centre by providing fictitious radiological readings and by injecting the demand for additional actions of response personnel by statements and questions. (orig.)

Single-centre experience of retroperitoneoscopic approach in urology with tips to overcome the steep learning curve

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aneesh Srivastava

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Context: The retroperitoneoscopic or retroperitoneal (RP surgical approach has not become as popular as the transperitoneal (TP one due to the steeper learning curve. Aims: Our single-institution experience focuses on the feasibility, advantages and complications of retroperitoneoscopic surgeries (RS performed over the past 10 years. Tips and tricks have been discussed to overcome the steep learning curve and these are emphasised. Settings and Design: This study made a retrospective analysis of computerised hospital data of patients who underwent RP urological procedures from 2003 to 2013 at a tertiary care centre. Patients and Methods: Between 2003 and 2013, 314 cases of RS were performed for various urological procedures. We analysed the operative time, peri-operative complications, time to return of bowel sound, length of hospital stay, and advantages and difficulties involved. Post-operative complications were stratified into five grades using modified Clavien classification (MCC. Results: RS were successfully completed in 95.5% of patients, with 4% of the procedures electively performed by the combined approach (both RP and TP; 3.2% required open conversion and 1.3% were converted to the TP approach. The most common cause for conversion was bleeding. Mean hospital stay was 3.2 ± 1.2 days and the mean time for returning of bowel sounds was 16.5 ± 5.4 h. Of the patients, 1.4% required peri-operative blood transfusion. A total of 16 patients (5% had post-operative complications and the majority were grades I and II as per MCC. The rates of intra-operative and post-operative complications depended on the difficulty of the procedure, but the complications diminished over the years with the increasing experience of surgeons. Conclusion: Retroperitoneoscopy has proven an excellent approach, with certain advantages. The tips and tricks that have been provided and emphasised should definitely help to minimise the steep learning curve.

Council celebrates CERN Control Centre

CERN Multimedia

2006-01-01

With the unveiling of its new sign, the CERN Control Centre was officially inaugurated on Thursday 16 March. To celebrate its startup, CERN Council members visited the sleek centre, a futuristic-looking room filled with a multitude of monitoring screens.

What factors encourage high levels of student participation in a self-access centre?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Keith Barrs

2010-06-01

Full Text Available The motivation to write about Self-Access Centres (SACs comes from experiencing a marked difference in the frequency and depth of student participation at two separate centres; one in a university in Japan and one in a private language school in England. In this context ‘frequency’ means how often the students use the centre and ‘depth’ means in what ways and to what extent the equipment and resources are used. At the SAC in Japan, the facilities are continually exploited by a large number of students with many of them visiting three or four times a week, on an optional basis, for usually over an hour each time. The activities in which the students are engaged include listening to music while annotating lyrics, practising pronunciation in speaking booths, reading English language novels and graded-readers, and communicating in the target-language with other students and learning advisors. In contrast, the SAC at the institution in England is only frequented by a very small number of students and the activities are generally limited to the issuance and return of books and the use of computers for online social networking, which is usually conducted in the native languages of the students.

Internal communication and data base management QA system in the Nuclear Training Centre

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stritar, Andrej

1999-01-01

Nuclear Training Centre in Ljubljana, Slovenia, is serving to NPP Krsko as a subcontractor for initial phases of technical staff training. In addition we are also organizing several international training courses, we perform the radiological protection training for users of ionizing radiation in industry, medicine and science and we are also running the public information centre with about 7000 visitors per year. For all these activities there are only 11 people available. In order to maintain the quality and efficiency of our work, we were forced to develop strongly computerized support system for the internal communication and maintenance of ever growing databases. It is the mission of our training centre to serve as a reliable and effective source of information about nuclear technologies to nuclear professionals and to the wider public. In order to cope with the increasing number of activities and with the limited number of people and resources available, we had to introduce systematic and highly computerized system for more effective internal communication and support of our activities, which is described in this paper. We have in great extend achieved two main objectives, which we expected from it: to reduce and simplify our routine activities; and force us to follow the predefined rules and thereby maintain the high quality of our work

Encouraging choice, serendipity and experimentation: experiences from Griffith University library (G11) extension and Gumurrii Centre.

Science.gov (United States)

Legerton, Graham

2013-09-01

The refurbishment and extension of existing university buildings is a critical consideration for many universities. This article details an architect's perspective of an innovative and collaborative design approach to transforming an existing library into a futuristic and student-centric interactive learning environment. The design is responsive to people, place, the community and the environment, due, in part, to the enhanced physical permeability of the building. Associated user-group forums comprised the end user client, the university's facilities body, the builder, lead architectural consultants, the Centre for Indigenous Students (Gumurrii Centre) and architectural sub-consultants. This article discusses five key design moves--"triangulate", "unique geometries and spaces", "learning aviary", "sky lounge" and "understanding flexibility". It goes on to discuss these elements in relation to designing spaces to enhance interprofessional education and collaboration. In summary, this article identifies how it is possible to maximise the value and characteristics of an existing library whilst creating a series of innovative spaces that offer choice, encourage serendipity and embrace experimentation.

Multiple Intimate Partner Violence Experiences: Knowledge, Access, Utilization and Barriers to Utilization of Resources by Women of the African Diaspora.

Science.gov (United States)

Sabri, Bushra; Huerta, Julia; Alexander, Kamila A; St Vil, Noelle M; Campbell, Jacquelyn C; Callwood, Gloria B

2015-11-01

This study examined knowledge, access, utilization, and barriers to use of resources among Black women exposed to multiple types of intimate partner violence in Baltimore, Maryland and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). We analyzed quantitative survey data collected by 163 women recruited from primary care, prenatal or family planning clinics in Baltimore and the USVI. In addition we analyzed qualitative data from in-depth interviews with 11 women. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis. A substantial proportion of Black women with multiple types of violence experiences lacked knowledge of, did not have access to, and did not use resources. Barriers to resource use were identified at the individual, relationship, and community levels. There is need for programs to develop awareness, promote access and utilization of resources, and eliminate barriers to resource use among abused Black women.

Patient Characteristics and Outcomes of a Provincial Prolonged-Ventilation Weaning Centre: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Louise Rose

2012-01-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Growing numbers of critically ill patients require prolonged mechanical ventilation and experience difficulty with weaning. Specialized centres may facilitate weaning through focused interprofessional expertise with an emphasis on rehabilitation.

Leading Highly Performing Children's Centres: Supporting the Development of the "Accidental Leaders"

Science.gov (United States)

Coleman, Andy; Sharp, Caroline; Handscomb, Graham

2016-01-01

There is wide recognition that early childhood experiences are critical to a child's development and their subsequent life chances. However, little research has been undertaken into leadership in early years settings, which is so influential in this regard. This article summarizes research into the leadership of Sure Start Children's Centres,…

Nuclear Research Centre of Maamora Morocco

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marfak, T.; Boufraqech, A.

2010-01-01

Morocco has a long and rich history in nuclear technology which began in the 1950s with the development of nuclear techniques in several important socio-economic fields such as medicine, agriculture and industrial applications. The development of nuclear technology evolved over various organizations, primarily within the Ministry of Education. However, with the formation of the National Centre for Nuclear Energy and Technology (CNESTEN) the development of nuclear technology in Morocco has been reinforced. Morocco is looking forward and actively pursuing alternative sources of energy and has a very strong interest in nuclear power generation and associated technologies such as nuclear desalination. Entry into these new technologies is required since there are no natural sources of energy, Morocco currently imports most of its energy needs from abroad and has a rapidly expanding energy need. In this paper, we present CNESTEN and its main facilities, missions, research programmes, human resources, training, education, national and international cooperation, etc

Application of the Technology Web 2.0 in a drug information centre.

Science.gov (United States)

Juárez Giménez, J C; Puyal González, C; Valdivia Vadell, C; Palacio Lacambra, M E; Vidal Otero, J; Cerqueira Dapena, M J

2011-01-01

To develop a Web 2.0 resource map and select those that may be useful in a Drug Information Centre at a Hospital Pharmacy Department (CIMSF). A multidisciplinary working group under the Biomedical Information Commission selected some of the Web 2.0 resources included in the Guía d'usos i estil a les xarxes Socials guide of the Catalonian Government. Six resources were selected: Netvibes, Delicious, Google groups, Google Docs, Slideshare and Twitter. These tools were used for 5 months to manage biomedical information for the medical staff, and to provide external visibility by providing information to other health professionals. More than a thousand hits were recorded on the portal Netvibes and more than 100 professionals followed CIMSF on Twitter. The Web 2.0 offers useful, user-friendly and cost-efficient tools which could be implemented in a CIMSF, while also enabling participation in external networks of pharmacotherapeutic interest, increasing its visibility to other professionals. Copyright © 2011 SEFH. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Managing the relationship between strategic resources and competitive priorities through the resource-based view

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cláudia Fabiana Gohr

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Firms should develop and improve strategic resources that are important for the competitive priorities, especially those that are important to customers. Using resource-based view of the firm as a theoretical perspective, this paper aims to analyze how strategic resources can contribute to the competitive priorities of an organization that operates in the logistic sector. The research method used was the case study using as the main technique of data collection semi-structured and structured interviews; and, systematic observations. The resources that contribute effectively to competitive priorities that need improvement are sales control, loyal customer base, partners experience and agile feedback to customers. However, only the experience of the partners provides to the company sustainable competitive advantage. Others resources identified in the field research provide only a competitive parity, despite this, support important competitive priorities.

Training centres in Latin America

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1959-01-01

Early 1958 the Brazilian representative on the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency - supported by the Governors from Argentina and Guatemala -proposed that a study should be made of the possibility of setting up one or more atomic energy training centres in Latin America. On the Board's recommendation, the Director General of the Agency appointed a fact-finding team to make anon-the-spot study. In drafting this report the team was invited to consider the following points: (a) The need for establishing one or more regional training centres; (b) Existing facilities that are being or could be used for training, together with technical data concerning them; (c) The general scientific technological and industrial conditions of the countries visited insofar as they have a bearing on their training needs and capabilities. The authors of the report conclude that 'a training centre in radio-botany should provide vitally needed knowledge and vitally needed specialists to all the agricultural installations in Latin America. A training centre like this might provide an excellent model upon which to base training centres in other areas'. The report recommends that: 1. The Agency should meet the requests of Latin American universities by, for example, supplying equipment and sending experts; 2. At least one specialized training centre should be established as soon as possible. Taking as an example the field of radio-botany, such a centre would provide trained specialists in radio-botany to agricultural institutions throughout Latin America and also provide basic research results vital to agriculture. The cost of new facilities might be of the order of $7 500 000, with an annual budget of approximately $650 000. Staff required: 40 scientists and 175 employees; 3. Whenever it appears feasible to gather necessary staff of high creative ability and established productivity and when funds can be made available for facilities, equipment and operating costs, at

Training centres in Latin America

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1959-04-15

Early 1958 the Brazilian representative on the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency - supported by the Governors from Argentina and Guatemala -proposed that a study should be made of the possibility of setting up one or more atomic energy training centres in Latin America. On the Board's recommendation, the Director General of the Agency appointed a fact-finding team to make anon-the-spot study. In drafting this report the team was invited to consider the following points: (a) The need for establishing one or more regional training centres; (b) Existing facilities that are being or could be used for training, together with technical data concerning them; (c) The general scientific technological and industrial conditions of the countries visited insofar as they have a bearing on their training needs and capabilities. The authors of the report conclude that 'a training centre in radio-botany should provide vitally needed knowledge and vitally needed specialists to all the agricultural installations in Latin America. A training centre like this might provide an excellent model upon which to base training centres in other areas'. The report recommends that: 1. The Agency should meet the requests of Latin American universities by, for example, supplying equipment and sending experts; 2. At least one specialized training centre should be established as soon as possible. Taking as an example the field of radio-botany, such a centre would provide trained specialists in radio-botany to agricultural institutions throughout Latin America and also provide basic research results vital to agriculture. The cost of new facilities might be of the order of $7 500 000, with an annual budget of approximately $650 000. Staff required: 40 scientists and 175 employees; 3. Whenever it appears feasible to gather necessary staff of high creative ability and established productivity and when funds can be made available for facilities, equipment and operating costs, at

Water resources management strategies and its implications on hydrodynamic and hydrochemical changes of costal groundwater: Case of Grombalia shallow aquifer, NE Tunisia

Science.gov (United States)

Lachaal, Fethi; Chekirbane, Anis; Chargui, Sameh; Sellami, Haykel; Tsujimura, Maki; Hezzi, Hmida; Faycel, Jelassi; Mlayah, Ammar

2016-12-01

Information on groundwater quantity as well as quality is required by water managers and decision-makers for defining a sustainable management strategy. This requires a comprehensive assessment of the surface water and groundwater resources. This paper provides an assessment of water resources management strategy in the Grombalia region (Northeast Tunisia) and its impact on quantity and quality evolution of groundwater resources based on an approach that combines (i) hydro-climatic data, (ii) field monitoring, (iii) historic piezometric records, and (iv) geochemical and stable isotopes (δ18O and δ2H) analyses. We apply this approach to identify the origin of the various water resources and outline how the actual water management impact the quantity and quality of the groundwater in the region. As consequence of poor water resources management, the shallow groundwater levels have been disrupted: a groundwater rise is observed in the centre and a piezometric drawdown is observed in the upstream regions. Groundwater quality degradation was registered especially in the centre and downstream zones.

The Centres for Environment-friendly Energy Research (FME)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2011-07-01

High expectations for Norway's Centres for Environment-friendly Energy Research (FME).The FME centres address a broad range of areas, allcentral to developing the energy sector of the future. The activities of the eight centres established in 2009 focus on renewable energy, raising energy efficiency, energy planning, and carbon capture and storage (CCS). In 2011 three new FME centres were established which focus on social science-related energy research. The FME scheme is a direct follow-up of the broad-based political agreement on climate policy achieved in the Storting in January 2008, and of the national RandD Energi21 strategy submitted in February 2008 to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy. In April 2008 the Research Council of Norway's Executive Board decided to launch a process to establish centres for environment-friendly energy research, and a funding announcement was issued that same year. In 2010 it was decided that additional FME centres would be established in the field of social science-related energy research. After a thorough assessment of each project (based on feasibility, scientific merit, potential to generate value creation and innovation, and composition of the consortium) eight applicants were selected to become FME centres in February 2009. A new call for proposals was issued in 2010, and three more centres were awarded FME status in February 2011. The objective of the FME scheme is to establish time-limited research centres which conduct concentrated, focused and long-term research of high international calibre in order to solve specific challenges in the energy sphere. The selected centres must exhibit higher goals, a longer-term perspective and a more concentrated focus than is required under other funding instruments for the same scientific area. The make-up of the centres is critical to achieving this objective. The centres bring together Norway's leading research institutions and key players in private enterprise, the

List of scientific publications of the Karlsruhe Nuclear Reseach Centre for the year 1986

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-05-01

This report contains the titles of the publications which appeared during the year 1986. Lectures which have not been printed yet are listed separately from the literature. All the patents awarded or published in 1986 are given; i.e. patents and publications of patents. Summarising lectures and practical instructions from the courses at the College for Nuclear Technology are not included in the list. The list of publications is arranged according to Institutes. Among the projects, only the published project reports and publications by members of the staff of the project are listed. The publications printed at the Nuclear Research Centre from the research and development projects of the Manufacturing Technique Project (PFT) and the project on the 'European Research Centre for Measures for Keeping the Air Clean' (PEF), which are being carried out by the Nuclear Research Centre in collaboration with firms and institutions, are also included in the list. The list also contains publications by the external office of the West German Institute of Food resident in the Nuclear Research Centre. The last chapter of the list contains publications on guest experiments at the Nuclear Research Centre. The list has an alphabetical index, which gives page and registry numbers. (orig./GG) [de

The use of gold markers and electronic portal imaging for radiotherapy verification in prostate cancer patients: Sweden Ghana Medical Centre experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

George Felix Acquah

2014-02-01

Full Text Available The success of radiotherapy cancer treatment delivery depends on the accuracy of patient setup for each fraction. A significant problem arises from reproducing the same patient position and prostate location during treatment planning for every fraction of the treatment process. To analyze the daily movements of the prostate, gold markers are implanted in the prostate and portal images taken and manually matched with reference images to locate the prostate. Geometrical and fiducial markers are annotated onto a highly quality generated digitally reconstructed radiographs, that are compared with portal images acquired right before treatment dose delivery. A 0 and 270 degree treatment fields are used to calculate prostate shifts for all prostate cancer patients undergoing treatment at the Sweden Ghana Medical Centre, using an iViewGT portal imaging device. After aligning of the marker positions onto the reference images, the set-up deviations corrections are displayed and an on-line correction procedure applied. The measured migrations of the prostate markers are below the threshold of 3 mm for the main plans and 2 mm for the boost plans. With daily electronic portal imaging combined with gold markers, provides an objective method for verifying and correcting the position of the prostate immediately prior to radiation delivery.--------------------------------------------Cite this article as: Acquah GF. The use of gold markers and electronic portal imaging for radiotherapy verification in prostate cancer patients: Sweden Ghana Medical Centre experience. Int J Cancer Ther Oncol 2014; 2(1:020112.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14319/ijcto.0201.12

Barriers to ART adherence & follow ups among patients attending ART centres in Maharashtra, India.

Science.gov (United States)

Joglekar, N; Paranjape, R; Jain, R; Rahane, G; Potdar, R; Reddy, K S; Sahay, S

2011-12-01

Adherence to ART is a patient specific issue influenced by a variety of situations that a patient may encounter, especially in resource-limited settings. A study was conducted to understand factors and influencers of adherence to ART and their follow ups among patients attending ART centres in Maharashtra, India. Between January and March 2009, barriers to ART adherence among 32 patients at three selected ART centres functioning under national ART roll-out programme in Maharashtra, India, were studied using qualitative methods. Consenting patients were interviewed to assess barriers to ART adherence. Constant comparison method was used to identify grounded codes. Patients reported multiple barriers to ART adherence and follow up as (i) Financial barriers where the contributing factors were unemployment, economic dependency, and debt, (ii) social norm of attending family rituals, and fulfilling social obligations emerged as socio-cultural barriers, (iii) patients' belief, attitude and behaviour towards medication and self-perceived stigma were the reasons for sub-optimal adherence, and (iv) long waiting period, doctor-patient relationship and less time devoted in counselling at the center contributed to missed visits. Mainstreaming ART can facilitate access and address 'missed doses' due to travel and migration. A 'morning' and 'evening' ART centre/s hours may reduce work absenteeism and help in time management. Proactive 'adherence probing' and probing on internalized stigma might optimize adherence. Adherence probing to prevent transitioning to suboptimal adherence among patients stable on ART is recommended.

Surgical treatment of chronic pancreatitis using Frey's procedure: a Brazilian 16-year single-centre experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Gestic, Martinho Antonio; Callejas-Neto, Francisco; Chaim, Elinton Adami; Utrini, Murillo Pimentel; Cazzo, Everton; Pareja, Jose Carlos

2011-04-01

Surgical treatment of chronic pancreatitis is indicated for intractable pain. Frey's procedure is an accepted treatment for this disease. The aim of the present study was to describe a single-centre experience in the treatment of chronic pancreatitis using Frey's procedure. A retrospective analysis of 73 patients who underwent a Frey's procedure between 1991 to 2007 and had at least 1 year of follow-up. Demographics, indication for surgery, peri-operative complications and late outcomes were analysed. The median age was 39.9 years. Seventy out of the 73 (95.8%) patients were male. The median pre-operative body mass index (BMI) was 19.1 kg/m(2). All patients had abdominal pain, 34 (46.6%) of them daily and 13 (17.8%) weekly, with moderate or severe intensity in 98.6% (n= 72). The aetiology was secondary to alcohol in 70 patients (95.9%), with a median consumption of 278 g per day. The surgical morbidity rate was 28.7%; there were no deaths. Median post-operative follow-up was 77.0 months; 64 patients (91.4%) had complete pain relief and post-operative BMI was 22.4 kg/m(2) (P<0.001). All patients with pre-operative endocrine and exocrine insufficiencies showed no reversal of the situation. New onset insufficiencies appeared late. Frey's procedure was a safe and effective therapeutic option for the surgical treatment of patients with intractable pain caused by chronic pancreatitis. © 2011 International Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association.

Initiation of non-invasive ventilation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and clinical practice guidelines: Single-centre, retrospective, descriptive study in a national reference centre.

Science.gov (United States)

Georges, Marjolaine; Golmard, Jean-Louis; Llontop, Claudia; Shoukri, Amr; Salachas, François; Similowski, Thomas; Morelot-Panzini, Capucine; Gonzalez-Bermejo, Jésus

2017-02-01

In amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), respiratory muscle weakness leads to respiratory failure. Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) maintains adequate ventilation in ALS patients. NIV alleviates symptoms and improves survival. In 2006, French guidelines established criteria for NIV initiation based on limited evidence. Their impact on clinical practice remains unknown. Our objective was to describe NIV initiation practices of the main French ALS tertiary referral centre with respect to guidelines. In this retrospective descriptive study, 624 patients followed in a single national reference centre began NIV between 2005 and 2013. We analysed criteria used to initiate NIV, including symptoms, PaCO 2 , forced vital capacity, maximal inspiratory pressures and time spent with SpO 2 NIV initiation, 90% of patients were symptomatic. Median PaCO 2 was 48 mmHg. The main criterion to initiate NIV was 'symptoms' followed by 'hypercapnia' in 42% and 34% of cases, respectively. NIV was initiated on functional parameters in only 5% of cases. Guidelines were followed in 81% of cases. In conclusion, despite compliance with French guidelines, the majority of patients are treated at the stage of symptomatic daytime hypoventilation, which suggests that NIV is initiated late in the course of ALS. Whether this practice could be improved by changing guidelines or increasing respiratory-dedicated resources remains to be determined.

The centre of mass of a triangular plate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sluesarenko, Viktor; Rojas, Roberto; Fuster, Gonzalo

2008-01-01

We present a derivation for the coordinates of the centre of mass-or centre of gravity-of a homogeneous triangular plate by using scaling and symmetry. We scale the triangular plate by a factor of 2 and divide its area into four plates identical to the original. By symmetry, we assert that the centre of mass of two identical masses lies at the midpoint of the line joining their centres of mass. By relating the centres of mass of the original to those of the scaled plates, we find the coordinates of the centre of mass as the solution of an algebraic equation

Family-centred care for families living with cystic fibrosis in a rural setting: A qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Jessup, Melanie; Smyth, Wendy; Abernethy, Gail; Shields, Linda; Douglas, Tonia

2018-02-01

To explore experiences of family-centred care among parents of children with cystic fibrosis living far from tertiary treatment centres and to understand what such distances mean to their care. Australia is a large continent. However, many families with a child with cystic fibrosis live in regional areas, often thousands of kilometres away from the primary treatment centres located in Australia's coastal capital cities. A qualitative, phenomenological design using a Van Manen () approach. Individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents (n = 7) of a child with cystic fibrosis who lived in regional Australia. Thematic content data analysis was used. The essence of the participants' experience was their seeking certainty and continuity in the changeable realm of cystic fibrosis while negotiating a collaborative approach to their child's care. Five core themes and two subthemes were identified: "Daily care: a family affair," including the subtheme "Accessing expert care"; "Family-centred care: seeking inclusion"; "Control versus collaboration: seeking mutual trust," with the subtheme "The team who grows with you"; "Future projections"; and "The CF circle." Some concerns are not unlike those of their city counterparts, but can be intensified by their sense of distance and isolation. Insight into this unique milieu from the parents' perspective is requisite so that care is appropriate to such a challenging environment and incorporates the whole family. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Bruce Energy Centre

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, R.I.

1982-06-01

The Bruce Energy Centre Development Corporation is a joint venture of the Ontario Energy Corporation and 6 private companies formed to market surplus steam from the Bruce Nuclear Power Development. The corporation will also sell or lease land near Bruce NPD. The Bruce Energy Centre has an energy output of 900 BTU per day per dollar invested. Potential customers include greenhouse operators, aquaculturalists, food and beverage manufacturers, and traditional manufacturers

Setting up a child eye care centre: the Mercy Eye Hospital, Abak ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Aim: To document and share our experience in setting up a Child Eye Care Centre within a rural mission eye hospital and document subsequent development of services. Method: The location of the project was Mercy Eye Hospital (MEH) Abak, Akwa Ibom State in the South South zone of Nigeria). Consent to commence ...

Management of Epistaxis – A Single Centre Experience and Economic Considerations

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Keane, E

2016-06-01

Epistaxis represents the most common ENT emergency and its management has been a focus of audit recently, with consideration given to the associated economic burden. The aim of our study is to evaluate the management of epistaxis in terms of treatments used, duration of stay, recurrence and cost. A retrospective review of hospital inpatient enquiry (HIPE) data from a single secondary referral centre was undertaken during a four year period. Four hundrefd and thirty-four patients were identified. The majority (n= 262, 60.3%) were male and the average age was 64.2 years. The vast majority (n=362, 83.4%) were managed non-operatively. Only 15 patients (3.4%) were managed surgically. The average length of stay was 2.5 days and did not vary greatly between the treatment groups. The recurrence rate was 8.2% (n=36). Approximate costs of packing vs EUA and cautery suggest that packing alone is more economical but more data is needed to fully compare the options.

Shifting attention from objective risk factors to patients' self-assessed health resources: a clinical model for general practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Hollnagel, H; Malterud, K

1995-12-01

The study was designed to present and apply theoretical and empirical knowledge for the construction of a clinical model intended to shift the attention of the general practitioner from objective risk factors to self-assessed health resources in male and female patients. Review, discussion and analysis of selected theoretical models about personal health resources involving assessing existing theories according to their emphasis concerning self-assessed vs. doctor-assessed health resources, specific health resources vs. life and coping in general, abstract vs. clinically applicable theory, gender perspective explicitly included or not. Relevant theoretical models on health and coping (salutogenesis, coping and social support, control/demand, locus of control, health belief model, quality of life), and the perspective of the underprivileged Other (critical theory, feminist standpoint theory, the patient-centred clinical method) were presented and assessed. Components from Antonovsky's salutogenetic perspective and McWhinney's patient-centred clinical method, supported by gender perspectives, were integrated to a clinical model which is presented. General practitioners are recommended to shift their attention from objective risk factors to self-assessed health resources by means of the clinical model. The relevance and feasibility of the model should be explored in empirical research.

Our experience with pre-operative haemostatic assessment of paediatric patients undergoing adenotonsillectomy at Federal Medical Centre, Makurdi

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amali Adekwu

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Background: In 2-4% of all patients requiring adenoidectomy, tonsillectomy or adenotonsillectomy, pre-operative screening tests for coagulation disorders are indicated to detect surgical bleeding complications. However, because of cost effect on the patients, the usefulness of these tests is being challenged. We therefore highlight our experience in paediatric patients undergoing adenoidectomy, tonsillectomy or both in our centre. Patients and Methods: This is a 3½-year analysis of the data of 165 paediatric patients who had adenoidectomy, tonsillectomy or both over the study period. The data collected included age, sex, procedure done and detailed clinical bleeding history. Results: A total of 165 children had either adenoidectomy or tonsillectomy, or both. There were 76 males and 89 females giving a male to female ratio of 1:1.2. Their ages ranged from 10 months to 18 years. Eighty-five (51.5% patients had adenotonsillectomy, 48 (29.1% and 32 (19.4% had only tonsillectomies and adenoidectomies, respectively. Only 11 (6.7% families volunteered the history of either prolonged bleeding with minor injury on the skin or occasional slight nose bleeding. Six (3.6% patients including 3 of the children with positive family history had posttonsillectomy bleed, out of which 4 (66.7% were moderate whereas the remaining 2 (33.3% were severe bleeding, which was not statistically significant (P = 0.041. The two cases of severe bleeding had fresh whole blood transfused whereas the rest that had no bleeding issues were discharged home 48 h postoperatively. Conclusion: Our experience in this study suggests that detailed bleeding history is necessary as well as pre-operative haemostatic assessment, if available and affordable for paediatric patients undergoing adenotonsillectomy.

Smart work centres in rural areas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lorentzen, Anne Birte

This paper discusses the establishment of telework centres as an element in local development strategies in rural areas, with a particular view to two new telework centres in region North Denmark. The paper argues that telework centres do not represent an easy solution to problems of local...... development and environmental sustainability, and further, that technology may not even be the most important feature needed to make them function as such....

Using a New Event-Based Simulation Framework for Investigating Resource Provisioning in Clouds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simon Ostermann

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Today, Cloud computing proposes an attractive alternative to building large-scale distributed computing environments by which resources are no longer hosted by the scientists' computational facilities, but leased from specialised data centres only when and for how long they are needed. This new class of Cloud resources raises new interesting research questions in the fields of resource management, scheduling, fault tolerance, or quality of service, requiring hundreds to thousands of experiments for finding valid solutions. To enable such research, a scalable simulation framework is typically required for early prototyping, extensive testing and validation of results before the real deployment is performed. The scope of this paper is twofold. In the first part we present GroudSim, a Grid and Cloud simulation toolkit for scientific computing based on a scalable simulation-independent discrete-event engine. GroudSim provides a comprehensive set of features for complex simulation scenarios from simple job executions on leased computing resources to file transfers, calculation of costs and background load on resources. Simulations can be parameterised and are easily extendable by probability distribution packages for failures which normally occur in complex distributed environments. Experimental results demonstrate the improved scalability of GroudSim compared to a related process-based simulation approach. In the second part, we show the use of the GroudSim simulator to analyse the problem of dynamic provisioning of Cloud resources to scientific workflows that do not benefit from sufficient Grid resources as required by their computational demands. We propose and study four strategies for provisioning and releasing Cloud resources that take into account the general leasing model encountered in today's commercial Cloud environments based on resource bulks, fuzzy descriptions and hourly payment intervals. We study the impact of our techniques to the

Diagnosis of primary ciliary dyskinesia: potential options for resource-limited countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nisreen Rumman

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Primary ciliary dyskinesia is a genetic disease of ciliary function leading to chronic upper and lower respiratory tract symptoms. The diagnosis is frequently overlooked because the symptoms are nonspecific and the knowledge about the disease in the primary care setting is poor. Additionally, none of the available tests is accurate enough to be used in isolation. These tests are expensive, and need sophisticated equipment and expertise to analyse and interpret results; diagnosis is therefore only available at highly specialised centres. The diagnosis is particularly challenging in countries with limited resources due to the lack of such costly equipment and expertise. In this review, we discuss the importance of early and accurate diagnosis especially for countries where the disease is clinically prevalent but diagnostic tests are lacking. We review the diagnostic tests available in specialised centres (nasal nitric oxide, high-speed video microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, immunofluorescence and genetics. We then consider modifications that might be considered in less well-resourced countries whilst maintaining acceptable accuracy.

The programme 'fission product deposition' at the IRB of Juelich nuclear research centre

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gottaut, H.; Iniotakis, N.; Malinowski, J.; Muenchow, K.H.; Sackmann, B.

1976-01-01

The transport and deposition behaviour of the non-gaseous fission and activation products in the primary circuit of HTR-type reactors determines the possibility of inspection and maintenance of single components of the primary circuit as well as the safety of the reactor in normal operation and during accidents. For the investigation of these problems, the programme 'fission product deposition' was started at Juelich nuclear research centre in 1969 in cooperation with a number of industrial firms. The programme covers in-pile and out-of-pile experiments, in which the HTR conditions are simulated as realistically as possible, as well as various laboratory experiments and extensive theoretical studies. It is the objective of this work to establish a realistic physical model and computer programme with which the transport and deposition of nuclides in the primary circuit of HTR reactors can be calculated in advance. A report is given on the experimental and theoretical studies carried out at the IRB of Juelich nuclear research centre. (orig./AK) [de

Are tight gas resources overstated?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roche, P.

2004-11-01

According to conventional wisdom, North America's tight gas resources are continuous, regional accumulations of water-free methane, trapped in low-permeability rock, and involving very little exploration risk. Backing up conventional wisdom, EnCana Corporation is investing heavily in technology-intensive and capital-intensive tight gas plays in Western Canada and the Rocky Mountain regions of the United States. On the other hand, a recent study in the Greater Green River Basin of southwestern Wyoming says that tight gas resources have been significantly overestimated, by as much as three to five times too high, and the risks of exploration are every bit as high as those for conventional exploration. This study essentially dismisses the whole idea of tight gas, or basin-centred gas as a myth, the authors being firmly convinced that tight gas formations should be viewed as conventional hydrocarbon systems, with the usual risks of exploration. This paper discusses the controversy created by this recent study and the implications for natural gas reserves on a basin and individual company level, and the risks associated with exploration. The views of EnCana Corporation, being the company most heavily involved in tight gas and coalbed methane, and those of John Masters, co-founder of Canadian Hunter Exploration Ltd., and discoverer of the blockbuster Elsmworth tight gas deposit in northeastern Alberta in the mid-1970s, are explained in considerable detail, in an effort to dismiss the doubters. EnCana officials and Masters argue that the points raised by the authors of the Greater Green River study do not hold water: Tight gas or basin gas is a distinct hydrocarbon formation, characterized by low permeability, therefore it is to be expected that the gas will take longer to come out of the ground. Neither is the role of water in basin-centred gas systems the major problem as claimed by the doubters. They also characterize it as imprudent to claim to know what the