Development of an inter-professional screening instrument for cancer patients' education process.

Science.gov (United States)

Vaartio-Rajalin, Heli; Huumonen, Tuula; Iire, Liisa; Jekunen, Antti; Leino-Kilpi, Helena; Minn, Heikki; Paloniemi, Jenni; Zabalegui, Adelaida

2016-02-01

The aim of this paper is to describe the development of an inter-professional screening instrument for cancer patients' cognitive resources, knowledge expectations and inter-professional collaboration within patient education. Four empirical datasets during 2012-2014 were analyzed in order to identify main categories, subcategories and items for inter-professional screening instrument. Our inter-professional screening instrument integrates the critical moments of cancer patient education and the knowledge expectation types obtained from patient datasets to assessment of patients' cognitive resources, knowledge expectations and comprehension; and intra; and inter-professional. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Right to Social Security in Human Rights Instruments and in International Labor Organization (with a glance at some Islamic Countries Practices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seyed Mojtaba Hosseini Almoosavi

2011-04-01

Full Text Available The right to Social Security is one of the rights which appears in two important instruments of human rights—that is, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The devotion of a separate article to right of Social Security in these two universal instruments indicates that this right is essential in the views the framers of the Declaration as well as international convention. Despite the emphasis put by the Declaration on international cooperation for implementing this right, unfortunately the appropriate action has not been taken yet in international scale. The low tendency to Social Security must be related to the economic problems surrounding this right. The low tendency to Social Security can also be seen in the regional instruments of human rights. These instruments have not mentioned the term “social security” independently; just there are general indications in some famous conventions of International Labor Origination (ILO. Of course in some special protocols prepared on specific issues by regional originations, Social Security has been discussed which is not convincing at all. If regional originations had been serious about implementation of Social Security as a human right, they should have referred to it in the original and mother text. form of governance that administers public affairs and resources with utmost transparency and attention to different dimensions of human rights, as civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. حق تأمین اجتماعی از جمله حقوقی است که در دو سند مهم و مادر حقوق بشر یعنی اعلامیه جهانی حقوق بشر و میثاق‌نامه حقوق اقتصادی، اجتماعی و فرهنگی گنجانده شده است. اختصاص ماده جداگانه به حق تأمین اجتماعی در‌این دو سند جهانی، حاوی اهمیت‌این حق از �

Pursuing the Right to an Effective Remedy for Human Rights ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Undoubtedly, global and regional human rights instruments clearly entrench the right to an effective remedy for a human rights violation. The substantive nature of the right to an effective remedy makes it relevant to the realisation of the right to equality as well as the right to equal protection under the law. Cameroon, as a ...

X-ray powder crystallography with vertex instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chatzisotiriou, V.; Christofis, I.; Dimitriou, N.; Karvelas, S.; Karydas, A.G.; Loukas, D.; Pavlidis, A.; Spirou, S.; Dre, C.; Haralabidis, N.; Misiakos, K.; Tsoi, E.; Perdikatsis, V.; Psycharis, V.; Terzis, A.; Turchetta, R.

1998-01-01

An X-ray Diffractometer for Powder Crystallography is described along with experimental results and future plans. This is an intermediate instrument toward a long linear array system. Three channels of a silicon microstrip detector, are the detecting elements in the present instrument. Each detector channel is followed by a VLSI readout chain, which consists of a charge preamplifier with pulse shaping circuitry, a discriminator, and a 16-bit counter. Control and data acquisition is performed with a custom made PC readout card. A motorized goniometer scans the angle range of interest. Calibration of the system is done with reference samples and data which are captured with a one-channel conventional NaI detector. (Copyright (c) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam. All rights reserved.)

A comparative analysis of the effects of economic policy instruments in promoting environmentally sustainable transport

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Elvik, Rune; Ramjerdi, Farideh

2014-01-01

; (3) Toll schemes; (4) Reward systems giving incentives to reduce driving or change driver behaviour. The effects of these policy instruments are stated in terms of elasticities. All four economic policy instruments have negative elasticities, which means that they do promote environmentally...... sustainable transport. Long-term elasticities tend to be larger than short term elasticities. The long-term elasticities of reward systems are unknown. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved....

Monte Carlo simulations as a part of the configuration for neutron instruments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, P.; Lefmann, K.; Kuhn, L.T.

2004-01-01

We demonstrate the use of simulations in the process of determiningthe optimal instrument setup by virtual experiments usingthe simulation package McStas. The focus of the analysis is the optimization of the multi-blade analyzer present at the RITA-II spectrometer at PSI for a test experiment...... that in general instrument simulations are approaching a state where they can assist users in selectingthe optimal configuration and possibly demonstrate the feasibility of their experiments prior to allocated beamtime. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved....

Reducing chronic visuo-spatial neglect following right hemisphere stroke through instrument playing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rebeka eBodak

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Unilateral visuo-spatial neglect is a neuropsychological syndrome commonly resulting from right hemisphere strokes at the temporo-parietal junction of the infero-posterior parietal cortex. Neglect is characterised by reduced awareness of stimuli presented on patients’ contralesional side of space and has previously been shown to be improved by a number of motivational influences, including listening to preferred music and numerical sequence completion. Here we examined whether playing musical sequences on chime bars – an instrument with a horizontal alignment – would bring about clinically significant improvement in chronic neglect.Two left neglect patients completed an intervention comprising four weekly 30-minute music sessions involving playing scales and familiar melodies on chime bars from right to left. Two cancellation tests (Mesulam shape, BIT star, the line bisection test, and the neglect subtest from the computerised TAP (Test for Attentional Performance battery were administered three times during a preliminary baseline phase, before and after each music session during the rehabilitation phase to investigate short-term effects, as well as one week after the last intervention session to investigate whether any effects would persist.Both patients demonstrated significant short-term and longer-lasting improvements on the Mesulam shape cancellation test. One patient also showed longer-lasting effects on the BIT star cancellation test and scored in the normal range one week after the intervention. These findings provide preliminary evidence that active music-making may help neglect patients attend more to their affected side.

Fractional Reserve in Banking System

OpenAIRE

Valkonen, Maria

2016-01-01

This thesis is aimed to provide understanding of the role of the fractional reserve in the mod-ern banking system worldwide and particularly in Finland. The fractional reserve banking is used worldwide, but the benefits of this system are very disputable. On the one hand, experts say that the fractional reserve is a necessary instrument for the normal business and profit making. On the other hand, sceptics openly criticize the fractional reserve system and blame it for fiat money (money n...

[French residents' training in instrumental deliveries: A national survey].

Science.gov (United States)

Saunier, C; Raimond, E; Dupont, A; Pelissier, A; Bonneau, S; Gabriel, R; Graesslin, O

2016-11-01

To evaluate French residents in Obstetrics and Gynaecology's training in instrumental deliveries in 2015. We conducted a national descriptive survey among 758 residents between December 2014 and January 2015. Respondents were invited by email to specify their University Hospital, their current university term, the number of instrumental deliveries performed by vacuum extractor, forceps or spatulas, and whether they made systematic ultrasound exams before performing the extraction. Response rate was 34.7 % (n=263). There were important differences between regions in terms of type of instruments used. Vacuum extractor was the most commonly used instrument for instrumental deliveries by French residents (56.9 %), more than forceps (25.2 %) and spatulas (17.9 %). At the end of the residency, all the residents had been trained in instrumental deliveries with at least two instruments. The training of difficult techniques as well as their perfect control is required for instrumental deliveries. Yet, we are forced to note that there are substantial differences in the French residents' training in instrumental deliveries depending on their region. So, teaching at least two techniques seems essential as well as improving the training capacities and standardizing practices. A greater systematization of the teaching of the mechanics and obstetric techniques might be a solution to be considered too. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

WaveOne Rotary Instruments after Clinical Use.

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Ya; Coil, Jeffrey M; Mo, Anthony John; Wang, Zhejun; Hieawy, Ahmed; Yang, Yan; Haapasalo, Markus

2016-02-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence and mode of WaveOne (Dentsply Tulsa Dental Specialties, Tulsa, OK) instrument defects after single use at different endodontic clinics. A total of 438 WaveOne instruments were collected after clinical use from the 4 specialist clinics over a 12-month period and from 1 graduate program over a 20-month period. The incidence and type of instrument defects were analyzed. The lateral surfaces of part of the defective instruments and fracture surfaces of fractured files were examined using scanning electron microscopy. Unused and clinically used files were examined by a nanoindentation test. Of the 438 WaveOne instruments collected, 42 (9.6%) had defects: 40 (9.1%) were distorted and 2 (0.5%) files had fractured, 1 Small and 1 Primary file. Clear differences in the frequency of defects were found among the 3 file sizes; the occurrence of distortion and fracture were highest with the Small file (21.2% and 0.7%, respectively) followed by the Primary file (4.4% and 0.4%, respectively) (P Instruments from various clinics showed no significantly different occurrence of instrument deformation. Unwinding occurred at 1.2-3.1 mm from the tip. No significant difference in nanohardness was detected among unused and used instruments. The risk of WaveOne fracture is very low when files are singly used by endodontists and residents. Unwinding of the files occurred most frequently in the Small file. The frequency of defects of WaveOne instruments were not influenced by the operator. Copyright © 2016 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Consumer preferences for reduced packaging under economic instruments and recycling policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Yamaguchi, Keiko; Takeuchi, Kenji

2016-02-01

This study was conducted using a web-based survey and bidding game in contingent valuation method to evaluate consumer preferences for packaging with less material. Results revealed that people who live in a municipality implementing unit-based pricing of waste have a higher willingness-to-pay (WTP) for a product. Economic instruments can affect the purchase of products with reduced packaging because a higher disposal cost increases the attractiveness of source reduction. However, unit-based pricing combined with plastic separation for recycling reduces WTP. This result suggests that recycling policy weakens the effect of economic instruments on source reduction of waste. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Behavior of nickel-titanium instruments manufactured with different thermal treatments.

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira, Érika Sales Joviano; Viana, Ana Cecília Diniz; Buono, Vicente Tadeu Lopes; Peters, Ove A; Bahia, Maria Guiomar de Azevedo

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate if nickel-titanium instruments with similar designs manufactured by different thermal treatments would exhibit significantly different in vitro behavior. Thirty-six instruments each of ProTaper Universal (PTU F1; Dentsply Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland), ProFile Vortex (PV; Dentsply Tulsa Dental Specialties, Tulsa, OK), Vortex Blue (VB, Dentsply Tulsa Dental Specialties), and TYPHOON Infinite Flex NiTi (TYP; Clinician's Choice Dental Products, New Milford, CT) (all size 25/.06) were evaluated. Bending resistance, torsion at failure, and dynamic torsional tests were performed with the instruments (n = 12). Analysis of variance and Tukey post hoc tests were applied. Flexibility was significantly higher for TYP compared with the other 3 groups (P .05). The highest mean forces were recorded with PTU (7.02 ± 2.36 N) and the lowest with TYP (1.22 ± 0.40 N). TYP instruments were significantly more flexible than the other instruments tested. The PV group had the highest torsional strength and TYP, despite being the most flexible, showed similar torsional moments to the other instruments, whereas its angular deflection was the highest among the groups. Copyright © 2015 American Association of Endodontists. All rights reserved.

Understanding the interplay of cancer patients' instrumental concerns and emotions.

Science.gov (United States)

Brandes, Kim; van der Goot, Margot J; Smit, Edith G; van Weert, Julia C M; Linn, Annemiek J

2017-05-01

1) to assess patients' descriptions of concerns, and 2) to inform a conceptual framework in which the impact of the nature of concerns on doctor-patient communication is specified. Six focus groups were conducted with 39 cancer patients and survivors. In these focus groups participants were asked to describe their concerns during and after their illness. Concerns were described as instrumental concerns (e.g., receiving insufficient information) and emotions (e.g., sadness). Patients frequently explained their concerns as an interplay of instrumental concerns and emotions. Examples of the interplay were "receiving incorrect information" and "frustration", and "difficulties with searching, finding and judging of information" and "fear". Instrumental concerns need to be taken into account in the operationalization of concerns in research. Based on the interplay, the conceptual framework suggests that patients can express instrumental concerns as emotions and emotions as instrumental concerns. Consequently, providers can respond with instrumental and emotional communication when patients express an interplay of concerns. The results of this study can be used to support providers in recognizing concerns that are expressed by patients in consultations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Bridging international law and rights-based litigation: mapping health-related rights through the development of the Global Health and Human Rights Database.

Science.gov (United States)

Meier, Benjamin Mason; Cabrera, Oscar A; Ayala, Ana; Gostin, Lawrence O

2012-06-15

The O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University, the World Health Organization, and the Lawyers Collective have come together to develop a searchable Global Health and Human Rights Database that maps the intersection of health and human rights in judgments, international and regional instruments, and national constitutions. Where states long remained unaccountable for violations of health-related human rights, litigation has arisen as a central mechanism in an expanding movement to create rights-based accountability. Facilitated by the incorporation of international human rights standards in national law, this judicial enforcement has supported the implementation of rights-based claims, giving meaning to states' longstanding obligations to realize the highest attainable standard of health. Yet despite these advancements, there has been insufficient awareness of the international and domestic legal instruments enshrining health-related rights and little understanding of the scope and content of litigation upholding these rights. As this accountability movement evolves, the Global Health and Human Rights Database seeks to chart this burgeoning landscape of international instruments, national constitutions, and judgments for health-related rights. Employing international legal research to document and catalogue these three interconnected aspects of human rights for the public's health, the Database's categorization by human rights, health topics, and regional scope provides a comprehensive means of understanding health and human rights law. Through these categorizations, the Global Health and Human Rights Database serves as a basis for analogous legal reasoning across states to serve as precedents for future cases, for comparative legal analysis of similar health claims in different country contexts, and for empirical research to clarify the impact of human rights judgments on public health outcomes. Copyright © 2012 Meier, Nygren

Comparison of fractional flow reserve of composite Y-grafts with saphenous vein or right internal thoracic arteries.

Science.gov (United States)

Glineur, David; Boodhwani, Munir; Poncelet, Alain; De Kerchove, Laurent; Etienne, Pierre Yves; Noirhomme, Philippe; Deceuninck, Paul; Michel, Xavier; El Khoury, Gebrine; Hanet, Claude

2010-09-01

Composite Y-grafts, using the left internal thoracic artery as the inflow, allow a more efficient use of conduits without the need to touch a diseased ascending aorta. Among other conduits, the saphenous vein graft may be an alternative to the radial artery in elderly patients. We evaluated the hemodynamic characteristics of 17 composite Y-grafts made with the left internal thoracic artery anastomosed to the left anterior descending coronary artery in all cases and with either the free right internal thoracic artery (RITA group, n = 10) or a saphenous vein graft (SVG group, n = 7) implanted proximally to the left internal thoracic artery and distally to the circumflex territory 6 months after the operation. At baseline, the pressure gradient measured with a 0.014-inch pressure wire was minimal between the aorta and the internal thoracic artery stem (2 +/- 1 mm Hg), the internal thoracic artery and left anterior descending (4 +/- 2 mm Hg), the internal thoracic artery and left circumflex (3 +/- 1 mm Hg), and the saphenous vein graft and left circumflex (2 +/- 2 mm Hg). During hyperemia induced by adenosine, the pressure gradient increased significantly to 6 +/- 2 mm Hg in the internal thoracic artery stem, 9 +/- 4 mm Hg in the internal thoracic artery and left anterior descending artery, 9 +/- 3 mm Hg in the internal thoracic artery and left circumflex, and 7 +/- 4 mm Hg in the saphenous vein graft and left circumflex. Fractional flow reserve was 0.94 +/- 0.02 in internal thoracic artery stem, 0.90 +/- 0.04 mm Hg in the internal thoracic artery and left anterior descending, 0.91 +/- 0.03 mm Hg in the internal thoracic artery and left circumflex, and 0.92 +/- 0.06 mm Hg in the saphenous vein graft and left circumflex. No difference between the two types of composite Y-grafts was observed for pressure gradients or fractional flow reserve measured in internal thoracic artery stem or in distal branches. Composite Y-grafts with saphenous vein or right internal thoracic

Neural correlates of recognition and naming of musical instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Belfi, Amy M; Bruss, Joel; Karlan, Brett; Abel, Taylor J; Tranel, Daniel

2016-10-01

Retrieval of lexical (names) and conceptual (semantic) information is frequently impaired in individuals with neurological damage. One category of items that is often affected is musical instruments. However, distinct neuroanatomical correlates underlying lexical and conceptual knowledge for musical instruments have not been identified. We used a neuropsychological approach to explore the neural correlates of knowledge retrieval for musical instruments. A large sample of individuals with focal brain damage (N = 298), viewed pictures of 16 musical instruments and were asked to name and identify each instrument. Neuroanatomical data were analyzed with a proportional MAP-3 method to create voxelwise lesion proportion difference maps. Impaired naming (lexical retrieval) of musical instruments was associated with damage to the left temporal pole and inferior pre- and postcentral gyri. Impaired recognition (conceptual knowledge retrieval) of musical instruments was associated with a more broadly and bilaterally distributed network of regions, including ventromedial prefrontal cortices, occipital cortices, and superior temporal gyrus. The findings extend our understanding of how musical instruments are processed at neural system level, and elucidate factors that may explain why brain damage may or may not produce anomia or agnosia for musical instruments. Our findings also help inform broader understanding of category-related knowledge mapping in the brain, as musical instruments possess several characteristics that are similar to various other categories of items: They are inanimate and highly manipulable (similar to tools), produce characteristic sounds (similar to animals), and require fine-grained visual differentiation between each other (similar to people). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Taking spiritual history in clinical practice: a systematic review of instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Lucchetti, Giancarlo; Bassi, Rodrigo M; Lucchetti, Alessandra L Granero

2013-01-01

To facilitate the addressing of spirituality in clinical practice, several authors have created instruments for obtaining a spiritual history. However, in only a few studies have authors compared these instruments. The aim of this study was to compare the most commonly used instruments for taking a spiritual history in a clinical setting. A systematic review of spiritual history assessment was conducted in five stages: identification of instruments used in the literature (databases searching); relevant articles from title and initial abstract review; exclusion and Inclusion criteria; full text retrieval and final analysis of each instrument. A total of 2,641 articles were retrieved and after the analysis, 25 instruments were included. The authors independently evaluated each instrument on 16 different aspects. The instruments with the greatest scores in the final analysis were FICA, SPIRITual History, FAITH, HOPE, and the Royal College of Psychiatrists. Concerning all 25 instruments, 20 of 25 inquire about the influence of spirituality on a person's life and 17 address religious coping. Nevertheless, only four inquire about medical practices not allowed, six deal with terminal events, nine have mnemonics to facilitate their use, and five were validated. FICA, SPIRITual History, FAITH, HOPE, and Royal College of Psychiatrists scored higher in our analysis. The use of each instrument must be individualized, according to the professional reality, time available, patient profile, and settings. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cyclic fatigue resistance of ProTaper Universal instruments when subjected to static and dynamic tests.

Science.gov (United States)

Lopes, Hélio P; Britto, Izabelle M O; Elias, Carlos N; Machado de Oliveira, Julio C; Neves, Mônica A S; Moreira, Edson J L; Siqueira, José F

2010-09-01

This study evaluated the number of cycles to fracture of ProTaper Universal S2 instruments when subjected to static and dynamic cyclic fatigue tests. ProTaper Universal S2 instruments were used until fracture in an artificial curved canal under rotational speed of 300 rpm in either a static or a dynamic test model. Afterward, the length of the fractured segments was measured and fractured surfaces and helical shafts analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The number of cycles to fracture was significantly increased when instruments were tested in the dynamic model (Pductile mode. Plastic deformation was not observed in the helical shaft of fractured instruments. The number of cycles to fracture ProTaper Universal S2 instruments significantly increased with the use of instruments in a dynamic cyclic fatigue test compared with a static model. These findings reinforce the need for performing continuous pecking motions during rotary instrumentation of curved root canals. Copyright (c) 2010 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Relationship between colorimetric (instrumental) evaluation and consumer-defined beef colour acceptability.

Science.gov (United States)

Holman, Benjamin W B; Mao, Yanwei; Coombs, Cassius E O; van de Ven, Remy J; Hopkins, David L

2016-11-01

The relationship between instrumental colorimetric values (L*, a*, b*, the ratio of reflectance at 630nm and 580nm) and consumer perception of acceptable beef colour was evaluated using a web-based survey and standardised photographs of beef m. longissimus lumborum with known colorimetrics. Only L* and b* were found to relate to average consumer opinions of beef colour acceptability. Respondent nationality was also identified as a source of variation in beef colour acceptability score. Although this is a preliminary study with the findings necessitating additional investigation, these results suggest L* and b* as candidates for developing instrumental thresholds for consumer beef colour expectations. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reserve Requirements and Monetary Management; An Introduction

OpenAIRE

International Monetary Fund

1993-01-01

Reserve requirements are widely used by central banks as a means to improve monetary control, an instrument for policy implementation, a source of revenue, and a safeguard of bank liquidity. The effectiveness of reserve requirements in fulfilling these functions is reviewed, and the detailed modalities of their use are examined. Reserve requirements in a sample of developing countries are described.

Reserves Represented by Random Walks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Filipe, J A; Ferreira, M A M; Andrade, M

2012-01-01

The reserves problem is studied through models based on Random Walks. Random walks are a classical particular case in the analysis of stochastic processes. They do not appear only to study reserves evolution models. They are also used to build more complex systems and as analysis instruments, in a theoretical feature, of other kind of systems. In this work by studying the reserves, the main objective is to see and guarantee that pensions funds get sustainable. Being the use of these models considering this goal a classical approach in the study of pensions funds, this work concluded about the problematic of reserves. A concrete example is presented.

“Reasonable Accommodation” and “Accessibility”: Human Rights Instruments Relating to Inclusion and Exclusion in the Labor Market

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marianne Hirschberg

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Ableism is a powerful social force that causes persons with disabilities to suffer exclusion. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD is based on the human rights principles of equality and freedom for all people. This Convention contains two human rights instruments: the principle of accessibility and the means of reasonable accommodation, which can be used to protect the human rights of disabled persons. The extent to which they are used depends on whether the state implements the Convention adequately and whether companies accept their responsibility with respect to employing disabled persons and making workplaces available and designing them appropriately. Civil society can demand the adequate implementation of the human rights asserted in the CRPD and, thus, in national legislation, as well. A crucial point here is that only a state that has ratified the Convention is obliged to implement the Convention. Civil society has no obligation to do this, but has the right to participate in the implementation process (Art. 4 and Art. 33 CRPD. The Convention can play its part for disabled persons participating in the labor market without discrimination. If it is not implemented or not heeded sufficiently, the state must push this and put more effort into its implementation. If the state does not do this, this violates human rights and has direct consequences for the living conditions of disabled persons. The powerful ideological force of ableism then remains dominant and hampers or prevents the participation of persons with disabilities in the labor market and, thus, in society as a whole.

Effects of electropolishing surface treatment on the cyclic fatigue resistance of BioRace nickel-titanium rotary instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Lopes, Hélio P; Elias, Carlos N; Vieira, Victor T L; Moreira, Edson J L; Marques, Raquel V L; de Oliveira, Julio C Machado; Debelian, Gilberto; Siqueira, José F

2010-10-01

This study evaluated the influence of electropolishing surface treatment on the number of cycles to fracture of BioRace rotary nickel-titanium endodontic instruments. BioRace size BR5C instruments with or without electropolishing surface treatment were used in an artificial curved canal under rotational speed of 300 rpm until fracture. Fractured surfaces and the helical shafts of fractured instruments were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Polished instruments displayed a significantly higher number of cycles to fracture when compared with nonpolished instruments (P ductile morphologic characteristics. Evaluation of the separated fragments after cyclic fatigue testing showed the presence of microcracks near the fracture surface. Polished instruments exhibited fine cracks that assumed an irregular path (zigzag crack pattern), whereas nonpolished instruments showed cracks running along the machining grooves. Electropolishing surface treatment of BioRace endodontic instruments significantly increased the cyclic fatigue resistance. Copyright © 2010 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

7 CFR 1467.9 - Wetlands Reserve Enhancement Program.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

..., restoration, and enhancement objectives through agreements with States (including a political subdivision or... project. (b) Reserved Rights Pilot. (1) The Chief shall carry out a reserved rights pilot subject to the requirements established in this part. (2) Under the reserved rights pilot, a landowner may reserve grazing...

Diabetes-related emotional distress instruments: a systematic review of measurement properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jiyeon; Lee, Eun-Hyun; Kim, Chun-Ja; Moon, Seung Hei

2015-12-01

The objectives of this study were to identify all available diabetes-related emotional distress instruments and evaluate the evidence regarding their measurement properties to help in the selection of the most appropriate instrument for use in practice and research. A systematic literature search was performed. PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, and PsycINFO were searched systematically for articles on diabetes-related emotional distress instruments. The Consensus-based Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement Instruments checklist was used to evaluate the methodological quality of the identified studies. The quality of results with respect to the measurement properties of each study was evaluated using Terwee's quality criteria. An ancillary meta-analysis was performed. Of the 2345 articles yielded by the search, 19 full-text articles evaluating 6 diabetes-related emotional distress instruments were included in this study. No instrument demonstrated evidence for all measurement properties. The Problem Areas in Diabetes scale (PAID) was the most frequently studied and the best validated of the instruments. Pooled summary estimates of the correlation coefficient between the PAID and serum glycated hemoglobin revealed a positive but weak correlation. No diabetes-related emotional distress instrument demonstrated evidence for all measurement properties. No instrument was better than another, although the PAID was the best validated and is thus recommended for use. Further psychometric studies of the diabetes-related emotional distress instruments with rigorous methodologies are required. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Appetitive Pavlovian-instrumental Transfer: A review.

Science.gov (United States)

Cartoni, Emilio; Balleine, Bernard; Baldassarre, Gianluca

2016-12-01

Reward-related cues are an important part of our daily life as they often influence and guide our actions. This paper reviews one of the experimental paradigms used to study the effects of cues, the Pavlovian to Instrumental Transfer paradigm. In this paradigm, cues associated with rewards through Pavlovian conditioning alter motivation and choice of instrumental actions. The first transfer experiments date back to the 1940s, but only in the last decade has it been fully recognised that there are two types of transfer, specific and general. This paper presents a systematic review of both the neural substrates and the behavioral factors affecting both types of transfer. It also examines the recent application of the paradigm to study the effect of cues on human participants, both in normal and pathological conditions, and the interactions of transfer with drugs of abuse. Finally, the paper analyses the theoretical aspects of transfer to build an overall picture of the phenomenon, from early theories to recent hierarchical accounts. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Behavioral and neurobiological mechanisms of extinction in Pavlovian and instrumental learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Todd, Travis P; Vurbic, Drina; Bouton, Mark E

2014-02-01

This article reviews research on the behavioral and neural mechanisms of extinction as it is represented in both Pavlovian and instrumental learning. In Pavlovian extinction, repeated presentation of a signal without its reinforcer weakens behavior evoked by the signal; in instrumental extinction, repeated occurrence of a voluntary action without its reinforcer weakens the strength of the action. In either case, contemporary research at both the behavioral and neural levels of analysis has been guided by a set of extinction principles that were first generated by research conducted at the behavioral level. The review discusses these principles and illustrates how they have informed the study of both Pavlovian and instrumental extinction. It shows that behavioral and neurobiological research efforts have been tightly linked and that their results are readily integrated. Pavlovian and instrumental extinction are also controlled by compatible behavioral and neural processes. Since many behavioral effects observed in extinction can be multiply determined, we suggest that the current close connection between behavioral-level and neural-level analyses will need to continue. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Right ventricular oxygen supply/demand balance in exercising dogs.

Science.gov (United States)

Hart, B J; Bian, X; Gwirtz, P A; Setty, S; Downey, H F

2001-08-01

This is the first investigation of right ventricular (RV) myocardial oxygen supply/demand balance in a conscious animal. A novel technique developed in our laboratory was used to collect right coronary (RC) venous blood samples from seven instrumented, conscious dogs at rest and during graded treadmill exercise. Contributions of the RV oxygen extraction reserve and the RC flow reserve to exercise-induced increases in RV oxygen demand were measured. Strenuous exercise caused a 269% increase in RV oxygen consumption. Expanded arteriovenous oxygen content difference (A-V(Delta)O2) provided 58% of this increase in oxygen demand, and increased RC blood flow (RCBF) provided 42%. At less strenuous exercise, expanded A-V(Delta)O2 provided 60-80% of the required oxygen, and increases in RCBF were small and driven by increased aortic pressure. RC resistance fell only at strenuous exercise after the extraction reserve had been mobilized. Thus RC resistance was unaffected by large decreases in RC venous PO2 until an apparent threshold at 20 mmHg was reached. Comparisons of RV findings with published left ventricular data from exercising dogs demonstrated that increased O2 demand of the left ventricle is met primarily by increasing coronary flow, whereas increased O2 extraction makes a greater contribution to RV O2 supply.

Influence of curvature location along an artificial canal on cyclic fatigue of a rotary nickel-titanium endodontic instrument.

Science.gov (United States)

Lopes, Hélio Pereira; Chiesa, Wanderson Miguel Maia; Correia, Norbi Rodrigues; de Souza Navegante, Núbia Carvalho; Elias, Carlos Nelson; Moreira, Edson Jorge Lima; Chiesa, Bianca Esther Cabral

2011-06-01

This study evaluated the effects of curvature location along an artificial canal on cyclic fatigue (CF) of an Mtwo rotary instrument, verifying the number of cycles to fatigue fracture (NCF) and morphologic characteristics of the fractured instruments. CF testing of instruments was performed in artificial canals with curvature radii of 10 mm and arc lengths of 11 mm. Mtwo rotary instruments size 40, 0.04 taper were used in 2 groups (n = 10): group A, curvature positioned on middle part; group B, apical curvature. All instruments were rotated until fracture. The number of cycles to failure was registered. Data were analyzed by independent sample t test. Fractured surfaces and the helical shafts of the instruments were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. NCF for groups A and B had significant statistic differences (P ductile type. Copyright © 2011 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Predicting child maltreatment: A meta-analysis of the predictive validity of risk assessment instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

van der Put, Claudia E; Assink, Mark; Boekhout van Solinge, Noëlle F

2017-11-01

Risk assessment is crucial in preventing child maltreatment since it can identify high-risk cases in need of child protection intervention. Despite widespread use of risk assessment instruments in child welfare, it is unknown how well these instruments predict maltreatment and what instrument characteristics are associated with higher levels of predictive validity. Therefore, a multilevel meta-analysis was conducted to examine the predictive accuracy of (characteristics of) risk assessment instruments. A literature search yielded 30 independent studies (N=87,329) examining the predictive validity of 27 different risk assessment instruments. From these studies, 67 effect sizes could be extracted. Overall, a medium significant effect was found (AUC=0.681), indicating a moderate predictive accuracy. Moderator analyses revealed that onset of maltreatment can be better predicted than recurrence of maltreatment, which is a promising finding for early detection and prevention of child maltreatment. In addition, actuarial instruments were found to outperform clinical instruments. To bring risk and needs assessment in child welfare to a higher level, actuarial instruments should be further developed and strengthened by distinguishing risk assessment from needs assessment and by integrating risk assessment with case management. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Echocardiographic and hemodynamic determinants of right coronary artery flow reserve and phasic flow pattern in advanced non-ischemic cardiomyopathy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mady Charles

2007-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In patients with advanced non-ischemic cardiomyopathy (NIC, right-sided cardiac disturbances has prognostic implications. Right coronary artery (RCA flow pattern and flow reserve (CFR are not well known in this setting. The purpose of this study was to assess, in human advanced NIC, the RCA phasic flow pattern and CFR, also under right-sided cardiac disturbances, and compare with left coronary circulation. As well as to investigate any correlation between the cardiac structural, mechanical and hemodynamic parameters with RCA phasic flow pattern or CFR. Methods Twenty four patients with dilated severe NIC were evaluated non-invasively, even by echocardiography, and also by cardiac catheterization, inclusive with Swan-Ganz catheter. Intracoronary Doppler (Flowire data was obtained in RCA and left anterior descendent coronary artery (LAD before and after adenosine. Resting RCA phasic pattern (diastolic/systolic was compared between subgroups with and without pulmonary hypertension, and with and without right ventricular (RV dysfunction; and also with LAD. RCA-CFR was compared with LAD, as well as in those subgroups. Pearson's correlation analysis was accomplished among echocardiographic (including LV fractional shortening, mass index, end systolic wall stress more hemodynamic parameters with RCA phasic flow pattern or RCA-CFR. Results LV fractional shortening and end diastolic diameter were 15.3 ± 3.5 % and 69.4 ± 12.2 mm. Resting RCA phasic pattern had no difference comparing subgroups with vs. without pulmonary hypertension (1.45 vs. 1.29, p = NS either with vs. without RV dysfunction (1.47 vs. 1.23, p = NS; RCA vs. LAD was 1.35 vs. 2.85 (p Conclusion In patients with chronic advanced NIC, RCA phasic flow pattern has a mild diastolic predominance, less marked than in LAD, with no effects from pulmonary artery hypertension or RV dysfunction. There is no significant correlation between any cardiac mechanical-structural or

Micro-computed tomographic comparison of nickel-titanium rotary versus traditional instruments in C-shaped root canal system.

Science.gov (United States)

Yin, Xingzhe; Cheung, Gary Shun-Pan; Zhang, Chengfei; Masuda, Yoshiko Murakami; Kimura, Yuichi; Matsumoto, Koukichi

2010-04-01

The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of instrumentation of C-shaped canals with ProTaper rotary system and traditional instruments by using micro-computed tomography (micro-CT). Twenty-four mandibular molars with C-shaped canals were selected in pairs and sorted equally into 2 groups, which were assigned for instrumentation by ProTaper rotary system (ProTaper group) or by K-files and Gates-Glidden burs (Hand Instrument group). Three-dimensional images were constructed by micro-CT. The volume of dentin removed, uninstrumented canal area, time taken for instrumentation, and iatrogenic error of instrumentation were investigated. Hand Instrument group showed greater amount of volumetric dentin removal and left less uninstrumented canal area than ProTaper group (P ProTaper group than for Hand Instrument group (P Hand Instrument group than for ProTaper group. It was concluded that ProTaper rotary system maintained the canal curvature with speediness and few procedural errors, whereas traditional instrumentation can clean more canal surface. Copyright (c) 2010 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Child rights, right to water and sanitation, and human security.

Science.gov (United States)

Pink, Ross

2012-06-15

The article explores the intersection between child rights, water scarcity, sanitation, and the human security paradigm. The recognition of child rights has been advanced through the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international legal instruments, while water rights are increasingly affirmed in international law and through the historic July 2010 United Nations General Assembly resolution that strengthened the legal foundation for water security and human rights. Yet there remains a development gap in terms of child access to clean and secure water sources for basic human development needs. The human security paradigm provides a legal and humanitarian foundation for the extension of child rights related to water and sanitation. Copyright © 2012 Pink.

Same law-same rights? Analyzing why Sweden's disability legislation failed to create equal rights in mental health.

Science.gov (United States)

Maycraft Kall, Wendy

2014-01-01

This article analyzed the apparent paradox of disability rights in Sweden. Despite strong welfare state traditions and stated Government ambitions to create generous statutory entitlements for all disabled people using a single, comprehensive Disability Act, psychiatric disabilities were principally excluded from the Disability Act's rights and provisions. The study focused on Sweden's Mental Health Reform and Disability Reform using governance perspectives that traced and analyzed the policy-processes of both reforms. Theoretically guided analytical frameworks were developed to help understand the divergent reform outcomes. The first focused on legislative arguments of regulatory specificity and legal enforcement mechanisms to consider whether the Disability Act was formulated in a manner that was easier to apply to certain disabilities. The second analyzed ideological arguments and the influence of Government political beliefs that signaled specific reform 'visions' to implementers and thereby influenced policy implementation. The main findings are that both perspectives matter as the dual influences of legislative and ideological differences tended to exclude mental health service users from the Act's generous disability rights. The overall conclusion was that while legislation was an important regulatory mechanism, the Government's underlying ideological reform vision was also an essential governance instrument that signaled Government intentions to implementing agencies and thus influenced the creation of enduring disability rights. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cutting efficiency of Reciproc and waveOne reciprocating instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Plotino, Gianluca; Giansiracusa Rubini, Alessio; Grande, Nicola M; Testarelli, Luca; Gambarini, Gianluca

2014-08-01

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the cutting efficiency of 2 new reciprocating instruments, Reciproc and WaveOne. Twenty-four new Reciproc R25 and 24 new WaveOne Primary files were activated by using a torque-controlled motor (Silver Reciproc) and divided into 4 groups (n = 12): group 1, Reciproc activated by Reciproc ALL program; group 2, Reciproc activated by WaveOne ALL program; group 3, WaveOne activated by Reciproc ALL program; and group 4, WaveOne activated by WaveOne ALL program. The device used for the cutting test consisted of a main frame to which a mobile plastic support for the handpiece is connected and a stainless steel block containing a Plexiglas block (inPlexiglass, Rome, Italy) against which the cutting efficiency of the instruments was tested. The length of the block cut in 1 minute was measured in a computerized program with a precision of 0.1 mm. Means and standard deviations of each group were calculated, and data were statistically analyzed with 1-way analysis of variance and Bonferroni test (P cutting efficiency than WaveOne Primary for both the movements used (P cutting efficiency than WaveOne instruments used with their proper reciprocating motion (P .05). Reciproc instruments demonstrated statistically higher cutting efficiency than WaveOne instruments. Copyright © 2014 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

How is the instrumental color of meat measured?

Science.gov (United States)

Tapp, W N; Yancey, J W S; Apple, J K

2011-09-01

Peer-reviewed journal articles (n=1068) were used to gather instrumental color measurement information in meat science research. The majority of articles, published in 10 peer-reviewed journals, originated from European countries (44.8%) and North America (38.5%). The predominant species was pork (44.2%), and most researchers used Minolta (60.0%) over Hunter (31.6%) colorimeters. Much of the research was done using illuminant D65 (32.3%); nevertheless, almost half (48.9%) of the articles did not report the illuminant. Moreover, a majority of the articles did not report aperture size (73.6%) or the number of readings per sample (52.4%). Many factors influence meat color, and a considerable proportion of the peer-reviewed, published research articles failed to include information necessary to replicate and/or interpret instrumental color results; therefore, a standardized set of minimum reportable parameters for meat color evaluation should be identified. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Human rights of persons with mental disabilities. The European Convention of Human Rights.

Science.gov (United States)

Gostin, L O

2000-01-01

It is not necessary to recount the numerous charters and declarations ... to understand human rights.... All persons are born free and equal in dignity and rights. Everyone ... is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in the international human rights instruments without discrimination, such as the rights to life, liberty, security of the person, privacy, health, education, work, social security, and to marry and found a family. Yet, violations of human rights are a reality to be found in every corner of the globe.

Influence of Surface Roughness on the Fatigue Life of Nickel-Titanium Rotary Endodontic Instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Lopes, Hélio P; Elias, Carlos N; Vieira, Márcia V B; Vieira, Victor T L; de Souza, Letícia Chaves; Dos Santos, Alexander Lopes

2016-06-01

The goal of the present study was to evaluate the influence of surface grooves (peaks and valleys) resulting from machining during the manufacturing process of polished and unpolished nickel-titanium BR4C endodontic files on the fatigue life of the instruments. Ten electropolished and 10 unpolished endodontic files were provided by the manufacturer. Specimens were from the same batch, but the unpolished instruments were removed from the production line before surface treatment. The instruments were evaluated with a profilometer to quantify the surface roughness on the working part of the instruments. Then the files were subjected to rotating bending fatigue tests. Analysis with the profilometer showed that surface grooves were deeper on the unpolished instruments compared with their electropolished counterparts. In the rotating bending fatigue test, the mean and standard deviation for the number of cycles until fracture (NCF) were greater for instruments with less pronounced grooves. Student t test revealed significant differences in all tests (P instruments tested; the smaller the groove depth, the greater the NCF. Copyright © 2016 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Applying IFRS 9 to Central Banks Foreign Reserves

OpenAIRE

World Bank

2016-01-01

Effective January 1, 2018, IFRS 9 Financial Instruments will replace IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement (IAS 39). Unlike most publications on IFRS 9, this paper focuses primarily on the application of the new standard on central banks’ foreign reserve assets, which increasingly constitute a substantial part of central banks’ balance sheet. Based on IFRS 9 implementa...

All rights reserved

African Journals Online (AJOL)

ADOWIE PERE

ABSTRACT: The influence of weather in all aspects of human endeavours is evident in the recorded loss of lives and properties .... forecasting the rain, frost and fog formation as well as ... 2017). The trend graphs of relative humidity and the ... equation was obtained using the curve estimation .... empirical regression models.

Apically extruded debris with reciprocating single-file and full-sequence rotary instrumentation systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Bürklein, Sebastian; Schäfer, Edgar

2012-06-01

The purpose of this in vitro study was to assess the amount of apically extruded debris using rotary and reciprocating nickel-titanium instrumentation systems. Eighty human mandibular central incisors were randomly assigned to 4 groups (n = 20 teeth per group). The root canals were instrumented according to the manufacturers' instructions using the 2 reciprocating single-file systems Reciproc (VDW, Munich, Germany) and WaveOne (Dentsply Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland) and the 2 full-sequence rotary Mtwo (VDW, Munich, Germany) and ProTaper (Dentsply Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland) instruments. Bidistilled water was used as irrigant. The apically extruded debris was collected in preweighted glass vials using the Myers and Montgomery method. After drying, the mean weight of debris was assessed with a microbalance and statistically analyzed using analysis of variance and the post hoc Student-Newman-Keuls test. The time required to prepare the canals with the different instruments was also recorded. The reciprocating files produced significantly more debris compared with both rotary systems (P rotary instruments (P > .05), the reciprocating single-file system Reciproc produced significantly more debris compared with all other instruments (P Instrumentation was significantly faster using Reciproc than with all other instrument (P rotary instrumentation was associated with less debris extrusion compared with the use of reciprocating single-file systems. Copyright © 2012 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Instrumental motives in negative emotion regulation in daily life: Frequency, consistency, and predictors.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalokerinos, Elise K; Tamir, Maya; Kuppens, Peter

2017-06-01

People regulate their emotions not only for hedonic reasons but also for instrumental reasons, to attain the potential benefits of emotions beyond pleasure and pain. However, such instrumental motives have rarely been examined outside the laboratory as they naturally unfold in daily life. To assess whether and how instrumental motives operate outside the laboratory, it is necessary to examine them in response to real and personally relevant stimuli in ecologically valid contexts. In this research, we assessed the frequency, consistency, and predictors of instrumental motives in negative emotion regulation in daily life. Participants (N = 114) recalled the most negative event of their day each evening for 7 days and reported their instrumental motives and negative emotion goals in that event. Participants endorsed performance motives in approximately 1 in 3 events and social, eudaimonic, and epistemic motives in approximately 1 in 10 events. Instrumental motives had substantially higher within- than between-person variance, indicating that they were context-dependent. Indeed, although we found few associations between instrumental motives and personality traits, relationships between instrumental motives and contextual variables were more extensive. Performance, social, and epistemic motives were each predicted by a unique pattern of contextual appraisals. Our data demonstrate that instrumental motives play a role in daily negative emotion regulation as people encounter situations that pose unique regulatory demands. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Training With Curved Laparoscopic Instruments in Single-Port Setting Improves Performance Using Straight Instruments: A Prospective Randomized Simulation Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Lukovich, Peter; Sionov, Valery Ben; Kakucs, Timea

2016-01-01

reason, there is a need for proficiency-based conventional, but also for a single-port, laparoscopic training curriculum in general surgery residency education. Copyright © 2015 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Metallurgical characterization of controlled memory wire nickel-titanium rotary instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Ya; Zhou, Hui-Min; Zheng, Yu-Feng; Campbell, Les; Peng, Bin; Haapasalo, Markus

2011-11-01

To improve the fracture resistance of nickel-titanium (NiTi) files, manufacturers have introduced new alloys and developed new manufacturing processes for the fabrication of NiTi files. This study aimed to examine the phase transformation behavior and microstructure of NiTi instruments from a novel controlled memory NiTi wire (CM wire). Instruments of EndoSequence (ES), ProFile (PF), ProFile Vortex (Vortex), Twisted Files (TF), Typhoon (TYP), and Typhoon™ CM (TYP CM), all size 25/.04, were examined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and x-ray diffraction (XRD). Microstructures of etched instruments were observed by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy with x-ray energy-dispersive spectrometric (EDS) analyses. The DSC analyses showed that each segment of the TYP CM and Vortex instruments had an austenite transformation completion or austenite-finish (A(f)) temperature exceeding 37°C, whereas the NiTi instruments made from conventional superelastic NiTi wire (ES, PF, and TYP) and TF had A(f) temperatures substantially below mouth temperature. The higher A(f) temperature of TYP CM instruments was consistent with a mixture of austenite and martensite structure, which was observed at room temperature with XRD. All NiTi instruments had room temperature martensite microstructures consisting of colonies of lenticular features with substantial twinning. EDS analysis indicated that the precipitates in all NiTi instruments were titanium-rich, with an approximate composition of Ti(2)Ni. The TYP CM and Vortex instruments with heat treatment contribute to increase austenite transformation temperature. The CM instrument has significant changes in the phase transformation behavior, compared with conventional superelastic NiTi instruments. Copyright © 2011 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evolution in miniaturized column liquid chromatography instrumentation and applications: An overview.

Science.gov (United States)

Nazario, Carlos E D; Silva, Meire R; Franco, Maraíssa S; Lanças, Fernando M

2015-11-20

The purpose of this article is to underline the miniaturized LC instrumental system and describe the evolution of commercially available systems by discussing their advantages and drawbacks. Nowadays, there are already many miniaturized LC systems available with a great variety of pump design, interface and detectors as well as efficient columns technologies and reduced connections devices. The solvent delivery systems are able to drive the mobile phase without flow splitters and promote gradient elution using either dual piston reciprocating or syringe-type pumps. The mass spectrometry as detection system is the most widely used detection system; among many alternative ionization sources direct-EI LC-MS is a promising alternative to APCI. In addition, capillary columns are now available showing many possibilities of stationary phases, inner diameters and hardware materials. This review provides a discussion about miniaturized LC demonstrating fundamentals and instrumentals' aspects of the commercially available miniaturized LC instrumental system mainly nano and micro LC formats. This review also covers the recent developments and trends in instrumentation, capillary and nano columns, and several applications of this very important and promising field. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Meteorological instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1982-06-01

RFS or ''Regles Fondamentales de Surete'' (Basic Safety Rules) applicable to certain types of nuclear facilities lay down requirements with which compliance, for the type of facilities and within the scope of application covered by the RFS, is considered to be equivalent to compliance with technical French regulatory practice. The object of the RFS is to take advantage of standardization in the field of safety , while allowing for technical progress in that field. They are designed to enable the operating utility and contractors to know the rules pertaining to various subjects which are considered to be acceptable by the ''Service Central de Surete des Installations Nucleaires'' or the SCSIN (Central Department for the Safety of Nuclear Facilities). These RFS should make safety analysis easier and lead to better understanding between experts and individuals concerned with the problems of nuclear safety. The SCSIN reserves the right to modify, when considered necessary any RFS and specify, if need be, the terms under which a modification is deemed retroactive. The purpose of this RFS is to specify the meteorological instrumentation required at the site of each nuclear power plant equipped with at least one pressurized water reactor

Conscientious objection to military service in international human rights instruments

OpenAIRE

Kavaliauskaitė, Ernesta

2010-01-01

Current debates on conscientious objection to military service reveal a conflict between conscription and individual freedom of conscience; they question the scope of human rights and liberties as well as raise an issue of their extension. The majority of member states of UN and CoE officially recognize a right to conscientious objection. However, the flow of complaints to international human rights monitoring bodies demonstrates absence of a general consensus on the concept, origin and legal...

A Mathematical Model and Programme Support for Determination of the Values of the Marginal Reserve Requirement as Instrument of Monetary Policy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kristina Šorić

2007-09-01

Full Text Available This paper studies the problem of interdependence between central bank and commercial bank goals. The basic central bank task is to achieve and to maintain price stability. Croatian external debt has been increasing for years and so the activities of the Croatian National Bank are designed to correct this situation. In order to stop the further increase of the external debt, the Croatian National Bank uses several monetary policy instruments, among which is the marginal reserve requirement. On the other hand, the goal of commercial banks is to maximise profits. Banks take loans from abroad at a lower interest rate and invest this money in Croatia at a higher interest rate, thus fulfilling their goal. In order to obtain the desired effects of the marginal reserve requirement, its optimal percentage value should be determined. This problem is modelled as a bi-level mixed 0-1 programming problem. The objective of the leader (Croatian National Bank is to minimize the increase in household loans by setting different percentages of the reserve requirements for loans extended to households and for those granted to enterprises. The objective of the followers (banks is to maximize profits. In order to solve this NP-hard problem a heuristic is proposed. In order to verify the model, the paper ends with simulations and the presentation of computational results.

Surface rights

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Regina Célia Corrêa Landim

2009-06-01

Full Text Available In many cities of Brazil, social inequality is illustrated by violence, poverty, and unemployment located next to luxurious residential towers and armored passenger cars. In the face of this situation, the National Movement of Urban Reform encouraged the inclusion of the social function of property in Brazil's new constitution of 1988. Surface rights represent an urbanistic instrument in the city statute that is best aligned to the constitutional principles and urban policies. The current article compares two laws that govern the principle of surface rights and provides a brief history of the evolution of the state based on illuminism and the consequent change in paradigm affecting individual rights, including property and civil rights, and their interpretation under the Constitution. The article concludes by suggesting the use of land surface rights in a joint operation, matching the ownership of the property with urban planning policies and social interest.

Informal caregiving in COPD: A systematic review of instruments and their measurement properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Cruz, Joana; Marques, Alda; Machado, Ana; O'Hoski, Sachi; Goldstein, Roger; Brooks, Dina

2017-07-01

Increasing symptoms and activity restriction associated with COPD progression greatly impact on the lives of their informal caregivers, who play a vital role in maintaining their health. An understanding of this impact is important for clinicians to support caregivers and maintain a viable patient environment at home. This systematic review aimed to identify the instruments commonly used to assess informal caregiving in COPD and describe their measurement properties in this population. Searches were conducted in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL and PsycINFO and in references of key articles, until November 2016 (PROSPERO: CRD42016041401). Instruments used to assess the impact of COPD on caregivers were identified and their properties described. Quality of studies was rated using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist. Quality of the measurement properties of instruments was rated as 'positive', 'negative' or 'indeterminate'. Patients cared for, had moderate to very severe COPD and the sample of caregivers ranged from 24 to 406. Thirty-five instruments were used in fifty studies to assess caregivers' psychological status and mood (9 instruments), burden/distress (12 instruments), quality of life (5 instruments) or other (9 instruments). Eighteen studies assessed the measurement properties of 21 instruments, most commonly hypothesis testing (known validity) and internal consistency. Study quality varied from 'poor' to 'fair' and with many properties rated as 'indeterminate'. Although several instruments have been used to assess the impact of COPD on caregivers, an increased understanding of their properties is needed before their widespread implementation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reframing the Universal Right to Education

Science.gov (United States)

McCowan, Tristan

2010-01-01

The universal right to education has been enshrined in a range of international rights instruments. Yet despite the considerable secondary literature on the subject, there has been little discussion of the notion of education underpinning the right. This article presents a theoretical exploration of the question, leading to a normative…

Leveraging non-binding instruments for global health governance: reflections from the Global AIDS Reporting Mechanism for WHO reform.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, A L; Alfven, T; Hougendobler, D; Tanaka, S; Buse, K

2014-02-01

As countries contend with an increasingly complex global environment with direct implications for population health, the international community is seeking novel mechanisms to incentivize coordinated national and international action towards shared health goals. Binding legal instruments have garnered increasing attention since the World Health Organization adopted its first convention in 2003. This paper seeks to expand the discourse on future global health lawmaking by exploring the potential value of non-binding instruments in global health governance, drawing on the case of the 2001 United Nations General Assembly Special Session Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS. In other realms of international concern ranging from the environment to human rights to arms control, non-binding instruments are increasingly used as effective instruments of international cooperation. The experience of the Global AIDS Reporting Mechanism, established pursuant to the Declaration, evidences that, at times, non-binding legal instruments can offer benefits over slower, more rigid binding legal approaches to governance. The global AIDS response has demonstrated that the use of a non-binding instrument can be remarkably effective in galvanizing increasingly deep commitments, action, reporting compliance and ultimately accountability for results. Based on this case, the authors argued that non-binding instruments deserve serious consideration by the international community for the future of global health governance, including in the context of WHO reform. Copyright © 2013 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Netherlands and the Development of International Human Rights Instruments

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Reiding, H.

2007-01-01

When discussing the Netherlands' international human rights policies, the first aspects to come to mind are usually those related to how it addresses and reacts to concrete human rights violations by other countries. In fact, there sometimes appears to be a tendency for public opinion to identify a

Instrument intercomparison in the high-energy mixed field at the CERN-EU reference field (CERF) facility.

Science.gov (United States)

Caresana, Marco; Helmecke, Manuela; Kubancak, Jan; Manessi, Giacomo Paolo; Ott, Klaus; Scherpelz, Robert; Silari, Marco

2014-10-01

This paper discusses an intercomparison campaign performed in the mixed radiation field at the CERN-EU (CERF) reference field facility. Various instruments were employed: conventional and extended-range rem counters including a novel instrument called LUPIN, a bubble detector using an active counting system (ABC 1260) and two tissue-equivalent proportional counters (TEPCs). The results show that the extended range instruments agree well within their uncertainties and within 1σ with the H*(10) FLUKA value. The conventional rem counters are in good agreement within their uncertainties and underestimate H*(10) as measured by the extended range instruments and as predicted by FLUKA. The TEPCs slightly overestimate the FLUKA value but they are anyhow consistent with it when taking the comparatively large total uncertainties into account, and indicate that the non-neutron part of the stray field accounts for ∼30 % of the total H*(10). © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Health literacy screening instruments for eHealth applications: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Collins, Sarah A; Currie, Leanne M; Bakken, Suzanne; Vawdrey, David K; Stone, Patricia W

2012-06-01

To systematically review current health literacy (HL) instruments for use in consumer-facing and mobile health information technology screening and evaluation tools. The databases, PubMed, OVID, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library and Science Citation Index, were searched for health literacy assessment instruments using the terms "health", "literacy", "computer-based," and "psychometrics". All instruments identified by this method were critically appraised according to their reported psychometric properties and clinical feasibility. Eleven different health literacy instruments were found. Screening questions, such as asking a patient about his/her need for assistance in navigating health information, were evaluated in seven different studies and are promising for use as a valid, reliable, and feasible computer-based approach to identify patients that struggle with low health literacy. However, there was a lack of consistency in the types of screening questions proposed. There is also a lack of information regarding the psychometric properties of computer-based health literacy instruments. Only English language health literacy assessment instruments were reviewed and analyzed. Current health literacy screening tools demonstrate varying benefits depending on the context of their use. In many cases, it seems that a single screening question may be a reliable, valid, and feasible means for establishing health literacy. A combination of screening questions that assess health literacy and technological literacy may enable tailoring eHealth applications to user needs. Further research should determine the best screening question(s) and the best synthesis of various instruments' content and methodologies for computer-based health literacy screening and assessment. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Standards for Instrument Migration When Implementing Paper Patient-Reported Outcome Instruments Electronically: Recommendations from a Qualitative Synthesis of Cognitive Interview and Usability Studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Muehlhausen, Willie; Byrom, Bill; Skerritt, Barbara; McCarthy, Marie; McDowell, Bryan; Sohn, Jeremy

2018-01-01

To synthesize the findings of cognitive interview and usability studies performed to assess the measurement equivalence of patient-reported outcome (PRO) instruments migrated from paper to electronic formats (ePRO), and make recommendations regarding future migration validation requirements and ePRO design best practice. We synthesized findings from all cognitive interview and usability studies performed by a contract research organization between 2012 and 2015: 53 studies comprising 68 unique instruments and 101 instrument evaluations. We summarized study findings to make recommendations for best practice and future validation requirements. Five studies (9%) identified minor findings during cognitive interview that may possibly affect instrument measurement properties. All findings could be addressed by application of ePRO best practice, such as eliminating scrolling, ensuring appropriate font size, ensuring suitable thickness of visual analogue scale lines, and providing suitable instructions. Similarly, regarding solution usability, 49 of the 53 studies (92%) recommended no changes in display clarity, navigation, operation, and completion without help. Reported usability findings could be eliminated by following good product design such as the size, location, and responsiveness of navigation buttons. With the benefit of accumulating evidence, it is possible to relax the need to routinely conduct cognitive interview and usability studies when implementing minor changes during instrument migration. Application of design best practice and selecting vendor solutions with good user interface and user experience properties that have been assessed in a representative group may enable many instrument migrations to be accepted without formal validation studies by instead conducting a structured expert screen review. Copyright © 2018 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Adaptation of a nursing home culture change research instrument for frontline staff quality improvement use.

Science.gov (United States)

Hartmann, Christine W; Palmer, Jennifer A; Mills, Whitney L; Pimentel, Camilla B; Allen, Rebecca S; Wewiorski, Nancy J; Dillon, Kristen R; Snow, A Lynn

2017-08-01

Enhanced interpersonal relationships and meaningful resident engagement in daily life are central to nursing home cultural transformation, yet these critical components of person-centered care may be difficult for frontline staff to measure using traditional research instruments. To address the need for easy-to-use instruments to help nursing home staff members evaluate and improve person-centered care, the psychometric method of cognitive-based interviewing was used to adapt a structured observation instrument originally developed for researchers and nursing home surveyors. Twenty-eight staff members from 2 Veterans Health Administration (VHA) nursing homes participated in 1 of 3 rounds of cognitive-based interviews, using the instrument in real-life situations. Modifications to the original instrument were guided by a cognitive processing model of instrument refinement. Following 2 rounds of cognitive interviews, pretesting of the revised instrument, and another round of cognitive interviews, the resulting set of 3 short instruments mirrored the concepts of the original longer instrument but were significantly easier for frontline staff to understand and use. Final results indicated frontline staff found the revised instruments feasible to use and clinically relevant in measuring and improving the lived experience of a changing culture. This article provides a framework for developing or adapting other measurement tools for frontline culture change efforts in nursing homes, in addition to reporting on a practical set of instruments to measure aspects of person-centered care. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Measurement properties of instruments evaluating self-care and related concepts in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Clari, Marco; Matarese, Maria; Alvaro, Rosaria; Piredda, Michela; De Marinis, Maria Grazia

2016-01-01

The use of valid and reliable instruments for assessing self-care is crucial for the evaluation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) management programs. The aim of this review is to evaluate the measurement properties and theoretical foundations of instruments for assessing self-care and related concepts in people with COPD. A systematic review was conducted of articles describing the development and validation of self-care instruments. The methodological quality of the measurement properties was assessed using the COSMIN checklist. Ten studies were included evaluating five instruments: three for assessing self-care and self-management and two for assessing self-efficacy. The COPD Self-Efficacy Scale was the most studied instrument, but due to poor study methodological quality, evidence about its measurement properties is inconclusive. Evidence from the COPD Self-Management Scale is more promising, but only one study tested its properties. Due to inconclusive evidence of their measurement properties, no instrument can be recommended for clinical use. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Intact goal-directed control in treatment-seeking drug users indexed by outcome-devaluation and Pavlovian to instrumental transfer: Critique of habit theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Hogarth, Lee; Lam-Cassettari, Christa; Pacitti, Helena; Currah, Tara; Mahlberg, Justin; Hartley, Lucie; Moustafa, Ahmed

2018-05-22

Animal studies have demonstrated that chronic exposure to drugs of abuse impairs goal-directed control over action selection indexed by the outcome-devaluation and specific Pavlovian to instrumental transfer procedures, suggesting this impairment might underpin addiction. However, there is currently only weak evidence for impaired goal-directed control in human drug users. Two experiments were undertaken in which treatment-seeking drug users and non-matched normative reference samples (controls) completed outcome-devaluation and specific Pavlovian to instrumental transfer procedures notionally translatable to animal procedures (Experiment 2 used a more challenging biconditional schedule). The two experiments found significant outcome-devaluation and specific Pavlovian to instrumental transfer effects overall and there was no significant difference between groups in the magnitude of these effects. Moreover, Bayes factor supported the null hypothesis for these group comparisons. Although limited by non-matched group comparisons and small sample sizes, the two studies suggest that treatment-seeking drug users have intact goal-directed control over action selection, adding uncertainty to already mixed evidence concerning the role of habit learning in human drug dependence. Neuro-interventions might seek to tackle goal-directed drug-seeking rather than habit formation in drug users. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

CONSOLIDATION OF ARGUMENTS IN FAVOR OF THE RIGHT OF ACCESS TO PUBLIC INFORMATION AS A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT

OpenAIRE

MANUEL PALOMARES HERRERA

2017-01-01

Analysis of the doctrinal position regarding the nature of the right of access to public information and the development of new arguments that reinforce and consolidate its fundamental nature. This right is recognized as a human right in many international declarations; in Spain the legislation of transparency and enforcement is deployed as an instrumental right although it is recognized by many states as an autonomous fundamental right without need to be linked to other fundamental rights.

Monetary Policy Instruments and Bank Risks in China

OpenAIRE

Zhongyuan Geng; Xue Zhai

2013-01-01

The authors use a panel data regression model to examine the effects of main monetary policy instruments on commercial bank risks in China from 1998 to 2011. The interest rate has a positive effect on bank risk while the interest rate margin, the reserve requirement ratio and open market operation have a negative effect. Among the three monetary policy instruments, the reserve requirement ratio has the greatest effect on bank risk, the interest rate (the interest rate margin) the second large...

Too much of a good thing? Economic growth and human rights, 1960 to 2010.

Science.gov (United States)

Cole, Wade M

2017-09-01

Despite widespread belief in the benefits of economic growth, some scholars emphasize the potentially negative consequences of growth-and especially rapid growth-for social and political outcomes. Using data for 149 countries between 1960 and 2010, I analyze the effect of economic growth on fundamental human rights conditions. Dynamic random-effects and two-way fixed-effects estimators, both with and without instrumental variables, yield several conclusions. First, economic growth is causally prior to rights conditions. Second, economic growth has a modest positive effect on human rights, albeit with diminishing returns at high growth rates. Third, low-income countries account for much of this relationship: growth improves rights conditions for most low-income countries, but extremely rapid growth is inimical. Growth has little effect among middle-income countries, while for high-income countries the relationship is positive but not robust. I bring these findings to bear on long-standing debates between proponents and critics of modernization theory. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Using Google Earth to conduct a neighborhood audit: reliability of a virtual audit instrument.

Science.gov (United States)

Clarke, Philippa; Ailshire, Jennifer; Melendez, Robert; Bader, Michael; Morenoff, Jeffrey

2010-11-01

Over the last two decades, the impact of community characteristics on the physical and mental health of residents has emerged as an important frontier of research in population health and health disparities. However, the development and evaluation of measures to capture community characteristics is still at a relatively early stage. The purpose of this work was to assess the reliability of a neighborhood audit instrument administered in the city of Chicago using Google Street View by comparing these "virtual" data to those obtained from an identical instrument administered "in-person". We find that a virtual audit instrument can provide reliable indicators of recreational facilities, the local food environment, and general land use. However, caution should be exercised when trying to gather more finely detailed observations. Using the internet to conduct a neighborhood audit has the potential to significantly reduce the costs of collecting data objectively and unobtrusively. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Joint investigation of working conditions, environmental and system performance at recycling centres--development of instruments and their usage.

Science.gov (United States)

Engkvist, I-L; Eklund, J; Krook, J; Björkman, M; Sundin, E; Svensson, R; Eklund, M

2010-05-01

Recycling is a new and developing industry, which has only been researched to a limited extent. This article describes the development and use of instruments for data collection within a multidisciplinary research programme "Recycling centres in Sweden - working conditions, environmental and system performance". The overall purpose of the programme was to form a basis for improving the function of recycling centres with respect to these three perspectives and the disciplines of: ergonomics, safety, external environment, and production systems. A total of 10 instruments were developed for collecting data from employees, managers and visitors at recycling centres, including one instrument for observing visitors. Validation tests were performed in several steps. This, along with the quality of the collected data, and experience from the data collection, showed that the instruments and methodology used were valid and suitable for their purpose. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Victims’ rights are human rights: The importance of recognizing victims as persons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wemmers Jo-Anne

2012-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper the author argues that victims’ rights are human rights. Criminal law typically views victims as witnesses to a crime against the state, thus shutting them out of the criminal justice process and only allowing them in when they are needed to testify. This is a major source of dissatisfaction for victims who seek validation in the criminal justice system. Victims are persons with rights and privileges. Crimes constitute violations of their rights as well as acts against society or the state. While human rights instruments, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, do not mention crime victims specifically, a number of rights are identified, which can be viewed from the victim’s perspective. As individuals with dignity, victims have the right to recognition as persons before the law. However, such rights are only meaningful if they can be enforced.

Influence of different manufacturing methods on the cyclic fatigue of rotary nickel-titanium endodontic instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodrigues, Renata C V; Lopes, Hélio P; Elias, Carlos N; Amaral, Georgiana; Vieira, Victor T L; De Martin, Alexandre S

2011-11-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate, by static and dynamic cyclic fatigue tests, the number of cycles to fracture (NCF) 2 types of rotary NiTi instruments: Twisted File (SybronEndo, Orange, CA), which is manufactured by a proprietary twisting process, and RaCe files (FKG Dentaire, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland), which are manufactured by grinding. Twenty Twisted Files (TFs) and 20 RaCe files #25/.006 taper instruments were allowed to rotate freely in an artificial curved canal at 310 rpm in a static or a dynamic model until fracture occurred. Measurements of the fractured fragments showed that fracture occurred at the point of maximum flexure in the midpoint of the curved segment. The NCF was significantly lower for RaCe instruments compared with TFs. The NCF was also lower for instruments subjected to the static test compared with the dynamic model in both groups. Scanning electron microscopic analysis revealed ductile morphologic characteristics on the fractured surfaces of all instruments and no plastic deformation in their helical shafts. Rotary NiTi endodontic instruments manufactured by twisting present greater resistance to cyclic fatigue compared with instruments manufactured by grinding. The fracture mode observed in all instruments was of the ductile type. Copyright © 2011 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Seismic instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-06-01

RFS or Regles Fondamentales de Surete (Basic Safety Rules) applicable to certain types of nuclear facilities lay down requirements with which compliance, for the type of facilities and within the scope of application covered by the RFS, is considered to be equivalent to compliance with technical French regulatory practice. The object of the RFS is to take advantage of standardization in the field of safety, while allowing for technical progress in that field. They are designed to enable the operating utility and contractors to know the rules pertaining to various subjects which are considered to be acceptable by the Service Central de Surete des Installations Nucleaires, or the SCSIN (Central Department for the Safety of Nuclear Facilities). These RFS should make safety analysis easier and lead to better understanding between experts and individuals concerned with the problems of nuclear safety. The SCSIN reserves the right to modify, when considered necessary, any RFS and specify, if need be, the terms under which a modification is deemed retroactive. The aim of this RFS is to define the type, location and operating conditions for seismic instrumentation needed to determine promptly the seismic response of nuclear power plants features important to safety to permit comparison of such response with that used as the design basis

Comparison among manual instruments and PathFile and Mtwo rotary instruments to create a glide path in the root canal preparation of curved canals.

Science.gov (United States)

Alves, Vanessa de Oliveira; Bueno, Carlos Eduardo da Silveira; Cunha, Rodrigo Sanches; Pinheiro, Sérgio Luiz; Fontana, Carlos Eduardo; de Martin, Alexandre Sigrist

2012-01-01

Nickel-titanium rotary instruments reduce procedural errors and the time required to finish root canal preparation. The goal of this study was to evaluate the occurrences of apical transportation and canal aberrations produced with different instruments used to create a glide path in the preparation of curved root canals, namely manual K-files (Dentsply Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland) and PathFile (Dentsply Maillefer) and Mtwo (Sweden and Martina, Padua, Italy) nickel-titanium rotary files. The mesial canals of 45 mandibular first and second molars (with curvature angles between 25° and 35°) were selected for this study. The specimens were divided randomly into 3 groups with 15 canals each, and canal preparation was performed by an endodontist using #10-15-20 K-type stainless steel manual files (group M), #13-16-19 PathFile rotary instruments (group PF), and #10-15-20 Mtwo rotary instruments (group MT). The double digital radiograph technique was used, pre- and postinstrumentation, to assess whether apical transportation and/or aberration in root canal morphology occurred. The initial and final images of the central axis of the canals were compared by superimposition through computerized analysis and with the aid of magnification. The specimens were analyzed by 3 evaluators, whose calibration was checked using the Kendall agreement test. No apical transportation or aberration in root canal morphology occurred in any of the teeth; therefore, no statistical analysis was conducted. Neither the manual instruments nor the PathFile or Mtwo rotary instruments used to create a glide path had any influence on the occurrence of apical transportation or produced any canal aberration. Copyright © 2012 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cyclic Fatigue Resistance of Reciproc Blue, Reciproc, and WaveOne Gold Reciprocating Instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Keskin, Cangül; Inan, Uğur; Demiral, Murat; Keleş, Ali

2017-08-01

The aim of the present study was to compare the cyclic fatigue resistance of Reciproc Blue R25 (VDW, Munich, Germany) with Reciproc R25 (VDW) and WaveOne Gold Primary (Denstply Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland). Fifteen Reciproc Blue R25, 15 Reciproc R25, and 15 WaveOne Gold Primary instruments were collected and tested in a dynamic cyclic fatigue test device, which has an artificial canal with a 60° angle of curvature and a 5-mm radius of curvature. All instruments were operated until fracture occurred, and time to fracture (TF) and the lengths of the fractured fragments were recorded. The mean and standard deviations of TF and fragment length were calculated for each reciprocating system. TF data were subjected to Kruskal-Wallis 1-way analysis of variance and the Dunn test, whereas fractured fragment length data were subjected to 1-way analysis of variance (P  .05). Reciproc Blue R25 instruments had significantly higher cyclic fatigue resistance than WaveOne Gold and Reciproc R25 instruments. Copyright © 2017 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Bentham’s Panopticon and Instrumentalization of Human Rights

OpenAIRE

Beytía Reyes, Pablo; Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

2017-01-01

This paper reviews the foundations of Jeremy Bentham’s utilitarianism and the main criticisms to this doctrine, especially those which deem it incompatible with unconditional respect of human rights. Bentham’s Panopticon, his proposal on prison reform published in the late eighteenth century, is discussed. Based on the analysis of the Panopticon –which is a consistent application of Bentham utilitarianism–, the author concludes that a) this doctrine promotes a humanitarian approach, although ...

Incidence of dentinal defects after root canal preparation: reciprocating versus rotary instrumentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Bürklein, Sebastian; Tsotsis, Polymnia; Schäfer, Edgar

2013-04-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence of dentinal defects after root canal preparation with reciprocating instruments (Reciproc and WaveOne) and rotary instruments. One hundred human central mandibular incisors were randomly assigned to 5 groups (n = 20 teeth per group). The root canals were instrumented by using the reciprocating single-file systems Reciproc and WaveOne and the full-sequence rotary Mtwo and ProTaper instruments. One group was left unprepared as control. Roots were sectioned horizontally at 3, 6, and 9 mm from the apex and evaluated under a microscope by using 25-fold magnification. The presence of dentinal defects (complete/incomplete cracks and craze lines) was noted and analyzed by using the chi-square test. No defects were observed in the controls. All canal preparation created dentinal defects. Overall, instrumentation with Reciproc was associated with more complete cracks than the full-sequence files (P = .021). Although both reciprocating files produced more incomplete cracks apically (3 mm) compared with the rotary files (P = .001), no statistically significant differences were obtained concerning the summarized values of all cross sections (P > .05). Under the conditions of this study, root canal preparation with both rotary and reciprocating instruments resulted in dentinal defects. At the apical level of the canals, reciprocating files produced significantly more incomplete dentinal cracks than full-sequence rotary systems (P < .05). Copyright © 2013 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Right’s Story: The Historical Roots of the Right to Work as a Human Right

OpenAIRE

Azadeh Al- Sadat Taheri

2017-01-01

The right to work has been recognized in many international instruments. According to this right, everybody deserves to enjoy decent and appropriate job opportunities.On the other hand this right includes states’ obligations to provide enough opportunities. This article seeks to explain historical roots of the right to work. The study shows that industrial revolution, workers’ movements, recession in some periods of time and deep changes after the Second World War were the most important fact...

Teen drivers' awareness of vehicle instrumentation in naturalistic research.

Science.gov (United States)

Ehsani, J P; Haynie, D; Ouimet, M C; Zhu, C; Guillaume, C; Klauer, S G; Dingus, T; Simons-Morton, B G

2017-12-01

valid measurements of driving behavior. Copyright © 2017 National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Right’s Story: The Historical Roots of the Right to Work as a Human Right

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Azadeh Al- Sadat Taheri

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The right to work has been recognized in many international instruments. According to this right, everybody deserves to enjoy decent and appropriate job opportunities.On the other hand this right includes states’ obligations to provide enough opportunities. This article seeks to explain historical roots of the right to work. The study shows that industrial revolution, workers’ movements, recession in some periods of time and deep changes after the Second World War were the most important factors in emerging the right, which later was accepted as a welfare right in the context of human rights.

Cyclic fatigue resistance of 3 different nickel-titanium reciprocating instruments in artificial canals.

Science.gov (United States)

Higuera, Oscar; Plotino, Gianluca; Tocci, Luigi; Carrillo, Gabriela; Gambarini, Gianluca; Jaramillo, David E

2015-06-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the cyclic fatigue resistance of 3 different nickel-titanium reciprocating instruments. A total of 45 nickel-titanium instruments were tested and divided into 3 experimental groups (n = 15): group 1, WaveOne Primary instruments; group 2, Reciproc R25 instruments; and group 3, Twisted File (TF) Adaptive M-L1 instruments. The instruments were then subjected to cyclic fatigue test on a static model consisting of a metal block with a simulated canal with 60° angle of curvature and a 5-mm radius of curvature. WaveOne Primary, Reciproc R25, and TF Adaptive instruments were activated by using their proprietary movements, WaveOne ALL, Reciproc ALL, and TF Adaptive, respectively. All instruments were activated until fracture occurred, and the time to fracture was recorded visually for each file with a 1/100-second chronometer. Mean number of cycles to failure and standard deviations were calculated for each group, and data were statistically analyzed (P fatigue resistance of Reciproc R25 and TF Adaptive M-L1 was significantly higher than that of WaveOne Primary (P = .009 and P = .002, respectively). The results showed no statistically significant difference between TF Adaptive M-L1 and Reciproc R25 (P = .686). Analysis of the fractured portion under scanning electron microscopy indicated that all instruments showed morphologic characteristics of ductile fracture that were due to accumulation of metal fatigue. No statistically significant differences were found between the instruments tested except for WaveOne Primary, which showed the lowest resistance to cyclic fatigue. Copyright © 2015 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Multi-Institutional Development of a Mastoidectomy Performance Evaluation Instrument.

Science.gov (United States)

Kerwin, Thomas; Hittle, Brad; Stredney, Don; De Boeck, Paul; Wiet, Gregory

A method for rating surgical performance of a mastoidectomy procedure that is shown to apply universally across teaching institutions has not yet been devised. This work describes the development of a rating instrument created from a multi-institutional consortium. Using a participatory design and a modified Delphi approach, a multi-institutional group of expert otologists constructed a 15-element task-based checklist for evaluating mastoidectomy performance. This instrument was further refined into a 14-element checklist focusing on the concept of safety after using it to rate a large and varied population of performances. Twelve otolaryngological surgical training programs in the United States. A total of 14 surgeons from 12 different institutions took part in the construction of the instrument. By using 14 experts from 12 different institutions and a literature review, individual metrics were identified, rated as to the level of importance and operationally defined to create a rating scale for mastoidectomy performance. Initial use of the rating scale showed modest rater agreement. The operational definitions of individual metrics were modified to emphasize "safe" as opposed to "proper" technique. A second rating instrument was developed based on this feedback. Using a consensus-building approach with multiple rounds of communication between experts is a feasible way to construct a rating instrument for mastoidectomy. Expert opinion alone using a Delphi method provides face and content validity evidence, however, this is not sufficient to develop a universally acceptable rating instrument. A continued process of development and experimentation to demonstrate evidence for reliability and validity making use of a large population of raters and performances is necessary to achieve universal acceptance. Copyright © 2017 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the pressure ulcer prevention knowledge assessment instrument.

Science.gov (United States)

Tulek, Zeliha; Polat, Cansu; Ozkan, Ilknur; Theofanidis, Dimitris; Togrol, Rifat Erdem

2016-11-01

Sound knowledge of pressure ulcers is important to enable good prevention. There are limited instruments assessing pressure ulcer knowledge. The Pressure Ulcer Prevention Knowledge Assessment Instrument is among the scales of which psychometric properties have been studied rigorously and reflects the latest evidence. This study aimed to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Pressure Ulcer Prevention Knowledge Assessment Instrument (PUPKAI-T), an instrument that assesses knowledge of pressure ulcer prevention by using multiple-choice questions. Linguistic validity was verified through front-to-back translation. Psychometric properties of the instrument were studied on a sample of 150 nurses working in a tertiary hospital in Istanbul, Turkey. The content validity index of the translated instrument was 0.94, intra-class correlation coefficients were between 0.37 and 0.80, item difficulty indices were between 0.21 and 0.88, discrimination indices were 0.20-0.78, and the Kuder Richardson for the internal consistency was 0.803. The PUPKAI-T was found to be a valid and reliable tool to evaluate nurses' knowledge on pressure ulcer prevention. The PUPKAI-T may be a useful tool for determining educational needs of nurses on pressure ulcer prevention. Copyright © 2016 Tissue Viability Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

ProFile Vortex and Vortex Blue Nickel-Titanium Rotary Instruments after Clinical Use.

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Ya; Zhou, Huimin; Coil, Jeffrey M; Aljazaeri, Bassim; Buttar, Rene; Wang, Zhejun; Zheng, Yu-feng; Haapasalo, Markus

2015-06-01

The aim of this study was to analyze the incidence and mode of ProFile Vortex and Vortex Blue instrument defects after clinical use in a graduate endodontic program and to examine the impact of clinical use on the instruments' metallurgical properties. A total of 330 ProFile Vortex and 1136 Vortex Blue instruments from the graduate program were collected after each had been used in 3 teeth. The incidence and type of instrument defects were analyzed. The lateral surfaces and fracture surfaces of the fractured files were examined by using scanning electron microscopy. Unused and used instruments were examined by full and partial differential scanning calorimetry. No fractures were observed in the 330 ProFile Vortex instruments, whereas 20 (6.1%) revealed bent or blunt defects. Only 2 of the 1136 Vortex Blue files fractured during clinical use. The cause of fracture was shear stress. The fractures occurred at the tip end of the spirals. Only 1.8% (21 of 1136) of the Vortex Blue files had blunt tips. Austenite-finish temperatures were very similar for unused and used ProFile Vortex files and were all greater than 50°C. The austenite-finish temperatures of used and unused Vortex Blue files (38.5°C) were lower than those in ProFile Vortex instruments (P Vortex Blue files had an obvious 2-stage transformation, martensite-to-R phase and R-to-austenite phase. The trends of differential scanning calorimetry plots of unused Vortex Blue instruments and clinically used instruments were very similar. The risk of ProFile Vortex and Vortex Blue instrument fracture is very low when instruments are discarded after clinical use in the graduate endodontic program. The Vortex Blue files have metallurgical behavior different from ProFile Vortex instruments. Copyright © 2015 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Comparison of cyclic fatigue resistance of three different rotary nickel-titanium instruments designed for retreatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Inan, Ugur; Aydin, Cumhur

2012-01-01

A number of rotary nickel-titanium (NiTi) systems have been developed to provide better, faster, and easier cleaning and shaping of the root canal system, and recently, rotary NiTi systems designed for root canal retreatment have been introduced. Because the main problem with the rotary NiTi files is fracture, the aim of this study was to compare the cyclic fatigue resistance of 3 different rotary NiTi systems designed for root canal retreatment. Total of 60 instruments of 3 different rotary NiTi systems designed for root canal retreatment were used in this study. Twenty R-Endo R3, 20 ProTaper D3, and 20 Mtwo R (Retreatment) 25.05 instruments were tested. Cyclic fatigue testing of instruments was performed by using a device that allowed the instruments to rotate freely inside an artificial canal. Each instrument was rotated until fracture occurred, and the number of cycles to fracture for each instrument was calculated. Representative samples were also evaluated under a scanning electron microscope to confirm the fracture was flexural. Data were analyzed by using 1-way analysis of variance test. R-Endo R3 instruments showed better cyclic fatigue resistance than ProTaper D3 and Mtwo R 25.05 instruments, and the difference was statistically significant (P instruments were more resistant to fatigue failure than ProTaper D3 and Mtwo R 25.05. Copyright © 2012 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A comparison of nickel-titanium rotary instruments manufactured using different methods and cross-sectional areas: ability to resist cyclic fatigue.

Science.gov (United States)

Oh, So-Ram; Chang, Seok-Woo; Lee, Yoon; Gu, Yu; Son, Won-Jun; Lee, Woocheol; Baek, Seung-Ho; Bae, Kwang-Shik; Choi, Gi-Woon; Lim, Sang-Min; Kum, Kee-Yeon

2010-04-01

This study examined the effect of the manufacturing methods (ground, electropolished, and twisted) and the cross-sectional area (CSA) of nickel-titanium (NiTi) rotary instruments on their cyclic fatigue resistance. A total of 80 NiTi rotary instruments (ISO 25/.06 taper) from 4 brands (K3, ProFile, RaCe, and TF) were rotated in a simulated root canal with pecking motion until fracture. The number of cycles to failure (NCF) was calculated. The CSA at 3 mm from the tip of new instruments of each brand was calculated. The correlation between the CSA and NCF was evaluated. All fractured surfaces were analyzed using a scanning electron microscope to determine the fracture mode. The TF instruments were the most resistant to fatigue failure. The resistance to cyclic failure increased with decreasing CSA. All fractured surfaces showed the coexistence of ductile and brittle properties. The CSA had a significant effect on the fatigue resistance of NiTi rotary instruments. Copyright 2010 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cyclic fatigue of nickel-titanium rotary instruments in a double (S-shaped) simulated curvature.

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Sudani, Dina; Grande, Nicola M; Plotino, Gianluca; Pompa, Giorgio; Di Carlo, Stefano; Testarelli, Luca; Gambarini, Gianluca

2012-07-01

The goal of the present study was to test the fatigue resistance of nickel-titanium rotary files in a double curvature (S-shaped) artificial root canal and to compare those results with single curvature artificial root canals. Two nickel-titanium endodontic instruments consisting of identical instrument sizes (constant .06 taper and 0.25 tip diameter) were tested, ProFile instruments and Vortex instruments. Both instruments were tested for fatigue inside an artificial canal with a double curvature and inside a curved artificial canal with a single curvature. Ten instruments for each group were tested to fracture in continuous rotary motion at 300 rpm. Number of cycles to failure (NCF) was calculated to the nearest whole number, and the length of the fractured fragment was measured in millimeters. Data were statistically analyzed with a level of significance set at 95% confidence level. The NCF value was always statistically lower in the double curved artificial canal when compared with the single curve (P instruments of the same size of different brand only in the single curve; ProFile registered a mean of 633.5 ± 75.1 NCF, whereas Vortex registered a mean of 548 ± 48.9 NCF. Regardless of the differences between the instruments used in the present study, the results suggest that the more complex is the root canal, the more adverse are the effects on the cyclic fatigue resistance of the instruments. Copyright © 2012 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An evaluation of Brix refractometry instruments for measurement of colostrum quality in dairy cattle.

Science.gov (United States)

Bielmann, V; Gillan, J; Perkins, N R; Skidmore, A L; Godden, S; Leslie, K E

2010-08-01

Acquisition of high quality colostrum is an important factor influencing neonatal calf health. Many methods have been used to assess the Ig concentration of colostrum; however, improved, validated evaluation tools are needed. The aims of this study were to evaluate both optical and digital Brix refractometer instruments for the measurement of Ig concentration of colostrum as compared with the gold standard radial immunodiffusion assay laboratory assessment and to determine the correlation between Ig measurements taken from fresh and frozen colostrum samples for both Brix refractometer instruments. This research was completed using 288 colostrum samples from 3 different farms. It was concluded that the optical and digital Brix refractometers were highly correlated for both fresh and frozen samples (r=0.98 and r=0.97, respectively). Correlation between both refractometer instruments for fresh and frozen samples and the gold standard radial immunodiffusion assay were determined to be very similar, with a correlation coefficient between 0.71 and 0.74. Both instruments exhibited excellent test characteristics, indicating an appropriate cut-off point of 22% Brix score for the identification of good quality colostrum. Copyright (c) 2010 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Estimating pushrim temporal and kinetic measures using an instrumented treadmill during wheelchair propulsion: A concurrent validity study.

Science.gov (United States)

Gagnon, Dany H; Jouval, Camille; Chénier, Félix

2016-06-14

Using ground reaction forces recorded while propelling a manual wheelchair on an instrumented treadmill may represent a valuable alternative to using an instrumented pushrim to calculate temporal and kinetic parameters during propulsion. Sixteen manual wheelchair users propelled their wheelchair equipped with instrumented pushrims (i.e., SMARTWheel) on an instrumented dual-belt treadmill set a 1m/s during a 1-minute period. Spatio-temporal (i.e., duration of the push and recovery phase) and kinetic measures (i.e. propulsive moments) were calculated for 20 consecutive strokes for each participant. Strong associations were confirmed between the treadmill and the instrumented pushrim for the mean duration of the push phase (r=0.98) and of the recovery phase (r=0.99). Good agreement between these two measurement instruments was also confirmed with mean differences of only 0.028s for the push phase and 0.012s for the recovery phase. Strong associations were confirmed between the instrumented wheelchair pushrim and treadmill for mean (r=0.97) and peak (r=0.96) propulsive moments. Good agreement between these two measurement instruments was also confirmed with mean differences of 0.50Nm (mean moment) and 0.71Nm (peak moment). The use of a dual-belt instrumented treadmill represents an alternative to characterizing temporal parameters and propulsive moments during manual wheelchair propulsion. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

32 CFR 643.11 - Rights of entry.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 32 National Defense 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Rights of entry. 643.11 Section 643.11 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY (CONTINUED) REAL PROPERTY REAL ESTATE General § 643.11 Rights of entry. Pending the signing of the formal instrument, no right of entry will be...

Perceived instrumental support and children's health across the early life course.

Science.gov (United States)

Turney, Kristin

2013-10-01

A large, venerable literature demonstrates the importance of social relationships and social support for health, though much less research examines whether the benefits of social support to mothers extend to children. This paper examines the relationship between mothers' perceptions of instrumental support and children's health using longitudinal data from the U.S. Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 4342), a cohort of American children born in urban areas to mostly unmarried parents. Results suggest mothers' perceptions of instrumental support is positively associated with children's overall health, and this finding persists despite controlling for a host of individual-level characteristics of mothers and children (including a lagged indicator of children's health) and in fixed-effect models. Mothers' economic security and mothers' wellbeing attenuate some, but not all, of the association between perceived instrumental support and children's overall health. In addition, the link between perceived instrumental support and three specific indicators of health - asthma, overweight/obese, and number of emergency room visits - falls to statistical insignificance after accounting for individual-level characteristics, suggesting these associations result from social selection processes. Taken together, these findings suggest the beneficial health consequences of social support may extend to children across the early life course and demonstrate the need to better understand mothers' reports of children's overall health. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Enforcing the Right to Family Life in Hong Kong Courts: The Case of Dependant Policy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew Chuen Ngai Tang

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Despite the Hong Kong courts’ seemingly robust protection of fundamental rights and civil liberties, enforcing family rights remains extremely difficult. While the right to family life is safeguarded by both domestic and international human right instruments, applicants in judicial review cases are usually not able to rely on it to challenge the decisions made by the immigration authority. This paper examines the challenges in enforcing the right to family life in Hong Kong’s Dependant Policy with a particular focus on the Hong Kong Court of Appeal’s recent decision in BI v Director of Immigration. The immigration reservation, entered into by the United Kingdom when ratifying the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, has become a justification for a restrictive immigration regime even after the transfer of sovereignty. The Hong Kong courts also repeatedly accord wide discretion to immigration authority. The courts’ reluctance to scrutinize socio-economic policies reveals one of the key weaknesses in enforcing fundamental rights in Hong Kong by the way of judicial review.

MITIGATING INNOVATION RISKS CONCERNING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY INSTRUMENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andreea DUMITRESCU

2014-11-01

Full Text Available As protection of innovation is possible using a variety of intellectual property instruments, the current paper aims at emphasizing the vulnerabilities of these instruments in order to facilitate the right choice in terms of protection, exploitation and dissemination of innovation. Based on a review of the intellectual property instruments and their related risk factors, the study identifies and formulates specific proactive strategies which arise from the fact that an instrument alone does not allow for effective protection, exploitation and dissemination and oftentimes the owners of innovation should combine traditional and alternative instruments. Therefore, the results of this analysis represent a helpful tool for managers in the decisional process.

Regression of an atlantoaxial rheumatoid pannus following posterior instrumented fusion.

Science.gov (United States)

Bydon, Mohamad; Macki, Mohamed; Qadi, Mohamud; De la Garza-Ramos, Rafael; Kosztowski, Thomas A; Sciubba, Daniel M; Wolinsky, Jean-Paul; Witham, Timothy F; Gokaslan, Ziya L; Bydon, Ali

2015-10-01

Rheumatoid patients may develop a retrodental lesion (atlantoaxial rheumatoid pannus) that may cause cervical instability and/or neurological compromise. The objective is to characterize clinical and radiographic outcomes after posterior instrumented fusion for atlantoaxial rheumatoid pannus. We retrospectively reviewed all patients who underwent posterior fusions for an atlantoaxial rheumatoid pannus at a single institution. Both preoperative and postoperative imaging was available for all patients. Anterior or circumferential operations, non-atlantoaxial panni, or prior C1-C2 operations were excluded. Primary outcome measures included Nurick score, Ranawat score (neurologic status in patients with rheumatoid arthritis), pannus regression, and reoperation. Pannus volume was determined with axial and sagittal views on both preoperative and postoperative radiological images. Thirty patients surgically managed for an atlantoaxial rheumatoid pannus were followed for a mean of 24.43 months. Nine patients underwent posterior instrumented fusion alone, while 21 patients underwent posterior decompression and instrumented fusion. Following a posterior instrumented fusion in all 30 patients, the pannus statistically significantly regressed by 44.44%, from a mean volume of 1.26cm(3) to 0.70cm(3) (ppannus radiographically regressed by 44.44% over a mean of 8.02 months, and patients clinically improved per the Nurick score. The Ranawat score did not improve, and 20% of patients required reoperation over a mean of 13.18 months. The annualized reoperation rate was approximately 13.62%. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A fundamental role for context in instrumental learning and extinction.

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Bouton, Mark E; Todd, Travis P

2014-05-01

The purpose of this article is to review recent research that has investigated the effects of context change on instrumental (operant) learning. The first part of the article discusses instrumental extinction, in which the strength of a reinforced instrumental behavior declines when reinforcers are withdrawn. The results suggest that extinction of either simple or discriminated operant behavior is relatively specific to the context in which it is learned: As in prior studies of Pavlovian extinction, ABA, ABC, and AAB renewal effects can all be observed. Further analysis supports the idea that the organism learns to refrain from making a specific response in a specific context, or in more formal terms, an inhibitory context-response association. The second part of the article then discusses research suggesting that the context also controls instrumental behavior before it is extinguished. Several experiments demonstrate that a context switch after either simple or discriminated operant training causes a decrement in the strength of the response. Over a range of conditions, the animal appears to learn a direct association between the context and the response. Under some conditions, it can also learn a hierarchical representation of context and the response-reinforcer relation. Extinction is still more context-specific than conditioning, as indicated by ABC and AAB renewal. Overall, the results establish that the context can play a significant role in both the acquisition and extinction of operant behavior. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The potential of a human rights approach for accelerating the implementation of comprehensive restrictions on the marketing of unhealthy foods and non-alcoholic beverages to children.

Science.gov (United States)

Granheim, Sabrina Ionata; Vandevijvere, Stefanie; Torheim, Liv Elin

2018-01-05

Overweight and obesity in children is rising at the global level, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Among the causes for this increase is the marketing of unhealthy food and beverage products, which affects children's food preferences, purchasing requests and consumption patterns. The need to address harmful marketing to children has been recognized at the World Health Organization, with Member States having agreed in 2010 to implement a set of recommendations to restrict such practices. Concurrently, there is an increasing understanding of unhealthy food and malnutrition as human rights concerns. This paper explores the potential of existing legally and non-legally binding human rights instruments for accelerating the implementation of comprehensive restrictions to reduce harmful marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages to children. Four relevant themes were identified in existing human rights instruments: (i) the best interest of the child should be considered above all other interests; (ii) the rights to health and adequate food cannot be realized without supportive healthy environments; (iii) children should be protected from economic exploitation; and (iv) the persuasive marketing of unhealthy food and beverage products is explicitly recognized as a threat to the rights to food and health. In conclusion, existing human rights instruments could be harnessed to advance public health measures to restrict the marketing of unhealthy food and beverage products to children. Policy-makers and advocates should draw from these instruments and refer to State's obligations within international and domestic human rights law to strengthen their efforts to restrict harmful marketing practices to children. © The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Does 'right to work' imperil the right to health? The effect of labour unions on workplace fatalities.

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Zoorob, Michael

2018-06-13

Economic policies can have unintended consequences on population health. In recent years, many states in the USA have passed 'right to work' (RTW) laws which weaken labour unions. The effect of these laws on occupational health remains unexplored. This study fills this gap by analysing the effect of RTW on occupational fatalities through its effect on unionisation. Two-way fixed effects regression models are used to estimate the effect of unionisation on occupational mortality per 100 000 workers, controlling for state policy liberalism and workforce composition over the period 1992-2016. In the final specification, RTW laws are used as an instrument for unionisation to recover causal effects. The Local Average Treatment Effect of a 1% decline in unionisation attributable to RTW is about a 5% increase in the rate of occupational fatalities. In total, RTW laws have led to a 14.2% increase in occupational mortality through decreased unionisation. These findings illustrate and quantify the protective effect of unions on workers' safety. Policymakers should consider the potentially deleterious effects of anti-union legislation on occupational health. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

The Right to Life

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Varvara Coman

2012-05-01

Full Text Available In the present study, we set ourselves to analyze a subject, which, due to its importance andextreme complexity, generated many discussions and controversies both at national and international level:the right to life. The great evolution of the contemporary society and the progress registered in various fieldsbrought into the attention of the states, international organizations, specialists in the field and public opinionthe pressing problem of interpreting the content and limits of the human fundamental rights and liberties. Weset ourselves to analyze the main international instruments regulating the right to life and to identify thesituations where determining the content of this fundamental right in necessary. Without the intent of acomplete work, we understand, throughout this study, to highline the great importance of the right to liferespecting for the entire humanity.

SEQUenCE: a service user-centred quality of care instrument for mental health services.

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Hester, Lorraine; O'Doherty, Lorna Jane; Schnittger, Rebecca; Skelly, Niamh; O'Donnell, Muireann; Butterly, Lisa; Browne, Robert; Frorath, Charlotte; Morgan, Craig; McLoughlin, Declan M; Fearon, Paul

2015-08-01

To develop a quality of care instrument that is grounded in the service user perspective and validate it in a mental health service. The instrument (SEQUenCE (SErvice user QUality of CarE)) was developed through analysis of focus group data and clinical practice guidelines, and refined through field-testing and psychometric analyses. All participants were attending an independent mental health service in Ireland. Participants had a diagnosis of bipolar affective disorder (BPAD) or a psychotic disorder. Twenty-nine service users participated in six focus group interviews. Seventy-one service users participated in field-testing: 10 judged the face validity of an initial 61-item instrument; 28 completed a revised 52-item instrument from which 12 items were removed following test-retest and convergent validity analyses; 33 completed the resulting 40-item instrument. Test-retest reliability, internal consistency and convergent validity of the instrument. The final instrument showed acceptable test-retest reliability at 5-7 days (r = 0.65; P Service Satisfaction Scale (r = 0.84, P internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.87). SEQUenCE is a valid, reliable scale that is grounded in the service user perspective and suitable for routine use. It may serve as a useful tool in individual care planning, service evaluation and research. The instrument was developed and validated with service users with a diagnosis of either BPAD or a psychotic disorder; it does not yet have established external validity for other diagnostic groups. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press in association with the International Society for Quality in Health Care; all rights reserved.

Effects of four instruments on coronal pre-enlargement by using cone beam computed tomography.

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Sanfelice, Cintia Mussoline; da Costa, Fernanda Botega; Reis Só, Marcus Vinícius; Vier-Pelisser, Fabiana; Souza Bier, Carlos Alexandre; Grecca, Fabiana Soares

2010-05-01

This ex vivo study used cone beam computed tomography to evaluate the amount of dentin removal from the distal wall of the mesial canal of human mandibular first molars caused by 4 instruments used to flare the cervical third. Thirty-two mesial roots were divided into 4 groups prepared by using ProTaper, K3, Gates-Glidden, or LA Axxess. The dentin thickness of the distal cervical wall of mesial canals was measured before and after the preparation by using computed tomography and Adobe Photoshop software. There was no statistically significant difference between the study groups (P > 05). All the instruments used for cervical preparation seemed to be safe and did not damage the dentin structure of the distal wall of mesial root canals of mandibular molars. Copyright (c) 2010 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Global bioethics and human rights in an African context: A reformed theological discourse on global bioethics as a new human rights ethos

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A.L. Rheeder

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The 2005 UNESCO Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights (UDBHR is specifically aimed at Africa and developing countries from other regions. The acceptance of this UNESCO instrument shows that global bioethics and human rights have become part of the bioethics discourse of today. It is clear that there is a certain affinity between human rights and bioethics, which makes such a link desirable. The value of this link lies in the fact that human rights facilitate a normative universal expansion of bioethical principles. The human rights framework provides bioethical principles with some authority and political influence, an instrument that can protect people in our broken context. Human rights practice and a reformed understanding of natural law both show that humanity can reach consensus on ethical principles such as those found in the UDBHR. Consensus on the theoretical foundation of human rights is not a prerequisite for the successful utilisation of these principles.

Phonation Quotient in Women: A Measure of Vocal Efficiency Using Three Aerodynamic Instruments.

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Joshi, Ashwini; Watts, Christopher R

2017-03-01

The purpose of this study was to examine measures of vital capacity and phonation quotient across three age groups in women using three different aerodynamic instruments representing low-tech and high-tech options. This study has a prospective, repeated measures design. Fifteen women in each age group of 25-39 years, 40-59 years, and 60-79 years were assessed using maximum phonation time and vital capacity obtained from three aerodynamic instruments: a handheld analog windmill type spirometer, a handheld digital spirometer, and the Phonatory Aerodynamic System (PAS), Model 6600. Phonation quotient was calculated using vital capacity from each instrument. Analyses of variance were performed to test for main effects of the instruments and age on vital capacity and derived phonation quotient. Pearson product moment correlation was performed to assess measurement reliability (parallel forms) between the instruments. Regression equations, scatterplots, and coefficients of determination were also calculated. Statistically significant differences were found in vital capacity measures for the digital spirometer compared with the windmill-type spirometer and PAS across age groups. Strong positive correlations were present between all three instruments for both vital capacity and derived phonation quotient measurements. Measurement precision for the digital spirometer was lower than the windmill spirometer compared with the PAS. However, all three instruments had strong measurement reliability. Additionally, age did not have an effect on the measurement across instruments. These results are consistent with previous literature reporting data from male speakers and support the use of low-tech options for measurement of basic aerodynamic variables associated with voice production. Copyright © 2017 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An ergonomics based design research method for the arrangement of helicopter flight instrument panels.

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Alppay, Cem; Bayazit, Nigan

2015-11-01

In this paper, we study the arrangement of displays in flight instrument panels of multi-purpose civil helicopters following a user-centered design method based on ergonomics principles. Our methodology can also be described as a user-interface arrangement methodology based on user opinions and preferences. This study can be outlined as gathering user-centered data using two different research methods and then analyzing and integrating the collected data to come up with an optimal instrument panel design. An interview with helicopter pilots formed the first step of our research. In that interview, pilots were asked to provide a quantitative evaluation of basic interface arrangement principles. In the second phase of the research, a paper prototyping study was conducted with same pilots. The final phase of the study entailed synthesizing the findings from interviews and observational studies to formulate an optimal flight instrument arrangement methodology. The primary results that we present in our paper are the methodology that we developed and three new interface arrangement concepts, namely relationship of inseparability, integrated value and locational value. An optimum instrument panel arrangement is also proposed by the researchers. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of Human Rights Violations in Student Personnel ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A five point Likert scale instrument, Students Legal Rights Protection Questionnaire (SLRPQ) was used for data collection and analyzed using the population (one sample t-test), at .05 level of significance. The finding was that there is significant violation of secondary school students' rights (right to dignity of human person, ...

In vitro assessment of cutting efficiency and durability of zirconia removal diamond rotary instruments.

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Kim, Joon-Soo; Bae, Ji-Hyeon; Yun, Mi-Jung; Huh, Jung-Bo

2017-06-01

for the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Glide path preparation in S-shaped canals with rotary pathfinding nickel-titanium instruments.

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Ajuz, Natasha C C; Armada, Luciana; Gonçalves, Lucio S; Debelian, Gilberto; Siqueira, José F

2013-04-01

This study compared the incidence of deviation along S-shaped (double-curved) canals after glide path preparation with 2 nickel-titanium (NiTi) rotary pathfinding instruments and hand K-files. S-shaped canals from 60 training blocks were filled with ink, and preinstrumentation images were obtained by using a stereomicroscope. Glide path preparation was performed by an endodontist who used hand stainless steel K-files (up to size 20), rotary NiTi PathFile instruments (up to size 19), or rotary NiTi Scout RaCe instruments (up to size 20). Postinstrumentation images were taken by using exactly the same conditions as for the preinstrumentation images, and both pictures were superimposed. Differences along the S-shaped canal for the mesial and distal aspects were measured to evaluate the occurrence of deviation. Intragroup analysis showed that all instruments promoted some deviation in virtually all levels. Overall, regardless of the group, deviations were observed in the mesial wall at the canal terminus and at levels 4, 5, 6 and 7 mm and in the distal wall at levels 1, 2, and 3 mm. These levels corresponded to the inner walls of each curvature. Both rotary NiTi instruments performed significantly better than hand K-files at all levels (P instruments showed significantly better results than PathFiles at levels 0, 2, 3, 5, and 6 mm (P rotary NiTi instruments are suitable for adequate glide path preparation because they promoted less deviation from the original canal anatomy when compared with hand-operated instruments. Of the 2 rotary pathfinding instruments, Scout RaCe showed an overall significantly better performance. Copyright © 2013 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights - Only a Foundation.

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Reichert, Elisabeth

2002-01-01

Explains provisions contained within the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, tracing historical beginnings of human rights to 1945, detailing events after 1945 up to the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations, and explaining essential terminology used in describing human rights instruments that have been…

Analysis instruments for the performance of Advanced Practice Nursing.

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Sevilla-Guerra, Sonia; Zabalegui, Adelaida

2017-11-29

Advanced Practice Nursing has been a reality in the international context for several decades and recently new nursing profiles have been developed in Spain as well that follow this model. The consolidation of these advanced practice roles has also led to of the creation of tools that attempt to define and evaluate their functions. This study aims to identify and explore the existing instruments that enable the domains of Advanced Practice Nursing to be defined. A review of existing international questionnaires and instruments was undertaken, including an analysis of the design process, the domains/dimensions defined, the main results and an exploration of clinimetric properties. Seven studies were analysed but not all proved to be valid, stable or reliable tools. One included tool was able to differentiate between the functions of the general nurse and the advanced practice nurse by the level of activities undertaken within the five domains described. These tools are necessary to evaluate the scope of advanced practice in new nursing roles that correspond to other international models of competencies and practice domains. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

24 CFR 206.115 - [Reserved

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... MORTGAGE AND LOAN INSURANCE PROGRAMS UNDER NATIONAL HOUSING ACT AND OTHER AUTHORITIES HOME EQUITY CONVERSION MORTGAGE INSURANCE Contract Rights and Obligations Mortgage Insurance Premiums § 206.115 [Reserved] ...

Dementia-specific quality of life instruments and their appropriateness in shared-housing arrangements--a literature study.

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Gräske, Johannes; Fischer, Thomas; Kuhlmey, Adelheid; Wolf-Ostermann, Karin

2012-01-01

Shared-housing arrangements (SHA) in Germany are a specific type of housing arrangement that belongs to the global concept of small-scale living arrangements. This caring approach comprises characteristics of both home and institutional care for persons with dementia. To evaluate the impact of SHA on the quality of life (QoL) of residents, an appropriate setting- and dementia-specific QoL instrument is needed. This article aims to identify QoL instruments that relate to the core domains of SHA. After a comprehensive literature review, existing dementia-specific QoL instruments were evaluated to determine whether any have been specifically designed for or applied in SHA. Additionally, each domain of the instruments was matched with the core domains of SHA. None of the existing instruments was identified as having been developed for SHA. Matching of the instrument domains with the SHA core domains leads to the conclusion that Quality of Life-Alzheimer's Disease, Dementia Quality of Life, Alzheimer Disease-Related Quality of Life, and QUALIDEM are adequate instruments for measuring the dementia-specific QoL of persons living in SHA. For the first time, a basis has been created for valid QoL evaluations of residents with dementia living in SHA. The 4 identified instruments are considered applicable in SHA. Conducting a performance test and evaluating further attributes according to the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Medical Outcomes Trust (e.g., reliability and validity) will further elucidation of the appropriateness of the instruments for SHA. Copyright © 2012 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Evidence for Reduced Fatigue Resistance of Contemporary Rotary Instruments Exposed to Body Temperature.

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de Vasconcelos, Rafaela Andrade; Murphy, Sarah; Carvalho, Claudio Antonio Talge; Govindjee, Rajiv G; Govindjee, Sanjay; Peters, Ove A

2016-05-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of 2 different temperatures (20°C and 37°C) on the cyclic fatigue life of rotary instruments and correlate the results with martensitic transformation temperatures. Contemporary nickel-titanium rotary instruments (n = 20 each and tip size #25, including Hyflex CM [Coltene, Cuyahoga Falls, OH], TRUShape [Dentsply Tulsa Dental Specialties, Tulsa, OK], Vortex Blue [Dentsply Tulsa Dental Specialties], and ProTaper Universal [Dentsply Tulsa Dental Specialties]) were tested for cyclic fatigue at room temperature (20°C ± 1°C) and at body temperature (37°C ± 1°C). Instruments were rotated until fracture occurred in a simulated canal with an angle curvature of about 60° and a radius curvature of 3 mm; the center of the curvature was 4.5 mm from the instrument tip. The number of cycles to fracture was measured. Phase transformation temperatures for 2 instruments of each brand were analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry. Data were analyzed using the t test and 1-way analysis of variance with the significance level set at 0.05. For the tested size and at 20°C, Hyflex CM showed the highest resistance to fracture; no significant difference was found between TRUShape and Vortex Blue, whereas ProTaper Universal showed the lowest resistance to fracture. At 37°C, resistance to fatigue fracture was significantly reduced, up to 85%, for the tested instruments (P rotary instruments tested. Copyright © 2016 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Fatigue testing of controlled memory wire nickel-titanium rotary instruments.

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Shen, Ya; Qian, Wei; Abtin, Houman; Gao, Yuan; Haapasalo, Markus

2011-07-01

To improve the fracture resistance of nickel-titanium (NiTi) files, manufacturers have introduced new alloys to manufacture NiTi files and developed new manufacturing processes. This study was aimed to examine the fatigue behavior of NiTi instruments from a novel controlled memory NiTi wire (CM Wire). Instruments of ProFile, Typhoon (TYP), Typhoon CM (TYP CM), DS-SS0250425NEYY (NEYY), and DS-SS0250425NEYY CM (NEYY CM) (DS Dental, Johnson City, TN) all size 25/.04 were subjected to rotational bending at the curvature of 35° and 45° in air at the temperature of 23° ± 2°C, and the number of revolutions to fracture (N(f)) was recorded. The fracture surface of all fragments was examined by a scanning electron microscope. The crack-initiation sites, the percentage of dimple area to the whole fracture cross-section, and the surface strain amplitude (ε(a)) were noted. The new alloy yielded an improvement of over three to eight times in N(f) of CM files than that of conventional NiTi files (P wire (58%-100%) had one crack origin. The values of the fraction area occupied by the dimple region were significantly smaller on CM NiTi instruments compared with conventional NiTi instruments (P wire at both curvatures (P Wire had a significantly higher N(f) and lower surface strain amplitude than the conventional NiTi wire files with identical design. Copyright © 2011 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Salt, sodium chloride or sodium? Content and relationship with chemical, instrumental and sensory attributes in cooked meat products.

Science.gov (United States)

Kameník, Josef; Saláková, Alena; Vyskočilová, Věra; Pechová, Alena; Haruštiaková, Danka

2017-09-01

The aim of this study was to determine the salt content in selected cooked meat products by the methods of determining the sodium content and the content of chlorides. The resulting data was compared with other chemical, instrumental and sensory parameters of the analysed samples. A total of 133 samples of 5 meat products were tested. The sodium content ranged from 558.0 to 1308.0mgNa/100g. Salt level determined by the two methods strongly correlated and did not differ in any meat product. Intensity of salty taste of the product was independent on its salt content. The salt (sodium) content may be reduced without a negative impact on sensory or instrumental properties of meat products. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Vocal Tract Organ: A New Musical Instrument Using 3-D Printed Vocal Tracts.

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Howard, David M

2017-10-27

The advent and now increasingly widespread availability of 3-D printers is transforming our understanding of the natural world by enabling observations to be made in a tangible manner. This paper describes the use of 3-D printed models of the vocal tract for different vowels that are used to create an acoustic output when stimulated with an appropriate sound source in a new musical instrument: the Vocal Tract Organ. The shape of each printed vocal tract is recovered from magnetic resonance imaging. It sits atop a loudspeaker to which is provided an acoustic L-F model larynx input signal that is controlled by the notes played on a musical instrument digital interface device such as a keyboard. The larynx input is subject to vibrato with extent and frequency adjustable as desired within the ranges usually found for human singing. Polyphonic inputs for choral singing textures can be applied via a single loudspeaker and vocal tract, invoking the approximation of linearity in the voice production system, thereby making multiple vowel stops a possibility while keeping the complexity of the instrument in reasonable check. The Vocal Tract Organ offers a much more human and natural sounding result than the traditional Vox Humana stops found in larger pipe organs, offering the possibility of enhancing pipe organs of the future as well as becoming the basis for a "multi-vowel" chamber organ in its own right. Copyright © 2017 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Justiciability and Enforcement of the Right to Health under the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The right to health is a fundamental human right which is recognized in international and regional human rights systems. The African Human Rights System is also duly recognized the right to health. Although recognizing the right in the human rights instrument is important, the meaningful protection of the right needs ...

Environmental potentials of policy instruments to mitigate nutrient emissions in Chinese livestock production.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Chaohui; Liu, Yi; Bluemling, Bettina; Mol, Arthur P J; Chen, Jining

2015-01-01

To minimize negative environmental impact of livestock production, policy-makers face a challenge to design and implement more effective policy instruments for livestock farmers at different scales. This research builds an assessment framework on the basis of an agent-based model, named ANEM, to explore nutrient mitigation potentials of five policy instruments, using pig production in Zhongjiang county, southwest China, as the empirical filling. The effects of different policy scenarios are simulated and compared using four indicators and differentiating between small, medium and large scale pig farms. Technology standards, biogas subsidies and information provisioning prove to be the most effective policies, while pollution fees and manure markets fail to environmentally improve manure management in pig livestock farming. Medium-scale farms are the more relevant scale category for a more environmentally sound development of Chinese livestock production. A number of policy recommendations are formulated as conclusion, as well as some limitations and prospects of the simulations are discussed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Social interactions and college enrollment: A combined school fixed effects/instrumental variables approach.

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Fletcher, Jason M

2015-07-01

This paper provides some of the first evidence of peer effects in college enrollment decisions. There are several empirical challenges in assessing the influences of peers in this context, including the endogeneity of high school, shared group-level unobservables, and identifying policy-relevant parameters of social interactions models. This paper addresses these issues by using an instrumental variables/fixed effects approach that compares students in the same school but different grade-levels who are thus exposed to different sets of classmates. In particular, plausibly exogenous variation in peers' parents' college expectations are used as an instrument for peers' college choices. Preferred specifications indicate that increasing a student's exposure to college-going peers by ten percentage points is predicted to raise the student's probability of enrolling in college by 4 percentage points. This effect is roughly half the magnitude of growing up in a household with married parents (vs. an unmarried household). Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Assessment of Patient-Reported Outcome Instruments to Assess Chronic Low Back Pain.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramasamy, Abhilasha; Martin, Mona L; Blum, Steven I; Liedgens, Hiltrud; Argoff, Charles; Freynhagen, Rainer; Wallace, Mark; McCarrier, Kelly P; Bushnell, Donald M; Hatley, Noël V; Patrick, Donald L

2017-06-01

 To identify patient-reported outcome (PRO) instruments that assess chronic low back pain (cLBP) symptoms (specifically pain qualities) and/or impacts for potential use in cLBP clinical trials to demonstrate treatment benefit and support labeling claims.  Literature review of existing PRO measures.  Publications detailing existing PRO measures for cLBP were identified, reviewed, and summarized. As recommended by the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) PRO development guidance, standard measurement characteristics were reviewed, including development history, psychometric properties (validity and reliability), ability to detect change, and interpretation of observed changes.  Thirteen instruments were selected and reviewed: Low Back Pain Bothersomeness Scale, Neuropathic Pain Symptom Inventory, PainDETECT, Pain Quality Assessment Scale Revised, Revised Short Form McGill Pain Questionnaire, Low Back Pain Impact Questionnaire, Oswestry Disability Index, Pain Disability Index, Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire, Brief Pain Inventory and Brief Pain Inventory Short Form, Musculoskeletal Outcomes Data Evaluation and Management System Spine Module, Orebro Musculoskeletal Pain Questionnaire, and the West Haven-Yale Multidimensional Pain Inventory Interference Scale. The instruments varied in the aspects of pain and/or impacts that they assessed, and none of the instruments fulfilled all criteria for use in clinical trials to support labeling claims based on recommendations outlined in the FDA PRO guidance.  There is an unmet need for a validated PRO instrument to evaluate cLBP-related symptoms and impacts for use in clinical trials. © 2017 American Academy of Pain Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

Experimental evaluation on the influence of autoclave sterilization on the cyclic fatigue of new nickel-titanium rotary instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Plotino, Gianluca; Costanzo, Alberto; Grande, Nicola M; Petrovic, Renata; Testarelli, Luca; Gambarini, Gianluca

2012-02-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of autoclave sterilization on cyclic fatigue resistance of rotary endodontic instruments made of traditional and new nickel-titanium (NiTi) alloys. Four NiTi rotary endodontic instruments of the same size (tip diameter 0.40 mm and constant .04 taper) were selected: K3, Mtwo, Vortex, and K3 XF prototypes. Each group was then divided into 2 subgroups, unsterilized instruments and sterilized instruments. The sterilized instruments were subjected to 10 cycles of autoclave sterilization. Twelve files from each different subgroup were tested for cyclic fatigue resistance. Means and standard deviations of number of cycles to failure (NCF) and fragment length of the fractured tip were calculated for each group, and data were statistically analyzed (P instruments for each type of file, differences were statistically significant (P instruments did not show significant differences (P > .05) in the mean NCF as a result of sterilization cycles (K3, 424 versus 439 NCF; Mtwo, 409 versus 419 NCF; Vortex, 454 versus 480 NCF). Comparing the results among the different groups, K3 XF (either sterilized or not) showed a mean NCF significantly higher than all other files (P endodontic instruments except for the K3 XF prototypes of rotary instruments that demonstrated a significant increase of cyclic fatigue resistance. Copyright © 2012 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Development of an instrumented spinal cord surrogate using optical fibers: A feasibility study.

Science.gov (United States)

Facchinello, Yann; Wagnac, Éric; Ung, Bora; Petit, Yvan; Pradhan, Prabin; Peyrache, Louis-Marie; Mac-Thiong, Jean-Marc

2017-10-01

In vitro replication of traumatic spinal cord injury is necessary to understand its biomechanics and to improve animal models. During a traumatic spinal cord injury, the spinal cord withstands an impaction at high velocity. In order to fully assess the impaction, the use of spinal canal occlusion sensor is necessary. A physical spinal cord surrogate is also often used to simulate the presence of the spinal cord and its surrounding structures. In this study, an instrumented physical spinal cord surrogate is presented and validated. The sensing is based on light transmission loss observed in embedded bare optical fibers subjected to bending. The instrumented surrogate exhibits similar mechanical properties under static compression compared to fresh porcine spinal cords. The instrumented surrogate has a compression sensing threshold of 40% that matches the smallest compression values leading to neurological injuries. The signal obtained from the sensor allows calculating the compression of the spinal cord surrogate with a maximum of 5% deviation. Excellent repeatability was also observed under repetitive loading. The proposed instrumented spinal cord surrogate is promising with satisfying mechanical properties and good sensing capability. It is the first attempt at proposing a method to assess the internal loads sustained by the spinal cord during a traumatic injury. Copyright © 2017 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Content validity--establishing and reporting the evidence in newly developed patient-reported outcomes (PRO) instruments for medical product evaluation: ISPOR PRO good research practices task force report: part 1--eliciting concepts for a new PRO instrument.

Science.gov (United States)

Patrick, Donald L; Burke, Laurie B; Gwaltney, Chad J; Leidy, Nancy Kline; Martin, Mona L; Molsen, Elizabeth; Ring, Lena

2011-12-01

). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Inflation Targeting and Quantitative Tightening: Effects of Reserve Requirements in Peru

OpenAIRE

Adrián Armas; Paul Castillo; Marco Vega

2014-01-01

This paper provides an overview of the reserve requirement measures undertaken by the Central Bank of Peru. It provides a rationale for the use of these instruments as well as empirical evidence of their effectiveness. In general, the results show that tightening reserve requirements has the desired effects on interest rates and credit levels at both banks and smaller financial institutions (cajas municipales).

Transition to IFRS 9 : Practical Guidance for the Foreign Reserves of Central Banks

OpenAIRE

Ha, Yunjung S.

2017-01-01

This paper provides practical guidance to central banks on accounting practices for their foreign reserves, in connection with the transition from International Accounting Standard 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement (IAS 39) to International Financial Reporting Standard 9 Financial Instruments (IFRS 9). The IFRS 9 preparation process can be summarized in three steps: (1)...

Exploring the cultural dimensions of the right to the highest ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The right to enjoying the highest attainable standard of health is incorporated in many international and regional human rights instruments. This right contains both freedoms and entitlements, including the freedom to control one's own health and body and the right to an accessible system of health care, goods and services.

Systematic Review of Measurement Property Evidence for 8 Financial Management Instruments in Populations With Acquired Cognitive Impairment.

Science.gov (United States)

Engel, Lisa; Chui, Adora; Beaton, Dorcas E; Green, Robin E; Dawson, Deirdre R

2018-03-07

To critically appraise the measurement property evidence (ie, psychometric) for 8 observation-based financial management assessment instruments. Seven databases were searched in May 2015. Two reviewers used an independent decision-agreement process to select studies of measurement property evidence relevant to populations with adulthood acquired cognitive impairment, appraise the quality of the evidence, and extract data. Twenty-one articles were selected. This review used the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement Instruments review guidelines and 4-point tool to appraise evidence. After appraising the methodologic quality, the adequacy of results and volume of evidence per instrument were synthesized. Measurement property evidence with high risk of bias was excluded from the synthesis. The volume of measurement property evidence per instrument is low; most instruments had 1 to 3 included studies. Many included studies had poor methodologic quality per measurement property evidence area examined. Six of the 8 instruments reviewed had supporting construct validity/hypothesis-testing evidence of fair methodologic quality. There is a dearth of acceptable quality content validity, reliability, and responsiveness evidence for all 8 instruments. Rehabilitation practitioners assess financial management functions in adults with acquired cognitive impairments. However, there is limited published evidence to support using any of the reviewed instruments. Practitioners should exercise caution when interpreting the results of these instruments. This review highlights the importance of appraising the quality of measurement property evidence before examining the adequacy of the results and synthesizing the evidence. Copyright © 2018 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The right and development: the nuclear right

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coimbra, Guilhermina Lavos.

1986-02-01

The author analyses some juridical instruments signed among Brazil and his commercial partners in the nuclear field: the way as it has been reflected and it has modeled the Brazilian Nuclear Program - BNP. It is very much important a Nuclear Law/Bill of the Nuclear Rights directed to the uranium and the BNP defense. It is compared the Brazilian petroleum situation, before 1952, with the present uranium situation. It is purposed a Constitutional disposal, protecting the uranium and all the other nuclear strategic minerals state monopoly, to be inserted in the next Brazilian Constitution and the URANIOBRAS creation, similar to PETROBRAS. (author). 163 refs

International criminal tribunals and human rights law: Adherence and contextualization

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zeegers, K.J.

2015-01-01

Given their mandate to prosecute persons responsible for the most atrocious of human rights violations, International Criminal Tribunals (ICTs) are generally hailed as welcome enforcers of international human rights law: a new instrument in the toolkit of human rights protectors. However, ICTs

Detection of pigments of halophilic endoliths from gypsum: Raman portable instrument and European Space Agency's prototype analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Culka, Adam; Osterrothová, Kateřina; Hutchinson, Ian; Ingley, Richard; McHugh, Melissa; Oren, Aharon; Edwards, Howell G M; Jehlička, Jan

2014-12-13

A prototype instrument, under development at the University of Leicester, for the future European Space Agency (ESA) ExoMars mission, was used for the analysis of microbial pigments within a stratified gypsum crust from a hypersaline saltern evaporation pond at Eilat (Israel). Additionally, the same samples were analysed using a miniaturized Raman spectrometer, featuring the same 532 nm excitation. The differences in the position of the specific bands, attributed to carotenoid pigments from different coloured layers, were minor when analysed by the ESA prototype instrument; therefore, making it difficult to distinguish among the different pigments. The portable Delta Nu Advantage instrument allowed for the discrimination of microbial carotenoids from the orange/green and purple layers. The purpose of this study was to complement previous laboratory results with new data and experience with portable or handheld Raman systems, even with a dedicated prototype Raman system for the exploration of Mars. The latter is equipped with an excitation wavelength falling within the carotenoid polyene resonance region. The ESA prototype Raman instrument detected the carotenoid pigments (biomarkers) with ease, although further detailed distinctions among them were not achieved. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Design and evaluation of a new ergonomic handle for instruments in minimally invasive surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Sancibrian, Ramon; Gutierrez-Diez, María C; Torre-Ferrero, Carlos; Benito-Gonzalez, Maria A; Redondo-Figuero, Carlos; Manuel-Palazuelos, Jose C

2014-05-01

Laparoscopic surgery techniques have been demonstrated to provide massive benefits to patients. However, surgeons are subjected to hardworking conditions because of the poor ergonomic design of the instruments. In this article, a new ergonomic handle design is presented. This handle is designed using ergonomic principles, trying to provide both more intuitive manipulation of the instrument and a shape that reduces the high-pressure zones in the contact with the surgeon's hand. The ergonomic characteristics of the new handle were evaluated using objective and subjective studies. The experimental evaluation was performed using 28 volunteers by means of the comparison of the new handle with the ring-handle (RH) concept in an instrument available on the market. The volunteers' muscle activation and motions of the hand, wrist, and arm were studied while they performed different tasks. The data measured in the experiment include electromyography and goniometry values. The results obtained from the subjective analysis reveal that most volunteers (64%) preferred the new prototype to the RH, reporting less pain and less difficulty to complete the tasks. The results from the objective study reveal that the hyperflexion of the wrist required for the manipulation of the instrument is strongly reduced. The new ergonomic handle not only provides important ergonomic advantages but also improves the efficiency when completing the tasks. Compared with RH instruments, the new prototype reduced the high-pressure areas and the extreme motions of the wrist. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A GC Instrument Simulator

Science.gov (United States)

Armitage, D. Bruce

1999-02-01

the difference between the boiling point of the component and the temperature of the column. The polarity difference between the column packing and the component is also used to modify the retention time. The retention time decreases as the difference between the boiling point of the component and the temperature of the column increases, and retention time increases as the polarity of the component approaches the polarity of the column. If the temperature of the column is too low, a warning message is given and the chromatogram does not show that component. There is no "carry-over" to the next chromatogram, as might be the case for an actual instrument. Carrier-gas flow rate is fixed and is not part of the retention-time calculation. Because of this latter condition and the method used to determine retention time, this simulator is not useful for gas chromatography method development and is not intended for such use. The purpose of the simulator is to give a beginning student experience in what happens as column temperature is varied, why one might need temperature programming, why an autosampler might be useful, and the pitfalls of "smart" integrators. When students make mistakes in instrument setup with the simulator the consequences are not damaging to the simulator but might cause serious problems with a real instrument. Hardware and Software Requirements Hardware and software requirements for A GC Instrument Simulator are shown in Table 1. right> right> Shown (right to left) are the main instrument control window and the manual injection window from A GC Instrument Simulator.

Effect of environment on fatigue failure of controlled memory wire nickel-titanium rotary instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Ya; Qian, Wei; Abtin, Houman; Gao, Yuan; Haapasalo, Markus

2012-03-01

This study examined the fatigue behavior of 2 types of nickel-titanium (NiTi) instruments made from a novel controlled memory NiTi wire (CM wire) under various environment conditions. Three conventional superelastic NiTi instruments of ProFile (Dentsply Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland), Typhoon (Clinician's Choice Dental Products, New Milford, CT), and DS-SS0250425NEYY (Clinician's Choice Dental Products) and 2 new CM wire instruments of Typhoon CM and DS-SS0250425NEYY CM were subjected to rotational bending at the curvature of 35° in air, deionized water, 17% EDTA, or deionized water after immersion in 6% sodium hypochlorite for 25 minutes, and the number of revolutions of fracture (N(f)) was recorded. The fracture surface of all fragments was examined by a scanning electron microscope. The crack-initiation sites and the percentage of dimple area to the whole fracture cross-section were noted. Two new CM Wire instruments yielded an improvement of >4 to 9 times in N(f) than conventional NiTi files with the same design under various environments (P Wire instruments was significantly longer in liquid media than in air (P wire had one crack origin. The values of the area fraction occupied by the dimple region were significantly smaller on CM NiTi instruments than in conventional NiTi instruments under various environments (P < .05). Within the limitations of this study, the type of NiTi metal alloy (CM files vs conventional superelastic NiTi files) influences the cyclic fatigue resistance under various environments. The fatigue life of CM instruments is longer in liquid media than in air. Copyright © 2012 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A review of psychological assessment instruments for use in bariatric surgery evaluations.

Science.gov (United States)

Marek, Ryan J; Heinberg, Leslie J; Lavery, Megan; Merrell Rish, Julie; Ashton, Kathleen

2016-09-01

Bariatric surgery is a viable treatment option for patients with extreme obesity and associated medical comorbidities; however, optimal surgical outcomes are not universal. Surgical societies, such as the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS), recommend that patients undergo a presurgical psychological evaluation that includes reviewing patients' medical charts, conducting a comprehensive clinical interview, and employing some form of objective psychometric testing. Despite numerous societies recommending the inclusion of self-report assessments, only about 2/3 of clinics actively use psychological testing-some of which have limited empirical support to justify their use. This review aims to critically evaluate the psychometric properties of self-report measures when used in bariatric surgery settings and provide recommendations to help guide clinicians in selecting instruments to use in bariatric surgery evaluations. Recommended assessment batteries include use of a broadband instrument along with a narrowband eating measure. Suggestions for self-report measures to include in a presurgical psychological evaluation in bariatric surgery settings are also provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

THE OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO THE INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS: A NEW INSTRUMENT TO ADDRESS HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christian Courtis

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The article discusses the adoption of the new Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as a means to obtain redress for violations against economic, social and cultural rights in the international sphere – including its potential use for the consideration of the violation of extraterritorial obligations. Keywords: Human rights. Social rights. Violations. Optinal protocol.

Older drivers' attitudes about instrument cluster designs in vehicles.

Science.gov (United States)

Owsley, Cynthia; McGwin, Gerald; Seder, Thomas

2011-11-01

Little is known about older drivers' preferences and attitudes about instrumentation design in vehicles. Yet visual processing impairments are common among older adults and could impact their ability to interface with a vehicle's dashboard. The purpose of this study is to obtain information from them about this topic, using focus groups and content analysis methodology. A trained facilitator led 8 focus groups of older adults. Discussion was stimulated by an outline relevant to dashboard interfaces, audiotaped, and transcribed. Using multi-step content analysis, a trained coder placed comments into thematic categories and coded comments as positive, negative, or neutral in meaning. Comments were coded into these categories: gauges, knobs/switches, interior lighting, color, lettering, symbols, location, entertainment, GPS, cost, uniformity, and getting information. Comments on gauges and knobs/switches represented half the comments. Women made more comments about getting information; men made more comments about uniformity. Positive and negative comments were made in each category; individual differences in preferences were broad. The results of this study will be used to guide the design of a population-based survey of older drivers about instrument cluster format, which will also examine how their responses are related to their visual processing capabilities. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An integrative review of literature examining psychometric properties of instruments measuring anxiety or fear in hospitalized children.

Science.gov (United States)

Foster, Roxie L; Park, Jeong-hwan

2012-06-01

Anxiety and fear are among the most frequently reported emotional responses to hospitalization and are known to be contributing factors to pain and other negative patient outcomes. The first step in confronting unnecessary anxiety and fear is to identify valid and clinically feasible assessment instruments. The purpose of this paper is to review and evaluate instruments that measure children's fear or anxiety associated with hospitalization or painful procedures. A search was conducted of published English-language literature from 1980 through 2010 with the use of Ovid Health and Psychosocial Instruments, Medline, Nursing/Academic Edition, Cinahl, and Google Scholar. Inclusion criteria specified that the self-report instrument: 1) was developed in English; 2) was developed for and/or widely used with hospitalized children or children undergoing medical procedures or treatment; and 3) had research evidence of psychometric properties from at least five different studies. A comprehensive review of the literature revealed only five fear or anxiety instruments with adequate testing for evaluation of reliability and validity. Although all instruments have beginning psychometric adequacy, no one tool stands out as superior to the others. Therefore, we recommend that researchers and clinicians exercise caution in choosing assessment instruments, balancing potential strengths with reported limitations. Using more than one tool (triangulating) may be one way to achieve more credible results. Knowledge of credible existing instruments alerts us to what is possible today and to the imperative for research that will improve communication with children tomorrow. Copyright © 2012 American Society for Pain Management Nursing. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Influence of Heat Treatment of Nickel-Titanium Rotary Endodontic Instruments on Apical Preparation: A Micro-Computed Tomographic Study.

Science.gov (United States)

de Almeida, Bernardo Corrêa; Ormiga, Fabíola; de Araújo, Marcos César Pimenta; Lopes, Ricardo Tadeu; Lima, Inayá Corrêa Barbosa; dos Santos, Bernardo Camargo; Gusman, Heloisa

2015-12-01

The aim of this study was to make a 3-dimensional comparison of the canal transportation and changes in apical geometry using micro-computed tomographic imaging after canal preparation with K3 (SybronEndo, Orange, CA) and K3XF (SybronEndo) file systems. Twenty-eight mandibular molars were randomly divided into 2 groups according to the rotary system used in instrumentation: K3 or K3XF. The specimens were scanned by micro-computed tomographic imaging before and after instrumentation. Images before and after instrumentation from each group were compared with regard to canal volume, surface area, and structure model index (SMI) (paired t test, P instrumentation, the canals from each group were compared regarding the changes in volume, surface area, SMI, and canal transportation in the last 4 apical mm (t test, P Instrumentation with the 2 rotary systems significantly changed the canal volume, surface area, and SMI (P instrument types concerning these parameters (P > .05). There were no significant differences between the 2 groups with regard to canal transportation in the last 4 apical mm (P > .05). Both rotary systems showed adequate canal preparations with reduced values of canal transportation. Heat treatment did not influence changes in root canal geometry in the apical region. Copyright © 2015 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Comparison of the performance of different instruments in the stray neutron field around the CERN Proton Synchrotron.

Science.gov (United States)

Aza, Eleni; Caresana, Marco; Cassell, Christopher; Colombo, Valeria; Damjanovic, Sanja; Gilardoni, Simone; Manessi, Giacomo Paolo; Pangallo, Michel; Perrin, Daniel; Silari, Marco

2014-10-01

This paper discusses an intercomparison campaign carried out in several locations around the CERN Proton Synchrotron. The locations were selected in order to perform the measurements in different stray field conditions. Various neutron detectors were employed: ionisation chambers, conventional and extended range rem counters, both commercial and prototype ones, including a novel instrument called LUPIN, specifically conceived to work in pulsed fields. The attention was focused on the potential differences in the instrument readings due to dead-time losses that are expected to affect most commercial units. The results show that the ionisation chambers and LUPIN agree well with the expected H*(10) values, as derived from FLUKA simulations, showing no relevant underestimations even in strongly pulsed fields. On the contrary, the dead-time losses of the other rem counters induced an underestimation in pulsed fields that was more important for instruments characterised by a higher dead time. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The right to health of prisoners in international human rights law.

Science.gov (United States)

Lines, Rick

2008-01-01

This paper explores the health rights of prisoners as defined in international law, and the mechanisms that have been used to ensure the rights of persons in detention to realise the highest attainable standard of health. It examines this right as articulated within United Nations and regional human rights treaties, non-binding or so-called soft law instruments from international organisations and the jurisprudence of international human rights bodies. It explores the use of economic, social and cultural rights mechanisms, and those within civil and political rights, as they engage the right to health of prisoners, and identifies the minimum legal obligations of governments in order to remain compliant with human rights norms as defined within the international case law. In addressing these issues, this article adopts a holistic approach to the definition of the highest attainable standard of health. This includes a consideration of adequate standards of general medical care, including preventative health and mental health services. It also examines the question of environmental health, and those poor conditions of detention that may exacerbate health decline, disease transmission, mental illness or death. The paper examines the approach to prison health of the United Nations human rights system and its various monitoring bodies, as well as the regional human rights systems in Europe, Africa and the Americas. Based upon this analysis, the paper draws conclusions on the current fulfilment of the right to health of prisoners on an international scale, and proposes expanded mechanisms under the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment to monitor and promote the health rights of prisoners at the international and domestic levels.

Neglected Population, Neglected Right: Children Living with HIV and the Right to Science.

Science.gov (United States)

Scanlon, Michael L; MacNaughton, Gillian; Sprague, Courtenay

2017-12-01

The laws, language, and tools of human rights have been instrumental in expanding access to lifesaving treatment for people living with HIV. Children, however, remain a neglected population, as evidenced by inadequate child-specific and child-friendly HIV treatment options. In this article, we explore the right to science, a potentially powerful but underdeveloped right in international law, and its application to research and development for pediatric HIV treatment. Drawing on reports of human rights bodies and scholars and applying the human rights typology of state obligations to respect, protect, and fulfill, we argue that states have five core obligations related to research and development for child-specific and child-friendly treatment: (1) adopting a public goods approach to science and science policy; (2) including and protecting children in research activities; (3) adopting legal and policy frameworks to support research and development through public funding and private sector incentives; (4) promoting international cooperation and assistance; and (5) ensuring the participation of marginalized communities in decision-making processes. In concluding, we make a number of recommendations for states, human rights bodies, international organizations, civil society, and private industry to further develop and implement the right to science.

The human rights approach to climate change

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Toft, Kristian Høyer

2013-01-01

are instrumentally applied as a solution to what could be called the “justice problem” in climate negotiations. In order to assess the degree to which human rights could be a useful approach to the justice problem with regard to to climate change, four major issues need to be examined. First...... presently and in the future, needs to be elucidated, as well as (b) the human rights principles that are at stake, and (c) the duties and duty holders involved. Third, the human right to emit greenhouse gases needs to be clarified in the context of subsistence rights and equal per capita emission rights...

Electricity and long term supply security. Search for power market respectful legal instruments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Finon, D.; Pignon, V.

2006-01-01

This paper, also published in 'ISMEA Economie et Societe' Journal (Energy series 2006, no.10), deals with theoretical aspects of long term electricity supply security. Market prices and contractual arrangements on the physical and financial electricity markets do not allow to create sufficient incentives to invest in adequate capacity for guaranteeing the appropriate level of supply in every circumstance. The long term security of supply by capacity adequacy must be conceptualized as a collective good. Alternative solutions to reach capacity adequacy which have been adopted in different markets are successively considered: public procurement of strategic reserves, capacity payment, capacity obligation with exchangeable rights. Each one presents theoretical limits and practical drawbacks when implemented in complex markets. That brings out the interest of mechanism of centralized auctions for forward capacity contracts (or reliability options); it combines controls by quantity and by price while stabilizing investment in peak power plants and is compatible with energy and reserves markets, that is not the case of the three other instruments. (authors)

Template-Directed Instrumentation Reduces Cost and Improves Efficiency for Total Knee Arthroplasty: An Economic Decision Analysis and Pilot Study.

Science.gov (United States)

McLawhorn, Alexander S; Carroll, Kaitlin M; Blevins, Jason L; DeNegre, Scott T; Mayman, David J; Jerabek, Seth A

2015-10-01

Template-directed instrumentation (TDI) for total knee arthroplasty (TKA) may streamline operating room (OR) workflow and reduce costs by preselecting implants and minimizing instrument tray burden. A decision model simulated the economics of TDI. Sensitivity analyses determined thresholds for model variables to ensure TDI success. A clinical pilot was reviewed. The accuracy of preoperative templates was validated, and 20 consecutive primary TKAs were performed using TDI. The model determined that preoperative component size estimation should be accurate to ±1 implant size for 50% of TKAs to implement TDI. The pilot showed that preoperative template accuracy exceeded 97%. There were statistically significant improvements in OR turnover time and in-room time for TDI compared to an historical cohort of TKAs. TDI reduces costs and improves OR efficiency. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Instrument separation analysis of multi-used ProTaper Universal rotary system during root canal therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Jintao; Lei, Gang; Yan, Ming; Yu, Yan; Yu, Jinhua; Zhang, Guangdong

2011-06-01

The purpose of this study was to identify the influential factors responsible for clinical instrument separation of reused ProTaper Universal rotary instruments (Dentsply Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland). Six thousand one hundred fifty-four root canals in 2,654 teeth were prepared using ProTaper Universal files in endodontic clinics. Separation incidence was determined based on the number of treated teeth or canals. Data were collected including the size of fractured instrument, the length and location of a broken segment within the root canal, and the curvature of canal. The chi-square test and independent samples t test were used to determine the statistical significance. The overall instrument separation incidences were 2.6% according to the number of teeth and 1.1% according to the canal number, respectively. Separation incidences according to the number of teeth or canals were significantly higher (P molars than those in premolars or anterior teeth. Because of its largest diameter, F3 file presented the highest separation incidence according to the number of teeth (1.0%) or canals (0.4%); 47.5% instrument separation of mandibular molars and 61.5% instrument separation of maxillary molars happened in the mesiobuccal canals. Moreover, 91.4% fragments were located in the apical third of root canals, and 54.2% instrument separation occurred in severely curved canals. There was a significant difference (P < .05) in the mean fracture length between shaping (2.42 ± 0.73 mm) and finishing files (3.32 ± 0.73 mm). Separation incidence according to the canal number is more reliable than that according to the number of teeth because of the variable canal number in different teeth. The tooth type, rotary file size, canal location, and anatomy were correlated with the instrument separation of reused ProTaper Universal files. Copyright © 2011 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

CONSIDERATIONS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF OBSERVING HUMAN RIGHTS WITHIN EUROPEAN STATES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Isabela, STANCEA

2014-11-01

Full Text Available The detailed analysis of the institution of human rights and fundamental freedoms is necessary to know its role. The promotion of the human condition in the world leads to the innovative interpretation of this institution. The existence of so many international legal instruments aims towards a better protection of the human rights in contemporary society. The issue of human rights has occupied an important role within the states, human rights violations being a common concern, especially in the former communist states. The issue of human rights in Romania has emerged and developed very early. The changes made in Romania by the revolution of 22 December 1989 caused an intense process of amending the legislation in order to be correlated with the international standards. Within European states human rights observance has acquired great importance, a matter which will be emphasised in the future as well. The European Court of Human Rights ensures the guarantee of respecting human rights in Europe, having as legal instrument the European Convention on Human Rights.

Integrated human rights and poverty eradication strategy: the case of civil registration rights in Zimbabwe.

Science.gov (United States)

Musarandega, Reuben

2009-01-01

High poverty levels characterise sub-Saharan Africa, Zimbabwe included. Over 80 per cent of Zimbabwe's population lived below the total consumption poverty line and 70 per cent below the food poverty line in 2003. This plummeting of social indicators resulted from the freefall suffered by the country's economy from the 1990s, after unsuccessful attempts to implement structural adjustment programmes prescribed by international financial institutions. The ensuing socioeconomic decay, political crisis and international isolation of the country from the late 1990s reversed gains made in social indicators during the 1980s. Development theories attribute poverty to unchecked population growth, political, economic and environmental mismanagement, while developing countries' leaders attribute it to historical imbalances and global political and economic injustices. Despite this debate, poverty continues to evolve, expand and deepen and the need to eradicate it has become urgent. The complex question of what causes and what drives poverty is perpetually addressed and new ideas are emerging to answer the question. One recent view is that failure to centre development on people and to declare poverty a violation of human rights has allowed poverty to grow the world over. This study uses a hypothesised cause of poverty - civil registration - to exemplify the human right nature of poverty, and how a human rights' policy can be used as an instrument to eradicate poverty. The study demonstrates that civil registration is a right of instrumental relevance to poverty; and achieving civil registration grants people access to numerous other rights, some of which will lift them out of poverty, while the failure of civil registration deprives people of access to livelihoods, thereby entrenching them in poverty.

26 CFR 1.1274-1 - Debt instruments to which section 1274 applies.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... includes debt instruments and investment units, but does not include money, services, or the right to use... nonfunctional currency is treated as money rather than as property. (b) Exceptions—(1) Debt instrument with....1273-2. (3) Other exceptions to section 1274—(i) Holders of certain below-market instruments. Section...

Invited Commentary: Using Financial Credits as Instrumental Variables for Estimating the Causal Relationship Between Income and Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Pega, Frank

2016-05-01

Social epidemiologists are interested in determining the causal relationship between income and health. Natural experiments in which individuals or groups receive income randomly or quasi-randomly from financial credits (e.g., tax credits or cash transfers) are increasingly being analyzed using instrumental variable analysis. For example, in this issue of the Journal, Hamad and Rehkopf (Am J Epidemiol. 2016;183(9):775-784) used an in-work tax credit called the Earned Income Tax Credit as an instrument to estimate the association between income and child development. However, under certain conditions, the use of financial credits as instruments could violate 2 key instrumental variable analytic assumptions. First, some financial credits may directly influence health, for example, through increasing a psychological sense of welfare security. Second, financial credits and health may have several unmeasured common causes, such as politics, other social policies, and the motivation to maximize the credit. If epidemiologists pursue such instrumental variable analyses, using the amount of an unconditional, universal credit that an individual or group has received as the instrument may produce the most conceptually convincing and generalizable evidence. However, other natural income experiments (e.g., lottery winnings) and other methods that allow better adjustment for confounding might be more promising approaches for estimating the causal relationship between income and health. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Diabetes and quality of life: Comparing results from utility instruments and Diabetes-39.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Gang; Iezzi, Angelo; McKie, John; Khan, Munir A; Richardson, Jeff

2015-08-01

To compare the Diabetes-39 (D-39) with six multi-attribute utility (MAU) instruments (15D, AQoL-8D, EQ-5D, HUI3, QWB, and SF-6D), and to develop mapping algorithms which could be used to transform the D-39 scores into the MAU scores. Self-reported diabetes sufferers (N=924) and members of the healthy public (N=1760), aged 18 years and over, were recruited from 6 countries (Australia 18%, USA 18%, UK 17%, Canada 16%, Norway 16%, and Germany 15%). Apart from the QWB which was distributed normally, non-parametric rank tests were used to compare subgroup utilities and D-39 scores. Mapping algorithms were estimated using ordinary least squares (OLS) and generalised linear models (GLM). MAU instruments discriminated between diabetes patients and the healthy public; however, utilities varied between instruments. The 15D, SF-6D, AQoL-8D had the strongest correlations with the D-39. Except for the HUI3, there were significant differences by gender. Mapping algorithms based on the OLS estimator consistently gave better goodness-of-fit results. The mean absolute error (MAE) values ranged from 0.061 to 0.147, the root mean square error (RMSE) values 0.083 to 0.198, and the R-square statistics 0.428 and 0.610. Based on MAE and RMSE values the preferred mapping is D-39 into 15D. R-square statistics and the range of predicted utilities indicate the preferred mapping is D-39 into AQoL-8D. Utilities estimated from different MAU instruments differ significantly and the outcome of a study could depend upon the instrument used. The algorithms reported in this paper enable D-39 data to be mapped into utilities predicted from any of six instruments. This provides choice for those conducting cost-utility analyses. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Right to Information and Communication between Government and Citizens: Identifying Continuities and Discontinuities in the Practices of Turkey at the 10th Anniversary of the Law on Right to Information

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tuğba ASRAK HASDEMİR

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The right to information as a form of right to petition is one of the cornerstones in the formation of the modern constitutional state and has important ties with the freedom of thought and expression as well as citizens’ right to ask their administration to be accountable.In Turkey, the practices related with the right to information, as the instrument of making the acts and actions of the government “public”, came to the agenda on the eve of 2000s, became part of the national legislation, and as of 2015, we commemorated its 10th anniversary.In the article, the right to information practices will be analyzed by considering the first ten-year period of the practices in Turkey, and also regarding the worldwide experiences and discussions around the issue. The main aim of the study is to elaborate certain practices of the right to information, regulated in the legislation related with the Right to Information in Turkey, and problems encountered in the application process. Also this article will focus on the applications to the Council of Cassation of Right to Information in Turkey since this Council, like European Ombudsman, is the final authority to review the decisions related with partial or full refusal of the access to the information and documents. The last part of the article is reserved for the evaluations and recommendations on how the practices of right to information contributes to the interaction between citizens and the government and to revive public sphere in the case of Turkey.

Instrumental and sensory properties of pea protein-fortified extruded rice snacks.

Science.gov (United States)

Philipp, Claudia; Buckow, Roman; Silcock, Pat; Oey, Indrawati

2017-12-01

Characteristic attributes of pea-protein fortified, extruded rice snacks were evaluated by mechanical, acoustic and descriptive sensory analysis. The addition of pea protein isolate (0 to 45% (w/w)) to rice flour and extruder screw speed strongly affected the expansion behaviour and therefore, textural attributes of extruded snack products. The sensory panel described the texture of highly expanded extrudates as crisp, while low expanded extrudates were perceived as hard, crunchy and non-crisp. Results of the instrumental and sensory analysis were compared and showed a high correlation between mechanical and sensory hardness (r=0.98), as well as acoustic and sensory crispness (r=0.88). However, poor and/or negative correlations between acoustic and sensory hardness and crunchiness were observed (r=-0.35 and -0.84, respectively). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparison of cough reflex test against instrumental assessment of aspiration.

Science.gov (United States)

Miles, Anna; Moore, Sara; McFarlane, Mary; Lee, Fiona; Allen, Jacqueline; Huckabee, Maggie-Lee

2013-06-13

Silent aspiration is associated with pneumonia and mortality, and is poorly identified by traditional clinical swallowing evaluation (CSE). The aim of this study was to validate cough reflex testing (CRT) for identification of silent aspiration against aspiration confirmed by instrumental assessment. Cough reflex threshold testing was completed on all patients using inhaled, nebulised citric acid. Within an hour, 80 patients underwent videofluoroscopic study of swallowing (VFSS) and 101 patients underwent fibreoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES). All tests were recorded and analysed by two researchers blinded to the result of the alternate test. Significant associations between CRT result and cough response to aspiration on VFSS (X(2) (2)=11.046, p=.003) and FEES (X(2) (2)=34.079, pacid provide a better predictive measure of silent aspiration. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Influence of Cyclic Flexural Deformation on the Torsional Resistance of Controlled Memory and Conventional Nickel-titanium Instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Acosta, Eufemia Carolina Peláez; Resende, Pedro Damas; Peixoto, Isabella Faria da Cunha; Pereira, Érika Sales Joviano; Buono, Vicente Tadeu Lopes; Bahia, Maria Guiomar de Azevedo

2017-04-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of cyclic deformation on the torsional resistance of controlled memory (CM) nickel-titanium files in comparison with superelastic (SE) instruments with similar geometric and dimensional characteristics. New 30/.06 HyFlex (HF; Coltene/Whaledent, Inc, Cuyahoga Falls, OH), Typhoon (Clinician's Choice Dental Products, New Milford, CT), RaCe (FKG, La-Chaux De Fonds, Switzerland), and ProTaper Universal F2 instruments (F2; Dentsply Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland) were assessed. The diameter and pitch length were measured along the active part of the instruments. The number of cycles to failure (Nf) in flexural fatigue and the torsional resistance were evaluated for new files (n = 10). Ten new instruments of each type were fatigued to 3/4 of their fatigue life and then submitted to torsion until rupture. Data were analyzed using 1-way analysis of variance (α = .05). New CM files had a significantly higher Nf when compared with SE instruments; HF exhibited the highest value (P = .001). The mean torque value for F2 was the highest (P = .001). CM files precycled to 3/4 Nf had a significantly lower torque than the new files (HF: P = .003, Typhoon: P = .001), whereas the SE instruments displayed no significant differences (F2: P = .059, RaCe: P = .079). Cyclic flexural loading significantly reduced the torsional resistance of CM instruments. Copyright © 2016 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Human rights in patient care and public health-a common ground.

Science.gov (United States)

Peled-Raz, Maya

2017-01-01

Medical law and public health law have both served extensively as instruments of health protection and promotion-yet both are limited in their effect and scope and do not sufficiently cover nor supply a remedy to systematic, rather than anecdotal, mistreatments in the health care system. A possible solution to this deficiency may be found in the human rights in patient care legal approach. The concept of human rights in patient care is a reframing of international human rights law, as well as constitutional thought and tools, into a coherent approach aimed at the protection and furthering of both personal and communal health. It applies human rights discourse and human rights law onto the patient care setting while moving away from the narrow consumeristic view of health care delivery. By applying human rights in patient care approach, both national and international courts may and should serve as policy influencing instruments, protecting the rights of the most vulnerable and prejudiced against groups, which are want of a remedy through traditional patients' rights legal schemes.

The Importance of Social Movements in the Fight for the Women's Rights From the Incorporation of Speech of Human Rights

OpenAIRE

Souza, Luciana Correa

2016-01-01

This article aims to analyze the role of social movements in the struggle for women's rights. Initially, the historical origin of the gender term and its concept will be analyzed. Subsequently, the role of social movements for the development of international protection of human rights instruments will be reviewed. Finally, the role of social movements will be analyzed in the fight for women's rights in Brazil. From this study was concluded by the importance of social movements in the fight f...

Comparative analysis of torsional and bending behavior through finite-element models of 5 Ni-Ti endodontic instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Arbab-Chirani, Reza; Chevalier, Valérie; Arbab-Chirani, Shabnam; Calloch, Sylvain

2011-01-01

The objectives of this study were to compare numerically the bending and torsional mechanical behavior of 5 endodontic rotary Ni-Ti instruments with equivalent size and various designs for tapers, pitch, and cutting blades.First, the geometries of Hero (20/0.06), HeroShaper (20/0.06), ProFile (20/0.06), Mtwo (20/0.06), and ProTaper F1 were generated by finite element code. Then, the 2 most representative clinical loadings, i.e., bending and torsion, were studied with an ad hoc model for the superelasticity of Ni-Ti. Bending was generated by tip deflection and torsion by a constant twist-angle of the tip. Mechanical behavior of these 5 endodontic rotary Ni-Ti instruments could be evaluated and compared. Protaper F1 presented the greatest level of bending stress and torque. Hero and HeroShaper were more rigid than ProFile and Mtwo. This numerical comparison evaluated the effects of the geometrical parameters on the instrumental mechanical behavior. The 5 endodontic instruments, investigated in the present study, do not have the same bending and torsional mechanical behavior. Each clinician must be aware of these behavior differences so as to use the adequate file according to the clinical situation and to the manufacturer's recommendations. Copyright © 2011 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Validity and reliability of the Mastication Observation and Evaluation (MOE) instrument.

Science.gov (United States)

Remijn, Lianne; Speyer, Renée; Groen, Brenda E; van Limbeek, Jacques; Nijhuis-van der Sanden, Maria W G

2014-07-01

The Mastication Observation and Evaluation (MOE) instrument was developed to allow objective assessment of a child's mastication process. It contains 14 items and was developed over three Delphi rounds. The present study concerns the further development of the MOE using the COSMIN (Consensus based Standard for the Selection of Measurement Instruments) and investigated the instrument's internal consistency, inter-observer reliability, construct validity and floor and ceiling effects. Consumption of three bites of bread and biscuit was evaluated using the MOE. Data of 59 healthy children (6-48 mths) and 38 children (bread) and 37 children (biscuit) with cerebral palsy (24-72 mths) were used. Four items were excluded before analysis due to zero variance. Principal Components Analysis showed one factor with 8 items. Internal consistency was >0.70 (Chronbach's alpha) for both food consistencies and for both groups of children. Inter-observer reliability varied from 0.51 to 0.98 (weighted Gwet's agreement coefficient). The total MOE scores for both groups showed normal distribution for the population. There were no floor or ceiling effects. The revised MOE now contains 8 items that (a) have a consistent concept for mastication and can be scored on a 4-point scale with sufficient reliability and (b) are sensitive to stages of chewing development in young children. The removed items are retained as part of a criterion referenced list within the MOE. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Application of non-destructive impedance-based monitoring technique for cyclic fatigue evaluation of endodontic nickel-titanium rotary instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Yau-Zen; Liu, Mou-Chuan; Pai, Che-An; Lin, Chun-Li; Yen, Kuang-I

2011-06-01

This study investigates the application of non-destructive testing based on the impedance theory in the cyclic fatigue evaluation of endodontic Ni-Ti rotary instruments. Fifty Ni-Ti ProTaper instruments were divided into five groups (n=10 in Groups A to E). Groups A to D were subjected to cyclic fatigue within an artificial canal (Group E was the control group). The mean value of the total life limit (TLL), defined as the instrument being rotated until fracture occurred was found to be 104 s in Group A. Each rotary instrument in Groups B, C and D were rotated until the tested instruments reached 80% (84 s), 60% (62 s) and 40% (42 s) of the TLL. After fatigue testing, each rotary instrument was mounted onto a custom-developed non-destructive testing device to give the tip of the instrument a progressive sideways bend in four mutually perpendicular directions to measure the corresponding impedance value (including the resistance and the reactance). The results indicated that the impedance value showed the same trend as the resistance, implying that the impedance was primarily affected by the resistance. The impedance value for the instruments in the 80% and 60% TLL groups increased by about 6 mΩ (about 7.5%) more than that of the instruments in the intact and 40% TLL groups. The SEM analysis result showed that crack striations were only found at the tip of the thread on the cracked surface of the instrument, consistent with the impedance measurements that found the impedance value of the cracked surface to be significantly different from those in other surfaces. These findings indicate that the impedance value may represent an effective parameter for evaluating the micro-structural status of Ni-Ti rotary instruments subjected to fatigue loading. Copyright © 2010 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sexual rights as human rights: a guide to authoritative sources and principles for applying human rights to sexuality and sexual health.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Alice M; Kismödi, Eszter; Cottingham, Jane; Gruskin, Sofia

2015-11-01

This Guide seeks to provide insight and resources to actors interested in the development of rights claims around sexuality and sexual health. After engaging with the vexed question of the scope of sexual rights, it explores the rules and principles governing the way in which human rights claims are developed and applied to sexuality and sexual health, and how that development is linked to law and made a matter of state obligation. This understanding is critical to policy and programming in sexual health and rights, as it supports calling on the relevant range of human rights, such as privacy, non-discrimination, health or other universally accepted human rights, as well as demanding the action of states under their international and national law obligations to support sexual health. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Biosphere reserves: Attributes for success.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Cuong, Chu; Dart, Peter; Hockings, Marc

2017-03-01

Biosphere reserves established under the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Program aim to harmonise biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. Concerns over the extent to which the reserve network was living up to this ideal led to the development of a new strategy in 1995 (the Seville Strategy) to enhance the operation of the network of reserves. An evaluation of effectiveness of management of the biosphere reserve network was called for as part of this strategy. Expert opinion was assembled through a Delphi Process to identify successful and less successful reserves and investigate common factors influencing success or failure. Ninety biosphere reserves including sixty successful and thirty less successful reserves in 42 countries across all five Man and the Biosphere Program regions were identified. Most successful sites are the post-Seville generation while the majority of unsuccessful sites are pre-Seville that are managed as national parks and have not been amended to conform to the characteristics that are meant to define a biosphere reserve. Stakeholder participation and collaboration, governance, finance and resources, management, and awareness and communication are the most influential factors in the success or failure of the biosphere reserves. For success, the biosphere reserve concept needs to be clearly understood and applied through landscape zoning. Designated reserves then need a management system with inclusive good governance, strong participation and collaboration, adequate finance and human resource allocation and stable and responsible management and implementation. All rather obvious but it is difficult to achieve without commitment to the biosphere reserve concept by the governance authorities. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparison of two techniques for assessing the shaping efficacy of repeatedly used nickel-titanium rotary instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Ounsi, Hani F; Franciosi, Giovanni; Paragliola, Raffaele; Al-Hezaimi, Khalid; Salameh, Ziad; Tay, Franklin R; Ferrari, Marco; Grandini, Simone

2011-06-01

The shaping capacity of nickel-titanium (NiTi) rotary instruments is often assessed by photographic or micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) measurements, and these instruments are often used more than once clinically. This study was conducted to compare photographic and micro-CT measurements and to assess if the repeated use of NiTi instruments affected the shape of canal preparation. Ten new sets of ProTaper Universal instruments (Dentsply-Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland) were used in 60 resin blocks simulating curved root canals. Groups 1 to 6 (n=10) represented the first to sixth use of the instrument, respectively. Digitized images of the prepared blocks were taken in both mesiodistal (MD) and buccolingual (BL) directions and area measurements (mm(2)) were calculated using AutoCAD (Autodesk Inc, San Rafael, CA). The volumes of the same prepared canals were measured using micro-CT (mm(3)). Statistical analysis was performed to detect differences between photographic and volumetric measurements and differences between uses. Two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance revealed significant differences between groups (P < .001). Regarding measurement type, there were no significant differences between BL and MD measurements, but there were significant differences between micro-CT and BL measurements (P < .001) and micro-CT and MD measurements (P=.001). Significant differences were also noted between uses. Within the limitations of the present study, micro-CT scanning is more discriminative of the changes in canal space associated with repeated instrument use than photographic measurements. Canal preparations are significantly smaller after the third use of the same instrument. Copyright © 2011 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effect of corruption on healthcare satisfaction in post-soviet nations: A cross-country instrumental variable analysis of twelve countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Habibov, Nazim

2016-03-01

There is the lack of consensus about the effect of corruption on healthcare satisfaction in transitional countries. Interpreting the burgeoning literature on this topic has proven difficult due to reverse causality and omitted variable bias. In this study, the effect of corruption on healthcare satisfaction is investigated in a set of 12 Post-Socialist countries using instrumental variable regression on the sample of 2010 Life in Transition survey (N = 8655). The results indicate that experiencing corruption significantly reduces healthcare satisfaction. Copyright © 2016 The Author. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

How to investigate the goal orientations of students in competence-based pre-vocational secondary education: choosing the right instrument.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dr. M. Koopman; prof dr Douwe Beijaard; Dr P.J. Teune

2008-01-01

This study explores the psychometric properties of three instruments: a semi-structured interview, a questionnaire and a sorting task. The central question is which instrument is most suitable to investigate the goal orientations of students in competence-based Pre-Vocational Secondary Education.

Pressure ulcers: development and psychometric evaluation of the attitude towards pressure ulcer prevention instrument (APuP).

Science.gov (United States)

Beeckman, D; Defloor, T; Demarré, L; Van Hecke, A; Vanderwee, K

2010-11-01

Pressure ulcers continue to be a significant problem in hospitals, nursing homes and community care settings. Pressure ulcer incidence is widely accepted as an indicator for the quality of care. Negative attitudes towards pressure ulcer prevention may result in suboptimal preventive care. A reliable and valid instrument to assess attitudes towards pressure ulcer prevention is lacking. Development and psychometric evaluation of the Attitude towards Pressure ulcer Prevention instrument (APuP). Prospective psychometric instrument validation study. A literature review was performed to design the instrument. Content validity was evaluated by nine European pressure ulcer experts and five experts in psychometric instrument validation in a double Delphi procedure. A convenience sample of 258 nurses and 291 nursing students from Belgium and The Netherlands participated in order to evaluate construct validity and stability reliability of the instrument. The data were collected between February and May 2008. A factor analysis indicated the construct of a 13 item instrument in a five factor solution: (1) attitude towards personal competency to prevent pressure ulcers (three items); (2) attitude towards the priority of pressure ulcer prevention (three items); (3) attitude towards the impact of pressure ulcers (three items); (4) attitude towards personal responsibility in pressure ulcer prevention (two items); and (5) attitude towards confidence in the effectiveness of prevention (two items). This five factor solution accounted for 61.4% of the variance in responses related to attitudes towards pressure ulcer prevention. All items demonstrated factor loadings over 0.60. The instrument produced similar results during stability testing [ICC=0.88 (95% CI=0.84-0.91, Ppressure ulcer prevention in patient care, education, and research. In further research, the association between attitude, knowledge and clinical performance should be explored. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights

Demand for Reserves and the Central Bank's Management of Interest Rates

OpenAIRE

Martin Schlegel; Sébastien Kraenzlin

2009-01-01

The implementation of monetary policy is prevalently done by interest rate targeting with a short term market rate serving as operational target. The instruments for achieving the operational target are the provision of reserves and the interest rate charged in these transactions. This paper presents a model for the estimation of the demand curve for reserves, derived from the central bank's fixed rate tender auction and the interbank money market. Using data from Switzerland, the slope of th...

Management of broken instrument by file bypass technique

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sultana Parveen

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Different devices and techniques have been developed to retrieve fractured instruments during the endodontic procedures. This case report describes the management of a broken instrument, which was accidentally broken during cleaning and shaping of the root canal in right 2nd molar tooth. A # 25 stainless steel K-file was separated in mesiobuccal canal of the treated tooth. At first, a radiograph was taken to confirm the level of separation of the instrument. The instrument was found to be separated at the apical 3rd of the mesial canal and then file bypass technique was performed. Calcium hydroxide dressing was given for 7 days followed by obturation with guttapercha cone and zinc oxide eugenol sealer in lateral condensation technique. It can be concluded that bypass technique can be considered as simple and effective technique for the management of broken instrument into the root canal.

Children's rights and school psychology: children's right to participation.

Science.gov (United States)

Lansdown, Gerison; Jimerson, Shane R; Shahroozi, Reza

2014-02-01

The Convention on the Rights of the Child detailed an international imperative to fulfilling, protecting, and respecting the rights of every child. In particular, the Convention set out a clear mandate for guaranteeing opportunities for children to be heard on all matters of concern to them. The attainment of these goals involves respecting and valuing children as active participants in the educational process. If fully implemented, the right of children to express views and have them taken seriously, throughout the school environment, would represent one of the most profound transformations in moving towards a culture of respect for children's rights, for their dignity and citizenship, and for their capacities to contribute significantly towards their own well-being. These values and principles are consistent with those of the school psychology profession, thus, school psychologists are encouraged to be at the Center of the process advocating and actualizing the Convention in schools throughout the world. Copyright © 2014 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Real charge according to the current Serbian Draft Law on property rights and other real rights

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vujović Dragana

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Within reforms of loan security instruments law, Serbian Draft Law on Property Rights and Other Real Rights demonstrates interest for introducing new forms of non-accessory security rights. Real charge is a new institute in our legislation. It is a kind of real right on immovable thing that is regulated after the model of the German and Swiss laws, and which is in practice mostly used to secure a receivable, so that it is, to an extent, a personal hypothec. The most important reason for introduction of this institute into the Law was to allow for a security right on immovables that is more flexible than the accessorial hypothec, thus creating the environment conducive for the development of the secondary market of real loans, facilitating refinancing, and allowing for the extension of the offer of bank products with the reduction of transaction costs.

Smarter by Degrees. Towards new instruments for energy conservation policy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2006-11-15

Achieving the government's ambition of 1.5 to 2% energy savings annually will require every effort to be made. Households, small and medium-sized businesses, government and semi-governmental institutions (energy-extensive energy consumers) will also be able to make an important contribution. This group represents considerable savings potential of about 300 PJ. There are three types of instruments that may be used for this group to achieve the desired goal (1) obligation/prohibition, i.e., regulations and standards to demand energy efficient investments (construction, facilities, equipment, etc.); (2) price incentives (subsidies/taxes) to promote energy-efficient solutions; (3)enticement/influence, appealing to reason (information, arguments) or emotion to promote the right choice/behaviour. Analysis of past experiences presents the conclusion that so-called soft instruments are sometimes briefly effective but often have little or no effect. The Council believes, however, that such a conclusion is premature, as certain conditions were not met in the past that were very important to effectiveness. First, soft instruments must be implemented consistently and over the long term (about 4 years, at least). Appealing to the very diverse consumers also requires a custom approach. The tone of the conservation policy must also be more in tune with changing trends in society. Citizens must especially be appealed to in terms of cost advantages, responsible energy consumption (good housekeeping) and comfort, whereas the emphasis in the past lay on decency, solidarity and thrift. Specific action perspectives must also be offered. Partly on the basis of experience, such as in waste collection, the Council concludes that a well-assembled mix of soft and hard instruments will be necessary to encourage energy conservation. It is clear that soft instruments alone can be expected to produce unsatisfactory results. Therefore, a combination of soft and hard instruments is advocated

Scientific instruments, scientific progress and the cyclotron

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baird, David; Faust, Thomas

1990-01-01

Philosophers speak of science in terms of theory and experiment, yet when they speak of the progress of scientific knowledge they speak in terms of theory alone. In this article it is claimed that scientific knowledge consists of, among other things, scientific instruments and instrumental techniques and not simply of some kind of justified beliefs. It is argued that one aspect of scientific progress can be characterized relatively straightforwardly - the accumulation of new scientific instruments. The development of the cyclotron is taken to illustrate this point. Eight different activities which promoted the successful completion of the cyclotron are recognised. The importance is in the machine rather than the experiments which could be run on it and the focus is on how the cyclotron came into being, not how it was subsequently used. The completed instrument is seen as a useful unit of scientific progress in its own right. (UK)

Screening for frailty in community-dwelling elderly subjects: Predictive validity of the modified SEGA instrument.

Science.gov (United States)

Oubaya, N; Dramé, M; Novella, J-L; Quignard, E; Cunin, C; Jolly, D; Mahmoudi, R

2017-11-01

To study the capacity of the SEGAm instrument to predict loss of independence among elderly community-dwelling subjects. The study was performed in four French departments (Ardennes, Marne, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse). Subjects aged 65 years or more, living at home, who could read and understand French, with a degree of autonomy corresponding to groups 5 or 6 in the AGGIR autonomy evaluation scale were included. Assessment included demographic characteristics, comprehensive geriatric assessment, and the SEGAm instrument at baseline. Subjects had follow-up visits at home at 6 and 12 months. During follow-up, vital status and level of independence were recorded. Logistic regression was used to study predictive validity of the SEGAm instrument. Among the 116 subjects with complete follow-up, 84 (72.4%) were classed as not very frail at baseline, 23 (19.8%) as frail, and 9 (7.8%) as very frail; 63 (54.3%) suffered loss of at least one ADL or IADL at 12 months. By multivariable analysis, frailty status at baseline was significantly associated with loss of independence during the 12 months of follow-up (OR=4.52, 95% CI=1.40-14.68; p=0.01). We previously validated the SEGAm instrument in terms of feasibility, acceptability, internal structure validity, reliability, and discriminant validity. This instrument appears to be a suitable tool for screening frailty among community-dwelling elderly subjects, and could be used as a basis to plan early targeted interventions for subjects at risk of adverse outcome. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Freeman's transorbital lobotomy as an anomaly: A material culture examination of surgical instruments and operative spaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Collins, Brianne M; Stam, Henderikus J

2015-05-01

In 1946, Walter Freeman introduced the transorbital ice pick lobotomy. Touted as a procedure that could be learned and subsequently performed by psychiatrists outside of the operating room, the technique was quickly criticized by neurosurgeons. In this article, we take a material culture approach to consider 2 grounds upon which neurosurgeons based their objections-surgical instruments and operative spaces. On both counts, Freeman was in contravention of established normative neurosurgical practices and, ultimately, his technique was exposed as an anomaly by neurosurgeons. Despite its rejection, the transorbital lobotomy became entrenched in contemporary memory and remains the emblematic procedure of the psychosurgery era. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Job demands and job strain as risk factors for employee wellbeing in elderly care: an instrumental-variables analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Elovainio, Marko; Heponiemi, Tarja; Kuusio, Hannamaria; Jokela, Markus; Aalto, Anna-Mari; Pekkarinen, Laura; Noro, Anja; Finne-Soveri, Harriet; Kivimäki, Mika; Sinervo, Timo

2015-02-01

The association between psychosocial work environment and employee wellbeing has repeatedly been shown. However, as environmental evaluations have typically been self-reported, the observed associations may be attributable to reporting bias. Applying instrumental-variable regression, we used staffing level (the ratio of staff to residents) as an unconfounded instrument for self-reported job demands and job strain to predict various indicators of wellbeing (perceived stress, psychological distress and sleeping problems) among 1525 registered nurses, practical nurses and nursing assistants working in elderly care wards. In ordinary regression, higher self-reported job demands and job strain were associated with increased risk of perceived stress, psychological distress and sleeping problems. The effect estimates for the associations of these psychosocial factors with perceived stress and psychological distress were greater, but less precisely estimated, in an instrumental-variables analysis which took into account only the variation in self-reported job demands and job strain that was explained by staffing level. No association between psychosocial factors and sleeping problems was observed with the instrumental-variable analysis. These results support a causal interpretation of high self-reported job demands and job strain being risk factors for employee wellbeing. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

Legal Provisions, Discrimination and Uncertainty on LGBT community in Albania. Laws on human rights vs exerted rights of LGBT persons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Urjana Curi

2018-03-01

On March 13, 2010, the Anti-Discrimination Law, one of the essential legal instruments that protects human rights in Albania, and also includes the prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, came into force. Albania has already the Commissioner for Protection from Discrimination. Two LGBT organizations have already been established in Albania: the Alliance against Discrimination LGBT and LGBT Pro Albania. They aim to protect the rights of sexual minorities in Albania and promote a national movement of social mobilization to protect and promote the rights of this community in Albania

Cross-cultural feigning assessment: A systematic review of feigning instruments used with linguistically, ethnically, and culturally diverse samples.

Science.gov (United States)

Nijdam-Jones, Alicia; Rosenfeld, Barry

2017-11-01

The cross-cultural validity of feigning instruments and cut-scores is a critical concern for forensic mental health clinicians. This systematic review evaluated feigning classification accuracy and effect sizes across instruments and languages by summarizing 45 published peer-reviewed articles and unpublished doctoral dissertations conducted in Europe, Asia, and North America using linguistically, ethnically, and culturally diverse samples. The most common psychiatric symptom measures used with linguistically, ethnically, and culturally diverse samples included the Structured Inventory of Malingered Symptomatology, the Miller Forensic Assessment of Symptoms Test, and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). The most frequently studied cognitive effort measures included the Word Recognition Test, the Test of Memory Malingering, and the Rey 15-item Memory test. The classification accuracy of these measures is compared and the implications of this research literature are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Procedural abortion rights: Ireland and the European Court of Human Rights.

Science.gov (United States)

Erdman, Joanna N

2014-11-01

The Irish Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act seeks to clarify the legal ground for abortion in cases of risk to life, and to create procedures to regulate women's access to services under it. This article explores the new law as the outcome of an international human rights litigation strategy premised on state duties to implement abortion laws through clear standards and procedural safeguards. It focuses specifically on the Irish law reform and the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, including A. B. and C. v. Ireland (2010). The article examines how procedural rights at the international level can engender domestic law reform that limits or expands women's access to lawful abortion services, serving conservative or progressive ends. Copyright © 2014 Reproductive Health Matters. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The dilemma of contact: voluntary isolation and the impacts of gas exploitation on health and rights in the Kugapakori Nahua Reserve, Peruvian Amazon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Napolitano, Dora A; Ryan, Aliya S S

2007-01-01

Many small groups of indigenous peoples in the Amazon basin avoid and resist direct encounters with outsiders. As far as we know, they do so because of appalling experiences in earlier encounters with national society. When contacted today, they are extremely vulnerable to introduced diseases and exploitation. In this paper we draw on our experience in the Kugapakori Nahua Reserve for isolated peoples in SE Peru to discuss some of the current debates about whether isolated peoples should be contacted and how best to respect their right to life, health, autonomy and territory. The remote headwater regions where isolated peoples sought refuge during the last century are increasingly sought after for resource extraction. In particular, the extraction of oil and gas is increasing throughout the Peruvian Amazon. In the second part of the paper we give some examples of how oil/gas companies and the energy sector in Peru have affected the well-being of the peoples in this reserve in the 21st century. If this trend is not reversed the impacts for isolated peoples will be irreparable

The dilemma of contact: voluntary isolation and the impacts of gas exploitation on health and rights in the Kugapakori Nahua Reserve, Peruvian Amazon

Science.gov (United States)

Napolitano, Dora A.; Ryan, Aliya S. S.

2007-10-01

Many small groups of indigenous peoples in the Amazon basin avoid and resist direct encounters with outsiders. As far as we know, they do so because of appalling experiences in earlier encounters with national society. When contacted today, they are extremely vulnerable to introduced diseases and exploitation. In this paper we draw on our experience in the Kugapakori Nahua Reserve for isolated peoples in SE Peru to discuss some of the current debates about whether isolated peoples should be contacted and how best to respect their right to life, health, autonomy and territory. The remote headwater regions where isolated peoples sought refuge during the last century are increasingly sought after for resource extraction. In particular, the extraction of oil and gas is increasing throughout the Peruvian Amazon. In the second part of the paper we give some examples of how oil/gas companies and the energy sector in Peru have affected the well-being of the peoples in this reserve in the 21st century. If this trend is not reversed the impacts for isolated peoples will be irreparable.

The concept of gender justice and women's rights in Nigeria ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The rapid ascendancy of human rights in Nigeria, coupled with Nigeria's prominent role as a signatory to virtually all the core international human right treaties and instruments raised expectations that women in Nigeria may begin to enjoy some measure of protection from archaic and anachronistic practices that subject ...

Reserve selection with land market feedbacks.

Science.gov (United States)

Butsic, Van; Lewis, David J; Radeloff, Volker C

2013-01-15

How to best site reserves is a leading question for conservation biologists. Recently, reserve selection has emphasized efficient conservation: maximizing conservation goals given the reality of limited conservation budgets, and this work indicates that land market can potentially undermine the conservation benefits of reserves by increasing property values and development probabilities near reserves. Here we propose a reserve selection methodology which optimizes conservation given both a budget constraint and land market feedbacks by using a combination of econometric models along with stochastic dynamic programming. We show that amenity based feedbacks can be accounted for in optimal reserve selection by choosing property price and land development models which exogenously estimate the effects of reserve establishment. In our empirical example, we use previously estimated models of land development and property prices to select parcels to maximize coarse woody debris along 16 lakes in Vilas County, WI, USA. Using each lake as an independent experiment, we find that including land market feedbacks in the reserve selection algorithm has only small effects on conservation efficacy. Likewise, we find that in our setting heuristic (minloss and maxgain) algorithms perform nearly as well as the optimal selection strategy. We emphasize that land market feedbacks can be included in optimal reserve selection; the extent to which this improves reserve placement will likely vary across landscapes. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Human Rights Education in Israel: Four Types of Good Citizenship

Science.gov (United States)

Agbaria, Ayman K.; Katz-Pade, Revital

2016-01-01

This article examines the involvement of civil society organizations in human rights education (HRE) in Israel. Focussing on the educational programs of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), as a qualitative instrumental case study, this article examines the conceptions of good citizenship embedded in these programs. Specifically, the…

Solvent Front Position Extraction procedure with thin-layer chromatography as a mode of multicomponent sample preparation for quantitative analysis by instrumental technique.

Science.gov (United States)

Klimek-Turek, A; Sikora, E; Dzido, T H

2017-12-29

A concept of using thin-layer chromatography to multicomponent sample preparation for quantitative determination of solutes followed by instrumental technique is presented. Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) is used to separate chosen substances and their internal standard from other components (matrix) and to form a single spot/zone containing them at the solvent front position. The location of the analytes and internal standard in the solvent front zone allows their easy extraction followed by quantitation by HPLC. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Effect of Birth Weight on Academic Performance: Instrumental Variable Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Shi Lin; Leung, Gabriel Matthew; Schooling, C Mary

2017-05-01

Observationally, lower birth weight is usually associated with poorer academic performance; whether this association is causal or the result of confounding is unknown. To investigate this question, we obtained an effect estimate, which can have a causal interpretation under specific assumptions, of birth weight on educational attainment using instrumental variable analysis based on single nucleotide polymorphisms determining birth weight combined with results from the Social Science Genetic Association Consortium study of 126,559 Caucasians. We similarly obtained an estimate of the effect of birth weight on academic performance in 4,067 adolescents from Hong Kong's (Chinese) Children of 1997 birth cohort (1997-2016), using twin status as an instrumental variable. Birth weight was not associated with years of schooling (per 100-g increase in birth weight, -0.006 years, 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.02, 0.01) or college completion (odds ratio = 1.00, 95% CI: 0.96, 1.03). Birth weight was also unrelated to academic performance in adolescents (per 100-g increase in birth weight, -0.004 grade, 95% CI: -0.04, 0.04) using instrumental variable analysis, although conventional regression gave a small positive association (0.02 higher grade, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.03). Observed associations of birth weight with academic performance may not be causal, suggesting that interventions should focus on the contextual factors generating this correlation. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

A validation study of the Keyboard Personal Computer Style instrument (K-PeCS) for use with children.

Science.gov (United States)

Green, Dido; Meroz, Anat; Margalit, Adi Edit; Ratzon, Navah Z

2012-11-01

This study examines a potential instrument for measurement of typing postures of children. This paper describes inter-rater, test-retest reliability and concurrent validity of the Keyboard Personal Computer Style instrument (K-PeCS), an observational measurement of postures and movements during keyboarding, for use with children. Two trained raters independently rated videos of 24 children (aged 7-10 years). Six children returned one week later for identifying test-retest reliability. Concurrent validity was assessed by comparing ratings obtained using the K-PECS to scores from a 3D motion analysis system. Inter-rater reliability was moderate to high for 12 out of 16 items (Kappa: 0.46 to 1.00; correlation coefficients: 0.77-0.95) and test-retest reliability varied across items (Kappa: 0.25 to 0.67; correlation coefficients: r = 0.20 to r = 0.95). Concurrent validity compared favourably across arm pathlength, wrist extension and ulnar deviation. In light of the limitations of other tools the K-PeCS offers a fairly affordable, reliable and valid instrument to address the gap for measurement of typing styles of children, despite the shortcomings of some items. However further research is required to refine the instrument for use in evaluating typing among children. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Development of an instrument to assess the health related quality of life of kidney stone formers.

Science.gov (United States)

Penniston, Kristina L; Nakada, Stephen Y

2013-03-01

Urolithiasis is associated with pain and other decreases in health related quality of life, yet there is no urolithiasis specific instrument to measure quality of life. Quality of life is an important end point in the management of urolithiasis. Therefore, we developed the Wisconsin StoneQOL, a disease specific instrument to assess the quality of life of patients with urolithiasis. Patients and urology providers identified important concepts related to quality of life of stone formers in groups and in individual cognitive interviews. Patients were recurrent stone formers including those with and those without current stones. A preliminary instrument was created, followed by patient feedback and item reduction. A 28-question instrument was ultimately developed which was tested for reliability as well as internal face, construct and discriminant validity in 248 stone formers. The internal consistency (for questions within domains) was high (mean Cronbach's α = 0.81). Correlation between domains was confirmed (Cronbach's α = 0.86). Discriminant validity was shown as stone formers with current stones scored lower than those who were stone-free. Among patients with active stones, those with symptoms scored lower on most questions and for the total score (p instrument that captures the unique symptoms and challenges associated with urolithiasis. As such, the Wisconsin StoneQOL is capable of assessing the health related quality of life of stone formers at various points along the disease continuum. Future assessment will establish minimal clinically important differences for use in individual patients. Copyright © 2013 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sexual and reproductive health and rights of older men and women: addressing a policy blind spot.

Science.gov (United States)

Aboderin, Isabella

2014-11-01

Global debate on required policy responses to issues of older persons has intensified over the past 15 years, fuelled by a growing awareness of the rapid ageing of populations. Health has been a central focus, but scrutiny of global policies, human rights instruments and reports reveals that just as older people are excluded from sexual and reproductive health and rights agendas, so are issues of sexual and reproductive health and rights wholly marginal to current agendas focused on older people. A critical question is whether the policy lacuna reflects a dearth of research evidence or a faulty translation of existing knowledge. A reading of the current research landscape and literature, summarised in this paper, strongly suggests it is the former. To be sure, sexuality in old age is a burgeoning field of scientific inquiry. What the existing knowledge and discourse fail to provide is an engagement with, and elucidation of, the broader sexual and reproductive health and rights agenda as it relates to older persons. A concerted research effort is needed to provide a basis for developing policy guidance and for pinpointing essential indicators and establishing necessary data systems to enable a routine tracking of progress. Copyright © 2014 Reproductive Health Matters. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Children's judgments about ownership rights and body rights: Evidence for a common basis.

Science.gov (United States)

Van de Vondervoort, Julia W; Meinz, Paul; Friedman, Ori

2017-03-01

We report two experiments supporting the theory that children's understanding of ownership rights is related to their notions of body rights. Experiment 1 investigated 4- to 7-year-olds' (N=123) developing sensitivity to physical contact in their judgments about the acceptability of behaving in relation to owned objects and body parts. Experiment 2 used a simpler design to investigate this in 3- and 4-year-olds (N=112). Findings confirmed two predictions of the theory. First, in both experiments, children's judgments about ownership and body rights were similarly affected by physical contact. Second, judgments about both kinds of rights were yoked in development; age-related changes in judgments about ownership rights were paralleled by changes in judgments about body rights. Our findings have additional import for theories of ownership rights because they suggest that physical contact may be a crucial factor in whether behaviors targeting property are judged to be permissible. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Development and validation of an instrument to assess future orientation and resilience in adolescence.

Science.gov (United States)

Di Maggio, Ilaria; Ginevra, Maria Cristina; Nota, Laura; Soresi, Salvatore

2016-08-01

The study is aimed at providing the development and initial validation of the Design My Future (DMF), which may be administered in career counseling and research activities to assess adolescents' future orientation and resilience. Two studies with two independent samples of Italian adolescents were conducted to examine psychometric requisites of DMF. Specifically, in the first study, after developing items and examined the content validity, the factorial structure, reliability and discriminant validity of the DMF were tested. In the second study, the measurement invariance across gender, conducing a sequence of nested CFA models, was evaluated. Results showed good psychometric support for the instrument with Italian adolescents. Copyright © 2016 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Right to Education in the International Regulations on Protection of Human Rights and its regulation in the National Legal System : Preliminary Analysis from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Creusa de Araújo Borges

2016-05-01

Full Text Available We examine, in this article, the question of the right to education, from the Univer- sal Declaration of Human Rights (1948 and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966. In the Brazilian national law, they are analyzed the Federal Constitution of 1988 and the Law of Guidelines and Bases of National Educa- tion, 1996, regarding the regulation of education matter, in coordination with the inter- national instruments in question. It is noteworthy that the regulation of the matter at the national level, is influenced by the recognition of this right in international norms, but advances in the recognition of the right to higher education of marginalized social groups, expanding the mandatory gratuity and beyond elementary school because in the Brazilian case, basic education is compulsory and the principle of free governs the entire education system in official establishments. Set up in this way, the existence of an essential core regarding the right to education, which is fully chargeable.

HIPAA's Individual Right of Access to Genomic Data: Reconciling Safety and Civil Rights.

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Barbara J

2018-01-04

In 2014, the United States granted individuals a right of access to their own laboratory test results, including genomic data. Many observers feel that this right is in tension with regulatory and bioethical standards designed to protect the safety of people who undergo genomic testing. This commentary attributes this tension to growing pains within an expanding federal regulatory program for genetic and genomic testing. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 expanded the regulatory agenda to encompass civil rights and consumer safety. The individual access right, as it applies to genomic data, is best understood as a civil-rights regulation. Competing regulatory objectives-safety and civil rights-were not successfully integrated during the initial rollout of genomic civil-rights regulations after 2008. Federal law clarifies how to prioritize safety and civil rights when the two come into conflict, although with careful policy design, the two need not collide. This commentary opens a dialog about possible solutions to advance safety and civil rights together. Copyright © 2017 American Society of Human Genetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Review of the LHC Beam Instrumentation

CERN Document Server

Fischer, Cl

1998-01-01

This is a review of the diagnostics presently considered for LHC running in and operation. The purpose of each instrument is given and, except for the pick-ups of the Beam Position Monitoring system w hich have their position already reserved, the optimal location and an estimate of the required length along the vacuum chamber are given.

Instruments of the Money Market. Fourth Edition.

Science.gov (United States)

Cook, Timothy Q., Ed.

This booklet is a compilation of articles on money market instruments which were published in the "Monthly Review" of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond from 1964-1967. They have been revised to include recent changes in the various markets, as well as to reflect currently applicable laws and regulations. The articles are titled: The Money…

The Role of Social Assistance on Effectiveness of Social Rights

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

João Guilherme Sampaio dos Anjos

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The social assistance has intrinsic historical, legal and political relationship to social rights. Fundamental rights have assumed a legal-constitutional role since the mid-twentieth century. Through historical and doctrinal review of fundamental rights and social welfare, the identification of legal frameworks and institutional instruments of social assistance that demonstrate their ability to contribute to the realization of social rights and the problem of realization of social rights, social assistance seems to be able to play a prominent role as a public policy that helps to point out a solution to the problem of lack of effectiveness of social rights.

Right to Inclusive Education for Students with Disabilities in Kenya

Science.gov (United States)

Elder, Brent C.

2015-01-01

This article explores the current inclusive education system in Kenya, and how those practices relate to Article 24 of the United Nations' Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Local laws and international instruments are presented to shed light on the extent to which students with disabilities have a right to inclusive…

Quality of life instruments for economic evaluations in health and social care for older people: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Makai, Peter; Brouwer, Werner B F; Koopmanschap, Marc A; Stolk, Elly A; Nieboer, Anna P

2014-02-01

aimed at older people. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

32 CFR 644.411 - Form of inter-agency transfer instrument.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Government's title and easements and other rights in the property granted by the Government will be stated... included in the instrument. (1) Effective date of transfer (where right-of-entry has been granted or... information for a full and complete understanding of the proposed transfer action, including an appraisal when...

Antidepressants: Selecting One That's Right for You

Science.gov (United States)

Antidepressants: Selecting one that's right for you Confused by the choice in antidepressants? With persistence, you and your doctor should find one that works so ... Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER). All rights reserved.

Inspector-instrument interface in portable NDA instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Halbig, J.K.; Klosterbuer, S.F.

1981-01-01

Recent electronics technology advances make it possible to design sophisticated instruments in small packages for convenient field implementation. An inspector-instrument interface design that allows communication of procedures, responses, and results between the instrument and user is presented. This capability has been incorporated into new spent-fuel instrumentation and a battery-powered multichannel analyzer

Inspector-instrument interface in portable NDA instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Halbig, J.K.; Klosterbuer, S.F.

1981-01-01

Recent electronics technology advances make it possible to design sophisticated instruments in small packages for convenient field implementation. This report describes an inspector-instrument interface design which allows communication of procedures, responses, and results between the instrument and user. The interface has been incorporated into new spent-fuel instrumentation and a battery-powered multichannel analyzer

Instruments assessing attitudes toward or capability regarding self-management of osteoarthritis: a systematic review of measurement properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Eyles, J P; Hunter, D J; Meneses, S R F; Collins, N J; Dobson, F; Lucas, B R; Mills, K

2017-08-01

well-designed studies investigating measurement properties of existing instruments are required. Copyright © 2017 Osteoarthritis Research Society International. All rights reserved.

The iMTA Productivity Cost Questionnaire: A Standardized Instrument for Measuring and Valuing Health-Related Productivity Losses.

Science.gov (United States)

Bouwmans, Clazien; Krol, Marieke; Severens, Hans; Koopmanschap, Marc; Brouwer, Werner; Hakkaart-van Roijen, Leona

2015-09-01

Productivity losses often contribute significantly to the total costs in economic evaluations adopting a societal perspective. Currently, no consensus exists on the measurement and valuation of productivity losses. We aimed to develop a standardized instrument for measuring and valuing productivity losses. A group of researchers with extensive experience in measuring and valuing productivity losses designed an instrument suitable for self-completion, building on preknowledge and evidence on validity. The instrument was designed to cover all domains of productivity losses, thus allowing quantification and valuation of all productivity losses. A feasibility study was performed to check the questionnaire's consistency and intelligibility. The iMTA Productivity Cost Questionnaire (iPCQ) includes three modules measuring productivity losses of paid work due to 1) absenteeism and 2) presenteeism and productivity losses related to 3) unpaid work. Questions for measuring absenteeism and presenteeism were derived from existing validated questionnaires. Because validated measures of losses of unpaid work are scarce, the questions of this module were newly developed. To enhance the instrument's feasibility, simple language was used. The feasibility study included 195 respondents (response rate 80%) older than 18 years. Seven percent (n = 13) identified problems while filling in the iPCQ, including problems with the questionnaire's instructions and routing (n = 6) and wording (n = 2). Five respondents experienced difficulties in estimating the time that would be needed for other people to make up for lost unpaid work. Most modules of the iPCQ are based on validated questions derived from previously available instruments. The instrument is understandable for most of the general public. Copyright © 2015 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Transcultural adaptation to Spanish of the instrument "Effectiveness of Auditory Rehabilitation" for the assessment of quality of life in patients using hearing aids.

Science.gov (United States)

Cardemil, Felipe; Esquivel, Patricia; Aguayo, Lorena; Barría, Tamara; Fuente, Adrian; Carvajal, Rocío; Fromín, Rose; Villalobos, Iván; Yueh, Bevan

2013-01-01

It is becoming increasingly important to have reliable and valid questionnaires. This becomes especially important when evaluating hearing loss. the "Effectiveness of Auditory Rehabilitation" (EAR) questionnaire for the Spanish-speaking population. This instrument assesses quality of life and hearing aspects in patients using hearing aids. Cross-sectional validation study. A cultural adaptation through the use of English to Spanish translations and re-translations was carried out. The validity and reliability of the newly adapted instrument were evaluated. A total of 69 individuals (44 older adults and 25 younger adults) were examined. The pure-tone averages (PTA, 500, 1,000 and 2,000 Hz) were 47.3 dB HL and 47.1 dB HL for the left and right ears, respectively. The mean maximum speech discrimination in silence for monosyllables were 83.3% and 82.9% for the left and right ears, respectively. Internal consistency presented Cronbach alpha values of 0.85 and 0.77 for the internal and external dimensions, respectively. The intraclass correlation coefficients were 0.80 for the internal module and 0.85 for the external module. Construct validity reported a correlation coefficient of 0.71 at baseline and 0.76 at 3 months after the initial assessment for the internal module, and 0.62 at baseline and 0.74 at 3 months after the initial assessment for the external module. The size effects were 1.3 and 1.1 for the internal and external modules, respectively. The Spanish version of the EAR questionnaire seems to be a reliable and valid instrument. The evaluation of audiological aspects, as well as aspects relating to aesthetics and comfort are the main strengths of this instrument. Finally, the EAR scale is more sensitive to change than other scales. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.

Psychosocial measures used to assess the effectiveness of school-based nutrition education programs: review and analysis of self-report instruments for children 8 to 12 years old.

Science.gov (United States)

Hernández-Garbanzo, Yenory; Brosh, Joanne; Serrano, Elena L; Cason, Katherine L; Bhattarai, Ranju

2013-01-01

To identify the psychometric properties of evaluation instruments that measure mediators of dietary behaviors in school-aged children. Systematic search of scientific databases limited to 1999-2010. Psychometric properties related to development and testing of self-report instruments for children 8-12 years old. Systematic search of 189 articles and review of 15 instruments (20 associated articles) meeting the inclusion criteria. Search terms used included children, school, nutrition, diet, nutrition education, and evaluation. Fourteen studies used a theoretical framework to guide the instrument's development. Knowledge and self-efficacy were the most commonly used psychosocial measures. Twelve instruments focused on specific nutrition-related behaviors. Eight instruments included over 40 items and used age-appropriate response formats. Acceptable reliability properties were most commonly reported for attitude and self-efficacy measures. Although most of the instruments were reviewed by experts (n = 8) and/or pilot-tested (n = 9), only 7 were tested using both rigorous types of validity and with low-income youth. Results from this review suggest that additional research is needed to develop more robust psychosocial measures for dietary behaviors, for low-income youth audiences. Copyright © 2013 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The contextual effects of social capital on health: a cross-national instrumental variable analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Daniel; Baum, Christopher F; Ganz, Michael L; Subramanian, S V; Kawachi, Ichiro

2011-12-01

countries may be large. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Concurrent validation of two key health literacy instruments in a South Eastern European population.

Science.gov (United States)

Toçi, Ervin; Burazeri, Genc; Sørensen, Kristine; Kamberi, Haxhi; Brand, Helmut

2015-06-01

Public health practice has come to increasing recognition of health promotion and the central role of knowledge, attitude, beliefs and practices in achieving health promotion. Health literacy (HL) is an under-explored topic in South Eastern European countries. There are no HL reports from Albania to date. The aim of this study was to assess the concurrent validity of the European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q) and the Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (TOFHLA) in a population-based sample of adults in Albania. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2013 in Tirana, Albania, including 239 individuals aged ≥ 18 years (61% women; 87% response). A structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was applied twice (test and retest procedure after 2 weeks) including HLS-EU-Q and TOFHLA instruments. The internal consistency was high for both instruments (Cronbach's alpha for the test procedure was 0.92 for TOFHLA and 0.98 for HLS-EU-Q). Both tools exhibited a high stability over time (Spearman's rho: 0.88 for TOFHLA and 0.87 for HLS-EU). Mean values of both instruments were similar in men and women (mean score for TOFHLA: 76.0 vs. 76.5, P = 0.83; mean score for HLS-EU-Q: 32.2 vs. 32.6, P = 0.63). For both instruments, higher HL scores were significantly associated with younger age, higher educational and economic level and lower body mass index. Our study provides valuable novel evidence on concurrent validation of two major HL instruments in a South Eastern European population-based sample. Future studies should be conducted in order to confirm and expand our findings. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

Development of a computer-adaptive physical function instrument for Social Security Administration disability determination.

Science.gov (United States)

Ni, Pengsheng; McDonough, Christine M; Jette, Alan M; Bogusz, Kara; Marfeo, Elizabeth E; Rasch, Elizabeth K; Brandt, Diane E; Meterko, Mark; Haley, Stephen M; Chan, Leighton

2013-09-01

To develop and test an instrument to assess physical function for Social Security Administration (SSA) disability programs, the SSA-Physical Function (SSA-PF) instrument. Item response theory (IRT) analyses were used to (1) create a calibrated item bank for each of the factors identified in prior factor analyses, (2) assess the fit of the items within each scale, (3) develop separate computer-adaptive testing (CAT) instruments for each scale, and (4) conduct initial psychometric testing. Cross-sectional data collection; IRT analyses; CAT simulation. Telephone and Internet survey. Two samples: SSA claimants (n=1017) and adults from the U.S. general population (n=999). None. Model fit statistics, correlation, and reliability coefficients. IRT analyses resulted in 5 unidimensional SSA-PF scales: Changing & Maintaining Body Position, Whole Body Mobility, Upper Body Function, Upper Extremity Fine Motor, and Wheelchair Mobility for a total of 102 items. High CAT accuracy was demonstrated by strong correlations between simulated CAT scores and those from the full item banks. On comparing the simulated CATs with the full item banks, very little loss of reliability or precision was noted, except at the lower and upper ranges of each scale. No difference in response patterns by age or sex was noted. The distributions of claimant scores were shifted to the lower end of each scale compared with those of a sample of U.S. adults. The SSA-PF instrument contributes important new methodology for measuring the physical function of adults applying to the SSA disability programs. Initial evaluation revealed that the SSA-PF instrument achieved considerable breadth of coverage in each content domain and demonstrated noteworthy psychometric properties. Copyright © 2013 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Elective abortions, a right to defend].

Science.gov (United States)

Zaccabri, Annie

2015-12-01

Every year in France, almost 210 000 women request a termination of an unwanted pregnancy. Two thirds of them were however using a form of contraception, hence the importance, for caregivers, of encouraging women to find the method which works best for them. The right to abortion is the fruit of a long fight for a woman's right to control her own body. It is a right which must be protected. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Human Rights Treaties Are an Important Part of the "International Health Instrumentariam" Comment on "The Legal Strength of International Health Instruments - What It Brings to Global Health Governance?"

Science.gov (United States)

Forman, Lisa

2017-10-02

In their commentary, Haik Nikogosian and Ilona Kickbusch argue for the necessity of new binding international legal instruments for health to address complex health determinants and offer a cogent analysis of the implications of such treaties for future global health governance. Yet in doing so they pay no attention to the existing instrumentarium of international legally binding treaties relevant to health, in the form of human rights treaties. International human rights law has entrenched individual entitlements and state obligations in relation to individual and public health through iterative human rights treaties since 1946. These treaties offer normative specificity, institutional monitoring and the possibility of enforcement and accountability. If we are to build a new 'international health instrumentariam' we should not ignore existing and important tools that can assist in this endeavor. © 2018 The Author(s); Published by Kerman University of Medical Sciences. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Homemade thermometry instruments in the field.

Science.gov (United States)

Pasquier, Mathieu; Rousson, Valentin; Zen Ruffinen, Grégoire; Hugli, Olivier

2012-03-01

Esophageal temperature is the gold standard for in-the-field temperature monitoring in hypothermic victims with cardiac arrest. For practical reasons, some mountain rescue teams use homemade esophageal thermometers to measure esophageal temperature; these consist of nonmedical inside/outside temperature monitoring instruments that have been modified to allow for esophageal insertion. We planned a study to determine the accuracy of such thermometers. Two of the same model of digital cabled indoor/outdoor thermometer were modified and tested in comparison with a reference thermometer. The thermometers were tested in a water bath at different temperatures between 10°C and 35.2°C. Three hundred measurements were taken with each thermometer. Our experimental study showed that both homemade thermometers provided a good correlation and a clinically acceptable agreement in comparison with the reference thermometer. Measurements were within 0.5°C in comparison with the reference thermometer 97.5% of the time. The homemade thermometers performed well in vitro, in comparison with a reference thermometer. However, because these devices in their original form are not designed for clinical use, their use should be restricted to situations when the use of a conventional esophageal thermometer is impossible. Copyright © 2012 Wilderness Medical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Toward automated assessment of health Web page quality using the DISCERN instrument.

Science.gov (United States)

Allam, Ahmed; Schulz, Peter J; Krauthammer, Michael

2017-05-01

classifiers. The code for the probabilistic consensus model is available at https://bitbucket.org/A_2/em_dawid/ . © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

OPTION(5) versus OPTION(12) instruments to appreciate the extent to which healthcare providers involve patients in decision-making.

Science.gov (United States)

Stubenrouch, Fabienne E; Pieterse, Arwen H; Falkenberg, Rijan; Santema, T Katrien B; Stiggelbout, Anne M; van der Weijden, Trudy; Aarts, J Annemijn W M; Ubbink, Dirk T

2016-06-01

The 12-item "observing patient involvement" (OPTION(12))-instrument is commonly used to assess the extent to which healthcare providers involve patients in health-related decision-making. The five-item version (OPTION(5)) claims to be a more efficient measure. In this study we compared the Dutch versions of the OPTION-instruments in terms of inter-rater agreement and correlation in outpatient doctor-patient consultations in various settings, to learn if we can safely switch to the shorter OPTION(5)-instrument. Two raters coded 60 audiotaped vascular surgery and oncology patient consultations using OPTION(12) and OPTION(5). Unweighted Cohen's kappa was used to compute inter-rater agreement on item-level. The association between the total scores of the two OPTION-instruments was investigated using Pearson's correlation coefficient (r) and a Bland & Altman plot. After fine-tuning the OPTION-manuals, inter-rater agreement for OPTION(12) and OPTION(5) was good to excellent (kappa range 0.69-0.85 and 0.63-0.72, respectively). Mean total scores were 23.7 (OPTION(12); SD=7.8) and 39.3 (OPTION(5); SD=12.7). Correlation between the total scores was high (r=0.71; p=0.01). OPTION(5) scored systematically higher with a wider range than OPTION(12). Both OPTION-instruments had a good inter-rater agreement and correlated well. OPTION(5) seems to differentiate better between various levels of patient involvement. The OPTION(5)-instrument is recommended for clinical application. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Incidence of apical root cracks and apical dentinal detachments after canal preparation with hand and rotary files at different instrumentation lengths.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Rui; Kaiwar, Anjali; Shemesh, Hagay; Wesselink, Paul R; Hou, Benxiang; Wu, Min-Kai

2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to compare the incidence of apical root cracks and dentinal detachments after canal preparation with hand and rotary files at different instrumentation lengths. Two hundred forty mandibular incisors were mounted in resin blocks with simulated periodontal ligaments, and the apex was exposed. The root canals were instrumented with rotary and hand files, namely K3, ProTaper, and nickel-titanium Flex K files to the major apical foramen (AF), short AF, or beyond AF. Digital images of the apical surface of every tooth were taken during the apical enlargement at each file change. Development of dentinal defects was determined by comparing these images with the baseline image. Multinomial logistic regression test was performed to identify influencing factors. Apical crack developed in 1 of 80 teeth (1.3%) with hand files and 31 of 160 teeth (19.4%) with rotary files. Apical dentinal detachment developed in 2 of 80 teeth (2.5%) with hand files and 35 of 160 teeth (21.9%) with rotary files. Instrumentation with rotary files terminated 2 mm short of AF and did not cause any cracks. Significantly less cracks and detachments occurred when instrumentation with rotary files was terminated short of AF, as compared with that terminated at or beyond AF (P hand instruments; instrumentation short of AF reduced the risk of dentinal defects. Copyright © 2013 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Influence of the geometry of curved artificial canals on the fracture of rotary nickel-titanium instruments subjected to cyclic fatigue tests.

Science.gov (United States)

Lopes, Hélio P; Vieira, Márcia V B; Elias, Carlos N; Gonçalves, Lucio S; Siqueira, José F; Moreira, Edson J L; Vieira, Victor T L; Souza, Letícia C

2013-05-01

This study evaluated the influence of different features of canal curvature geometry on the number of cycles to fracture of a rotary nickel-titanium endodontic instrument subjected to a cyclic fatigue test. BioRaCe BR4C instruments (FKG Dentaire, La Chaux-de Fonds, Switzerland) were tested in 4 grooves simulating curved metallic artificial canals, each one measuring 1.5 mm in width, 20 mm in total length, and 3.5 mm in depth with a U-shaped bottom. The parameters of curvature including the radius and arc lengths and the position of the arc differed in the 4 canal designs. Fractured surfaces and helical shafts of the separated instruments were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. The Student's t test showed that a significantly lower number of cycles to fracture values were observed for instruments tested in canals with the smallest radius, the longest arc, and the arc located in the middle portion of the canal. Scanning electron microscopic analysis of the fracture surfaces revealed morphologic characteristics of ductile fracture. Plastic deformation was not observed in the helical shaft of the fractured instruments. Curvature geometry including the radius and arc lengths and the position of the arc along the root canal influence the number of cycles to fracture of rotary nickel-titanium instruments subjected to flexural load. Copyright © 2013 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[The reasonable use of right ventricular protection strategy in right ventricular outflow tract reconstruction].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Y; Yuan, H Y; Liu, X B; Wen, S S; Xu, G; Cui, H J; Zhuang, J; Chen, J M

2018-06-01

As a result of right ventricular outflow tract reconstruction, which is the important and basic step of complex cardiac surgery, the blood flow of right ventricular outflow tract is unobstructed, while pulmonary valve regurgitation and right heart dysfunction could be happened. These problems are often ignored in early days, more and more cases of right heart dysfunction need clinical intervention, which is quite difficult and less effective. How to protect effectively the right ventricular function is the focus. At present main methods to protect the right ventricular function include trying to avoid or reduce length of right ventricular incision, reserving or rebuilding the function of the pulmonary valve, using growth potential material for surgery. The protection of the right ventricular function is a systemic project, it involves many aspects, single measures is difficult to provide complete protection, only the comprehensive use of various protection strategy, can help to improve the long-term prognosis.

Effective analysis of the use of peracetic acid after instrumentation of root canals contaminated with Enterococcus faecalis.

Science.gov (United States)

Cord, Caroline Berwanger; Velasco, Rafael Vidal Cortez; Ribeiro Melo Lima, Laíla Fernanda; Rocha, Daniel Guimarães Pedro; da Silveira Bueno, Carlos Eduardo; Pinheiro, Sérgio Luiz

2014-08-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of peracetic acid (PAA) in cleaning root canals contaminated with Enterococcus faecalis. Sixty first and second mandibular molars were used. Their mesiobuccal canals were prepared with the Reciproc System (VDW, Munich, Germany). The canals were irrigated with 10 mL saline during instrumentation. The teeth were randomly divided into 3 groups (n = 20), according to the irrigation solution to be used after instrumentation: group PAA (5 mL 1% PAA), group EDTA/sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) (5 mL 17% EDTA followed by 5 mL 2.5% sodium hypochlorite), and group S (5 mL saline). Microbiological samples were collected before instrumentation and after final irrigation. Bacterial quantification was performed by counting the number of colony-forming units (CFUs/mL). The results were analyzed by the nonparametric Wilcoxon and Kruskal-Wallis tests. The 3 groups showed a significant reduction (P  .05). According to the results of the present study, the effectiveness of 1% PAA was similar to that of 17% EDTA + 2.5% NaOCl in cleaning curved root canals contaminated with E. faecalis. Copyright © 2014 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Texas Instruments Technical Seminar: Power Management and Wireless

CERN Multimedia

2006-01-01

Monday 6 November TECHNICAL TRAINING SEMINAR 14:00 to 17:30 - Training Centre Auditorium (bldg. 593) Texas Instruments Technical Seminar: Power Management and Wireless Michael Scholtholt, Field Application Engineer / TEXAS INSTRUMENTS (US, D, CH) The range of power management products available today offers the possibility to find the best solution for each application. To select the right product it is therefore necessary to understand system requirements, how power supply products work, and where they differentiate. This Technical Training Seminar will also present an overview of how to choose the right RF platform based on markets and applications: nowadays almost everbody has at least one wireless product in use, and this tendency seems to increase significantly. Power Management Voltage mode vs. current mode control Differentiating DC/DC converters by analyzing control and compensation schemes: line / load regulation, transient response, BOM, board space, ease-of-use Introduction to evaluati...

Texas Instruments Technical Seminar: Power Management and Wireless

CERN Multimedia

2006-01-01

Monday 6 November TECHNICAL TRAINING SEMINAR 14:00 to 17:30 - Training Centre Auditorium (bldg. 593) Texas Instruments Technical Seminar: Power Management and Wireless Michael Scholtholt, Field Application Engineer / TEXAS INSTRUMENTS (US, D, CH) The range of power management products available today offers the possibility to find the best solution for each application. To select the right product it is therefore necessary to understand system requirements, how power supply products work, and where they differentiate. This Technical Training Seminar will also present an overview of how to choose the right RF platform based on markets and applications: nowadays almost everbody has at least one wireless product in use, and this tendency seems to increase significantly. Power Management Voltage mode vs. current mode control Differentiating DC/DC converters by analyzing control and compensation schemes: line / load regulation, transient response, BOM, board space, ease-of-use Introduction to evalu...

Conceptualisation of Children's Rights: What Do Child Care Professionals in Northern Ireland Say?

Science.gov (United States)

Manful, Esmeranda; McCrystal, Patrick

2010-01-01

The twentieth century began with children having virtually no universally accepted rights but ended with the most powerful international legal instrument supporting their rights: the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The challenge for interested parties in the twenty-first century is effective implementation of this Convention.…

[Development of an instrument for the surveillance of quality indicators in specialized training in Preventive Medicine and Public Health].

Science.gov (United States)

Gil-Borrelli, Christian Carlo; Latasa, Pello; Reques, Laura; Alemán, Guadalupe

2015-01-01

This study describes the process of developing an instrument intended for use in assessing satisfaction with the quality of training in preventive medicine and public health for resident physicians. To develop this instrument, the National Survey of Satisfaction with Medical Residency was adapted by an expert panel consisting of 23 resident physicians in preventive medicine and public health belonging to 9 autonomous communities in Spain. The adaptation of the survey to the specialty rotations included new dimensions and items and was evaluated with a 5-point Likert scale. The most important dimensions were planning and the achievement of specific objectives, supervision, delegation of responsibilities, resources and work environment, personal assessment, encouragement, support, and whether the rotation resulted in a publication or research project, etc. The development and utilization of this tool will enable future trainees in preventive medicine and public health to make an informed choice about their training itineraries. Copyright © 2015 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Briefer assessment of social network drinking: A test of the Important People Instrument-5 (IP-5).

Science.gov (United States)

Hallgren, Kevin A; Barnett, Nancy P

2016-12-01

The Important People instrument (IP; Longabaugh et al., 2010) is one of the most commonly used measures of social network drinking. Although its reliability and validity are well-supported, the length of the instrument may limit its use in many settings. The present study evaluated whether a briefer, 5-person version of the IP (IP-5) adequately reproduces scores from the full IP. College freshmen (N = 1,053) reported their own past-month drinking, alcohol-related consequences, and information about drinking in their close social networks at baseline and 1 year later. From this we derived network members' drinking frequency, percentage of drinkers, and percentage of heavy drinkers, assessed for up to 10 (full IP) or 5 (IP-5) network members. We first modeled the expected concordance between full-IP scores and scores from simulated shorter IP instruments by sampling smaller subsets of network members from full IP data. Then, using quasi-experimental methods, we administered the full IP and IP-5 and compared the 2 instruments' score distributions and concurrent and year-lagged associations with participants' alcohol consumption and consequences. Most of the full-IP variance was reproduced from simulated shorter versions of the IP (ICCs ≥ 0.80). The full IP and IP-5 yielded similar score distributions, concurrent associations with drinking (r = 0.22 to 0.52), and year-lagged associations with drinking. The IP-5 retains most of the information about social network drinking from the full IP. The shorter instrument may be useful in clinical and research settings that require frequent measure administration, yielding greater temporal resolution for monitoring social network drinking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

The use of fiscal instruments in European environmental policy: review essay

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deketelaere, K. [University of Leuven, Leuven (Belgium). Inst. for Environmental and Energy Law

1999-08-01

Once a government has defined its environmental goals, it can execute them by means of different policy instruments. The following environmental policy instruments can be distinguished: (1) instruments of social regulation, such as transfer of information (environmental education, environmental labels, environmental impact reports, etc.), self-regulation (environmental policy agreements, self-control), and environmental care systems; (2) instruments of financial aid, such as subsidies, soft loans, and fiscal incentives (investment deduction, tax reduction and tax exemption); (3) instruments of planning such as macro-planning and micro-planning, binding planning and non-binding planning, sectoral planning and non-sectoral planning; (4) instruments of direct regulation, such as permits, prohibitions and restrictions, and different sorts of requirements (quality-demands, product-demands, emission-demands, design demands, construction demands and production demands); (5) instruments of market regulation, such as liability rules, marketable emission rights, deposit and refund system, enforcement incentives and environmental levies. In this contribution, each of these environmental policy instruments is analyzed in general. After that, the instruments which have already been used in European environmental policy are examined. Finally, attention paid to the use of fiscal instruments in European environmental policy. 80 refs.

Labour Standards and Trade: In Search of Impact and Alternative Instruments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jan Orbie

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Labour standards have become an almost routine feature of trade agreements. However, we have little knowledge about whether this linkage is effective; both in absolute terms but also in comparison to other instruments that promote labour standards on a global level. Such alternative instruments include public-private agreements, value chain management and procurement policies. The articles in this thematic issue will provide insights that further the debate on the effectiveness of the connection between labour rights and international trade, looking at both ‘traditional’ trade agreements and ‘alternative’ instruments.

Strengthening the human right to sanitation as an instrument for inclusive development

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Obani, P.C.

2018-01-01

Over a third of the current 7.3 billion people worldwide are burdened with poor sanitation services. The resulting social, relational and ecological exclusion make the realisation of the human right to sanitation a critical concern development concern. However, the literature has evolved in a

Instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prieur, G.; Nadi, M.; Hedjiedj, A.; Weber, S.

1995-01-01

This second chapter on instrumentation gives little general consideration on history and classification of instrumentation, and two specific states of the art. The first one concerns NMR (block diagram of instrumentation chain with details on the magnets, gradients, probes, reception unit). The first one concerns precision instrumentation (optical fiber gyro-meter and scanning electron microscope), and its data processing tools (programmability, VXI standard and its history). The chapter ends with future trends on smart sensors and Field Emission Displays. (D.L.). Refs., figs

[Playing of wind instruments is associated with an obstructive pattern in the spirometry of adolescents with a good aerobic resistance capacity].

Science.gov (United States)

Granell, Javier; Granell, Jose; Ruiz, Diana; Tapias, Jose A

2011-03-01

There is controversy in the medical literature regarding the beneficial or detrimental effects of playing wind musical instruments on the respiratory system. The aim of this study is to analyse this relationship, taking the physical condition of the subjects into consideration. Cross-sectional observational study. Public institution with coordinated medium grade musical instruction and primary and secondary education. Young performers (between 13 and 17 years). We collected basic epidemiological parameters (gender, age, weight, size, heath status), and each subject underwent a fitness test ("course navette" cardiorespiratory fitness test) and a forced spirometry. We included 90 students, 53 females and 37 males. Thirty two were wind instrument players and 58 studied other instruments. The two groups were homogeneous with respect to gender, age and body mass index. The maximum oxygen uptake showed no significant difference (P=0.255), further demonstrating an adequate level of fitness compared to the general population. FVC was normal and similar in both groups (P=0.197). The FEV(1) percentage and the FEV(1)/FVC ratio were significantly lower (Pstudy of wind instruments was associated with an obstructive spirometric pattern in young musicians with a normal level of physical fitness. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.

An overview of instrumentation for the Large Binocular Telescope

Science.gov (United States)

Wagner, R. Mark

2012-09-01

An overview of instrumentation for the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) is presented. Optical instrumentation includes the Large Binocular Camera (LBC), a pair of wide-field (27' x 27') mosaic CCD imagers at the prime focus, and the Multi-Object Double Spectrograph (MODS), a pair of dual-beam blue-red optimized long-slit spectrographs mounted at the left and right direct F/15 Gregorian foci incorporating multiple slit masks for multi-object spectroscopy over a 6' field and spectral resolutions of up to 2000. Infrared instrumentation includes the LBT Near-IR Spectroscopic Utility with Camera and Integral Field Unit for Extragalactic Research (LUCI), a modular near-infrared (0.9-2.5 μm) imager and spectrograph pair mounted at the left and right front bent F/15 Gregorian foci and designed for seeing-limited (FOV: 4' × 4') imaging, long-slit spectroscopy, and multiobject spectroscopy utilizing cooled slit masks and diffraction limited (FOV: 0'.5 × 0'.5) imaging and long-slit spectroscopy. Strategic instruments under development that can utilize the full 23-m baseline of the LBT include an interferometric cryogenic beam combiner with near-infrared and thermal-infrared instruments for Fizeau imaging and nulling interferometry (LBTI) and an optical bench near-infrared beam combiner utilizing multi-conjugate adaptive optics for high angular resolution and sensitivity (LINC-NIRVANA). LBTI is currently undergoing commissioning on the LBT and utilizing the installed adaptive secondary mirrors in both single- sided and two-sided beam combination modes. In addition, a fiber-fed bench spectrograph (PEPSI) capable of ultra high resolution spectroscopy and spectropolarimetry (R = 40,000-300,000) will be available as a principal investigator instrument. Over the past four years the LBC pair, LUCI1, and MODS1 have been commissioned and are now scheduled for routine partner science observations. The delivery of both LUCI2 and MODS2 is anticipated before the end of 2012. The

Business and human rights: from soft law to hard law?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ramona Elisabeta Cîrlig

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Over the last decades the international community turned its attention towards the impact that businesses have on human rights, and the role they can play in furt hering human rights protection, in light of the lead role they play in globalization, and the increasingly vocal allegations of human rights violations directed against some multinationals. These developments triggered some action at the United Nations, an d at the European Union level, and led to the development of international soft law in this area, moving slowly towards binding instruments. This paper explores the evolution of business and human rights, presents the current international non-binding instruments, as well as some states’ binding initiatives in this area, and highlights the tendency to move from soft law to hard law, to leave the realm of voluntary corporate responsibility for the one of pure accountability. In this context, several solutions are debated by scholars: from a binding treaty, or a series of narrower treaties focused on specific areas, to a Model Law which could be used by states to enact laws imposing obligations on businesses within their jurisdictions, or even adding human rights in the international investment agreements and making use of the international arbitration as an enforcement mechanism.

Open auctioning of nuclear drawing rights: a fair way out from regulated tariffs on the mass market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Finon, D.

2008-12-01

The author presents a tariff approach which will consider the nuclear assets of the French operator as a property belonging to the French citizens who accepted the development of these equipment and who, as consumers, have already largely paid these assets. He describes this market mechanism which would assign drawing rights to all competitors. This mechanism is inspired by the VVP Spanish instrument, bidding or auctioning instruments implemented in different countries, and the EDF's drawing right assignment mechanism. He highlights and discusses the benefits and drawbacks of such an instrument

Tourism And Environment: Toward Promoting Sustainable Development Of Tourism: A Human Rights Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ni Ketut Supasti Dharmawan

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Tourism activities in era globalization bring positive and negative impacts especially for the host countries destination. To minimize the negative impacts it is very important to always promote the sustainable development of tourism including from a human rights perspective. This paper will discuss concerning who have responsibility to promote a human rights related with sustainable development of tourism. To explore the topic in this article, Author will study both international human rights instruments and environmental convention as well as the soft law regarding the tourism sector such as the UN WTO Global Code Of Ethics. The Law No. 10 Year 2009 concerning Indonesia Tourism Law is also part of legal material studied in this paper. There are national, international legal instruments of the human rights as well as UNWTO Global Codes of Ethics which can be utilized to promote sustainable tourism through human rights perspective. It is considered that all stakeholders have responsibility to promote sustainable development of tourism.

Instrumentation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Decreton, M

2001-04-01

SCK-CEN's research and development programme on instrumentation involves the assessment and the development of sensitive measurement systems used within a radiation environment. Particular emphasis is on the assessment of optical fibre components and their adaptability to radiation environments. The evaluation of ageing processes of instrumentation in fission plants, the development of specific data evaluation strategies to compensate for ageing induced degradation of sensors and cable performance form part of these activities. In 2000, particular emphasis was on in-core reactor instrumentation applied to fusion, accelerator driven and water-cooled fission reactors. This involved the development of high performance instrumentation for irradiation experiments in the BR2 reactor in support of new instrumentation needs for MYRRHA, and for diagnostic systems for the ITER reactor.

Instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Decreton, M.

2001-01-01

SCK-CEN's research and development programme on instrumentation involves the assessment and the development of sensitive measurement systems used within a radiation environment. Particular emphasis is on the assessment of optical fibre components and their adaptability to radiation environments. The evaluation of ageing processes of instrumentation in fission plants, the development of specific data evaluation strategies to compensate for ageing induced degradation of sensors and cable performance form part of these activities. In 2000, particular emphasis was on in-core reactor instrumentation applied to fusion, accelerator driven and water-cooled fission reactors. This involved the development of high performance instrumentation for irradiation experiments in the BR2 reactor in support of new instrumentation needs for MYRRHA, and for diagnostic systems for the ITER reactor

The Use of the Yen as a Reserve Currency

OpenAIRE

Peter M. Garber

1996-01-01

The depreciation of the U.S. dollar in 1995 rekindled discussion about the organization of the international monetary system, including calls to expand the roles of the yen and the deutsche mark as reserve currencies. The yen has not assumed a greater role because sufficient yen instruments are unavailable. The measures that make the yen relatively illiquid result partly from public debt management policy and control over the competitive advantage of the government in securities issuance. Fro...

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Notes on Genealogy and Prospects

Science.gov (United States)

Winzer, Margret; Mazurek, Kas

2014-01-01

The dense and complex "Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities" (CRPD) is both a human rights treaty and a development tool. It supplements the web of existing human rights instruments insofar as they relate to disability. Schooling is enshrouded as a rights-based case; inclusive education as a development tool for all…

Disappearance of endangered turtles within China's nature reserves.

Science.gov (United States)

Gong, Shi-Ping; Shi, Hai-Tao; Jiang, Ai-Wu; Fong, Jonathan J; Gaillard, Daniel; Wang, Ji-Chao

2017-03-06

China ranks first among Northern hemisphere countries for species richness, but approximately 43% of its species are threatened [1], with harvesting being the major threat to vertebrates [2]. To protect its biodiversity, China has established about 2,700 nature reserves covering 1.46 million km 2 ( about 15% of China's territory, a percentage higher than the world average [3]). With increasing habitat destruction and harvesting, nature reserves are the final refugia for threatened species. However, many Chinese nature reserves are poorly managed, leaving them vulnerable to poaching and other human encroachment [4]. In this study, we conducted a 12-year (2002-2013) case study on turtles to illustrate the damaging impacts China's nature reserves have on wildlife conservation. We discovered that poaching occurred in all of the 56 reserves surveyed, resulting in dramatically reduced turtle populations. In a majority of the reserves, the reserve staff themselves were involved in poaching. Although nature reserves were created to protect plants and animals, they have become part of the problem due to weak enforcement of rules. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Measuring social science concepts in pharmacy education research: From definition to item analysis of self-report instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Cor, M Ken

Interpreting results from quantitative research can be difficult when measures of concepts are constructed poorly, something that can limit measurement validity. Social science steps for defining concepts, guidelines for limiting construct-irrelevant variance when writing self-report questions, and techniques for conducting basic item analysis are reviewed to inform the design of instruments to measure social science concepts in pharmacy education research. Based on a review of the literature, four main recommendations emerge: These include: (1) employ a systematic process of conceptualization to derive nominal definitions; (2) write exact and detailed operational definitions for each concept, (3) when creating self-report questionnaires, write statements and select scales to avoid introducing construct-irrelevant variance (CIV); and (4) use basic item analysis results to inform instrument revision. Employing recommendations that emerge from this review will strengthen arguments to support measurement validity which in turn will support the defensibility of study finding interpretations. An example from pharmacy education research is used to contextualize the concepts introduced. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Development and evaluation of the OHCITIES instrument: assessing alcohol urban environments in the Heart Healthy Hoods project.

Science.gov (United States)

Sureda, Xisca; Espelt, Albert; Villalbí, Joan R; Cebrecos, Alba; Baranda, Lucía; Pearce, Jamie; Franco, Manuel

2017-10-05

text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

A comparison of apical transportation between FlexMaster and Twisted Files rotary instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Duran-Sindreu, Fernando; García, Marc; Olivieri, Juan Gonzalo; Mercadé, Montse; Morelló, Sergio; Roig, Miguel

2012-07-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate apical transportation in root canals after the use of Twisted Files (TF; SybronEndo, Orange, CA) and FlexMaster (VDW, Munich, Germany) #40/04 rotary files. A double-digital radiographic technique was used to compare apical transportation between the TF and FlexMaster systems. Each rotary system was used to instrument mesial canals from 80 extracted mandibular molars. The central axes of the file imaged before instrumentation (#15 K-file) and the master apical rotary file (#40/04) were superimposed digitally. AutoCAD 2008 (Autodesk Inc, San Rafael, CA) was used to measure apical transportation at 0.5 mm from the working length (WL). The data were analyzed using the Student's t test, and significance was set at P < .05. The mean amount of apical transportation at 0.5 mm from the WL was 0.17 ± 0.09 mm for the FlexMaster group and 0.19 ± 0.12 mm for the TF group. No statistically significant differences in apical transportation were found between the 2 groups. Under the conditions of the study, no statistically significant differences in apical transportation were observed between FlexMaster and TF rotary files. Copyright © 2012 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

RELATIVECONTRIBUTIONS OF THE NIGERIAN CAPITALMARKETTO THE GROWTH OF EXTERNAL RESERVES (2005-2014

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akaninyene Udo Akpan

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Virtually all aspects of human endeavour entail the use of money either selfgenerated or borrowed. In capital market, the stock in trade is money which couldbe raised through various instruments under well governed rules and regulationscarefully administered and followed by different institutions or market operators.External reserves constitute an integral part of the wealth of the nation such thatthe lack of it brings worry to most nations and can limit the ability of the countryto make foreign currency denominated payments and limits its spending abroad.Hence,countries are induced to hold reserves to allow monetary authorities tointervene in markets to control the exchange rate and inflation. Adequate reservesalso allow the country to borrow from abroad and to hedge against instability anduncertainty of external capital flows.Therefore, the objective of this paper is toaccess the relative contribution of the Nigerian capital market if any to the growthof her external reserve.The methodology used is purely descriptive and narrative and the data used is secondary. The evidence provided in the study based on thestatistical analysis, revealed that the Nigerian capital market can induce thegrowthof external reserve but it has not contributed to the growth of externalreserve in Nigeria. Furthermore, the study recommendedamong otherstheneedfor availability of more investment instruments such as derivatives, futures,swaps, options in the market and theexpansion of the Nigerian capital Market bythe government creating an enabling investable environment that will increaseboth the volume of transactions and number of securities traded in the market.This will improve their ability to mobilize resources and efficiently allocate themto the most productive sectors of the economy hence, contributing its portion tothe growth of her external reserve.

Mapuche Institutions in Chile: from sovereign rights to indigenous consultation

OpenAIRE

Ronny Alejandro Leiva

2014-01-01

Chilean indigenous institutions recently joined the Convention concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (no. 169) of the International Labor Organization (ILO) to its administrative structure. Prior to this, indigenous law 19.253 indigenous organizations were created in order to foster the participation of these peoples. Convention No. 169 and other international instruments on indigenous rights enshrine the right to participation through their own representative institut...

Assessment of sexual difficulties associated with multi-modal treatment for cervical or endometrial cancer: A systematic review of measurement instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

White, Isabella D; Sangha, Amrit; Lucas, Grace; Wiseman, Theresa

2016-12-01

infrequently/not sexually active due to treatment consequences is still required to identify women in need of sexual rehabilitation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Training medical students in human rights: a fifteen-year experience in Geneva

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Philippe Chastonay

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Background: Training health professionals in the field of human rights has long been advocated by the United Nations. Over the past decade some medical schools have introduced health and human rights courses, yet by far not all. This paper describes the objectives and the content of the Health and Human Rights program developed at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva. Methods: The health and human rights program was developed through the identification of the course objectives, contents, and educational modalities using consensus techniques, and through a step by step implementation procedure integrating multiple evaluation processes. Results: Defined objectives included the familiarization with the concepts, instruments and mechanisms of human rights, the links between health and human rights, and the role of health professionals in promoting human rights. The content ultimately adopted focused on the typology of human rights, their mechanisms of protection, their instruments, as well as social inequalities and vulnerable groups of the population. The implementation proceeded through a step by step approach. Evaluation showed high satisfaction of students, good achievement of learning objectives, and some academic and community impact. Conclusions: High interest of students for a human rights course is encouraging. Furthermore, the community projects initiated and implemented by students may contribute to the social responsibility of the academic institution.

Right of access to energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Delgado Triana, Yanelys; Fariñas Wong, Ernesto Yoel

2015-01-01

Energy is essential for the development of our life and for the development of production capacity. However, a number of people worldwide without this living, specifically power. To the extent that increase energy needs for domestic, industrial and agricultural use, each day more indispensable need access to this recognition as a human right or fundamental respect is made, so some questions in this paper are required both denominations, being essential to consider the emergence and evolution of these. An analysis of the international protection they receive the right of access to energy services, although currently there are no international treaties that specifically recognize it also performs a number of initiatives that promote its preservation manifested and recognized in several abstractly legal instruments, such as declarations, covenants and conventions. (full text)

Psychometric evaluation of the Environmental Reality Shock-Related Issues and Concerns instrument for newly graduated nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Eun-Young; Yeo, Jung Hee; Park, Hyunjeong; Sin, Kyung Mi; Jones, Cheryl B

2018-02-01

Reality shock is a critical representation of the gap between nursing education and clinical practice and it is important to explore the level of reality shock among nurses. However, there is no relevant instrument to assess the level of reality shock in South Korea. The purpose of this is to determine the validity and reliability of the Korean version of the Environmental Reality Shock-Related Issues and Concerns instrument. A cross-sectional study design was used in this study. The data collection was conducted in selected 15 hospitals in South Korea. A convenience sample of 216 newly graduated nurses participated in the study. The Korean version of the Environmental Reality Shock-Related Issues and Concerns instrument was developed through the forward-backward translation technique, and revision based on feedback from expert groups. The internal consistency reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha, and the construct validity was determined via exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The Korean version of the Environmental Reality Shock-Related Issues and Concerns has reliable internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha=0.91). Exploratory factor analysis revealed five factors including job, relationships, expectations, private life, and performance, which explained 61.92% of variance. The factor loadings ranged from 0.451 to 0.832. The five-factor structure was validated by confirmatory factor analysis (RMR0.9). It was concluded that the Korean version of the Environmental Reality Shock-Related Issues and Concerns instrument has satisfactory construct validity and reliability to measure the reality shock of newly graduated nurses in South Korea. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Final End of Kant’s Philosophy of Right:

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rostbøll, Christian F.

An important interpretation of Kant’s Philosophy of Right suggests that we should not regard political-legal institutions as mere means for realizing an independently conceived moral end. Particularly, it holds that the relationship between public Right and freedom is constitutive rather than...... instrumental. The “constitutive interpretation” argues this point mainly in relation to domestic Right and members’ relation to their own state. The latter has resulted in a statist bias in the interpretation of Kant’s notion of Right, which has not adequately dealt with the fact that Kant regards public Right...... as a system composed of three levels – domestic, international, and cosmopolitan Right. This paper suggests that rather than understanding the constitutive relationship between Right and individual freedom solely in terms of the relationship between the state and its members, we should understand it in terms...

Examining item content and structure in health status and health outcomes instruments: toward the development of a grammar for better understanding of the concepts being measured.

Science.gov (United States)

Erickson, Pennifer; Willke, Richard J

2013-06-01

Health outcomes instruments assess diverse health concepts. Although item-level concepts are considered fundamental elements, the field lacks structures for evaluating and organizing them for decision making. This article proposes a grammar using item stems, response options, and recall periods to systematically identify item-level concepts. The grammar uses "core concept," "evaluative component," and "recall period" as intuitive terms for communicating with stakeholders. Better characterization of concepts is necessary for classifying instrument content and linking it to treatment benefit. Items in 2 generic and 21 disease-specific instruments were evaluated to develop and illustrate the use of the grammar. Concepts were assigned International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health codes for exploring the value that the grammar and a classification system add to the understanding of content across instruments. The 23 instruments include many core concepts; emotional function is the only concept assessed in all instruments. Concepts in disease-specific instruments show obvious patterns; for example, arthritis instruments focus on physical function. The majority of instruments used the same response options across all items, with five-point scales being the most common. Most instruments used one recall period for all items. Shorter recall periods were used for conditions associated with "flares," such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and "skin disease." Every diagnosis, however, showed variation across instruments in the recall period used. This analysis indicates the proposed grammar's potential for discerning the conceptual content within and between health outcomes instruments and illustrates its value for improving communication between stakeholders and for making decisions related to treatment benefit. Copyright © 2013 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reflections on the Right to Information Based on Citizenship Theories

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vitor Gentilli

2007-06-01

Full Text Available In modern societies, structured as representative democracies, all rights to some extent are related to the right to information: the enlargement of participation in citizenship presupposes an enlargement of the right to information as a premise. It is a right which encourages the exercising of citizenship and aff ords the citizens access to and criticism of the instruments necessary for the full exercising of the group of citizenship rights. The right to information can have characteristics of emancipation or of tutelage. An emancipating right is a right to freedom, a right whose basic presupposition is freedom of choice. Accordingly, the maxim which could sum up the ethical issue of the right to information would be: give maximum publicity to everything which refers to the public sphere and keep secret that which refers to the private sphere.

Robotic instrumentation: Evolution and microsurgical applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sijo J Parekattil

2010-01-01

Full Text Available This article presents a review of the history and evolution of robotic instrumentation and its applications in urology. A timeline for the evolution of robotic instrumentation is presented to better facilitate an understanding of our current-day applications. Some new directions including robotic microsurgical applications (robotic assisted denervation of the spermatic cord for chronic orchialgia and robotic assisted vasectomy reversal are presented. There is a paucity of prospective comparative effectiveness studies for a number of robotic applications. However, right or wrong, human nature has always led to our infatuation with the concept of using tools to meet our needs. This chapter is a brief tribute to where we have come from and where we may be potentially heading in the field of robotic assisted urologic surgery.

Apically Extruded Debris during Root Canal Instrumentation with Reciproc Blue, HyFlex EDM, and XP-endo Shaper Nickel-titanium Files.

Science.gov (United States)

Uslu, Gülşah; Özyürek, Taha; Yılmaz, Koray; Gündoğar, Mustafa; Plotino, Gianluca

2018-05-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the amount of apically extruded debris by Reciproc Blue (REC Blue; VDW, Munich, Germany), HyFlex EDM (HEDM; Coltene/Whaledent, Altstätten, Switzerland), and XP-endo Shaper (XPS; FKG Dentaire SA, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland) files during root canal preparation at body temperature. Sixty extracted single-rooted mandibular premolar human teeth were randomly assigned to 3 groups (n = 20). The canals were instrumented using 1 of the following instruments: REC Blue, HEDM, or XPS. Apically extruded debris during instrumentation was collected into preweighed Eppendorf tubes. All the procedures were performed at 35°C. The amount of extruded debris was calculated by subtracting the weight value of the tooth-free apparatus from the postpreparation weight value. The data were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test at a 5% significance level. All the instruments tested caused extrusion of some debris from the apical foramen. XPS extruded significantly less debris from the apex than REC Blue (P  .05). Within the limitations of this in vitro study, the amount of apically extruded debris registered for the different files tested was REC Blue > HEDM > XPS, with a statistical difference only between XPS and REC Blue. Copyright © 2018 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Validation of an instrument to measure food practices in Chilean families of school children aged 4-7 years].

Science.gov (United States)

Lera, Lydia; Salinas, Judith; Fretes, Gabriela; Vio, Fernando

2013-11-01

It is necessary to assess family food habits in school children to cope with infant obesity. Designing and validation of an instrument to measure food habits and food knowledge in Chilean preschool and school families based on dietary guidelines. A pilot study in 30 preschool and school-age parents was carried-out. A questionnaire to measure food habits and food knowledge in parents was elaborated by researchers considering an expert group opinion. This questionnaire was applied twice with a 15 days interval, evaluating temporal stability, internal consistency and inter-personal agreement. Afterwards, the questionnaire was applied to 59 parents calculating the internal consistency of the instrument. The questionnaire had 55 questions in 4 sections. The instrument had questions about food and nutrition information about the families. A good inter-personal agreement resulted for almost all the questions about food and nutrition information (0.5-1.0). The correlation between the first and second test (test-retest) was high (0.6-1.0), as well as the internal consistency (0.75). In the section about frequency consumption in parents and children food consumption at home and school there was a high internal consistency for the two observers (0.85-0.92 and 0.87-0.90). The instrument is valid and useful to be utilized in preschool and school families intervened with nutrition education, and this methodology can be replied in other studies. Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2013. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

Derivatives Trading, Climate Science and Human Rights

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Haigh, Matthew

for capital flows associated with climate management. Media communications and decision making theories are used to interpret data drawn from participant observation and interviews with climate scientists, policy makers and institutional investors. Findings - The framework suggests a digital divide between...... the heaviest polluters as contributing to carbon-minimised investment portfolios. Assets owned by privately managed pension funds have remained materially exposed to risks posed by climate change. In public finance, a narrow range of financial instruments centred on derivatives trading has entrenched global...... between human rights, climate change, and the stability of private pensions provision. Originality/value - Provides policy sciences useful assessments of communication media and financial instruments used in climate management. Establishes bases for theoretical and applied communications research...

THE ASYLUM, BETWEEN HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE AND POLITICAL INSTRUMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

CATRINEL BRUMAR

2012-05-01

Full Text Available At 9 November 2010, the European Court of Justice, in a preliminary ruling, decided to depart from the interpretation promoted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, in the matter of the application of the exclusion clauses. The European Court considered that no proportionality test between human rights protection and gravity of a crime is to be applied in the case of a person suspected of having committed an act contrary to the principles and purposes of the United Nations. By eliminating this test, the Court is sending a signal on rethinking the asylum institution, from a humanitarian tool that it became, to a political instrument. This decision could not be read alone; corroborated to the concerns already raised on the suitable use of the asylum instrument to address massive humanitarian needs, it would indicate a reorientation in the interpretation of international norms governing the refugee law. Still, the human rights organs and the European Court of Human Rights continue to refer to the asylum as a situation where a humanitarian perspective, reflected in the proportionality test, or for those mechanisms the risk of human rights violation probability test, is still valid. The two apparently divergent directions will need to converge in the implementation of the European Union regulations on asylum. This paper is exploring the possible reinterpretation of the European norms, trying to identify the new trends in the political perspective of asylum and the limitations to these trends that the respect for human rights is establishing.

Radioisotope instruments

CERN Document Server

Cameron, J F; Silverleaf, D J

1971-01-01

International Series of Monographs in Nuclear Energy, Volume 107: Radioisotope Instruments, Part 1 focuses on the design and applications of instruments based on the radiation released by radioactive substances. The book first offers information on the physical basis of radioisotope instruments; technical and economic advantages of radioisotope instruments; and radiation hazard. The manuscript then discusses commercial radioisotope instruments, including radiation sources and detectors, computing and control units, and measuring heads. The text describes the applications of radioisotop

On the use of spectra from portable Raman and ATR-IR instruments in synthesis route attribution of a chemical warfare agent by multivariate modeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Wiktelius, Daniel; Ahlinder, Linnea; Larsson, Andreas; Höjer Holmgren, Karin; Norlin, Rikard; Andersson, Per Ola

2018-08-15

Collecting data under field conditions for forensic investigations of chemical warfare agents calls for the use of portable instruments. In this study, a set of aged, crude preparations of sulfur mustard were characterized spectroscopically without any sample preparation using handheld Raman and portable IR instruments. The spectral data was used to construct Random Forest multivariate models for the attribution of test set samples to the synthetic method used for their production. Colored and fluorescent samples were included in the study, which made Raman spectroscopy challenging although fluorescence was diminished by using an excitation wavelength of 1064 nm. The predictive power of models constructed with IR or Raman data alone, as well as with combined data was investigated. Both techniques gave useful data for attribution. Model performance was enhanced when Raman and IR spectra were combined, allowing correct classification of 19/23 (83%) of test set spectra. The results demonstrate that data obtained with spectroscopy instruments amenable for field deployment can be useful in forensic studies of chemical warfare agents. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Human Rights Act, 12 February 1987.

Science.gov (United States)

1987-01-01

This document reprints major provisions of the Yukon's (Canada) 1987 Human Rights Act. The Act furthers the public policy that every individual is free and equal in dignity and rights, seeks to discourage and eliminate discrimination, and promotes the underlying principles of Canadian and international human rights instruments. Part 1 contains a Bill of Rights that protects the right to freedom of: 1) religion and conscience, 2) expression, 3) assembly and association, and 4) to enjoyment and disposition of property. Part 2 prohibits discrimination based on ancestry (including color and race), national origin, ethnic or linguistic background or origin, age, sex (including pregnancy), and marital or family status. Discrimination is also prohibited when offering services, goods, or facilities to the public; in connection with employment; in connection with membership in trade unions or trade, occupational, or professional associations; and in negotiation or performance of public contracts. The Bill of Rights lists reasonable causes for discrimination as well as exemptions, including preferential treatment for organization or family members or employment in a private home. Special programs and affirmative action programs are specifically not considered discrimination under this Act. The Act sets forth rules for providing equal pay for work of equal value and creates a Yukon Human Rights Commission to promote human rights and assist adjudication of complaints.

Moisture movement in soils on the Hanford Reservation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brownell, L.E.; Isaacson, R.E.; Sloughter, J.P.; Veatch, M.D.

1971-01-01

Methods being studied are as follows: the thermodynamic method based on water potential and thermocouple psychrometers; the tracer method using atmospheric tritium; the annual water balance based on the annual heat balance; the field lysimeter using thermocouple psychrometers; the influence of soil breathing as a result of changes in barometric pressure; and the influence of soil stratification. Progress to date has involved the installation of thermocouple psychrometers from the surface to the water table 310 feet below. These instruments are in the process of equilibration. Isothermal methods of analyzing water potential must be extended to include nonisothermal conditions which are dominant at the Hanford Reservation. Tracer techniques using tritium analyses of soil samples have successfully demonstrated that archaic water exists in virgin soil at the Hanford Reservation from a depth of approximately 7 meters to the water table, indicating that percolation has been limited to lesser depths. The annual heat balance indicates that quantities of water many times greater than the annual average precipitation of 16 centimeters can be evaporated from the soils at the Hanford Reservation during a normal summer. This indicates that the critical precipitation (P/sub c/) value may be greater than 30 to 50 centimeters of water. More precise values of the Bowen's ratio for the Hanford Reservation are required to refine this computation. The field lysimeter is perhaps the most direct method of determining the critical precipitation values for the Hanford Reservation but as yet has not been used

Delayed recovery of right ventricular systolic function after repair of long-standing tricuspid regurgitation associated with severe right ventricular failure.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jong Hun; Kim, Kyung Hwa; Choi, Jong Bum; Kuh, Ja Hong

2016-03-01

After tricuspid valve surgery for long-standing tricuspid regurgitation associated with right ventricular failure, reverse remodelling of the enlarged right ventricle, including recovery of right ventricular systolic function, is unpredictable. We present the case of a 31-year old man with early reduction of dilated right ventricular dimensions and delayed recovery of impaired right ventricular systolic function after valve repair for traumatic tricuspid regurgitation lasting 16 years. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.

Instrument Remote Control via the Astronomical Instrument Markup Language

Science.gov (United States)

Sall, Ken; Ames, Troy; Warsaw, Craig; Koons, Lisa; Shafer, Richard

1998-01-01

The Instrument Remote Control (IRC) project ongoing at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center's (GSFC) Information Systems Center (ISC) supports NASA's mission by defining an adaptive intranet-based framework that provides robust interactive and distributed control and monitoring of remote instruments. An astronomical IRC architecture that combines the platform-independent processing capabilities of Java with the power of Extensible Markup Language (XML) to express hierarchical data in an equally platform-independent, as well as human readable manner, has been developed. This architecture is implemented using a variety of XML support tools and Application Programming Interfaces (API) written in Java. IRC will enable trusted astronomers from around the world to easily access infrared instruments (e.g., telescopes, cameras, and spectrometers) located in remote, inhospitable environments, such as the South Pole, a high Chilean mountaintop, or an airborne observatory aboard a Boeing 747. Using IRC's frameworks, an astronomer or other scientist can easily define the type of onboard instrument, control the instrument remotely, and return monitoring data all through the intranet. The Astronomical Instrument Markup Language (AIML) is the first implementation of the more general Instrument Markup Language (IML). The key aspects of our approach to instrument description and control applies to many domains, from medical instruments to machine assembly lines. The concepts behind AIML apply equally well to the description and control of instruments in general. IRC enables us to apply our techniques to several instruments, preferably from different observatories.

Microplastic ingestion decreases energy reserves in marine worms.

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, Stephanie L; Rowe, Darren; Thompson, Richard C; Galloway, Tamara S

2013-12-02

The indiscriminate disposal of plastic to the environment is of concern. Microscopic plastic litter (environment, originating from the fragmentation of plastic items and from industry and personal-care products [1]. On highly impacted beaches, microplastic concentrations (impacts remain understudied [1]. Here, we show that deposit-feeding marine worms maintained in sediments spiked with microscopic unplasticised polyvinylchloride (UPVC) at concentrations overlapping those in the environment had significantly depleted energy reserves by up to 50% (Figure 1). Our results suggest that depleted energy reserves arise from a combination of reduced feeding activity, longer gut residence times of ingested material and inflammation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Measuring student engagement among elementary students: pilot of the Student Engagement Instrument--Elementary Version.

Science.gov (United States)

Carter, Chandra P; Reschly, Amy L; Lovelace, Matthew D; Appleton, James J; Thompson, Dianne

2012-06-01

Early school withdrawal, commonly referred to as dropout, is associated with a plethora of negative outcomes for students, schools, and society. Student engagement, however, presents as a promising theoretical model and cornerstone of school completion interventions. The purpose of the present study was to validate the Student Engagement Instrument-Elementary Version (SEI-E). The psychometric properties of this measure were assessed based on the responses of an ethnically diverse sample of 1,943 students from an urban locale. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the 4-factor model of student engagement provided the best fit for the current data, which is divergent from previous SEI studies suggesting 5- and 6-factor models. Discussion and implications of these findings are presented in the context of student engagement and dropout prevention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).

Exploring mouthfeel in model wines: Sensory-to-instrumental approaches.

Science.gov (United States)

Laguna, Laura; Sarkar, Anwesha; Bryant, Michael G; Beadling, Andrew R; Bartolomé, Begoña; Victoria Moreno-Arribas, M

2017-12-01

/absence of tannins. It is therefore necessary to use an integrative approach that combines complementary instrumental techniques for mouthfeel perception characterization. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pre-donation cognitions of potential living organ donors: the development of the Donation Cognition Instrument in potential kidney donors.

Science.gov (United States)

Wirken, Lieke; van Middendorp, Henriët; Hooghof, Christina W; Sanders, Jan-Stephan F; Dam, Ruth E; van der Pant, Karlijn A M I; Berendsen, Elsbeth C M; Wellink, Hiske; Dackus, Henricus J A; Hoitsma, Andries J; Hilbrands, Luuk B; Evers, Andrea W M

2017-03-01

Cognitions surrounding living organ donation, including the motivation to donate, expectations of donation and worries about donation, are relevant themes during living donor evaluation. However, there is no reliable psychometric instrument assessing all these different cognitions. This study developed and validated a questionnaire to assess pre-donation motivations, expectations and worries regarding donation, entitled the Donation Cognition Instrument (DCI). Psychometric properties of the DCI were examined using exploratory factor analysis for scale structure and associations with validated questionnaires for construct validity assessment. From seven Dutch transplantation centres, 719 potential living kidney donors were included. The DCI distinguishes cognitions about donor benefits, recipient benefits, idealistic incentives, gratitude and worries about donation (Cronbach's alpha 0.76-0.81). Scores on pre-donation cognitions differed with regard to gender, age, marital status, religion and donation type. With regard to construct validity, the DCI was moderately correlated with expectations regarding donor's personal well-being and slightly to moderately to health-related quality of life. The DCI is found to be a reliable instrument assessing cognitions surrounding living organ donation, which might add to pre-donation quality of life measures in facilitating psychosocial donor evaluation by healthcare professionals. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of ERA-EDTA. All rights reserved.

Measuring Environmental Factors: Unique and Overlapping International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health Coverage of 5 Instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Heinemann, Allen W; Miskovic, Ana; Semik, Patrick; Wong, Alex; Dashner, Jessica; Baum, Carolyn; Magasi, Susan; Hammel, Joy; Tulsky, David S; Garcia, Sofia F; Jerousek, Sara; Lai, Jin-Shei; Carlozzi, Noelle E; Gray, David B

2016-12-01

environmental factor chapters. The pattern of correlations with legacy instruments provides initial evidence of construct validity. Copyright © 2016 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

THE INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND THE STATE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

DANA TITA

2011-04-01

Full Text Available The concept of man’s individual rights appeared a long time ago as a means of the individual’s protection in relationship with the others. Living in a society, man interacts with other people, and these relations are regulated by certain rules. Once the state was formed, these rules become increasingly powerful while the concept of freedom is differently acknowledged.What actually lay at the basis of individual rights’ development was the concept of natural right which appeared in ancient Greece, and which can be traced throughout history like Ariadne’s thread, guiding different thoughtschools. Human’s fundamental rights are sanctioned only after being put down in the constitutions of different states, and once regional and international protection instruments are created. Nevertheless, in countries controlled by totalitarian regimes, human rights were infringed, the individual having to obey the collective community.These regimes having collapsed, individual rights underwent a change for the better, but they also came to a standstill due to 9/11 or Ground Zero. After this event, and in the context of the fight against terrorism, individual freedom was limited in the name of freedom itself, and individual rights are currently regressing as to the possibility of being exercised.

Human rights principles in developing and updating policies and laws on mental health

OpenAIRE

Schulze, M.

2016-01-01

The World Health Organization's Mental Health Action Plan 2013?2020 stipulates human rights as a cross-cutting principle (WHO, 2013) and foresees global targets to update policies as well as mental health laws in line with international and regional human rights instruments. The international human rights agreements repeatedly refer to health, including mental health. The most pertinent provisions related to mental health are enshrined in the 2006 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disa...

Brain activation during dichotic presentations of consonant-vowel and musical instrument stimuli: a 15O-PET study.

Science.gov (United States)

Hugdahl, K; Brønnick, K; Kyllingsbaek, S; Law, I; Gade, A; Paulson, O B

1999-04-01

Dichotic listening means that two different stimuli are presented at the same time, one in each ear. This technique is frequently used in experimental and clinical studies as a measure of hemispheric specialization. The primary aim of the present study was to record regional changes in the distribution of cerebral blood flow (CBF) with the 15O-PET technique to dichotically presented consonant-vowel (CV) and musical instrument stimuli, in order to test the basic assumption of differential hemispheric involvement when stimuli presented to one ear dominate over stimuli presented in the other ear. All stimuli were 380 ms in duration with a 1000 ms interstimulus interval, and were presented in blocks of either CV-syllable or musical instrument pairs. Twelve normal healthy subjects had to press a button whenever they detected a CV-syllable or a musical instrument target in a stream of CV- and musical instrument distractor stimuli. The targets appeared equally often in the right and left ear channel. The CV-syllable and musical instrument targets activated bilateral areas in the superior temporal gyri. However, there were significant interactions with regard to asymmetry of the magnitude of peak activation in the significant activation clusters. The CV-syllables resulted in greater neural activation in the left temporal lobe while the musical instruments resulted in greater neural activation in the right temporal lobe. Within-subjects correlations between magnitude of dichotic listening and CBF asymmetry were, however, non-significant. The changes in neural activation were closely mimicked by the performance data which showed a right ear superiority in response accuracy for the CV-syllables, and a left ear superiority for the musical instruments. In addition to the temporal lobe activations, there were activation tendencies in the left inferior frontal lobe, right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, left occipital lobe, and cerebellum.

Psychometric properties of an instrument to measure nursing students' quality of life.

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, Yanxiang; Xu, Min; Li, Xiuyun

2015-07-01

It is important for clinical nursing teachers and managers to recognize the importance of nursing students' quality of life (QOL) since they are the source of future nurses. As yet, there is no quality of life evaluation scale (QOLES) specific to them. This study designed a quantitative instrument for evaluating QOL of nursing students. The study design was a descriptive survey with mixed methods including literature review, panel discussion, Delphi method, and statistical analysis. The data were collected from 880 nursing students from four teaching hospitals in Wuhan, China. The reliability and validity of the scale were tested through completion of the QOLES in a cluster sampling method. The total scale included 18 items in three domains: physical, psychological, and social functional. The cumulative contributing rate of the three common factors was 65.23%. Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the scale was 0.82. This scale had good reliability and validity to evaluate nursing students' QOL. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Umminger, K.

2008-01-01

A proper measurement of the relevant single and two-phase flow parameters is the basis for the understanding of many complex thermal-hydraulic processes. Reliable instrumentation is therefore necessary for the interaction between analysis and experiment especially in the field of nuclear safety research where postulated accident scenarios have to be simulated in experimental facilities and predicted by complex computer code systems. The so-called conventional instrumentation for the measurement of e. g. pressures, temperatures, pressure differences and single phase flow velocities is still a solid basis for the investigation and interpretation of many phenomena and especially for the understanding of the overall system behavior. Measurement data from such instrumentation still serves in many cases as a database for thermal-hydraulic system codes. However some special instrumentation such as online concentration measurement for boric acid in the water phase or for non-condensibles in steam atmosphere as well as flow visualization techniques were further developed and successfully applied during the recent years. Concerning the modeling needs for advanced thermal-hydraulic codes, significant advances have been accomplished in the last few years in the local instrumentation technology for two-phase flow by the application of new sensor techniques, optical or beam methods and electronic technology. This paper will give insight into the current state of instrumentation technology for safety-related thermohydraulic experiments. Advantages and limitations of some measurement processes and systems will be indicated as well as trends and possibilities for further development. Aspects of instrumentation in operating reactors will also be mentioned.

Instrumental intelligent test of food sensory quality as mimic of human panel test combining multiple cross-perception sensors and data fusion.

Science.gov (United States)

Ouyang, Qin; Zhao, Jiewen; Chen, Quansheng

2014-09-02

Instrumental test of food quality using perception sensors instead of human panel test is attracting massive attention recently. A novel cross-perception multi-sensors data fusion imitating multiple mammal perception was proposed for the instrumental test in this work. First, three mimic sensors of electronic eye, electronic nose and electronic tongue were used in sequence for data acquisition of rice wine samples. Then all data from the three different sensors were preprocessed and merged. Next, three cross-perception variables i.e., color, aroma and taste, were constructed using principal components analysis (PCA) and multiple linear regression (MLR) which were used as the input of models. MLR, back-propagation artificial neural network (BPANN) and support vector machine (SVM) were comparatively used for modeling, and the instrumental test was achieved for the comprehensive quality of samples. Results showed the proposed cross-perception multi-sensors data fusion presented obvious superiority to the traditional data fusion methodologies, also achieved a high correlation coefficient (>90%) with the human panel test results. This work demonstrated that the instrumental test based on the cross-perception multi-sensors data fusion can actually mimic the human test behavior, therefore is of great significance to ensure the quality of products and decrease the loss of the manufacturers. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Possible use of electric cars as balancing instrument

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tirez, Andreas; Luickx, Patrick; Woitrin, Dominique

2010-09-15

A massive introduction of electric cars is foreseeable in the mid to long term. Implementing a 'vehicle-to-grid' setting makes it possible to use these cars to deliver ancillary services to the electricity system. In this paper, the possibility of delivering active reserves in the Belgian control area is analyzed. We assume one million electric cars that can be connected to the Belgian grid. Based on our simulation, electric cars could be used for delivering all primary, all secondary and part of the tertiary reserves. Using electric cars as a balancing instrument would facilitate absorbing intermittent energy into the electricity system.

Rights and Intentions in Value Modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Johannesson, Paul; Bergholtz, Maria

In order to manage increasingly complex business and IT environments, organizations need effective instruments for representing and understanding this complexity. Essential among these instruments are enterprise models, i.e. computational representations of the structure, processes, information, resources, and intentions of organizations. One important class of enterprise models are value models, which focus on the business motivations and intentions behind business processes and describe them in terms of high level notions like actors, resources, and value exchanges. The essence of these value exchanges is often taken to be an ownership transfer. However, some value exchanges cannot be analyzed in this way, e.g. the use of a service does not influence ownership. The goal of this chapter is to offer an analysis of the notion of value exchanges, based on Hohfeld's classification of rights, and to propose notation and practical modeling guidelines that make use of this analysis.

Instrumental interaction

OpenAIRE

Luciani , Annie

2007-01-01

International audience; The expression instrumental interaction as been introduced by Claude Cadoz to identify a human-object interaction during which a human manipulates a physical object - an instrument - in order to perform a manual task. Classical examples of instrumental interaction are all the professional manual tasks: playing violin, cutting fabrics by hand, moulding a paste, etc.... Instrumental interaction differs from other types of interaction (called symbolic or iconic interactio...

Parents: Avoid Kids Foot Problems with the Right Shoes

Science.gov (United States)

... Print | Share Avoid Kids Foot Problems with the Right Shoes Before you head to the store to ... College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons (ACFAS), All Rights Reserved. Privacy Statement | Disclaimer | Terms and Conditions | Site ...

Culture and the human rights of women in Africa: Between light and shadow

OpenAIRE

Ssenyonjo, M

2007-01-01

Copyright @ School of Oriental and African Studies. Despite the ratification by African states of several human rights instruments protecting the human rights of women in Africa, and the solemn commitment of the African states to eliminate all forms of discrimination and harmful practices against women, women in Africa still continue to experience human rights violations. Most African women are denied the equal enjoyment of their human rights, in particular by virtue of the lesser status a...

Does Subjective Left-Right Position Have a Causal Effect on Support for Redistribution?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jæger, Mads Meier

characteristics as instruments for left-right position, can be used to estimate the causal effect of left-right position on support for redistribution. I analyze data on Sweden, Germany, and Norway from the two first waves of the European Social Survey and find first that left-right position is endogenous...... to support for redistribution, and second consistent with theory, that a causal effect of left-right position on support for redistribution exists which is stronger than previously shown....

Adding delayed recall to the ADAS-cog improves measurement precision in mild Alzheimer's disease: Implications for predicting instrumental activities of daily living.

Science.gov (United States)

Lowe, Deborah A; Balsis, Steve; Benge, Jared F; Doody, Rachelle S

2015-12-01

As research increasingly focuses on preclinical stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD), instruments must be retooled to identify early cognitive markers of AD. A supplemental delayed recall subtest for the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive (ADAS-cog; Mohs, Rosen, & Davis, 1983; Rosen, Mohs, & Davis, 1984) is commonly implemented, but it is not known precisely where along the spectrum of cognitive dysfunction this subtest yields incremental information beyond what is gained from the standard ADAS-cog, or whether it can improve prediction of functional outcomes. An item response theory approach can analyze this in a psychometrically rigorous way. Seven hundred eighty-eight patients with AD or amnestic complaints or impairment completed a battery including the ADAS-cog and 2 activities of daily living measures. The delayed recall subtest slightly improved the ADAS-cog's measurement precision in the mild range of cognitive dysfunction and increased prediction of instrumental activities of daily living for individuals with subjective memory impairment. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Exploring the Interplay Between the Right to a Fair Trial and Other Constitutional Rights in South African Criminal Proceedings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Madumetja Kate Malepe

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The right to a fair trial is dependent on language power in courtrooms. In the same breadth, the protection of other constitutional rights is premised on the right to a fair trial. Unfortunately, a non-English-speaking accused person cannot use his or her language because English is the language of court record; hence it is possible to produce a trial which is unfair to the accused person. Recently, heads of South African courts have reinforced the historical predominant use of English by declaring it the only official language of record in all courts, inconsiderate of the fact that language is instrumental to a fair trial and other constitutional rights. This article therefore seeks to determine the interplay between the right to a fair trial which may be tainted by language, and other constitutional rights. The article stems from its argument that language does not only affect the right to a fair trial, but also other rights of the accused person that may be safeguarded if the trial is conducted in his or her language. In the process of determination of this interplay, this article also highlights some of the legally enforceable mechanisms that prompt the unfairness of a trial.

Instrumentation development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ubbes, W.F.; Yow, J.L. Jr.

1988-01-01

Instrumentation is developed for the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program to meet several different (and sometimes conflicting) objectives. This paper addresses instrumentation development for data needs that are related either directly or indirectly to a repository site, but does not touch on instrumentation for work with waste forms or other materials. Consequently, this implies a relatively large scale for the measurements, and an in situ setting for instrument performance. In this context, instruments are needed for site characterization to define phenomena, develop models, and obtain parameter values, and for later design and performance confirmation testing in the constructed repository. The former set of applications is more immediate, and is driven by the needs of program design and performance assessment activities. A host of general technical and nontechnical issues have arisen to challenge instrumentation development. Instruments can be classed into geomechanical, geohydrologic, or other specialty categories, but these issues cut across artificial classifications. These issues are outlined. Despite this imposing list of issues, several case histories are cited to evaluate progress in the area

Cultural Diversities and Human Rights: History, Minorities, Pluralization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

EDUARDO J. RUIZ VIEYTEZ

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Cultural diversity plays today a prominent role in the updating and developing of human rights. Past developments in the protection of rights have essentially forgotten the democratic management of cultural and identity-based diversity. States have stifled the main developments of the rights and constrained them to partial views in favour of the majority or dominant groups in each country. The current context of regional progressive integration and social diversification within each state agrees on the need to address the adequacy of systems for the protection of rights from different strategies to the context of multiculturalism. Against the process of "nationalization of rights" it is necessary to adopt a strategy for pluralization. On the one hand, the concept of minority has to be given its corresponding importance in both international and domestic law. On the other hand, different kind of policies and legal instruments for the accommodation of diversity can be identified and used to foster this necessary process of pluralization.

Instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Decreton, M.

2002-01-01

SCK-CEN's R and D programme on instrumentation involves the development of advanced instrumentation systems for nuclear applications as well as the assessment of the performance of these instruments in a radiation environment. Particular emphasis is on the use of optical fibres as umbilincal links of a remote handling unit for use during maintanance of a fusion reacor, studies on the radiation hardening of plasma diagnostic systems; investigations on new instrumentation for the future MYRRHA accelerator driven system; space applications related to radiation-hardened lenses; the development of new approaches for dose, temperature and strain measurements; the assessment of radiation-hardened sensors and motors for remote handling tasks and studies of dose measurement systems including the use of optical fibres. Progress and achievements in these areas for 2001 are described

Instrumentation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Decreton, M

2002-04-01

SCK-CEN's R and D programme on instrumentation involves the development of advanced instrumentation systems for nuclear applications as well as the assessment of the performance of these instruments in a radiation environment. Particular emphasis is on the use of optical fibres as umbilincal links of a remote handling unit for use during maintanance of a fusion reacor, studies on the radiation hardening of plasma diagnostic systems; investigations on new instrumentation for the future MYRRHA accelerator driven system; space applications related to radiation-hardened lenses; the development of new approaches for dose, temperature and strain measurements; the assessment of radiation-hardened sensors and motors for remote handling tasks and studies of dose measurement systems including the use of optical fibres. Progress and achievements in these areas for 2001 are described.

Effect of Instrument Design and Access Outlines on the Removal of Root Canal Obturation Materials in Oval-shaped Canals.

Science.gov (United States)

Niemi, Tuomas K; Marchesan, Melissa A; Lloyd, Adam; Seltzer, Robert J

2016-10-01

The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of TRUShape (TS) instruments with ProFile Vortex Blue (VB) instruments for the removal of obturation materials during retreatment of single-canal mandibular premolars performed through 2 access outlines. Initial root canal treatment was completed through a contracted endodontic cavity (CEC) design. Canals were instrumented to an F2 ProTaper instrument, obturated with warm lateral condensation of gutta-percha with AH Plus sealer, and allowed to set for 30 days at 37°C and 100% humidity. For retreatment, specimens were divided into 2 groups (n = 24) on the basis of access outline, CEC or traditional endodontic cavity (TEC). Retreatment was initiated by using ProTaper Retreatment instruments (D1-D3). Specimens were then stratified, further divided (n = 12), and reinstrumented up to TS 40 .06v or 40 .06 VB. Irrigation was performed by using 8.25% NaOCl and QMix 2in1. Retreatment time was recorded. Teeth were sectioned and photographed, and the percentage of remaining obturation materials was measured. Data were analyzed with Kruskal-Wallis analysis of variance for two-factor tests (α canal surface when compared with TEC-VB, CEC-TS, and TEC-TS (P ≤ .05). None of these other combinations were different from each other (P > .05). Significantly more time was required for retreatment with CEC-TS (27.68 ± 1.4 minutes) than the other groups (P root canal surface of mandibular premolars. However, in the presence of a CEC access design, using TS instruments removed more obturating material in single-rooted, oval-shaped canals. Copyright © 2016 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Nurses Self-Concept Instrument (NSCI): assessment of psychometric properties for Australian domestic and international student nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Angel, Elizabeth; Craven, Rhonda; Denson, Nida

2012-07-01

. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The role of instrumental emotion regulation in the emotions-creativity link: how worries render individuals with high neuroticism more creative.

Science.gov (United States)

Leung, Angela K-Y; Liou, Shyhnan; Qiu, Lin; Kwan, Letty Y-Y; Chiu, Chi-Yue; Yong, Jose C

2014-10-01

Based on the instrumental account of emotion regulation (Tamir, 2005), the current research seeks to offer a novel perspective to the emotions-creativity debate by investigating the instrumental value of trait-consistent emotions in creativity. We hypothesize that emotions such as worry (vs. happy) are trait-consistent experiences for individuals higher on trait neuroticism and experiencing these emotions can facilitate performance in a creativity task. In 3 studies, we found support for our hypothesis. First, individuals higher in neuroticism had a greater preference for recalling worrisome (vs. happy) events in anticipation of performing a creativity task (Study 1). Moreover, when induced to recall a worrisome (vs. happy) event, individuals higher in neuroticism came up with more creative design (Study 2) and more flexible uses of a brick (Study 3) when the task was a cognitively demanding one. Further, Study 3 offers preliminary support that increased intrinsic task enjoyment and motivation mediates the relationship between trait-consistent emotion regulation and creative performance. These findings offer a new perspective to the controversy concerning the emotions-creativity relationship and further demonstrate the role of instrumental emotion regulation in the domain of creative performance. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Mind the (knowledge) gap: the effect of a communication instrument on emergency department patients' comprehension of and satisfaction with care.

Science.gov (United States)

Simmons, Stefanie; Sharp, Brian; Fowler, Jennifer; Fowkes, Hope; Paz-Arabo, Patricia; Dilt-Skaggs, Mary Kate; Singal, Bonita; Carter, Thomas

2015-02-01

We developed a communication instrument to be used in the Emergency Department (ED) and hypothesized that use of this guide would increase patient comprehension of and satisfaction with care. This multi-site trial enrolled 643 patients in treatment and control groups. Comprehension of care was assessed by chart review and satisfaction measured via validated survey. Use of the instrument was not associated with improvements in patient knowledge about their care, with a mean of 4.6 (95% CI: 4.8-5.8) comprehension defects in the control group and 4.4 (95% CI: 3.9-4.9) in the treatment group. There was no significant effect on patient satisfaction 76.4% versus 76.9%, p=0.34. Elderly patients in both groups were found to have 1.1 (ppatients. Patients frequently misunderstand medical care in the ED. Comprehension decreases with increasing age. An isolated communication instrument does not improve satisfaction with or understanding of the care received. Providing a structured place for providers and patients to record details of care does not seem to improve satisfaction with or comprehension of care. Interventions that focus on communication skills and face time with patients may prove more effective. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The healthy afterschool activity and nutrition documentation instrument.

Science.gov (United States)

Ajja, Rahma; Beets, Michael W; Huberty, Jennifer; Kaczynski, Andrew T; Ward, Dianne S

2012-09-01

Policies call on afterschool programs to improve the physical activity and nutrition habits of youth attending. No tool exists to assess the extent to which the afterschool program environment meets physical activity and nutrition policies. To describe the development of the Healthy Afterschool Activity and Nutrition Documentation (HAAND) instrument, which consists of two subscales: Healthy Afterschool Program Index for Physical Activity (HAPI-PA) and the HAPI-Nutrition (HAPI-N). Thirty-nine afterschool programs took part in the HAAND evaluation during fall/spring 2010-2011. Inter-rater reliability data were collected at 20 afterschool programs during a single site visit via direct observation, personal interview, and written document review. Validity of the HAPI-PA was established by comparing HAPI-PA scores to pedometer steps collected in a subsample of 934 children attending 25 of the afterschool programs. Validity of the HAPI-N scores was compared against the mean number of times/week that fruits and vegetables (FV) and whole grains were served in the program. Data were analyzed in June/July 2011. Inter-rater percent agreement was 85%-100% across all items. Increased pedometer steps were associated with the presence of a written policy related to physical activity, amount/quality of staff training, use of a physical activity curriculum, and offering activities that appeal to both genders. Higher servings of FV and whole grains per week were associated with the presence of a written policy regarding the nutritional quality of snacks. The HAAND instrument is a reliable and valid measurement tool that can be used to assess the physical activity and nutritional environment of afterschool programs. Copyright © 2012 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Learning to inhibit the response during instrumental (operant) extinction.

Science.gov (United States)

Bouton, Mark E; Trask, Sydney; Carranza-Jasso, Rodrigo

2016-07-01

Five experiments tested implications of the idea that instrumental (operant) extinction involves learning to inhibit the learned response. All experiments used a discriminated operant procedure in which rats were reinforced for lever pressing or chain pulling in the presence of a discriminative stimulus (S), but not in its absence. In Experiment 1, extinction of the response (R) in the presence of S weakened responding in S, but equivalent nonreinforced exposure to S (without the opportunity to make R) did not. Experiment 2 replicated that result and found that extinction of R had no effect on a different R that had also been reinforced in the stimulus. In Experiments 3 and 4, rats first learned to perform several different stimulus and response combinations (S1R1, S2R1, S3R2, and S4R2). Extinction of a response in one stimulus (i.e., S1R1) transferred and weakened the same response, but not a different response, when it was tested in another stimulus (i.e., S2R1 but not S3R2). In Experiment 5, extinction still transferred between S1 and S2 when the stimuli set the occasion for R's association with different types of food pellets. The results confirm the importance of response inhibition in instrumental extinction: Nonreinforcement of the response in S causes the most effective suppression of responding, and response suppression is specific to the response but transfers and influences performance of the same response when it is occasioned by other stimuli. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Olive oil sensory defects classification with data fusion of instrumental techniques and multivariate analysis (PLS-DA).

Science.gov (United States)

Borràs, Eva; Ferré, Joan; Boqué, Ricard; Mestres, Montserrat; Aceña, Laura; Calvo, Angels; Busto, Olga

2016-07-15

Three instrumental techniques, headspace-mass spectrometry (HS-MS), mid-infrared spectroscopy (MIR) and UV-visible spectrophotometry (UV-vis), have been combined to classify virgin olive oil samples based on the presence or absence of sensory defects. The reference sensory values were provided by an official taste panel. Different data fusion strategies were studied to improve the discrimination capability compared to using each instrumental technique individually. A general model was applied to discriminate high-quality non-defective olive oils (extra-virgin) and the lowest-quality olive oils considered non-edible (lampante). A specific identification of key off-flavours, such as musty, winey, fusty and rancid, was also studied. The data fusion of the three techniques improved the classification results in most of the cases. Low-level data fusion was the best strategy to discriminate musty, winey and fusty defects, using HS-MS, MIR and UV-vis, and the rancid defect using only HS-MS and MIR. The mid-level data fusion approach using partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) scores was found to be the best strategy for defective vs non-defective and edible vs non-edible oil discrimination. However, the data fusion did not sufficiently improve the results obtained by a single technique (HS-MS) to classify non-defective classes. These results indicate that instrumental data fusion can be useful for the identification of sensory defects in virgin olive oils. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Validation of two screening instruments for PTSD in Dutch substance use disorder inpatients.

Science.gov (United States)

Kok, Tim; de Haan, Hein A; van der Velden, Helena J W; van der Meer, Margreet; Najavits, Lisa M; de Jong, Cor A J

2013-03-01

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is highly prevalent in substance use disorder (SUD) populations. Because resources for extensive and thorough diagnostic assessment are often limited, reliable screening instruments for PTSD are needed. The aim of the current study was to test two short PTSD measures for diagnostic efficiency in predicting PTSD compared to the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS). The sample consisted of 197 SUD patients receiving residential substance use treatment who completed questionnaires regarding substance use and trauma-related symptoms, all abstinent from substance for 4weeks. The PTSD section of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview plus (MINIplus) and the Self-Report Inventory for PTSD (SRIP) are compared to the CAPS. Results showed low sensitivity (.58) and high specificity (.91) for the PTSD section of the MINIplus. The SRIP showed high sensitivity (.80) and moderately high specificity (.73) at a cut-off score of 48. The prevalence of PTSD as measured with the CAPS was 25.4% current and 46.2% lifetime. Results indicate that the MINIplus, a short clinical interview, has insufficient quality as a screener for PTSD. The SRIP, however, is a reliable instrument in detecting PTSD in a SUD inpatient population in The Netherlands. Screening for PTSD is time efficient and increases detection of PTSD in SUD treatment settings. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influence of soil and climate heterogeneity on the performance of economic instruments for reducing nitrate leaching from agriculture.

Science.gov (United States)

Peña-Haro, Salvador; García-Prats, Alberto; Pulido-Velazquez, Manuel

2014-11-15

Economic instruments can be used to control groundwater nitrate pollution due to the intensive use of fertilizers in agriculture. In order to test their efficiency on the reduction of nitrate leaching, we propose an approach based on the combined use of production and pollution functions to derive the impacts on the expected farmer response of these instruments. Some of the most important factors influencing nitrate leaching and crop yield are the type of soil and the climatic conditions. Crop yield and nitrate leaching responses to different soil and climatic conditions were classified by means of a cluster analysis, and crops located in different areas but with similar response were grouped for the analysis. We use a spatial economic optimization model to evaluate the potential of taxes on nitrogen fertilizers, water prices, and taxes on nitrate emissions to reduce nitrate pollution, as well as their economic impact in terms of social welfare and farmers' net benefits. The method was applied to the Mancha Oriental System (MOS) in Spain, a large area with different soil types and climatic conditions. We divided the study area into zones of homogeneous crop production and nitrate leaching properties. Results show spatially different responses of crop growth and nitrate leaching, proving how the cost-effectiveness of pollution control instruments is contingent upon the spatial heterogeneities of the problem. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

45 CFR 7.4 - Option to acquire foreign rights.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Option to acquire foreign rights. 7.4 Section 7.4... Option to acquire foreign rights. In any case where it is determined that all domestic rights should be...-wide regulations issued thereunder, that the Government shall reserve an option to require the...

Robotic right middle lobectomy with a subxiphoid utility port.

Science.gov (United States)

Jayakumar, Shruti; Nardini, Marco; Papoulidis, Pavlos; Dunning, Joel

2018-06-01

We present the case of a 74-year-old man with Stage IIa pulmonary adenocarcinoma, for which he underwent a robotic right middle lobectomy. A 4-armed, 5-port approach was used. Four intercostal ports were created above the ninth rib using the Cerfolio's technique. The subxiphoid port was created in the midline, 5 cm down from the xiphisternum. The robot offers higher image quality, depth perception and improved articulation of the instruments, allowing for more accurate dissection and stitching. The usage of a subxiphoid utility port reduces the clashing between instruments, offers a good angle for stapling and provides a direct view of the instruments entering into the chest. Specimen removal through the subxiphoid port may reduce postoperative pain and enhance patient recovery. The use of the subxiphoid approach as a utility port for robotic surgery is promising and may be a suitable replacement for the traditional utility port.

WOMEN'S RIGHTS VIOLATION: HONOUR KILLINGS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

CRISTINA OTOVESCU FRASIE

2011-04-01

Full Text Available In this study I have presented the domestic violence concept and the situation regarding the observing of woman’s rights in Syria. We have also evidenced the juridical aspects regarding the honor killing directed against women after the modification of the article 548 from the Penal Code changed by the President al-Asad on July the 1st 2009. The data offered by NGOs have been of great help for the elaboration of the study as also the statistic data presented in Thara E-Magazine regarding the cities where had been done the honor killings and their number, the instrument of the murder, the age of the victim, and the motives for the murders. It must be noticed that, lately, the Government fought for the observing of the woman’s rights and promoted he gender equality by appointing women in leading positions, including the vice-president one.

The Responsibility Of Trade Unions In Transaction Collective Instruments About Compensatory Time

OpenAIRE

Manuella de Oliveira Soares; Rui Carvalho Piva

2016-01-01

The democratic State of Direct aims to provide assurance and effectiveness of fundamental rights in order that human dignity is preserved. In this way, among other fundamental rights is the right to health, in one of its aspects, protects workers' health. Thus, this study, through a bibliographical research aims to demonstrate that unions should be held responsible for damage caused to workers when preparing collective bargaining instruments to the creation of compensatory time with condition...

Use and Limitations of the Reserve Requirement Policy in Montenegro

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milošević Velibor

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Since reserve requirement is the only monetary policy instrument used in Montenegro, it has been subject to frequent amendments since the global crisis outbreak. The analysis of the monetary demand model showed that there is an active transmission mechanism of change in the reserve requirement rate on the deposits trend reflects on lending activity. Also, there is a significant impact of FDIs on deposits trending in the banking system, as well as the positive impact of turnover on stock exchange on the deposits and loans trend. Finally, it was found that the financial crisis has caused negative trends in loans and deposits. On the other hand, the impact of changes in the reserve requirement on the economic activity in Montenegro could not be determined. This is primarily due to the fact that the transmission mechanism of the effect of reserve requirement on economic activity is too long to be able to estimate the model that does not allow the dynamics of the independent variables. The second reason is that industrial output index is only an indirect indicator of the economic activity.

Ergonomic investigation of weight distribution of laparoscopic instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Chiuhsiang Joe; Chen, Hung-Jen; Lo, Ying-Chu

2011-06-01

Laparoscopic surgery procedures require highly specialized visually controlled movements. Investigations of industrial applications indicate that the length as well as the weight of hand-held tools substantially affects movement time (MT). Different weight distributions may have similar effects on long-shafted laparoscopic instruments when performing surgical procedures. For this reason, the current experiment aimed at finding direct evidence of the weight distribution effect in an accurate task. Ten right-handed subjects made continuous Fitts' pointing tasks using a long laparoscopic instrument. The factors and levels were target width: (2.5, 3, 3.5, and 4 cm), target distance (14, 23, and 37 cm), and weight distribution (uniform, front, middle, and rear). Weight distribution was made by chips of lead attached to the laparoscopic instrument. MT, error rate, and throughput (TP) were recorded as dependent variables. There were significant differences between the weight distribution in MT and in TP. The middle position was found to require the least time to manipulate the laparoscopic instrument in pointing tasks and also obtained the highest TP. These analyses and findings pointed to a design direction for the ergonomics and usability of the long hand-held tool such as the laparoscopic instrument in this study. To optimize efficiency in using these tools, the consideration of a better weight design is important and should not be neglected.

Vision though afocal instruments: generalized magnification and eye-instrument interaction

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, William F.; Evans, Tanya

2018-04-01

In Gaussian optics all observers experience the same magnification, the instrument's angular magnification, when viewing distant objects though a telescope or other afocal instruments. However, analysis in linear optics shows that this is not necessarily so in the presence of astigmatism. Because astigmatism may distort and rotate images it is appropriate to work with generalized angular magnification represented by a 2 × 2 matrix. An expression is derived for the generalized magnification for an arbitrary eye looking through an arbitrary afocal instrument. With afocal instruments containing astigmatic refracting elements not all eyes experience the same generalized magnification; there is interaction between eye and instrument. Eye-instrument interaction may change as the instrument is rotated about its longitudinal axis, there being no interaction in particular orientations. A simple numerical example is given. For sake of completeness, expressions for generalized magnification are also presented in the case of instruments that are not afocal and objects that are not distant.

Influence of Rotary Instrumentation with Continuous Irrigation on Pain and Neuropeptide Release Levels: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Bıçakcı, Hazal; Çapar, İsmail Davut; Genç, Selin; İhtiyar, Alperen; Sütçü, Recep

2016-11-01

The first objective was to determine correlation among various experimental and clinical pain measurement procedures. The second objective was to evaluate the influence of rotary instrumentation with continuous irrigation on pain and neuropeptide release levels. Forty patients who had preoperative pain at the levels of 3-8 on the visual analogue scale were included. Gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) samples were collected. Patients were randomly assigned to 2 treatment groups, the standard preparation group and the preparation with continuous irrigation group. Apical fluid samples (AFS) were collected after instrumentation. In the second visit, the patients' pain levels were recorded, and GCF and AFS were obtained. Substance P, calcitonin-gene related peptide (CGRP), interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-10 levels were analyzed from the GCF and AFS samples. For comparison between groups, the Mann-Whitney test was used (P Rotary preparation with continuous irrigation has not been more effective than the standard preparation method for reducing pain. Because of determination of the correlation between CGRP and IL-10 with percussion pain, these neuropeptides can be used in further studies. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Citation searches are more sensitive than keyword searches to identify studies using specific measurement instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Linder, Suzanne K; Kamath, Geetanjali R; Pratt, Gregory F; Saraykar, Smita S; Volk, Robert J

2015-04-01

To compare the effectiveness of two search methods in identifying studies that used the Control Preferences Scale (CPS), a health care decision-making instrument commonly used in clinical settings. We searched the literature using two methods: (1) keyword searching using variations of "Control Preferences Scale" and (2) cited reference searching using two seminal CPS publications. We searched three bibliographic databases [PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science (WOS)] and one full-text database (Google Scholar). We report precision and sensitivity as measures of effectiveness. Keyword searches in bibliographic databases yielded high average precision (90%) but low average sensitivity (16%). PubMed was the most precise, followed closely by Scopus and WOS. The Google Scholar keyword search had low precision (54%) but provided the highest sensitivity (70%). Cited reference searches in all databases yielded moderate sensitivity (45-54%), but precision ranged from 35% to 75% with Scopus being the most precise. Cited reference searches were more sensitive than keyword searches, making it a more comprehensive strategy to identify all studies that use a particular instrument. Keyword searches provide a quick way of finding some but not all relevant articles. Goals, time, and resources should dictate the combination of which methods and databases are used. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Comparison of the mechanical properties of rotary instruments made of conventional nickel-titanium wire, M-wire, or nickel-titanium alloy in R-phase.

Science.gov (United States)

Lopes, Hélio P; Gambarra-Soares, Thaiane; Elias, Carlos N; Siqueira, José F; Inojosa, Inês F J; Lopes, Weber S P; Vieira, Victor T L

2013-04-01

This study compared the mechanical properties of endodontic instruments made of conventional nickel-titanium (NiTi) wire (K(3) and Revo-S SU), M-Wire (ProFile Vortex), or NiTi alloy in R-phase (K(3)XF). The test instruments were subjected to mechanical tests to evaluate resistance to bending (flexibility), cyclic fatigue, and torsional load in clockwise rotation. Data were statistically evaluated by the analysis of variance test and the Student-Newman-Keuls test for multiple comparisons. In the bending resistance test, flexibility decreased in the following order: K(3)XF > Revo-S SU > ProFile Vortex > K(3). The ranking in the fatigue resistance test was the following: K(3)XF > K(3) > ProFile Vortex > Revo-S SU. In the torsional assay, the angular deflection at failure decreased in the following order: K(3)XF > Revo-S SU > K(3) > ProFile Vortex. For the maximum torque values, the ranking was K(3) > K(3)XF > ProFile Vortex > Revo-S SU. The results showed that the K(3)XF instrument, which is made of NiTi alloy in R-phase, had the overall best performance in terms of flexibility, angular deflection at failure, and cyclic fatigue resistance. In addition to the alloy from which the instrument is manufactured, the design and dimensions are important determinants of the mechanical performance of endodontic instruments. Copyright © 2013 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Prediction instrument for obesity in adolescents at the Policlínico Universitario "Manuel González Díaz", 2013-2014].

Science.gov (United States)

Piña Borrego, Carlos Enrique; Fernández Fernández, María de Lourdes; Fonte Rodríguez, Norge; Piña Rodríguez, Lorena Karla

Obesity is one of the principal non declarable diseases affecting children and adolescents. With the objective of developing a predictive instrument to identify high-risk adolescents with obesity, a cohort prospective study was carried out at the Policlinic "Manuel González Díaz", Bahía Honda City from 2013-2014. It was developed in three stages. In the first stage, 1800 adolescents from 10-19 years of age were included. The prevalence was identified and the most relevant characteristics of obesity were described (defined as body mass index >97 th percentile according to age and sex). In the second stage we identified the possibility of the diagnosis of factors that increase the probability of obesity. The third stage elaborated and validated an obesity predictor instrument from the results of the initial stages. To apply the instrument to sample A for internal elaboration and validation, sensitivity was 77.78% and specificity was 86.11%. Area under the curve (AUC) receiver operating characteristic (ROC) was 0.86, whereas for sample B the sensitivity was 79.63% and specificity was 92.13%. Positive predictive value (PPV) was 83.5% and negative predictive value (NPV) was 90.05%. The instrument allows predicting the risk for developing obesity in adolescents with acceptable sensitivity and high specificity. Its routine application will be interesting in pediatric health consultations. Copyright © 2014 Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez. Publicado por Masson Doyma México S.A. All rights reserved.

Measurement properties of instruments assessing permanent functional impairment of the spine: a systematic review protocol.

Science.gov (United States)

Goes, Suelen Meira; Trask, Catherine M; Boden, Catherine; Bath, Brenna; Ribeiro, Daniel Cury; Hendrick, Paul; Clay, Lynne; Zeng, Xiaoke; Milosavljevic, Stephan

2018-01-27

Permanent functional impairment (PFI) of the spine is a rating system used by compensation authorities, such as workers compensation boards, to establish an appropriate level of financial compensation for persistent loss of function. Determination of PFI of the spine is commonly based on the assessment of spinal movement combined with other measures of physical and functional impairments; however, the reliability and validity of the measurement instruments used for these evaluations have yet to be established. The aim of this study is to systematically review and synthesise the literature concerning measurement properties of the various and different instruments used for assessing PFI of the spine. Three conceptual groups of terms (1) PFI, (2) spinal disorder and (3) measurement properties will be combined to search Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science, Scopus, PEDro, OTSeeker and Health and Safety Science Abstracts. We will examine peer-reviewed, full-text articles over the full available date range. Two reviewers will independently screen citations (title, abstract and full text) and perform data extraction. Included studies will be appraised as to their methodological quality using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments criteria. Findings will be summarised and presented descriptively, with meta-analysis pursued as appropriate. This review will summarise the current level of evidence of measurement properties of instruments used for assessing PFI of the spine. Findings of this review may be applicable to clinicians, policy-makers, workers' compensation boards, other insurers and health and safety organisations. The findings will likely provide a foundation and direction for future research priorities for assessing spinal PFI. CRD42017060390. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise

Rights of Identity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Kofman

2017-01-01

Full Text Available A person’s identity is their sense of who and what they are, of who stands in significant relations to them, and of what is valuable to them. This is inevitably very broad, an immediate implication of which is that the concept of identity taken alone cannot do significant normative work. In some cases a person’s identity is bound up with the evil that they do or wish to do, and cannot thereby give them any right to do it. In other cases very powerful elements of a person’s identity – such as their attachment to loved ones – is certainly related to important rights, but it is not entirely clear that one needs the concept of identity to explicate or justify these rights; the deep involvement of their identity is arguably a byproduct of other important values in these cases (such as love, and those values can do the grounding work of the rights by themselves and more simply and clearly. Nevertheless, when suitably qualified, a person’s identity is central to accounting for important political rights. These ranges from rights to participate in cultural practices of one’s group, which sometimes implies duties on governments to support minorities threatened with extinction, to – at the outer limit – rights to arrange political administration. These rights are connected to both autonomy and fairness. Cultural rights are often taken either to be opposed to autonomy, or at best instrumental to personal autonomy (by providing ‘options’, but in fact, the ideal of autonomy, expressed by Mill as being the author of one’s life, requires that one be in control of significant aspects of one’s identity. Significant aspects of one’s identity are collectively determined within a culture. Cultures are not static, and their development is particularly affected by political boundaries. A fundamental right of autonomy implies, therefore, that groups be allowed, within reasonable constraints of general feasibility and stability, to arrange

Transfer of Rights and Obligations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Beale, Hugh; Ringe, Wolf-Georg

2013-01-01

This chapter compares the law on transfer of rights (i.e., assignment) in the Draft Common Frame of Reference (DCFR), English law, and German law. It first considers cases in which the three systems produce similar results before concentrating on situations in which the results and the interactions...... on assignment be included in a later version of an optional instrument, there will be a number of interactions with both English and German law in the sense that it will matter which system governs the agreements, particularly the agreement for assignment. Key differences include, inter alia, the proprietary...

Correlation between Temperature-dependent Fatigue Resistance and Differential Scanning Calorimetry Analysis for 2 Contemporary Rotary Instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Arias, Ana; Macorra, José C; Govindjee, Sanjay; Peters, Ove A

2018-04-01

Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Can hip arthroscopy be performed with conventional knee-length instrumentation?

Science.gov (United States)

Pascual-Garrido, Cecilia; McConkey, Mark O; Young, David A; Bravman, Jonathan T; Mei-Dan, Omer

2014-12-01

be available. Level IV, therapeutic case series. Copyright © 2014 Arthroscopy Association of North America. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Using instrumental (CIE and reflectance) measures to predict consumers' acceptance of beef colour.

Science.gov (United States)

Holman, Benjamin W B; van de Ven, Remy J; Mao, Yanwei; Coombs, Cassius E O; Hopkins, David L

2017-05-01

We aimed to establish colorimetric thresholds based upon the capacity for instrumental measures to predict consumer satisfaction with beef colour. A web-based survey was used to distribute standardised photographs of beef M. longissimus lumborum with known colorimetrics (L*, a*, b*, hue, chroma, ratio of reflectance at 630nm and 580nm, and estimated deoxymyoglobin, oxymyoglobin and metmyoglobin concentrations) for scrutiny. Consumer demographics and perceived importance of colour to beef value were also evaluated. It was found that a* provided the most simple and robust prediction of beef colour acceptability. Beef colour was considered acceptable (with 95% acceptance) when a* values were equal to or above 14.5. Demographic effects on this threshold were negligible, but consumer nationality and gender did contribute to variation in the relative importance of colour to beef value. These results provide future beef colour studies with context to interpret objective colour measures in terms of consumer acceptance and market appeal. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Right colon cancer: Left behind.

Science.gov (United States)

Gervaz, P; Usel, M; Rapiti, E; Chappuis, P; Neyroud-Kaspar, I; Bouchardy, C

2016-09-01

Prognosis of colon cancer (CC) has steadily improved during the past three decades. This trend, however, may vary according to proximal (right) or distal (left) tumor location. We studied if improvement in survival was greater for left than for right CC. We included all CC recorded at the Geneva population-based registry between 1980 and 2006. We compared patients, tumor and treatment characteristics between left and right CC by logistic regression and compared CC specific survival by Cox models taking into account putative confounders. We also compared changes in survival between CC location in early and late years of observation. Among the 3396 CC patients, 1334 (39%) had right-sided and 2062 (61%) left-sided tumors. In the early 1980s, 5-year specific survival was identical for right and left CCs (49% vs. 48%). During the study period, a dramatic improvement in survival was observed for patients with left-sided cancers (Hazard ratio [HR]: 0.42, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.29-0.62, p colon cancer patients, those with right-sided lesions have by far the worse prognosis. Change of strategic management in this subgroup is warranted. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE ON DYNAMICS OF CREDIT GROWTH AND FOREIGN RESERVE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Satrugan Sinah

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The paper presents a model for looking into the nature of change in foreign reserve from movements in domestic credit. This model is relevant to foreign reserve targeting, small and open economies. The model denotes that measures undertaken by central banks to constraint domestic credit growth with the view of controlling capital outflows will also be detrimental to foreign reserves level. The empirical studies with application of Fourier Transformation technique have been used to build a model, which shows that growth in domestic credit is more biased towards positive swings in foreign reserves, rather than being unfavorable. The small and open economies, particularly, the Pacific Island nations, have the right set up for application of this model to safeguard foreign reserves level.

Pancreatitis Quality of Life Instrument: Development of a new instrument

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wahid Wassef

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Objectives: The goal of this project was to develop the first disease-specific instrument for the evaluation of quality of life in chronic pancreatitis. Methods: Focus groups and interview sessions were conducted, with chronic pancreatitis patients, to identify items felt to impact quality of life which were subsequently formatted into a paper-and-pencil instrument. This instrument was used to conduct an online survey by an expert panel of pancreatologists to evaluate its content validity. Finally, the modified instrument was presented to patients during precognitive testing interviews to evaluate its clarity and appropriateness. Results: In total, 10 patients were enrolled in the focus groups and interview sessions where they identified 50 items. Once redundant items were removed, the 40 remaining items were made into a paper-and-pencil instrument referred to as the Pancreatitis Quality of Life Instrument. Through the processes of content validation and precognitive testing, the number of items in the instrument was reduced to 24. Conclusions: This marks the development of the first disease-specific instrument to evaluate quality of life in chronic pancreatitis. It includes unique features not found in generic instruments (economic factors, stigma, and spiritual factors. Although this marks a giant step forward, psychometric evaluation is still needed prior to its clinical use.

National instrument 51-101 : new rules are coming

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Story, C.A. [Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP, Calgary, AB (Canada)

2003-07-01

This paper provides general information about National Instrument 51-101 developed by the Alberta Securities Commission. NI 51-101 requires public companies to file an annual statement regarding estimated oil and gas reserves and related information. The report must be accompanied by an independent qualified evaluator's report and any other information regarding oil and gas activities. NI 51-101 incorporates reserves definitions developed by the reserves committee at the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM). The paper also outlines some of the issues that should be considered in purchases, sales, mergers, and acquisitions. This paper described the timing and transition of NI 51-101 and included a list of information that must be disclosed in the annual statement. Materiality standards, and material change disclosure was also described along with issuer obligations. It was noted that NI 51-101 will impact prospectus disclosures as well as memorandum disclosures.

Advance reservation access control using software-defined networking and tokens

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chung, Joaquin; Jung, Eun-Sung; Kettimuthu, Rajkumar; Rao, Nageswara S. V.; Foster, Ian T.; Clark, Russ; Owen, Henry

2018-02-01

Advance reservation systems allow users to reserve dedicated bandwidth connection resources from advanced high-speed networks. A common use case for such systems is data transfers in distributed science environments in which a user wants exclusive access to the reservation. However, current advance network reservation methods cannot ensure exclusive access of a network reservation to the specific flow for which the user made the reservation. We present here a novel network architecture that addresses this limitation and ensures that a reservation is used only by the intended flow. We achieve this by leveraging software-defined networking (SDN) and token-based authorization. We use SDN to orchestrate and automate the reservation of networking resources, end-to-end and across multiple administrative domains, and tokens to create a strong binding between the user or application that requested the reservation and the flows provisioned by SDN. We conducted experiments on the ESNet 100G SDN testbed, and demonstrated that our system effectively protects authorized flows from competing traffic in the network. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Validity of an instrument for assessing food consumption, food habits and cooking skills in 8-11 years old students].

Science.gov (United States)

Lera, Lydia; Fretes, Gabriela; González, Carmen Gloria; Salinas, Judith; Vio del Rio, Fernando

2015-05-01

An instrument to measure food knowledge, food consumption, cooking skills, food habits and food expenses at school is necessary to assess changes in food practices. To validate an instrument to measure changes in food knowledge, food consumption, cooking skills, food habits and food expenses in Chilean school children 8 - 11 years from third to fifth grade. A validation of a questionnaire with 42 questions was conducted in two stages: the first to assess temporal stability, concordance and internal consistency in 45 children. The second one to apply the survey, modified with the results of the first stage, in 90 children assessing internal consistency. The first survey with 42 questions showed a reasonable temporal stability, concordance and internal consistency for cooking skills, habits and food expenditure at school. Internal consistency was good for food consumption, but not so good for food knowledge. In the final validation with 90 children, there was good consistency for food consumption but bad for food knowledge. Besides, children with cooking skills ate more healthy food and those who expended more money at school, consumed less healthy food. Food knowledge questions were eliminated from the instrument, which was elaborated with 28 questions about food consumption, cooking skills, food habits and food expenses at school. This instrument is useful to assess changes in food and nutrition education interventions in 8 -11 years children, in particular to measure cooking skills and food expenses at school. Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

PET/CT: underlying physics, instrumentation, and advances.

Science.gov (United States)

Torres Espallardo, I

advances in this hybrid imaging modality. Copyright © 2016 SERAM. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Validation of the National Institutes of Health Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Survey as a Quality-of-Life Instrument for Patients with Malignant Brain Tumors and Their Caregivers.

Science.gov (United States)

Romero, Melissa M; Flood, Lisa Sue; Gasiewicz, Nanci K; Rovin, Richard; Conklin, Samantha

2015-12-01

At present there is a lack of well-validated surveys used to measure quality of life in patients with malignant brain tumors and their caregivers. The main objective of this pilot study was to validate the National Institutes of Health Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (NIH PROMIS) survey for use as a quality-of-life measure in this population. This article presents the rationale for using the NIH PROMIS instrument as a quality-of-life measure for patients with malignant brain tumors and their caregivers. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Single coronary artery and right aortic arch].

Science.gov (United States)

Martínez-Quintana, Efrén; Rodríguez-González, Fayna

2015-01-01

Coronary anomalies are mostly asymptomatic and diagnosed incidentally during coronary angiography or echocardiography. However, they must be taken into account in the differential diagnosis of angina, dyspnea, syncope, acute myocardial infarction or sudden death in young patients. The case is presented of two rare anomalies, single coronary artery originating from right sinus of Valsalva and right aortic arch, in a 65 year-old patient with atherosclerotic coronary artery disease treated percutaneously. Copyright © 2014 Sociedad Española de Arteriosclerosis. Published by Elsevier España. All rights reserved.

Perspective Intercultural Bioethics and Human Rights: the search for instruments for resolving ethical conflicts culturally based.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aline ALBUQUERQUE

2015-10-01

Full Text Available This article aims to contribute to a deeper reflection on intercultural conflicts within the bioethics scope, and to point out the problem of using human rights as a theoretical normative mediator of the conflicts in bioethics that bear elements of interculturalism. The methodological steps adopted in this inquiry were: analysis of the concept of intercultural conflict in bioethics, from the perception developed by Colectivo Amani; study of human rights as tools of the culture of human beings, based on Bauman’s and Beauchamp’s theories; investigation of the toolsthat human rights offer so as to solve intercultural conflicts in bioethics. It was concluded that intercultural bioethics must incorporate to its prescriptive and descriptive tasks norms and institutions of human rights that ensure the participation and social integration of the individuals from communities that are in cultural conflict. Such measure will act as instrumentsfor the solution of intercultural conflicts.

Conceptualising the right to data protection in an era of Big Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yvonne McDermott

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In 2009, with the enactment of the Lisbon Treaty, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union entered into force. Under Article 8 of the Charter, for the first time, a stand-alone fundamental right to data protection was declared. The creation of this right, standing as a distinct right to the right to privacy, is undoubtedly significant, and it is unique to the European legal order, being absent from other international human rights instruments. This commentary examines the parameters of this new right to data protection, asking what are the principles underpinning the right. It argues that the right reflects some key values inherent in the European legal order, namely: privacy, transparency, autonomy and nondiscrimination. It also analyses some of the challenges in implementing this right in an era of ubiquitous veillance practices and Big Data.

Proceedings: Instrumentation and control test reduction workshop

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-09-01

Instrumentation and control (I ampersand C) surveillance and testing is a significant contributor to operations and management costs. Several techniques to eliminate or reduce manual testing requirements could reduce costs while improving plant safety and performance. I ampersand C test reduction was the subject of this 1991 workshop. The workshop covered test elimination, test reduction, test automation, and relevant standards and benefits. The conclusions of the workshop were the following: More utility information sharing is important. There is a significant amount of information available throughout the industry, but it is not available in a concise, useable form. An I ampersand C utility users group is needed to address items such as instrument calibration reduction, set-point methodologies, and other current I ampersand C issues. The workshop was well received. The timing is right to initiate actions to reduce testing

THE BASIC OBJECTIVES OF DEMECRACY  AND FUNDAMENTAL INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS  FOR THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

OpenAIRE

ILGAZ , Dr.Nesrin DEMİR  Assist.Prof.Dr.Deniz

2007-01-01

The basic objectives of democracy, as they take place openly in the definition of the concept and are lead primarily by freedom and equality, are listed as political representation, political participation and rights. The first important document created in the international arena concerning human rights is the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, an instrument of the United Nations. A regional agreement which has great significance is the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental...

Instrument performance evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swinth, K.L.

1993-03-01

Deficiencies exist in both the performance and the quality of health physics instruments. Recognizing the implications of such deficiencies for the protection of workers and the public, in the early 1980s the DOE and the NRC encouraged the development of a performance standard and established a program to test a series of instruments against criteria in the standard. The purpose of the testing was to establish the practicality of the criteria in the standard, to determine the performance of a cross section of available instruments, and to establish a testing capability. Over 100 instruments were tested, resulting in a practical standard and an understanding of the deficiencies in available instruments. In parallel with the instrument testing, a value-impact study clearly established the benefits of implementing a formal testing program. An ad hoc committee also met several times to establish recommendations for the voluntary implementation of a testing program based on the studies and the performance standard. For several reasons, a formal program did not materialize. Ongoing tests and studies have supported the development of specific instruments and have helped specific clients understand the performance of their instruments. The purpose of this presentation is to trace the history of instrument testing to date and suggest the benefits of a centralized formal program

A comparative review of measurement instruments to inform and evaluate effectiveness of disability inclusive development.

Science.gov (United States)

Goujon, Nicolas; Devine, Alexandra; Baker, Sally M; Sprunt, Beth; Edmonds, Tanya J; Booth, Jennifer K; Keeffe, Jill E

2014-01-01

A review of existing measurement instruments was conducted to examine their suitability to measure disability prevalence and assess quality of life, protection of disability rights and community participation by people with disabilities, specifically within the context of development programs in low and middle-income countries. From a search of PubMed and the grey literature, potentially relevant measurement instruments were identified and examined for their content and psychometric properties, where possible. Criteria for inclusion were: based on the WHO's International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health (ICF), used quantitative methods, suitable for population-based studies of disability inclusive development in English and published after 1990. Characteristics of existing instruments were analysed according to components of the ICF and quality of life domains. Ten instruments were identified and reviewed according to the criteria listed above. Each version of instruments was analysed separately. Only three instruments included a component on quality of life. Domains from the ICF that were addressed by some but not all instruments included the environment, technology and communication. The measurement instruments reviewed covered the range of elements required to measure disability-inclusion within development contexts. However no single measurement instrument has the capacity to measure both disability prevalence and changes in quality of life according to contemporary disability paradigms. The review of measurement instruments supports the need for developing an instrument specifically intended to measure disability inclusive practice within development programs. Implications for Rehabilitation Surveys and tools are needed to plan disability inclusive development. Existing measurement tools to determine prevalence of disability, wellbeing, rights and access to the community were reviewed. No single validated tool exists for population

Upholding pregnant women's right to life.

Science.gov (United States)

Cook, Rebecca J; Dickens, Bernard M

2012-04-01

Recent decisions of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and the High Court of Delhi have shown how the pregnancy-related deaths of individual women have been bases on which these authoritative tribunals have held Brazil, Paraguay, and India respectively accountable for avoidable maternal mortality not only in these cases, but also among their populations more generally. The right to life is the most fundamental of women's human rights, recognized in international human rights treaties and national laws. Failure of governments to apply their resources adequately to address, respect, and protect this right violates the law of human rights. These cases show, however, that governments may fail to allocate adequate resources to women's survival of pregnancy. Tribunals can build on the failures in individual cases to set standards of performance to which governments will legally be held to achieve safe motherhood. Copyright © 2012 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Promotion and Integration of Human Rights in EU External Trade Relations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samantha Velluti

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The European Union (EU has made the upholding of human rights an integral part of its external trade relations and requires that all trade, cooperation, partnership and association agreements with third countries, including unilateral trade instruments, contain with varying modalities and intensity a commitment to the respect for human rights. The paper discusses selected aspects of the EU’s promotion and integration of human rights in its external trade relations and assesses the impact of the changes introduced by the 2009 Treaty of Lisbon (ToL on EU practice.

Effects of Computer Reservation System in the Operations of Travel Agencies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sevillia S. Felicen

2016-11-01

Full Text Available In travel industry, the main tool used is the computerized booking systems and now known as Global Distribution Systems or GDS. This paper aimed to determine the effect of using Computer Reservation System among Travel Agencies in terms of technical, human and financial aspect. This will help the Internship office to include the identified travel agencies in their linkages where the students will be deployed for internship. The result of this study will also be helpful and can be utilized in the course travel and tour operations with computer reservation system. The descriptive method of research was used with managers and users/staff of 20 travel agencies as participants of the study. Questionnaire was used as main data gathering instrument utilizing percentage, frequency and weighted mean as statistical tool. Abacus System is the computer reservation system used by all travel agencies in Batangas. All travel agencies offered services such as domestic and international hotel reservation, domestic and international ticketing and package tour. The CRS can connect guest to all forms of travel; it has installed built in system security features that can improve agency’s efficiency and productivity.

Determining the optimal monetary policy instrument for Nigeria

OpenAIRE

Udom, Solomon I.; Yaaba, Baba N.

2015-01-01

It is considered inapt for central banks to adjust reserve money (quantity of money) and interest rate (price of money) at the same time. Thus, necessitates the need for a choice instrument. Enough evidence abounds in microeconomic theory on the undesirability of manipulating both price and quantity simultaneously in a free market structure. The market, in line with the consensus among economists, either controls the price and allows quantity to be determined by market forces, or influence qu...

The Responsibility Of Trade Unions In Transaction Collective Instruments About Compensatory Time

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manuella de Oliveira Soares

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The democratic State of Direct aims to provide assurance and effectiveness of fundamental rights in order that human dignity is preserved. In this way, among other fundamental rights is the right to health, in one of its aspects, protects workers' health. Thus, this study, through a bibliographical research aims to demonstrate that unions should be held responsible for damage caused to workers when preparing collective bargaining instruments to the creation of compensatory time with conditions that endanger the health of workers .

Metallurgical characterization of M-Wire nickel-titanium shape memory alloy used for endodontic rotary instruments during low-cycle fatigue.

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, Jia; Gao, Yong

2012-01-01

Rotary instruments made of a new nickel-titanium (NiTi) alloy (M-Wire) have shown improved cyclic fatigue resistance and mechanical properties compared with those made of conventional superelastic NiTi wires. The objective of this study was to characterize microstructural changes of M-Wire throughout the cyclic fatigue process under controlled strain amplitude. The average fatigue life was calculated from 30 M-Wire samples that were subjected to a strain-controlled (≈ 4%) rotating bend fatigue test at room temperature and rotational speed of 300 rpm. Microstructural evolution of M-Wire has been investigated by different metallurgical characterization techniques, including differential scanning calorimetry, Vickers microhardness, and transmission electron microscopy at 4 different stages (as-received state, 30%, 60%, and 90% of average fatigue life). During rotating bend fatigue test, no statistically significant difference (P > .05) was found on austenite finish temperatures between as-received M-Wire and fatigued samples. However, significant differences (P Wire are expected to have higher strength and wear resistance than similar instruments made of conventional superelastic NiTi wires because of its unique nano-crystalline martensitic microstructure. Copyright © 2012 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The management of the state reserving system in the aspect of the regional economic security supporting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aleksandr Yefimovich Zemskov

2011-06-01

Full Text Available This paper reviews the role of the state material reserve system to ensure economic security of the region. A classification of reserves ensuring economic security of the region was elaborated. A scheme of systematic and structural representation of the state material reserve in order to improve the economic security of the region was suggested. Optimization of operational control of the territorial offices, factories, and settlements of custody within the framework of the state material reserve is one of the most effective instruments to enhance the functioning of the whole system. To solve the problem of technological processes optimization of products acquisition and storage in manufacturings, plants and points of consignment storage of the state material reserve, a static economic-mathematical model was developed. The results can be used to develop appropriate computer systems for support of effective management decisions in the system of state of material reserve.

Instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Decreton, M.

2000-01-01

SCK-CEN's research and development programme on instrumentation aims at evaluating the potentials of new instrumentation technologies under the severe constraints of a nuclear application. It focuses on the tolerance of sensors to high radiation doses, including optical fibre sensors, and on the related intelligent data processing needed to cope with the nuclear constraints. Main achievements in these domains in 1999 are summarised

Civil and Constitutional Rights of Adjudicated Youth.

Science.gov (United States)

Landess, Jacqueline

2016-01-01

Mental health clinicians serving child and adolescent patients are frequently asked to evaluate youth who have been arrested for various offenses or who are otherwise involved with the juvenile justice system. To help orient clinicians and other stakeholders involved with such cases, this article describes the evolution of the juvenile justice system and summarizes the history and current status of the civil and constitutional rights of youth involved in the adjudicatory process. This article also points out key areas in which due process rights are still evolving, particularly in the case of status offenders. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Instruments evaluating the quality of the clinical learning environment in nursing education: A systematic review of psychometric properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Mansutti, Irene; Saiani, Luisa; Grassetti, Luca; Palese, Alvisa

2017-03-01

, criterion validity), whereas others were frequently estimated, but using different coefficients and statistical analyses (e.g., internal consistency, structural validity), thus rendering comparison across instruments difficult. Moreover, the methodological quality adopted in the property assessments was poor or fair in most studies, compromising the goodness of the psychometric values estimated. Clinical learning placements represent the key strategies in educating the future nursing workforce: instruments evaluating the quality of the settings, as well as their capacity to promote significant learning, are strongly recommended. Studies estimating psychometric properties, using an increased quality of research methodologies are needed in order to support nursing educators in the process of clinical placements accreditation and quality improvement. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Performing the Super Instrument

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kallionpaa, Maria

2016-01-01

can empower performers by producing super instrument works that allow the concert instrument to become an ensemble controlled by a single player. The existing instrumental skills of the performer can be multiplied and the qualities of regular acoustic instruments extended or modified. Such a situation......The genre of contemporary classical music has seen significant innovation and research related to new super, hyper, and hybrid instruments, which opens up a vast palette of expressive potential. An increasing number of composers, performers, instrument designers, engineers, and computer programmers...... have become interested in different ways of “supersizing” acoustic instruments in order to open up previously-unheard instrumental sounds. Super instruments vary a great deal but each has a transformative effect on the identity and performance practice of the performing musician. Furthermore, composers...

Comparison of the cyclic fatigue resistance of 5 different rotary pathfinding instruments made of conventional nickel-titanium wire, M-wire, and controlled memory wire.

Science.gov (United States)

Capar, Ismail Davut; Kaval, Mehmet Emin; Ertas, Hüseyin; Sen, Bilge Hakan

2015-04-01

This study compared the cyclic fatigue resistance of current nickel-titanium rotary path-finding instruments. Five types of nickel-titanium rotary pathfinding instruments were used in steel canals with a 90° curvature and a curvature radius of 3 mm (n = 10) and 5 mm (n = 10). The cyclic fatigue of the following instruments was tested at 4 mm from the tip: PathFile (#16 and a .02 taper; Dentsply Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland), G-File (#12 and a .03 taper; Micro-Mega, Besançon Cedex, France), Scout Race (#15 and a .02 taper; FKG Dentaire, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland), HyFlex GPF (#15 and a .02 taper; Coltene-Whaledent, Allstetten, Switzerland), and ProGlider (#16 with a mean taper of .04125 and a .02 at the first 4 mm from the tip, Dentsply Maillefer). The length of the fractured parts was measured, and the number of cycles to fracture (NCF) was calculated. The data were statistically analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests (α = .05). After Bonferroni correction, the new P value was set as .005. The difference in the cyclic fatigue of all the files at both curvatures was statistically significant (P values from .0035 to less than .0001). The ranking of the instruments from the highest to the lowest NCF was as follows: HyFlex GPF, G files, ProGlider, PathFile, and Scout Race. The length of the fractured part of the instruments was similar in all the groups (P > .05). All the tested instruments had a lower NCF at a curvature radius of 3 mm when compared with a curvature radius of 5 mm (P instrument was the highest, and the curvature radius had a significant effect on the fatigue resistance. Copyright © 2015 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effect of freezing method and frozen storage duration on instrumental quality of lamb throughout display.

Science.gov (United States)

Muela, E; Sañudo, C; Campo, M M; Medel, I; Beltrán, J A

2010-04-01

This study evaluated the effect of freezing method (FM) (air blast freezer, freezing tunnel, or nitrogen chamber) and frozen storage duration (FSD) (1, 3, or 6 months) on the instrumental measurements of quality of thawed lamb, aged for a total of 72 h, throughout a 10-d display period, compared to the quality of fresh meat. pH, colour, lipid oxidation, thawing, and cooking losses in Longissimus thoracis and lumborum muscle, were determined following standard methods. FM affected yellowness, FSD redness and thawing losses, and both affected oxidation (increased as freezing rate decreased and/or as storage duration increased). When compared with fresh meat, the main differences appeared on oxidation (where a significant interaction between treatment (3FM x 3FSD + fresh meat) with display duration was detected), and on total losses (thaw + cook losses). Oxidation was lower in fresh meat, but values were not significantly different from those stored frozen for 1 month. Fresh meat had smaller total losses than did thawed meat, but losses were not significantly different from meat frozen in the freezing tunnel and stored frozen for 1 month. Display duration had a greater effect on instrumental quality parameters than did FM or FSD. pH, b*, and oxidation increased, and L* and a* decreased with an increase in the number of days on display. In conclusion, neither freezing method nor frozen storage up to 6 months influenced extensively the properties of lamb when instrumental measurements of quality were measured in meat that had been displayed for 1d after thawing. The small deterioration shown in this study should not give consumers concerns about frozen meat. 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Peoples’ right to self-determination and self-governance over natural resources: Possible and desirable?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hans Morten Haugen

2014-05-01

Full Text Available he article combines Elinor Ostrom’s design principles for common-pool resources and human rights provisions, including subsequent clarifications and jurisprudence. It analyses whether stronger local self-governance, embedded in the natural resource dimension of peoples’ rights to self-determination is a recommendable approach. Two changes in understanding are noted. First, the universal approval of indigenous peoples’ right to self-determination as specified in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Second, the wide endorsement of the specific principle of free and prior informed consent (FPIC. As the exercise of peoples’ rights to self-determination is done on a collective level, it is important to have awareness of whether particularly affected and marginalized households and individuals are included or not included in the decision-making process. The article then reviews a range of new instruments adopted by the OECD and the UN for improved human rights awareness and compliance in the context of economic investments. The article finds that these instruments are still underutilized. Finally, the article identifies the role of human rights in bilateral investment treaties (BITs. It finds that there are less jurisdictional restrictions – as many treaties have a wide understanding of applicable law – than cognitive restrictions – as human rights competence is rarely sought when establishing tribunals mandated to solve investments disputes.http://dx.doi.org/10.5324/eip.v8i1.1800

rights reserved Geophysical Identification of Hydrothermally Altered

African Journals Online (AJOL)

ADOWIE PERE

Geophysical Identification of Hydrothermally Altered Structures That Favour .... aircraft. Total line kilometers of 36,500 were covered in the survey. Magnetic ... tie lines occur at about 2000 metres interval in the ... visual inspection of the map.

rights reserved Geophysical Identification of Hydrothermally Altered ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

ADOWIE PERE

the pole to the magnetic data aided in mapping of various hydrothermally altered structures that may favour gold mineralisation. The interpretation of the aero data set has enhanced a lot of ... water serves as a concentrating, transporting and depositing agent through faults (structures) to the earth's surface. Hydrothermal ...

Minority rights, freedom of expression and of the media: dynamics and dilemmas

NARCIS (Netherlands)

McGonagle, T.

2011-01-01

This book offers a rigorous, theory-based, and uniquely comprehensive, analysis of European and international legal standards shaping minorities’ right to freedom of expression. The analysis pays particular attention to the instrumental role played by traditional and new forms of media in ensuring

Instrumentation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Decreton, M

2000-07-01

SCK-CEN's research and development programme on instrumentation aims at evaluating the potentials of new instrumentation technologies under the severe constraints of a nuclear application. It focuses on the tolerance of sensors to high radiation doses, including optical fibre sensors, and on the related intelligent data processing needed to cope with the nuclear constraints. Main achievements in these domains in 1999 are summarised.

VIRUS instrument enclosures

Science.gov (United States)

Prochaska, T.; Allen, R.; Mondrik, N.; Rheault, J. P.; Sauseda, M.; Boster, E.; James, M.; Rodriguez-Patino, M.; Torres, G.; Ham, J.; Cook, E.; Baker, D.; DePoy, Darren L.; Marshall, Jennifer L.; Hill, G. J.; Perry, D.; Savage, R. D.; Good, J. M.; Vattiat, Brian L.

2014-08-01

The Visible Integral-Field Replicable Unit Spectrograph (VIRUS) instrument will be installed at the Hobby-Eberly Telescope† in the near future. The instrument will be housed in two enclosures that are mounted adjacent to the telescope, via the VIRUS Support Structure (VSS). We have designed the enclosures to support and protect the instrument, to enable servicing of the instrument, and to cool the instrument appropriately while not adversely affecting the dome environment. The system uses simple HVAC air handling techniques in conjunction with thermoelectric and standard glycol heat exchangers to provide efficient heat removal. The enclosures also provide power and data transfer to and from each VIRUS unit, liquid nitrogen cooling to the detectors, and environmental monitoring of the instrument and dome environments. In this paper, we describe the design and fabrication of the VIRUS enclosures and their subsystems.

Effective Control Rights in Vertical R&D Collaboration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kloyer, Martin

2011-01-01

by allocating the so-called control rights to the supplier. These rights primarily regulate the assignment of the intellectual property rights, the control of the R&D process, and the marketing of the final products that are based on the delivered R&D results. To date, we do not have any empirical evidence......Because of increasing technological complexity of new products, the manufacturers of final products more often seek access to external sources of knowledge at the early, market-distant stages of innovation processes. However, they are confronted with a specifically high danger of moral hazard....... Traditional management instruments fail to control that danger mainly for two reasons. First, the supplier activities are not transparent. Second, market-distant R&D results are credence goods whose quality cannot be evaluated, not even ex post. It is the theory of incomplete contracts that solves the problem...

Health physics instrument manual

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gupton, E.D.

1978-08-01

The purpose of this manual is to provide apprentice health physics surveyors and other operating groups not directly concerned with radiation detection instruments a working knowledge of the radiation detection and measuring instruments in use at the Laboratory. The characteristics and applications of the instruments are given. Portable instruments, stationary instruments, personnel monitoring instruments, sample counters, and miscellaneous instruments are described. Also, information sheets on calibration sources, procedures, and devices are included. Gamma sources, beta sources, alpha sources, neutron sources, special sources, a gamma calibration device for badge dosimeters, and a calibration device for ionization chambers are described

Torsional Performance of ProTaper Gold Rotary Instruments during Shaping of Small Root Canals after 2 Different Glide Path Preparations.

Science.gov (United States)

Arias, Ana; de Vasconcelos, Rafaela Andrade; Hernández, Alexis; Peters, Ove A

2017-03-01

The purpose of this study was to assess the ex vivo torsional performance of a novel rotary system in small root canals after 2 different glide path preparations. Each independent canal of 8 mesial roots of mandibular molars was randomly assigned to achieve a reproducible glide path with a new set of either PathFile #1 (Dentsply Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland) and #2 or ProGlider (Dentsply Maillefer) after negotiation with a 10 K-file. After glide path preparation, root canals in both groups were shaped with the same sequence of ProTaper Gold (Dentsply Tulsa Dental Specialties, Tulsa, OK) following the directions for use recommended by the manufacturer. A total of 16 new sets of each instrument of the ProTaper Gold (PTG) system were used. The tests were run in a standardized fashion in a torque-testing platform. Peak torque (Ncm) and force (N) were registered during the shaping procedure and compared with Student t tests after normal distribution of data was confirmed. No significant differences were found for any of the instruments in peak torque or force after the 2 different glide path preparations (P > .05). Data presented in this study also serve as a basis for the recommended torque for the use of PTG instruments. Under the conditions of this study, differences in the torsional performance of PTG rotary instruments after 2 different glide path preparations could not be shown. The different geometry of glide path rotary systems seemed to have no effect on peak torque and force induced by PTG rotary instruments when shaping small root canals in extracted teeth. Copyright © 2016 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Implementation outcome assessment instruments used in physical healthcare settings and their measurement properties: a systematic review protocol.

Science.gov (United States)

Khadjesari, Zarnie; Vitoratou, Silia; Sevdalis, Nick; Hull, Louise

2017-10-08

psychometric quality of the measures used in implementation research. International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO): CRD42017065348. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Federal reservation of geothermal resources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Silver, R.M.

1978-01-01

Union Oil had developed or was seeking to develop wells on the land in Sonoma County, California in order to produce geothermal steam for generating electricity. The US Attorney General brought a quiet title action pursuant to 21(b) of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to determine whether geothermal resources are included in the mineral reservation under the Homestead Act. The US District Court granted Union Oil's motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. On appeal, the Ninth Circuit reversed and remanded. In summary, the court concluded on the basis of the legislative history of the Stock-Raising Homestead Act that sources of energy are intended to remain in the government's possession, and the purposes of the Act will be best served by including geothermal resources in the reservation of mineral interests. Noting the strictly agricultural purpose of the Act, the subsurface estate reservation was broadly interpreted, even though title passed to all rights that were not expressly reserved. The court left open on remand the question of estoppel of the government from interfering with private lessees by developing subsurface resources compensation.This is a unique and intriguing decision, as it opens wide the definition of ''mineral interest,'' construing it in the timely terms of a valuable natural resource that may be in great demand for future energy needs. The decision is being appealed to the United States Supreme Court, and it will be interesting to observe whether this liberal interpretation of mineral interests will be upheld.

34 CFR 7.4 - Option to acquire foreign rights.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 34 Education 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Option to acquire foreign rights. 7.4 Section 7.4 Education Office of the Secretary, Department of Education EMPLOYEE INVENTIONS § 7.4 Option to acquire... issued thereunder, that the Government shall reserve an option to require the assignment of such rights...

Comparative study of 6 rotary nickel-titanium systems and hand instrumentation for root canal preparation in severely curved root canals of extracted teeth.

Science.gov (United States)

Celik, Davut; Taşdemir, Tamer; Er, Kürşat

2013-02-01

Some improvements have been developed with new generations of nickel-titanium (NiTi) rotary instruments that led to their successful and extensive application in clinical practice. The purpose of this in vitro study was to compare the root canal preparations performed by using GT Series X and Twisted File systems produced by innovative manufacturing process with Revo-S, RaCe, Mtwo, and ProTaper Universal systems manufactured directly from conventional nitinol and with stainless steel K-Flexofile instruments. The mesiobuccal root canals of 140 maxillary first permanent molars that had between 30°-40° curvature angle and 4- to 9-mm curvature radius of the root canal were used. After root canal preparations made by using GT Series X, Twisted File, Revo-S, RaCe, Mtwo, and ProTaper Universal NiTi rotary systems and stainless steel K-Flexofile instruments, transportation occurred in the root canal, and alteration of working length (WL) was assessed by using a modified double-digital radiographic technique. The data were compared by the post hoc Tukey honestly significant difference test. NiTi rotary systems caused less canal transportation and alteration of WL than K-Flexofile instruments (P .05) except 2.5 mm from the WL. At this level ProTaper Universal system caused significant canal transportation (P ProTaper Universal rotary systems manufactured by traditional methods. Copyright © 2013 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Enforcing consumer rights through ADR at the detriment of consumer law

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Loos, M.B.M.

2016-01-01

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is seen by the European legislator as a key instrument for the enforcement of consumer rights. To further ADR, the EU has adopted the ADR Directive, which was to be implemented by the Member States by 9 July 2015. This article shows that the Directive has

Nuclear reactor instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duncombe, E.; McGonigal, G.

1975-01-01

A liquid metal cooled nuclear reactor is described which has an equal number of fuel sub-assemblies and sensing instruments. Each instrument senses temperature and rate of coolant flow of a coolant derived from a group of three sub-assemblies so that an abnormal value for one sub-assembly will be indicated on three instruments thereby providing for redundancy of up to two of the three instruments. The abnormal value may be a precurser to unstable boiling of coolant

Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer: A new paradigm to assess pathological mechanisms with regard to the use of Internet applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Vogel, Verena; Kollei, Ines; Duka, Theodora; Snagowski, Jan; Brand, Matthias; Müller, Astrid; Loeber, Sabine

2018-07-16

At present, there is a considerable lack of human studies that investigated the impact of conditioned cues on instrumental responding although these processes are considered as core mechanisms contributing to the development and maintenance of addictive behaviours. No studies are available that assessed these processes with regard to Internet gaming or Internet shopping applications. We thus developed a Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT)-Paradigm implementing appetitive stimuli related to Internet gaming and Internet shopping applications and investigated whether an outcome-specific PIT-Effect is observed. In addition, we assessed whether the problematic use of gaming or shopping applications, personality traits and stress would affect the acquisition of knowledge of the experimental contingencies during Pavlovian training and the impact of conditioned stimuli on instrumental responding. A PIT-Paradigm, screenings for Internet gaming disorder and Internet shopping disorder (s-IAT), and questionnaires on personality traits (NEO-FFI, BIS-15) and perceived stress (PSQ20) were administered to sixty-six participants. The PIT-Paradigm demonstrated the effects of stimuli conditioned to rewards related to Internet gaming and Internet shopping applications on instrumental responding to obtain such rewards. Findings also indicated that severity of problematic Internet gaming, but not Internet shopping, contributed to the acquisition of knowledge of the experimental contingencies. Stress, extraversion, neuroticism and gender emerged as further predictors. The strength of expectancy of the different reinforcers affected the 'gaming PIT'-Effect; however, none of the variables assessed in the present study showed any effect on the 'shopping PIT'-Effect. Future studies including participants with pathological use patterns that can be classified as internet use disorder are warranted to extend these findings. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Solo surgeon single-port laparoscopic surgery with a homemade laparoscope-anchored instrument system in benign gynecologic diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Yun Seok; Kim, Seung Hyun; Jin, Chan Hee; Oh, Kwoan Young; Hur, Myung Haeng; Kim, Soo Young; Yim, Hyun Soon

2014-01-01

The objective of this study was to present the initial operative experience of solo surgeon single-port laparoscopic surgery (SPLS) in the laparoscopic treatment of benign gynecologic diseases and to investigate its feasibility and surgical outcomes. Using a novel homemade laparoscope-anchored instrument system that consisted of a laparoscopic instrument attached to a laparoscope and a glove-wound retractor umbilical port, we performed solo surgeon SPLS in 13 patients between March 2011 and June 2012. Intraoperative complications and postoperative surgical outcomes were determined. The primary operative procedures performed were unilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (n = 5), unilateral salpingectomy (n = 2), adhesiolysis (n = 1), and laparoscopically assisted vaginal hysterectomy (n = 5). Additional surgical procedures included additional adhesiolysis (n = 4) and ovarian drilling (n = 1).The primary indications for surgery were benign ovarian tumors (n = 5), ectopic pregnancy (n = 2), pelvic adhesion (infertility) (n = 1), and benign uterine tumors (n = 5). Solo surgeon SPLS was successfully accomplished in all procedures without a laparoscopic assistant. There were no intraoperative or postoperative complications. Our laparoscope-anchored instrument system obviates the need for an additional laparoscopic assistant and enables SPLS to be performed by a solo surgeon. The findings show that with our system, solo surgeon SPLS is a feasible and safe alternative technique for the treatment of benign gynecologic diseases in properly selected patients. Copyright © 2014 AAGL. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Impact of heat treatments on the fatigue resistance of different rotary nickel-titanium instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Braga, Lígia Carolina Moreira; Faria Silva, Ana Cristina; Buono, Vicente Tadeu Lopes; de Azevedo Bahia, Maria Guiomar

2014-09-01

The aim of this study was to assess the influence of M-Wire (Dentsply Tulsa Dental Specialties, Tulsa, OK) and controlled memory technologies on the fatigue resistance of rotary nickel-titanium (NiTi) files by comparing files made using these 2 technologies with conventional NiTi files. Files with a similar cross-sectional design and diameter were chosen for the study: new 30/.06 files of the EndoWave (EW; J. Morita Corp, Osaka, Japan), HyFlex (HF; Coltene/Whaledent, Inc, Cuyahoga Falls, OH), ProFile Vortex (PV; Dentsply Tulsa Dental Specialties, Tulsa, OK), and Typhoon (TYP; Clinician's Choice Dental Products, New Milford, CT) systems together with ProTaper Universal F2 instruments (PTU F2; Dentsply Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland). The compositions and transformation temperatures of the instruments were analyzed using x-ray energy-dispersive spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry, whereas the mean file diameter values at 3 mm from the tip (D3) were measured using image analysis software. The average number of cycles to failure was determined using a fatigue test device. X-ray energy-dispersive spectroscopy analysis showed that, on average, all the instruments exhibited the same chemical composition, namely, 51% Ni-49% Ti. The PV, TYP, and HF files exhibited increased transformation temperatures. The PTU F2, PV, and TYP files had similar D3 values, which were less than those of the EW and HF files. The average number of cycles to failure values were 150% higher for the TYP files compared with the PV files and 390% higher for the HF files compared with the EW files. M-Wire and controlled memory technologies increase the fatigue resistance of rotary NiTi files. Copyright © 2014 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Instrument validation project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reynolds, B.A.; Daymo, E.A.; Geeting, J.G.H.; Zhang, J.

1996-06-01

Westinghouse Hanford Company Project W-211 is responsible for providing the system capabilities to remove radioactive waste from ten double-shell tanks used to store radioactive wastes on the Hanford Site in Richland, Washington. The project is also responsible for measuring tank waste slurry properties prior to injection into pipeline systems, including the Replacement of Cross-Site Transfer System. This report summarizes studies of the appropriateness of the instrumentation specified for use in Project W-211. The instruments were evaluated in a test loop with simulated slurries that covered the range of properties specified in the functional design criteria. The results of the study indicate that the compact nature of the baseline Project W-211 loop does not result in reduced instrumental accuracy resulting from poor flow profile development. Of the baseline instrumentation, the Micromotion densimeter, the Moore Industries thermocouple, the Fischer and Porter magnetic flow meter, and the Red Valve Pressure transducer meet the desired instrumental accuracy. An alternate magnetic flow meter (Yokagawa) gave nearly identical results as the baseline fischer and Porter. The Micromotion flow meter did not meet the desired instrument accuracy but could potentially be calibrated so that it would meet the criteria. The Nametre on-line viscometer did not meet the desired instrumental accuracy and is not recommended as a quantitative instrument although it does provide qualitative information. The recommended minimum set of instrumentation necessary to ensure the slurry meets the Project W-058 acceptance criteria is the Micromotion mass flow meter and delta pressure cells

Incidence of apical crack initiation and propagation during the removal of root canal filling material with ProTaper and Mtwo rotary nickel-titanium retreatment instruments and hand files.

Science.gov (United States)

Topçuoğlu, Hüseyin Sinan; Düzgün, Salih; Kesim, Bertan; Tuncay, Oznur

2014-07-01

The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of crack initiation and propagation in apical root dentin after retreatment procedures performed by using 2 rotary retreatment systems and hand files with additional instrumentation. Eighty extracted mandibular premolars with single canals were selected. One millimeter from the apex of each tooth was ground perpendicular to the long axis of the tooth, and the apical surface was polished. Twenty teeth served as the control group, and no preparation was performed. The remaining 60 teeth were prepared to size 35 with rotary files and filled with gutta-percha and AH Plus sealer. Specimens were then divided into 3 groups (n = 20), and retreatment procedures were performed with the following devices and techniques: ProTaper Universal retreatment files, Mtwo retreatment files, and hand files. After retreatment, the additional instrumentation was performed by using size 40 ProTaper, Mtwo, and hand files. Digital images of the apical root surface were recorded before preparation, after instrumentation, after filling, after retreatment, and after additional instrumentation. The images were then inspected for the presence of any new apical cracks and propagation. Data were analyzed with the logistic regression and Fisher exact tests. All experimental groups caused crack initiation and propagation after use of retreatment instruments. The ProTaper and Mtwo retreatment groups caused greater crack initiation and propagation than the hand instrument group (P ProTaper and Mtwo instruments after the use of retreatment instruments caused crack initiation and propagation, whereas hand files caused neither crack initiation nor propagation (P < .05). This study showed that retreatment procedures and additional instrumentation after the use of retreatment files may cause crack initiation and propagation in apical dentin. Copyright © 2014 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Human rights, health and the state in Bangladesh

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rahman Redwanur M

2006-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background This paper broadly discusses the role of the State of Bangladesh in the context of the health system and human rights. The interrelation between human rights, health and development are well documented. The recognition of health as a fundamental right by WHO and subsequent approval of health as an instrument of welfare by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR and the International Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights (ICSECR further enhances the idea. Moreover, human rights are also recognized as an expedient of human development. The state is entrusted to realize the rights enunciated in the ICSECR. Discussion In exploring the relationship of the human rights and health situation in Bangladesh, it is argued, in this paper, that the constitution and major policy documents of the Bangladesh government have recognized the health rights and development. Bangladesh has ratified most of the international treaties and covenants including ICCPR, ICESCR; and a signatory of international declarations including Alma-Ata, ICPD, Beijing declarations, and Millennium Development Goals. However the implementation of government policies and plans in the development of health institutions, human resources, accessibility and availability, resource distribution, rural-urban disparity, the male-female gap has put the health system in a dismal state. Neither the right to health nor the right to development has been established in the development of health system or in providing health care. Summary The development and service pattern of the health system have negative correlation with human rights and contributed to the underdevelopment of Bangladesh. The government should take comprehensive approach in prioritizing the health rights of the citizens and progressive realization of these rights.

Astronomical Instruments in India

Science.gov (United States)

Sarma, Sreeramula Rajeswara

The earliest astronomical instruments used in India were the gnomon and the water clock. In the early seventh century, Brahmagupta described ten types of instruments, which were adopted by all subsequent writers with minor modifications. Contact with Islamic astronomy in the second millennium AD led to a radical change. Sanskrit texts began to lay emphasis on the importance of observational instruments. Exclusive texts on instruments were composed. Islamic instruments like the astrolabe were adopted and some new types of instruments were developed. Production and use of these traditional instruments continued, along with the cultivation of traditional astronomy, up to the end of the nineteenth century.

Enhancing Environmental Protection and Socio-Economic Development in Africa: A Fresh Look at the Right to a General Satisfactory Environment under the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emeka Polycarp Amechi

2009-06-01

Full Text Available The African Charter to Human and Peoples' Rights is an innovative document as it is the first human rights albeit regional instrument to provide for a substantive right to environment. However, the right as provided under the Charter is encumbered as it is linked to the promotion of development. Such linkage has led to the argument that the right can only be invoked where it will not infringe the requirements of socio-economic development. While this issue appears to have engaged the attention of most commentators, there has not been much enquiry into what the right aims to achieve and the implication for the achievement of sustainable development objectives including environmental protection and poverty reduction in Africa. This article therefore seeks to evaluate the utility of the right to the pursuit of sustainable development objectives in Africa.

Occasion setting, inhibition, and the contextual control of extinction in Pavlovian and instrumental (operant) learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Trask, Sydney; Thrailkill, Eric A; Bouton, Mark E

2017-04-01

An occasion setter is a stimulus that modulates the ability of another stimulus to control behavior. A rich history of experimental investigation has identified several important properties that define occasion setters and the conditions that give rise to occasion setting. In this paper, we first consider the basic hallmarks of occasion setting in Pavlovian conditioning. We then review research that has examined the mechanisms underlying the crucial role of context in Pavlovian and instrumental extinction. In Pavlovian extinction, evidence suggests that the extinction context can function as a negative occasion setter whose role is to disambiguate the current meaning of the conditioned stimulus; the conditioning context can also function as a positive occasion setter. In operant extinction, in contrast, the extinction context may directly inhibit the response, and the conditioning context can directly excite it. We outline and discuss the key results supporting these distinctions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Innovative financing instruments for global health 2002-15: a systematic analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Atun, Rifat; Silva, Sachin; Knaul, Felicia M

2017-07-01

Development assistance for health (DAH), the value of which peaked in 2013 and fell in 2015, is unlikely to rise substantially in the near future, increasing reliance on domestic and innovative financing sources to sustain health programmes in low-income and middle-income countries. We examined innovative financing instruments (IFIs)-financing schemes that generate and mobilise funds-to estimate the quantum of financing mobilised from 2002 to 2015. We identified ten IFIs, which mobilised US$8·9 billion (2·3% of overall DAH) in 2002-15. The funds generated by IFIs were channelled mostly through GAVI and the Global Fund, and used for programmes for new and underused vaccines, HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and maternal and child health. Vaccination programmes received the largest amount of funding ($2·6 billion), followed by HIV/AIDS ($1080·7 million) and malaria ($1028·9 million), with no discernible funding targeted to non-communicable diseases. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

In vitro comparison in a manikin model: increasing apical enlargement with K3 and K3XF rotary instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Olivieri, Juan Gonzalo; Stöber, Eva; García Font, Marc; González, Jose Antonio; Bragado, Pablo; Roig, Miguel; Duran-Sindreu, Fernando

2014-09-01

The aim of the study was to compare the K3 and K3XF systems (SybronEndo, Glendora, CA) after 1 and 2 uses by evaluating apical transportation, working length loss, and working time in a manikin model. Mesial canals of 40 extracted first mandibular molars were instrumented. Radiographs taken after instrumentation with #25, #30, #35, and #40 files were superimposed on the preoperative image in both mesiodistal and buccolingual angulations. AutoCAD (Autodesk Inc, San Rafael, CA) was used to measure working length loss and apical transportation at 0, 0.5, and 1 mm from the working length (WL). The working time was measured. Group comparison was analyzed using post hoc Tukey honestly significant difference tests (P < .05). No significant differences were found in apical transportation, working length loss between K3 and K3XF systems, or between the number of uses. Significant differences were found when canal enlargement was performed to a #35-40 (P < .05). K3 instrumentation performed significantly faster (29.6 ± 15.4) than with the K3XF system (40.2 ± 17.7) (P < .05). No differences were observed in working time when comparing the number of uses. K3 and R-phase K3XF rotary systems shaped curved root canals safely with minimal apical transportation, even up to a 40/04 file. Copyright © 2014 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Free Markets, Property Rights and Climate Change: How to Privatize Climate Policy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Graham Dawson

2011-04-01

Full Text Available The goal has been to devise a strategy that protects as much as possible the rights and liberties of all agents, both users of fossil fuels and people whose livelihoods and territories are at risk if the anthropogenic global warming (AGW hypothesis is true. To achieve this goal the standard climate policy instruments, taxes and emissions trading, should be discontinued. There are weaknesses in the theoretical perspectives used to justify these policy instruments and climate science cannot provide the knowledge that would be needed to justify their implementation. In their place I propose a privatised policy, based on Austrian and libertarian frameworks of thought, which share an interpretation of climate change as a putative interpersonal conflict rather than market failure. The use of fossil fuels, like any other economic activity, should be subject to side-constraints designed to avoid the infringement of other people’s property rights. Tort litigation on the basis of strict liability would protect these rights, insofar as they need protecting. By providing a public arena for the competitive testing of scientific hypotheses concerning climate change, such litigation would also promote the public understanding and even the advancement of climate science.

Octopus movement: push right, go left.

Science.gov (United States)

Hooper, Scott L

2015-05-04

Octopus arms have essentially infinite degrees of freedom. New research shows that, despite this potentially great complexity, to locomote octopuses simply elongate one or more arms, thus pushing the body in the opposite direction, and do so without activating the arms in an ordered pattern. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of Health-Related Quality of Life Instruments for Young Children With Disorders of Sex Development (DSD) and Their Parents.

Science.gov (United States)

Alpern, Adrianne N; Gardner, Melissa; Kogan, Barry; Sandberg, David E; Quittner, Alexandra L

2017-06-01

Research in disorders of sex development (DSD) is hindered by a lack of standardized measures sensitive to the experiences of affected children and families. We developed and evaluated parent proxy (children 2-6 years) and parent self-report (children ≤6 years) health-related quality of life (HRQoL) instruments for DSD. Items were derived from focus groups and open-ended interviews. Clarity and comprehensiveness were assessed with cognitive interviews. Psychometric properties were examined in a field survey of 94 families. Measures demonstrated adequate to good psychometrics, including internal consistency, test-retest reliability, convergent validity, and ability to detect known-group differences. Parents reported greatest stress on Early Experiences , Surgery , and Future Concerns scales. These instruments identify patients' and families' needs, monitor health and quality of life status, and can evaluate clinical interventions. Findings highlight the need for improved psychosocial support during the diagnostic period, better parent-provider communication, and shared decision-making. HRQoL measures are needed for older youth. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Pediatric Psychology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

A case of deep infection after instrumentation in dorsal spinal surgery: the management with antibiotics and negative wound pressure without removal of fixation.

Science.gov (United States)

Dobran, Mauro; Mancini, Fabrizio; Nasi, Davide; Scerrati, Massimo

2017-07-28

Until today the role of spinal instrumentation in the presence of a wound infection has been widely discussed and recently many authors leave the hardware in place with appropriate antibiotic therapy. This is a case of a 65-year-old woman suffering from degenerative scoliosis and osteoporotic multiple vertebral collapses treated with posterior dorsolumbar stabilisation with screws and rods. Four months later, skin necrosis and infection appeared in the cranial wound with exposure of the rods. A surgical procedure of debridement of the infected tissue and package with a myocutaneous trapezius muscle flap was performed. One week after surgery, negative pressure wound therapy was started on the residual skin defect. The wound healed after 2 months. The aim of this case report is to focus on the utility of this method even in the case of hardware exposure and infection. This may help avoid removing instrumentation and creating instability. © BMJ Publishing Group Ltd (unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Instrumentation a reader

CERN Document Server

Pope, P

1990-01-01

This book contains a selection of papers and articles in instrumentation previously pub­ lished in technical periodicals and journals of learned societies. Our selection has been made to illustrate aspects of current practice and applications of instrumentation. The book does not attempt to be encyclopaedic in its coverage of the subject, but to provide some examples of general transduction techniques, of the sensing of particular measurands, of components of instrumentation systems and of instrumentation practice in two very different environments, the food industry and the nuclear power industry. We have made the selection particularly to provide papers appropriate to the study of the Open University course T292 Instrumentation. The papers have been chosen so that the book covers a wide spectrum of instrumentation techniques. Because of this, the book should be of value not only to students of instrumen­ tation, but also to practising engineers and scientists wishing to glean ideas from areas of instrumen...

Boundaries and restrictions of “The right to life” according to the European Court of Human Rights (Article 2 of ECHR jurisprudence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pjereta Agalliu

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The first substantial right of the European Convention on Human Rights (henceforth referred to as the Convention is the right to life, set out in Article 2. This right was the first one to be attached to this Convention, because human life is more important than any other right. If one is deprived of the right to life in an arbitrary manner, all other rights are illusionary. Being a fundamental right, it is protected by a number of national and international 1 instruments and the most important one, which has made it most relevant in the aspect of legislative theory, but also as part of the application of the right to life, is the Convention. Based on the European Court of Human Rights’ (henceforth referred to as the Court caselaw, we manage to determine the boundaries and the restrictions of the right to life. This paper includes findings which relate to the concept of the right to life, the protection and guarantees that the Convention offers, Article 2 of the Convention in particular, and the criteria for the restrictions applying on the right to life. The active obligation of the state bears a special importance in this matter, along with the definition of the boundaries and restrictions of the right to life and the boundaries and restrictions applying to the obligations of the Adhering States to guarantee the protection of life and their responsibility in those cases recognized by the Convention when this right is restricted.

The evolution of human rights in World Health Organization policy and the future of human rights through global health governance.

Science.gov (United States)

Meier, B M; Onzivu, W

2014-02-01

The World Health Organization (WHO) was intended to serve at the forefront of efforts to realize human rights to advance global health, and yet this promise of a rights-based approach to health has long been threatened by political constraints in international relations, organizational resistance to legal discourses, and medical ambivalence toward human rights. Through legal research on international treaty obligations, historical research in the WHO organizational archives, and interview research with global health stakeholders, this research examines WHO's contributions to (and, in many cases, negligence of) the rights-based approach to health. Based upon such research, this article analyzes the evolving role of WHO in the development and implementation of human rights for global health, reviews the current state of human rights leadership in the WHO Secretariat, and looks to future institutions to reclaim the mantle of human rights as a normative framework for global health governance. Copyright © 2013 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Globalization, human rights, and the social determinants of health.

Science.gov (United States)

Chapman, Audrey R

2009-02-01

Globalization, a process characterized by the growing interdependence of the world's people, impacts health systems and the social determinants of health in ways that are detrimental to health equity. In a world in which there are few countervailing normative and policy approaches to the dominant neoliberal regime underpinning globalization, the human rights paradigm constitutes a widely shared foundation for challenging globalization's effects. The substantive rights enumerated in human rights instruments include the right to the highest attainable level of physical and mental health and others that are relevant to the determinants of health. The rights stipulated in these documents impose extensive legal obligations on states that have ratified these documents and confer health entitlements on their residents. Human rights norms have also inspired civil society efforts to improve access to essential medicines and medical services, particularly for HIV/AIDS. Nevertheless, many factors reduce the potential counterweight human rights might exert, including and specifically the nature of the human rights approach, weak political commitments to promoting and protecting health rights on the part of some states and their lack of institutional and economic resources to do so. Global economic markets and the relative power of global economic institutions are also shrinking national policy space. This article reviews the potential contributions and limitations of human rights to achieving greater equity in shaping the social determinants of health.

36 CFR 251.15 - Conditions, rules and regulations to govern exercise of mineral rights reserved in conveyances to...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... prospect for, mine and remove minerals, oil, gas, or other inorganic substances, said reservations shall be... repair, replacement or restoration. (iv) Failure to comply with the terms and conditions of the aforesaid...

A Persian version of the parental bonding instrument: factor structure and psychometric properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Behzadi, Behnaz; Parker, Gordon

2015-02-28

The Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) is a widely used self-report measure for quantifying key parenting styles as perceived by the child during its first 16 years. While its development study identified two key parental dimensions, subsequent studies have variably confirmed those two or argued for one or more additional parental constructs. We developed a Persian translation of the PBI and administered it to a sample of 340 high school students. The construct validity of the Persian PBI was examined by Exploratory Factor Analysis while Confirmatory Factor Analysis was used to identify the most adequate model. Analyses of the Persian PBI favored a four-factor model for both parental forms. The Persian PBI has a factorial structure consistent with constructs identified in western cultures, as well as high internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Multivariate analyses indicated significant differences between boys and girls across some factors. The PBI appears an acceptable and appropriate measure for quantifying parent-child bonding in Iranian samples. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

In vitro and in vivo evaluations of three computer-aided shade matching instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Kun; Sun, Xiang; Wang, Fu; Wang, Hui; Chen, Ji-hua

2012-01-01

This study evaluated the accuracy and reliability of three computer-aided shade matching instruments (Shadepilot, VITA Easyshade, and ShadeEye NCC) using both in vitro and in vivo models. The in vitro model included the measurement of five VITA Classical shade guides. The in vivo model utilized three instruments to measure the central region of the labial surface of maxillary right central incisors of 85 people. The accuracy and reliability of the three instruments in these two evaluating models were calculated. Significant differences were observed in the accuracy of instruments both in vitro and in vivo. No significant differences were found in the reliability of instruments between and within the in vitro and the in vivo groups. VITA Easyshade was significantly different in accuracy between in vitro and in vivo models, while no significant difference was found for the other two instruments. Shadepilot was the only instrument tested in the present study that showed high accuracy and reliability both in vitro and in vivo. Significant differences were observed in the L*a*b* values of the 85 natural teeth measured using three instruments in the in vivo assessment. The pair-agreement rates of shade matching among the three instruments ranged from 37.7% to 48.2%, and the incidence of identical shade results shared by all three instruments was 25.9%. As different L*a*b* values and shade matching results were reported for the same tooth, a combination of the evaluated shade matching instruments and visual shade confirmation is recommended for clinical use.

The quality of informed consent in Croatia-a cross-sectional study and instrument development.

Science.gov (United States)

Vučemilo, Luka; Milošević, Milan; Dodig, Doris; Grabušić, Bruno; Đapić, Biljana; Borovečki, Ana

2016-03-01

To examine the informed consent process implementation and quality in Croatia using a specially developed instrument. A cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted in 300 patients (response rate 73%) from six hospitals in Croatia, along with psychometric evaluation of the questionnaire. Signing the informed consent form was a formality for 64% of patients, 54% of patients did not give their written consent, and in 39% of cases physicians made treatment decisions by themselves. The overall informed consent process score was 4.06±0.60 (of 5.00). Physician-patient relationship score was 4.61±0.57, Verbal information 3.99±0.98, Decision making 3.94±0.75, and Written information 3.60±1.42. The overall Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.890. Significant correlations were found in relation to Physician-patient relationship and education levels (OR=0.43, 95% CI=0.18-0.99, p=0.048), and Verbal information and duration of health problems (OR=1.83, 95% CI=1.02-3.25, p=0.041). The developed questionnaire is reliable and valid. The informed consent process quality in Croatia was reasonably high, although insufficient and inadequate written materials represent a weak spot that require enhancement. The study contributes to the development of suitable measuring instrument for assessment of the informed consent process quality in clinical practice. The questionnaire could be of use in the hospital accreditation process. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessing validity of a depression screening instrument in the absence of a gold standard.

Science.gov (United States)

Gelaye, Bizu; Tadesse, Mahlet G; Williams, Michelle A; Fann, Jesse R; Vander Stoep, Ann; Andrew Zhou, Xiao-Hua

2014-07-01

We evaluated the extent to which use of a hypothesized imperfect gold standard, the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI), biases the estimates of diagnostic accuracy of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). We also evaluate how statistical correction can be used to address this bias. The study was conducted among 926 adults where structured interviews were conducted to collect information about participants' current major depressive disorder using PHQ-9 and CIDI instruments. First, we evaluated the relative psychometric properties of PHQ-9 using CIDI as a gold standard. Next, we used a Bayesian latent class model to correct for the bias. In comparison with CIDI, the relative sensitivity and specificity of the PHQ-9 for detecting major depressive disorder at a cut point of 10 or more were 53.1% (95% confidence interval: 45.4%-60.8%) and 77.5% (95% confidence interval, 74.5%-80.5%), respectively. Using a Bayesian latent class model to correct for the bias arising from the use of an imperfect gold standard increased the sensitivity and specificity of PHQ-9 to 79.8% (95% Bayesian credible interval, 64.9%-90.8%) and 79.1% (95% Bayesian credible interval, 74.7%-83.7%), respectively. Our results provided evidence that assessing diagnostic validity of mental health screening instrument, where application of a gold standard might not be available, can be accomplished by using appropriate statistical methods. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Novel reconfigurable wide-beam radio interferometer for space physics instrumentation

Science.gov (United States)

Dekoulis, George; Honary, Farideh

2008-07-01

This paper describes the instrumentation design of a novel wide-beam interferometer system for radio astronomy studies. The system measures the Earth's or another planet's atmospheric layers attenuation of the highly energetic galactic electron emissions superimposed on the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) and other last scattering surface galactic and extragalactic radio astronomical background emissions. Right ascension coordinates are surveyed in a unique manner in terms of digital signal processing flexibility, compared to existing wide-beam instrumentations, allowing higher resolution analysis of the captured Space Physics events. The system provides a prototyping platform for other Space Physics projects, since a modular software and hardware design approach has been followed. The system is reconfigurable to meet a variety of testing scenarios.

IOT Overview: IR Instruments

Science.gov (United States)

Mason, E.

In this instrument review chapter the calibration plans of ESO IR instruments are presented and briefly reviewed focusing, in particular, on the case of ISAAC, which has been the first IR instrument at VLT and whose calibration plan served as prototype for the coming instruments.

EMPLOYEES’ RIGHTS IN THE CORPORATE GOVERNANCE CONTEXT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrei Emil Moise

2014-11-01

Full Text Available The recent redrafting of the corporate governance legal frame at the European level, with emphasis on its functions of valorization and security of shareholders’ rights, maximizing profits and minimizing risks, raises the balance issue between the above stated goals and the necessity for compliance with employees’ rights. In this context, we intend to analyze the possibility for the labour regulations to be completed or substituted by the “soft-law” regulations, product of corporate governance, to identify the degree of stability, transparency and predictability of the employer-employee relationship and to identify the reconciliation methods between the apparently differing objectives of corporate governance and protection of employees’ rights. The study performs an analysis of the cases in which relevant provision form both corporate law and labour law are applicable, providing also practical examples from the real business environment, a comparative analysis of the relevant legal provisions from the principal EU member states and also an examination of the relevant doctrine. The research results indicate the negative effect of the poor implementation of the corporate governance rules over employees’ rights, but also the fact that compliance with employees’ rights can be and should be an instrument of the effective and transparent corporate governance rather than a barrier, providing several directions for improving the labour relations in the corporate environment.

Troubleshooting in nuclear instruments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-06-01

This report on troubleshooting of nuclear instruments is the product of several scientists and engineers, who are closely associated with nuclear instrumentation and with the IAEA activities in the field. The text covers the following topics: Preamplifiers, amplifiers, scalers, timers, ratemeters, multichannel analyzers, dedicated instruments, tools, instruments, accessories, components, skills, interfaces, power supplies, preventive maintenance, troubleshooting in systems, radiation detectors. The troubleshooting and repair of instruments is illustrated by some real examples

International human rights for mentally ill persons: the Ontario experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Zuckerberg, Joaquin

2007-01-01

This article is part of a working project which assesses Ontario's mental health legislation and practice vis-à-vis international human rights standards. The paper focuses on procedural safeguards provided by the major international human rights instruments in the field of mental health law such as the UN Principles for the Protection of Persons with Mental Illness (MI Principles) and the European Convention on Human Rights as interpreted by the European Human Rights Court. In analysing Ontario's compliance with international standards, the paper will explore some problems arising from the implementation of the legislation with which the author is familiar with from his experience as counsel for the Consent and Capacity Board. The paper aims to generate discussion for potential reforms in domestic legal systems and to provide a methodology to be used as a tool to assess similar mental health legislation in other local contexts.

Development of an instrument to measure behavioral health function for work disability: item pool construction and factor analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Marfeo, Elizabeth E; Ni, Pengsheng; Haley, Stephen M; Jette, Alan M; Bogusz, Kara; Meterko, Mark; McDonough, Christine M; Chan, Leighton; Brandt, Diane E; Rasch, Elizabeth K

2013-09-01

To develop a broad set of claimant-reported items to assess behavioral health functioning relevant to the Social Security disability determination processes, and to evaluate the underlying structure of behavioral health functioning for use in development of a new functional assessment instrument. Cross-sectional. Community. Item pools of behavioral health functioning were developed, refined, and field tested in a sample of persons applying for Social Security disability benefits (N=1015) who reported difficulties working because of mental or both mental and physical conditions. None. Social Security Administration Behavioral Health (SSA-BH) measurement instrument. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) specified that a 4-factor model (self-efficacy, mood and emotions, behavioral control, social interactions) had the optimal fit with the data and was also consistent with our hypothesized conceptual framework for characterizing behavioral health functioning. When the items within each of the 4 scales were tested in CFA, the fit statistics indicated adequate support for characterizing behavioral health as a unidimensional construct along these 4 distinct scales of function. This work represents a significant advance both conceptually and psychometrically in assessment methodologies for work-related behavioral health. The measurement of behavioral health functioning relevant to the context of work requires the assessment of multiple dimensions of behavioral health functioning. Specifically, we identified a 4-factor model solution that represented key domains of work-related behavioral health functioning. These results guided the development and scale formation of a new SSA-BH instrument. Copyright © 2013 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Double-outlet right ventricle revisited.

Science.gov (United States)

Ebadi, Ameneh; Spicer, Diane E; Backer, Carl L; Fricker, F Jay; Anderson, Robert H

2017-08-01

Double-outlet right ventricle is a form of ventriculoarterial connection. The definition formulated by the International Society for Nomenclature of Paediatric and Congenital Heart Disease is based on hearts with both arterial trunks supported in their greater part by a morphologically right ventricle. Bilateral infundibula and ventricular septal defects are highly debated criteria. This study examines the anatomic controversies surrounding double-outlet right ventricle. We show that hearts with double-outlet right ventricle can have atrioventricular-to-arterial valvular continuity. We emphasize the difference between the interventricular communication and the zone of deficient ventricular septation. The hearts examined were from the University of Florida in Gainesville; Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, St Petersburg, Fla; and Lurie Children's Hospital, Chicago, Ill. Each specimen had at least 75% of both arterial roots supported by the morphologically right ventricle, with a total of 100 hearts examined. The morphologic method was used to assess anatomic features, including arterial-atrioventricular valvular continuity, subarterial infundibular musculature, and the location of the hole between the ventricles. Most hearts had fibrous continuity between one of the arterial valves and an atrioventricular valve, with bilateral infundibula in 23%, and intact ventricular septum in 5%. Bilateral infundibula are not a defining feature of double-outlet right ventricle, representing only 23% of the specimens in our sample. The interventricular communication can have a posteroinferior muscular rim or extend to become perimembranous (58%). Double-outlet right ventricle can exist with an intact ventricular septum. Copyright © 2017 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.

Towards a treaty instrument on marine genetic resources

OpenAIRE

Wehrli Judith; Cottier Thomas

2014-01-01

Marine genetic resources other than fish and mammals are of increasing commercial interest and importance in genetic engineering but fail being properly addressed in the law of the sea and in international economic law. The paper analyses the implication of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea the Convention on Biodiversity the WTO Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and related instruments under the auspices of WIPO. The paper argues that the tri...

[Right heart failure after pacemaker implantation].

Science.gov (United States)

Gallego Galiana, Juan; López Castellanos, Genoveva; Gioia, Francesca; Ruiz Ortega, Raúl Antonio; Cobo Reinoso, Maria Eugenia; Manzano Espinosa, Luis

2015-06-22

Severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR) secondary to interference pacemaker (PM) cable is a rare cause of progressive right heart failure (HF), which can worsen patient outcomes. We present 3 clinical cases of right HF secondary to TR after PM implantation. In these patients the clinic is right HF, which can appear early, as in our second patient, or after years of implementation of the PM, as in the first and third patients. The diagnosis is confirmed by echocardiography, the most accurate 3D, followed by transesophageal. The 2D transthoracic can not detect it, because it has low sensitivity for TR associated with PM. Medical treatment is always the first choice, since any other procedure carries significant morbidity and mortality. Probably this is a condition that we will diagnose with increasing frequency, because there are more and more patients with devices and, at the same time, the diagnostic tools are improving. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Changing stakeholder relationships in nature reserve management: a case study on Snake Island-Laotie Mountain National Nature Reserve, Liaoning, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Dan; Wang, Ziyan; Lassoie, James; Wang, Xiaoping; Sun, Lixin

2014-12-15

The number and total area of nature reserves in China has increased rapidly over the past couple of decades; however, the ability to effectively manage these reserves has not kept pace and conflicts between conservation efforts and economic development have emerged. The Snake Island-Laotie Mountain National Nature Reserve (SILMNNR) currently is experiencing the challenges of balancing conservation with local community development. This paper uses components analysis of human ecosystems (HEC) to examine conflicts arising from the management of the nature reserve and uses a stakeholder analysis to identify and better understand stakeholder inter-relationships in the SILMNNR-HEC. The goal of this study is to identify critical factors influencing stakeholder relationships in order to find ways of relieving conflicts between the reserve management and development. The stakeholder analysis revealed that the key stakeholders in the SILMNNR-HEC are natural resources, the Liaoning SILMNNR Authority, local residents, and enterprise developers; however, there was unequal power among stakeholders in the decision making process affecting the nature reserve. The paper evaluated the conditions and processes of SILMNNR-HEC through a framework of stakeholder relationships where critical factors, such as policy, finance, technology, and labor, and their respective strengths and feedbacks among stakeholders, were assessed and showed unequal flows of power among stakeholders. Two approaches are provided for transforming the unbalanced relationships into a stable and sustainable framework to sustainably manage the nature reserve: the first is by changing stakeholder relationships from opposition to cooperation; and the second by enhancing feedbacks and dynamics among stakeholders. The analysis used in this paper can be used as a model to assess conflicts around other protected areas in China and elsewhere. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Patient-specific targeting guides compared with traditional instrumentation for glenoid component placement in shoulder arthroplasty: a multi-surgeon study in 70 arthritic cadaver specimens.

Science.gov (United States)

Throckmorton, Thomas W; Gulotta, Lawrence V; Bonnarens, Frank O; Wright, Stephen A; Hartzell, Jeffrey L; Rozzi, William B; Hurst, Jason M; Frostick, Simon P; Sperling, John W

2015-06-01

The purpose of this study was to compare the accuracy of patient-specific guides for total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) with traditional instrumentation in arthritic cadaver shoulders. We hypothesized that the patient-specific guides would place components more accurately than standard instrumentation. Seventy cadaver shoulders with radiographically confirmed arthritis were randomized in equal groups to 5 surgeons of varying experience levels who were not involved in development of the patient-specific guidance system. Specimens were then randomized to patient-specific guides based off of computed tomography scanning, standard instrumentation, and anatomic TSA or reverse TSA. Variances in version or inclination of more than 10° and more than 4 mm in starting point were considered indications of significant component malposition. TSA glenoid components placed with patient-specific guides averaged 5° of deviation from the intended position in version and 3° in inclination; those with standard instrumentation averaged 8° of deviation in version and 7° in inclination. These differences were significant for version (P = .04) and inclination (P = .01). Multivariate analysis of variance to compare the overall accuracy for the entire cohort (TSA and reverse TSA) revealed patient-specific guides to be significantly more accurate (P = .01) for the combined vectors of version and inclination. Patient-specific guides also had fewer instances of significant component malposition than standard instrumentation did. Patient-specific targeting guides were more accurate than traditional instrumentation and had fewer instances of component malposition for glenoid component placement in this multi-surgeon cadaver study of arthritic shoulders. Long-term clinical studies are needed to determine if these improvements produce improved functional outcomes. Copyright © 2015 Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Board of Trustees. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[What's new in instrumental dermatology?].

Science.gov (United States)

Amici, J-M

2014-12-01

This "What's new in instrumental dermatology" focuses on cutaneous oncologic surgery, base on a review of the 2012-2014 literature. First, the ability of dermatologists to make a good "oncologic reading of tumors" is the key of radical surgical treatment. Advantages and disadvantages of the biopsy are discussed. Then, the second message is the management of anticoagulants, that should not be interrupted for skin surgery. Despite recommendations, this practice is not followed in 40% of cases; this point is critical because bleeding complications are minor compared to potential morbidity of thrombotic events when stopping these medications. Regarding infection, nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus is identified as a risk factor for wound infection. A preoperative shower with chlorhexidine and mupirocin topical decolonization of nostril reduces this risk. Surgical techniques are trying to reach minimalism, by reducing undermining and scarring. On the trunk, using deep slow resorbable sutures improve scarring. In addition using adhesive sutures (strip) reduce the wideness of scar. On the face, the lower third of the nose is the most challenging because of the free edges, which are deformable. In this location bilobed or trilobed transposition flap offer the advantage of remaining in the nasal aesthetic unit and not disturbing the free edges of the nasal orifices. Regarding scarring, early hypertrophic scar is now well defined and linked with transposition flaps of the nasal region. An early treatment with intralesional corticosteroid injection appears to be effective. Finally, the biological mechanism of the effectiveness of compression in the prevention and treatment of dystrophic scar is now clear. The mechanotransduction explain how a mechanical stress of the skin activates biological cell pathways, which regulate the quality of collagen synthesis and the arrangement of skin fibrosis. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muehllehner, G.; Colsher, J.G.

1982-01-01

This chapter reviews the parameters which are important to positron-imaging instruments. It summarizes the options which various groups have explored in designing tomographs and the methods which have been developed to overcome some of the limitations inherent in the technique as well as in present instruments. The chapter is not presented as a defense of positron imaging versus single-photon or other imaging modality, neither does it contain a description of various existing instruments, but rather stresses their common properties and problems. Design parameters which are considered are resolution, sampling requirements, sensitivity, methods of eliminating scattered radiation, random coincidences and attenuation. The implementation of these parameters is considered, with special reference to sampling, choice of detector material, detector ring diameter and shielding and variations in point spread function. Quantitation problems discussed are normalization, and attenuation and random corrections. Present developments mentioned are noise reduction through time-of-flight-assisted tomography and signal to noise improvements through high intrinsic resolution. Extensive bibliography. (U.K.)

Translation and validation of the Nurses Self-Concept Instrument for college-level nursing students in Taiwan.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Yi-Chuan; Yeh, Mei-Ling

2016-01-01

Nurturing a professional nursing self-concept is crucial in nursing education. To determine whether it has been achieved, a reliable and valid measurement tool is necessary. This study therefore aimed to translate the Nurses Self-Concept Instrument (NSCI), and then ascertain the content and construct validity, and test-retest and internal consistency reliability in the Chinese version of the NSCI (NSCI-C). A methodological design was conducted with 1239 nursing students of a university recruited as the sample frame and 540 randomly selected. The results showed the content validity index of 0.81 overall, alpha of 0.92 overall, and correlation coefficient of 0.87. The mean score of the NSCI-C was significantly higher in freshman than in senior (p<.01). The hypothesized four-factor model did not fit the data well. After restructuring, two factors were explored, with 69.04% explained variance. The findings suggest that the NSCI-C is reliable and valid in nursing students. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Examining the role of interrogative suggestibility in Miranda rights comprehension in adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

McLachlan, Kaitlyn; Roesch, Ronald; Douglas, Kevin S

2011-06-01

This study aimed to further clarify the association between interrogative suggestibility and Miranda rights comprehension in adolescents; in particular, we examined whether intellectual ability (IQ) serves as a mediator of this relationship. Participants completed Grisso's Miranda Instruments, the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence, and the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale. Many youth demonstrated poor comprehension of their rights, particularly younger and less intellectually capable adolescents. Both yield and shift components of interrogative suggestibility were inversely related to rights comprehension; however, IQ fully mediated these relationships. Neither demographic variables (gender, ethnicity, socio-economic status after controlling for IQ, and English as a second language (ESL) status) nor previous police experience were significantly associated with rights comprehension in the present sample. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Human Rights Education in Israel: Four Types of Good Citizenship

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ayman Kamel Agbaria

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This article examines the involvement of civil society organizations in human rights education (HRE in Israel. Focussing on the educational programs of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI, as a qualitative instrumental case study, this article examines the conceptions of good citizenship embedded in these programs. Specifically, the article analyzes the educational programs’ goals, content, targeted populations, and practices. The analysis revealed that ACRI’s HRE model reflect four ideal types of citizens: citizen of a democratic liberal state, citizen of a participatory polity, citizen of an ethical profession, and citizen of an empowered community. These constitute a multilayered human rights discourse that enables ACRI to engage differentially with various sectors and populations, while still remaining faithful to the ethno-national parameters of a Jewish and democratic state political framework.

77 FR 21846 - Reserve Requirements of Depository Institutions: Reserves Simplification

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-12

... Requirements of Depository Institutions: Reserves Simplification AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: The Board is amending Regulation D, Reserve Requirements of Depository Institutions, to simplify the administration of reserve requirements. The final rule creates a...

Right atrium positioning for exposure of right pulmonary veins during off-pump atrial fibrillation ablation.

Science.gov (United States)

Suwalski, Grzegorz; Emery, Robert; Mróz, Jakub; Kaczejko, Kamil; Gryszko, Leszek; Cwetsch, Andrzej; Skrobowski, Andrzej

2017-06-01

Concomitant surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) is recommended for patients undergoing off-pump coronary revascularization in the presence of this arrhythmia. Achievement of optimal visualization of pulmonary veins while maintaining stable haemodynamic conditions is crucial for proper completion of the ablation procedure. This study evaluates the safety and feasibility of right atrial positioning using a suction-based cardiac positioner as opposed to compressive manoeuvres for exposure during off-pump surgical ablation for AF. Thirty-four consecutive patients underwent pulmonary vein isolation, ganglionated plexi ablation and left atrial appendage occlusion during off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting. Right atrial suction positioning was used to visualize right pulmonary veins. Safety and feasibility end points were analysed intraoperatively and in the early postoperative course. In all patients, right atrial positioning created optimal conditions to complete transverse and oblique sinus blunt dissection, correct placement of a bipolar ablation probe, detection and ablation of ganglionated plexi and conduction block assessment. In all patients, this entire right-sided ablation procedure was completed with a single exposure manoeuvre. Feasibility end points were achieved in all study patients. This report documents the safety and feasibility of right atrial exposure using a suction-based cardiac positioner to complete ablation for AF concomitant with off-pump coronary revascularization. This technique may be widely adopted to create stable haemodynamic conditions and optimal visualization of the right pulmonary veins. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.

Monitoring of the Nirano Mud Volcanoes Regional Natural Reserve (North Italy using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Terrestrial Laser Scanning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tommaso Santagata

2017-09-01

Full Text Available In the last years, measurement instruments and techniques for three-dimensional mapping as Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS and photogrammetry from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV are being increasingly used to monitor topographic changes on particular geological features such as volcanic areas. In addition, topographic instruments such as Total Station Theodolite (TST and GPS receivers can be used to obtain precise elevation and coordinate position data measuring fixed points both inside and outside the area interested by volcanic activity. In this study, the integration of these instruments has helped to obtain several types of data to monitor both the variations in heights of extrusive edifices within the mud volcano field of the Nirano Regional Natural Reserve (Northern Italy, as well as to study the mechanism of micro-fracturing and the evolution of mud flows and volcanic cones with very high accuracy by 3D point clouds surface analysis and digitization. The large amount of data detected were also analysed to derive morphological information about mud-cracks and surface roughness. This contribution is focused on methods and analysis performed using measurement instruments as TLS and UAV to study and monitoring the main volcanic complexes of the Nirano Natural Reserve as part of a research project, which also involves other studies addressing gases and acoustic measurements, mineralogical and paleontological analysis, organized by the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in collaboration with the Municipality of Fiorano Modenese.

Problems with radiological surveillance instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swinth, K.L.; Tanner, J.E.; Fleming, D.M.

1984-09-01

Many radiological surveillance instruments are in use at DOE facilities throughout the country. These instruments are an essential part of all health physics programs, and poor instrument performance can increase program costs or compromise program effectiveness. Generic data from simple tests on newly purchased instruments shows that many instruments will not meet requirements due to manufacturing defects. In other cases, lack of consideration of instrument use has resulted in poor acceptance of instruments and poor reliability. The performance of instruments is highly variable for electronic and mechanical performance, radiation response, susceptibility to interferences and response to environmental factors. Poor instrument performance in these areas can lead to errors or poor accuracy in measurements

Problems with radiological surveillance instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swinth, K.L.; Tanner, J.E.; Fleming, D.M.

1985-01-01

Many radiological surveillance instruments are in use at DOE facilities throughout the country. These instruments are an essential part of all health physics programs, and poor instrument performance can increase program costs or compromise program effectiveness. Generic data from simple tests on newly purchased instruments shows that many instruments will not meet requirements due to manufacturing defects. In other cases, lack of consideration of instrument use has resulted in poor acceptance of instruments and poor reliability. The performance of instruments is highly variable for electronic and mechanical performance, radiation response, susceptibility to interferences and response to environmental factors. Poor instrument performance in these areas can lead to errors or poor accuracy in measurements

Addressing the Impediments to the Realization and Enjoyment of Socio-Economic Rights under the ICESCR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abiodun Odusote

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The realization and enjoyment of socio-economic rights is crucial to overcoming the challenges of abject poverty. These rights offer those living in poverty access to the basic and essential things that are necessary to live a dignified life. However, it is generally agreed that the protection and enjoyment of socio-economic rights is accorded less importance amongst the comity of civilized nations. Majority of governments give priority to the protection of civil and political rights to the detriment of socio-economic rights. Despite the United Nations stance on the non-hierarchical structure within human rights classifications, there is general ambivalence towards the violation of socio-economic rights by those entrusted to protect them. Though many international and regional treaties protect socio-economic rights, which instruments have been domesticated by countries; the picture appears gloomy in terms of effective realisation and protection of socio-economic rights. Their enforcements still remain a challenge for this millennium. The impediments to the realization of these rights are the focus of this paper. Through a detailed analysis of international, regional and domestic legislative framework and jurisprudence, this study provides a systematic exposition of the obstacles that impact on the ability of states to fulfil their socio-economic rights obligations under the various and diverse instruments. The impediments that are discussed in this paper include: a proliferations of human rights; corruption and inept leadership in Africa; inadequate enforcement mechanism; poor and ineffective state reports; international sanctions; wars and conflicts; globalization; debt repayment by developing countries; difficulties of monitoring compliance by State Parties and conflict of laws. In conclusion, the paper proffers a panacea and alternative models for the realization and enjoyments of socio-economic rights.

Is exercise good for the right ventricle? Concepts for health and disease.

Science.gov (United States)

La Gerche, André; Claessen, Guido

2015-04-01

There is substantial evidence supporting the prescription of exercise training in patients with left-sided heart disease, but data on the effects of exercise are far more limited for conditions that primarily affect the right ventricle. There is evolving evidence that right ventricular (RV) function is of critical importance to circulatory function during exercise. Even in healthy individuals with normal pulmonary vascular function, the hemodynamic load on the right ventricle increases relatively more during exercise than that of the left ventricle, and this disproportionate load is far greater in patients with pulmonary hypertension. Exercise-induced increases in pulmonary artery pressures can exceed RV contractile reserve (so-called arterioventricular uncoupling), resulting in attenuated cardiac output and exercise intolerance. In this review, we explore the spectrum of RV reserve-from transient RV dysfunction observed in athletes after extreme bouts of intense endurance exercise to RV failure with minimal exertion in patients with advanced pulmonary hypertension. Recent advances and novel approaches to echocardiographic and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging have provided more accurate means of assessing the right ventricle and pulmonary circulation during exercise such that quantification of exercise reserve may provide a valuable means of assessing prognosis and response to therapies. We discuss the potential benefits and risks of exercise training in both health and disease while recognizing the need for prospective studies that assess the long-term efficacy and safety of exercise interventions in patients with pulmonary vascular and RV pathologic conditions. Copyright © 2015 Canadian Cardiovascular Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Application of Resource Utilization in Dementia (RUD) instrument in a global setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Wimo, Anders; Gustavsson, Anders; Jönsson, Linus; Winblad, Bengt; Hsu, Ming-Ann; Gannon, Brenda

2013-07-01

The Resource Utilization in Dementia (RUD) questionnaire is the most widely used instrument for resource use data collection in dementia, enabling comparison of costs of care across countries with differing health care provisions. Recent feedback from payers questioned its face validity given that health care provisions have changed since the initial development of the RUD in 1998. The aim of this study was to update the RUD to improve its face validity in Alzheimer's disease (AD) clinical research and its utility for health care resource allocation. An extensive PubMed review was conducted of current relevant resource items in AD in 15 countries. The findings were complemented by interviews with local care providers and experts in dementia care and health economics. Their proposed revisions were discussed with five leading dementia experts in North and South America, northern and southern Europe, and Asia. A new version of the RUD was developed based on their recommendations. RUD users identified a need for more information relevant to coverage decisions. Proposed revisions included changes to existing questions (e.g., to capture more accurately the number and type of health care visits) and the addition of new questions (e.g., on informal caregiver hours and the primary caregiver's hours of sleep). Several minor changes were made to the RUD instrument to improve the accuracy and precision of the data while maintaining comparability with the original version and reflecting current medical practice. The RUD Complete Version 4.0 is now available for use in future AD clinical trials. Copyright © 2013 The Alzheimer's Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of the resistance to cyclic fatigue among ProTaper Next, ProTaper Universal, and Vortex Blue rotary instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Harrison H; Fong, Hanson; Paranjpe, Avina; Flake, Natasha M; Johnson, James D; Peters, Ove A

2014-08-01

The purpose of this study was to compare the fracture resistance to cyclic fatigue of ProTaper Next (PTN; Dentsply Tulsa Dental Specialties, Tulsa, OK), ProTaper Universal (PTU, Dentsply Tulsa Dental Specialties), and Vortex Blue (VB, Dentsply Tulsa Dental Specialties) rotary instruments. Twenty instruments each of PTN X1-X5, PTU S1-F5, and VB 20/04-50/04 were rotated until fracture in a simulated canal of 90° and a 5-mm radius using a custom-made testing platform. The number of cycles to fracture (NCF) was calculated. Weibull analysis was used to predict the maximum number of cycles when 99% of the instrument samples survive. VB 20/04-30/04 had significantly higher NCF than PTU S1-F5 and PTN X1-X5. VB 35/04-45/04 had significantly higher NCF than PTU S2-F5 and PTN X2-X5. PTN X1 had higher NCF than PTU S1-F5. PTN X2 had higher NCF than PTU F2-F5. The Weibull distribution predicted the highest number of cycles at which 99% of instruments survive to be 766 cycles for VB 25/04 and the lowest to be 50 cycles for PTU F2. Under the limitations of this study, VB 20/04-45/04 were more resistant to cyclic fatigue than PTN X2-X5 and PTU S2-F5. PTN X1 and X2 were more resistant to cyclic fatigue than PTU F2-F5. The Weibull distribution appears to be a feasible and potentially clinically relevant model to predict resistance to cyclic fatigue. Copyright © 2014 American Association of Endodontists. All rights reserved.

Development and testing of the Youth Alcohol Norms Survey (YANS) instrument to measure youth alcohol norms and psychosocial influences.

Science.gov (United States)

Burns, Sharyn K; Maycock, Bruce; Hildebrand, Janina; Zhao, Yun; Allsop, Steve; Lobo, Roanna; Howat, Peter

2018-05-14

This study aimed to develop and validate an online instrument to: (1) identify common alcohol-related social influences, norms and beliefs among adolescents; (2) clarify the process and pathways through which proalcohol norms are transmitted to adolescents; (3) describe the characteristics of social connections that contribute to the transmission of alcohol norms; and (4) identify the influence of alcohol marketing on adolescent norm development. The online Youth Alcohol Norms Survey (YANS) was administered in secondary schools in Western Australia PARTICIPANTS: Using a 2-week test-retest format, the YANS was administered to secondary school students (n=481, age=13-17 years, female 309, 64.2%). The development of the YANS was guided by social cognitive theory and comprised a systematic multistage process including evaluation of content and face validity. A 2-week test-retest format was employed. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to determine the underlying factor structure of the instrument. Test-retest reliability was examined using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Cohen's kappa. A five-factor structure with meaningful components and robust factorial loads was identified, and the five factors were labelled as 'individual attitudes and beliefs', 'peer and community identity', 'sibling influences', 'school and community connectedness' and 'injunctive norms', respectively. The instrument demonstrated stability across the test-retest procedure (ICC=0.68-0.88, Cohen's kappa coefficient=0.69) for most variables. The results support the reliability and factorial validity of this instrument. The YANS presents a promising tool, which enables comprehensive assessment of reciprocal individual, behavioural and environmental factors that influence alcohol-related norms among adolescents. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise

The right brain is dominant in psychotherapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Schore, Allan N

2014-09-01

This article discusses how recent studies of the right brain, which is dominant for the implicit, nonverbal, intuitive, holistic processing of emotional information and social interactions, can elucidate the neurobiological mechanisms that underlie the relational foundations of psychotherapy. Utilizing the interpersonal neurobiological perspective of regulation theory, I describe the fundamental role of the early developing right brain in relational processes, throughout the life span. I present interdisciplinary evidence documenting right brain functions in early attachment processes, in emotional communications within the therapeutic alliance, in mutual therapeutic enactments, and in therapeutic change processes. This work highlights the fact that the current emphasis on relational processes is shared by, cross-fertilizing, and indeed transforming both psychology and neuroscience, with important consequences for clinical psychological models of psychotherapeutic change. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Getting the right training and job.

Science.gov (United States)

Deschamps, Claude

2011-08-01

The authors discuss the factors to be considered in selecting locations in which to train and to practice, and in conducting successful interviews and site visits. The advantages and disadvantages of different types of surgical practice (ie, solo vs group) are also reviewed, as are issues surrounding negotiations related to contracts, benefits, and covenants. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Nuclear Cardiology: Are We Using the Right Protocols and Tracers the Right Way?

Science.gov (United States)

Dondi, Maurizio; Pascual, Thomas; Paez, Diana; Einstein, Andrew J

2017-12-01

The field of nuclear cardiology has changed considerably over recent years, with greater attention paid to safety and radiation protection issues. The wider usage of technetium-99m (Tc-99m)-labeled radiopharmaceuticals for single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging using gamma cameras has contributed to better quality studies and lower radiation exposure to patients. Increased availability of tracers and scanners for positron emission tomography (PET) will help further improve the quality of studies and quantify myocardial blood flow and myocardial flow reserve, thus enhancing the contribution of non-invasive imaging to the management of coronary artery disease. The introduction of new instrumentation such as solid state cameras and new software will help reduce further radiation exposure to patients undergoing nuclear cardiology studies. Results from recent studies, focused on assessing the relationship between best practices and radiation risk, provide useful insights on simple measures to improve the safety of nuclear cardiology studies without compromising the quality of results.

The Astronomical Instrument, So-Gahui Invented During King Sejong Period

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Yong-Sam Lee; Kim, Sang-Hyuk

2002-09-01

So-ganui, namely small simplified armillary sphere, was invented as an astronomical instrument by Lee Cheon, Jeong Cho, Jung In-Ji under 16 years' rule of King Sejong. We collect records and observed data on So-ganui. It is designed to measure position of celestial sphere and to determine time. It also can be transformed equatorial to horizontal, and horizontal to equatorial coordinate. It can measure the right ascension, declination, altitude and azimuth. It is composed of Sayu-hwan (Four displacements), Jeokdo-hwan (Equatorial dial), Baekgak-hwan (Ring with one hundred-interval quarters), Gyuhyeong (Sighting aliadade), Yongju (Dragon-pillar) and Bu (Stand). So-ganui was used conveniently portable surveying as well as astronomical instrument and possible to determine time during day and night.

Quantitative, steady-state properties of Catania's computational model of the operant reserve.

Science.gov (United States)

Berg, John P; McDowell, J J

2011-05-01

Catania (2005) found that a computational model of the operant reserve (Skinner, 1938) produced realistic behavior in initial, exploratory analyses. Although Catania's operant reserve computational model demonstrated potential to simulate varied behavioral phenomena, the model was not systematically tested. The current project replicated and extended the Catania model, clarified its capabilities through systematic testing, and determined the extent to which it produces behavior corresponding to matching theory. Significant departures from both classic and modern matching theory were found in behavior generated by the model across all conditions. The results suggest that a simple, dynamic operant model of the reflex reserve does not simulate realistic steady state behavior. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The psychology of corporate rights: Perception of corporate versus individual rights to religious liberty, privacy, and free speech.

Science.gov (United States)

Mentovich, Avital; Huq, Aziz; Cerf, Moran

2016-04-01

The U.S. Supreme Court has increasingly expanded the scope of constitutional rights granted to corporations and other collective entities. Although this tendency receives widespread public and media attention, little empirical research examines how people ascribe rights, commonly thought to belong to natural persons, to corporations. This article explores this issue in 3 studies focusing on different rights (religious liberty, privacy, and free speech). We examined participants' willingness to grant a given right while manipulating the type of entity at stake (from small businesses, to larger corporations, to for-profit and nonprofit companies), and the identity of the right holder (from employees, to owners, to the company itself as a separate entity). We further examined the role of political ideology in perceptions of rights. Results indicated a significant decline in the degree of recognition of entities' rights (the company itself) in comparison to natural persons' rights (owners and employees). Results also demonstrated an effect of the type of entity at stake: Larger, for-profit businesses were less likely to be viewed as rights holders compared with nonprofit entities. Although both tendencies persisted across the ideological spectrum, ideological differences emerged in the relations between corporate and individual rights: these were positively related among conservatives but negatively related among liberals. Finally, we found that the desire to protect citizens (compared with businesses) underlies individuals' willingness to grant rights to companies. These findings show that people (rather than corporations) are more appropriate recipients of rights, and can explain public backlash to judicial expansions of corporate rights. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Awake right hemisphere brain surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Hulou, M Maher; Cote, David J; Olubiyi, Olutayo I; Smith, Timothy R; Chiocca, E Antonio; Johnson, Mark D

2015-12-01

We report the indications and outcomes of awake right hemispheric brain surgery, as well as a rare patient with crossed aphasia. Awake craniotomies are often performed to protect eloquent cortex. We reviewed the medical records for 35 of 96 patients, in detail, who had awake right hemisphere brain operations. Intraoperative cortical mapping of motor and/or language function was performed in 29 of the 35 patients. A preoperative speech impairment and left hand dominance were the main indicators for awake right-sided craniotomies in patients with right hemisphere lesions. Four patients with lesion proximity to eloquent areas underwent awake craniotomies without cortical mapping. In addition, one patient had a broncho-pulmonary fistula, and another had a recent major cardiac procedure that precluded awake surgery. An eloquent cortex representation was identified in 14 patients (48.3%). Postoperatively, seven of 17 patients (41.1%) who presented with weakness, experienced improvements in their motor functions, 11 of 16 (68.7%) with seizures became seizure-free, and seven of nine (77.7%) with moderate to severe headaches and one of two with a visual field deficit improved significantly. There were also improvements in speech and language functions in all patients who presented with speech difficulties. A right sided awake craniotomy is an excellent option for left handed patients, or those with right sided cortical lesions that result in preoperative speech impairments. When combined with intraoperative cortical mapping, both speech and motor function can be well preserved. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Status of safeguards instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Higinbotham, W.A.

The International Atomic Energy Agency is performing safeguards at some nuclear power reactors, 50 bulk processing facilities, and 170 research facilities. Its verification activities require the use of instruments to measure nuclear materials and of surveillance instruments to maintain continuity of knowledge of the locations of nuclear materials. Instruments that are in use and under development to measure weight, volume, concentration, and isotopic composition of nuclear materials, and the major surveillance instruments, are described in connection with their uses at representative nuclear facilities. The current status of safeguards instrumentation and the needs for future development are discussed

Early modern mathematical instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Bennett, Jim

2011-12-01

In considering the appropriate use of the terms "science" and "scientific instrument," tracing the history of "mathematical instruments" in the early modern period is offered as an illuminating alternative to the historian's natural instinct to follow the guiding lights of originality and innovation, even if the trail transgresses contemporary boundaries. The mathematical instrument was a well-defined category, shared across the academic, artisanal, and commercial aspects of instrumentation, and its narrative from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century was largely independent from other classes of device, in a period when a "scientific" instrument was unheard of.

Instrumental Capital

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriel Valerio

2007-07-01

Full Text Available During the history of human kind, since our first ancestors, tools have represented a mean to reach objectives which might otherwise seemed impossibles. In the called New Economy, where tangibles assets appear to be losing the role as the core element to produce value versus knowledge, tools have kept aside man in his dairy work. In this article, the author's objective is to describe, in a simple manner, the importance of managing the organization's group of tools or instruments (Instrumental Capital. The characteristic conditions of this New Economy, the way Knowledge Management deals with these new conditions and the sub-processes that provide support to the management of Instrumental Capital are described.

32 CFR 552.35 - Rights-of-entry for survey and exploration.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... RESERVATIONS AND NATIONAL CEMETERIES REGULATIONS AFFECTING MILITARY RESERVATIONS Acquisition of Real Estate and... to enter upon non-Government-owned real estate during site selection, particularly for the purpose of... 32 National Defense 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Rights-of-entry for survey and exploration. 552...

Development of an instrument to understand the child protective services decision-making process, with a focus on placement decisions.

Science.gov (United States)

Dettlaff, Alan J; Christopher Graham, J; Holzman, Jesse; Baumann, Donald J; Fluke, John D

2015-11-01

When children come to the attention of the child welfare system, they become involved in a decision-making process in which decisions are made that have a significant effect on their future and well-being. The decision to remove children from their families is particularly complex; yet surprisingly little is understood about this decision-making process. This paper presents the results of a study to develop an instrument to explore, at the caseworker level, the context of the removal decision, with the objective of understanding the influence of the individual and organizational factors on this decision, drawing from the Decision Making Ecology as the underlying rationale for obtaining the measures. The instrument was based on the development of decision-making scales used in prior decision-making studies and administered to child protection caseworkers in several states. Analyses included reliability analyses, principal components analyses, and inter-correlations among the resulting scales. For one scale regarding removal decisions, a principal components analysis resulted in the extraction of two components, jointly identified as caseworkers' decision-making orientation, described as (1) an internal reference to decision-making and (2) an external reference to decision-making. Reliability analyses demonstrated acceptable to high internal consistency for 9 of the 11 scales. Full details of the reliability analyses, principal components analyses, and inter-correlations among the seven scales are discussed, along with implications for practice and the utility of this instrument to support the understanding of decision-making in child welfare. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sexual and reproductive health and rights: integration as a holistic and rights-based response to HIV/AIDS.

Science.gov (United States)

Barroso, Carmen; Sippel, Serra

2011-11-01

For decades, donors, governments, and civil society have recognized the importance of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in efforts to alleviate poverty and advance gender equality and women's rights. More recently, in the battle against HIV/AIDS--and given the unique challenges the pandemic presents for health and development--the global community has acknowledged the benefits of synergizing sexual and reproductive health and HIV/AIDS interventions. However, the United States has been slow to incorporate lessons learned from the international experience when it comes to integrating HIV/AIDS, SRHR, and gender equality in the fight against HIV/AIDS. This article highlights the importance of SRHR and lessons learned from SRHR-HIV integration to inform U.S. domestic and global AIDS strategies and interventions. Copyright © 2011 Jacobs Institute of Women's Health. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

36 CFR 251.14 - Conditions, rules and regulations to govern exercise of timber rights reserved in conveyance to...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... timber products and in locating, constructing and using mills, logging roads, railroads, chutes, landings..., and to young growth or to trees left standing. All survey monuments and witness trees shall be preserved. (3) All trees, timber or timber products of species or sizes not specifically reserved which are...

Evaluating musical instruments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Campbell, D. Murray

2014-01-01

Scientific measurements of sound generation and radiation by musical instruments are surprisingly hard to correlate with the subtle and complex judgments of instrumental quality made by expert musicians

The relationship between cervical lordosis and Nurick scores in patients undergoing circumferential vs. posterior alone cervical decompression, instrumentation and fusion for treatment of cervical spondylotic myelopathy.

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Shalin; Glivar, Phillip; Asgarzadie, Farbod; Cheng, David Juma Wayne; Danisa, Olumide

2017-11-01

The loss of regional cervical sagittal alignment and the progressive development of cervical kyphosis is a factor in the advancement of myelopathy. Adequate decompression of the spinal canal along with reestablishment of cervical lordosis are desired objective with regard to the surgical treatment of patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy. A retrospective chart review was conducted in which patients who underwent either a combined anterior/posterior instrumentation and decompression or a posterior alone instrumentation and decompression for the treatment of CSM at our institution were identified. Any patient undergoing operative intervention for trauma, infection or tumors were excluded. Similarly, patients undergoing posterior instrumentation with constructs extending beyond the level of C2-C7 were similarly excluded from this study. A total of 67 patients met the inclusion criteria for this study. A total of 32 patients underwent posterior alone surgery and the remaining 35 underwent combined anterior/posterior procedure. Radiographic evaluation of patient's preoperative and postoperative cervical lordosis as measured by the C2-C7 Cobb angle was performed. Each patient's preoperative and postoperative functional disability as enumerated by the Nurick score was also recorded. Statistical analysis was conducted to determine if there was a significant relationship between improvement in cervical lordosis and improvement in patient's clinical outcomes as enumerated by the Nurick Score in patients undergoing posterior alone versus combined anterior/posterior decompression, instrumentation and fusion of the cervical spine. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

MicroRNAs in right ventricular remodelling.

Science.gov (United States)

Batkai, Sandor; Bär, Christian; Thum, Thomas

2017-10-01

Right ventricular (RV) remodelling is a lesser understood process of the chronic, progressive transformation of the RV structure leading to reduced functional capacity and subsequent failure. Besides conditions concerning whole hearts, some pathology selectively affects the RV, leading to a distinct RV-specific clinical phenotype. MicroRNAs have been identified as key regulators of biological processes that drive the progression of chronic diseases. The role of microRNAs in diseases affecting the left ventricle has been studied for many years, however there is still limited information on microRNAs specific to diseases in the right ventricle. Here, we review recently described details on the expression, regulation, and function of microRNAs in the pathological remodelling of the right heart. Recently identified strategies using microRNAs as pharmacological targets or biomarkers will be highlighted. Increasing knowledge of pathogenic microRNAs will finally help improve our understanding of underlying distinct mechanisms and help utilize novel targets or biomarkers to develop treatments for patients suffering from right heart diseases. Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author 2017. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Does bilingualism contribute to cognitive reserve? Cognitive and neural perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Guzmán-Vélez, Edmarie; Tranel, Daniel

2015-01-01

Cognitive reserve refers to how individuals actively utilize neural resources to cope with neuropathology to maintain cognitive functioning. The present review aims to critically examine the literature addressing the relationship between bilingualism and cognitive reserve to elucidate whether bilingualism delays the onset of cognitive and behavioral manifestations of dementia. Potential neural mechanisms behind this relationship are discussed. PubMed and PsycINFO databases were searched (through January 2014) for original research articles in English or Spanish languages. The following search strings were used as keywords for study retrieval: "bilingual AND reserve," "reserve AND neural mechanisms," and "reserve AND multilingualism." Growing scientific evidence suggests that lifelong bilingualism contributes to cognitive reserve and delays the onset of Alzheimer's disease symptoms, allowing bilingual individuals affected by Alzheimer's disease to live an independent and richer life for a longer time than their monolingual counterparts. Lifelong bilingualism is related to more efficient use of brain resources that help individuals maintain cognitive functioning in the presence of neuropathology. We propose multiple putative neural mechanisms through which lifelong bilinguals cope with neuropathology. The roles of immigration status, education, age of onset, proficiency, and frequency of language use on the relationship between cognitive reserve and bilingualism are considered. Implications of these results for preventive practices and future research are discussed. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.

Property Rights for Natural Resources Management in Indonesia: Have They Been Ruled Unconstitutional?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarah Waddell

2012-05-01

Full Text Available A new property right known as the coastal waters commercial use right (Hak Pengusahaan Pengairan Pesisir (HP-3 introduced by Law No. 27 of 2007 regarding the Management of Coastal and Small Island Areas has been ruled inoperative by the Constitutional Court. The decision raises a question as to whether the door has been closed to marketbased instruments that rely on property rights as a policy tool in natural resources management. This concern is relevant as legal developments in natural resources law internationally have moved away from traditional forms of regulation to focus on the creation of new statutory property rights such as fisheries rights, water use rights and rights associated with carbon sequestration. An exploration of theConstitutional Court’s decisionsuggests that a similar line of reasoning would not, and should not,arise in relation to other forms of property rights that the Government of Indonesia may seek to introduce in the future.

Development of an instrument to measure patient perception of the quality of nursing care and related hospital services at the national hospital of sri lanka.

Science.gov (United States)

Senarat, Upul; Gunawardena, Nalika S

2011-06-01

This study aimed to develop and validate an instrument to measure patient perception of quality of nursing care and related hospital services in a tertiary care setting. We compiled an instrument with 72 items that patients may perceive as quality of nursing care and related hospital services, following an extensive literature search, discussions with patients and care pro-I viders and a brainstorming session with an expert panel. A cross-sectional study was conducted at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka. A sample (n = 120) of patients stayed in general surgical or medical units responded to the interviewer administered instrument upon discharge. Item analysis and principal component factor analysis were performed to assess validity, and internal consistency was calculated to measure reliability. Of the 72 items, 18 had greater than 20% of responses as 'not relevant'. A further 11 items were eliminated since item-total correlations were less than .2. Factor analysis was performed on remaining 43 items which resulted in 36 items classifying into eight factors accounting for 71% of the variation. Factor loadings in the final solution after Varimax rotation were interpersonal aspects (.68-.85), efficiency (.62-.79), competency (.66-.68), comfort (.60-.84), physical environment (.65-.82), cleanliness (.81-.85), personalized information (.76-.83), and general instructions (.61-.78). The instrument had high Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = .91). We developed a comprehensive, reliable and valid, 36-item instrument that may be used to measure patient perception of quality of nursing care in tertiary care settings. Copyright © 2011 Korean Society of Nursing Science. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Economic perspective of marine reserves in fisheries: a bioeconomic model.

Science.gov (United States)

Chakraborty, Kunal; Kar, T K

2012-12-01

The present paper describes a prey-predator type fishery model with prey dispersal in a two-patch environment, one of which is a free fishing zone and other is protected zone. The objective of the paper is to maximize the net economic revenue earn from the fishery through implementing the sustainable properties of the fishery to keep the ecological balance. Biological measures are introduced to increase the understanding of the mechanisms in the bioeconomic system. The importance of marine reserve is analyzed through the obtained results of the numerical simulations of proposed model system. The results depict that reserves will be most effective when coupled with harvesting controls in adjacent fisheries. The paper also incorporates the induced cost and premium from establishing a marine protected area in a fishery. It is found that premium of marine protected area (MPA) increases with the increasing size of the reserve. Results are analyzed with the help of graphical illustrations. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The cognitive functioning of older adult instrumental musicians and non-musicians.

Science.gov (United States)

Strong, Jessica V; Mast, Benjamin T

2018-03-08

This study examined similarities and differences in the cognitive profiles of older adult instrumental musicians and non-musicians. We compared neuropsychological test scores among older adult non-musicians, low-activity musicians (memory. The current study supports late life cognitive benefits of early musical training, but only in select cognitive domains, including language, executive functioning, and visual spatial ability. The results are discussed in the context of cognitive reserve and aging.

The right balance

CERN Multimedia

CERN Bulletin

2010-01-01

Over the course of her career as a physicist, Felicitas Pauss, currently responsible for CERN's External Relations, has often been the sole woman in an environment dominated by men. While she freely admits that being a woman physicist can have as many advantages as disadvantages, she thinks the best strategy is to maintain the right balance.   From a very early age, Felicitas Pauss always wanted to be involved in projects that interested and fascinated her. That's how she came to study physics. When she was a first-year university student in Austria in 1970, it was still fairly uncommon for women to go into physics research. "I grew up in Salzburg with a background in music. At that time, it was certainly considered more ‘normal’ for a woman to study music than to do research in physics. But already in high school I was interested in physics and technical instruments and wanted to know how things work and what they are made of”. At the beginning of her care...

Bilingualism provides a neural reserve for aging populations.

Science.gov (United States)

Abutalebi, Jubin; Guidi, Lucia; Borsa, Virginia; Canini, Matteo; Della Rosa, Pasquale A; Parris, Ben A; Weekes, Brendan S

2015-03-01

It has been postulated that bilingualism may act as a cognitive reserve and recent behavioral evidence shows that bilinguals are diagnosed with dementia about 4-5 years later compared to monolinguals. In the present study, we investigated the neural basis of these putative protective effects in a group of aging bilinguals as compared to a matched monolingual control group. For this purpose, participants completed the Erikson Flanker task and their performance was correlated to gray matter (GM) volume in order to investigate if cognitive performance predicts GM volume specifically in areas affected by aging. We performed an ex-Gaussian analysis on the resulting RTs and report that aging bilinguals performed better than aging monolinguals on the Flanker task. Bilingualism was overall associated with increased GM in the ACC. Likewise, aging induced effects upon performance correlated only for monolinguals to decreased gray matter in the DLPFC. Taken together, these neural regions might underlie the benefits of bilingualism and act as a neural reserve that protects against the cognitive decline that occurs during aging. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Getting it right for the North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaenaglacialis): a last opportunity for effective marine spatial planning?

Science.gov (United States)

Petruny, Loren M; Wright, Andrew J; Smith, Courtney E

2014-08-15

The North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) faces increasing pressure from commercial shipping traffic and proposed marine renewable energy developments. Drawing upon the successful Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary model, we propose a multi-stakeholder marine spatial planning process that considers both appropriate positioning of offshore wind farms and redefining commercial shipping lanes relative to whale migration routes: placement of wind turbines within certain right whale habitats may prove beneficial for the species. To that end, it may be advisable to initially relocate the shipping lanes for the benefit of the whales prior to selecting wind energy areas. The optimal end-state is the commercial viability of renewable energy, as well as a safe shipping infrastructure, with minimal risk of collision and exposure to shipping noise for the whales. This opportunity to manage impacts on right whales could serve as a model for other problematic interactions between marine life and commercial activities. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The right and the risk interacting with fracking

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schweighart, Florian

2016-01-01

There is a great area of uncertainty in unconventional natural gas production in general and in fracking in particular. Risk management law can help to improve the decision-making framework, which is not manageable due to uncertainties, by generating knowledge. Instruments such as, among other things, the temporal limitation of the law, the evaluation and revision duties as well as the limitation to pilot projects are possible starting points. In a constitutional approach, fundamental legal science questions arise and work from the requirements of fundamental rights protection rights over liberties and state principles up to the risks and to legal aspects. The problem of whether and how existing constitutional requirements in the law of risk management are starting points to the interaction with risks of fracking and have, on the other hand, only attracted some attention on the part of the legislature. [de

Can human rights standards help protect children and youth from the detrimental impact of alcohol beverage marketing and promotional activities?

Science.gov (United States)

Chapman, Audrey R

2017-01-01

The alcohol industry in the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region promotes demand for alcohol products actively through a number of channels, including advertising and sponsorship of sports and other events. This paper evaluates whether human rights instruments that Latin American countries have ratified can be used to limit children's exposure to alcohol advertising and promotion. A review was conducted of the text of, and interpretative documents related to, a series of international and regional human rights instruments ratified by most countries in the LAC region that enumerate the right to health. The Convention on the Rights of the Child has the most relevant provisions to protect children and youth from alcohol promotion and advertising. Related interpretive documents by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child affirm that corporations hold duties to respect and protect children's right to health. Human rights norms and law can be used to regulate or eliminate alcohol beverage marketing and promotional activities in the Latin American region. The paper recommends developing a human rights based Framework Convention on Alcohol Control to provide guidance. © 2016 Society for the Study of Addiction.

People who use drugs, HIV, and human rights.

Science.gov (United States)

Jürgens, Ralf; Csete, Joanne; Amon, Joseph J; Baral, Stefan; Beyrer, Chris

2010-08-07

We reviewed evidence from more than 900 studies and reports on the link between human rights abuses experienced by people who use drugs and vulnerability to HIV infection and access to services. Published work documents widespread abuses of human rights, which increase vulnerability to HIV infection and negatively affect delivery of HIV programmes. These abuses include denial of harm-reduction services, discriminatory access to antiretroviral therapy, abusive law enforcement practices, and coercion in the guise of treatment for drug dependence. Protection of the human rights of people who use drugs therefore is important not only because their rights must be respected, protected, and fulfilled, but also because it is an essential precondition to improving the health of people who use drugs. Rights-based responses to HIV and drug use have had good outcomes where they have been implemented, and they should be replicated in other countries. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.