WorldWideScience

Sample records for shift elucidacao estrutural

  1. Detecção de dano estrutural em estruturas planas utilizando redes neurais

    OpenAIRE

    Maia, Renato Abreu

    2017-01-01

    Conforme as tecnologias de projeto e construção avançam, as estruturas tendem a surgir cada vez mais esbeltas, o que as torna mais vulneráveis a vibrações excessivas. Aliado a isso, a possível degradação estrutural de construções antigas tem gerado um crescimento no desenvolvimento e aprimoramento de técnicas de monitoramento de integridade estrutural, em especial ferramentas que fazem uso das propriedades dinâmicas das estruturas (frequências naturais e modos de vibração), visto que estas so...

  2. DETECÇÃO DE DANO ESTRUTURAL EM PÓRTICOS PLANOS UTILIZANDO REDES NEURAIS ARTIFICIAIS

    OpenAIRE

    Maia, Renato A.; Doz, Graciela N.

    2017-01-01

    Resumo. Conforme as tecnologias de projeto e construção avançam, as estruturas tendem a surgir cada vez mais esbeltas, o que as torna mais vulneráveis a vibrações excessivas. Aliado a isso, a possível degradação estrutural de construções antigas tem gerado um crescimentono desenvolvimento e aprimoramento de técnicas de monitoramento de integridade estrutural, em especial ferramentas que fazem uso das propriedades dinâmicas das estruturas (frequências naturais e modos de vibração), visto que e...

  3. Desempenho estrutural e econômico de edifícios de andares múltiplos aporticados

    OpenAIRE

    Oliveira Neto, Roberto Evaristo de

    2007-01-01

    Com a escassez de terrenos em áreas nobres e da disponibilidade de lotes estreitos, surgiram, a partir dos anos 80, edifícios seguidamente na faixa de 40 a 50 pavimentos. Com o crescimento da altura, estes edifícios requerem novas técnicas de projeto sob os pontos de vista estrutural e arquitetônico. Observa-se que, no entanto, os princípios de projeto continuam os mesmos, resultando em estruturas ineficientes sob os pontos de vista econômico e de estabilidade estrutur...

  4. Aplicação das redes neuronais na caracterização estrutural de pavimentos

    OpenAIRE

    Fontul, S.; Antunes, M. L.; Marcelino, J.

    2002-01-01

    No contexto dos projectos de Investigação Programada em curso no LNEC, têm-se vindo a efectuar estudos com vista ao aperfeiçoamento das técnicas de ensaio e metodologias de análise para a caracterização estrutural de pavimentos. Um dos aspectos que se tem vindo a estudar é o da optimização da utilização do deflectómetro de impacto conjuntamente com o radar, tendo em vista dispor de novas metodologias mais expeditas para a caracterização estrutural de pavimentos. Neste contexto,...

  5. Cargas aerodinâmicas e pré-projeto estrutural de asa de aeronave de 50 passageiros

    OpenAIRE

    Lauro Cavalcanti de Sá

    2010-01-01

    Neste trabalho foi realizado o cálculo das cargas aerodinâmicas e o pré-projeto estrutural de asa de uma aeronave de 50 passageiros durante o Mestrado Profissionalizante em Engenharia Aeronáutica e Mecânica, ministrado pelo ITA em parceria com a EMBRAER, através do seu Programa de Especialização em Engenharia. Primeiramente, o modelo estrutural foi desenvolvido baseando-se nas características aerodinâmicas iniciais da aeronave, possibilitando que o programa de análise aerodinâmica BLWF fosse ...

  6. Modelagem e simulação de uma residência empregando o Sistema Estrutural Light Steel Frame (LSF)

    OpenAIRE

    Chong, Cesar Rodrigo Faraone Wing

    2017-01-01

    Metadados do Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso: Modelagem e simulação de uma residência empregando o Sistema Estrutural Light Steel Frame (LSF), pela/o discente: Cesar Rodrigo Faraone Wing Chong do Centro de Tecnologia e Infraestrutura, curso de Engenharia Civil e Infraestrutura da Universidade Federal da Integração Latino-Americana (UNILA), no Repositório Institucional da UNILA (RI-UNILA) Modelagem e simulação de uma residência empregando o Sistema Estrutural Light Steel Frame (L...

  7. ANÁLISE DE CONFIABILIDADE ESTRUTURAL DE PROBLEMAS BASEADOS NA MECÂNICA DOS SÓLIDOS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vinícius Favaretto Defiltro

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available RESUMO: A Mecânica dos Sólidos, a partir de hipóteses simplificadoras, fornece modelos de cálculo que podem ser aplicados a vários problemas estruturais e estabelece as bases e o entendimento para o desenvolvimento de teorias e a construção de modelos mais complexos. Entretanto, dentro deste contexto, é comum desprezar as incertezas inerentes às propriedades dos materiais envolvidos, às condições de contorno e à geometria do problema. Neste artigo, ferramentas da Teoria da Confiabilidade Estrutural são aplicadas a problemas estruturais baseados na Mecânica dos Sólidos no intuito de analisá-los considerando algumas das incertezas envolvidas. Para isso, o método de Simulação de Monte Carlo é empregado na análise de confiabilidade de duas vigas. No estudo da primeira estrutura, busca-se investigar a influência da correlação entre variáveis aleatórias na probabilidade de falha do elemento estrutural. Na segunda estrutura, analisa-se o efeito da utilização de materiais com diferentes comportamentos (frágeis ou dúcteis e, consequentemente, diferentes critérios de ruptura, sobre a probabilidade de falha estimada. Verifica-se que as análises de confiabilidade estrutural podem fornecer muitas informações que estão fora do escopo das soluções determinísticas. Tais informações permitem uma avaliação mais precisa da segurança estrutural e podem também levar a um melhor entendimento do modelo estrutural em questão. ABSTRACT: The Solid Mechanics, from simplifying assumptions, provides calculation models that can be applied to various structural problems and establishes the foundation and the understanding for the development of theories and the construction of more complex models. However, within this context, it is common to despise the uncertainties inherent to the properties of the materials involved, the boundary conditions and the geometry of the problem. In this article, Structural Reliability Theory tools

  8. ANÁLISE PARAMÉTRICA DO COMPORTAMENTO DE ELEMENTOS DE MEMBRANA APLICADA A ESTRUTURAS DE CONCRETO ARMADO VIA CONFIABILIDADE ESTRUTURAL

    OpenAIRE

    G. O. Porto, Naiara; C. Pantoja, João; A. de Souza, Rafael

    2017-01-01

     Abstract. A importância do conhecimento do nível de segurança de uma estrutura é crucial para a realização de um bom projeto estrutural. Este artigo tem como objetivo fazer uma análise paramétrica em elementos de membrana de estruturas de concreto armado via confiabilidade estrutural. Para obtenção do nível de segurança do elemento de membrana o método de simulação de Monte Carlo foi utilizado. Uma variação determinística nos carregamentos aplicados sobre o elemento de membrana é feita e a c...

  9. Análise da influência do capital estrutural no sucesso de startups incubadas: uma pesquisa com 21 empreendedores

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    Elizandra Machado

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Promover o desenvolvimento de novas empresas tem sido um campo vasto de pesquisa. Observa-se que a iniciativa perpassa diversos setores da economia, iniciando-se pelo empreendedor, mas alcançando apoio do governo, órgãos de fomento, universidades e incubadoras de empresas. Há atualmente uma rede de organizações, dentre as quais ANPROTEC e o Sebrae que, juntamente com as incubadoras, tem procurado criar um ambiente em que novas empresas surjam e se desenvolvam, em que o conhecimento e o capital intelectual sejam potencializados. Nesse sentido, o objetivo geral dessa pesquisa foi analisar a influência do capital estrutural no sucesso de startups incubadas. A criação de startups tem sido cada vez mais reconhecida como um importante elemento para o desenvolvimento econômico brasileiro. Já o capital estrutural é um dos componentes do capital intelectual e possui como exemplos a infraestrutura física e tecnológica de uma empresa. Nesse contexto, entretanto, existe uma carência de trabalhos científicos que demonstrem a relação do Capital Estrutural (CE com o sucesso de startups incubadas. No desenvolvimento, ocorreu a determinação dos construtos de CE em startups incubadas e a identificação dos critérios para análise do CE em startups incubadas. E na comprovação empírica, foi validado o instrumento com seis gestores de incubadoras da região Sul do Brasil e realizada a aplicação em 21 startups incubadas, sendo que 04 delas de insucesso, 06 graduadas e 11 incubadas. Foi possível identificar que o Capital Estrutural tem influência no sucesso de startups incubadas, principalmente no que se refere ao apoio físico e tecnológico recebido das incubadoras. 

  10. OSBRA right of way characterization in Vila Estrutural, Brasilia, Brazil; Caracterizacao de faixa do OSBRA na Vila Estrutural em Brasilia - evidencia de uma nova relacao da TRANSPETRO com a comunidade

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brito, Walderes Lima de; Castro, Newton Camelo de [TRANSPETRO - PETROBRAS Transporte S.A., Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Braga, Gilberto Vieira [PETROBRAS S.A., Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

    2005-07-01

    In this project we will introduce the relationship experience between TRANSPETRO and Vila Estrutural community, located in Guara, D.C., what we consider a social responsibility practice and an important tool of the integrity maintenance of right of way pipelines, considering the risks caused by other people actions. In this specific case, Vila Estrutural is the most critical one, of Sao Paulo - Brasilia pipelines (OSBRA): irregular occupations, with an estimated population by 25,000 people, with an inhabit strangle and development constructions tendency in the straight ahead direction of pipelines. To deal with this reality, OSBRA management created a strategy called 'Acquaintance Communication', increasing the knowledge about the community (diagnostic), promoting to yours employees an acquaintance culture (qualifying); developing communications strategies with those that live nearby right of the pipelines way (relationship); and finally, building the stonemason of the characterization of the right of way pipelines as a real device and right of the way protection (framing). This work is lined up with the idea of an integrated communication, using many strategies (visits, meetings, argument groups, etc.), constituting in a corporative social responsibility practice, admitting the community right of information and knowing it the right manner of living nearby the right of way pipeline, resulting in the equipment integrity, asserting the community safety and environment maintenance. (author)

  11. Comportamento estrutural de pontes estaiadas: comparação de alternativas.

    OpenAIRE

    Paola Torneri

    2002-01-01

    Nos últimos anos, a utilização de pontes estaiadas tem evoluído rapidamente e novos conceitos estruturais têm surgido, como por exemplo: o desenvolvimento de seções flexíveis e esbeltas, o aumento do comprimento dos vãos e a aplicação de pontes estaiadas em múltiplos vãos. Torna-se necessário portanto uma compreensão profunda do comportamento estrutural desse sistema. No processo de projeto as decisões mais importantes são geralmente feitas nas fases iniciais quando a síntese predomina sobre...

  12. Desenvolvimento de uma planilha padrão de análise estrutural de seções de vigas aeronáuticas.

    OpenAIRE

    Fernando Gonçalves Garcia

    2008-01-01

    Esta dissertação apresenta os cálculos e as premissas utilizadas para o desenvolvimento de uma planilha de análise estrutural de seções de vigas aeronáuticas. Serão descritos as fórmulas e os métodos usados para a análise de um grupo de seções escolhidas devido a sua grande utilização no meio aeronáutico. A planilha de análise desenvolvida tem como objetivo a análise rápida de seções, agilizando a tomada de decisão no dimensionamento estrutural. A análise leva em conta a combinação de tensões...

  13. O conceito de redução estrutural na crítica de Antonio Candido

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Franscisca Fernanda de Sales Teixeira

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available RESUMO: O presente artigo apresenta o conceito de redução estrutural na crítica literária de Antonio Candido. Para tanto, foram analisados três ensaios referentes a obras da literatura nacional: “De cortiço a cortiço”, “Crítica e sociologia” e “Dialética da malandragem”. A partir deles, investigou-se como se dá o processo de formalização em cada obra, construindo assim uma compreensão acerca da estrutura literária e suas relações com a internalização, no romance, de aspectos externos à obra. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Antonio Candido Redução estrutural, Internalização do externo. __________________________________ ABSTRACT: This abstract presents a summary of literary analysis papers based on reviews writen by Antonio Candido. For that, three of his essays were analized: “De cortiço a cortiço”, “Crítica e sociologia” and “Dialética da malandragem”. From these studies, it was possible to investigate the formalization process in each work, constructing the comprehension around the literary structures and the aspects surrounding the essence of the novels.  KEYWORDS: Antonio Candido, Structural reduction, Internalization of the external.

  14. Desenvolvimento de algorítmos matemáticos aplicados a confiabilidade estrutural

    OpenAIRE

    Santos, Solange Regina dos

    2012-01-01

    Resumo: A resolução de problemas de confiabilidade estrutural pelo Método de Primeira Ordem requer a utilização de algoritmos de otimização para encontrar a menor distância entre a função de estado limite e a origem do espaço normal padrão. O algoritmo Hasofer-Lind- Rackwitz-Fiessler (HLRF), desenvolvido especificamente para este fim, tem sido eficiente, mas não robusto, pois não converge para um número significativo de problemas. Métodos de programação não linear, como por exemplo, Gradiente...

  15. Aderência de revestimentos em paredes de blocos cerâmicos com função estrutural

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    Jefferson Sidney Camacho

    Full Text Available Resumo O presente trabalho tem por objetivo verificar o comportamento mecânico dos revestimentos cerâmicos frente aos carregamentos na alvenaria estrutural. Neste estudo são apresentados os resultados experimentais e conclusões sobre o comportamento de paredes revestidas quando submetidas a carregamentos verticais crescentes até a ruptura. Os revestimentos foram fixados com argamassa colante industrial, aplicados em paredes de blocos cerâmicos com e sem emboço. Ao longo dos ensaios foram registrados todos os eventos considerados importantes, tais como deformações, início de fissuração, descolamento dos revestimentos, formas e cargas de rupturas. Dessa forma, foi possível quantificar a relação dos carregamentos presentes nas paredes com as fissurações e desprendimentos dos revestimentos cerâmicos, onde se pode verificar que os problemas patológicos ocorreram próximos aos limites de carregamento da estrutura, indicando que o sistema de revestimentos não sofreram relativas alterações visuais e mecânicas dentro do regime estrutural de utilização.

  16. A inércia estrutural da base produtiva brasileira: o IDE e a transferência internacional de tecnologia

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    TULIO CHIARINI

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available RESUMO O que pode explicar o fato de ter havido uma entrada maciça de IDE no Brasil e ter-se mantido uma inercial estrutural na base produtiva nacional? Existe uma série de fatos macroeconômicos que podem ajudar a explicar essa inércia, como a baixa taxa de investimento e a falta de ordenação dos preços-chave da economia (como taxas de juros e taxa de câmbio, mas a proposição aqui feita é que existe um problema microeconômico estrutural relevante: falta de aptidão tecnológica das empresas industriais brasileiras. Para analisar tal proposição parte-se da separação entre os tipos de IDE (greenfield, fusão e aquisição e 'em carteira' e os tipos de canais de transferência de tecnologia (horizontal e vertical. A partir de elementos empíricos e históricos constrói-se o argumento de que a falta de aptidão tecnológica é elemento-chave no entendimento da perda de dinamismo da indústria nacional.

  17. Actor-network theory (ANT: uma tradução para compreender o relacional e o estrutural nas redes interorganizacionais?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jackeline Amantino-de-Andrade

    Full Text Available Este ensaio propõe abordar a actor-network theory na análise relacional de redes interorganizacionais, considerando que outras abordagens apresentam limitações, por sustentarem uma divisão entre estrutura e agência. Para consubstanciar essa proposição, primeiramente, é apresentada uma revisão das abordagens de rede nas ciências sociais e, especificamente, nos estudos organizacionais, procurando demonstrar suas distinções, suas inter-relações e sua comum limitação ao se apoiar no estrutural em detrimento do relacional. Em seguida, é apresentada a actor-network theory, com destaque para sua capacidade de integrar o relacional e o estrutural na compreensão dos fenômenos de ordenação; procurando também se evidenciar as aplicações verificadas no campo dos estudos organizacionais. Finalmente, são consideradas as críticas a essa abordagem, ressaltando a diferença de pressupostos, bem como a sua capacidade de trazer contribuições para questões ainda não completamente respondidas, principalmente, quando considerados os fenômenos interorganizacionais.

  18. Diagnóstico estrutural de personalidade em psicopatologia psicanalítica Structural diagnosis of personality in psychoanalytical psychopathology

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    Tânia Maria José Aiello Vaisberg

    2000-01-01

    Full Text Available Este artigo apresenta o diagnóstico estrutural de personalidade como prática clínica fundamentada na Psicopatologia Psicanalítica Estrutural. As concepções de Bleger, Bergeret e Winnicott são articuladas visando oferecer subsídios teóricos para o estabelecimento de tal diagnóstico, cuja finalidade principal é orientar decisões clínicas quanto à escolha de técnicas e estratégias psicanalíticas adequadas ao tipo de psicopatologia envolvido em cada caso particular. Procedimentos Projetivos, utilizados transicionalmente nas entrevistas clínicas, são especialmente mencionados, uma vez que possibilitam o acesso, num contexto lúdico e criativo, aos determinantes lógico-emocionais subjacentes às condutas humanas.This article presents the structural diagnosis of personality, as a clinical practice based on Psychoanalytic Structural Psychopathology and established from Bleger, Bergeret and Winnicott’s theoretical conceptions. The aim of this diagnosis consists on guiding the psychoanalyst through clinical decisions about peculiar techniques and strategies, depending on the kind of psychopathology of each particular case. Projective Procedures, transitionally used on clinical interviews, are specially mentioned, once they provide the access, in a ludic and creative basis, to the latent logical-emotional determinants related to human manifestations.

  19. Dimensionamento da alvenaria estrutural em situação de incêndio: contribuição à futura normatização nacional

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    Helena Arias Lara Leite

    Full Text Available Resumo O Brasil carece de uma legislação sobre alvenaria estrutural em situação de incêndio. Por conta disso, o Corpo de Bombeiros do Estado de São Paulo (2011 recomenda que se faça esse dimensionamento de acordo com as recomendações do Eurocode 6 (2005 ou norma internacional similar. Com o intuito de subsidiar futuras discussões sobre uma normatização nacional, neste artigo são apresentados os procedimentos de dimensionamento da alvenaria estrutural em situação de incêndio em vigor nos Estados Unidos, na Europa e na Austrália. Ao final, sem deixar ao largo o questionamento da aplicabilidade dessas três normas à situação brasileira, por conta das diferenças de materiais utilizados tanto nos blocos quanto nos acabamentos, sugere-se mesclar o que há de interessante nesses três códigos internacionais, de forma gradativa, na elaboração de futura norma brasileira sobre o assunto.

  20. Cooperação e motivação em redes organizacionais: Análise de configuracao estrutural de rede sociais em série histórica

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    June Alisson Westarb Cruz

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Estudos de redes organizacionais e suas motivações se justificam por meiode uma série de desafios, dentre eles, quais as características estruturais emotivações de uma rede dinâmica de atores. Sendo assim, o objetivo do presente artigoe descrever a configuração estrutural e motivacional da Rede de Organizações de Materiais Recicláveis da Grande Curitiba, noperíodo de 2007 a 2011. Por meio do processo de identificação e analise deredes sociais, realizado por meio de entrevistas semi-estruturadas equestionários, apresenta-se a descrição das principais característicashistóricas da rede, além do mapeamento do seu embeddedness estrutural e relacional ao longo do tempo, separadospor motivações individuais de cada um dos atores. Para tal, foram utilizados osindicadores de estrutura da Rede separados por motivações. Tais análisespossibilitaram perceber a configuração estrutural da rede por tipo demotivações, além de seus principais atores e modificações no tempo,contribuindo sob uma nova perspectiva metodológica, no desenvolvimento das análisesde redes, aplicadas as áreas das ciências sociais aplicadas, cuja contribuiçãoespecífica eleva a importância do entendimento das motivações individuais nossistemas de cooperação em redes organizacionais.

  1. Modelos analíticos no estudo do comportamento estrutural de tubos flexíveis e cabos umbilicais.

    OpenAIRE

    Roberto Ramos Junior

    2001-01-01

    Tubos flexíveis e cabos umbilicais têm sido bastante utilizados pela indústria petrolífera em aplicações offshore nos últimos anos. Os primeiros consistem num tipo de tubulação usada para o transporte de vários tipos de fluidos, geralmente trabalhando a alta pressão. Já os cabos umbilicais são usados para permitir o controle e a comunicação entre equipamentos submersos e de superfície. Quanto à concepção estrutural, os dois tipos de produto são muito semelhantes, apresentando diversas camadas...

  2. Desempenho estrutural de protótipo de alvenaria construída com blocos de terra crua estabilizada

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    Aluísio Braz Melo

    Full Text Available Uma das dificuldades na difusão de tecnologias de construção não convencionais é a ausência de informações técnicas sobre os sistemas construtivos existentes. Exemplos de construção eco-eficiente, em pequena escala, feita com blocos de terra crua, desenvolvidos pelo Prof. Roberto Mattone, do Politecnico di Torino, Itália, podem ser encontrados no Brasil, Itália e Argentina. Estes blocos feitos com prensa manual apresentam intertravamentos entre si que melhoram a resistência e a rigidez da alvenaria. Testes em protótipos construídos com eles são necessários para atender as exigências técnicas e se obter credibilidade nas agências governamentais financiadoras. Este artigo apresenta resultados referentes a avaliação de desempenho estrutural de alvenaria (protótipo construído em escala real feita com blocos de terra crua estabilizada, mecânicamente por prensagem e químicamente por adição de cimento Portland. As avaliações de cargas de ocupação e impactos na alvenaria foram realizadas através de ensaios de impactos de corpo mole e de corpo duro, solicitações transmitidas por fechamentos bruscos de porta e solicitações de cargas provenientes de peças suspensas. A partir dos resultados pode-se afirmar que o protótipo apresentou desempenho satisfatório em relação à segurança estrutural. Destaca-se que os blocos avaliados tem grande potencial para reduzir o impacto ambiental das edificações.

  3. MOVIMENTO ESTUDANTIL E COMBATE ÀS OPRESSÕES: REFLEXÕES SOBRE OS REVÉRBEROS DA CRISE ESTRUTURAL DO CAPITAL

    OpenAIRE

    Rigueira Cavalcanti, Gabriela; Guedes, Leandro Theodoro; Campos, Tainara da Silva

    2016-01-01

    Pretende-se perquirir as determinações históricas da crise estrutural do capital, com atenção às suas manifestações específicas na particularidade brasileira. Ao mesmo tempo, intenta-se compreender os desdobramentos do movimento estudantil, evidenciando o passado combativo de suas organizações alinhadas com a agenda de luta da classe trabalhadora em contraste com seu recente recuo e esboroamento. Neste esteio, chama-se a atenção para a projeção alcançada recentemente pelos debates sobre lgbtf...

  4. Metodologia e validação de design estrutural baseado em desempenho para concepção de estrutura de torre eólica

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    Marina Ferreira Borges

    Full Text Available Resumo Neste trabalho é estudado o processo de projeto baseado em desempenho por meio do desenvolvimento de modelos paramétricos e algorítmicos, integrando análise estrutural ao design para a geração de estruturas geométricas complexas, com base em parâmetros de produção e montagem. Essa metodologia baseia-se no Modelo Performativo, em que a forma é gerada utilizando-se critérios de desempenho. Nessa abordagem o desenvolvimento de estruturas complexas só é possível pela reversão do processo de concepção da forma, cuja geração está atrelada aos parâmetros de geometria, material e carregamento. Assim, o engenheiro estrutural não participa apenas da fase de avaliação, mas também das fases iniciais do processo, criando um processo de pesquisa e produção de conhecimento comum entre os arquitetos e engenheiros. Para investigar essa abordagem, neste artigo é feita a concepção da estrutura de uma torre de energia eólica.

  5. Judicialização da Política e Politização do Direito: Acoplamento Estrutural entre os Sistemas Jurídico e Político sem a Construção de uma Racionalidade Transversal

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    Isabella Karla Lima dos Santos

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Este artigo procura demonstrar a relação entre o Sistema Político e o Sistema Jurídico, através do acoplamento estrutural feito pela Constituição. Nosso objetivo é analisar os casos em que esse acoplamento estrutural não corresponde a uma racionalidade transversal, por não haver o aprendizado de um sistema com o outro e, sim, a interferência negativa entre eles, ocorrendo a Judicialização da Política ou a Politização do Direito. Para isso, o marco teórico escolhido foi a obra “Transconstitucionalismo” de Marcelo Neves.

  6. Efeito do confinamento axial no comportamento de vigas de betão estrutural sujeitas à torção

    OpenAIRE

    Taborda, Cátia Sofia Batista .

    2012-01-01

    Neste trabalho é estudado o comportamento de vigas de betão estrutural sujeitas à torção e confinadas axialmente. O estudo realizado tem por objetivo considerar a influência das reais condições de ligação das vigas aos elementos adjacentes no dimensionamento da mesma à torção. Para tal, tem-se em conta o estado de tensão de compressão longitudinal induzido pelo efeito do confinamento axial. A incorporação e estudo do efeito do confinamento axial em vigas à torção será realizado mediante a ...

  7. ANÁLISE DA PRODUTIVIDADE EM UMA OBRA DE ALVENARIA ESTRUTURAL

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    Yara Peixoto Costa

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available O presente trabalho baseou-se na medição e análise da produtividade dos serviços de elevação da alvenaria e montagem da laje em uma obra de alvenaria estrutural localizada na cidade de Itajubá-MG. Dentro dessas duas atividades principais estão contidas diversas subatividades que tiveram seu desempenho medido. O objetivo foi comparar o desempenho de produtividade das subatividades e também das atividades principais em cada um dos quatro pavimentos da edificação. O melhor índice produtivo, tanto na elevação da alvenaria como na montagem da laje foi obtido na execução do terceiro pavimento. Com base nos resultados foi possível perceber que planejamento da obra e a minimização de erros de projeto, além de sua fácil leitura são itens fundamentais para melhorar o desempenho da mão de obra, e que o layout e a logística do canteiro também impactam diretamente nos resultados, demonstrando a importância de um transporte eficiente de materiais para se evitar esforços desnecessários. Além dos itens citados as condições climáticas também exerceram influência sobre a obra, prejudicando o ritmo de trabalho na execução do quarto pavimento tipo.

  8. Análise florística e estrutural de sistemas silviagrícolas em Tomé-Açu, Pará.

    OpenAIRE

    BOLFE, E. L.; BATISTELLA, M.

    2012-01-01

    O objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar a composição florística e estrutural de sistemas silviagrícolas em Tomé-Açu, Pará. Os dados dendrométricos foram obtidos por inventário em 40 parcelas amostrais, com três unidades cada uma, no total de 120 unidades de 10x10 m. Foi inventariada a média de 1.424,3 indivíduos por hectare, pertencentes a 27 famílias e a 54 espécies. Tendo-se considerado a variabilidade dos estágios vegetativos, os diferentes sistemas silviagrícolas (SAF) foram divididos em q...

  9. UMA APLICAÇÃO DO MÉTODO ESTRUTURAL-DIFERENCIAL MODIFICADO PARA A MICRORREGIÃO DE MARINGÁ (PR FRENTE À ECONOMIA PARANAENSE NO PERÍODO DE 1994 A 2008

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rinaldo Aparecido Galete

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available O artigo analisa a estrutura produtiva da indústria de transformação na Microrregião de Maringá – MRM- (PR frente à economia paranaense, no período de 1994 a 2002, através da aplicação do Método Estutural-Diferencial (Shift-Share modificado. Os resultados indicaram que a MRM apresentou variação líquida total (VLT positiva. Existem elementos dinâmicos internos e/ou externos atuando na região. O efeito estrutural da região foi positivo, indicando que a região se especializou em setores mais dinâmicos os quais tendem a crescer mais do que média. O efeito diferencial foi positivo, indicando que na MRM há setores da indústria de transformação local que cresceram a taxas superiores ao crescimento dessa indústria em nível estadual, seja ela dinâmica ou não. A aplicação das modificações de Esteban-Marquillas indicou que quatro setores da indústria de transformação da MRM apresentaram efeito alocação positivo, apesar de que, no conjunto da indústria regional, a mesma apresenta vantagem competitiva com mesma estrutura estadual.

  10. Qualidade estrutural de um latossolo vermelho submetido à compactação

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paula Regina de Oliveira

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available A modificação estrutural do solo provocada pela sua compactação é fator limitante ao crescimento e desenvolvimento das plantas. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi avaliar, em um Latossolo Vermelho eutroférrico no município de Jaboticabal, SP, os parâmetros físicos do solo como a estabilidade de agregados, a condutividade hidráulica e o índice "S". O delineamento experimental foi o inteiramente casualizado com parcelas subdivididas (quatro níveis de compactação e duas profundidades, com quatro repetições e uma área de mata nativa (MN como testemunha. Os tratamentos de compactação foram: C0= 0; C1= 2; C2= 4; e C3= 6 passadas de um trator de 11 Mg. Verificou-se que a MN apresentou elevada relação aos índices diâmetro médio geométrico (DMG e diâmetro médio ponderado (DMP, que constaram agregados maiores e mais estáveis em comparação aos demais tratamentos estudados. Foi obtido o valor de "S" de 0,036 e redução nos níveis mais compactados para 0,026, visto que a compactação reduziu o valor de "S", que atingiu o valor limitante (< 0,035, apesar da mineralogia oxídica do solo analisado.

  11. A CRISE ESTRUTURAL DOS JORNAIS Uma exploração comparativa sobre a situação nos EUA e no Brasil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Alves Müller

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available Os jornais dos principais países desenvolvidos vivem uma crise frequentemente atribuída ao desenvolvimento das mídias digitais. Essa situação parece não se reproduzir nas maiores economias emergentes. O presente trabalho sustenta que, embora o surgimento e avanço dessas mídias tenham efetivamente afetado negativamente o desempenho das empresas jornalísticas, a crise em questão é estrutural e suas origens antecedem o surgimento das mídias digitais. A hipótese de que a situação dos países emergentes seja estruturalmente diversa é testada e, acredita-se, refutada por meio de uma analise comparativa da evolução recente do negócio jornal nos EUA e no Brasil.

  12. Confiabilidade estrutural de uma ponte protendida de madeira considerando o tráfego real

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrés Batista Cheung

    Full Text Available Resumo As pontes protendidas de madeira consistem em sistemas estruturais alternativos, mais leves do que as pontes tradicionais, e apresentam grande rigidez e facilidade de montagem. No Brasil a primeira ponte protendida de madeira foi projetada e construída sobre o Rio Monjolinho, em São Carlos, SP. A confiabilidade desse tipo de estrutura é um dos pontos de maior preocupação técnica, embora essa forma de avaliação ainda não seja utilizada em projetos de pontes de madeira. Este trabalho objetivou avaliar a confiabilidade estrutural do sistema laminado protendido de madeira da ponte projetada sobre o Rio Monjolinho, com foco especial na resistência à flexão e na perda de protensão do sistema, considerando-se para tanto um conjunto variado de trens-tipo. O tabuleiro foi avaliado como uma viga equivalente, baseado no comportamento de placa ortotrópica, e para verificar a segurança da ponte um estudo de confiabilidade foi realizado considerando ações reais obtidas por meio dos dados da concessionária Centrovias. Os resultados das análises de confiabilidade revelaram que a ponte protendida de madeira apresentou índices de confiabilidade compatíveis para a maioria dos carregamentos simulados do tráfego, embora para alguns tipos de caminhões a ponte tenha apresentado índices de confiabilidade abaixo do recomendado pelas normas internacionais.

  13. Estudo estrutural, termodinâmico e reológico das gomas gelana e tara em meios aquosos: efeito da concentração, pH e força iônica

    OpenAIRE

    Neves, Erick Ornellas

    2015-01-01

    Os hidrocoloides são empregados há muito tempo pelas indústrias, sendo em alguns casos os principais promotores das características reológicas do material. A avaliação das fontes de variação presentes em alimentos que possam causar impacto estrutural (químico e espacial) permite um controle adequado do desempenho do hidrocoloide na modificação do perfil reológico do sistema. Neste trabalho foram estudados dois hidrocoloides, goma gelana e goma tara, sendo caracterizado o perfil reológico dos ...

  14. Influência do uso de aditivo retentor de água à base de éter de celulose nas propriedades das argamassas de assentamento em alvenaria estrutural de blocos de concreto

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexandre Lima Oliveira

    Full Text Available O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar a influência do uso de aditivo retentor de água à base de éter de celulose em argamassa de assentamento para alvenaria estrutural de blocos de concreto. Foi empregado um hidroxipropil-metilcelulose (HPMC em uma argamassa mista de cimento e cal, em diferentes teores (0,00%, 0,03%, 0,06% e 0,09% em relação à massa total de materiais secos para a avaliação da influência do referido aditivo nas propriedades das argamassas no estado fresco e endurecido. Além disso, foram confeccionados prismas com três blocos e miniprismas, com pedaços serrados de blocos, para avaliação da resistência à compressão, módulo de deformação e tensão de aderência. Os resultados mostraram que existe potencial para se empregarem retentores de água à base de éter de celulose para a confecção de argamassas de assentamento para alvenaria estrutural de blocos de concreto, haja vista que houve aumento da capacidade de retenção de água das argamassas e que o uso do referido produto não exerceu influência na resistência à compressão delas e na resistência à compressão dos prismas. Contudo, a resistência à compressão das juntas de assentamento, o módulo de elasticidade dos prismas e a resistência à aderência na flexão sofreram reduções significativas quando do emprego do éter de celulose.

  15. Estudo teórico e experimental de paredes esbeltas de alvenaria estrutural

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guilherme Aris Parsekian

    Full Text Available Resumo Um dos fatores a serem levados em conta no dimensionamento de elementos comprimidos é sua esbeltez. Até hoje no Brasil utiliza-se o conceito de esbeltez simplificado, no qual o comprimento de flambagem é determinado por uma altura efetiva (hef, e o raio de giração é substituído por um parâmetro chamado espessura efetiva (tef, para o cálculo de fator minorador de resistência. Outras normas de alvenaria estrutural, como as norte-americana, europeia e australiana, trazem também em sua formulação de cálculo da capacidade de carga de uma parede comprimida um fator redutor de resistência. Já a normalização canadense indica que seja feita uma análise mais próxima da realidade, considerando o equilíbrio na configuração deformada da parede (análise P-Delta. Um programa experimental que envolveu 18 ensaios de paredes de blocos cerâmicos e de concreto com elevada esbeltez, obtida com a utilização de blocos de pequena espessura, é aqui relatado. As previsões da capacidade de carga para o caso de blocos de concreto de geometria vazada foram próximas aos resultados dos ensaios. No caso dos blocos cerâmicos utilizados, de geometria complexa, com as paredes dos blocos também vazadas, apenas a aproximação da norma canadense permitiu obter com algum grau de segurança e proximidade os resultados dos ensaios. Paredes mais esbeltas e com blocos de geometrias complexas exigem procedimentos mais refinados para o cálculo, em que o processo P-Delta e a verificação da seção com material não resistente à tração podem ser uma solução.

  16. Proposta de elemento de integração para a interface entre alvenaria estrutural e esquadria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lais Zucchetti

    Full Text Available A utilização de sistemas modulares na indústria da construção tem crescido de forma acentuada nos últimos anos no Brasil, sendo que, dentre estes, se destaca o sistema construtivo de alvenaria estrutural. Entretanto, diversos estudos apontam uma alta incidência de manifestações patológicas relacionadas a este sistema. A interface entre alvenaria e esquadria é um dos locais de maior incidência de problemas, além de representar um gargalo construtivo, pela necessidade de realização de inúmeras atividades que dependentes da mesma. O presente artigo apresenta o processo de desenvolvimento de uma nova solução para este problema, denominada elemento de integração, incluindo sua definição geométrica, funcional e conceitual, bem como a produção de protótipos virtuais e físicos (com diferentes materiais. Ao longo do desenvolvimento de diferentes modelos, foram realizadas avaliações pela equipe de projeto, a partir das quais foram introduzidas melhorias. Ao todo, foram produzidos 4 modelos virtuais, 3 modelos físicos na escala 1:1, e uma parede experimental. Os principais resultados apontam para a viabilidade e adequação da proposta ao sistema construtivo, bem como identificam o possível aumento de construtibilidade do sistema como um todo a partir da aplicação do elemento desenvolvido.

  17. Caracterização de sedimento proveniente de dragagem de canais pluviais do município de Salvador-BA visando sua utilização em cerâmica estrutural

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O. C. Santos

    Full Text Available Resumo Este trabalho teve como objetivo caracterizar o sedimento proveniente de dragagem de canais pluviais (SCP, do município de Salvador-BA, visando sua máxima substituição pela argila em cerâmica estrutural, uma vez que essa mistura binária faz parte do projeto piloto da massa padrão, na pesquisa da formulação de blocos intertravados cerâmicos. Inicialmente o sedimento foi submetido aos ensaios de índice de plasticidade, analise química por fluorescência de raios X, análise mineralógica por difração de raios X, analise térmica e granulométrica. A morfologia do material foi analisada utilizando-se microscopia eletrônica de varredura, acompanhada de espectroscopia de energia dispersiva. Em seguida foram feitas adições de sedimento (SCP a uma argila do município de Candeias-BA, nas proporções de 10, 20, 30 e 40% em massa. Foram preparados corpos de prova por prensagem uniaxial nas dimensões 60 mm x 20 mm, com pressão de compactação de 25 MPa, sendo que o material foi umidificado com 8% de água. A queima foi realizada em forno resistivo a 850, 950 e 1050 °C, com taxa de aquecimento de 5 °C/min. As propriedades avaliadas foram retração linear, absorção de água e módulo de ruptura à flexão. Os resultados indicaram que é possível a utilização do SCP em cerâmica estrutural, mediante os pré-requisitos exigidos em normas, na fabricação de telhas, blocos de vedação e tijolos.

  18. Influência da taxa de congelamento no comportamento físico-químico e estrutural durante a liofilização da albumina bovina Influence of cooling rate on the structural and phase changes during lyophilization of bovine serum albumin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Virgilio Tattini Jr

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available A liofilização é o método mais comumente utilizado para a preparação de proteínas desidratadas, as quais devem apresentar estabilidade adequada por longo período de armazenagem em temperaturas ambientes. Entretanto, estudos recentes com espectroscopia no infravermelho têm documentado que os problemas relacionados com o congelamento e a desidratação induzidos pela liofilização podem levar ao desdobramento molecular da proteína. Através de análises por espectroscopia Raman, associadas com análise térmica por calorimetria exploratória diferencial (DSC, estudou-se a influência da taxa de congelamento no comportamento físico-químico e estrutural da albumina sérica bovina submetida ao processo de liofilização. Observou-se que a albumina liofilizada com taxa de congelamento de 2,5 °C/min apresentou maior alteração estrutural quando comparada à albumina liofilizada com taxa de congelamento de 30 °C/min, a qual apresentou menores oscilações espectrais nas regiões da amida I, III e pontes de dissulfeto, favorecendo a manutenção da conformação estrutural da proteína.Lyophilization (freeze-drying is the most commonly method used to prepare dehydrated proteins, which should have the desired long-term stability at ambient temperatures. However, recent infrared spectroscopic studies have documented that the acute freezing and dehydration stresses of lyophilization can induce protein unfolding. Through Raman spectroscopy associated with thermal analysis using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC, it was studied the influence of cooling rate on the structural and phase changes during lyophilization of bovine serum albumin. It was observed that bovine serum albumin (BSA lyophilized under slow freezing (2.5 ºC/min presented higher structure damage than the BSA lyophilized under fast freezing (30 ºC/min However, the lyophilization process using cooling rate of 30 ºC/min presented fewer spectra alterations on the Amide I

  19. Uma aplicação do método estrutural-diferencial modificado para a microrregião de Maringá (PR frente à economia paranaense no período de 1994 a 2008

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    Rinaldo Aparecido Galete

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available O artigo analisa a estrutura produtiva da indústria de transformação na Microrregião de Maringá – MRM- (PR frente à economia paranaense, no período de 1994 a 2002, através da aplicação do Método Estutural-Diferencial (Shift-Share modificado. Os resultados indicaram que a MRM apresentou variação líquida total (VLT positiva. Existem elementos dinâmicos internos e/ou externos atuando na região. O efeito estrutural da região foi positivo, indicando que a região se especializou em setores mais dinâmicos os quais tendem a crescer mais do que média. O efeito diferencial foi positivo, indicando que na MRM há setores da indústria de transformação local que cresceram a taxas superiores ao crescimento dessa indústria em nível estadual, seja ela dinâmica ou não. A aplicação das modificações de Esteban-Marquillas indicou que quatro setores da indústria de transformação da MRM apresentaram efeito alocação positivo, apesar de que, no conjunto da indústria regional, a mesma apresenta vantagem competitiva com mesma estrutura estadual.Abstract This paper analysis the production structure of transformation industry in Microrregião de Maringá – MRM (PR in relation with the economics of Paraná at 1994-2008 by application of Shift-Share Metod. The results got show MRM presented VLT positive. There are internal and/or external forces working in the region. The structural effect of the region it was positive, indicating that the region specializes in the sectors most dynamics which tend to grow more that mean. The differential effect was positive, indicating that in MRM there are sectors of transformation industry that grew at rates higher than the growth of this industry in state level, be it dynamic or no. The Esteban-Marquillas changes´ indicated that four sectors of MRM industry transformation´ presented allocates effects positive, although the whole of regional industry, it displays the same competitive edge with

  20. ASCENSÃO E CRISE DO GOVERNO DILMA ROUSSEFF E O GOLPE DE 2016: PODER ESTRUTURAL, CONTRADIÇÃO E IDEOLOGIA

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    Pedro Paulo Zahluth Bastos

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available RESUMO O artigo procura entender o governo Dilma Rousseff e o Golpe de 2016 levando em consideração o poder estrutural do capital financeiro e as contradições inerentes aos modelos de crescimento econômico e coalizão política observados desde o governo Lula. Argumenta-se que o projeto econômico do governo Rousseff procurava superar algumas destas contradições. O governo, contudo, não foi capaz de realizar nem as reformas institucionais nem as repactuações políticas necessárias para o sucesso de seu projeto, em contexto de desaceleração cíclica e aguçamento da concorrência internacional e dos conflitos sociais no Brasil. A política econômica é avaliada desde a austeridade de 2011 até a de 2015, passando pela chamada Nova Matriz Econômica e seu desmonte gradual em 2013. Analisa-se as origens da unificação da burguesia em torno a um programa neoliberal em 2016, assim como a relação entre a revolta das camadas médias e o ataque político-judicial resultante no Golpe de 2016.

  1. Shift Colors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Publications & News Shift Colors Pages default Sign In NPC Logo Banner : Shift Colors Search Navy Personnel Command > Reference Library > Publications & News > Shift Colors Top Link Bar Navy Personnel Library Expand Reference Library Quick Launch Shift Colors Shift Colors Archives Mailing Address How to

  2. Lanthanide shift reagents, binding, shift mechanisms and exchange

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boer, J.W.M. de

    1977-01-01

    Paramagnetic lanthanide shift reagents, when added to a solution of a substrate, induce shifts in the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrum of the substrate molecules. The induced shifts contain information about the structure of the shift reagent substrate complex. The structural information, however, may be difficult to extract because of the following effects: (1) different complexes between shift reagent and substrate may be present in solution, e.g. 1:1 and 1:2 complexes, and the shift observed is a weighed average of the shifts of the substrate nuclei in the different complexes; (2) the Fermi contact interaction, arising from the spin density at the nucleus, contributes to the induced shift; (3) chemical exchange effects may complicate the NMR spectrum. In this thesis, the results of an investigation into the influence of these effects on the NMR spectra of solutions containing a substrate and LSR are presented. The equations describing the pseudo contact and the Fermi contact shift are derived. In addition, it is shown how the modified Bloch equations describing the effect of the chemical exchange processes occurring in the systems studied can be reduced to the familiar equations for a two-site exchange case. The binding of mono- and bifunctional ethers to the shift reagent are reported. An analysis of the induced shifts is given. Finally, the results of the experiments performed to study the exchange behavior of dimethoxyethane and heptafluorodimethyloctanedionato ligands are presented

  3. Tilt shift determinations with spatial-carrier phase-shift method in temporal phase-shift interferometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Qian; Wang, Yang; He, Jianguo; Ji, Fang; Wang, Baorui

    2014-01-01

    An algorithm is proposed to deal with tilt-shift errors in temporal phase-shift interferometry (PSI). In the algorithm, the tilt shifts are detected with the spatial-carrier phase-shift (SCPS) method and then the tilt shifts are applied as priori information to the least-squares fittings of phase retrieval. The algorithm combines the best features of the SCPS and the temporal PSI. The algorithm could be applied to interferograms of arbitrary aperture without data extrapolation for the Fourier transform is not involved. Simulations and experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm. The statistics of simulation results show a satisfied accuracy in detecting tilt-shift errors. Comparisons of the measurements with and without environmental vibration show that the proposed algorithm could compensate tilt-shift errors and retrieve wavefront phase accurately. The algorithm provides an approach to retrieve wavefront phase for the temporal PSI in vibrating environment. (paper)

  4. Obstáculo de comunicação no centro de reabilitação e integração social: consequencia funcional ou estrutural?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vera Regina Salles Sobral

    Full Text Available O estudo discute a dinâmica de vida/trabaího de clientes, funcionários e técnicos do Centro de Reabilitação e Integração Social (CRIS da Colônia Juliano Moreira da cidade do Rio de Janeiro, entendido pelo Ministério da Saúde como uma alternativa às práticas psiquiátricas asilares brasileiras. Para tal buscaram-se os estudos de micropolí-tica de GOFFMAN e das representações antropológicas de BOLTANSKI, associados a observações assistemáticas da práxis desenvolvida. O objeto do trabalho reside na análise crítica dos discursos e prática do CRIS, objetivando discutir se os obstáculos de comunicação entre os dois eram de ordem funcional e/ou estrutural. Em acréscimo, os autores sugerem pesquisas que envolvam observação participativa nas reuniões do CR IS, entrevistas e análise de documentos.

  5. Generalização estrutural a partir do tratamento por diferentes modelos de oposições Structural generalization after treatment based on different oppositions approaches

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    Karina Carlesso Pagliarin

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Este trabalho teve como objetivo analisar a generalização estrutural (a itens não utilizados no tratamento, para outras posições na palavra, dentro de uma classe de sons e para outras classes de sons em três diferentes modelos de abordagem contrastiva, considerando-se a gravidade do desvio fonológico. A amostra constituiu-se de nove sujeitos com desvio fonológico, com idades entre 4 anos e 2 meses e 6 anos e 6 meses. Todos foram avaliados, antes e após a terapia fonológica. Foram estabelecidos três grupos para o tratamento, todos constituídos por três sujeitos; em cada um havia um representante com desvio grave, moderado-grave e médio-moderado. Cada grupo foi tratado por um modelo diferente - Oposições Mínimas, Oposições Máximas/Empty Set e Oposições Múltiplas. A análise estatística dos resultados foi feita mediante comparação entre os modelos terapêuticos e a gravidade do desvio fonológico, utilizando-se os tipos de generalização. Verificou-se a ocorrência dos diferentes tipos de generalização em todos os grupos estudados, entretanto não houve diferença entre eles. Os três modelos de terapia aplicados favoreceram a ocorrência de generalização estrutural nas três diferentes gravidades do desvio, demonstrando que os modelos de abordagem contrastiva são eficazes no tratamento do desvio fonológico.This study had the aim to analyze structural generalization (to untreated words, to other word positions, across and within sound classes in three different models of contrastive approach, based on the severity of phonological disorder. The sample comprised nine subjects with phonological disorders with ages between 4 years and 2 months and 6 years and 6 months. All subjects were assessed before and after phonological therapy. Three groups with three subjects each were established for treatment; each group had one subject with severe, moderate-severe and mild-moderate disorder, and each was treated by a different

  6. A generalização estrutural silábica no tratamento do desvio fonológico Generalization of syllabic structure in the treatment of phonological disorders

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    Marizete Ilha Ceron

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available OBJETIVO: analisar a generalização estrutural silábica no tratamento realizado. MÉTODOS: a amostra constituiu-se de sete sujeitos, com idades de 4:0 e 7:0 anos, selecionados através do banco de dados da amostra do Centro de Estudos da Linguagem e Fala (CELF de uma instituição de ensino superior. Os sujeitos selecionados haviam passado por avaliações fonoaudiológicas, apresentando alteração somente no nível fonológico (A1, que havia sido realizada durante a composição do banco de dados. Os pacientes foram posteriormente tratados com o /r/ em Onset Medial pelo Modelo ABAB-Retirada e Provas Múltiplas, por um ciclo de nove sessões terapêuticas, durante nove semanas. Para a análise da generalização estrutural silábica, foram comparados os dados do sistema fonológico obtidos na avaliação fonológica inicial e na Prova de Generalização 1 (PG1. RESULTADOS: o S1 percorreria duas metas, mas houve generalização em apenas uma; o S2 não houve generalização em nenhuma das duas metas indicadas; o S3 e o S4 percorreram as quatro metas que seriam indicadas, e o S5 percorreu as 3 metas propostas. CONCLUSÃO: a análise permitiu verificar de forma detalhada as metas de generalização.PURPOSE: to analyze the structural generalization syllabic treatment. METHODS: the sample consisted of seven subjects, aged 4:0 to 7:0 years old and selected from a sample database at the Center for the Study of Language and Speech (CELF located at an institution university.The subjects selected had undergone speech therapy evaluations, presented only change the phonological level (A1, which had taken place during the composition of the database. Patients were subsequently treated with the / r / in the Medial Onset ABAB-Withdrawal and Multiple Probes by a cycle of nine therapeutic sessions during nine weeks. For the analysis of structural generalization syllabic, we compared the data of the phonological system obtained in the initial phonological and

  7. A ironia na literatura canadense: uma estratégia retórica e estrutural exibindo dissonâncias e diferenças = The irony in Canadian literature: a rhetorical and structural strategy displaying differences and dissonance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Klondy Lúcia de Oliveira Agra

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Neste artigo, observo, com base na literatura canadense, os sentidos dados à ironia utilizada como estratégia retórica e estrutural. A partir da pesquisa bibliográfica, procuro por esclarecimentos sobre a característica da ironia canadense, sua forma e seu foco específico com apoio das teorias crítica, pós-moderna e pós-colonial.In this article, the result of study about Canadian literature, I observe the use of the irony as a rhetorical and structural strategic. From the bibliographical research, I look for clarification on the characteristic of Canadian irony, its form and its specific focus with support from critical theory, postmodern and post-colonial.

  8. Uma propriedade estrutural do problema de programação da produção flow shop permutacional com tempos de setup

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    João Vitor Moccellin

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Neste artigo apresenta-se uma propriedade estrutural do problema de programação da produção flow shop permutacional com tempos de setup das máquinas separados dos tempos de processamento das tarefas, a qual foi identificada a partir de investigações que foram realizadas sobre as características do problema. Tal propriedade fornece um limitante superior do tempo de máquina parada entre a sua preparação e o início de execução das tarefas. Utilizando a propriedade, o problema original de programação da produção com minimização do makespan pode ser resolvido de maneira heurística por meio de uma analogia com o problema assimétrico do caixeiro-viajante.This paper deals with the permutation flow shop scheduling problem with separated machine setup times. As a result of an investigation on the problem characteristics a structural property is introduced. Such a property provides an upper bound on the idle time of the machines between the setup task and the job processing. As an application of this property, the original scheduling problem with the makespan criterion can be heuristically solved by an analogy with the asymmetric traveling salesman problem.

  9. Preference shifts, structural breaks and the domestic demand for Chilean wine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristián Troncoso-Valverde

    2004-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper investigates possible changes in Chilean domestic consumer preferences for wine through the estimation of a demand function that allows for structural breaks and regime shifts in the cointegrating relationship. Our findings support both higher own-price elasticity and higher substitutability between wine and beer after 1982, when a shift in regime in the demand function is found. We believe our findings might be due to the introduction of an increasing number of wine varieties in Chile during the last two decades. We argue that more wine varieties affect domestic consumer preferences by altering the product diversity available in the domestic market.El presente artículo investiga posibles cambios en las preferencias de los consumidores chilenos de vino por medio de la estimación de una función de demanda que permite quiebres estructurales y cambios de régimen en el vector de cointegración de la misma. Nuestros resultados muestran una alta elasticidad - precio y una mayor sustitución entre vino y cerveza a partir de 1982, fecha en la cual un cambio de régimen en la función de demanda es detectado. Dichos resultados pueden ser atribuidos a la introducción de un creciente número de variedades de vino en Chile en las últimas dos décadas. Así, la introducción de un mayor número de variedades de vino afecta las preferencias de los consumidores chilenos al alterar la variedad de productos disponibles en el mercado chileno de vino.Este artigo investiga possíveis mudanças nas preferências dos consumidores de vinho por meio da estimação de uma função da demanda que permite a ruptura estrutural e a mudança do regime no vetor da co-integração do mesmo. Nossos resultados mostram uma elevada elasticidade - preço e uma maior substituição entre o vinho e a cerveja a partir de 1982, data na qual uma mudança do regime na função da demanda é detectada. Estes resultados podem ser atribuídos à introdução de um n

  10. Shift Work Disorder and Mental and Physical Effects of Shift Work

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pinar Guzel Ozdemir

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available With the growing prevalence of shift work all over the the world, the relationship between the daily lives of irregular lifestyles and rhythms is being investigated for those working as shift workers and their families. The effect of shift work on physical and mental health is a very important field of research in recent years. The onset and persistence of medical complications in shift workers includes impaired synchronization between work schedule rhythms and circadian clock. In this context, studies have been carried out showing the increased risk of sleep-wake disorders, gastrointestinal problems, and cardiovascular diseases. There is little information about the actual frequency, effect on health and treatment of shift work disorder, known as circadian rhythm sleep disorder. Shift work disorder includes insomnia and/or excessive sleepiness related with the work schedule. The aim of this rewiev, mentioning about the physical and mental effects of shift work, and to provide information about the diagnosis, clinic and treatment methods of shift-work disorder.

  11. Decomposição estrutural da variação do emprego nos setores industriais no brasil entre os anos de 2000 e 2009

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carina Diane Nakatani-Macedo

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available RESUMO O objetivo do presente artigo é analisar a variação de emprego nos setores industriais nos anos 2000-2009 para o Brasil. Utiliza-se a metodologia de insumo-pro­duto, através da decomposição estrutural da variação do emprego em efeitos de intensidade, de tecnologia, da demanda, do crescimento e total. Os principais resultados mostraram que entre os dois períodos estudados, houve um acréscimo de 4,39 milhões de vagas para o setor industrial que isoladamente foi responsável por, aproximadamente, 25% do resultado nacional. Dentre os efeitos estudados pode-se destacar o efeito crescimento e intensidade como principal responsável pelos resultados. Ao considerar o efeito total, os setores que apresentaram maior crescimento relativo no número de empregos foram os de alimentos e bebidas, artigos do vestuário e acessórios e construção civil. Os resultados obtidos permitiram concluir que houve um aumento do número de postos de trabalho para a indústria no Brasil no período analisado, onde a tecnologia, apesar de não explicar unicamente o efeito crescimento, mostra impactos positivos na geração de emprego no efeito total.

  12. Non-occupational physical activity levels of shift workers compared with non-shift workers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loef, Bette; Hulsegge, Gerben; Wendel-Vos, G C Wanda; Verschuren, W M Monique; Bakker, Marije F; van der Beek, Allard J; Proper, Karin I

    2017-01-01

    Objectives Lack of physical activity (PA) has been hypothesised as an underlying mechanism in the adverse health effects of shift work. Therefore, our aim was to compare non-occupational PA levels between shift workers and non-shift workers. Furthermore, exposure–response relationships for frequency of night shifts and years of shift work regarding non-occupational PA levels were studied. Methods Data of 5980 non-shift workers and 532 shift workers from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition-Netherlands (EPIC-NL) were used in these cross-sectional analyses. Time spent (hours/week) in different PA types (walking/cycling/exercise/chores) and intensities (moderate/vigorous) were calculated based on self-reported PA. Furthermore, sports were operationalised as: playing sports (no/yes), individual versus non-individual sports, and non-vigorous-intensity versus vigorous-intensity sports. PA levels were compared between shift workers and non-shift workers using Generalized Estimating Equations and logistic regression. Results Shift workers reported spending more time walking than non-shift workers (B=2.3 (95% CI 1.2 to 3.4)), but shift work was not associated with other PA types and any of the sports activities. Shift workers who worked 1–4 night shifts/month (B=2.4 (95% CI 0.6 to 4.3)) and ≥5 night shifts/month (B=3.7 (95% CI 1.8 to 5.6)) spent more time walking than non-shift workers. No exposure–response relationships were found between years of shift work and PA levels. Conclusions Shift workers spent more time walking than non-shift workers, but we observed no differences in other non-occupational PA levels. To better understand if and how PA plays a role in the negative health consequences of shift work, our findings need to be confirmed in future studies. PMID:27872151

  13. Reduced Tolerance to Night Shift in Chronic Shift Workers: Insight From Fractal Regulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Peng; Morris, Christopher J; Patxot, Melissa; Yugay, Tatiana; Mistretta, Joseph; Purvis, Taylor E; Scheer, Frank A J L; Hu, Kun

    2017-07-01

    Healthy physiology is characterized by fractal regulation (FR) that generates similar structures in the fluctuations of physiological outputs at different time scales. Perturbed FR is associated with aging and age-related pathological conditions. Shift work, involving repeated and chronic exposure to misaligned environmental and behavioral cycles, disrupts circadian coordination. We tested whether night shifts perturb FR in motor activity and whether night shifts affect FR in chronic shift workers and non-shift workers differently. We studied 13 chronic shift workers and 14 non-shift workers as controls using both field and in-laboratory experiments. In the in-laboratory study, simulated night shifts were used to induce a misalignment between the endogenous circadian pacemaker and the sleep-wake cycles (ie, circadian misalignment) while environmental conditions and food intake were controlled. In the field study, we found that FR was robust in controls but broke down in shift workers during night shifts, leading to more random activity fluctuations as observed in patients with dementia. The night shift effect was present even 2 days after ending night shifts. The in-laboratory study confirmed that night shifts perturbed FR in chronic shift workers and showed that FR in controls was more resilience to the circadian misalignment. Moreover, FR during real and simulated night shifts was more perturbed in those who started shift work at older ages. Chronic shift work causes night shift intolerance, which is probably linked to the degraded plasticity of the circadian control system. © Sleep Research Society 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Sleep Research Society. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail journals.permissions@oup.com.

  14. Non-occupational physical activity levels of shift workers compared with non-shift workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loef, Bette; Hulsegge, Gerben; Wendel-Vos, G C Wanda; Verschuren, W M Monique; Vermeulen, Roel C H; Bakker, Marije F; van der Beek, Allard J; Proper, Karin I

    2017-05-01

    Lack of physical activity (PA) has been hypothesised as an underlying mechanism in the adverse health effects of shift work. Therefore, our aim was to compare non-occupational PA levels between shift workers and non-shift workers. Furthermore, exposure-response relationships for frequency of night shifts and years of shift work regarding non-occupational PA levels were studied. Data of 5980 non-shift workers and 532 shift workers from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition-Netherlands (EPIC-NL) were used in these cross-sectional analyses. Time spent (hours/week) in different PA types (walking/cycling/exercise/chores) and intensities (moderate/vigorous) were calculated based on self-reported PA. Furthermore, sports were operationalised as: playing sports (no/yes), individual versus non-individual sports, and non-vigorous-intensity versus vigorous-intensity sports. PA levels were compared between shift workers and non-shift workers using Generalized Estimating Equations and logistic regression. Shift workers reported spending more time walking than non-shift workers (B=2.3 (95% CI 1.2 to 3.4)), but shift work was not associated with other PA types and any of the sports activities. Shift workers who worked 1-4 night shifts/month (B=2.4 (95% CI 0.6 to 4.3)) and ≥5 night shifts/month (B=3.7 (95% CI 1.8 to 5.6)) spent more time walking than non-shift workers. No exposure-response relationships were found between years of shift work and PA levels. Shift workers spent more time walking than non-shift workers, but we observed no differences in other non-occupational PA levels. To better understand if and how PA plays a role in the negative health consequences of shift work, our findings need to be confirmed in future studies. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

  15. Blue and red shifted temperature dependence of implicit phonon shifts in graphene

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mann, Sarita; Jindal, V. K.

    2017-07-01

    We have calculated the implicit shift for various modes of frequency in a pure graphene sheet. Thermal expansion and Grüneisen parameter which are required for implicit shift calculation have already been studied and reported. For this calculation, phonon frequencies are obtained using force constants derived from dynamical matrix calculated using VASP code where the density functional perturbation theory (DFPT) is used in interface with phonopy software. The implicit phonon shift shows an unusual behavior as compared to the bulk materials. The frequency shift is large negative (red shift) for ZA and ZO modes and the value of negative shift increases with increase in temperature. On the other hand, blue shift arises for all other longitudinal and transverse modes with a similar trend of increase with increase in temperature. The q dependence of phonon shifts has also been studied. Such simultaneous red and blue shifts in transverse or out plane modes and surface modes, respectively leads to speculation of surface softening in out of plane direction in preference to surface melting.

  16. Use of 2 D-NMR in the structural study of a Trichilia hirta (Meliaceae) isolated limonoid; Utilizacao de RMN-2D na elucidacao estrutural de um limonoide isolado de Trichilia hirta (meliaceae)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cortez, Diogenes A.G. [Universidade Estadual de Maringa, PR (Brazil). Dept. de Farmacia-Bioquimica; Vieira, Paulo C; Fernandes, Joao B; Silva, M.Fatima G.F. da; Ferreira, A Gilberto [Sao Carlos Univ., SP (Brazil). Dept. de Quimica

    1992-12-31

    We have recently studied a T. hirta specie and obtained a limonoid which has a structure similar to the hirtine. The obtained limonoid differs from the hirtine by the absence of an epoxy group in C-14 and C-15, and a propionyl oxy group replacement by a iso butyryl oxy bound to a C-12. NMR-2 D has been used for the structural study of the limonoid obtained from the Trichilia hirta (meliaceae) 8 refs., 1 fig., 3 tabs.

  17. OpenShift Workshop

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva; Rodriguez Peon, Alberto

    2017-01-01

    Workshop to introduce developers to the OpenShift platform available at CERN. Several use cases will be shown, including deploying an existing application into OpenShift. We expect attendees to realize about OpenShift features and general architecture of the service.

  18. Aplicação da alvenaria estrutural em sistemas de armazenamento de produtos agrícolas a granel Applying structural masonry for granular material storage systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José F. de A Marques Neto

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available O armazenamento de produtos agrícolas cumpre um papel importante no agronegócio. Observa-se uma tendência cada vez maior em se trabalhar com produtos a granel, em grandes volumes. Visando a uma concepção construtiva racional e econômica, o presente trabalho propõe um sistema misto em concreto armado e alvenaria estrutural aplicado a silos para armazenagem de produto agrícola a granel. No projeto proposto, o silo é composto de células em alvenaria estrutural, geminadas duas a duas na largura e com um número variável de células no comprimento, em função do volume desejado de armazenagem. Esse sistema simétrico favorece a racionalidade operacional, garantindo a continuidade entre os fluxos de recebimento e de expedição. O fundo da célula é em forma de tremonha dupla troncopiramidal, com saída central, construída em painéis treliçados pré-moldados. A sustentação das células e das tremonhas é feita através de vigas e de pilares de concreto armado. O isolamento térmico necessário para que a qualidade do produto armazenado seja garantida é estabelecido pela utilização de telhas trapezoidais de aço galvanizado, tanto na cobertura como nos fechamentos laterais. A fim de ilustrar o presente trabalho, um exemplo de silo utilizando o sistema proposto é apresentado, e a viabilidade da concepção construtiva adotada é analisada.The storage of granular materials has had an important role in the agribusiness. Storing granular materials in silos, instead of in bags or big-bags, has been an increase tendency. Aiming at an economic and rational solution for storing granular materials this paper presents an alternative design: a multi-cell silo group composed of reinforced masonry rectangular cells coupled two by two in width, and a variable number of cells in length according to the volume of desired storage. Such symmetrical system benefits the loading and the unloading operations, and guarantees the continuity between the

  19. Contributors to shift work tolerance in South Korean nurses working rotating shift.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jung, Hye-Sun; Lee, Bokim

    2015-05-01

    Shift workers have rapidly increased in South Korea; however, there is no published research exploring shift work tolerance among South Korean workers. This study aimed to investigate factors related to shift work tolerance in South Korean nurses. The sample comprised of 660 nurses who worked shifts in a large hospital in South Korea. A structured questionnaire included following comprehensive variables: demographic (age and number of children), individual (morningness and self-esteem), psychosocial (social support and job stress), lifestyle (alcohol consumption, physical activity, and BMI), and working condition factors (number of night shifts and working hours). Shift work tolerance was measured in terms of insomnia, fatigue, and depression. The results of hierarchical regressions indicate that all variables, except for three, number of children, BMI, and working hours, were related to at least one of the symptoms associated with shift work tolerance. Based on these results, we offer some practical implications to help improve shift work tolerance of workers. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Expert system application for prioritizing preventive actions for shift work: shift expert.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Esen, Hatice; Hatipoğlu, Tuğçen; Cihan, Ahmet; Fiğlali, Nilgün

    2017-09-19

    Shift patterns, work hours, work arrangements and worker motivations have increasingly become key factors for job performance. The main objective of this article is to design an expert system that identifies the negative effects of shift work and prioritizes mitigation efforts according to their importance in preventing these negative effects. The proposed expert system will be referred to as the shift expert. A thorough literature review is conducted to determine the effects of shift work on workers. Our work indicates that shift work is linked to demographic variables, sleepiness and fatigue, health and well-being, and social and domestic conditions. These parameters constitute the sections of a questionnaire designed to focus on 26 important issues related to shift work. The shift expert is then constructed to provide prevention advice at the individual and organizational levels, and it prioritizes this advice using a fuzzy analytic hierarchy process model, which considers comparison matrices provided by users during the prioritization process. An empirical study of 61 workers working on three rotating shifts is performed. After administering the questionnaires, the collected data are analyzed statistically, and then the shift expert produces individual and organizational recommendations for these workers.

  1. Implementing OpenShift

    CERN Document Server

    Miller, Adam

    2013-01-01

    A standard tutorial-based approach to using OpenShift and deploying custom or pre-built web applications to the OpenShift Online cloud.This book is for software developers and DevOps alike who are interested in learning how to use the OpenShift Platform-as-a-Service for developing and deploying applications, how the environment works on the back end, and how to deploy their very own open source Platform-as-a-Service based on the upstream OpenShift Origin project.

  2. Viabilidade do emprego de cinza de casca de arroz natural em concreto estrutural. Parte I: propriedades mecânicas e microestrutura

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Geraldo Cechella Isaia

    Full Text Available A casca de arroz, para ser utilizada em concreto estrutural, necessita de queima com temperatura controlada e de moagem prévia para lhe conferir maior reatividade pozolânica. Este trabalho discute o emprego da cinza de casca de arroz (CCA natural e residual, queimada sem controle de temperatura e sem moagem, de forma a simplificar o processamento da CCA e ampliar seu uso em concretos convencionais, em locais próximos onde é produzido, Estudou-se a sequência de colocação e o tempo de mistura dos materiais na betoneira, para obtenção do melhor desempenho da automoagem no tambor. Foram testadas misturas de concreto de referência com cimento Portland e com 15% e 25% de substituição de cimento, em massa, por CCA natural e moída. Foram realizados ensaios de resistência à compressão axial, tração por compressão diametral, módulo de elasticidade, retração total, porosimetria por intrusão de mercúrio, água quimicamente combinada e MEV. A análise dos resultados revela a viabilidade da substituição de 15% de cimento por CCA natural, com perda não significativa de resistência à tração e módulo de elasticidade a 28 dias, com recuperação total a 91 dias, para concretos com resistências à compressão entre 25 MPa e 40 MPa.

  3. Análise florística e estrutural de sistemas silviagrícolas em Tomé-Açu, Pará

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Édson Luis Bolfe

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available O objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar a composição florística e estrutural de sistemas silviagrícolas em Tomé-Açu, Pará. Os dados dendrométricos foram obtidos por inventário em 40 parcelas amostrais, com três unidades cada uma, no total de 120 unidades de 10x10 m. Foi inventariada a média de 1.424,3 indivíduos por hectare, pertencentes a 27 famílias e a 54 espécies. Tendo-se considerado a variabilidade dos estágios vegetativos, os diferentes sistemas silviagrícolas (SAF foram divididos em quatro classes hierárquicas: SAF 1, SAF 2, SAF 3, e SAF 4, para estabelecer um sistema de classificação passível de ser utilizado em outras avaliações de campo e em classificações digitais por meio do sensoriamento remoto. Espécies observadas em outros sistemas da região amazônica também foram relevantes para este estudo, especialmente Theobroma cacao, T. grandiflorum e Euterpe oleracea que, juntas, apresentaram médias de frequência relativa de 51%, densidade relativa de 69,2%, dominância relativa de 50,1% e índice de valor de importância de 56,8%. Os dados médios de diversidade florística, abundância, área basal e valor de importância indicam os sistemas silviagrícolas da região de Tomé-Açu como sistemas de produção com potencial econômico e ambiental, se adotado manejo adequado e racional.

  4. Fractografia de compósito estrutural aeronáutico submetido ao ensaio de tenacidade à fratura interlaminar em Modo II

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Geraldo Maurício Cândido

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available A fractografia consiste no estudo detalhado da morfologia da superfície de fratura de materiais. Para isto, a técnica de microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV é usualmente utilizada para determinar a causa de falha e a relação do modo de falha com a microestrutura do material em análise. Essas informações permitem estabelecer analogia entre estrutura, propriedade e processamento do material com a iniciação e a propagação da falha. Neste estudo, a análise fractográfica é utilizada para investigar os aspectos que caracterizaram a falha por delaminação em Modo II de laminados poliméricos de uso estrutural. Para isto, espécimes com um inserto de Teflon® introduzido no plano médio de uma das extremidades do laminado (End-Notched foram submetidos ao ensaio de carregamento em flexão em quatro pontos. Os espécimes foram preparados a partir de um laminado fabricado em autoclave, com camadas (0º, 90º de material pré-impregnado de tecido bidirecional em estilo plain weave de fibras de carbono IM7/resina epóxi M21. Os resultados da análise mostram que a superfície de fratura é muito irregular, com a visualização de fibras e impressões de fibras na matriz. Aspectos fractográficos de cúspides e formatos de concha, originados durante o cisalhamento da matriz polimérica, são também observados.

  5. Redução da dor crônica associada à escoliose não estrutural, em universitárias submetidas ao método Pilates Reduction of the chronic pain associated to the scoliosis non structural, in university students submitted to the Pilates method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Erivânia Alves de Araújo

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Objetivo: Avaliar a eficácia do método Pilates na redução da dor crônica associada à escoliose não estrutural. Método: Participaram do estudo ensaio clínico controlado e aleatorizado 31 universitárias, com idade entre 18 e 25 anos, com diagnóstico de escoliose não estrutural e apresentando dor crônica na coluna vertebral. A amostra foi dividida em grupo controle (n=11 que não foi submetido a nenhuma intervenção terapêutica e grupo experimental (n=20 que participou do programa de mecanoterapia pelo método Pilates. A intervenção consistiu de vinte e quatro sessões. Os movimentos foram orientados de acordo com a convexidade da escoliose de cada indivíduo. Foi utilizado o teste de Adams, radiografia panorâmica da coluna vertebral (pré tratamento e um questionário mediante a "Escala de dor percebida CR 10 de Borg" (pré e pós tratamento. O tratamento estatístico utilizado foi a ANOVA 2x2 de medidas repetidas, seguida do teste post hoc de Tukey. Resultados: Os resultados identificaram diminuição significativa de 66% da dor no grupo experimental (P = 0,0002. Conclusão: Pode-se verificar que o programa de exercícios utilizando-se o método Pilates para jovens com escoliose não estrutural, apresentando dor na coluna vertebral é eficaz, pois houve redução da intensidade de dor.Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of the Pilates method in the reduction of the chronic pain associated to a non structural scoliosis. Method: 31 academical subjects participated in the clinical aleatorical controlled experiment study, under age between 18 and 25 years, with diagnosis of non structural scoliosis and presenting chronic pain in the spine. The sample was divided into: control group (n=11 that the was not submitted to any therapeutic intervention and experimental group (n=20 that participated of the mecanotherapy program for the Pilates method. The intervention consisted of twenty-four sessions. The movements were guided in

  6. Shifting schedules: the health effects of reorganizing shift work.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bambra, Clare L; Whitehead, Margaret M; Sowden, Amanda J; Akers, Joanne; Petticrew, Mark P

    2008-05-01

    Approximately one fifth of workers are engaged in some kind of shift work. The harmful effects of shift work on the health and work-life balance of employees are well known. A range of organizational interventions has been suggested to address these negative effects. This study undertook the systematic review (following Quality Of Reporting Of Meta [QUORUM] analyses guidelines) of experimental and quasi-experimental studies, from any country (in any language) that evaluated the effects on health and work-life balance of organizational-level interventions that redesign shift work schedules. Twenty-seven electronic databases (medical, social science, economic) were searched. Data extraction and quality appraisal were carried out by two independent reviewers. Narrative synthesis was performed. The review was conducted between October 2005 and November 2006. Twenty-six studies were found relating to a variety of organizational interventions. No one type of intervention was found to be consistently harmful to workers. However, three types were found to have beneficial effects on health and work-life balance: (1) switching from slow to fast rotation, (2) changing from backward to forward rotation, and (3) self-scheduling of shifts. Improvements were usually at little or no direct organizational cost. However, there were concerns about the generalizability of the evidence, and no studies reported on impacts on health inequalities. This review reinforces the findings of epidemiologic and laboratory-based research by suggesting that certain organizational-level interventions can improve the health of shift workers, their work-life balance, or both. This evidence could be useful when designing interventions to improve the experience of shift work.

  7. Josephson shift registers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Przybysz, J.X.

    1989-01-01

    This paper gives a review of Josephson shift register circuits that were designed, fabricated, or tested, with emphasis on work in the 1980s. Operating speed is most important, since it often limits system performance. Older designs used square-wave clocks, but most modern designs use offset sine waves, with either two or three phases. Operating margins and gate bias uniformity are key concerns. The fastest measured Josephson shift register operated at 2.3 GHz, which compares well with a GaAs shift register that consumes 250 times more power. The difficulties of high-speed testing have prevented many Josephson shift registers from being operated at their highest speeds. Computer simulations suggest that 30-GHz operation is possible with current Nb/Al 2 O 3 /Nb technology. Junctions with critical current densities near 10 kA/cm 2 would make 100-GHz shift registers feasible

  8. Shifting Attention

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ingram, Jenni

    2014-01-01

    This article examines the shifts in attention and focus as one teacher introduces and explains an image that represents the processes involved in a numeric problem that his students have been working on. This paper takes a micro-analytic approach to examine how the focus of attention shifts through what the teacher and students do and say in the…

  9. Work shift duration: a review comparing eight hour and 12 hour shift systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, L; Folkard, S; Tucker, P; Macdonald, I

    1998-04-01

    Shiftwork is now a major feature of working life across a broad range of industries. The features of the shift systems operated can impact on the wellbeing, performance, and sleep of shiftworkers. This paper reviews the current state of knowledge on one major characteristic of shift rotas-namely, shift duration. Evidence comparing the relative effects of eight hour and 12 hour shifts on fatigue and job performance, safety, sleep, and physical and psychological health are considered. At the organisational level, factors such as the mode of system implementation, attitudes towards shift rotas, sickness absence and turnover, overtime, and moonlighting are discussed. Manual and electronic searches of the shiftwork research literature were conducted to obtain information on comparisons between eight hour and 12 hour shifts. The research findings are largely equivocal. The bulk of the evidence suggests few differences between eight and 12 hour shifts in the way they affect people. There may even be advantages to 12 hour shifts in terms of lower stress levels, better physical and psychological wellbeing, improved durations and quality of off duty sleep as well as improvements in family relations. On the negative side, the main concerns are fatigue and safety. It is noted that a 12 hour shift does not equate with being active for only 12 hours. There can be considerable extension of the person's time awake either side of the shift. However, the effects of longer term exposure to extended work days have been relatively uncharted in any systematic way. Longitudinal comparative research into the chronic impact of the compressed working week is needed.

  10. Third ventricle midline shift on computed tomography as an alternative to septum pellucidum shift

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santiago, Carlos Francis A.; Oropilla, Jean Quint L; Alvarez, Victor M.

    2000-01-01

    The cerebral midline shift is measured using the displacement from midline of the third ventricle. It is an easily determined criterion from which CT scans of patients with spontaneous intracerebral hematoma may be investigated. Midline shift is a significant criteria in which to gauge the neurological status of patients. In a retrospective study of 32 patients with spontaneous unilateral intracerebral hemorrhage, a midline third ventricle shift correlated well with septum pellucidum shift. A greater than 7 mm midline third ventricle shift was associated with a significantly lower Glasgow Coma scale score compared a shift less than 7mm. For the septum pellucidum, a greater than 10 mm shift was similarly associated with a significantly lower Glasgow Coma scale score. (Author)

  11. Insomnia in shift work.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vallières, Annie; Azaiez, Aïda; Moreau, Vincent; LeBlanc, Mélanie; Morin, Charles M

    2014-12-01

    Shift work disorder involves insomnia and/or excessive sleepiness associated with the work schedule. The present study examined the impact of insomnia on the perceived physical and psychological health of adults working on night and rotating shift schedules compared to day workers. A total of 418 adults (51% women, mean age 41.4 years), including 51 night workers, 158 rotating shift workers, and 209 day workers were selected from an epidemiological study. An algorithm was used to classify each participant of the two groups (working night or rotating shifts) according to the presence or absence of insomnia symptoms. Each of these individuals was paired with a day worker according to gender, age, and income. Participants completed several questionnaires measuring sleep, health, and psychological variables. Night and rotating shift workers with insomnia presented a sleep profile similar to that of day workers with insomnia. Sleep time was more strongly related to insomnia than to shift work per se. Participants with insomnia in the three groups complained of anxiety, depression, and fatigue, and reported consuming equal amounts of sleep-aid medication. Insomnia also contributed to chronic pain and otorhinolaryngology problems, especially among rotating shift workers. Work productivity and absenteeism were more strongly related to insomnia. The present study highlights insomnia as an important component of the sleep difficulties experienced by shift workers. Insomnia may exacerbate certain physical and mental health problems of shift workers, and impair their quality of life. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Effects of extended work shifts and shift work on patient safety, productivity, and employee health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keller, Simone M

    2009-12-01

    It is estimated 1.3 million health care errors occur each year and of those errors 48,000 to 98,000 result in the deaths of patients (Barger et al., 2006). Errors occur for a variety of reasons, including the effects of extended work hours and shift work. The need for around-the-clock staff coverage has resulted in creative ways to maintain quality patient care, keep health care errors or adverse events to a minimum, and still meet the needs of the organization. One way organizations have attempted to alleviate staff shortages is to create extended work shifts. Instead of the standard 8-hour shift, workers are now working 10, 12, 16, or more hours to provide continuous patient care. Although literature does support these staffing patterns, it cannot be denied that shifts beyond the traditional 8 hours increase staff fatigue, health care errors, and adverse events and outcomes and decrease alertness and productivity. This article includes a review of current literature on shift work, the definition of shift work, error rates and adverse outcomes related to shift work, health effects on shift workers, shift work effects on older workers, recommended optimal shift length, positive and negative effects of shift work on the shift worker, hazards associated with driving after extended shifts, and implications for occupational health nurses. Copyright 2009, SLACK Incorporated.

  13. Modelling a Nurse Shift Schedule with Multiple Preference Ranks for Shifts and Days-Off

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chun-Cheng Lin

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available When it comes to nurse shift schedules, it is found that the nursing staff have diverse preferences about shift rotations and days-off. The previous studies only focused on the most preferred work shift and the number of satisfactory days-off of the schedule at the current schedule period but had few discussions on the previous schedule periods and other preference levels for shifts and days-off, which may affect fairness of shift schedules. As a result, this paper proposes a nurse scheduling model based upon integer programming that takes into account constraints of the schedule, different preference ranks towards each shift, and the historical data of previous schedule periods to maximize the satisfaction of all the nursing staff's preferences about the shift schedule. The main contribution of the proposed model is that we consider that the nursing staff’s satisfaction level is affected by multiple preference ranks and their priority ordering to be scheduled, so that the quality of the generated shift schedule is more reasonable. Numerical results show that the planned shifts and days-off are fair and successfully meet the preferences of all the nursing staff.

  14. Shift systems in nuclear power plants - aspects for planning, shift systems, utility practice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grauf, E.

    1986-01-01

    This lecture contains the most important aspects of shift structure and shift organisation. The criteria for shift planning involving essential tasks, duties, laws and regulations, medical aspects, social aspects, will be presented. In the Federal Republic of Germany some basic models were established, which will be shown and explained with special reference to the number of teams, size of shift crews and absence regulations. Moreover, the lecture will deal with rotation systems and provisions for the transfer of shift responsibilities. By example of a utility plant commissioning time scale (1300 MW PWR) the practice of shift installations will be shown as well as the most important points of education and training. Within this compass the criteria and requirements for training and education of operational personnel in the Federal Republic of Germany will also be touched. (orig.)

  15. Nurses' shift reports

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Buus, Niels; Hoeck, Bente; Hamilton, Bridget Elizabeth

    2017-01-01

    AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To identify reporting practices that feature in studies of nurses' shift reports across diverse nursing specialities. The objectives were to perform an exhaustive systematic literature search and to critically review the quality and findings of qualitative field studies...... of nurses' shift reports. BACKGROUND: Nurses' shift reports are routine occurrences in healthcare organisations that are viewed as crucial for patient outcomes, patient safety and continuity of care. Studies of communication between nurses attend primarily to 1:1 communication and analyse the adequacy...... and accuracy of patient information and feature handovers at the bedside. Still, verbal reports between groups of nurses about patients are commonplace. Shift reports are obvious sites for studying the situated accomplishment of professional nursing at the group level. This review is focused exclusively...

  16. [Sleep quality of nurses working in shifts - Hungarian adaptation of the Bergen Shift Work Sleep Questionnaire].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fusz, Katalin; Tóth, Ákos; Fullér, Noémi; Müller, Ágnes; Oláh, András

    2015-12-06

    Sleep disorders among shift workers are common problems due to the disturbed circadian rhythm. The Bergen Shift Work Sleep Questionnaire assesses discrete sleep problems related to work shifts (day, evening and night shifts) and rest days. The aim of the study was to develop the Hungarian version of this questionnaire and to compare the sleep quality of nurses in different work schedules. 326 nurses working in shifts filled in the questionnaire. The authors made convergent and discriminant validation of the questionnaire with the Athens Insomnia Scale and the Perceived Stress Questionnaire. The questionnaire based on psychometric characteristics was suitable to assess sleep disorders associated with shift work in a Hungarian sample. The frequency of discrete symptoms significantly (pshifts. Nurses experienced the worst sleep quality and daytime fatigue after the night shift. Nurses working in irregular shift system had worse sleep quality than nurses working in regular and flexible shift system (pworking in shifts should be assessed with the Hungarian version of the Bergen Shift Work Sleep Questionnaire on a nationally representative sample, and the least burdensome shift system could be established.

  17. Age differences in strategy shift: retrieval avoidance or general shift reluctance?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frank, David J; Touron, Dayna R; Hertzog, Christopher

    2013-09-01

    Previous studies of metacognitive age differences in skill acquisition strategies have relied exclusively on tasks with a processing shift from an algorithm to retrieval strategy. Older adults' demonstrated reluctance to shift strategies in such tasks could reflect either a specific aversion to a memory retrieval strategy or a general, inertial resistance to strategy change. Haider and Frensch's (1999) alphabet verification task (AVT) affords a non-retrieval-based strategy shift. Participants verify the continuation of alphabet strings such as D E F G [4] L, with the bracketed digit indicating a number of letters to be skipped. When all deviations are restricted to the letter-digit-letter portion, participants can speed their responses by selectively attending to only that part of the stimulus. We adapted the AVT to include conditions that promoted shift to a retrieval strategy, a selective attention strategy, or both strategies. Item-level strategy reports were validated by eye movement data. Older adults shifted more slowly to the retrieval strategy but more quickly to the selective attention strategy than young adults, indicating a retrieval-strategy avoidance. Strategy confidence and perceived strategy difficulty correlated with shift to the two strategies in both age groups. Perceived speed of responses with each strategy specifically correlated with older adults' strategy choices, suggesting that some older adults avoid retrieval because they do not appreciate its efficiency benefits.

  18. Age Differences in Strategy Shift: Retrieval Avoidance or General Shift Reluctance?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frank, David J.; Touron, Dayna R.; Hertzog, Christopher

    2013-01-01

    Previous studies of metacognitive age differences in skill acquisition strategies have relied exclusively on tasks with a processing shift from an algorithm to retrieval strategy. Older adults’ demonstrated reluctance to shift strategies in such tasks could reflect either a specific aversion to a memory retrieval strategy or a general, inertial resistance to strategy change. Haider and Frensch’s (1999) alphabet verification task (AVT) affords a non-retrieval-based strategy shift. Participants verify the continuation of alphabet strings such as D E F G [4] L, with the bracketed digit indicating a number of letters to be skipped. When all deviations are restricted to the letter-digit-letter portion, participants can speed their responses by selectively attend only to that part of the stimulus. We adapted the AVT to include conditions which promoted shift to a retrieval strategy, a selective attention strategy, or both strategies. Item-level strategy reports were validated by eye movement data. Older adults shifted more slowly to the retrieval strategy but more quickly to the selective attention strategy than young adults, indicating a retrieval-strategy avoidance. Strategy confidence and perceived strategy difficulty correlated with shift to the two strategies in both age groups. Perceived speed of responses with each strategy specifically correlated with older adults’ strategy choices, suggesting that some older adults avoid retrieval because they do not appreciate its efficiency benefits. PMID:23088195

  19. Non-occupational physical activity levels of shift workers compared with non-shift workers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Loef, Bette; Hulsegge, Gerben; Wendel-Vos, G C Wanda; Verschuren, W M Monique; Vermeulen, Roel C H; Bakker, Marije F.; van der Beek, Allard J.; Proper, Karin I

    2017-01-01

    OBJECTIVES: Lack of physical activity (PA) has been hypothesised as an underlying mechanism in the adverse health effects of shift work. Therefore, our aim was to compare non-occupational PA levels between shift workers and non-shift workers. Furthermore, exposure-response relationships for

  20. Chemical shift imaging: a review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brateman, L.

    1986-01-01

    Chemical shift is the phenomenon that is seen when an isotope possessing a nuclear magnetic dipole moment resonates at a spectrum of resonance frequencies in a given magnetic field. These resonance frequencies, or chemical shifts, depend on the chemical environments of particular nuclei. Mapping the spatial distribution of nuclei associated with a particular chemical shift (e.g., hydrogen nuclei associated with water molecules or with lipid groups) is called chemical shift imaging. Several techniques of proton chemical shift imaging that have been applied in vivo are presented, and their clinical findings are reported and summarized. Acquiring high-resolution spectra for large numbers of volume elements in two or three dimensions may be prohibitive because of time constraints, but other methods of imaging lipid of water distributions (i.e., selective excitation, selective saturation, or variations in conventional magnetic resonance imaging pulse sequences) can provide chemical shift information. These techniques require less time, but they lack spectral information. Since fat deposition seen by chemical shift imaging may not be demonstrated by conventional magnetic resonance imaging, certain applications of chemical shift imaging, such as in the determination of fatty liver disease, have greater diagnostic utility than conventional magnetic resonance imaging. Furthermore, edge artifacts caused by chemical shift effects can be eliminated by certain selective methods of data acquisition employed in chemical shift imaging

  1. Adaptation of Shift Sequence Based Method for High Number in Shifts Rostering Problem for Health Care Workers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mindaugas Liogys

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Purpose—is to investigate a shift sequence-based approach efficiency then problem consisting of a high number of shifts.Research objectives:• Solve health care workers rostering problem using a shift sequence based method.• Measure its efficiency then number of shifts increases.Design/methodology/approach—Usually rostering problems are highly constrained. Constraints are classified to soft and hard constraints. Soft and hard constraints of the problem are additionally classified to: sequence constraints, schedule constraints and roster constraints. Sequence constraints are considered when constructing shift sequences. Schedule constraints are considered when constructing a schedule. Roster constraints are applied, then constructing overall solution, i.e. combining all schedules.Shift sequence based approach consists of two stages:• Shift sequences construction,• The construction of schedules.In the shift sequences construction stage, the shift sequences are constructed for each set of health care workers of different skill, considering sequence constraints. Shifts sequences are ranked by their penalties for easier retrieval in later stage.In schedules construction stage, schedules for each health care worker are constructed iteratively, using the shift sequences produced in stage 1.Shift sequence based method is an adaptive iterative method where health care workers who received the highest schedule penalties in the last iteration are scheduled first at the current iteration.During the roster construction, and after a schedule has been generated for the current health care worker, an improvement method based on an efficient greedy local search is carried out on the partial roster. It simply swaps any pair of shifts between two health care workers in the (partial roster, as long as the swaps satisfy hard constraints and decrease the roster penalty.Findings—Using shift sequence method for solving health care workers rostering problem

  2. Adaptation of Shift Sequence Based Method for High Number in Shifts Rostering Problem for Health Care Workers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mindaugas Liogys

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available Purpose—is to investigate a shift sequence-based approach efficiency then problem consisting of a high number of shifts. Research objectives:• Solve health care workers rostering problem using a shift sequence based method.• Measure its efficiency then number of shifts increases. Design/methodology/approach—Usually rostering problems are highly constrained.Constraints are classified to soft and hard constraints. Soft and hard constraints of the problem are additionally classified to: sequence constraints, schedule constraints and roster constraints. Sequence constraints are considered when constructing shift sequences. Schedule constraints are considered when constructing a schedule. Roster constraints are applied, then constructing overall solution, i.e. combining all schedules.Shift sequence based approach consists of two stages:• Shift sequences construction,• The construction of schedules.In the shift sequences construction stage, the shift sequences are constructed for each set of health care workers of different skill, considering sequence constraints. Shifts sequences are ranked by their penalties for easier retrieval in later stage.In schedules construction stage, schedules for each health care worker are constructed iteratively, using the shift sequences produced in stage 1. Shift sequence based method is an adaptive iterative method where health care workers who received the highest schedule penalties in the last iteration are scheduled first at the current iteration. During the roster construction, and after a schedule has been generated for the current health care worker, an improvement method based on an efficient greedy local search is carried out on the partial roster. It simply swaps any pair of shifts between two health care workers in the (partial roster, as long as the swaps satisfy hard constraints and decrease the roster penalty.Findings—Using shift sequence method for solving health care workers rostering

  3. Combined chemical shift changes and amino acid specific chemical shift mapping of protein-protein interactions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schumann, Frank H.; Riepl, Hubert [University of Regensburg, Institute of Biophysics and Physical Biochemistry (Germany); Maurer, Till [Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH and Co. KG, Analytical Sciences Department (Germany); Gronwald, Wolfram [University of Regensburg, Institute of Biophysics and Physical Biochemistry (Germany); Neidig, Klaus-Peter [Bruker BioSpin GmbH, Software Department (Germany); Kalbitzer, Hans Robert [University of Regensburg, Institute of Biophysics and Physical Biochemistry (Germany)], E-mail: hans-robert.kalbitzer@biologie.uni-regensburg.de

    2007-12-15

    Protein-protein interactions are often studied by chemical shift mapping using solution NMR spectroscopy. When heteronuclear data are available the interaction interface is usually predicted by combining the chemical shift changes of different nuclei to a single quantity, the combined chemical shift perturbation {delta}{delta}{sub comb}. In this paper different procedures (published and non-published) to calculate {delta}{delta}{sub comb} are examined that include a variety of different functional forms and weighting factors for each nucleus. The predictive power of all shift mapping methods depends on the magnitude of the overlap of the chemical shift distributions of interacting and non-interacting residues and the cut-off criterion used. In general, the quality of the prediction on the basis of chemical shift changes alone is rather unsatisfactory but the combination of chemical shift changes on the basis of the Hamming or the Euclidian distance can improve the result. The corrected standard deviation to zero of the combined chemical shift changes can provide a reasonable cut-off criterion. As we show combined chemical shifts can also be applied for a more reliable quantitative evaluation of titration data.

  4. Comparison of sleep disturbances in shift workers and people working with a fixed shift

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zohreh Yazdi

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Background: Different types of sleep disturbances can have a serious negative effect on a person’s ability, function and overall well-being. One of the most important issues that can result in sleep disturbances are occupational causes, the most important among them is shift work. The objective of this study was to compare the prevalence of sleep disturbances between shift work and non-shift workers. Material and Methods: This study was designed as a case-control study in 196 shift workers and 204 non-shift workers in a textile factory. The data were collected by using a comprehensive questionnaire including Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index questionnaire, Berlin Questionnaire, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Insomnia Severity Index and Restless Leg Syndrome Questionnaire. Data analyses were carried out using the SPSS software version 13 by student's t-test, Chi square and multiple logistic regressions. Results: The duration of night sleep in shift workers was less than day workers (p<0.001. Prevalence of poor sleep quality and insomnia were higher in shift workers significantly than non shift workers (p<0.001, OR=2.3 95% CI: 1.7-2.9. The most prevalent type of insomnia was problems in initiating sleep (P=0.022, OR=2.2 95% CI: 1.5-3.2. There was no difference in the prevalence of excessive day-time sleepiness, restless leg syndrome, snoring, obstructive sleep apnea and different types of parasomnias between two groups. Conclusion: Reduced length of sleep and higher prevalence of poor sleep quality and insomnia in shift workers emphasizes the importance of serious attention to sleep disorders in shift workers.

  5. Spectroscopy study on structural elucidation of flavonoids from Solanum jabrense Agra and Nee and S. paludosum Moric; Estudo espectroscopico em elucidacao estrutural de flavonoides de Solanum jabrense Agra and Nee e S. paludosum Moric

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Silva, Tania Maria Sarmento da [Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco (UFRPE), Recife, PE (Brazil). Dept. de Quimica], e-mail: sarmento@pesquisador.cnpq.br; Carvalho, Mario Geraldo de [Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ), Seropedica, RJ (Brazil). Inst. de Ciencias Exatas. Dept. de Quimica; Braz-Filho, Raimundo [Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense (UENF), Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ (Brazil). Setor de Quimica de Produtos Naturais

    2009-07-01

    The NMR (RMN{sup 1}H, {sup 13}C, COSY, HMQC, HMBC, NOE-DIFF, NOESY) and mass spectra data analysis of sixteen flavonoids, including nine natural, 7-O-methylkanferol (rhamnocitrin), 3,7-di-O-methylkanferol (kumatakenin), 3-O-methylquercetin, 3,7,3',4'-tetra-O-methylquercetin (retusin), 3,7,8,4'-tetra-O-methylgossipetin, 3,7,8,3',4'-penta-O-methylgossipetin, 7-O-methylapigenin (genkwanin), 3,7,8-tri-O-methylherbacetin, 7,4'- di-O-methylquercetin (ombuine), isolated from Solanum paludosum and S. jabrense, and seven prepared methyl and acetyl derivatives, are discussed according the substitution on the rings A, B and C. (author)

  6. Chemical shift homology in proteins

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Potts, Barbara C.M.; Chazin, Walter J.

    1998-01-01

    The degree of chemical shift similarity for homologous proteins has been determined from a chemical shift database of over 50 proteins representing a variety of families and folds, and spanning a wide range of sequence homologies. After sequence alignment, the similarity of the secondary chemical shifts of C α protons was examined as a function of amino acid sequence identity for 37 pairs of structurally homologous proteins. A correlation between sequence identity and secondary chemical shift rmsd was observed. Important insights are provided by examining the sequence identity of homologous proteins versus percentage of secondary chemical shifts that fall within 0.1 and 0.3 ppm thresholds. These results begin to establish practical guidelines for the extent of chemical shift similarity to expect among structurally homologous proteins

  7. Adaptation to shift work: physiologically based modeling of the effects of lighting and shifts' start time.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Svetlana Postnova

    Full Text Available Shift work has become an integral part of our life with almost 20% of the population being involved in different shift schedules in developed countries. However, the atypical work times, especially the night shifts, are associated with reduced quality and quantity of sleep that leads to increase of sleepiness often culminating in accidents. It has been demonstrated that shift workers' sleepiness can be improved by a proper scheduling of light exposure and optimizing shifts timing. Here, an integrated physiologically-based model of sleep-wake cycles is used to predict adaptation to shift work in different light conditions and for different shift start times for a schedule of four consecutive days of work. The integrated model combines a model of the ascending arousal system in the brain that controls the sleep-wake switch and a human circadian pacemaker model. To validate the application of the integrated model and demonstrate its utility, its dynamics are adjusted to achieve a fit to published experimental results showing adaptation of night shift workers (n = 8 in conditions of either bright or regular lighting. Further, the model is used to predict the shift workers' adaptation to the same shift schedule, but for conditions not considered in the experiment. The model demonstrates that the intensity of shift light can be reduced fourfold from that used in the experiment and still produce good adaptation to night work. The model predicts that sleepiness of the workers during night shifts on a protocol with either bright or regular lighting can be significantly improved by starting the shift earlier in the night, e.g.; at 21:00 instead of 00:00. Finally, the study predicts that people of the same chronotype, i.e. with identical sleep times in normal conditions, can have drastically different responses to shift work depending on their intrinsic circadian and homeostatic parameters.

  8. Adaptation to shift work: physiologically based modeling of the effects of lighting and shifts' start time.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Postnova, Svetlana; Robinson, Peter A; Postnov, Dmitry D

    2013-01-01

    Shift work has become an integral part of our life with almost 20% of the population being involved in different shift schedules in developed countries. However, the atypical work times, especially the night shifts, are associated with reduced quality and quantity of sleep that leads to increase of sleepiness often culminating in accidents. It has been demonstrated that shift workers' sleepiness can be improved by a proper scheduling of light exposure and optimizing shifts timing. Here, an integrated physiologically-based model of sleep-wake cycles is used to predict adaptation to shift work in different light conditions and for different shift start times for a schedule of four consecutive days of work. The integrated model combines a model of the ascending arousal system in the brain that controls the sleep-wake switch and a human circadian pacemaker model. To validate the application of the integrated model and demonstrate its utility, its dynamics are adjusted to achieve a fit to published experimental results showing adaptation of night shift workers (n = 8) in conditions of either bright or regular lighting. Further, the model is used to predict the shift workers' adaptation to the same shift schedule, but for conditions not considered in the experiment. The model demonstrates that the intensity of shift light can be reduced fourfold from that used in the experiment and still produce good adaptation to night work. The model predicts that sleepiness of the workers during night shifts on a protocol with either bright or regular lighting can be significantly improved by starting the shift earlier in the night, e.g.; at 21:00 instead of 00:00. Finally, the study predicts that people of the same chronotype, i.e. with identical sleep times in normal conditions, can have drastically different responses to shift work depending on their intrinsic circadian and homeostatic parameters.

  9. Shift Work, Chronotype, and Melatonin Patterns among Female Hospital Employees on Day and Night Shifts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leung, Michael; Tranmer, Joan; Hung, Eleanor; Korsiak, Jill; Day, Andrew G; Aronson, Kristan J

    2016-05-01

    Shift work-related carcinogenesis is hypothesized to be mediated by melatonin; however, few studies have considered the potential effect modification of this underlying pathway by chronotype or specific aspects of shift work such as the number of consecutive nights in a rotation. In this study, we examined melatonin patterns in relation to shift status, stratified by chronotype and number of consecutive night shifts, and cumulative lifetime exposure to shift work. Melatonin patterns of 261 female personnel (147 fixed-day and 114 on rotations, including nights) at Kingston General Hospital were analyzed using cosinor analysis. Urine samples were collected from all voids over a 48-hour specimen collection period for measurement of 6-sulfatoxymelatonin concentrations using the Buhlmann ELISA Kit. Chronotypes were assessed using mid-sleep time (MSF) derived from the Munich Chronotype Questionnaire (MCTQ). Sociodemographic, health, and occupational information were collected by questionnaire. Rotational shift nurses working nights had a lower mesor and an earlier time of peak melatonin production compared to day-only workers. More pronounced differences in mesor and acrophase were seen among later chronotypes, and shift workers working ≥3 consecutive nights. Among nurses, cumulative shift work was associated with a reduction in mesor. These results suggest that evening-types and/or shift workers working ≥3 consecutive nights are more susceptible to adverse light-at-night effects, whereas long-term shift work may also chronically reduce melatonin levels. Cumulative and current exposure to shift work, including nights, affects level and timing of melatonin production, which may be related to carcinogenesis and cancer risk. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 25(5); 830-8. ©2016 AACR. ©2016 American Association for Cancer Research.

  10. Effect of Shift Work on Nocturia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Jin Wook

    2016-01-01

    To identify the circadian sensitive component of nocturia by comparing nocturia in patients who voluntarily choose a disrupted circadian rhythm, that is, shift workers, with those who maintain normal day-night cycles. Between 2011 and 2013, a total of 1741 untreated patients, 1376 nonshift workers and 365 shift workers, were compared for nocturia indices based on frequency volume charts (FVCs). General linear model of 8-hour interval urine production and frequency were compared between FVCs of nonshift workers, FVCs of night-shift workers, and FVCs of day-shift workers. Nocturia frequency was increased in the night-shift workers (2.38 ± 1.44) compared with nonshift workers (2.18 ± 1.04) (P night-shift workers, 0.34 ± 0.13 for nonshift workers, P = .24), nocturnal bladder capacity index increased significantly (1.41 ± 1.06 for night-shift workers, 1.26 ± 0.92 for nonshift workers, P shift (P shift changes (P = .35). Patients in alternating work shifts showed increased nocturia, especially during their night shift. These changes tended to be more associated with decreased nocturnal bladder capacity than increased nocturnal polyuria. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Associations between number of consecutive night shifts and impairment of neurobehavioral performance during a subsequent simulated night shift.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magee, Michelle; Sletten, Tracey L; Ferguson, Sally A; Grunstein, Ronald R; Anderson, Clare; Kennaway, David J; Lockley, Steven W; Rajaratnam, Shantha Mw

    2016-05-01

    This study aimed to investigate sleep and circadian phase in the relationships between neurobehavioral performance and the number of consecutive shifts worked. Thirty-four shift workers [20 men, mean age 31.8 (SD 10.9) years] worked 2-7 consecutive night shifts immediately prior to a laboratory-based, simulated night shift. For 7 days prior, participants worked their usual shift sequence, and sleep was assessed with logs and actigraphy. Participants completed a 10-minute auditory psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) at the start (~21:00 hours) and end (~07:00 hours) of the simulated night shift. Mean reaction times (RT), number of lapses and RT distribution was compared between those who worked 2-3 consecutive night shifts versus those who worked 4-7 shifts. Following 4-7 shifts, night shift workers had significantly longer mean RT at the start and end of shift, compared to those who worked 2-3 shifts. The slowest and fastest 10% RT were significantly slower at the start, but not end, of shift among participants who worked 4-7 nights. Those working 4-7 nights also demonstrated a broader RT distribution at the start and end of shift and had significantly slower RT based on cumulative distribution analysis (5 (th), 25 (th), 50 (th), 75 (th)percentiles at the start of shift; 75th percentile at the end of shift). No group differences in sleep parameters were found for 7 days and 24 hours prior to the simulated night shift. A greater number of consecutive night shifts has a negative impact on neurobehavioral performance, likely due to cognitive slowing.

  12. Change from an 8-hour shift to a 12-hour shift, attitudes, sleep, sleepiness and performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lowden, A; Kecklund, G; Axelsson, J; Akerstedt, T

    1998-01-01

    The present study sought to evaluate the effect of a change from a rotating 3-shift (8-hour) to a 2-shift shift (12 hour) schedule on sleep, sleepiness, performance, perceived health, and well-being. Thirty-two shift workers at a chemical plant (control room operators) responded to a questionnaire a few months before a change was made in their shift schedule and 10 months after the change. Fourteen workers also filled out a diary, carried activity loggers, and carried out reaction-time tests (beginning and end of shift). Fourteen day workers served as a reference group for the questionnaires and 9 were intensively studied during a week with workdays and a free weekend. The questionnaire data showed that the shift change increased satisfaction with workhours, sleep, and time for social activities. Health, perceived accident risk, and reaction-time performance were not negatively affected. Alertness improved and subjective recovery time after night work decreased. The quick changes in the 8-hour schedule greatly increased sleep problems and fatigue. Sleepiness integrated across the entire shift cycle showed that the shift workers were less alert than the day workers, across workdays and days off (although alertness increased with the 12-hour shift). The change from 8-hour to 12-hour shifts was positive in most respects, possibly due to the shorter sequences of the workdays, the longer sequences of consecutive days off, the fewer types of shifts (easier planning), and the elimination of quick changes. The results may differ in groups with a higher work load.

  13. SHIFT: server for hidden stops analysis in frame-shifted translation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gupta, Arun; Singh, Tiratha Raj

    2013-02-23

    Frameshift is one of the three classes of recoding. Frame-shifts lead to waste of energy, resources and activity of the biosynthetic machinery. In addition, some peptides synthesized after frame-shifts are probably cytotoxic which serve as plausible cause for innumerable number of diseases and disorders such as muscular dystrophies, lysosomal storage disorders, and cancer. Hidden stop codons occur naturally in coding sequences among all organisms. These codons are associated with the early termination of translation for incorrect reading frame selection and help to reduce the metabolic cost related to the frameshift events. Researchers have identified several consequences of hidden stop codons and their association with myriad disorders. However the wealth of information available is speckled and not effortlessly acquiescent to data-mining. To reduce this gap, this work describes an algorithmic web based tool to study hidden stops in frameshifted translation for all the lineages through respective genetic code systems. This paper describes SHIFT, an algorithmic web application tool that provides a user-friendly interface for identifying and analyzing hidden stops in frameshifted translation of genomic sequences for all available genetic code systems. We have calculated the correlation between codon usage frequencies and the plausible contribution of codons towards hidden stops in an off-frame context. Markovian chains of various order have been used to model hidden stops in frameshifted peptides and their evolutionary association with naturally occurring hidden stops. In order to obtain reliable and persuasive estimates for the naturally occurring and predicted hidden stops statistical measures have been implemented. This paper presented SHIFT, an algorithmic tool that allows user-friendly exploration, analysis, and visualization of hidden stop codons in frameshifted translations. It is expected that this web based tool would serve as a useful complement for

  14. Shifted-modified Chebyshev filters

    OpenAIRE

    ŞENGÜL, Metin

    2013-01-01

    This paper introduces a new type of filter approximation method that utilizes shifted-modified Chebyshev filters. Construction of the new filters involves the use of shifted-modified Chebyshev polynomials that are formed using the roots of conventional Chebyshev polynomials. The study also includes 2 tables containing the shifted-modified Chebyshev polynomials and the normalized element values for the low-pass prototype filters up to degree 6. The transducer power gain, group dela...

  15. OpenShift cookbook

    CERN Document Server

    Gulati, Shekhar

    2014-01-01

    If you are a web application developer who wants to use the OpenShift platform to host your next big idea but are looking for guidance on how to achieve this, then this book is the first step you need to take. This is a very accessible cookbook where no previous knowledge of OpenShift is needed.

  16. Performance and sleepiness in nurses working 12-h day shifts or night shifts in a community hospital.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, Marian; Permito, Regan; English, Ashley; Albritton, Sandra; Coogle, Carlana; Van Dongen, Hans P A

    2017-10-05

    Hospitals are around-the-clock operations and nurses are required to care for patients night and day. The nursing shortage and desire for a more balanced work-to-home life has popularized 12-h shifts for nurses. The present study investigated sleep/wake cycles and fatigue levels in 22 nurses working 12-h shifts, comparing day versus night shifts. Nurses (11day shift and 11 night shift) were recruited from a suburban acute-care medical center. Participants wore a wrist activity monitor and kept a diary to track their sleep/wake cycles for 2 weeks. They also completed a fatigue test battery, which included the Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT) and the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS), at the beginning, middle and end of 4 duty shifts. Daily sleep duration was 7.1h on average. No overall difference in mean daily sleep duration was found between nurses working day shifts versus night shifts. Objective performance on the PVT remained relatively good and stable at the start, middle, and end of duty shifts in day shift workers, but gradually degraded across duty time in night shift workers. Compared to day shift workers, night shift workers also exhibited more performance variability among measurement days and between participants at each testing time point. The same pattern was observed for subjective sleepiness on the KSS. However, congruence between objective and subjective measures of fatigue was poor. Our findings suggest a need for organizations to evaluate practices and policies to mitigate the inevitable fatigue that occurs during long night shifts, in order to improve patient and healthcare worker safety. Examination of alternative shift lengths or sanctioned workplace napping may be strategies to consider. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Shift Verification and Validation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pandya, Tara M. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Evans, Thomas M. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Davidson, Gregory G [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Johnson, Seth R. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Godfrey, Andrew T. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

    2016-09-07

    This documentation outlines the verification and validation of Shift for the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors (CASL). Five main types of problems were used for validation: small criticality benchmark problems; full-core reactor benchmarks for light water reactors; fixed-source coupled neutron-photon dosimetry benchmarks; depletion/burnup benchmarks; and full-core reactor performance benchmarks. We compared Shift results to measured data and other simulated Monte Carlo radiation transport code results, and found very good agreement in a variety of comparison measures. These include prediction of critical eigenvalue, radial and axial pin power distributions, rod worth, leakage spectra, and nuclide inventories over a burn cycle. Based on this validation of Shift, we are confident in Shift to provide reference results for CASL benchmarking.

  18. Choice Shifts in Groups

    OpenAIRE

    Kfir Eliaz; Debraj Ray

    2004-01-01

    The phenomenon of "choice shifts" in group decision-making is fairly ubiquitous in the social psychology literature. Faced with a choice between a ``safe" and ``risky" decision, group members appear to move to one extreme or the other, relative to the choices each member might have made on her own. Both risky and cautious shifts have been identified in different situations. This paper demonstrates that from an individual decision-making perspective, choice shifts may be viewed as a systematic...

  19. Night shift work exposure profile and obesity: Baseline results from a Chinese night shift worker cohort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Miaomiao; Feng, Wenting; Wang, Feng; Zhang, Liuzhuo; Wu, Zijun; Li, Zhimin; Zhang, Bo; He, Yonghua; Xie, Shaohua; Li, Mengjie; Fok, Joan P C; Tse, Gary; Wong, Martin C S; Tang, Jin-Ling; Wong, Samuel Y S; Vlaanderen, Jelle; Evans, Greg; Vermeulen, Roel; Tse, Lap Ah

    2018-01-01

    This study aimed to evaluate the associations between types of night shift work and different indices of obesity using the baseline information from a prospective cohort study of night shift workers in China. A total of 3,871 workers from five companies were recruited from the baseline survey. A structured self-administered questionnaire was employed to collect the participants' demographic information, lifetime working history, and lifestyle habits. Participants were grouped into rotating, permanent and irregular night shift work groups. Anthropometric parameters were assessed by healthcare professionals. Multiple logistic regression models were used to evaluate the associations between night shift work and different indices of obesity. Night shift workers had increased risk of overweight and obesity, and odds ratios (ORs) were 1.17 (95% CI, 0.97-1.41) and 1.27 (95% CI, 0.74-2.18), respectively. Abdominal obesity had a significant but marginal association with night shift work (OR = 1.20, 95% CI, 1.01-1.43). A positive gradient between the number of years of night shift work and overweight or abdominal obesity was observed. Permanent night shift work showed the highest odds of being overweight (OR = 3.94, 95% CI, 1.40-11.03) and having increased abdominal obesity (OR = 3.34, 95% CI, 1.19-9.37). Irregular night shift work was also significantly associated with overweight (OR = 1.56, 95% CI, 1.13-2.14), but its association with abdominal obesity was borderline (OR = 1.26, 95% CI, 0.94-1.69). By contrast, the association between rotating night shift work and these parameters was not significant. Permanent and irregular night shift work were more likely to be associated with overweight or abdominal obesity than rotating night shift work. These associations need to be verified in prospective cohort studies.

  20. Night shift work exposure profile and obesity: Baseline results from a Chinese night shift worker cohort

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Wenting; Wang, Feng; Zhang, Liuzhuo; Wu, Zijun; Li, Zhimin; Zhang, Bo; He, Yonghua; Xie, Shaohua; Li, Mengjie; Fok, Joan P. C.; Tse, Gary; Wong, Martin C. S.; Tang, Jin-ling; Wong, Samuel Y. S.; Vlaanderen, Jelle; Evans, Greg; Vermeulen, Roel; Tse, Lap Ah

    2018-01-01

    Aims This study aimed to evaluate the associations between types of night shift work and different indices of obesity using the baseline information from a prospective cohort study of night shift workers in China. Methods A total of 3,871 workers from five companies were recruited from the baseline survey. A structured self-administered questionnaire was employed to collect the participants’ demographic information, lifetime working history, and lifestyle habits. Participants were grouped into rotating, permanent and irregular night shift work groups. Anthropometric parameters were assessed by healthcare professionals. Multiple logistic regression models were used to evaluate the associations between night shift work and different indices of obesity. Results Night shift workers had increased risk of overweight and obesity, and odds ratios (ORs) were 1.17 (95% CI, 0.97–1.41) and 1.27 (95% CI, 0.74–2.18), respectively. Abdominal obesity had a significant but marginal association with night shift work (OR = 1.20, 95% CI, 1.01–1.43). A positive gradient between the number of years of night shift work and overweight or abdominal obesity was observed. Permanent night shift work showed the highest odds of being overweight (OR = 3.94, 95% CI, 1.40–11.03) and having increased abdominal obesity (OR = 3.34, 95% CI, 1.19–9.37). Irregular night shift work was also significantly associated with overweight (OR = 1.56, 95% CI, 1.13–2.14), but its association with abdominal obesity was borderline (OR = 1.26, 95% CI, 0.94–1.69). By contrast, the association between rotating night shift work and these parameters was not significant. Conclusion Permanent and irregular night shift work were more likely to be associated with overweight or abdominal obesity than rotating night shift work. These associations need to be verified in prospective cohort studies. PMID:29763461

  1. Shift schedule, work-family relationships, marital communication, job satisfaction and health among transport service shift workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iskra-Golec, Irena; Smith, Lawrence; Wilczek-Rużyczka, Ewa; Siemiginowska, Patrycja; Wątroba, Joanna

    2017-02-21

    Existing research has documented that shiftwork consequences may depend on the shift system parameters. Fast rotating systems (1-3 shifts of the same kind in a row) and day work have been found to be less disruptive biologically and socially than slower rotating systems and afternoon and night work. The aim of this study was to compare day workers and shift workers of different systems in terms of rotation speed and shifts worked with regard to work-family and family-work positive and negative spillover, marital communication style, job satisfaction and health. Employees (N = 168) of the maintenance workshops of transportation service working different shift systems (day shift, weekly rotating 2 and 3‑shift system, and fast rotating 3-shift system) participated in the study. They completed the Work- Family Spillover Questionnaire, Marital Communication Questionnaire, Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire and the Physical Health Questionnaire (a part of the Standard Shiftwork Index). The workers of quicker rotating 3-shift systems reported significantly higher scores of family-to-work facilitation (F(3, 165) = 4.175, p = 0.007) and a higher level of constructive style of marital communication (Engagement F(3, 165) = 2.761, p = 0.044) than the workers of slower rotating 2-shift systems. There were no differences between the groups of workers with regard to health and job satisfaction. A higher level of work-family facilitation and a more constructive style of marital communication were found among the workers of faster rotating 3-shift system when compared to the workers of a slower rotating 2-shift system (afternoon, night). This may indicate that the fast rotating shift system in contrary to the slower rotating one is more friendly for the work and family domains and for the relationship between them. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2017;30(1):121-131. This work is available in Open Access model and licensed under a CC BY-NC 3.0 PL license.

  2. Shift schedule, work–family relationships, marital communication, job satisfaction and health among transport service shift workers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Irena Iskra-Golec

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: Existing research has documented that shiftwork consequences may depend on the shift system parameters. Fast rotating systems (1–3 shifts of the same kind in a row and day work have been found to be less disruptive biologically and socially than slower rotating systems and afternoon and night work. The aim of this study was to compare day workers and shift workers of different systems in terms of rotation speed and shifts worked with regard to work–family and family–work positive and negative spillover, marital communication style, job satisfaction and health. Material and Methods: Employees (N = 168 of the maintenance workshops of transportation service working different shift systems (day shift, weekly rotating 2 and 3‑shift system, and fast rotating 3-shift system participated in the study. They completed the Work– Family Spillover Questionnaire, Marital Communication Questionnaire, Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire and the Physical Health Questionnaire (a part of the Standard Shiftwork Index. Results: The workers of quicker rotating 3-shift systems reported significantly higher scores of family-to-work facilitation (F(3, 165 = 4.175, p = 0.007 and a higher level of constructive style of marital communication (Engagement F(3, 165 = 2.761, p = 0.044 than the workers of slower rotating 2-shift systems. There were no differences between the groups of workers with regard to health and job satisfaction. Conclusions: A higher level of work–family facilitation and a more constructive style of marital communication were found among the workers of faster rotating 3-shift system when compared to the workers of a slower rotating 2-shift system (afternoon, night. This may indicate that the fast rotating shift system in contrary to the slower rotating one is more friendly for the work and family domains and for the relationship between them. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2017;30(1:121–131

  3. Real life working shift assignment problem

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sze, San-Nah; Kwek, Yeek-Ling; Tiong, Wei-King; Chiew, Kang-Leng

    2017-07-01

    This study concerns about the working shift assignment in an outlet of Supermarket X in Eastern Mall, Kuching. The working shift assignment needs to be solved at least once in every month. Current approval process of working shifts is too troublesome and time-consuming. Furthermore, the management staff cannot have an overview of manpower and working shift schedule. Thus, the aim of this study is to develop working shift assignment simulation and propose a working shift assignment solution. The main objective for this study is to fulfill manpower demand at minimum operation cost. Besides, the day off and meal break policy should be fulfilled accordingly. Demand based heuristic is proposed to assign working shift and the quality of the solution is evaluated by using the real data.

  4. Dynamics and computation in functional shifts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Namikawa, Jun; Hashimoto, Takashi

    2004-07-01

    We introduce a new type of shift dynamics as an extended model of symbolic dynamics, and investigate the characteristics of shift spaces from the viewpoints of both dynamics and computation. This shift dynamics is called a functional shift, which is defined by a set of bi-infinite sequences of some functions on a set of symbols. To analyse the complexity of functional shifts, we measure them in terms of topological entropy, and locate their languages in the Chomsky hierarchy. Through this study, we argue that considering functional shifts from the viewpoints of both dynamics and computation gives us opposite results about the complexity of systems. We also describe a new class of shift spaces whose languages are not recursively enumerable.

  5. Associations of rotational shift work and night shift status with hypertension: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manohar, Sandhya; Thongprayoon, Charat; Cheungpasitporn, Wisit; Mao, Michael A; Herrmann, Sandra M

    2017-10-01

    The reported risks of hypertension (HTN) in rotating shift and night shift workers are controversial. The objective of this meta-analysis was to assess the association between shift work status and HTN. A literature search was performed using MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane Database from inception through October 2016. Studies that reported odds ratios (OR) comparing the risk of HTN in shift workers were included. A prespecified subgroup analysis by rotating shift and night shift statuses were also performed. Pooled OR and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using a random-effect, generic inverse variance method. The protocol for this study is registered with International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews; no. CRD42016051843. Twenty-seven observational studies (nine cohort and 18 cross-sectional studies) with a total of 394 793 individuals were enrolled. The pooled ORs of HTN in shift workers in cohort and cross-sectional studies were 1.31 (95% CI, 1.07-1.60) and 1.10 (95% CI, 1.00-1.20), respectively. When meta-analysis was restricted only to cohort studies in rotating shift, the pooled OR of HTN in rotating shift workers was 1.34 (95% CI, 1.08-1.67). The data regarding night shift and HTN in cohort studies was limited. The pooled OR of HTN in night shift workers in cross-sectional studies was 1.07 (95% CI, 0.85-1.35). Based on the findings of our meta-analysis, shiftwork status may play an important role in HTN, as there is a significant association between rotating shift work and HTN. However, there is no significant association between night shift status and risk of HTN.

  6. Micropatch Antenna Phase Shifting

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Thursby, Michael

    2000-01-01

    .... We have been looking at the ability of embedded element to adjust the phase shift seen by the element with the goal of being able to remove the phase shifting devices from the antenna and replace...

  7. Micropatch Antenna Phase Shifting

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Thursby, Michael

    1999-01-01

    .... We have been looking at the ability of embedded element to adjust the phase shift seen by the element wit the goal of being able to remove the phase shifting devices from the antenna and replace...

  8. Influences on Dietary Choices during Day versus Night Shift in Shift Workers: A Mixed Methods Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonnell, Emily K; Huggins, Catherine E; Huggins, Chris T; McCaffrey, Tracy A; Palermo, Claire; Bonham, Maxine P

    2017-02-26

    Shift work is associated with diet-related chronic conditions such as obesity and cardiovascular disease. This study aimed to explore factors influencing food choice and dietary intake in shift workers. A fixed mixed method study design was undertaken on a convenience sample of firefighters who continually work a rotating roster. Six focus groups ( n = 41) were conducted to establish factors affecting dietary intake whilst at work. Dietary intake was assessed using repeated 24 h dietary recalls ( n = 19). Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and interpreted using thematic analysis. Dietary data were entered into FoodWorks and analysed using Wilcoxon signed-rank test; p night shift. Energy intakes (kJ/day) did not differ between days that included a day or night shift but greater energy density (ED energy , kJ/g/day) of the diet was observed on night shift compared with day shift. This study has identified a number of dietary-specific shift-related factors that may contribute to an increase in unhealthy behaviours in a shift-working population. Given the increased risk of developing chronic diseases, organisational change to support workers in this environment is warranted.

  9. A compressed shift schedule: dealing with some of the problems of shift work

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cunningham, J B [Victoria University, Victoria, BC (Canada). School of Public Administration

    1989-07-01

    This study examines some of the psychological and behavioural effects of a 12-hour compressed shift schedule on coal miners in two organisations in Western Canada. It suggests that young, married compressed shift workers are more satisfied with their family relationship. They spend less of their leisure time with spouses when working shifts, and do not spend any more time with them on their days off. They have less time available for many leisure activities on their workdays. The extra time on days off is not reallocated to the leisure activities they were unable to do on their workdays. Some extra leisure time on days off may be spent on personal hobbies. There is no suggestion that the compressed shift schedule has any negative effect on the individual's health. 38 refs., 3 tabs.

  10. Shift work as an oxidative stressor

    OpenAIRE

    Pasalar Parvin; Farahani Saeed; Sharifian Akbar; Gharavi Marjan; Aminian Omid

    2005-01-01

    Abstract Background Some medical disorders have higher prevalence in shift workers than others. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of night-shift-working on total plasma antioxidant capacity, with respect to the causative role of oxidative stress in induction of some of these disorders. Methods Two blood samples were taken from 44 workers with a rotational shift schedule, one after their day shift and one after their night shift. The total plasma antioxidant capacity of each worke...

  11. Influences on Dietary Choices during Day versus Night Shift in Shift Workers: A Mixed Methods Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonnell, Emily K.; Huggins, Catherine E.; Huggins, Chris T.; McCaffrey, Tracy A.; Palermo, Claire; Bonham, Maxine P.

    2017-01-01

    Shift work is associated with diet-related chronic conditions such as obesity and cardiovascular disease. This study aimed to explore factors influencing food choice and dietary intake in shift workers. A fixed mixed method study design was undertaken on a convenience sample of firefighters who continually work a rotating roster. Six focus groups (n = 41) were conducted to establish factors affecting dietary intake whilst at work. Dietary intake was assessed using repeated 24 h dietary recalls (n = 19). Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and interpreted using thematic analysis. Dietary data were entered into FoodWorks and analysed using Wilcoxon signed-rank test; p shift schedule; attitudes and decisions of co-workers; time and accessibility; and knowledge of the relationship between food and health. Participants reported consuming more discretionary foods and limited availability of healthy food choices on night shift. Energy intakes (kJ/day) did not differ between days that included a day or night shift but greater energy density (EDenergy, kJ/g/day) of the diet was observed on night shift compared with day shift. This study has identified a number of dietary-specific shift-related factors that may contribute to an increase in unhealthy behaviours in a shift-working population. Given the increased risk of developing chronic diseases, organisational change to support workers in this environment is warranted. PMID:28245625

  12. Faktor Dan Penjadualan Shift Kerja

    OpenAIRE

    Maurits, Lientje Setyawati; Widodo, Imam Djati

    2008-01-01

    Work shift has negative effect in physical and mental health, work performance and job accident. Disturbance of circadian rhythms is indicated as source of the problems. This article explores some researches related to the impacts of work shift and establishes basic principles of work shift scheduling that considers human need and limitation.

  13. Visual attention shifting in autism spectrum disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richard, Annette E; Lajiness-O'Neill, Renee

    2015-01-01

    Abnormal visual attention has been frequently observed in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Abnormal shifting of visual attention is related to abnormal development of social cognition and has been identified as a key neuropsychological finding in ASD. Better characterizing attention shifting in ASD and its relationship with social functioning may help to identify new targets for intervention and improving social communication in these disorders. Thus, the current study investigated deficits in attention shifting in ASD as well as relationships between attention shifting and social communication in ASD and neurotypicals (NT). To investigate deficits in visual attention shifting in ASD, 20 ASD and 20 age- and gender-matched NT completed visual search (VS) and Navon tasks with attention-shifting demands as well as a set-shifting task. VS was a feature search task with targets defined in one of two dimensions; Navon required identification of a target letter presented at the global or local level. Psychomotor and processing speed were entered as covariates. Relationships between visual attention shifting, set shifting, and social functioning were also examined. ASD and NT showed comparable costs of shifting attention. However, psychomotor and processing speed were slower in ASD than in NT, and psychomotor and processing speed were positively correlated with attention-shifting costs on Navon and VS, respectively, for both groups. Attention shifting on VS and Navon were correlated among NT, while attention shifting on Navon was correlated with set shifting among ASD. Attention-shifting costs on Navon were positively correlated with restricted and repetitive behaviors among ASD. Relationships between attention shifting and psychomotor and processing speed, as well as relationships between measures of different aspects of visual attention shifting, suggest inefficient top-down influences over preattentive visual processing in ASD. Inefficient attention shifting may be

  14. Shift work as an oxidative stressor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pasalar Parvin

    2005-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Some medical disorders have higher prevalence in shift workers than others. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of night-shift-working on total plasma antioxidant capacity, with respect to the causative role of oxidative stress in induction of some of these disorders. Methods Two blood samples were taken from 44 workers with a rotational shift schedule, one after their day shift and one after their night shift. The total plasma antioxidant capacity of each worker was measured through the FRAP method. The impacts of age and weight were also assessed. Results The total plasma antioxidant capacity was measured in 44 shift-workers with a mean age of 36.57 years (SD: 10.18 and mean BMI of 26.06 (SD: 4.37 after their day and night shifts. The mean reduction of total plasma antioxidant capacity after the night shift was 105.8 μmol/L (SD: 146.39. Also, a significant correlation was shown between age and weight and total plasma antioxidant capacity. Age and weight were found to be inversely related to total plasma antioxidant capacity; as age and weight increased, the total plasma antioxidant capacity decreased. Conclusion Shift work can act as an oxidative stressor and may induce many medical disorders. Aging and obesity in shift workers makes them more sensitive to this hazardous effect.

  15. Shift work-related health problems in

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Khavaji

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Background and aimsShift work is a major feature of working life that affects diverse aspects of human life. The main purposes of this study were to investigate shift work-related health problems and their risk factors among workers of "12-hour shift" schedule.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was carried out at 8 petrochemical industries in Asalooyeh area. Study population consisted of 1203 workers including 549 shift worker (46% and 654 day worker (54%. Data on personal details, shift schedule and adverse effects of shift work werecollected by anonymous questionnaire. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS, version 11.5. The level of significance was set at 5%.ResultsAlthough, the results showed that health problems among shift workers was more prevalent than day workers, but the differences were just significant in gastrointestinal and musculoskeletal disorders (p<0.05. Multiple linear regressions indicated that in addition to shift working, other variants such as long work hours, type of employment, second job, number of children and job title were associated with health problems.ConclusionPrevalence rates of gastrointestinal and musculoskeletal problems among shift workers were significantly higher than that of day workers. Although, working in shift system was the main significant factor associated with the reported problems, but other demographic andwork variables were also found to have association.

  16. Comparison of Mental Health and Quality of Life between Shift and Non-shift Employees of Service Industries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nahal Salimi

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available This study examined the relationship between the employment practices and employees' mental health and quality of life in Iran. In particular, the study compared the mental health and quality of life of shift and non-shift workers in sensitive employment settings. Using a cross-sectional survey design, 120 individuals employed in two airline companies as either shift or non-shift employees completed the survey for the study. Data was collected using General Health Question (GHQ28 for mental health, the Short Form (36 Health Survey (SF-36 for Quality of Life and a demographic questionnaire. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA was used to analyze the collected data. The results showed that (1 type of work (shift or non-shift has an effect on mental health and quality of life; and (2 there are significant differences in dimensions of quality of life and mental health between shift and non-shift staff.

  17. SimShiftDB; local conformational restraints derived from chemical shift similarity searches on a large synthetic database

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ginzinger, Simon W. [Center of Applied Molecular Engineering, University of Salzburg, Department of Molecular Biology, Division of Bioinformatics (Austria)], E-mail: simon@came.sbg.ac.at; Coles, Murray [Max-Planck-Institute for Developmental Biology, Department of Protein Evolution (Germany)], E-mail: Murray.Coles@tuebingen.mpg.de

    2009-03-15

    We present SimShiftDB, a new program to extract conformational data from protein chemical shifts using structural alignments. The alignments are obtained in searches of a large database containing 13,000 structures and corresponding back-calculated chemical shifts. SimShiftDB makes use of chemical shift data to provide accurate results even in the case of low sequence similarity, and with even coverage of the conformational search space. We compare SimShiftDB to HHSearch, a state-of-the-art sequence-based search tool, and to TALOS, the current standard tool for the task. We show that for a significant fraction of the predicted similarities, SimShiftDB outperforms the other two methods. Particularly, the high coverage afforded by the larger database often allows predictions to be made for residues not involved in canonical secondary structure, where TALOS predictions are both less frequent and more error prone. Thus SimShiftDB can be seen as a complement to currently available methods.

  18. SimShiftDB; local conformational restraints derived from chemical shift similarity searches on a large synthetic database

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ginzinger, Simon W.; Coles, Murray

    2009-01-01

    We present SimShiftDB, a new program to extract conformational data from protein chemical shifts using structural alignments. The alignments are obtained in searches of a large database containing 13,000 structures and corresponding back-calculated chemical shifts. SimShiftDB makes use of chemical shift data to provide accurate results even in the case of low sequence similarity, and with even coverage of the conformational search space. We compare SimShiftDB to HHSearch, a state-of-the-art sequence-based search tool, and to TALOS, the current standard tool for the task. We show that for a significant fraction of the predicted similarities, SimShiftDB outperforms the other two methods. Particularly, the high coverage afforded by the larger database often allows predictions to be made for residues not involved in canonical secondary structure, where TALOS predictions are both less frequent and more error prone. Thus SimShiftDB can be seen as a complement to currently available methods

  19. Fuzzy Determination of Target Shifting Time and Torque Control of Shifting Phase for Dry Dual Clutch Transmission

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhiguo Zhao

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Based on the independently developed five-speed dry dual clutch transmission (DDCT, the paper proposes the torque coordinating control strategy between engine and two clutches, which obtains engine speed and clutch transferred torque in the shifting process, adequately reflecting the driver intention and improving the shifting quality. Five-degree-of-freedom (DOF shifting dynamics model of DDCT with single intermediate shaft is firstly established according to its physical characteristics. Then the quantitative control objectives of the shifting process are presented. The fuzzy decision of shifting time and the model-based torque coordinating control strategy are proposed and also verified by simulating under different driving intentions in up-/downshifting processes with the DCT model established on the MATLAB/Simulink. Simulation results validate that the shifting control algorithm proposed in this paper can not only meet the shifting quality requirements, but also adapt to the various shifting intentions, having a strong robustness.

  20. Individual vulnerability to insomnia, excessive sleepiness and shift work disorder amongst healthcare shift workers. A systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Booker, Lauren A; Magee, Michelle; Rajaratnam, Shantha M W; Sletten, Tracey L; Howard, Mark E

    2018-03-27

    Shift workers often experience reduced sleep quality, duration and/or excessive sleepiness due to the imposed conflict between work and their circadian system. About 20-30% of shift workers experience prominent insomnia symptoms and excessive daytime sleepiness consistent with the circadian rhythm sleep disorder known as shift work disorder. Individual factors may influence this vulnerability to shift work disorder or sleep-related impairment associated with shift work. This paper was registered with Prospero and was conducted using recommended standards for systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Published literature that measured sleep-related impairment associated with shift work including reduced sleep quality and duration and increased daytime sleepiness amongst healthcare shift workers and explored characteristics associated with individual variability were reviewed. Fifty-eight studies were included. Older age, morning-type, circadian flexibility, being married or having children, increased caffeine intake, higher scores on neuroticism and lower on hardiness were related to a higher risk of sleep-related impairment in response to shift work, whereas physical activity was a protective factor. The review highlights the diverse range of measurement tools used to evaluate the impact of shift work on sleep. Use of standardised and validated tools would enable cross-study comparisons. Longitudinal studies are required to establish causal relationships between individual factors and the development of shift work disorder. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Homogeneous bilateral block shifts

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Douglas class were classified in [3]; they are unilateral block shifts of arbitrary block size (i.e. dim H(n) can be anything). However, no examples of irreducible homogeneous bilateral block shifts of block size larger than 1 were known until now.

  2. Quantized beam shifts in graphene

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    de Melo Kort-Kamp, Wilton Junior [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Sinitsyn, Nikolai [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Dalvit, Diego Alejandro Roberto [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

    2015-10-08

    We predict the existence of quantized Imbert-Fedorov, Goos-Hanchen, and photonic spin Hall shifts for light beams impinging on a graphene-on-substrate system in an external magnetic field. In the quantum Hall regime the Imbert-Fedorov and photonic spin Hall shifts are quantized in integer multiples of the fine structure constant α, while the Goos-Hanchen ones in multiples of α2. We investigate the influence on these shifts of magnetic field, temperature, and material dispersion and dissipation. An experimental demonstration of quantized beam shifts could be achieved at terahertz frequencies for moderate values of the magnetic field.

  3. Fluid Shifts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stenger, M. B.; Hargens, A. R.; Dulchavsky, S. A.; Arbeille, P.; Danielson, R. W.; Ebert, D. J.; Garcia, K. M.; Johnston, S. L.; Laurie, S. S.; Lee, S. M. C.; hide

    2017-01-01

    Introduction. NASA's Human Research Program is focused on addressing health risks associated with long-duration missions on the International Space Station (ISS) and future exploration-class missions beyond low Earth orbit. Visual acuity changes observed after short-duration missions were largely transient, but now more than 50 percent of ISS astronauts have experienced more profound, chronic changes with objective structural findings such as optic disc edema, globe flattening and choroidal folds. These structural and functional changes are referred to as the visual impairment and intracranial pressure (VIIP) syndrome. Development of VIIP symptoms may be related to elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) secondary to spaceflight-induced cephalad fluid shifts, but this hypothesis has not been tested. The purpose of this study is to characterize fluid distribution and compartmentalization associated with long-duration spaceflight and to determine if a relation exists with vision changes and other elements of the VIIP syndrome. We also seek to determine whether the magnitude of fluid shifts during spaceflight, as well as any VIIP-related effects of those shifts, are predicted by the crewmember's pre-flight status and responses to acute hemodynamic manipulations, specifically posture changes and lower body negative pressure. Methods. We will examine a variety of physiologic variables in 10 long-duration ISS crewmembers using the test conditions and timeline presented in the figure below. Measures include: (1) fluid compartmentalization (total body water by D2O, extracellular fluid by NaBr, intracellular fluid by calculation, plasma volume by CO rebreathe, interstitial fluid by calculation); (2) forehead/eyelids, tibia, and calcaneus tissue thickness (by ultrasound); (3) vascular dimensions by ultrasound (jugular veins, cerebral and carotid arteries, vertebral arteries and veins, portal vein); (4) vascular dynamics by MRI (head/neck blood flow, cerebrospinal fluid

  4. Isotope shifting capacity of rock

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blattner, P.; Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Lower Hutt

    1980-01-01

    Any oxygen isotope shifted rock volume exactly defines a past throughput of water. An expression is derived that relates the throughput of an open system to the isotope shift of reservoir rock and present-day output. The small isotope shift of Ngawha reservoir rock and the small, high delta oxygen-18 output are best accounted for by a magmatic water source

  5. Sleep and satisfaction in 8- and 12-h forward-rotating shift systems: Industrial employees prefer 12-h shifts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karhula, Kati; Härmä, Mikko; Ropponen, Annina; Hakola, Tarja; Sallinen, Mikael; Puttonen, Sampsa

    2016-01-01

    Twelve-hour shift systems have become more popular in industry. Survey data of shift length, shift rotation speed, self-rated sleep, satisfaction and perceived health were investigated for the associations among 599 predominantly male Finnish industrial employees. The studied forward-rotating shift systems were 12-h fast (12fast, DDNN------, n = 268), 8-h fast (8fast, MMEENN----, n = 161) and 8-h slow (8slow, MMMM-EEEE-NNNN, n = 170). Satisfaction with shift system differed between the groups (p effects on sleep and alertness were rare (8%) in the 12fast group (53% 8fast, 66% 8 slow, p effects of the current shift system on general health (12fast 4%, 8fast 30%, 8slow 41%, p work-life balance (12fast 8%, 8fast 52%, 8slow 63%, p effects of shift work were dependent on both shift length and shift rotation speed: employees in the 12-h rapidly forward-rotating shift system were most satisfied, perceived better work-life balance and slept better than the employees in the 8fast or especially the employees in the 8-h slowly rotating systems.

  6. Tempo of Diversification of Global Amphibians: One-Constant Rate, One-Continuous Shift or Multiple-Discrete Shifts?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Youhua Chen

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available In this brief report, alternative time-varying diversification rate models were fitted onto the phylogeny of global amphibians by considering one-constant-rate (OCR, one-continuous-shift (OCS and multiplediscrete- shifts (MDS situations. The OCS diversification model was rejected by γ statistic (γ=-5.556, p⁄ 0.001, implying the existence of shifting diversification rates for global amphibian phylogeny. Through model selection, MDS diversification model outperformed OCS and OCR models using “laser” package under R environment. Moreover, MDS models, implemented using another R package “MEDUSA”, indicated that there were sixteen shifts over the internal nodes for amphibian phylogeny. Conclusively, both OCS and MDS models are recommended to compare so as to better quantify rate-shifting trends of species diversification. MDS diversification models should be preferential for large phylogenies using “MEDUSA” package in which any arbitrary numbers of shifts are allowed to model.

  7. Phenological shifts conserve thermal niches in North American birds and reshape expectations for climate-driven range shifts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Socolar, Jacob B; Epanchin, Peter N; Beissinger, Steven R; Tingley, Morgan W

    2017-12-05

    Species respond to climate change in two dominant ways: range shifts in latitude or elevation and phenological shifts of life-history events. Range shifts are widely viewed as the principal mechanism for thermal niche tracking, and phenological shifts in birds and other consumers are widely understood as the principal mechanism for tracking temporal peaks in biotic resources. However, phenological and range shifts each present simultaneous opportunities for temperature and resource tracking, although the possible role for phenological shifts in thermal niche tracking has been widely overlooked. Using a canonical dataset of Californian bird surveys and a detectability-based approach for quantifying phenological signal, we show that Californian bird communities advanced their breeding phenology by 5-12 d over the last century. This phenological shift might track shifting resource peaks, but it also reduces average temperatures during nesting by over 1 °C, approximately the same magnitude that average temperatures have warmed over the same period. We further show that early-summer temperature anomalies are correlated with nest success in a continental-scale database of bird nests, suggesting avian thermal niches might be broadly limited by temperatures during nesting. These findings outline an adaptation surface where geographic range and breeding phenology respond jointly to constraints imposed by temperature and resource phenology. By stabilizing temperatures during nesting, phenological shifts might mitigate the need for range shifts. Global change ecology will benefit from further exploring phenological adjustment as a potential mechanism for thermal niche tracking and vice versa.

  8. O que é emoção? em busca da organização estrutural do conceito de emoção em crianças What is emotion? searching the organizational structure of children's concept of emotion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonio Roazzi

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available A realização do presente estudo teve como objetivo principal investigar a organização estrutural do campo semântico conceitual da emoção em crianças em uma perspectiva êmica. Participaram desta pesquisa 247 crianças de escola pública e particular, com idades entre sete e 12 anos. Foram aplicadas as técnicas de associação livre de palavras (emoção e duas perguntas (freqüência das emoções e o que sabiam sobre emoção. Essa ultima questão apontou que a maioria das crianças respondia relacionando emoções a sentimento, a coisas que sentem no coração. Elas também traziam exemplos de acontecimentos positivos e negativos, citavam emoções específicas, principalmente as classificadas como primária, pelos teóricos da área. Na questão relativa à freqüência destas emoções em sua vida as crianças apontaram alegria, felicidade e tristeza como as emoções mais vivenciadas no seu dia a dia. Na associação livre, as emoções primárias apareceram de forma predominante, destacando-se em primeiro lugar a alegria, seguida da tristeza, felicidade, raiva, medo e amor respectivamente. Emoções mais elaboradas, consideradas secundárias, também foram encontradas como saudade, ódio, paz, ansiedade, etc. Para verificar a organização estrutural do campo semântico conceitual, as categorias produzidas através da associação livre foram analisadas também por meio da Análise da Estrutura de Similaridade (SSA. Em seguida, para verificar a relação entre a estrutura decorrente do campo semântico encontrado e as variáveis idade, sexo, e tipo de escola, os dados foram analisados através do método das "variáveis externas como pontos". Regressões múltiplas foram também computadas. Foi encontrado que o tipo de escola e, sobretudo, a idade desempenharam um papel relevante em influenciar de forma significativa a organização estrutural do campo semântico conceitual das emoções, que apresentou uma estrutura ordenada de

  9. Ainda a educação politécnica: o novo decreto da educação profissional e a permanência da dualidade estrutural Still polytechnic education: the new decree on professional education and the permanence of structural dualism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Rodrigues

    2005-09-01

    Full Text Available O ensaio analisa o recente decreto sobre educação profissional, nº 5.154/04, considerando os limites estruturais impostos pelo modo de produção capitalista à educação, que se manifestam no fenômeno da dualidade estrutural escolar. A partir daí, retoma a concepção de educação politécnica, como um (ainda novo horizonte de debate teórico, político e pedagógico para o campo da educação profissional.This article analyses the recently promulgated 5.154/04 decree on professional education, taking into account the structural limitations imposed by capitalism on education, manifested in the structural dualism of the school system. From there on, the article brings back the idea of polytechnic education as (still a new perspective for the theoretical, political and pedagogical debate on professional education.

  10. [Burden and health effects of shift work].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heitmann, Jörg

    2010-10-01

    In Germany aprox. 15% of all employees have irregular or flexible working hours. Disturbed sleep and/or hypersomnia are direct consequences of shift work and therefore described as shift work disorder. Beyond this, shift work can also be associated with specific pathological disorders. There are individual differences in tolerance to shift work. Optimization of both shift schedules and sleep to "non-physiological" times of the day are measures to counteract the negative effects of shift work. There is still not enough evidence to recommend drugs for routine use in shift workers. © Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York.

  11. Shifted Independent Component Analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mørup, Morten; Madsen, Kristoffer Hougaard; Hansen, Lars Kai

    2007-01-01

    Delayed mixing is a problem of theoretical interest and practical importance, e.g., in speech processing, bio-medical signal analysis and financial data modelling. Most previous analyses have been based on models with integer shifts, i.e., shifts by a number of samples, and have often been carried...

  12. The impact of shift work on the psychological and physical health of nurses in a general hospital: a comparison between rotating night shifts and day shifts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferri, Paola; Guadi, Matteo; Marcheselli, Luigi; Balduzzi, Sara; Magnani, Daniela; Di Lorenzo, Rosaria

    2016-01-01

    Shift work is considered necessary to ensure continuity of care in hospitals and residential facilities. In particular, the night shift is one of the most frequent reasons for the disruption of circadian rhythms, causing significant alterations of sleep and biological functions that can affect physical and psychological well-being and negatively impact work performance. The aim of this study was to highlight if shift work with nights, as compared with day work only, is associated with risk factors predisposing nurses to poorer health conditions and lower job satisfaction. This cross-sectional study was conducted from June 1, 2015 to July 31, 2015 in 17 wards of a general hospital and a residential facility of a northern Italian city. This study involved 213 nurses working in rotating night shifts and 65 in day shifts. The instrument used for data collection was the "Standard Shift Work Index," validated in Italian. Data were statistically analyzed. The response rate was 86%. The nurses engaged in rotating night shifts were statistically significantly younger, more frequently single, and had Bachelors and Masters degrees in nursing. They reported the lowest mean score in the items of job satisfaction, quality and quantity of sleep, with more frequent chronic fatigue, psychological, and cardiovascular symptoms in comparison with the day shift workers, in a statistically significant way. Our results suggest that nurses with rotating night schedule need special attention due to the higher risk for both job dissatisfaction and undesirable health effects.

  13. Cα chemical shift tensors in helical peptides by dipolar-modulated chemical shift recoupling NMR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yao Xiaolan; Yamaguchi, Satoru; Hong Mei

    2002-01-01

    The Cα chemical shift tensors of proteins contain information on the backbone conformation. We have determined the magnitude and orientation of the Cα chemical shift tensors of two peptides with α-helical torsion angles: the Ala residue in G*AL (φ=-65.7 deg., ψ=-40 deg.), and the Val residue in GG*V (φ=-81.5 deg., ψ=-50.7 deg.). The magnitude of the tensors was determined from quasi-static powder patterns recoupled under magic-angle spinning, while the orientation of the tensors was extracted from Cα-Hα and Cα-N dipolar modulated powder patterns. The helical Ala Cα chemical shift tensor has a span of 36 ppm and an asymmetry parameter of 0.89. Its σ 11 axis is 116 deg. ± 5 deg. from the Cα-Hα bond while the σ 22 axis is 40 deg. ± 5 deg. from the Cα-N bond. The Val tensor has an anisotropic span of 25 ppm and an asymmetry parameter of 0.33, both much smaller than the values for β-sheet Val found recently (Yao and Hong, 2002). The Val σ 33 axis is tilted by 115 deg. ± 5 deg. from the Cα-Hα bond and 98 deg. ± 5 deg. from the Cα-N bond. These represent the first completely experimentally determined Cα chemical shift tensors of helical peptides. Using an icosahedral representation, we compared the experimental chemical shift tensors with quantum chemical calculations and found overall good agreement. These solid-state chemical shift tensors confirm the observation from cross-correlated relaxation experiments that the projection of the Cα chemical shift tensor onto the Cα-Hα bond is much smaller in α-helices than in β-sheets

  14. Methodological aspects of shift-work research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knutsson, Anders

    2004-01-01

    A major issue in shift-work research is to understand the possible ways in which shift work can impact performance and health. Nearly all body functions, from those of the cellular level to those of the entire body, are circadian rhythmic. Disturbances of these rhythms as well as the social consequences of odd work hours are of importance for the health and well-being of shift workers. This article reviews a number of common methodological issues which are of relevance to epidemiological studies in this area of research. It discusses conceptual problems regarding the use of the term "shift work," and it underscores the need to develop models that explain the mechanisms of disease in shift workers.

  15. SAT in shift manager training

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lecuyer, F.

    1995-01-01

    EDF has improved the organization of the operation shift teams with the replacement of shift supervisor in shift manager function. The shift manager is not only responsible for tasks associated to plant operation (production), but he is also responsible for safety of these tasks and for management of shift team members. A job analysis of this new job position has been performed in order to design the training programme. It resulted in a 10-month training programme that includes 8 weeks in safety-related topics and 12 weeks in soft-skills related topics. The safety related training courses are mandatory, the other courses are optional courses depending on individual trainee needs. The training also includes the development of management competencies. During the 10 month period, each trainee develops an individual project that is evaluated by NPP manager. As well, as group project is undertaken by the trainees and overseen by a steering committee. The steering committee participates in the evaluation process and provides operational experience feedback to the trainee groups and to the overall programme

  16. Individual differences in shift work tolerance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lammers-van der Holst, H.M.

    2016-01-01

    Shift work is a key feature of our contemporary 24/7 society, employing several successive work teams to sustain around-the-clock operations. However, numerous studies imply that frequently shifting the periods of sleep and wakefulness poses a serious threat to the shift worker’s physical, mental

  17. An analysis of clock-shift experiments: is scatter increased and deflection reduced in clock-shifted homing pigeons?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chappell

    1997-01-01

    Clock-shifting (altering the phase of the internal clock) in homing pigeons leads to a deflection in the vanishing bearing of the clock-shifted group relative to controls. However, two unexplained phenomena are common in clock-shift experiments: the vanishing bearings of the clock-shifted group are often more scattered (with a shorter vector length) than those of the control group, and the deflection of the mean bearing of the clock-shifted group from that of the controls is often smaller than expected theoretically. Here, an analysis of 55 clock-shift experiments performed in four countries over 21 years is reported. The bearings of the clock-shifted groups were significantly more scattered than those of controls and less deflected than expected, but these effects were not significantly different at familiar and unfamiliar sites. The possible causes of the effects are discussed and evaluated with reference to this analysis and other experiments. The most likely causes appear to be conflict between the directions indicated by the sun compass and either unshifted familiar visual landmarks (at familiar sites only) or the unshifted magnetic compass (possible at both familiar and unfamiliar sites).

  18. Examining paid sickness absence by shift workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Catano, V M; Bissonnette, A B

    2014-06-01

    Shift workers are at greater risk than day workers with respect to psychological and physical health, yet little research has linked shift work to increased sickness absence. To investigate the relationship between shift work and sickness absence while controlling for organizational and individual characteristics and shift work attributes that have confounded previous research. The study used archive data collected from three national surveys in Canada, each involving over 20000 employees and 6000 private-sector firms in 14 different occupational groups. The employees reported the number of paid sickness absence days in the past 12 months. Data were analysed using both chi-squared statistics and hierarchical regressions. Contrary to previous research, shift workers took less paid sickness absence than day workers. There were no differences in the length of the sickness absence between both groups or in sickness absence taken by female and male workers whether working days or shifts. Only job tenure, the presence of a union in the workplace and working rotating shifts predicted sickness absence in shift workers. The results were consistent across all three samples. In general, shift work does not seem to be linked to increased sickness absence. However, such associations may be true for specific industries. Male and female workers did not differ in the amount of sickness absence taken. Rotating shifts, regardless of industry, predicted sickness absence among shift workers. Consideration should be given to implementing scheduled time off between shift changes. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  19. Molecular Electronic Shift Registers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beratan, David N.; Onuchic, Jose N.

    1990-01-01

    Molecular-scale shift registers eventually constructed as parts of high-density integrated memory circuits. In principle, variety of organic molecules makes possible large number of different configurations and modes of operation for such shift-register devices. Several classes of devices and implementations in some specific types of molecules proposed. All based on transfer of electrons or holes along chains of repeating molecular units.

  20. Blue-shifted and red-shifted hydrogen bonds: Theoretical study of the CH3CHO· · ·HNO complexes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Yong; Zhang, Weijun; Gao, Xiaoming

    The blue-shifted and red-shifted H-bonds have been studied in complexes CH3CHO?HNO. At the MP2/6-31G(d), MP2/6-31+G(d,p) MP2/6-311++G(d,p), B3LYP/6-31G(d), B3LYP/6-31+G(d,p) and B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) levels, the geometric structures and vibrational frequencies of complexes CH3CHO?HNO are calculated by both standard and CP-corrected methods, respectively. Complex A exhibits simultaneously red-shifted C bond H?O and blue-shifted N bond H?O H-bonds. Complex B possesses simultaneously two blue-shifted H-bonds: C bond H?O and N bond H?O. From NBO analysis, it becomes evident that the red-shifted C bond H?O H-bond can be explained on the basis of the two opposite effects: hyperconjugation and rehybridization. The blue-shifted C bond H?O H-bond is a result of conjunct C bond H bond strengthening effects of the hyperconjugation and the rehybridization due to existence of the significant electron density redistribution effect. For the blue-shifted N bond H?O H-bonds, the hyperconjugation is inhibited due to existence of the electron density redistribution effect. The large blue shift of the N bond H stretching frequency is observed because the rehybridization dominates the hyperconjugation.

  1. Shift Work: Improving Daytime Sleep

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... night. Good daytime sleep is possible, though, if shift work is a necessary part of your work life. ... mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/expert-answers/shift-work/faq-20057991 . Mayo Clinic Footer Legal Conditions and ...

  2. Night shift work and modifiable lifestyle factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pepłońska, Beata; Burdelak, Weronika; Krysicka, Jolanta; Bukowska, Agnieszka; Marcinkiewicz, Andrzej; Sobala, Wojciech; Klimecka-Muszyńska, Dorota; Rybacki, Marcin

    2014-10-01

    Night shift work has been linked to some chronic diseases. Modification of lifestyle by night work may partially contribute to the development of these diseases, nevertheless, so far epidemiological evidence is limited. The aim of the study was to explore association between night shift work and lifestyle factors using data from a cross-sectional study among blue-collar workers employed in industrial plants in Łódź, Poland. The anonymous questionnaire was self-administered among 605 employees (236 women and 369 men, aged 35 or more) - 434 individuals currently working night shifts. Distribution of the selected lifestyle related factors such as smoking, alcohol drinking, physical activity, body mass index (BMI), number of main meals and the hour of the last meal was compared between current, former, and never night shift workers. Adjusted ORs or predicted means were calculated, as a measure of the associations between night shift work and lifestyle factors, with age, marital status and education included in the models as covariates. Recreational inactivity (defined here as less than one hour per week of recreational physical activity) was associated with current night shift work when compared to never night shift workers (OR = 2.43, 95% CI: 1.13-5.22) among men. Alcohol abstinence and later time of the last meal was associated with night shift work among women. Statistically significant positive relationship between night shift work duration and BMI was observed among men (p = 0.029). This study confirms previous studies reporting lower exercising among night shift workers and tendency to increase body weight. This finding provides important public health implication for the prevention of chronic diseases among night shift workers. Initiatives promoting physical activity addressed in particular to the night shift workers are recommended.

  3. Night shift work and modifiable lifestyle factors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beata Pepłońska

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: Night shift work has been linked to some chronic diseases. Modification of lifestyle by night work may partially contribute to the development of these diseases, nevertheless, so far epidemiological evidence is limited. The aim of the study was to explore association between night shift work and lifestyle factors using data from a cross-sectional study among blue-collar workers employed in industrial plants in Łódź, Poland. Material and Methods: The anonymous questionnaire was self-administered among 605 employees (236 women and 369 men, aged 35 or more - 434 individuals currently wor­king night shifts. Distribution of the selected lifestyle related factors such as smoking, alcohol drinking, physical activity, body mass index (BMI, number of main meals and the hour of the last meal was compared between current, former, and never night shift workers. Adjusted ORs or predicted means were calculated, as a measure of the associations between night shift work and lifestyle factors, with age, marital status and education included in the models as covariates. Results: Recreational inactivity (defined here as less than one hour per week of recreational physical activity was associated with current night shift work when compared to never night shift workers (OR = 2.43, 95% CI: 1.13-5.22 among men. Alcohol abstinence and later time of the last meal was associated with night shift work among women. Statistically significant positive relationship between night shift work duration and BMI was observed among men (p = 0.029. Conclusions: This study confirms previous studies reporting lower exercising among night shift workers and tendency to increase body weight. This finding provides important public health implication for the prevention of chronic diseases among night shift workers. Initiatives promoting physical activity addressed in particular to the night shift workers are recommended.

  4. Study of insomnia in rotating shift-workers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kaushik Chatterjee

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Shift-workers commonly suffer from insomnia. This study evaluates different domains of insomnia. Aim: This study was aimed to study sleep and insomnia in rotating shift-workers and compare with day-workers. Materials and Methods: This was case–control study. The sleep of rotating shift-workers is compared with day workers using Athens Insomnia Scale. Results: Rotating shift-workers had significantly higher scores on Athens insomnia scale on domains of initial, intermediate and terminal insomnia than day workers. Duration and quality of sleep and sense of well-being are lower in rotating shift-workers. Rotating shift-workers also experienced more day-time sleepiness than day workers. However, there was no difference in perceived physical and mental functioning between the two groups. Conclusion: Individuals working in rotating shifts for more than 15 days have significantly higher prevalence of insomnia than day-workers.

  5. The effects of consecutive night shifts and shift length on cognitive performance and sleepiness: a field study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haidarimoghadam, Rashid; Kazemi, Reza; Motamedzadeh, Majid; Golmohamadi, Rostam; Soltanian, Alireza; Zoghipaydar, Mohamad Reza

    2017-06-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of consecutive night shifts (CNS) and shift length on cognitive performance and sleepiness. This study evaluated the sleepiness and performance of 30 control room operators (CROs) working in 7 nights, 7 days, 7 days off (7N7D7O) and 30 CROs working in 4 nights, 7 days, 3 nights, 7 days off (4N7D3N7O) shift patterns in a petrochemical complex on the last night shift before swinging into the day shift. To assess cognitive performance, the n-back test, continuous performance test and simple reaction time test were employed. To assess sleepiness, the Karolinska sleepiness scale was used. Both schedules indicated that the correct responses and response times of working memory were reduced (p = 0.001), while intentional errors and sleepiness increased during the shift work (p = 0.001). CNS had a significant impact on reaction time and commission errors (p = 0.001). The main duty of CROs at a petrochemical plant is checking hazardous processes which require appropriate alertness and cognitive performance. As a result, planning for appropriate working hours and suitable number of CNS in a rotating shift system is a contribution to improving CRO performance and enhancing safety.

  6. Study of nanometer-level precise phase-shift system used in electronic speckle shearography and phase-shift pattern interferometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jing, Chao; Liu, Zhongling; Zhou, Ge; Zhang, Yimo

    2011-11-01

    The nanometer-level precise phase-shift system is designed to realize the phase-shift interferometry in electronic speckle shearography pattern interferometry. The PZT is used as driving component of phase-shift system and translation component of flexure hinge is developed to realize micro displacement of non-friction and non-clearance. Closed-loop control system is designed for high-precision micro displacement, in which embedded digital control system is developed for completing control algorithm and capacitive sensor is used as feedback part for measuring micro displacement in real time. Dynamic model and control model of the nanometer-level precise phase-shift system is analyzed, and high-precision micro displacement is realized with digital PID control algorithm on this basis. It is proved with experiments that the location precision of the precise phase-shift system to step signal of displacement is less than 2nm and the location precision to continuous signal of displacement is less than 5nm, which is satisfied with the request of the electronic speckle shearography and phase-shift pattern interferometry. The stripe images of four-step phase-shift interferometry and the final phase distributed image correlated with distortion of objects are listed in this paper to prove the validity of nanometer-level precise phase-shift system.

  7. Tempo of Diversification of Global Amphibians: One-Constant Rate, One-Continuous Shift or Multiple-Discrete Shifts?

    OpenAIRE

    Youhua Chen

    2014-01-01

    In this brief report, alternative time-varying diversification rate models were fitted onto the phylogeny of global amphibians by considering one-constant-rate (OCR), one-continuous-shift (OCS) and multiplediscrete- shifts (MDS) situations. The OCS diversification model was rejected by γ statistic (γ=-5.556, p⁄ 0.001), implying the existence of shifting diversification rates for global amphibian phylogeny. Through model selection, MDS diversification model outperformed OCS and OCR...

  8. Anxiety about starting three-shift work among female workers: findings from the Female Shift Workers' Health Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kubo, Tatsuhiko; Maruyama, Takashi; Shirane, Kiyoyumi; Otomo, Hajime; Matsumoto, Tetsuro; Oyama, Ichiro

    2008-03-01

    In 1999, the Japanese Law on Equal Employment Opportunity and Conditions was amended and the previous prohibition of the assignment of female workers to night work was abolished. Subsequently, the number of female shift workers has been increasing in Japan, necessitating greater attention to the health care of this population. The aim of the current study is to evaluate the relationship between anxiety expressed about starting three-shift work and background characteristics among female workers who were being assigned to three-shift work for the first time. The subjects were 38 middle-aged female workers (age range: 44 to 59 years) who were working at a chemical plant. The women completed a self-administered questionnaire before starting three-shift work. Levels of anxiety about starting three-shift work were assessed by the question 'Do you feel anxious about starting three-shift work?' The available responses were: 'Very agree', 'Considerably agree', 'Rather agree', 'Slightly agree' and 'Not agree at all', and 63% of the subjects gave one of the first two answers, which were defined as indicating anxiety. We also acquired information regarding lifestyle and occupation for each subject, including the following factors: frequency of breakfast consumption, subjective sleep insufficiency, previous experience of similar work before beginning shift work, previous experience of two-shift work, and responsibility for household duties. In the study, we found a marginally statistically significant trend association between frequent breakfast consumption and anxiety about starting three-shift work (P(trend) = 0.09). Anxiety was also high among subjects with sleep disorders, especially those suffering from subjective sleep insufficiency (P = 0.08). Due to the small study population, these results should be interpreted with caution and confirmed by future studies.

  9. Using chemical shift perturbation to characterise ligand binding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williamson, Mike P

    2013-08-01

    Chemical shift perturbation (CSP, chemical shift mapping or complexation-induced changes in chemical shift, CIS) follows changes in the chemical shifts of a protein when a ligand is added, and uses these to determine the location of the binding site, the affinity of the ligand, and/or possibly the structure of the complex. A key factor in determining the appearance of spectra during a titration is the exchange rate between free and bound, or more specifically the off-rate koff. When koff is greater than the chemical shift difference between free and bound, which typically equates to an affinity Kd weaker than about 3μM, then exchange is fast on the chemical shift timescale. Under these circumstances, the observed shift is the population-weighted average of free and bound, which allows Kd to be determined from measurement of peak positions, provided the measurements are made appropriately. (1)H shifts are influenced to a large extent by through-space interactions, whereas (13)Cα and (13)Cβ shifts are influenced more by through-bond effects. (15)N and (13)C' shifts are influenced both by through-bond and by through-space (hydrogen bonding) interactions. For determining the location of a bound ligand on the basis of shift change, the most appropriate method is therefore usually to measure (15)N HSQC spectra, calculate the geometrical distance moved by the peak, weighting (15)N shifts by a factor of about 0.14 compared to (1)H shifts, and select those residues for which the weighted shift change is larger than the standard deviation of the shift for all residues. Other methods are discussed, in particular the measurement of (13)CH3 signals. Slow to intermediate exchange rates lead to line broadening, and make Kd values very difficult to obtain. There is no good way to distinguish changes in chemical shift due to direct binding of the ligand from changes in chemical shift due to allosteric change. Ligand binding at multiple sites can often be characterised, by

  10. Working the Night Shift: The Impact of Compensating Wages and Local Economic Conditions on Shift Choice

    OpenAIRE

    Colene Trent; Walter J. Mayer

    2014-01-01

    The theory of compensating differentials asserts that night shift workers should receive compensating wage differentials due to undesirable work conditions. In weak local economies, workers may have difficulty finding jobs; thus, these workers might be more likely to accept night shift work and be less concerned with the size of the compensating differential for night shifts. Using CPS data from 2001, this paper employs maximum likelihood estimation of an endogenous switching regression model...

  11. Chemical shift-dependent apparent scalar couplings: An alternative concept of chemical shift monitoring in multi-dimensional NMR experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kwiatkowski, Witek; Riek, Roland

    2003-01-01

    The paper presents an alternative technique for chemical shift monitoring in a multi-dimensional NMR experiment. The monitored chemical shift is coded in the line-shape of a cross-peak through an apparent residual scalar coupling active during an established evolution period or acquisition. The size of the apparent scalar coupling is manipulated with an off-resonance radio-frequency pulse in order to correlate the size of the coupling with the position of the additional chemical shift. The strength of this concept is that chemical shift information is added without an additional evolution period and accompanying polarization transfer periods. This concept was incorporated into the three-dimensional triple-resonance experiment HNCA, adding the information of 1 H α chemical shifts. The experiment is called HNCA coded HA, since the chemical shift of 1 H α is coded in the line-shape of the cross-peak along the 13 C α dimension

  12. Doppler interpretation of quasar red shifts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zapolsky, H S

    1966-08-05

    The hypothesis that the quasistellar sources (quasars) are local objects moving with velocities close to the speed of light is examined. Provided there is no observational cutoff on apparent bolometric magnitude for the quasars, the transverse Doppler effect leads to the expectation of fewer blue shifts than red shifts for an isotropic distribution of velocities. Such a distribution also yields a function N(z), the number of objects with red shift less than z which is not inconsistent with the present data. On the basis of two extreme assumptions concerning the origin of such rapidly moving sources, we computed curves of red shift plotted against magnitude. In particular, the curve obtained on the assumption that the quasars originated from an explosion in or nearby our own galaxy is in as good agreement with the observations as the curve of cosmological red shift plotted against magnitude.

  13. Goos-Haenchen shift in complex crystals

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Longhi, Stefano; Della Valle, Giuseppe; Staliunas, Kestutis [Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, I-20133 Milano (Italy); Departament de Fisica i Enginyeria Nuclear, Instituci Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avanats (ICREA), Universitat Politcnica de Catalunya, Colom 11, E-08222 Terrassa, Barcelona (Spain)

    2011-10-15

    The Goos-Haenchen (GH) effect for wave scattering from complex PT-symmetric periodic potentials (complex crystals) is theoretically investigated, with specific reference to optical GH shift in photonic crystal slabs with a sinusoidal periodic modulation of both real and imaginary parts of the dielectric constant. The analysis highlights some distinct and rather unique features as compared to the GH shift found in ordinary crystals. In particular, as opposed to GH shift in ordinary crystals, which is large at the band gap edges, in complex crystals the GH shift can be large inside the reflection (amplification) band and becomes extremely large as the PT symmetry-breaking threshold is approached.

  14. Optimal control of the gear shifting process for shift smoothness in dual-clutch transmissions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Guoqiang; Görges, Daniel

    2018-03-01

    The control of the transmission system in vehicles is significant for the driving comfort. In order to design a controller for smooth shifting and comfortable driving, a dynamic model of a dual-clutch transmission is presented in this paper. A finite-time linear quadratic regulator is proposed for the optimal control of the two friction clutches in the torque phase for the upshift process. An integral linear quadratic regulator is introduced to regulate the relative speed difference between the engine and the slipping clutch under the optimization of the input torque during the inertia phase. The control objective focuses on smoothing the upshift process so as to improve the driving comfort. Considering the available sensors in vehicles for feedback control, an observer design is presented to track the immeasurable variables. Simulation results show that the jerk can be reduced both in the torque phase and inertia phase, indicating good shift performance. Furthermore, compared with conventional controllers for the upshift process, the proposed control method can reduce shift jerk and improve shift quality.

  15. Temporal dynamics of circadian phase shifting response to consecutive night shifts in healthcare workers: role of light-dark exposure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stone, Julia E; Sletten, Tracey L; Magee, Michelle; Ganesan, Saranea; Mulhall, Megan D; Collins, Allison; Howard, Mark; Lockley, Steven W; Rajaratnam, Shantha M W

    2018-03-28

    Shift work is highly prevalent and is associated with significant adverse health impacts. There is substantial inter-individual variability in the way the circadian clock responds to changing shift cycles. The mechanisms underlying this variability are not well understood. We tested the hypothesis that light-dark exposure is a significant contributor to this variability; when combined with diurnal preference, the relative timing of light exposure accounted for 71% of individual variability in circadian phase response to night shift work. These results will drive development of personalised approaches to manage circadian disruption among shift workers and other vulnerable populations to potentially reduce the increased risk of disease in these populations. Night shift workers show highly variable rates of circadian adaptation. This study examined the relationship between light exposure patterns and the magnitude of circadian phase resetting in response to night shift work. In 21 participants (nursing and medical staff in an intensive care unit) circadian phase was measured using 6-sulphatoxymelatonin at baseline (day/evening shifts or days off) and after 3-4 consecutive night shifts. Daily light exposure was examined relative to individual circadian phase to quantify light intensity in the phase delay and phase advance portions of the light phase response curve (PRC). There was substantial inter-individual variability in the direction and magnitude of phase shift after three or four consecutive night shifts (mean phase delay -1:08 ± 1:31 h; range -3:43 h delay to +3:07 h phase advance). The relative difference in the distribution of light relative to the PRC combined with diurnal preference accounted for 71% of the variability in phase shift. Regression analysis incorporating these factors estimated phase shift to within ±60 min in 85% of participants. No participants met criteria for partial adaptation to night work after three or four consecutive night

  16. Understanding and controlling chromaticity shift in LED devices

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Davis, Lynn; Mills, Karmann; Lamvik, Michael; Perkins, Curtis; Bobashev, Georgiy; Young, Joseph; Yaga, Robert; Johnson, Cortina

    2017-05-30

    Chromaticity shift in light-emitting diode (LED) devices arises from multiple mechanisms, and at least five different chromaticity shift modes (CSMs) have been identified to date. This paper focuses on the impacts of irreversible phosphor degradation as a cause of chromaticity shifts in LED devices. The nitride phosphors used to produce warm white LEDs are especially vulnerable to degradation due to thermal and chemical effects such as reactions with oxygen and water. As a result, LED devices utilizing these phosphors were found to undergo either a green shift or, less commonly, a red shift depending on the phosphor mix in the LED devices. These types of chromaticity shifts are classified as CSM-2 (green shift) and CSM-5 (red shift). This paper provides an overview of the kinetic processes responsible for green and red chromaticity shifts along with examples from accelerated stress testing of 6” downlights. Both CSMs appear to proceed through analogous mechanisms that are initiated at the surface of the phosphor. A green shift is produced by the surface oxidation of the nitride phosphor that changes the emission profile to lower wavelengths. As the surface oxidation reaction proceeds, reactant limitations slow the rate and bulk oxidation processes become more prevalent. We found that a red chromaticity shift arises from quenching of the green phosphor, also possibly due to surface reactions of oxygen, which shift the emission chromaticity in the red direction. In conclusion, we discuss the implications of these findings on projecting chromaticity.

  17. The development of shifting radioactive material

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Haiteng; Chen Yonghong; Yin Fujun; Che Mingsheng; Hu Xiaodan; Yao Shouzhong

    2010-01-01

    In nuclear field, When the nuclear material shifting from the glove-box,use the technology of plastic welding package in accordance with tradition. There are some defects in this technology because of the plastic character, such as package pierced easily, wrapper not fitted storage for long term, etc. Because of this limit. Plastic shifting technology is only fit for shifting radwaste and nuclear material not need storage from radioactive close area to non-radioactive open area for long term.As the nuclear material exiting leak when shifting in plastic package,and the plastic material don't meet the need of storaging safely for long term.We research into a new technology of nuclear material shifting. When nuclear material is carried out from the glove box. It should be sealed by welding case, then it can be storaged safely for long term. At the same time, nuclear material wouldn't pollute the glove box outside.The study achieved well effect in apply. (authors)

  18. Association between rotating night shift work and metabolic syndrome in Korean workers: differences between 8-hour and 12-hour rotating shift work.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oh, Jae-Il; Yim, Hyeon Woo

    2018-02-07

    This study aimed to analyze the association between the shift work schedule and metabolic syndrome (MetS). This is a retrospective longitudinal study based on the 2015 health checkup data of 2,090 workers evaluated for MetS in 2010 at a general hospital in Korea. The participants were divided according to their shift work schedule into daytime, three-shift (8-h rotation), and two-shift (12-h rotation) workers. The index that indicates the association between the shift work schedule and MetS is the odds ratio (OR) calculated using multivariate logistic regression. The analysis for the entire group of workers indicated that there was positive association between two-shift rotation and MetS (OR=1.58, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.09, 2.29). In the analysis of rotating night-shift workers, the years of rotating night shifts, frequency of night-shift work, and sleep disturbance were added to the confounding variables, and two-shift work remained positively associated with MetS (OR=1.72, 95% CI: 1.10, 2.70). The risk of MetS differs based on the shift work schedules they engage in. Hence, structural changes to the shift work schedules are required to prevent MetS in night-shift workers.

  19. Shift work and age in the offshore petroleum industry

    OpenAIRE

    Waage, Siri; Pallesen, Ståle; Moen, Bente Elisabeth; Bjorvatn, Bjørn

    2010-01-01

    Background. Shift work is associated with sleep and health problems. Tolerance to shift work is reported to decrease with age. Shift work tolerance should be considered in different shift work populations. The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between age, shift work exposure, shift type, and morningness and sleep/health problems in oil rig shift workers. Material and methods. A total of 199 workers participated. They worked either two weeks of 12-h day shifts (n = 96) or tw...

  20. Flexible Schedules and Shift Work.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beers, Thomas M.

    2000-01-01

    Flexible work hours have gained prominence, as more than 25 million workers (27.6% of all full-time workers) can now vary their schedules. However, there has been little change since the mid-1980s in the proportion who work a shift other than a regular daytime shift. (JOW)

  1. Ecosystem regime shifts disrupt trophic structure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hempson, Tessa N; Graham, Nicholas A J; MacNeil, M Aaron; Hoey, Andrew S; Wilson, Shaun K

    2018-01-01

    Regime shifts between alternative stable ecosystem states are becoming commonplace due to the combined effects of local stressors and global climate change. Alternative states are characterized as substantially different in form and function from pre-disturbance states, disrupting the delivery of ecosystem services and functions. On coral reefs, regime shifts are typically characterized by a change in the benthic composition from coral to macroalgal dominance. Such fundamental shifts in the benthos are anticipated to impact associated fish communities that are reliant on the reef for food and shelter, yet there is limited understanding of how regime shifts propagate through the fish community over time, relative to initial or recovery conditions. This study addresses this knowledge gap using long-term data of coral reef regime shifts and recovery on Seychelles reefs following the 1998 mass bleaching event. It shows how trophic structure of the reef fish community becomes increasingly dissimilar between alternative reef ecosystem states (regime-shifted vs. recovering) with time since disturbance. Regime-shifted reefs developed a concave trophic structure, with increased biomass in base trophic levels as herbivorous species benefitted from increased algal resources. Mid trophic level species, including specialists such as corallivores, declined with loss of coral habitat, while biomass was retained in upper trophic levels by large-bodied, generalist invertivores. Recovering reefs also experienced an initial decline in mid trophic level biomass, but moved toward a bottom-heavy pyramid shape, with a wide range of feeding groups (e.g., planktivores, corallivores, omnivores) represented at mid trophic levels. Given the importance of coral reef fishes in maintaining the ecological function of coral reef ecosystems and their associated fisheries, understanding the effects of regime shifts on these communities is essential to inform decisions that enhance ecological

  2. Efeitos tecnológicos e estruturais nas emissões brasileiras de CO2 para o período 2000 a 2005: uma abordagem de análise de decomposição estrutural (SDA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcos Paulo Novais Silva

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Este artigo objetiva mensurar a influência de mudanças na estrutura produtiva sobre as variações nas emissões de dióxido de carbono brasileiras. O método utilizado foi o de análise de decomposição estrutural (SDA - Structural Decomposition Analysis. Trata-se de um método de insumo-produto, logo de estática comparativa, que permite detalhar as mudanças tanto tecnológicas quanto no processo produtivo em termos setoriais. As emissões setoriais foram obtidas junto ao balanço de emissões, energias equivalente e final, e as matrizes IBGE de insumo-produto são provenientes do Sistema de Contas Nacionais do IBGE, ambas para os anos de 2000 e 2005, sendo adaptadas para 15 setores econômicos brasileiros. Os principais resultados indicam que: os setores de transportes, siderurgia e alimentos e bebidas são aqueles que se mostraram mais propensos ao aumento de emissões quando considerada a variação na demanda final, enquanto os setores indústria do cimento, de minerais não metálicos e papel e celulose se destacam por redução de emissões devido à mudança tecnológica.

  3. Achieving excellence on shift through teamwork

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Newman, L.

    1988-01-01

    Anyone familiar with the nuclear industry realizes the importance of operators. Operators can achieve error-free plant operations, i.e., excellence on shift through teamwork. As a shift supervisor (senior reactor operator/shift technical advisor) the author went through the plant's first cycle of operations with no scrams and no equipment damaged by operator error, having since changed roles (and companies) to one of assessing plant operations. This change has provided the opportunity to see objectively the importance of operators working together and of the team building and teamwork that contribute to the shift's success. This paper uses examples to show the effectiveness of working together and outlines steps for building a group of operators into a team

  4. Shift in Food Intake and Changes in Metabolic Regulation and Gene Expression during Simulated Night-Shift Work : A Rat Model

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Marti, Andrea Rørvik; Meerlo, Peter; Grønli, Janne; van Hasselt, Sjoerd Johan; Mrdalj, Jelena; Pallesen, Ståle; Pedersen, Torhild Thue; Henriksen, Tone Elise Gjøtterud; Skrede, Silje

    2016-01-01

    Night-shift work is linked to a shift in food intake toward the normal sleeping period, and to metabolic disturbance. We applied a rat model of night-shift work to assess the immediate effects of such a shift in food intake on metabolism. Male Wistar rats were subjected to 8 h of forced activity

  5. Objectively measured physical activity of hospital shift workers.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Loef, Bette; van der Beek, Allard J; Holtermann, Andreas; Hulsegge, Gerben; van Baarle, Debbie; Proper, Karin I

    2018-01-01

    Objectives Shift work may alter workers' leisure-time and occupational physical activity (PA) levels, which might be one of the potential underlying mechanisms of the negative health effects of shift work. Therefore, we compared objectively measured PA levels between hospital shift and non-shift

  6. Evaluating the traditional day and night shift in an acute care surgery fellowship: Is the swing shift a better choice?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chestovich, Paul J; McNicoll, Christopher F; Ingalls, Nichole K; Kuhls, Deborah A; Fraser, Douglas R; Morrissey, Shawna L; Fildes, John J

    2018-01-01

    Fellowship trainees in acute care surgery require experience in the management of complex and operative trauma cases. Trauma center staffing usually follows standard 12-hour or 24-hour shifts, with resident and fellow trainees following a similar schedule. Although trauma admissions can be generally unpredictable, we analyzed temporal trends of trauma patient arrival times to determine the best time frame to maximize trainee experience during each day. We reviewed 10 years (2007-2016) of trauma registry data for blunt and penetrating trauma activations. Hourly volumetric trends were observed, and three specific events were chosen for detailed analysis: (1) trauma activation with Injury Severity Score (ISS) greater than 15, (2) laparotomy for trauma, and (3) thoracotomy for trauma. A retrospective shift log was created, which included day (7:00 AM to 7:00 PM), night (7:00 PM to 7:00 AM), and swing (noon to midnight) shifts. A swing shift was chosen because it captures the peak volume for all three events. Means and 95% confidence intervals were calculated, and comparisons were made between shifts using the Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed rank test with Bonferroni correction, and p less than 0.05 considered significant. During the 10-year study period, 28,287 patients were treated at our trauma center. This included the evaluation and management of 7,874 patients with ISS greater than 15, performance of 1,766 laparotomies, and 392 thoracotomies for trauma. Swing shift was superior to both day and night shifts for ISS greater than 15 (p night shifts were superior to day shift for laparotomies (p day shift (p night shift (p = 0.031). Shifts with the highest yield of ISS greater than 15, laparotomies, and thoracotomies include night and swing shifts on Fridays and Saturdays. Projected experience of acute care surgery fellows in managing complex trauma patients increases with the integration of swing shifts into the schedule. Daily trauma volume follows a temporal pattern

  7. Random coil chemical shift for intrinsically disordered proteins

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kjærgaard, Magnus; Brander, Søren; Poulsen, Flemming Martin

    2011-01-01

    . Temperature has a non-negligible effect on the (13)C random coil chemical shifts, so temperature coefficients are reported for the random coil chemical shifts to allow extrapolation to other temperatures. The pH dependence of the histidine random coil chemical shifts is investigated in a titration series......, which allows the accurate random coil chemical shifts to be obtained at any pH. By correcting the random coil chemical shifts for the effects of temperature and pH, systematic biases of the secondary chemical shifts are minimized, which will improve the reliability of detection of transient secondary...

  8. Associations between shift schedule characteristics with sleep, need for recovery, health and performance measures for regular (semi-)continuous 3-shift systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van de Ven, Hardy A; Brouwer, Sandra; Koolhaas, Wendy; Goudswaard, Anneke; de Looze, Michiel P; Kecklund, Göran; Almansa, Josue; Bültmann, Ute; van der Klink, Jac J L

    2016-09-01

    In this cross-sectional study associations were examined between eight shift schedule characteristics with shift-specific sleep complaints and need for recovery and generic health and performance measures. It was hypothesized that shift schedule characteristics meeting ergonomic recommendations are associated with better sleep, need for recovery, health and performance. Questionnaire data were collected from 491 shift workers of 18 companies with 9 regular (semi)-continuous shift schedules. The shift schedule characteristics were analyzed separately and combined using multilevel linear regression models. The hypothesis was largely not confirmed. Relatively few associations were found, of which the majority was in the direction as expected. In particular early starts of morning shifts and many consecutive shifts seem to be avoided. The healthy worker effect, limited variation between included schedules and the cross-sectional design might explain the paucity of significant results. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Shift Performance Test and Analysis of Multipurpose Vehicle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Can Yang

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available This paper presented an analysis of the gear shifting performances of a multipurpose vehicle transmission in driving condition by Ricardo's Gear Shift Quality Assessment (GSQA system. The performances of the transmission included the travel and effort of the gear shift lever and synchronizing time. The mathematic models of the transmission including the gear shift mechanism and synchronizer were developed in MATLAB. The model of the gear shift mechanism was developed to analyze the travel map of the gear shift lever and the model of the synchronizer was developed to obtain the force-time curve of the synchronizer during the slipping time. The model of the synchronizer was used to investigate the relationship between the performances of the transmission and the variation of parameters during gear shifting. The mathematic models of the gear shift mechanism and the synchronizer provided a rapid design and verification method for the transmission with ring spring.

  10. Night shift and rotating shift in association with sleep problems, burnout and minor mental disorder in male and female employees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Wan-Ju; Cheng, Yawen

    2017-07-01

    Shift work is associated with adverse physical and psychological health outcomes. However, the independent health effects of night work and rotating shift on workers' sleep and mental health risks and the potential gender differences have not been fully evaluated. We used data from a nationwide survey of representative employees of Taiwan in 2013, consisting of 16 440 employees. Participants reported their work shift patterns 1 week prior to the survey, which were classified into the four following shift types: fixed day, rotating day, fixed night and rotating night shifts. Also obtained were self-reported sleep duration, presence of insomnia, burnout and mental disorder assessed by the Brief Symptom Rating Scale. Among all shift types, workers with fixed night shifts were found to have the shortest duration of sleep, highest level of burnout score, and highest prevalence of insomnia and minor mental disorders. Gender-stratified regression analyses with adjustment of age, education and psychosocial work conditions showed that both in male and female workers, fixed night shifts were associated with greater risks for short sleep duration (night shifts were also associated with increased risks for burnout and mental disorders, but after adjusting for insomnia, the associations between fixed night shifts and poor mental health were no longer significant. The findings of this study suggested that a fixed night shift was associated with greater risks for sleep and mental health problems, and the associations might be mediated by sleep disturbance. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

  11. Validity of self-reported exposure to shift work.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Härmä, Mikko; Koskinen, Aki; Ropponen, Annina; Puttonen, Sampsa; Karhula, Kati; Vahtera, Jussi; Kivimäki, Mika

    2017-03-01

    To evaluate the validity of widely used questionnaire items on work schedule using objective registry data as reference. A cohort study of hospital employees who responded to a self-administered questionnaire on work schedule in 2008, 2012 and 2014 and were linked to individual-level pay-roll-based records on work shifts. For predictive validity, leisure-time fatigue was assessed. According to the survey data in 2014 (n=8896), 55% of the day workers had at least 1 year of earlier shift work experience. 8% of the night shift workers changed to day work during the follow-up. Using pay-roll data as reference, questions on 'shift work with night shifts' and 'permanent night work' showed high sensitivity (96% and 90%) and specificity (92% and 97%). Self-reported 'regular day work' showed moderate sensitivity (73%), but high specificity (99%) and 'shift work without night shifts' showed low sensitivity (62%) and moderate specificity (87%). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, the age-adjusted, sex-adjusted and baseline fatigue-adjusted association between 'shift work without night shifts' and leisure-time fatigue was lower for self-reported compared with objective assessment (1.30, 95% CI 0.94 to 1.82, n=1707 vs 1.89, 95% CI 1.06 to 3.39, n=1627). In contrast, shift work with night shifts, compared with permanent day work, was similarly associated with fatigue in the two assessments (2.04, 95% CI 1.62 to 2.57, n=2311 vs 1.82, 95% CI 1.28 to 2.58, n=1804). The validity of self-reported assessment of shift work varies between work schedules. Exposure misclassification in self-reported data may contribute to bias towards the null in shift work without night shifts. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

  12. 5 CFR 532.505 - Night shift differentials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Night shift differentials. 532.505... PREVAILING RATE SYSTEMS Premium Pay and Differentials § 532.505 Night shift differentials. (a) Employees shall be entitled to receive night shift differentials in accordance with section 5343 of title 5...

  13. Shifting Cultivation : Promoting Innovative Policy and Development ...

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

    Shifting Cultivation : Promoting Innovative Policy and Development Options in the Eastern Himalayas. Shifting ... pressure and market forces. The idea is to share good policies and practices related to shifting cultivation and alternative options through regional exchange. ... Les chaînes de valeur comme leviers stratégiques.

  14. Paradigm Shifts in Ophthalmic Diagnostics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sebag, J; Sadun, Alfredo A; Pierce, Eric A

    2016-08-01

    Future advances in ophthalmology will see a paradigm shift in diagnostics from a focus on dysfunction and disease to better measures of psychophysical function and health. Practical methods to define genotypes will be increasingly important and non-invasive nanotechnologies are needed to detect molecular changes that predate histopathology. This is not a review nor meant to be comprehensive. Specific topics have been selected to illustrate the principles of important paradigm shifts that will influence the future of ophthalmic diagnostics. It is our impression that future evaluation of vision will go beyond visual acuity to assess ocular health in terms of psychophysical function. The definition of disease will incorporate genotype into what has historically been a phenotype-centric discipline. Non-invasive nanotechnologies will enable a paradigm shift from disease detection on a cellular level to a sub-cellular molecular level. Vision can be evaluated beyond visual acuity by measuring contrast sensitivity, color vision, and macular function, as these provide better insights into the impact of aging and disease. Distortions can be quantified and the psychophysical basis of vision can be better evaluated than in the past by designing tests that assess particular macular cell function(s). Advances in our understanding of the genetic basis of eye diseases will enable better characterization of ocular health and disease. Non-invasive nanotechnologies can assess molecular changes in the lens, vitreous, and macula that predate visible pathology. Oxygen metabolism and circulatory physiology are measurable indices of ocular health that can detect variations of physiology and early disease. This overview of paradigm shifts in ophthalmology suggests that the future will see significant improvements in ophthalmic diagnostics. The selected topics illustrate the principles of these paradigm shifts and should serve as a guide to further research and development. Indeed

  15. Solvent Effects on Oxygen-17 Chemical Shifts in Amides. Quantitative Linear Solvation Shift Relationships

    Science.gov (United States)

    Díez, Ernesto; Fabián, Jesús San; Gerothanassis, Ioannis P.; Esteban, Angel L.; Abboud, José-Luis M.; Contreras, Ruben H.; de Kowalewski, Dora G.

    1997-01-01

    A multiple-linear-regression analysis (MLRA) has been carried out using the Kamlet-Abboud-Taft (KAT) solvatochromic parameters in order to elucidate and quantify the solvent effects on the17O chemical shifts ofN-methylformamide (NMF),N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF),N-methylacetamide (NMA), andN,N-dimethylacetamide (DMA). The chemical shifts of the four molecules show the same dependence (in ppm) on the solvent polarity-polarizability, i.e., -22π*. The influence of the solvent hydrogen-bond-donor (HBD) acidities is slightly larger for the acetamides NMA and DMA, i.e., -48α, than for the formamides NMF and DMF, i.e., -42α. The influence of the solvent hydrogen-bond-acceptor (HBA) basicities is negligible for the nonprotic molecules DMF and DMA but significant for the protic molecules NMF and NMA, i.e., -9β. The effect of substituting the N-H hydrogen by a methyl group amounts to -5.9 ppm in NMF and 5.4 ppm in NMA. The effect of substituting the O=C-H hydrogen amounts to 5.5 ppm in NMF and 16.8 ppm in DMF. The model of specific hydration sites of amides by I. P. Gerothanassis and C. Vakka [J. Org. Chem.59,2341 (1994)] is settled in a more quantitative basis and the model by M. I. Burgar, T. E. St. Amour, and D. Fiat [J. Phys. Chem.85,502 (1981)] is critically evaluated.17O hydration shifts have been calculated for formamide (FOR) by the ab initio LORG method at the 6-31G* level. For a formamide surrounded by the four in-plane molecules of water in the first hydration shell, the calculated17O shift change due to the four hydrogen bonds, -83.2 ppm, is smaller than the empirical hydration shift, -100 ppm. The17O shift change from each out-of-plane water molecule hydrogen-bonded to the amide oxygen is -18.0 ppm. These LORG results support the conclusion that no more than four water molecules are hydrogen-bonded to the amide oxygen in formamide.

  16. Identifying Patterns of Participant Shifts in the Psalms

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Erwich, C.M.

    2017-01-01

    A great challenge of reading the Hebrew poetry of the Psalms is the identification of participants. The major cause of this problem is a continual shift in person, gender and number (so-called PGN-shifts, or participant shifts) in the text. To account for these PGN-shifts, scholars have always used

  17. The Relationship Between Shift Work and Men's Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Nanfu; Kohn, Taylor P; Lipshultz, Larry I; Pastuszak, Alexander W

    2018-01-19

    More than 21 million Americans and nearly 20% of the U.S. workforce are shift workers. Non-standard shift work, defined as work that falls outside of 6 am-6 pm, can lead to poor diet, exercise, and sleep habits that lead to decreased productivity, increased workplace accidents, and a variety of negative health outcomes. To investigate the associations between shift work exposure and chronic medical conditions such as metabolic syndromes, cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal disturbances, and depression as well as urologic complications including hypogonadism, male infertility, lower urinary tract symptoms, and prostate cancer with a focus on the effects of shift work sleep disorder (SWSD) on the severity of these negative health outcomes. We reviewed the literature examining effects of shift work and SWSD on general and urologic health. We produced a summary of effects of shift work on health with focus on the increased risk of negative health outcomes in non-standard shift workers, particularly those with SWSD, when compared to daytime workers or workers without SWSD. Studies have associated non-standard shift work schedules and poor health outcomes, including increased risks of diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, hypertension, heart disease, peptic ulcer disease, and depression, in shift workers. However, few studies have focused on the role that shift work plays in men's urologic health. Current evidence supports associations between non-standard shift work and increased hypogonadal symptoms, poor semen parameters, decreased fertility, lower urinary tract symptoms, and prostate cancer. These associations are strengthened by the presence of SWSD, which affects up to 20% of shift workers. Unfortunately, interventions, such as planned naps, timed light exposure, melatonin, and sedative hypnotics, aimed at alleviating excessive nighttime sleepiness and daytime insomnia in non-standard shift workers experiencing SWSD, are limited and lack strong evidence to support

  18. Centro de Solidariedade de Braga

    OpenAIRE

    Barros, Joaquim A. O.; Gouveia, A. Ventura

    2004-01-01

    O presente trabalho descreve os procedimentos que mais interessam do ponto de vista do dimensionamento estrutural de um edifício constituído por estruturas laminares, algumas delas de dimensão e geometria invulgar. A elevada complexidade estrutural de alguns dos módulos que constituem a estrutura exigiu a utilização de sofisticados modelos de cálculo, alguns deles desenvolvidos para o efeito.

  19. Shift-Variant Multidimensional Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1985-05-29

    x,y;u,v) is the system response at (x,y) to an unit impulse applied at (u,v). The presence of additive noise in the preceding input-output model of a...space model developed works very effi- ciently to deblur images affected by 2-D linear shift- varying blurs, its use, in presence of noise needs to be...causal linear shift-variant (LSV) system, whose impulse res- ponse is a K-th order degenerate sequence, a K-th order state-space model was obtained

  20. [Sleep disorders among physicians on shift work].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schlafer, O; Wenzel, V; Högl, B

    2014-11-01

    Sleep disorders in physicians who perform shift work can result in increased risks of health problems that negatively impact performance and patient safety. Even those who cope well with shift work are likely to suffer from sleep disorders. The aim of this manuscript is to discuss possible causes, contributing factors and consequences of sleep disorders in physicians and to identify measures that can improve adaptation to shift work and treatment strategies for shift work-associated sleep disorders. The risk factors that influence the development of sleep disorders in physicians are numerous and include genetic factors (15 % of the population), age (> 50 years), undiagnosed sleep apnea,, alcohol abuse as well as multiple stress factors inherent in clinical duties (including shift work), research, teaching and family obligations. Several studies have reported an increased risk for medical errors in sleep-deprived physicians. Shift workers have an increased risk for psychiatric and cardiovascular diseases and shift work may also be a contributing factor to cancer. A relationship has been reported not only with sleep deprivation and changes in food intake but also with diabetes mellitus, obesity, hypertension and coronary heart disease. Nicotine and alcohol consumption are more frequent among shift workers. Increased sickness and accident rates among physicians when commuting (especially after night shifts) have a socioeconomic impact. In order to reduce fatigue and to improve performance, short naps during shiftwork or naps plus caffeine, have been proposed as coping strategies; however, napping during adverse circadian phases is less effective, if not impossible when unable to fall asleep. Bright and blue light supports alertness during a night shift. After shiftwork, direct sunlight exposure to the retina can be avoided by using dark sunglasses or glasses with orange lenses for commuting home. The home environment for daytime sleeping after a night shift should be

  1. Frequency-shift vs phase-shift characterization of in-liquid quartz crystal microbalance applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Montagut, Y. J.; Garcia, J. V.; Jimenez, Y.; Arnau, A.; March, C.; Montoya, A.

    2011-01-01

    The improvement of sensitivity in quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) applications has been addressed in the last decades by increasing the sensor fundamental frequency, following the increment of the frequency/mass sensitivity with the square of frequency predicted by Sauerbrey. However, this sensitivity improvement has not been completely transferred in terms of resolution. The decrease of frequency stability due to the increase of the phase noise, particularly in oscillators, made impossible to reach the expected resolution. A new concept of sensor characterization at constant frequency has been recently proposed. The validation of the new concept is presented in this work. An immunosensor application for the detection of a low molecular weight contaminant, the insecticide carbaryl, has been chosen for the validation. An, in principle, improved version of a balanced-bridge oscillator is validated for its use in liquids, and applied for the frequency shift characterization of the QCM immunosensor application. The classical frequency shift characterization is compared with the new phase-shift characterization concept and system proposed.

  2. Does workplace health promotion reach shift workers?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nabe-Nielsen, Kirsten; Garde, Anne Helene; Clausen, Thomas

    2015-01-01

    OBJECTIVES: One reason for health disparities between shift and day workers may be that workplace health promotion does not reach shift workers to the same extent as it reaches day workers. This study aimed to investigate the association between shift work and the availability of and participation...... in workplace health promotion. METHODS: We used cross-sectional questionnaire data from a large representative sample of all employed people in Denmark. We obtained information on the availability of and participation in six types of workplace health promotion. We also obtained information on working hours, ie......). RESULTS: In the general working population, fixed evening and fixed night workers, and employees working variable shifts including night work reported a higher availability of health promotion, while employees working variable shifts without night work reported a lower availability of health promotion...

  3. Lung function studies before and after a work shift

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Love, R G

    1983-05-01

    The lung function of 23 underground coal workers and eight surface workers at a Scottish colliery was measured immediately before and after a work shift. Changes in lung function were assessed in relation to the measured respirable dust exposure and the time of day in which the shift was worked. Large, and statistically significant, decrements of lung function during the shift were found in night-shift workers compared with workers on other shifts. Measurements derived from the forced expiratory manoeuvre, particularly FEV1, Vmax50, and Vmax25, after three vital capacity breaths of an 80% He/20% O2 mixture, showed large reductions in night-shift men, smaller reductions in afternoon-shift men, and small increases or decreases in morning-shift underground and surface workers. Within-shift changes for other tests, such as closing volume, N2 index, and volume of isoflow, did not differ significantly between shifts. No significant relationship was found between dust exposure and functional changes during a shift for any test. Lung function changes in a control group of 25 female workers not exposed to dust (hospital nurses) did not show the same large variations between day and night shifts. Examination of a further control group of 16 office workers did not show any difference in diurnal changes between smokers and non-smokers. It is concluded that these coal miners, even on permanent shift patterns, had widely different changes in their lung function cycle depending on which shift they were working. These changes did not appear to be related to dust exposure or cigarette smoking and were not consistent with other biological adaptations known to result from regular night-shift working.

  4. Health consequences of shift work and insufficient sleep.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kecklund, Göran; Axelsson, John

    2016-11-01

    This review summarises the literature on shift work and its relation to insufficient sleep, chronic diseases, and accidents. It is based on 38 meta-analyses and 24 systematic reviews, with additional narrative reviews and articles used for outlining possible mechanisms by which shift work may cause accidents and adverse health. Evidence shows that the effect of shift work on sleep mainly concerns acute sleep loss in connection with night shifts and early morning shifts. A link also exists between shift work and accidents, type 2 diabetes (relative risk range 1.09-1.40), weight gain, coronary heart disease (relative risk 1.23), stroke (relative risk 1.05), and cancer (relative risk range 1.01-1.32), although the original studies showed mixed results. The relations of shift work to cardiometabolic diseases and accidents mimic those with insufficient sleep. Laboratory studies indicate that cardiometabolic stress and cognitive impairments are increased by shift work, as well as by sleep loss. Given that the health and safety consequences of shift work and insufficient sleep are very similar, they are likely to share common mechanisms. However, additional research is needed to determine whether insufficient sleep is a causal pathway for the adverse health effects associated with shift work. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  5. Espectroscopia Mössbauer e refinamento estrutural no sistema cerâmico isomórfico (alfa-Fe2O3-(alfa-Al2O 3 Mössbauer spectroscopy and structural refinement in the isomorphic (alpha-Fe2O3-( alpha-Al2O3 ceramic system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. A. Moreto

    2007-06-01

    Full Text Available Os multiferróicos são materiais em que duas ou três propriedades tais como ferroeletricidade, ferromagnetismo e ferroelasticidade são observadas em uma mesma fase. Em particular, os multiferróicos magnetoelétricos representam os materiais que são simultaneamente (antiferromagnéticos e ferroelétricos, com ou sem ferroelasticidade. Especificamente, o sistema hematita (alfa-Fe2O3-alumina (alfa-Al2O3 tem sido estudado, principalmente devido às suas potencialidades para aplicações em metalurgia e como catalisador na síntese de amônia. Contudo, compostos deste sistema também podem apresentar efeitos magnetoelétricos. Neste trabalho um estudo estrutural do composto (alfa-Fe2O30,25(alfa-Al2O 30,75 submetido à moagem em altas energias e tratamento térmico pós-moagem é apresentado. As amostras foram caracterizadas por difração de raios X, refinamento estrutural Rietveld e espectroscopia Mössbauer. A determinação e identificação das fases cristalográficas, parâmetros de rede e volume de celas unitárias nas amostras moída e tratada termicamente permitiu verificar as mudanças dos parâmetros, a formação de espinélios e possíveis deformações relativas advindas do processo de moagem em altas energias.Multiferroics are materials in which two or all three of the properties, ferroelectricity, ferromagnetism, and ferroelasticity occur in the same phase. In particular, multiferroic magnetoelectrics represent the materials that are simultaneously ferromagnetic and ferroelectric, with or without ferroelasticity. Specifically, the hematite (alpha-Fe2O3-alumina (alpha-Al2O3 system has been studied, mainly due to its potential applications in metallurgy and as catalyst of ammonia synthesis. However, compounds of this system also may present magnetoelectric effects. In this work, a structural study of the high-energy ball milled and annealed (alpha-Fe2O3 0.25(alpha-Al2O30.75 compound was carefully conducted. The samples were

  6. Work shifts in Emergency Medicine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roberto Recupero

    2007-06-01

    Full Text Available Emergency Medicine is known as a high stress specialty. The adverse effect of constantly rotating shifts is the single most important reason given for premature attrition from the field. In this work problems tied with night shift work will be taken into account and some solutions to reduce the impact of night work on the emergency physicians will be proposed.

  7. Glucose metabolism during rotational shift-work in healthcare workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, Anu; Laurenti, Marcello C; Dalla Man, Chiara; Varghese, Ron T; Cobelli, Claudio; Rizza, Robert A; Matveyenko, Aleksey; Vella, Adrian

    2017-08-01

    Shift-work is associated with circadian rhythm disruption and an increased risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes. We sought to determine the effect of rotational shift-work on glucose metabolism in humans. We studied 12 otherwise healthy nurses performing rotational shift-work using a randomised crossover study design. On each occasion, participants underwent an isotope-labelled mixed meal test during a simulated day shift and a simulated night shift, enabling simultaneous measurement of glucose flux and beta cell function using the oral minimal model. We sought to determine differences in fasting and postprandial glucose metabolism during the day shift vs the night shift. Postprandial glycaemic excursion was higher during the night shift (381±33 vs 580±48 mmol/l per 5 h, pshift. While insulin action did not differ between study days, the beta cell responsivity to glucose (59±5 vs 44±4 × 10 -9  min -1 ; pshift. Impaired beta cell function during the night shift may result from normal circadian variation, the effect of rotational shift-work or a combination of both. As a consequence, higher postprandial glucose concentrations are observed during the night shift.

  8. Market shifting

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Forst, Michael

    2013-11-01

    After years of oversupply and artificially low module pricing, market analysts believe that the solar industry will begin to stabilize by 2017. While the market activities are shifting from Europe to the Asia Pacific region and the United States, the solar shakeout continues to be in full swing including solar cell and module manufacturing. (orig.)

  9. Tough Shift

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brewer, Robert S.; Verdezoto, Nervo; Holst, Thomas

    2015-01-01

    people to change their behavior at home. Leveraging prior research on encouraging reductions in residential energy use through game play, we introduce ShareBuddy: a casual mobile game intended to encourage players not only to reduce, but also to shift their electricity use. We conducted two field studies...... real-world resource use into a game....

  10. Lateral shifting in one dimensional chiral photonic crystal

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    You Yuan, E-mail: yctcyouyuan@163.com [School of Physics and Electronics, Yancheng Teachers University, Yancheng, 224002 Jiangsu (China); Chen Changyuan [School of Physics and Electronics, Yancheng Teachers University, Yancheng, 224002 Jiangsu (China)

    2012-07-01

    We report the lateral shifts of the transmitted waves in a one dimensional chiral photonic crystal by using the stationary-phase approach. It is revealed that two kinds of lateral shifts are observed due to the existence of cross coupling in chiral materials, which is different from what has been observed in previous non-chiral photonic crystals. Unlike the chiral slab, the positions of lateral shift peaks are closely related to the band edges of band gap characteristics of periodic structure and lateral shifts can be positive as well as negative. Besides, the lateral shifts show a strong dependence on the chiral factor, which varies the lateral shift peaks in both magnitudes and positions. These features are desirable for future device applications.

  11. Lateral shifting in one dimensional chiral photonic crystal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    You Yuan; Chen Changyuan

    2012-01-01

    We report the lateral shifts of the transmitted waves in a one dimensional chiral photonic crystal by using the stationary-phase approach. It is revealed that two kinds of lateral shifts are observed due to the existence of cross coupling in chiral materials, which is different from what has been observed in previous non-chiral photonic crystals. Unlike the chiral slab, the positions of lateral shift peaks are closely related to the band edges of band gap characteristics of periodic structure and lateral shifts can be positive as well as negative. Besides, the lateral shifts show a strong dependence on the chiral factor, which varies the lateral shift peaks in both magnitudes and positions. These features are desirable for future device applications.

  12. Choice Shift in Opinion Network Dynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gabbay, Michael

    Choice shift is a phenomenon associated with small group dynamics whereby group discussion causes group members to shift their opinions in a more extreme direction so that the mean post-discussion opinion exceeds the mean pre-discussion opinion. Also known as group polarization, choice shift is a robust experimental phenomenon and has been well-studied within social psychology. In opinion network models, shifts toward extremism are typically produced by the presence of stubborn agents at the extremes of the opinion axis, whose opinions are much more resistant to change than moderate agents. However, we present a model in which choice shift can arise without the assumption of stubborn agents; the model evolves member opinions and uncertainties using coupled nonlinear differential equations. In addition, we briefly describe the results of a recent experiment conducted involving online group discussion concerning the outcome of National Football League games are described. The model predictions concerning the effects of network structure, disagreement level, and team choice (favorite or underdog) are in accord with the experimental results. This research was funded by the Office of Naval Research and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.

  13. Rapid Hydrogen Shift Reactions in Acyl Peroxy Radicals

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Knap, Hasse Christian; Jørgensen, Solvejg

    2017-01-01

    -shift with X = 6, 7, 8, or 9) in the hydroperoxy acyl peroxy radicals, this H-shift is a reversible reaction and it scrambles between two peroxides, hydroperoxy acyl peroxy and peroxy peroxoic acid radicals. The forward reaction rate constants of the 1,X-OOH H-shift reactions are estimated to be above 103 s–1...... with transition state theory corrected with Eckart quantum tunnelling correction. The ratio between the forward and reverse reaction rate constant of the 1,X-OOH H-shift reactions is around ∼105. Therefore, the equilibrium is pushed toward the production of peroxy peroxoic acid radicals. These very fast 1,X-OOH H......We have used quantum mechanical chemical calculations (CCSD(T)-F12a/cc-pVDZ-F12//M06-2X/aug-cc-pVTZ) to investigate the hydrogen shift (H-shift) reactions in acyl peroxy and hydroperoxy acyl peroxy radicals. We have focused on the H-shift reactions from a hydroperoxy group (OOH) (1,X-OOH H...

  14. A infância enquanto categoria estrutural Childhood as a structural form

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jens Qvortrup

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available Nos países do hemisfério norte, um dos símbolos da consolidação de uma área de conhecimento é a publicação de um handbook - em português, manual ou compêndio - cujos capítulos apresentam um breve estado da arte de seus respectivos temas. Em 2009, The Palgrave Handbook of Childhood Studies foi publicado, indicando o reconhecimento da área dos estudos da infância. Sabe-se que as crianças foram principalmente investigadas pela psicologia ou pela pedagogia e que as ciências sociais pouco produziram sobre elas, priorizando estudos sobre a família ou sobre a escola. Há pouco mais de vinte anos, entretanto, começaram a tornar-se o foco dos estudos sociais da infância, que a tomaram como um fenômeno social. Nesse sentido, foi definido um campo que investiga as crianças como agentes sociais, produtoras de culturas, e a infância como categoria na estrutura social, o que ampliou de modo significativo a produção de conhecimento sobre as relações sociais estabelecidas entre as próprias crianças (seus pares e com os adultos (relações intra e intergeracionais, sobre suas competências como protagonistas de suas vidas, como agentes sociais cuja ação modifica/transforma os mundos sociais nos quais estão inseridas. O texto do Prof. Jens Qvortrup, responsável pela constituição do primeiro grupo de pesquisa no campo da sociologia da infância (RC53 na Associação Internacional de Sociologia (ISA, e um dos organizadores do Handbook, trata da infância como estrutura social. Publicado como primeiro capítulo do The Palgrave Handbook of Childhood Studies, o trabalho apresenta a infância como segmento na estrutura social e as aplicações de uma perspectiva estrutural, ou seja, inserido nos fundamentos teóricos dos estudos da infância, o capítulo define uma abordagem que difere tanto de pesquisas sobre socialização quanto de estudos sobre desenvolvimento infantil, oferecendo elementos para a realização de pesquisas que

  15. Giant Lamb shift in photonic crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Xuehua; Kivshar, Yuri S.; Gu Benyuan

    2004-01-01

    We obtain a general result for the Lamb shift of excited states of multilevel atoms in inhomogeneous electromagnetic structures and apply it to study atomic hydrogen in inverse-opal photonic crystals. We find that the photonic-crystal environment can lead to very large values of the Lamb shift, as compared to the case of vacuum. We also suggest that the position-dependent Lamb shift should extend from a single level to a miniband for an assembly of atoms with random distribution in space, similar to the velocity-dependent Doppler effect in atomic/molecular gases

  16. Origins of Stokes shift in PbS nanocrystals

    KAUST Repository

    Voznyy, Oleksandr

    2017-10-27

    Stokes shift, an energy difference between the excitonic absorption and emission, is a property of colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) typically ascribed to splitting between dark and bright excitons. In some materials, e.g., PbS, CuInS2, CdHgTe, a Stokes shift of up to 200 meV is observed, substantially larger than the estimates of dark-bright state splitting or vibronic relaxations. The shift origin remains highly debated, as contradictory signatures of both surface and bulk character were reported for the Stokes-shifted electronic state. Here we show that the energy transfer among CQDs in a polydispersed ensemble in solution suffices to explain the excess Stokes shift. This energy transfer is primarily due to CQD aggregation, and can be substantially eliminated by extreme dilution, higher-viscosity solvent, or better-dispersed colloids. Our findings highlight that ensemble polydispersity remains the primary source of the Stokes shift in CQDs in solution, propagating into the Stokes shift in films and the open-circuit voltage deficit in CQD solar cells. Improved synthetic control can bring notable advancements in CQD photovoltaics, and the Stokes shift continues to provide a sensitive and significant metric to monitor ensemble size distribution.

  17. The androgen receptor malignancy shift in prostate cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Copeland, Ben T; Pal, Sumanta K; Bolton, Eric C; Jones, Jeremy O

    2018-05-01

    Androgens and the androgen receptor (AR) are necessary for the development, function, and homeostatic growth regulation of the prostate gland. However, once prostate cells are transformed, the AR is necessary for the proliferation and survival of the malignant cells. This change in AR function appears to occur in nearly every prostate cancer. We have termed this the AR malignancy shift. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of the AR malignancy shift, including the DNA-binding patterns that define the shift, the transcriptome changes associated with the shift, the putative drivers of the shift, and its clinical implications. In benign prostate epithelial cells, the AR primarily binds consensus AR binding sites. In carcinoma cells, the AR cistrome is dramatically altered, as the AR associates with FOXA1 and HOXB13 motifs, among others. This shift leads to the transcription of genes associated with a malignant phenotype. In model systems, some mutations commonly found in localized prostate cancer can alter the AR cistrome, consistent with the AR malignancy shift. Current evidence suggests that the AR malignancy shift is necessary but not sufficient for transformation of prostate epithelial cells. Reinterpretation of prostate cancer genomic classification systems in light of the AR malignancy shift may improve our ability to predict clinical outcomes and treat patients appropriately. Identifying and targeting the molecular factors that contribute to the AR malignancy shift is not trivial but by doing so, we may be able to develop new strategies for the treatment or prevention of prostate cancer. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  18. Shift work disorder, depression, and anxiety in the transition to rotating shifts: the role of sleep reactivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalmbach, David A; Pillai, Vivek; Cheng, Philip; Arnedt, J Todd; Drake, Christopher L

    2015-12-01

    The aim of this study is to investigate premorbid sleep reactivity as a vulnerability to incident shift work disorder (SWD), and related changes in depression as well as anxiety following a transition to a rotating shifts work schedule. This is a longitudinal study with two waves of data collection. The community-based sample included normal sleeping non-shift workers (N = 96; 62.5% female; 47.9 ± 13.3 years) without a lifetime history of insomnia or baseline excessive daytime sleepiness who transitioned to rotating shift work one year later. Participants reported demographic characteristics, trait sleep reactivity on the Ford Insomnia Response to Stress Test, depression symptoms on the Quick Inventory of Depression Symptomatology, and anxiety symptoms on the Beck Anxiety Inventory. SWD was determined based on significant sleep disturbance and/or excessive sleepiness in the context of working in a rotating-shift schedule. Analyses revealed that the odds were over five times greater for highly sleep-reactive individuals to develop SWD after transitioning to rotating shifts (OR = 5.59, p = 0.04). Nearly 90% of participants who suffered from SWD were accurately identified as high risk at one year before disease onset. Furthermore, individuals who developed SWD reported greater increases in symptoms of depression and anxiety. Finally, analyses revealed significant indirect effects wherein high sleep reactivity increased risk for SWD, which led to greater severity of anxiety and depression symptoms. The Ford Insomnia Response to Stress Test (FIRST) accurately identifies a focused target population in which the premorbid psychobiological processes complicit in SWD onset and progression, as well as shift work-related depression and anxiety changes, can be better investigated, thus improving future preventative efforts. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Lamb shift of Rydberg atoms in a resonator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Belov, A.A.; Lozovik, Yu.E.; Pokrovsky, V.L.

    1988-08-01

    The Lamb shift of a Rydberg atom in a cavity is shown to be enhanced with the resonance interaction of a virtual atomic transition and cavity modes. The dependence of the Lamb shift on quantum numbers and atomic number changes drastically. Shifting cavity walls and scanning the atomic beam one can vary the Lamb shift. The value of the Lamb shift in a cavity may exceed a typical magnitude of the fine structure energy. For a rough resonance tuning the Coulumb multiplet occurs to be strongly mixed and a novel classification is necessary. (author). 8 refs, 2 figs

  20. The calculation of proton chemical shifts in hydrocarbons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abraham, Raymond J [Liverpool Univ. (United Kingdom). Dept. of Chemistry

    1994-12-31

    Novel extension of the CHARGE3 semi-empirical calculation of the partial atomic charges in molecules are described which allow the accurate calculation of the proton chemical shifts of a variety of acyclic alkanes. This simple scheme predicts the proton chemical shifts of all the simple alkanes, cyclohexane and methyl cyclohexanes, norbornane, trans-decalin and trans perhydrophenanthrene, comprising a range of chemical shifts from 0.3 to 2.2 {delta} with the known substituent chemical shifts of other functional groups this could allow the general prediction of proton chemical shifts in a simple and useful format. (author) 13 refs., 2 figs.

  1. Does the ARFIMA really shift?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Monache, Davide Delle; Grassi, Stefano; Santucci de Magistris, Paolo

    Short memory models contaminated by level shifts have long-memory features similar to those associated to processes generated under fractional integration. In this paper, we propose a robust testing procedure, based on an encompassing parametric specification, that allows to disentangle the level...... the highest power compared to other existing tests for spurious long-memory. Finally, we illustrate the usefulness of the proposed approach on the daily series of bipower variation and share turnover and on the monthly inflation series of G7 countries....... shift term from the ARFIMA component. The estimation is carried out via a state-space methodology and it leads to a robust estimate of the fractional integration parameter also in presence of level shifts.The Monte Carlo simulations show that this approach produces unbiased estimates of the fractional...

  2. Jogo livre: analogias em torno das 17 regras do futebol

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luiz Henrique de Toledo

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available O tema central desse ensaio é a análise das regras do futebol à luz de algumas teorias sociais que subsidiam, explícita ou implicitamente, inúmeras abordagens sobre o fenômeno esportivo. Manipulando o sumário do livro de regras, e impondo três deslocamentos conceituais de inspiração estruturalista, estrutural funcionalista e configuracional, respectivamente, os argumentos aqui desenvolvidos procuram recolocar o núcleo mais infra-estrutural do futebol, concebido no conjunto de suas regras, e que está na base do entendimento do futebol como um esporte moderno, dentro de um movimento comparativo mais amplo, fundamental para a consolidação de uma proposta de antropologia do esporte.The central topic of this essay is the analysis of football (soccer rules in the light of social theories which, implicitly or explicitly, subsidize several approaches of the phenomenon of sports. By handling the summary of the rule book and setting three conceptual shifts of structuralist, funcional-structuralist and configurational inspiration, respectively, the reasoning developed here aims to relocate the infra-structural nucleus of football (soccer conceived from the perspective of the whole set of its rules and which is at the basis of an understanding of football (soccer as a modern sport, in a larger comparative movement which is fundamental to the consolidation of a proposal of an anthropology of sports.

  3. Differences in cortisol profiles and circadian adjustment time between nurses working night shifts and regular day shifts: A prospective longitudinal study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niu, Shu-Fen; Chung, Min-Huey; Chu, Hsin; Tsai, Jui-Chen; Lin, Chun-Chieh; Liao, Yuan-Mei; Ou, Keng-Liang; O'Brien, Anthony Paul; Chou, Kuei-Ru

    2015-07-01

    This study explored the differences in the circadian salivary cortisol profiles between nurses working night shifts and regular day shifts following a slow rotating shift schedule to assess the number of days required for adjusting the circadian rhythm of salivary cortisol levels in nurses working consecutive night shifts and the number of days off required to restore the diurnal circadian rhythm of salivary cortisol levels. This was a prospective, longitudinal, parallel-group comparative study. The participants were randomly assigned to night and day-shift groups, and saliva samples were collected to measure their cortisol levels and circadian secretion patterns. Significant differences were observed in the overall salivary cortisol pattern parameters (cortisol awakening response, changes in cortisol profiles between 6 and 12h after awakening, and changes in cortisol profiles between 30 min and 12 h after awakening) from Days 2 to 4 of the workdays between both groups. However, on Day 2 of the days off, both groups exhibited similar cortisol profiles and the cortisol profiles in the night-shift group were restored. Nurses working night shifts require at least 4 days to adjust their circadian rhythms of cortisol secretions. Moreover, on changing from night shift to other shifts, nurses must be allowed more than 2 days off work. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Isotope shift studies in gadolinium spectra

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahmad, S.A.; Saksena, G.D.; Venugopalan, A.

    1976-01-01

    Isotope shift studies have been carried out in the gadolinium spectrum using a recording Fabry-Perot spectrometer and gadolinium samples enriched in 156 Gd and 160 Gd isotopes. Isotope shifts Δsigma(156-160) have been recorded in 134 lines in the region 3930-4140 A. Some of these lines involve the recently identified even configuration 4f 8 5d6s of Gd I and the newly classified transition 4f 8 6s-4f 8 6p of Gd II. From the isotope shift measurements of lines involving the 4f 8 6s-4f 8 6p transition in Gd II, the isotope shift, ΔT(156-160)=87 mK, has been obtained for the 4f 8 6s configuration. Electronic configurations have been suggested for a number of energy levels and configuration mixing has been pointed out in certain cases. (Auth.)

  5. Association between exposure to rotating night shift versus day shift using levels of 6-sulfatoxymelatonin and cortisol and other sex hormones in women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gómez-Acebo, Inés; Dierssen-Sotos, Trinidad; Papantoniou, Kyriaki; García-Unzueta, María Teresa; Santos-Benito, María Francisca; Llorca, Javier

    2015-02-01

    The present study aims to compare 6-sulfatoxymelatonin (aMT6s) secretion patterns and levels of cortisol and sex hormones (estradiol, progesterone, DHEA, DHEAS, and testosterone) among rotating night-shift workers and day-shift workers. We performed a cross-sectional study in Cantabria (northern Spain) including 136 women (73 day-shift workers and 63 rotating night-shift workers). Blood and urine samples were obtained after two consecutive working days. Differences in means were estimated using ANCOVA, stratified by menopausal status, ovulation phase, and adjusted for season, age, body mass index, consumption of cigarettes in the last 24 h. aMT6s circadian rhythm was analyzed using the cosinor analysis. The present study showed that rotating night-shift workers had lower excretion of aMT6s than day-shift workers (mesor = 50.26 ng aMT6s/mg creatinine in women with rotating night shift versus 88.79 ng aMT6s/mg creatinine in women with day shift), lower fluctuation (amplitude = 45.24 ng aMT6s/mg creatinine in rotating night-shift workers versus 79.71 ng aMT6s/mg creatinine in day-shift workers), and a later acrophase (aMT6s peak time: 08:31 in rotating night-shift workers versus 07:13 h in day-shift workers). Additionally, women with rotating night shift had higher estradiol and progesterone levels, compared to day workers, especially in the follicular phase on the menstrual cycle.

  6. Validation of archived chemical shifts through atomic coordinates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rieping, Wolfgang; Vranken, Wim F

    2010-01-01

    The public archives containing protein information in the form of NMR chemical shift data at the BioMagResBank (BMRB) and of 3D structure coordinates at the Protein Data Bank are continuously expanding. The quality of the data contained in these archives, however, varies. The main issue for chemical shift values is that they are determined relative to a reference frequency. When this reference frequency is set incorrectly, all related chemical shift values are systematically offset. Such wrongly referenced chemical shift values, as well as other problems such as chemical shift values that are assigned to the wrong atom, are not easily distinguished from correct values and effectively reduce the usefulness of the archive. We describe a new method to correct and validate protein chemical shift values in relation to their 3D structure coordinates. This method classifies atoms using two parameters: the per-atom solvent accessible surface area (as calculated from the coordinates) and the secondary structure of the parent amino acid. Through the use of Gaussian statistics based on a large database of 3220 BMRB entries, we obtain per-entry chemical shift corrections as well as Z scores for the individual chemical shift values. In addition, information on the error of the correction value itself is available, and the method can retain only dependable correction values. We provide an online resource with chemical shift, atom exposure, and secondary structure information for all relevant BMRB entries (http://www.ebi.ac.uk/pdbe/nmr/vasco) and hope this data will aid the development of new chemical shift-based methods in NMR. Proteins 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. PMID:20602353

  7. Nurse perceptions of workplace environment: differences across shifts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teclaw, Robert; Osatuke, Katerine

    2015-11-01

    To evaluate whether nurse work shift affected workplace perceptions. Although the importance of work schedule in shaping work attitudes, generally (and specifically for nurses) is well accepted, much work remains in characterising how and why nurses' perceptions might differ across shifts. Using an exploratory study of observational data, we examined whether shift influenced non-supervisory nurses' job perceptions in the Veterans Health Administration All Employee Survey (n = 14057; years 2008, 2010, 2012). The size of differences in item means (95% C.I.) across shifts was evaluated graphically. Using ordinal logistic regression, we accounted for the ordinal outcome variables and controlled for the demographic and survey year effects. Nurses' perceptions of workplace climate differed across shifts. Items with the greatest differences, consistent across years and analytic methods, involved supervisors and fairness. Night and weekend shift nurse ratings were more negative than for weekday shift nurses. Off-shift nurses are less satisfied with work/life balance, their supervisors and especially fairness. Overall satisfaction and turnover intention are not affected to the same extent. These results indicate several specific areas that nurse managers can address through workforce support and communication. Published 2014. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

  8. Soft theorems for shift-symmetric cosmologies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Finelli, Bernardo; Goon, Garrett; Pajer, Enrico; Santoni, Luca

    2018-03-01

    We derive soft theorems for single-clock cosmologies that enjoy a shift symmetry. These so-called consistency conditions arise from a combination of a large diffeomorphism and the internal shift symmetry and fix the squeezed limit of all correlators with a soft scalar mode. As an application, we show that our results reproduce the squeezed bispectrum for ultra-slow-roll inflation, a particular shift-symmetric, nonattractor model which is known to violate Maldacena's consistency relation. Similar results have been previously obtained by Mooij and Palma using background-wave methods. Our results shed new light on the infrared structure of single-clock cosmological spacetimes.

  9. Anthropometric changes and fluid shifts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thornton, W. E.; Hoffler, G. W.; Rummel, J. A.

    1974-01-01

    Several observations of body size, shape, posture, and configuration were made to document changes resulting from direct effects of weightlessness during the Skylab 4 mission. After the crewmen were placed in orbit, a number of anatomical and anthropometric changes occurred including a straightening of the thoracolumbar spine, a general decrease in truncal girth, and an increase in height. By the time of the earliest in-flight measurement on mission day 3, all crewmen had lost more than two liters of extravascular fluid from the calf and thigh. The puffy facies, the bird legs effect, the engorgement of upper body veins, and the reduced volume of lower body veins were all documented with photographs. Center-of-mass measurements confirmed a fluid shift cephalad. This shift remained throughout the mission until recovery, when a sharp reversal occurred; a major portion of the reversal was completed in a few hours. The anatomical changes are of considerable scientific interest and of import to the human factors design engineer, but the shifts of blood and extravascular fluid are of more consequence. It is hypothesized that the driving force for the fluid shift is the intrinsic and unopposed lower limb elasticity that forces venous blood and then other fluid cephalad.

  10. Associations between shift schedule characteristics with sleep, need for recovery, health and performance measures for regular (semi-) continuous 3-shift systems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van de Ven, Hardy A.; Brouwer, Sandra; Koolhaas, Wendy; Goudswaard, Anneke; de Looze, Michiel P.; Kecklund, Goran; Almansa, Josue; Bultmann, Ute; van der Klink, Jac J. L.

    In this cross-sectional study associations were examined between eight shift schedule characteristics with shift-specific sleep complaints and need for recovery and generic health and performance measures. It was hypothesized that shift schedule characteristics meeting ergonomic recommendations are

  11. Associations between shift schedule characteristics with sleep, need for recovery, health and performance measures for regular (semi-)continuous 3-shift systems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van de Ven, Hardy A.; Brouwer, Sandra; Koolhaas, Wendy; Goudswaard, Anneke; de Looze, Michiel P.; Kecklund, Göran; Almansa, Josue; Bültmann, Ute; van der Klink, Jac J L

    2016-01-01

    In this cross-sectional study associations were examined between eight shift schedule characteristics with shift-specific sleep complaints and need for recovery and generic health and performance measures. It was hypothesized that shift schedule characteristics meeting ergonomic recommendations are

  12. Dietary habits among persons hired on shift work

    OpenAIRE

    Joanna Strzemecka; Iwona Bojar; Ewa Strzemecka; Alfred Owoc

    2014-01-01

    Introduction. Shift-work determinates irregular nutrition habits. The quality as well as the quantity of meals consumed by shift-workers can significantly affects their health. Objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate the dietary habits of people performing shift work in the Bogdanka mine. Material and Methods. The study was carried out in the Bogdanka mine in Leczna. The questionnaire, which was designed by the author of this dissertation, was conducted among 700 shift-workers,...

  13. Shift work and burnout among health care workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wisetborisut, A; Angkurawaranon, C; Jiraporncharoen, W; Uaphanthasath, R; Wiwatanadate, P

    2014-06-01

    Burnout, defined as a syndrome derived from prolonged exposure to stressors at work, is often seen in health care workers. Shift work is considered one of the occupational risks for burnout in health care workers. To identify and describe the association between shift work and burnout among health care workers. A cross-sectional study of health care workers in Chiang Mai University Hospital, Thailand. Data were collected via an online self-answered questionnaire and included details of shift work and burnout. Burnout was measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). Two thousand seven hundred and seventy two health care workers participated, a 52% response rate. Burnout was found more frequently among shift workers than those who did not work shifts (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.4, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.0-1.9). Among shift workers, over 10 years of being a shift worker was associated with increasing burnout (aOR 1.7, 95% CI: 1.2-2.6) and having 6-8 sleeping hours per day was associated with having less burnout (aOR 0.7, 95% CI: 0.5-0.9). Nurses who had at least 8 days off per month had lower odds of burnout compared with those with fewer than 8 days off (aOR 0.6, 95% CI: 0.5-0.8). Shift work was associated with burnout in this sample. Increased years of work as a shift worker were associated with more frequent burnout. Adequate sleeping hours and days off were found to be possible protective factors. Policies on shift work should take into account the potential of such work for contributing towards increasing burnout. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  14. Machiavellianism, Discussion Time, and Group Shift

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lamm, Helmut; Myers, David G.

    1976-01-01

    Social-emotional and rational-cognitive explanations of group risky shift on choice dilemmas (hypothetical life situations) were evaluated by comparing shift in groups of low Mach (emotional) and high Mach (non-emotional) subjects. Effects of Machiavellian beliefs on social functioning are examined. Group composition was not observed to affect…

  15. Multiscale regime shifts and planetary boundaries

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hughes, T.P.; Carpenter, S.; Rockstrom, J.; Scheffer, M.; Walker, B.

    2013-01-01

    Life on Earth has repeatedly displayed abrupt and massive changes in the past, and there is no reason to expect that comparable planetary-scale regime shifts will not continue in the future. Different lines of evidence indicate that regime shifts occur when the climate or biosphere transgresses a

  16. Environmental tax shifting in Canada : theory and application

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taylor, A.; Hornung, R.; Cairns, S.

    2003-03-01

    Canada's leading energy and resource companies along with the Pembina Institute for Appropriate Development have collaborated in the Triple E Tax Shift Research Collaborative which examines the use of environmental tax shifting in Canada. The objective is to design, evaluate and advance federal and provincial environmental tax shifts that will influence individual behaviour and decisions to improve ecological integrity through measurable reductions in materials and energy throughput, and to maintain or increase economic competitiveness through the creation of a tax framework that would encourage businesses to improve energy efficiency. Another objective is to increase employment and social benefits through more employment opportunities and improved quality of life. Environmental tax shifting means shifting a portion of a government's tax base onto goods, services and activities associated with harmful environmental impacts that add to societal costs. Tax shifting can be implemented by offering rebates to consumers of environmental significant goods, or by adjustments to existing taxes so that environmentally sensitive goods are taxed at a lower rate than environmentally harmful goods and services. Environmental tax shifting can also be implemented by reducing existing environmental taxes and introducing a carbon dioxide emissions tax. This report is the first product of the collaboration and is intended to promote public dialogue on the subject and identify ways to implement environmental tax shifting. tabs., figs

  17. Health and Occupational Outcomes Among Injured, Nonstandard Shift Workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Imelda S; Smith, Peter M; Mustard, Cameron A; Gignac, Monique A M

    2015-11-01

    This study compares health and occupational outcomes following a work-related injury for nonstandard and day-shift workers. National Population Health Survey data were used to explore outcomes 2 years post-work injury. Retrospective-matched cohort analyses examined main effects and interactions of shift schedule and work injury with changes in health, shift schedule, and labor force status. Models were adjusted for respondent characteristics, baseline health status, and occupational strength requirements. Injured nonstandard shift workers reported lower health utility index scores, compared with uninjured and injured daytime workers and uninjured nonstandard-shift workers. No significant interactions between shift and injury were found with schedule change and leaving the labor force. Injured nonstandard-shift workers are as likely to remain employed as other groups, but may be vulnerable in terms of diminished health.

  18. TIPS (trigger an IIF paradigm shift)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kilcup, P.E. Glen [Intel Corporation, MS: F9-016, 4100 Sara Road, Rio Rancho, NM 87124 (United States)]. E-mail: glen.w.kilcup@intel.com; Hickox, Dick [Intel Corporation, MS: F9-016, 4100 Sara Road, Rio Rancho, NM 87124 (United States); Reynaga, Adolfo [Intel Corporation, MS: F9-016, 4100 Sara Road, Rio Rancho, NM 87124 (United States)

    2007-04-11

    Challenge: New Mexico Corporate Services (NMCS) recordable injuries have been averaging 2-4 per year for the last 5 years with no statistical improvement. However, we believe all NM employees must go home incident and injury free every day and just as healthy as they came to work. In addition, we have received feedback from several sources, that indicates some employees are reluctant to report injuries. These indicators showed us that continuing our current strategies, making incremental improvement and changes, would not give us the improvement desired. We needed a paradigm shift to get everyone completely engaged in the IIF (Incident and Injury Free) culture, in order to achieve true IIF results. Methods/Strategies: We formed a small (3-person) taskforce consisting of safety representatives from EHS, Site Services and CS Operations. We reviewed 5 years worth of data to determine what was injuring our people. We also decided to review all injuries, not simply those classified as recordable by OSHA standards. First we identified the types of injury information needed to get a true picture of our safety issues. We analyzed IRB (Incident Review Board) data showing us the following factors and whether any of them contributed to the injury: - Date - Incident Description - Severity - Root Cause - Type of Injury - Season - Work Group/Shift - Area - Improper evaluation of hazard - Inadequate work procedures - Incorrect Mental Model - Inadequate PPE Requirement - Failure to Follow or Unaware of PPE Requirement - Shortcut or Schedule Pressure - Last or First Day of Shift or Adjacent to Holiday - OT - Aggravate Existing Condition - Inadequate Training or Passdown - Experience in Task - Corrective Action Taken - Overall Quality of Response. Once this information was collected for all injuries in an Excel file, we graphed it several ways to help reveal trends: - Shift 7 had double the injuries of shift 5 - Night shift injuries were relatively high but lower than Shift 7 -Shift

  19. TIPS (trigger an IIF paradigm shift)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kilcup, P.E. Glen; Hickox, Dick; Reynaga, Adolfo

    2007-01-01

    Challenge: New Mexico Corporate Services (NMCS) recordable injuries have been averaging 2-4 per year for the last 5 years with no statistical improvement. However, we believe all NM employees must go home incident and injury free every day and just as healthy as they came to work. In addition, we have received feedback from several sources, that indicates some employees are reluctant to report injuries. These indicators showed us that continuing our current strategies, making incremental improvement and changes, would not give us the improvement desired. We needed a paradigm shift to get everyone completely engaged in the IIF (Incident and Injury Free) culture, in order to achieve true IIF results. Methods/Strategies: We formed a small (3-person) taskforce consisting of safety representatives from EHS, Site Services and CS Operations. We reviewed 5 years worth of data to determine what was injuring our people. We also decided to review all injuries, not simply those classified as recordable by OSHA standards. First we identified the types of injury information needed to get a true picture of our safety issues. We analyzed IRB (Incident Review Board) data showing us the following factors and whether any of them contributed to the injury: - Date - Incident Description - Severity - Root Cause - Type of Injury - Season - Work Group/Shift - Area - Improper evaluation of hazard - Inadequate work procedures - Incorrect Mental Model - Inadequate PPE Requirement - Failure to Follow or Unaware of PPE Requirement - Shortcut or Schedule Pressure - Last or First Day of Shift or Adjacent to Holiday - OT - Aggravate Existing Condition - Inadequate Training or Passdown - Experience in Task - Corrective Action Taken - Overall Quality of Response. Once this information was collected for all injuries in an Excel file, we graphed it several ways to help reveal trends: - Shift 7 had double the injuries of shift 5 - Night shift injuries were relatively high but lower than Shift 7 -Shift

  20. TIPS (trigger an IIF paradigm shift).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kilcup P E, Glen; Hickox, Dick; Reynaga, Adolfo

    2007-04-11

    New Mexico Corporate Services (NMCS) recordable injuries have been averaging 2-4 per year for the last 5 years with no statistical improvement. However, we believe all NM employees must go home incident and injury free every day and just as healthy as they came to work. In addition, we have received feedback from several sources, that indicates some employees are reluctant to report injuries. These indicators showed us that continuing our current strategies, making incremental improvement and changes, would not give us the improvement desired. We needed a paradigm shift to get everyone completely engaged in the IIF (Incident & Injury Free) culture, in order to achieve true IIF results. We formed a small (3-person) taskforce consisting of safety representatives from EHS, Site Services and CS Operations. We reviewed 5 years worth of data to determine what was injuring our people. We also decided to review all injuries, not simply those classified as recordable by OSHA standards. First we identified the types of injury information needed to get a true picture of our safety issues. We analyzed IRB (Incident Review Board) data showing us the following factors and whether any of them contributed to the injury: - Date - Incident Description - Severity - Root Cause - Type of Injury - Season - Work Group/Shift - Area - Improper evaluation of hazard - Inadequate work procedures - Incorrect Mental Model - Inadequate PPE Requirement - Failure to Follow or Unaware of PPE Requirement - Shortcut or Schedule Pressure - Last or First Day of Shift or Adjacent to Holiday - OT - Aggravate Existing Condition - Inadequate Training or Passdown - Experience in Task - Corrective Action Taken - Overall Quality of Response. Once this information was collected for all injuries in an Excel file, we graphed it several ways to help reveal trends: Shift 7 had double the injuries of shift 5. Night shift injuries were relatively high but lower than Shift 7. Shift 5 had no severe (recordable

  1. Time Zones, Shift Working and International Outsourcing

    OpenAIRE

    Matsuoka, Yuji; Fukushima, Marcelo

    2009-01-01

    We build a trade model with two identical countries located in different time zones and a monopolistically competitive sector of which production requires differentiated goods produced in two successive stages. We introduce shift working disutility and allow consumers to choose between day and night shifts. Shift working disutility raises the cost of night production and firms can reduce costs by “virtually” outsourcing foreign labor. We found that firms only outsource if relat...

  2. Forecasting interest rates with shifting endpoints

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Van Dijk, Dick; Koopman, Siem Jan; Wel, Michel van der

    2014-01-01

    We consider forecasting the term structure of interest rates with the assumption that factors driving the yield curve are stationary around a slowly time-varying mean or ‘shifting endpoint’. The shifting endpoints are captured using either (i) time series methods (exponential smoothing) or (ii......) long-range survey forecasts of either interest rates or inflation and output growth, or (iii) exponentially smoothed realizations of these macro variables. Allowing for shifting endpoints in yield curve factors provides substantial and significant gains in out-of-sample predictive accuracy, relative...... to stationary and random walk benchmarks. Forecast improvements are largest for long-maturity interest rates and for long-horizon forecasts....

  3. Beta-shifts, their languages and computability

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Simonsen, Jakob Grue

    2011-01-01

    they give into the dynamics of the underlying system. We prove that the language of the ß-shift is recursive iff ß is a computable real number. That fact yields a precise characterization of the reals: The real numbers ß for which we can compute arbitrarily good approximations—hence in particular......For every real number ß >1, the ß-shift is a dynamical system describing iterations of the map x ¿ ßx mod 1 and is studied intensively in number theory. Each ß-shift has an associated language of finite strings of characters; properties of this language are studied for the additional insight...

  4. Lamb Shift in Nonrelativistic Quantum Electrodynamics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grotch, Howard

    1981-01-01

    The bound electron self-energy or Lamb shift is calculated in nonrelativistic quantum electrodynamics. Retardation is retained and also an interaction previously dropped in other nonrelativistic approaches is kept. Results are finite without introducing a cutoff and lead to a Lamb shift in hydrogen of 1030.9 MHz. (Author/JN)

  5. Gear shift map design methodology for automotive transmissions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ngo, Viet Dac; Hofman, Theo; Steinbuch, Maarten; Serrarens, Alex

    In this paper, a design methodology is developed to condtruct the gear shift map for the automotive transmissions used in conventional and hybrid electric vehicles. The methodology utilizes an optimal gear shift strategy to derive the optimal gear shift patterns over a wide range of driving

  6. Uniqueness and zeros of q-shift difference polynomials

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    In this paper, we consider the zero distributions of -shift difference polynomials of meromorphic functions with zero order, and obtain two theorems that extend the classical Hayman results on the zeros of differential polynomials to -shift difference polynomials. We also investigate the uniqueness problem of -shift ...

  7. The impact of chronotype on melatonin levels among shift workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhatti, Parveen; Mirick, Dana K; Davis, Scott

    2014-03-01

    The association between shift work and cancer, which is thought to be mediated by effects on circulating melatonin levels, may be modified by chronotype (ie, the inherent preference for activity in the morning or the evening); however, few studies have examined the potential impact of chronotype on the carcinogenic effects of shift work. The authors analysed the impact of chronotype on previously reported differences in melatonin levels among healthcare workers that exclusively worked night or day shifts. The cross-sectional study included 664 men and women (310 day shift and 354 night shift workers) from which urine samples were collected throughout work and sleep periods and were assayed for 6-sulfatoxymelatonin. Participants also completed the Composite Scale of Morningness, a questionnaire used to assess chronotype. Among both morning and evening-type night shift workers, 6-sulfatoxymelatonin levels were constitutively lower during daytime sleep, night-time sleep and night work compared with day shift workers during night-time sleep. However, morning-type night shift workers consistently showed 6-sulfatoxymelatonin levels that were closer to levels in day shift workers than did evening-type night shift workers. Differences in 6-sulfatoxymelatonin levels between morning-type and evening-type night shift workers relative to day shift workers were statistically significant in every instance (pnight shift workers may be better able to maintain a 'normal' circadian pattern of melatonin production as compared with evening-type night shift workers. The impact of this chronotype effect on cancer risk among shift workers requires further study.

  8. Written Language Shift among Norwegian Youth

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kamil ÖZERK

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available In Norway there are two written Norwegian languages, Bokmål and Nynorsk. Of these two written languages Bokmål is being used by the majority of the people, and Bokmål has the highest prestige in the society. This article is about the shift of written language from Nynorsk to Bokmål among young people in a traditional Nynorsk district in the country. Drawing on empirical data we conclude that many adolescents are experiencing written language shift. We discuss various reasons for this phenomenon in the linguistic landscape of Norway. In our discussions we emphasize the importance of the school with regard to language maintenance and language revitalization. We call for a new language policy in the educational system that can prevent language shift. Having several dialects and two officially written forms of Norwegian in the country, creates a special linguistic landscape in Norway. Despite the fact that the Norwegian language situation is in several ways unique, it’s done very little research on how the existing policy works in practice. Our research reveals that the existing language policy and practice in the school system is not powerful enough to prevent language shift and language decay among the youngsters. The school system functions like a fabric for language shift.

  9. Task Shifting in Dermatology: A Call to Action.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Danielle N; Langan, Sinéad M; Freeman, Esther E

    2017-11-01

    Can task shifting be used to improve the delivery of dermatologic care in resource-poor settings worldwide? Task shifting is a means of redistributing available resources, whereby highly trained individuals train an available workforce to provide necessary care in low-resource settings. Limited evidence exists for task shifting in dermatology; however, studies from psychiatry demonstrate its efficacy. In the field of dermatology there is a need for high-quality evidence including randomized clinical trials to validate the implementation of task shifting in low-resource settings globally.

  10. Relationship between thyroid stimulating hormone and night shift work.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moon, So-Hyun; Lee, Bum-Joon; Kim, Seong-Jin; Kim, Hwan-Cheol

    2016-01-01

    Night shift work has well-known adverse effects on health. However, few studies have investigated the relationship between thyroid diseases and night shift work. This study aimed to examine night shift workers and their changes in thyroid stimulating hormones (TSH) levels over time. Medical check-up data (2011-2015) were obtained from 967 female workers at a university hospital in Incheon, Korea. Data regarding TSH levels were extracted from the records, and 2015 was used as a reference point to determine night shift work status. The relationships between TSH levels and night shift work in each year were analyzed using the general linear model (GLM). The generalized estimating equation (GEE) was used to evaluate the repeated measurements over the 5-year period. The GEE analysis revealed that from 2011 to 2015, night shift workers had TSH levels that were 0.303 mIU/L higher than the levels of non-night shift workers (95 % CI: 0.087-0.519 mIU/L, p  = 0.006) after adjusting for age and department. When we used TSH levels of 4.5 ≥ mIU/L to identify subclinical hypothyroidism, night shift workers exhibited a 1.399 fold higher risk of subclinical hypothyroidism (95 % CI: 1.050-1.863, p  = 0.022), compared to their non-night shift counterparts. This result of this study suggests that night shift workers may have an increased risk of thyroid diseases, compared to non-night shift workers.

  11. Impacts of shift work on sleep and circadian rhythms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boivin, D B; Boudreau, P

    2014-10-01

    Shift work comprises work schedules that extend beyond the typical "nine-to-five" workday, wherein schedules often comprise early work start, compressed work weeks with 12-hour shifts, and night work. According to recent American and European surveys, between 15 and 30% of adult workers are engaged in some type of shift work, with 19% of the European population reportedly working at least 2 hours between 22:00 and 05:00. The 2005 International Classification of Sleep Disorders estimates that a shift work sleep disorder can be found in 2-5% of workers. This disorder is characterized by excessive sleepiness and/or sleep disruption for at least one month in relation with the atypical work schedule. Individual tolerance to shift work remains a complex problem that is affected by the number of consecutive work hours and shifts, the rest periods, and the predictability of work schedules. Sleepiness usually occurs during night shifts and is maximal at the end of the night. Impaired vigilance and performance occur around times of increased sleepiness and can seriously compromise workers' health and safety. Indeed, workers suffering from a shift work sleep-wake disorder can fall asleep involuntarily at work or while driving back home after a night shift. Working on atypical shifts has important socioeconomic impacts as it leads to an increased risk of accidents, workers' impairment and danger to public safety, especially at night. The aim of the present review is to review the circadian and sleep-wake disturbances associated with shift work as well as their medical impacts. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier SAS.

  12. On the energy shift the ECC cusp. Does the shift really exist?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sarkadi, L.; Barrachina, R.O.

    2004-01-01

    The cusplike 'electron capture to the continuum' (ECC) peak appearing in the spectrum of the forward emitted electrons in ion-atom collisions are generally thought to be a divergence. Recently Shah et al., however, claimed that 'the ECC cusp is indeed a cusp, and not a divergence smoothed by the experiment'. These authors measured the ECC cusp for collisions of 10- and 20-keV protons with H 2 and He, and found that the peak was shifted to lower velocity than its expected position. We also carried out CTMC calculations (for the case of 20-keV protons on He) by which we demonstrated that the shift really exists but its value depends on the angular window of the electron detection. (K.A.)

  13. Stochastic dynamical models for ecological regime shifts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Møller, Jan Kloppenborg; Carstensen, Jacob; Madsen, Henrik

    the physical and biological knowledge of the system, and nonlinearities introduced here can generate regime shifts or enhance the probability of regime shifts in the case of stochastic models, typically characterized by a threshold value for the known driver. A simple model for light competition between...... definition and stability of regimes become less subtle. Ecological regime shifts and their modeling must be viewed in a probabilistic manner, particularly if such model results are to be used in ecosystem management....

  14. Comparison of second-order impact line shifts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Griem, H.R.; Iglesias, C.A.; Boercker, D.B.

    1991-01-01

    The second-order impact shifts in hydrogen obtained from the Baranger formalism are compared with those from a kinetic theory approach. The resulting Δn=0 contributions to the shift from the two theories are shown to be identical, except for the neglect of electron-electron correlations in the Baranger formalism. It is also shown that some care is required in taking the classical limit for the perturbing electrons, or else the shift from Δn=0 interactions vanishes

  15. Shift versus no-shift in local regularization of Chern-Simons theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Giavarini, G.; Parma Univ.; Martin, C.P.; Ruiz Ruiz, F.

    1994-01-01

    We consider a family of local BRS-invariant higher covariant derivative regularizations of SU(N) Chern-Simons theory that do not shift the value of the Chern-Simons parameter k to k + sign(k) c v at one loop. (orig.)

  16. [Shift and night work and mental health].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sancini, Angela; Ciarrocca, Manuela; Capozzella, Assunta; Corbosiero, Paola; Fiaschetti, Maria; Caciari, Tiziana; Cetica, Carlotta; Scimitto, Lara; Ponticiello, Barnaba Giuseppina; Tasciotti, Zaira; Schifano, Maria Pia; Andreozzit, Giorgia; Tomei, Francesco; Tomei, Gianfranco

    2012-01-01

    Aim of our study was to evaluate the influence that shift work and night work could have on mental health. A review of literary articles from 1990 to 2011 on shift work and night work was carried out. The results of this review confirmed that the shift work and night work affect mental health with the onset of neuropsychological disorders such as mood disorders, anxiety, nervousness, depressive anxiety syndromes, chronic fatigue and chronic insomnia irritability, sleep disturbances, reduction in levels of attention, cognitive impairments, alteration of circadian rhythm. Night work and shift work cause severe desynchronization of the cronobiological rhythms and a disruption of social life with negative effects on performance at work, on health and on social relationships. In the light of these results and recognizing shift work and night work as risk factors for the health of workers is necessary to implement preventive and periodic health checks by the occupational doctor to ensure the health and safety of workers taking account of the different environmental and individual factors.

  17. Dietary habits among persons hired on shift work.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strzemecka, Joanna; Bojar, Iwona; Strzemecka, Ewa; Owoc, Alfred

    2014-01-01

    Shift-work determinates irregular nutrition habits. The quality as well as the quantity of meals consumed by shift-workers can significantly affects their health. The aim of this study was to evaluate the dietary habits of people performing shift work in the Bogdanka mine. The study was carried out in the Bogdanka mine in Leczna. The questionnaire, which was designed by the author of this dissertation, was conducted among 700 shift-workers, working underground. The results were subjected to statistical analysis based on STATISTICA v. 7.1 (StatSoft, Poland) software. Nearly half of respondents reported regular consumption of meals (40.0%) Interviewees admitted having warm meals during the day (81.4%). The most frequently consumed meal during the day was the hot one (50.9%), three meals and more were consumed the least frequently (8.1%). Almost half of respondents considered their eating habits as inappropriate (46.3%). Among those, nearly half (68.2%) stated that shift - work is the reason for their nutrition habits. More than half of respondents (66.0%) admitted that shift work hampers regular consumption of meals. Shift work makes nourishment and regular consumption difficult. It contributes to the limited amount of warm meals eaten during the day. In order to maintain preventive health care and the improvement of quality of life, shift workers should be provided with an easier access to meals (including warm one) at specified times of the day.

  18. Metabolic syndrome in fixed-shift workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Canuto, Raquel; Pattussi, Marcos Pascoal; Macagnan, Jamile Block Araldi; Henn, Ruth Liane; Olinto, Maria Teresa Anselmo

    2015-01-01

    OBJECTIVE To analyze if metabolic syndrome and its altered components are associated with demographic, socioeconomic and behavioral factors in fixed-shift workers. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 902 shift workers of both sexes in a poultry processing plant in Southern Brazil in 2010. The diagnosis of metabolic syndrome was determined according to the recommendations from Harmonizing the Metabolic Syndrome. Its frequency was evaluated according to the demographic (sex, skin color, age and marital status), socioeconomic (educational level, income and work shift), and behavioral characteristics (smoking, alcohol intake, leisure time physical activity, number of meals and sleep duration) of the sample. The multivariate analysis followed a theoretical framework for identifying metabolic syndrome in fixed-shift workers. RESULTS The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in the sample was 9.3% (95%CI 7.4;11.2). The most frequently altered component was waist circumference (PR 48.4%; 95%CI 45.5;51.2), followed by high-density lipoprotein. Work shift was not associated with metabolic syndrome and its altered components. After adjustment, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was positively associated with women (PR 2.16; 95%CI 1.28;3.64), workers aged over 40 years (PR 3.90; 95%CI 1.78;8.93) and those who reported sleeping five hours or less per day (PR 1.70; 95%CI 1.09;2.24). On the other hand, metabolic syndrome was inversely associated with educational level and having more than three meals per day (PR 0.43; 95%CI 0.26;0.73). CONCLUSIONS Being female, older and deprived of sleep are probable risk factors for metabolic syndrome, whereas higher educational level and higher number of meals per day are protective factors for metabolic syndrome in fixed-shift workers.

  19. Shift work in a security environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Longhouser, G.A. Jr.

    1993-01-01

    Human beings are diurnal species, normally active by day and asleep by night. Yet over thirty million Americans struggle with work schedules that include an off-normal work effort. The railroads, law enforcement, health services, Department of Defense, factory workers, chemical plants and public services, communications and utility workers must provide some form of around-the-clock effort. Shift work has been around since the advent of recorded history. There has always been a need for some type of off-normal service and assistance. The impact of shift work is replete with tales and factual evidence of an increased personnel error rate; disorders, both personal and family, and of course, increased accident events. In recent memory, the Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant incident, Union Carbide's explosion in Bhopal, and the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant catastrophe all occurred during off-normal working hours. Yet management overall has done little to correct the production-driven twelve hour, seven day week shift mentality of the nineteenth century. Most schedules in use today are nothing more than cosmetic variations of the old production schedules. This could be driven by a management consideration of the worker's response to change coupled with a reluctant buy-in of responsibility for the effects of change. Florida Power Corporation has developed for its nuclear security force, a unique work schedule which attempts to employ the sound principles of circadian rhythms coupled with a comprehensive training program to counter the problems associated with shift work. The results over the last four years have seen a marked reduction in the generic problems of personnel errors, absenteeism, unscheduled overtime and turnover rates. Utilization and understanding of this scheduling process for rotational shift work needs to be assessed to determine if the benefits are site specific or provide an expected response to the problems of shift work

  20. Metabolic syndrome in fixed-shift workers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raquel Canuto

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE To analyze if metabolic syndrome and its altered components are associated with demographic, socioeconomic and behavioral factors in fixed-shift workers. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 902 shift workers of both sexes in a poultry processing plant in Southern Brazil in 2010. The diagnosis of metabolic syndrome was determined according to the recommendations from Harmonizing the Metabolic Syndrome. Its frequency was evaluated according to the demographic (sex, skin color, age and marital status, socioeconomic (educational level, income and work shift, and behavioral characteristics (smoking, alcohol intake, leisure time physical activity, number of meals and sleep duration of the sample. The multivariate analysis followed a theoretical framework for identifying metabolic syndrome in fixed-shift workers. RESULTS The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in the sample was 9.3% (95%CI 7.4;11.2. The most frequently altered component was waist circumference (PR 48.4%; 95%CI 45.5;51.2, followed by high-density lipoprotein. Work shift was not associated with metabolic syndrome and its altered components. After adjustment, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was positively associated with women (PR 2.16; 95%CI 1.28;3.64, workers aged over 40 years (PR 3.90; 95%CI 1.78;8.93 and those who reported sleeping five hours or less per day (PR 1.70; 95%CI 1.09;2.24. On the other hand, metabolic syndrome was inversely associated with educational level and having more than three meals per day (PR 0.43; 95%CI 0.26;0.73. CONCLUSIONS Being female, older and deprived of sleep are probable risk factors for metabolic syndrome, whereas higher educational level and higher number of meals per day are protective factors for metabolic syndrome in fixed-shift workers.

  1. Measuring proton shift tensors with ultrafast MAS NMR.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miah, Habeeba K; Bennett, David A; Iuga, Dinu; Titman, Jeremy J

    2013-10-01

    A new proton anisotropic-isotropic shift correlation experiment is described which operates with ultrafast MAS, resulting in good resolution of isotropic proton shifts in the detection dimension. The new experiment makes use of a recoupling sequence designed using symmetry principles which reintroduces the proton chemical shift anisotropy in the indirect dimension. The experiment has been used to measure the proton shift tensor parameters for the OH hydrogen-bonded protons in tyrosine·HCl and citric acid at Larmor frequencies of up to 850 MHz. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Josephson shift register design and layout

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Przybysz, J.X.; Buttyan, J.; Blaugher, R.D.

    1989-01-01

    Integrated circuit chips were designed and fabricated, based on Josephson shift register circuit that simulated operation at 25 GHz using the SPICE program. The 6.25 mm square chip featured a twelve-gate, four-stage shift register fabricated with Nb/AlO/sub x//Nb Josephson junctions with a design value of 2000 A/cm/sup 2/ critical current density. SUPERCOMPACT, a general program for the design of monolithic microwave integrated circuits, was used to model the effects of layout geometry on the uniformity and phase coherence of logic gate bias currents. Gate bias resistors were treated as resistive transmission lines. A layout geometry for the superconductive transmission lines and thin film bias resistors was developed. The original SPICE-designed circuit was modified as a result of these calculations. Modeling indicated that bias current variations could be limited to 3% for all possible logic states of the shift register, and phase coherence of the gates could be maintained to within 2 degrees of 10 Ghz. The fundamental soundness of the circuit design was demonstrated by the proper operation of fabricated shift registers

  3. Scandinavian Object Shift and Optimality Theory

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Engels, Eva; Vikner, Sten

    This study presents an account of object shift, a word order phenomenon found in most of the Scandinavian languages where an object occurs unexpectedly to the left and not to the right of a sentential adverbial. The book examines object shift across many of the Scandinavian languages and dialects...... and original observations, this book is an important addition to the fields of phonology, optimality theory and theoretical syntax......., and analyses the variation, for example whether object shift is optional or obligatory, whether it applies only to pronouns or other objects as well, and whether it applies to adverbials. The authors show that optimality theory, traditionally used in phonology, is a useful framework for accounting...

  4. Special offer for early shift takers!

    CERN Multimedia

    Muriel

    Peter Jenni, spokesperson of the ATLAS collaboration, just made the following announcement. "Despite the few problems that we are encountering, which of course are unavoidable in such a large project, I am very pleased with the way the ATLAS experiment is taking shape. With the imminence of data taking, I would like to make a special gesture as a thank you to all of you who are working so hard for ATLAS to meet its many deadlines. The first 100 ATLAS members who will sign up for shifts will receive twice the standard OTSMOU credit." You can sign up for shifts as of April 1st by sending an e-mail to Atlas.Shifts@cern.ch.

  5. Profit shifting in the Norwegian and British petroleum industry: Differentiating between the real and shifting response to tax changes

    OpenAIRE

    Vada, Helene

    2016-01-01

    In this master’s thesis, I explain the concept of profit shifting within multinational enterprises and investigate whether petroleum companies on the Norwegian and British continental shelves engage in tax motivated profit shifting, by applying ordinary least squares and company fixed effects estimation. To be able to distinguish between traditional tax distortions and profit shifting, I extend the model developed by James R. Hines and Eric M. Rice in their 1994 article “Fiscal Paradise: Fore...

  6. Cost effective shift schedules enhance utility operations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coleman, R.M.

    1995-01-01

    This article describes how new shift scheduling concepts can save utility operations millions of dollars every year and yet maintain safety and improve employee morale. The key to scheduling is to define and match the work load. This includes discretionary as well as daily, weekly, and yearly core work loads. In most power plants the overall work load (including maintenance, operations, materials handling, etc.) on day shift is greater than on other shifts, hence an unbalanced schedule would be appropriate

  7. Lateral shift in one-dimensional quasiperiodic chiral photonic crystal

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Da, Jian, E-mail: dajian521@sina.com [Department of Information Engineering, Huaian Senior Vocational and Technical School, Feiyao road, Huaian 223005, Jiangsu Province (China); Mo, Qi, E-mail: moqiyueyang@163.com [School of Software, Yunnan University, Cuihu Bai Road, Kunming City, Yunnan Province 650091 (China); Cheng, Yaokun [Department of Information Engineering, Huaian Senior Vocational and Technical School, Feiyao road, Huaian 223005, Jiangsu Province (China); Liu, Taixiang [Taishan Vocational College of Nursing, Shandong Province 271000 (China)

    2015-02-01

    We investigate the lateral shift of a one-dimensional quasiperiodic photonic crystal consisting of chiral and conventional dielectric materials. The effect of structural irregularity on lateral shift is evaluated by stationary-phase approach. Our results show that the lateral shift can be modulated by varying the structural irregularity in quasiperiodic structure. Besides, the position of peak in lateral shift spectrum stays sensitive to the chiral factor of chiral materials. In comparison with that of periodic structure, quasiperiodic structure provides an extra degree of freedom to manipulate the lateral shift.

  8. Dynamic Characteristics Analysis of Power Shift Control Valve

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Feng Ren

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available In order to study the influence that dynamic performance of shift control valve has on shifting process of construction machinery, the paper introduces working principle of the shift control valve and sets up the dynamically mathematical model and corresponding simulation model with simulation software LMS Imagine. Lab AMESim. Based on simulation, the paper analyzes the influence of pressure variation characteristics and buffering characteristics acting on vehicle performance during the process of shifting, meanwhile conducting experiments to verify the simulation. The results indicate that the simulation model is accurate and credible; the performance of the valve is satisfactory, which indeed reduces impact during shifting. Furthermore, the valve can meet the demand of other construction machineries in better degree by suitable matching between control spring stiffness and damping holes diameter.

  9. Shift manager workload assessment - A case study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berntson, K.; Kozak, A.; Malcolm, J. S.

    2006-01-01

    In early 2003, Bruce Power restarted two of its previously laid up units in the Bruce A generating station, Units 3 and 4. However, due to challenges relating to the availability of personnel with active Shift Manager licenses, an alternate shift structure was proposed to ensure the safe operation of the station. This alternate structure resulted in a redistribution of responsibility, and a need to assess the resulting changes in workload. Atomic Energy of Canada Limited was contracted to perform a workload assessment based on the new shift structure, and to provide recommendations, if necessary, to ensure Shift Managers had sufficient resources available to perform their required duties. This paper discusses the performance of that assessment, and lessons learned as a result of the work performed during the Restart project. (authors)

  10. Lambda shifted photonic crystal cavity laser

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schubert, Martin; Skovgård, Troels Suhr; Ek, Sara

    2010-01-01

    We propose and demonstrate an alternative type of photonic crystal laser design that shifts all the holes in the lattice by a fixed fraction of the targeted emission wavelength. The structures are realized in InGaAsP =1.15 with InGaAsP quantum wells =1.52 as gain material. Cavities with shifts of...

  11. Shift Work and Cognitive Flexibility: Decomposing Task Performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Philip; Tallent, Gabriel; Bender, Thomas John; Tran, Kieulinh Michelle; Drake, Christopher L

    2017-04-01

    Deficits in cognitive functioning associated with shift work are particularly relevant to occupational performance; however, few studies have examined how cognitive functioning is associated with specific components of shift work. This observational study examined how circadian phase, nocturnal sleepiness, and daytime insomnia in a sample of shift workers ( N = 30) were associated with cognitive flexibility during the night shift. Cognitive flexibility was measured using a computerized task-switching paradigm, which produces 2 indexes of flexibility: switch cost and set inhibition. Switch cost represents the additional cognitive effort required in switching to a different task and can impact performance when multitasking is involved. Set inhibition is the efficiency in returning to previously completed tasks and represents the degree of cognitive perseveration, which can lead to reduced accuracy. Circadian phase was measured via melatonin assays, nocturnal sleepiness was assessed using the Multiple Sleep Latency Test, and daytime insomnia was assessed using the Insomnia Severity Index. Results indicated that those with an earlier circadian phase, insomnia, and sleepiness exhibited reduced cognitive flexibility; however, specific components of cognitive flexibility were differentially associated with circadian phase, insomnia, and sleepiness. Individuals with an earlier circadian phase (thus more misaligned to the night shift) exhibited larger switch costs, which was also associated with reduced task efficiency. Shift workers with more daytime insomnia demonstrated difficulties with cognitive inhibition, whereas nocturnal sleepiness was associated with difficulties in reactivating previous tasks. Deficits in set inhibition were also related to reduced accuracy and increased perseverative errors. Together, this study indicates that task performance deficits in shift work are complex and are variably impacted by different mechanisms. Future research may examine

  12. Night shift decreases cognitive performance of ICU physicians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maltese, François; Adda, Mélanie; Bablon, Amandine; Hraeich, Sami; Guervilly, Christophe; Lehingue, Samuel; Wiramus, Sandrine; Leone, Marc; Martin, Claude; Vialet, Renaud; Thirion, Xavier; Roch, Antoine; Forel, Jean-Marie; Papazian, Laurent

    2016-03-01

    The relationship between tiredness and the risk of medical errors is now commonly accepted. The main objective of this study was to assess the impact of an intensive care unit (ICU) night shift on the cognitive performance of a group of intensivists. The influence of professional experience and the amount of sleep on cognitive performance was also investigated. A total of 51 intensivists from three ICUs (24 seniors and 27 residents) were included. The study participants were evaluated after a night of rest and after a night shift according to a randomized order. Four cognitive skills were tested according to the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. All cognitive abilities worsened after a night shift: working memory capacity (11.3 ± 0.3 vs. 9.4 ± 0.3; p night shift. The cognitive abilities of intensivists were significantly altered following a night shift in the ICU, regardless of either the amount of professional experience or the duration of sleep during the shift. The consequences for patients' safety and physicians' health should be further evaluated.

  13. Shift work and its association with metabolic disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brum, Maria Carlota Borba; Filho, Fábio Fernandes Dantas; Schnorr, Claudia Carolina; Bottega, Gustavo Borchardt; Rodrigues, Ticiana C

    2015-01-01

    Although the health burden of shift work has not been extensively studied, evidence suggests that it may affect the metabolic balance and cause obesity and other metabolic disorders. Sleep deprivation, circadian desynchronization and behavioral changes in diet and physical activity are among the most commonly mentioned factors in studies of the association between night work and metabolic disorders. Individual adaptation to night work depends greatly on personal factors such as family and social life, but occupational interventions may also make a positive contribution to the transition to shift work, such as exposure to bright lights during the night shift, melatonin use, shift regularity and clockwise rotation, and dietary adaptations for the metabolic needs of night workers. The evaluation of the impact of night work on health and of the mechanisms underlying this relationship can serve as a basis for intervention strategies to minimize the health burden of shift work. This review aimed to identify highlights regarding therapeutic implications following the association between night and shift work and metabolic disorders, as well as the mechanisms and pathways responsible for these relationships.

  14. Staffing, overtime, and shift scheduling project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lewis, P.M.

    1989-01-01

    Recent events at the Peach Bottom nuclear power plant have demonstrated the need to establish a quantifiable basis for assessing the safety significance of long work hours on nuclear power plant operators. The incidents at TMI-2, Chernobyl, and Bhopal, which all occurred during the late evening/night shift, further highlight the importance of the relationship between shift scheduling and performance. The objective of this project is to estimate, using statistical analysis on data from the nuclear industry, the effects on safety of staffing levels, overtime, and shift scheduling for operators and maintenance personnel. Regarding staffing levels, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) currently has no explicit regulation concerning the minimum acceptable levels of staffing in a plant that has an operating license. The NRC has no systematic method for collecting data on the number of licensed operators on the operating crews. In 1982 the NRC recommended that plants write into their technical specifications a model policy on overtime. Currently, 77 nuclear power plant units have the model policy or a modification of it written into their technical specifications; 33 units have no policy on overtime. The model policy sets limits on overtime for safety related personnel, although these limits can be exceeded with plant manger approval. The US nuclear power industry has three types of shift schedules: (1) forward-rotating 8-hour/day shift schedules, (2) backward-rotating 8-hour/day schedules, and (3) 12-hour/day schedules

  15. Night Shift Work and Its Health Effects on Nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Books, Candie; Coody, Leon C; Kauffman, Ryan; Abraham, Sam

    The purpose of this research was to study night shift work and its health effects on nurses. This was a quantitative study using descriptive design; it also incorporated three qualitative open-ended questions to complement the study. The data were collected using Survey Monkey, with an Internet-based confidential data collection tool. The population of relevance to this study was nurses employed in hospital settings in the United States. E-mail addresses and Facebook were used to recruit participants. Results indicated that there is an increased risk of sleep deprivation, family stressors, and mood changes because of working the night shift. Rotating shifts were mentioned as a major concern for night shift nurses. Respondents agreed that complaints about fatigue and fatigue-related illnesses in night shift workers were ignored. There was also a general perception among nurses working the night shift that sleep deprivation leads to negative health consequences including obesity; however, they were not as high a concern as rotating shifts or fatigue.

  16. Recurrence phase shift in Fermi-Pasta-Ulam nonlinear dynamics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Devine, N., E-mail: nnd124@rsphysse.anu.edu.au [Optical Sciences Group, Research School of Physics and Engineering, The Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200 (Australia); Ankiewicz, A. [Optical Sciences Group, Research School of Physics and Engineering, The Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200 (Australia); Genty, G. [Tampere University of Technology, Optics Laboratory, FI-33101 Tampere (Finland); Dudley, J.M. [Institut FEMTO-ST UMR 6174 CNRS/Universite de Franche-Comte, Besancon (France); Akhmediev, N. [Optical Sciences Group, Research School of Physics and Engineering, The Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200 (Australia)

    2011-11-07

    We show that the dynamics of Fermi-Pasta-Ulam recurrence is associated with a nonlinear phase shift between initial and final states that are otherwise identical, after a full growth-return cycle. The properties of this phase shift are studied for the particular case of the self-focussing nonlinear Schroedinger equation, and we describe the magnitude of the phase shift in terms of the system parameters. This phase shift, accumulated during the nonlinear recurrence cycle, is a previously-unremarked feature of the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam problem, and we anticipate its wide significance as an essential feature of related dynamics in other systems. -- Highlights: → The dynamics of FPU recurrence is associated with a phase shift between initial and final states. → The properties of this phase shift are studied for the self-focussing NLS equation. → This phase shift is a previously-unremarked feature of the FPU growth-return cycle. → We anticipate its wide significance as an essential feature of related dynamics in other systems.

  17. Recurrence phase shift in Fermi-Pasta-Ulam nonlinear dynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Devine, N.; Ankiewicz, A.; Genty, G.; Dudley, J.M.; Akhmediev, N.

    2011-01-01

    We show that the dynamics of Fermi-Pasta-Ulam recurrence is associated with a nonlinear phase shift between initial and final states that are otherwise identical, after a full growth-return cycle. The properties of this phase shift are studied for the particular case of the self-focussing nonlinear Schroedinger equation, and we describe the magnitude of the phase shift in terms of the system parameters. This phase shift, accumulated during the nonlinear recurrence cycle, is a previously-unremarked feature of the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam problem, and we anticipate its wide significance as an essential feature of related dynamics in other systems. -- Highlights: → The dynamics of FPU recurrence is associated with a phase shift between initial and final states. → The properties of this phase shift are studied for the self-focussing NLS equation. → This phase shift is a previously-unremarked feature of the FPU growth-return cycle. → We anticipate its wide significance as an essential feature of related dynamics in other systems.

  18. Passing the Baton: An Experimental Study of Shift Handover

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parke, Bonny; Hobbs, Alan; Kanki, Barbara

    2010-01-01

    Shift handovers occur in many safety-critical environments, including aviation maintenance, medicine, air traffic control, and mission control for space shuttle and space station operations. Shift handovers are associated with increased risk of communication failures and human error. In dynamic industries, errors and accidents occur disproportionately after shift handover. Typical shift handovers involve transferring information from an outgoing shift to an incoming shift via written logs, or in some cases, face-to-face briefings. The current study explores the possibility of improving written communication with the support modalities of audio and video recordings, as well as face-to-face briefings. Fifty participants participated in an experimental task which mimicked some of the critical challenges involved in transferring information between shifts in industrial settings. All three support modalities, face-to-face, video, and audio recordings, reduced task errors significantly over written communication alone. The support modality most preferred by participants was face-to-face communication; the least preferred was written communication alone.

  19. ANÁLISE DA INFLUÊNCIA LITOLÓGICA E ESTRUTURAL A PARTIR DE MÉTODOS MORFOMÉTRICOS EM SEGMENTOS DE DRENAGEM NA PORÇÃO CIMEIRA DA BACIA HIDROGRÁFICA DO RIO JEQUITINHONHA, MG

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fabrício Antonio Lopes

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available O estudo do padrão de drenagem da porção cimeira da bacia hidrográfica do Jequitinhonha foi realizado neste trabalho tendo como objetivos: a Correlacionar as direções dos canais fluviais e respectivas ordens hierárquicas às estruturas geológicas regionais; b Verificar o grau de influência dos aspectos litológicos e estruturais no padrão de drenagem da bacia e; c Identificar estruturas que atuam como níveis de base locais em perfis longitudinais. Foram empregadas análises quantitativas de tratamento de direção dos canais fluviais e ordens hierárquicas, cálculo do índice de RDE em segmentos pré-selecionados e análise de perfis longitudinais. Constatou-se significativa influência litológica e estrutural no padrão/direção dos canais fluviais identificadas como nick points nos perfis longitudinais. Há segmentos de drenagem com anomalias de primeira e segunda ordem quanto ao índice RDE, o que reforça a influência das estruturas pré-cambrianas, reativadas no Cenozoico, no sistema hidrográfico da região. Acredita-se na potencialidade deste estudo como auxilio na caracterização, quantificação e fundamentação teórica de análises referentes ao processo evolutivo da paisagem e ao comportamento da rede de drenagem local.

  20. Dietary habits among persons hired on shift work

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joanna Strzemecka

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. Shift-work determinates irregular nutrition habits. The quality as well as the quantity of meals consumed by shift-workers can significantly affects their health. Objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate the dietary habits of people performing shift work in the Bogdanka mine. Material and Methods. The study was carried out in the Bogdanka mine in Leczna. The questionnaire, which was designed by the author of this dissertation, was conducted among 700 shift-workers, working underground. The results were subjected to statistical analysis based on STATISTICA v. 7.1 (StatSoft, Poland software. Results. Nearly half of respondents reported regular consumption of meals (40.0% Interviewees admitted having warm meals during the day (81.4%. The most frequently consumed meal during the day was the hot one (50.9%, three meals and more were consumed the least frequently (8.1%. Almost half of respondents considered their eating habits as inappropriate (46.3%. Among those, nearly half (68.2% stated that shift – work is the reason for their nutrition habits. More than half of respondents (66.0% admitted that shift work hampers regular consumption of meals. Conclusions. Shift work makes nourishment and regular consumption difficult. It contributes to the limited amount of warm meals eaten during the day. In order to maintain preventive health care and the improvement of quality of life, shift workers should be provided with an easier access to meals (including warm one at specified times of the day.

  1. The Prerequisites for a Degrowth Paradigm Shift

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Buch-Hansen, Hubert

    2018-01-01

    What would it take for a degrowth paradigm shift to take place? Drawing on contemporary critical political economy scholarship, this article identifies four prerequisites for socio-economic paradigm shifts: deep crisis, an alternative political project, a comprehensive coalition of social forces...... currently facing humanity. On the other hand, the prospects for a degrowth paradigm shift remain bleak: unlike political projects that became hegemonic in the past, degrowth has neither support from a comprehensive coalition of social forces nor any consent to its agenda among the broader population....

  2. Shifting Sugars and Shifting Paradigms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siegal, Mark L.

    2015-01-01

    No organism lives in a constant environment. Based on classical studies in molecular biology, many have viewed microbes as following strict rules for shifting their metabolic activities when prevailing conditions change. For example, students learn that the bacterium Escherichia coli makes proteins for digesting lactose only when lactose is available and glucose, a better sugar, is not. However, recent studies, including three PLOS Biology papers examining sugar utilization in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, show that considerable heterogeneity in response to complex environments exists within and between populations. These results join similar recent results in other organisms that suggest that microbial populations anticipate predictable environmental changes and hedge their bets against unpredictable ones. The classical view therefore represents but one special case in a range of evolutionary adaptations to environmental changes that all organisms face. PMID:25688600

  3. Shifting sugars and shifting paradigms.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mark L Siegal

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available No organism lives in a constant environment. Based on classical studies in molecular biology, many have viewed microbes as following strict rules for shifting their metabolic activities when prevailing conditions change. For example, students learn that the bacterium Escherichia coli makes proteins for digesting lactose only when lactose is available and glucose, a better sugar, is not. However, recent studies, including three PLOS Biology papers examining sugar utilization in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, show that considerable heterogeneity in response to complex environments exists within and between populations. These results join similar recent results in other organisms that suggest that microbial populations anticipate predictable environmental changes and hedge their bets against unpredictable ones. The classical view therefore represents but one special case in a range of evolutionary adaptations to environmental changes that all organisms face.

  4. Frequency Constrained ShiftCP Modeling of Neuroimaging Data

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mørup, Morten; Hansen, Lars Kai; Madsen, Kristoffer H.

    2011-01-01

    The shift invariant multi-linear model based on the CandeComp/PARAFAC (CP) model denoted ShiftCP has proven useful for the modeling of latency changes in trial based neuroimaging data[17]. In order to facilitate component interpretation we presently extend the shiftCP model such that the extracted...... components can be constrained to pertain to predefined frequency ranges such as alpha, beta and gamma activity. To infer the number of components in the model we propose to apply automatic relevance determination by imposing priors that define the range of variation of each component of the shiftCP model...

  5. Advantages of shift changeovers with meetings: ergonomic analysis of shift supervisors' activity in aircraft building.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Le Bris, Valérie; Barthe, Béatrice; Marquié, Jean-Claude; Kerguelen, Alain; Aubert, Sophie; Bernadou, Bernadette

    2012-03-01

    Good shift changeovers contribute to ensuring continuity and reliability in shift work. In situations where production is not maintained 24 h a day, changeovers with meetings (SCM) between the two work teams (written plus oral face-to-face handovers) alternate with changeovers without meetings (SCnM; written handovers only). An ergonomic work analysis on an aircraft assembly line showed that (1) incoming and outgoing operators met during the overlap time allotted by the company, and (2) the content of the exchanges was richer for SCMs than for SCnMs. SCMs enabled the operators to pass on and process more aspects of their work than SCnMs did. SCMs also allowed incoming operators to validate their predictions, and enabled both outgoing and incoming operators to update their mental models and work together on peripheral aspects of the technical process over a greater time span. The findings highlight the importance of allowing overlap time in shift work. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

  6. Gain Shift Corrections at Chi-Nu

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brown, Tristan Brooks [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Univ. of Massachusetts, Lowell, MA (United States). Dept. of Physics and Applied Physics; Devlin, Matthew James [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

    2016-08-30

    Ambient conditions have the potential to cause changes in liquid scintillator detector gain that vary with time and temperature. These gain shifts can lead to poor resolution in both energy as well as pulse shape discrimination. In order to correct for these shifts in the Chi-Nu high energy array, a laser system has been developed for calibration of the pulse height signals.

  7. The electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA)

    OpenAIRE

    sprotocols

    2015-01-01

    The electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA), also known as “gel shift assay”, is used to examine the binding parameters and relative affinities of protein and DNA interactions. We produced recombinant CCA1 protein and tested its binding affinity for the promoter fragments that contain CBS (AAAAATCT) or evening element (EE, AAAATATCT) (1) using a modified procedure adopted from published protocols (2,3).

  8. Shift Work and Sleep Quality Among Urban Police Officers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fekedulegn, Desta; Burchfiel, Cecil M.; Charles, Luenda E.; Hartley, Tara A.; Andrew, Michael E.; Violanti, John M.

    2016-01-01

    Objective The aim of the study was to examine association of shift work with sleep quality in police officers. Methods Data were obtained from the Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress study (n =363). An electronic work history database was used to define shift as day, afternoon, or night for three durations: past month, 1 year, and 15 years. Sleep quality was determined using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Results The overall prevalence of poor sleep quality was 54%; 44% for day, 60% for afternoon, and 69% for night shift. Poor sleep quality was 70% more prevalent among night-shift officers (P shift (P =0.003) relative to officers working on the day shift. Conclusions Night and evening work schedules are associated with elevated prevalence of poor sleep quality among police officers. PMID:26949891

  9. Do working environment interventions reach shift workers?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nabe-Nielsen, Kirsten; Jørgensen, Marie Birk; Garde, Anne Helene

    2016-01-01

    PURPOSE: Shift workers are exposed to more physical and psychosocial stressors in the working environment as compared to day workers. Despite the need for targeted prevention, it is likely that workplace interventions less frequently reach shift workers. The aim was therefore to investigate whether...... the reach of workplace interventions varied between shift workers and day workers and whether such differences could be explained by the quality of leadership exhibited at different times of the day. METHODS: We used questionnaire data from 5361 female care workers in the Danish eldercare sector...

  10. Phase-shift interferometry with a digital photocamera

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vannoni, Maurizio; Trivi, Marcelo; Molesini, Giuseppe

    2007-01-01

    A phase-shift interferometry experiment is proposed, working on a Twyman-Green optical configuration with additional polarization components. A guideline is provided to modern phase-shift interferometry, using concepts and laboratory equipment at the level of undergraduate optics courses

  11. Phase shifts in the Fourier spectra of phase gratings and phase grids: an application for one-shot phase-shifting interferometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toto-Arellano, Noel-Ivan; Rodriguez-Zurita, Gustavo; Meneses-Fabian, Cruz; Vazquez-Castillo, Jose F

    2008-11-10

    Among several techniques, phase shifting interferometry can be implemented with a grating used as a beam divider to attain several interference patterns around each diffraction order. Because each pattern has to show a different phase-shift, a suitable shifting technique must be employed. Phase gratings are attractive to perform the former task due to their higher diffraction efficiencies. But as is very well known, the Fourier coefficients of only-phase gratings are integer order Bessel functions of the first kind. The values of these real-valued functions oscillate around zero, so they can adopt negative values, thereby introducing phase shifts of pi at certain diffraction orders. Because this almost trivial fact seems to have been overlooked in the literature regarding its practical implications, in this communication such phase shifts are stressed in the description of interference patterns obtained with grating interferometers. These patterns are obtained by placing two windows in the object plane of a 4f system with a sinusoidal grating/grid in the Fourier plane. It is shown that the corresponding experimental observations of the fringe modulation, as well as the corresponding phase measurements, are all in agreement with the proposed description. A one-shot phase shifting interferometer is finally proposed taking into account these properties after proper incorporation of modulation of polarization.

  12. Shifting identities : the musician as theatrical perfomer

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hübner, Falk

    2013-01-01

    The artistic PhD research "Shifting Identities" investigates the musicians' professional identity and how this identity might shift when musicians start acting as theatrical performers. In most of the theatrical situations where musicians "perform", their profession is extended by additional tasks

  13. The Third Perspective on Shifting Cultivation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sukanya Sharma

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT There are two perspectives in which the understanding of food sustainability in the world is entangled. The first perspective which believes that food sustainability can be achieved by technology presents shifting cultivation as a reflection of a lower state of cultural evolution in comparison with more sophisticated societies (O’Brien 2002.The second perspective which believes in culture, in the ‘way of life’ paradigm valorise shifting cultivation as a form of indigenous genius, representing the indigenous people as perhaps the original environmentalist (Bandy et al.1993; Conklin 1957; Grandstaff 1981; Hong 1987. The biasness of both the perspectives is well visible. The task now is to document and evaluate indigenous strategies of shifting cultivation through a process of research and development. This process involves identification of promising indigenous practices, characterization of the practices, validation of the utility of the practice for other communities, extrapolation to other locations, verification with key farmers, and wide-scale extension. This can be treated as the third perspective available to the policy makers. By this, the detrimental effects of shifting cultivation can be mitigated and productivity increased (Mali 2003.

  14. Lamb-shift measurement in hydrogenic phosphorus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pross, H.; Budelsky, D.; Kremer, L.; Platte, D.; von Brentano, P.; Gassen, J.; Mueller, D.; Scheuer, F.; Pape, A.; Sens, J.C.

    1993-01-01

    The final result of a 2s 2 S 1/2-- 2p 2 P 1/2 Lamb-shift measurement by the laser resonance method in hydrogenic phosphorus is reported. Metastable 2s 2 S 1/2 ions were prepared using a β∼0.08 velocity beam of 31 P 14+ ions obtained from the MP tandem accelerator at the Centre de Recherches Nucleaires in Strasbourg. From the metastable state the transition to the 2p 2 P 3/2 state was induced with a high-power dye laser leading to a measured transition energy of ΔE=2.231 33(12) eV. Subtracting the well-known fine-structure splitting ΔE FS =2.314 82(2) eV, the Lamb shift is deduced to be E expt (LS)=20 188(29) GHz. This result is compared with the theoretical value E theor (LS)=20 254(10) GHz and with other experimental results for the Lamb shift in the region Z≤18. Finally, the utility of the Lamb-shift measurements in testing the G(Zα) function of the self-energy, which includes only terms in (Zα) n , n≥6, is discussed

  15. Shift work and cognitive aging: a longitudinal study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bokenberger, Kathleen; Ström, Peter; Dahl Aslan, Anna K; Åkerstedt, Torbjörn; Pedersen, Nancy L

    2017-09-01

    Objectives The few studies of shift work and late life cognitive functioning have yielded mixed findings. The aim of the present study is to estimate the association between shift-work experience and change in cognitive performance before and after retirement age among older adults who were gainfully employed. Methods Five hundred and ninety five participants with no dementia were followed up for a mean of 17.6 standard deviation (SD) 8.8 years from a Swedish population-based sample. Participants had self-reported information on any type of shift-work experience (ever/never) in 1984 and measures of cognitive performance (verbal, spatial, memory, processing speed, and general cognitive ability) from up to 9 waves of cognitive assessments during 1986-2012. Night work history (ever/never) from 1998-2002 was available from a subsample (N=320). Early adult cognitive test scores were available for 77 men. Results In latent growth curve modeling, there were no main effects of "any-type" or night shift work on the mean scores or rate of change in any of the cognitive domains. An interaction effect between any-type shift work and education on cognitive performance at retirement was noted. Lower-educated shift workers performed better on cognitive tests than lower-educated day workers at retirement. Sensitivity analyses, however, indicated that the interactions appeared to be driven by selection effects. Lower-educated day workers demonstrated poorer cognitive ability in early adulthood than lower-educated shift workers, who may have selected jobs entailing higher cognitive demand. Conclusion There was no difference in late-life cognitive aging between individuals with a history of working shifts compared to those who had typical day work schedules during midlife.

  16. Alternative approaches to providing engineering expertise on shift

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Olson, J.; Schreiber, R.E.; Melber, B.D.

    1984-05-01

    This report represents the conclusions of a project studying the role of engineering expertise on shift in nuclear power plants. Using the present shift technical advisor (STA) position as the base case, several alternatives are analyzed. On-shift alternatives included the STA, the SS (shift supervisor), and the SE (shift engineer). The SE is degreed, experienced, trained, and licensed as a Senior Reactor Operator. Some non-shift alternatives were also studied. These included a cadre of on-call engineers and specialists within continual contact and easy reach of the plant; a technical system of phone and data lines linking the plant with a facility similar to an on-site technical support center; and finally, an SPDS (safety parameter display system) to agument technical upgrading of operator aids presently available. Potential problems considered in the analysis of implementation of these alternatives included job content constraints, problems of crew acceptance, and problems of labor supply and retention. Of the considered alternatives, the SE and SS options appear superior to the current STA approach. The SE approach appears the easiest to implement and the most effective under varied plant conditions. The SE may also serve as liaison to off-site support facilities

  17. Impact of shift work on critical care nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pryce, Cheryl

    2016-01-01

    Shift work is a common practice in the health care field to maintain 24-hour patient care. The purpose of this article is to recognize the negative impact of shift work on critical care nurses, and identify strategies to mitigate these effects. A review of the literature was completed, using the search terms: 'shift work, 'critical care', impact, and health. The literature revealed that shift work has an adverse effect on the health of a nurse. Some of the health implications include stress, sleep deprivation, cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal symptoms, and mental health illnesses. Furthermore, shift work impacts a nurse's social life and may result in patient harm. Strategies to reduce the negative impact of shift work will be focused on educating critical care nurses and managers. These strategies include frontline staff maintaining a moderate amount of exercise, sustaining a well-balanced diet, using relaxation techniques, reducing the use of cigarettes, working an eight-hour work day, and napping during scheduled breaks. Recommendations for managers include implementing quiet time at the workplace, providing a safe space for staff to nap during breaks, facilitating an eight-hour work day, and encouraging a multidisciplinary team approach when managing workload.

  18. Global regime shift dynamics of catastrophic sea urchin overgrazing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ling, S. D.; Scheibling, R. E.; Rassweiler, A.; Johnson, C. R.; Shears, N.; Connell, S. D.; Salomon, A. K.; Norderhaug, K. M.; Pérez-Matus, A.; Hernández, J. C.; Clemente, S.; Blamey, L. K.; Hereu, B.; Ballesteros, E.; Sala, E.; Garrabou, J.; Cebrian, E.; Zabala, M.; Fujita, D.; Johnson, L. E.

    2015-01-01

    A pronounced, widespread and persistent regime shift among marine ecosystems is observable on temperate rocky reefs as a result of sea urchin overgrazing. Here, we empirically define regime-shift dynamics for this grazing system which transitions between productive macroalgal beds and impoverished urchin barrens. Catastrophic in nature, urchin overgrazing in a well-studied Australian system demonstrates a discontinuous regime shift, which is of particular management concern as recovery of desirable macroalgal beds requires reducing grazers to well below the initial threshold of overgrazing. Generality of this regime-shift dynamic is explored across 13 rocky reef systems (spanning 11 different regions from both hemispheres) by compiling available survey data (totalling 10 901 quadrats surveyed in situ) plus experimental regime-shift responses (observed during a total of 57 in situ manipulations). The emergent and globally coherent pattern shows urchin grazing to cause a discontinuous ‘catastrophic’ regime shift, with hysteresis effect of approximately one order of magnitude in urchin biomass between critical thresholds of overgrazing and recovery. Different life-history traits appear to create asymmetry in the pace of overgrazing versus recovery. Once shifted, strong feedback mechanisms provide resilience for each alternative state thus defining the catastrophic nature of this regime shift. Importantly, human-derived stressors can act to erode resilience of desirable macroalgal beds while strengthening resilience of urchin barrens, thus exacerbating the risk, spatial extent and irreversibility of an unwanted regime shift for marine ecosystems.

  19. Stowage Planning in Multiple Ports with Shifting Fee Minimization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Zhang

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper studies the problem of stowage planning within a vessel bay in a multiple port transportation route, aiming at minimizing the total container shifting fee. Since the access to containers is in the top-to-bottom order for each stack, reshuffle operations occur when a target container to be unloaded at its destination port is not stowed on the top of a stack at the time. Each container shift via a quay crane induces one unit of shifting fee that depends on the charge policy of the local container port. Previous studies assume that each container shift consumes a uniform cost in all ports and thus focus on minimizing the total number of shifts or the turnaround time of the vessel. Motivated by the observation that different ports are of nonuniform fee for each container shift, we propose a mixed integer programming (MIP model for the problem to produce an optimal stowage planning with minimum total shifting fee in this work. Moreover, as the considered problem is NP-hard due to the NP-hardness of its counterpart with uniform unit shifting fee, we propose an improved genetic algorithm to solve the problem. The efficiency of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated via numerical experiments.

  20. Shift work and cognition in the Nurses' Health Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Devore, Elizabeth E; Grodstein, Francine; Schernhammer, Eva S

    2013-10-15

    Rotating night-shift work, which can disrupt circadian rhythm, may adversely affect long-term health. Experimental studies indicate that circadian rhythm disruption might specifically accelerate brain aging; thus, we prospectively examined shift-work history at midlife as associated with cognitive function among older women in the Nurses' Health Study. Women reported their history of rotating night-shift work in 1988 and participated in telephone-based cognitive interviews between 1995 and 2001; interviews included 6 cognitive tests that were subsequently repeated 3 times, at 2-year intervals. We focused on shift work through midlife (here, ages 58-68 years) because cognitive decline is thought to begin during this period. Using multivariable-adjusted linear regression, we evaluated mean differences in both "average cognitive status" at older age (averaging cognitive scores from all 4 interviews) and rates of cognitive decline over time across categories of shift-work duration at midlife (none, 1-9, 10-19, or ≥20 years). There was little association between shift work and average cognition in later life or between shift work and cognitive decline. Overall, this study does not clearly support the hypothesis that shift-work history in midlife has long-term effects on cognition in older adults.

  1. De novo protein structure generation from incomplete chemical shift assignments

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shen Yang [National Institutes of Health, Laboratory of Chemical Physics, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (United States); Vernon, Robert; Baker, David [University of Washington, Department of Biochemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute (United States); Bax, Ad [National Institutes of Health, Laboratory of Chemical Physics, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (United States)], E-mail: bax@nih.gov

    2009-02-15

    NMR chemical shifts provide important local structural information for proteins. Consistent structure generation from NMR chemical shift data has recently become feasible for proteins with sizes of up to 130 residues, and such structures are of a quality comparable to those obtained with the standard NMR protocol. This study investigates the influence of the completeness of chemical shift assignments on structures generated from chemical shifts. The Chemical-Shift-Rosetta (CS-Rosetta) protocol was used for de novo protein structure generation with various degrees of completeness of the chemical shift assignment, simulated by omission of entries in the experimental chemical shift data previously used for the initial demonstration of the CS-Rosetta approach. In addition, a new CS-Rosetta protocol is described that improves robustness of the method for proteins with missing or erroneous NMR chemical shift input data. This strategy, which uses traditional Rosetta for pre-filtering of the fragment selection process, is demonstrated for two paramagnetic proteins and also for two proteins with solid-state NMR chemical shift assignments.

  2. Do phase-shift analyses and nucleon-nucleon potential models yield the wrong 3Pj phase shifts at low energies?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tornow, W.; Witala, H.; Kievsky, A.

    1998-01-01

    The 4 P J waves in nucleon-deuteron scattering were analyzed using proton-deuteron and neutron-deuteron data at E N =3 MeV. New sets of nucleon-nucleon 3 P j phase shifts were obtained that may lead to a better understanding of the long-standing A y (θ) puzzle in nucleon-deuteron elastic scattering. However, these sets of 3 P j phase shifts are quite different from the ones determined from both global phase-shift analyses of nucleon-nucleon data and nucleon-nucleon potential models. copyright 1998 The American Physical Society

  3. Heuristic Approach for Balancing Shift Schedules

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Dae Ho; Yun, Young Su; Lee, Yong Hee

    2005-01-01

    In this paper, a heuristic approach for balancing shift schedules is proposed. For the shift schedules, various constraints which have usually been considered in realworld industry are used, and the objective is to minimize the differences of the workloads in each workgroup. The constraints and objective function are implemented in the proposed heuristic approach. Using a simple instance, the efficiency of the proposed heuristic approach is proved

  4. The ALICE Glance Shift Accounting Management System (SAMS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martins Silva, H.; Abreu Da Silva, I.; Ronchetti, F.; Telesca, A.; Maidantchik, C.

    2015-12-01

    ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) is an experiment at the CERN LHC (Large Hadron Collider) studying the physics of strongly interacting matter and the quark-gluon plasma. The experiment operation requires a 24 hours a day and 7 days a week shift crew at the experimental site, composed by the ALICE collaboration members. Shift duties are calculated for each institute according to their correlated members. In order to ensure the full coverage of the experiment operation as well as its good quality, the ALICE Shift Accounting Management System (SAMS) is used to manage the shift bookings as well as the needed training. ALICE SAMS is the result of a joint effort between the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and the ALICE Collaboration. The Glance technology, developed by the UFRJ and the ATLAS experiment, sits at the basis of the system as an intermediate layer isolating the particularities of the databases. In this paper, we describe the ALICE SAMS development process and functionalities. The database has been modelled according to the collaboration needs and is fully integrated with the ALICE Collaboration repository to access members information and respectively roles and activities. Run, period and training coordinators can manage their subsystem operation and ensure an efficient personnel management. Members of the ALICE collaboration can book shifts and on-call according to pre-defined rights. ALICE SAMS features a user profile containing all the statistics and user contact information as well as the Institutes profile. Both the user and institute profiles are public (within the scope of the collaboration) and show the credit balance in real time. A shift calendar allows the Run Coordinator to plan data taking periods in terms of which subsystems shifts are enabled or disabled and on-call responsible people and slots. An overview display presents the shift crew present in the control room and allows the Run Coordination team to confirm the presence

  5. Research on effects of phase error in phase-shifting interferometer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Hongjun; Wang, Zhao; Zhao, Hong; Tian, Ailing; Liu, Bingcai

    2007-12-01

    Referring to phase-shifting interferometry technology, the phase shifting error from the phase shifter is the main factor that directly affects the measurement accuracy of the phase shifting interferometer. In this paper, the resources and sorts of phase shifting error were introduction, and some methods to eliminate errors were mentioned. Based on the theory of phase shifting interferometry, the effects of phase shifting error were analyzed in detail. The Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) as a new shifter has advantage as that the phase shifting can be controlled digitally without any mechanical moving and rotating element. By changing coded image displayed on LCD, the phase shifting in measuring system was induced. LCD's phase modulation characteristic was analyzed in theory and tested. Based on Fourier transform, the effect model of phase error coming from LCD was established in four-step phase shifting interferometry. And the error range was obtained. In order to reduce error, a new error compensation algorithm was put forward. With this method, the error can be obtained by process interferogram. The interferogram can be compensated, and the measurement results can be obtained by four-step phase shifting interferogram. Theoretical analysis and simulation results demonstrate the feasibility of this approach to improve measurement accuracy.

  6. Effects of Accumulating Work Shifts on Performance-Based Fatigue Using Multiple Strength Measurements in Day and Night Shift Nurses and Aides.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, Brennan J; Stock, Matt S; Banuelas, Victoria K

    2017-05-01

    Objective This study aimed to examine the effects of accumulating nursing work on maximal and rapid strength characteristics in female nurses and compare these effects in day versus night shift workers. Background Nurses exhibit among the highest nonfatal injury rates of all occupations, which may be a consequence of long, cumulative work shift schedules. Fatigue may accumulate across multiple shifts and lead to performance impairments, which in turn may be linked to injury risks. Method Thirty-seven nurses and aides performed isometric strength-based performance testing of three muscle groups, including the knee extensors, knee flexors, and wrist flexors (hand grip), as well as countermovement jumps, at baseline and following exposure to three 12-hour work shifts in a four-day period. Variables included peak torque (PT) and rate of torque development (RTD) from isometric strength testing and jump height and power output. Results The rigorous work period resulted in significant decreases (-7.2% to -19.2%) in a large majority (8/9) of the isometric strength-based measurements. No differences were noted for the day versus night shift workers except for the RTD at 200 millisecond variable, for which the night shift had greater work-induced decreases than the day shift workers. No changes were observed for jump height or power output. Conclusions A compressed nursing work schedule resulted in decreases in strength-based performance abilities, being indicative of performance fatigue. Application Compressed work schedules involving long shifts lead to functional declines in nurse performance capacities that may pose risks for both the nurse and patient quality of care. Fatigue management plans are needed to monitor and regulate increased levels of fatigue.

  7. Competition for FDI and Profit Shifting

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ma, Jie; Raimondos-Møller, Pascalis

    When countries compete for the location of a new multinational plant they need to be aware of the profit shifting opportunities this new plant creates for the global multinational firm. By modelling explicitly the multinational’s intra-firm transactions, we show that the home market advantage...... that large countries have due to their size will be counteracted by such profit shifting opportunities. As a result of this, large countries will not be able to capitalize on their size and sustain high corporate taxes. We show that, on the basis of these profit shifting opportunities, a small country can...... easily win the location game ahead of a large country. How lenient the small country is in implementing transfer pricing regulations turns out to be an important variable in such location games....

  8. Application of the power-shift transformation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Beauchamp, J.J.; Kane, V.E.

    1984-01-01

    Some of the practical consequences of entertaining the power-shift transformation are examined for both analysis of variance and simple random sampling data. The appropriateness of different procedures for estimating the transformation parameters is also considered. Standard maximum likelihood (ml) estimation is shown not to be feasible for the joint estimation of the power-shift parameters. However, it is possible to compute local ml estimates for some problems, but special estimation methods may be necessary. An alternative weighted order statistic (wos) estimator is shown to be useful in some situations. Characteristics of ml and wos estimation for the power-shift transformation are examined by a Monte Carlo experiment. A Box and Cox (1964) example and several other data sets are used to illustrate the estimation procedures. 46 references, 5 figures, 1 table.

  9. PSYCHE Pure Shift NMR Spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foroozandeh, Mohammadali; Morris, Gareth; Nilsson, Mathias

    2018-03-13

    Broadband homodecoupling techniques in NMR, also known as "pure shift" methods, aim to enhance spectral resolution by suppressing the effects of homonuclear coupling interactions to turn multiplet signals into singlets. Such techniques typically work by selecting a subset of "active" nuclear spins to observe, and selectively inverting the remaining, "passive", spins to reverse the effects of coupling. Pure Shift Yielded by Chirp Excitation (PSYCHE) is one such method; it is relatively recent, but has already been successfully implemented in a range of different NMR experiments. Paradoxically, PSYCHE is one of the trickiest of pure shift NMR techniques to understand but one of the easiest to use. Here we offer some insights into theoretical and practical aspects of the method, and into the effects and importance of the experimental parameters. Some recent improvements that enhance the spectral purity of PSYCHE spectra will be presented, and some experimental frameworks including examples in 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy, for the implementation of PSYCHE will be introduced. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  10. MR chemical shift imaging of human atheroma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mohiaddin, R.H.; Underwood, R.; Firmin, D.; Abdulla, A.K.; Rees, S.; Longmore, D.

    1988-01-01

    The lipid content of atheromatous plaques has been measured with chemical shift MR imaging by taking advantage of the different resonance frequencies of protons in lipid and water. Fifteen postmortem aortic specimens of the human descending aorta and the aortae of seven patients with documented peripheral vascular disease were studied at 0.5 T. Spin-echo images were used to localize the lesions before acquisition of the chemical shift images. The specimens were examined histologically, and the lipid distribution in the plaque showed good correlation with the chemical shift data. Validation in vivo and clinical applications remain to be established

  11. Dark refraction shift with allowance for astigmatism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    W.D.H. Gillan

    2005-12-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: To show that the dark refraction shift (dark focus is a more complicated phenomenon than implied when presented as spherical. Methods: Fifty autorefractor measurements of refractive state of the right eye were obtained in light  and  dark  conditions.  Multivariate  methods were used to analyze the data and stereo-pair scat-ter plots, polar meridional profiles and other means of presenting results are used to show important characteristics of the dark refraction shift. Results: The complexity of the dark refrac-tion shift is indicated by stereo-pair scatter plots showing the amount of stigmatic and antistigmatic variation that occurs in light and dark conditions. The mean dark refraction shift is presented in a complete manner including all three components of refractive state. The greater variance and covari-ance under dark conditions is clearly shown by the term-by-term dark-light variance-covariance ratio and polar profiles  of variance and covariance.Conclusions: The  dark  refraction  shift  is  a more complicated phenomenon than implied by representations as purely spherical in nature.

  12. Bloch-Siegert shift in Dirac-Weyl fermionic systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Upendra; Kumar, Vipin; Enamullah, Setlur, Girish S.

    2018-04-01

    The Bloch-Siegert shift is a phenomenon in quantum optics, typically seen in two-level systems, when the driving field is sufficiently strong. The inclusion of frequency doubling effect (counter rotating term) in the conventional rotating wave approximation (RWA) changes the resonance condition thereby producing a rather small shift in the resonance condition, which is known as the Bloch-Siegert shift (BSS). Rabi oscillations in Dirac-Weyl fermionic systems exhibit anomalous behavior far from resonance, called anomalous Rabi oscillations. Therefore, in the present work, we study the phenomenon of the Bloch-Siegert shift in Weyl semimetal and topological insulator (TI) far from resonance, called anomalous Bloch-Siegert shift (ABSS). It is seen that the change in the resonance condition of anomalous Rabi oscillations is drastic in Weyl semimetal and TI. The ABSS in Weyl semimetals is highly anisotropic, whereas it is isotropic in TI. In case of TI, it is the Chern number which plays a crucial role to produce substantial change in the ABSS.

  13. Regime shifts and resilience in China's coastal ecosystems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Ke

    2016-02-01

    Regime shift often results in large, abrupt, and persistent changes in the provision of ecosystem services and can therefore have significant impacts on human wellbeing. Understanding regime shifts has profound implications for ecosystem recovery and management. China's coastal ecosystems have experienced substantial deterioration within the past decades, at a scale and speed the world has never seen before. Yet, information about this coastal ecosystem change from a dynamics perspective is quite limited. In this review, I synthesize existing information on coastal ecosystem regime shifts in China and discuss their interactions and cascading effects. The accumulation of regime shifts in China's coastal ecosystems suggests that the desired system resilience has been profoundly eroded, increasing the potential of abrupt shifts to undesirable states at a larger scale, especially given multiple escalating pressures. Policy and management strategies need to incorporate resilience approaches in order to cope with future challenges and avoid major losses in China's coastal ecosystem services.

  14. Magnetic phase shift reconstruction for uniformly magnetized nanowires

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Akhtari-Zavareh, Azadeh [Department of Physics, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia (Canada); De Graef, Marc [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA (United States); Kavanagh, Karen L. [Department of Physics, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia (Canada)

    2017-01-15

    A new analytical model is developed for the magnetic phase shift of uniformly magnetized nanowires with ideal cylindrical geometry. The model is applied to experimental data from off-axis electron holography measurements of the phase shift of CoFeB nanowires, and the saturation induction of a selected wire, as well as its radius, aspect ratio, position and orientation, is determined by fitting the model parameters. The saturation induction value of 1.7 T of the CoFeB nanowire is found to be similar, to be within the measurement error, to values reported in the literature. - Highlights: • We describe a mathematical model for the magnetic phase shift of a cylindrical nanowire. • We discuss electron holography experiments on magnetic nanowires. • We obtain an accurate fit of the measured magnetic phase shift profile. • We extract the magnetic induction of the nanowire from the phase shift model. • The magnetic induction of 1.7 T agrees well with literature results.

  15. Spectral stability of shifted states on star graphs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kairzhan, Adilbek; Pelinovsky, Dmitry E.

    2018-03-01

    We consider the nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) equation with the subcritical power nonlinearity on a star graph consisting of N edges and a single vertex under generalized Kirchhoff boundary conditions. The stationary NLS equation may admit a family of solitary waves parameterized by a translational parameter, which we call the shifted states. The two main examples include (i) the star graph with even N under the classical Kirchhoff boundary conditions and (ii) the star graph with one incoming edge and N  -  1 outgoing edges under a single constraint on coefficients of the generalized Kirchhoff boundary conditions. We obtain the general counting results on the Morse index of the shifted states and apply them to the two examples. In the case of (i), we prove that the shifted states with even N ≥slant 4 are saddle points of the action functional which are spectrally unstable under the NLS flow. In the case of (ii), we prove that the shifted states with the monotone profiles in the N  -  1 edges are spectrally stable, whereas the shifted states with non-monotone profiles in the N  -  1 edges are spectrally unstable, the two families intersect at the half-soliton states which are spectrally stable but nonlinearly unstable under the NLS flow. Since the NLS equation on a star graph with shifted states can be reduced to the homogeneous NLS equation on an infinite line, the spectral instability of shifted states is due to the perturbations breaking this reduction. We give a simple argument suggesting that the spectrally stable shifted states in the case of (ii) are nonlinearly unstable under the NLS flow due to the perturbations breaking the reduction to the homogeneous NLS equation.

  16. Shift in Food Intake and Changes in Metabolic Regulation and Gene Expression during Simulated Night-Shift Work: A Rat Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea Rørvik Marti

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Night-shift work is linked to a shift in food intake toward the normal sleeping period, and to metabolic disturbance. We applied a rat model of night-shift work to assess the immediate effects of such a shift in food intake on metabolism. Male Wistar rats were subjected to 8 h of forced activity during their rest (ZT2-10 or active (ZT14-22 phase. Food intake, body weight, and body temperature were monitored across four work days and eight recovery days. Food intake gradually shifted toward rest-work hours, stabilizing on work day three. A subgroup of animals was euthanized after the third work session for analysis of metabolic gene expression in the liver by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR. Results show that work in the rest phase shifted food intake to rest-work hours. Moreover, liver genes related to energy storage and insulin metabolism were upregulated, and genes related to energy breakdown were downregulated compared to non-working time-matched controls. Both working groups lost weight during the protocol and regained weight during recovery, but animals that worked in the rest phase did not fully recover, even after eight days of recovery. In conclusion, three to four days of work in the rest phase is sufficient to induce disruption of several metabolic parameters, which requires more than eight days for full recovery.

  17. Shift in Food Intake and Changes in Metabolic Regulation and Gene Expression during Simulated Night-Shift Work: A Rat Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marti, Andrea Rørvik; Meerlo, Peter; Grønli, Janne; van Hasselt, Sjoerd Johan; Mrdalj, Jelena; Pallesen, Ståle; Pedersen, Torhild Thue; Henriksen, Tone Elise Gjøtterud; Skrede, Silje

    2016-11-08

    Night-shift work is linked to a shift in food intake toward the normal sleeping period, and to metabolic disturbance. We applied a rat model of night-shift work to assess the immediate effects of such a shift in food intake on metabolism. Male Wistar rats were subjected to 8 h of forced activity during their rest (ZT2-10) or active (ZT14-22) phase. Food intake, body weight, and body temperature were monitored across four work days and eight recovery days. Food intake gradually shifted toward rest-work hours, stabilizing on work day three. A subgroup of animals was euthanized after the third work session for analysis of metabolic gene expression in the liver by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results show that work in the rest phase shifted food intake to rest-work hours. Moreover, liver genes related to energy storage and insulin metabolism were upregulated, and genes related to energy breakdown were downregulated compared to non-working time-matched controls. Both working groups lost weight during the protocol and regained weight during recovery, but animals that worked in the rest phase did not fully recover, even after eight days of recovery. In conclusion, three to four days of work in the rest phase is sufficient to induce disruption of several metabolic parameters, which requires more than eight days for full recovery.

  18. Lattice-induced nonadiabatic frequency shifts in optical lattice clocks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beloy, K.

    2010-01-01

    We consider the frequency shift in optical lattice clocks which arises from the coupling of the electronic motion to the atomic motion within the lattice. For the simplest of three-dimensional lattice geometries this coupling is shown to affect only clocks based on blue-detuned lattices. We have estimated the size of this shift for the prospective strontium lattice clock operating at the 390-nm blue-detuned magic wavelength. The resulting fractional frequency shift is found to be on the order of 10 -18 and is largely overshadowed by the electric quadrupole shift. For lattice clocks based on more complex geometries or other atomic systems, this shift could potentially be a limiting factor in clock accuracy.

  19. Management Ownership and Risk-Shifting Investment

    OpenAIRE

    Nobuyuki Teshima

    2012-01-01

    This study analyzes the relationship between management ownership and its risk-shifting incentive. We first present a simple model showing that the risk-shifting incentive of management of financially distressed firms increases as the management ownership of the firm increases. Empirically, we test the hypothesis that under the former Japanese Corporate Reorganization Law, firms with higher management ownership are more likely to use legal rather than private reorganization. Since the reorgan...

  20. Research and Implementation of Tractor Power Shift Clutch Control System

    OpenAIRE

    Li Chengjun; Ke Meicong; Wu Youyu

    2018-01-01

    Applying power shift control technology on tractor can improve the power, economy and driving comfort of tractor. The separation and engagement control of clutch in tractor power shift transmission system is the key factor to optimize the quality of shift. Through many experiments and tests, an electronic control unit based on MC9S12 was developed, and an effective clutch control strategy was put forward, which improved the jerk of power shift and shortened the gear shift time.

  1. Quantum anomalous Bloch-Siegert shift in Weyl semimetal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Upendra; Kumar, Vipin; Enamullah, Setlur, Girish S.

    2018-05-01

    A periodic exchange of energy between the light field and two level system is known as Rabi oscillations. The Bloch-Siegert shift (BSS) is a shift in Rabi oscillation resonance condition, when the driving field is sufficiently strong. There are new type of oscillations exhibit in Weyl semimetal at far from resonance, known as anomalous Rabi oscillation. In this work, we study the phenomenon of the Bloch-Siegert shift in Weyl semimetal at far from resonance called anomalous Bloch-Siegert shift (ABSS) by purely quantum mechanical treatment and describe it's anisotropic nature. A fully numerical solution of the Floquet-Bloch equations unequivocally establishes the presence of not only anomalous Rabi oscillations in these systems but also their massless character.

  2. Pole Inflation - Shift Symmetry and Universal Corrections

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Broy, Benedict J.; Galante, Mario; Roest, Diederik; Westphal, Alexander

    2015-01-01

    An appealing explanation for the Planck data is provided by inflationary models with a singular non-canonical kinetic term: a Laurent expansion of the kinetic function translates into a potential with a nearly shift-symmetric plateau in canonical fields. The shift symmetry can be broken at large

  3. Morphisms Between Sofic Shift Spaces

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Jan Agentoft

    The lower entropy factor problem asks for necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a factor map from a (mixing) sofic shift space onto another (mixing) sofic subshift of lower entropy. The problem was posed by Mike Boyle in 1984. It remains an open problem, but the present thesis...... gives a re-formulation which can be used to effectively decide the question for a larger class of sofic shifts than all previous results. In addition, the methods are used to make progress on the corresponding embedding problem which asks for necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence...

  4. Explaining (Missing) Regulator Paradigm Shifts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wigger, Angela; Buch-Hansen, Hubert

    2014-01-01

    The global financial and economic crisis has prompted some scholars to suggest that a fundamental regulatory shift away from neoliberalism will take place – both in general and in the field of EU competition regulation. This paper shows that so far no radical break with the neoliberal type...... regulation after the crisis in the 1970s, the paper argues that the preconditions for a fundamental shift in this issue area are not present this time around. Several reasons account for this: the current crisis has been construed by economic and political elites as a crisis within and not of neoliberal...

  5. Counterion influence on chemical shifts in strychnine salts

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Metaxas, Athena E.; Cort, John R.

    2013-05-01

    The highly toxic plant alkaloid strychnine is often isolated in the form of the anion salt of its protonated tertiary amine. Here we characterize the relative influence of different counterions on 1H and 13C chemical shifts in several strychnine salts in D2O, methanol-d4 (CD3OD) and chloroform-d (CDCl3) solvents. In organic solvents, but not in water, substantial variation in chemical shifts of protons near the tertiary amine was observed among different salts. These secondary shifts reveal differences in the way each anion influences electronic structure within the protonated amine. The distributions of secondary shifts allow salts to be easily distinguished from each other as well as from the free base form. The observed effects are much greater in organic solvents than in water. Slight concentration-dependence in chemical shifts of some protons near the amine was observed for two salts in CDCl3, but this effect is small compared to the influence of the counterion. Distinct chemical shifts in different salt forms of the same compound may be useful as chemical forensic signatures for source attribution and sample matching of alkaloids such as strychnine and possibly other organic acid and base salts.

  6. Who is sleepier on the night shift? The influence of bio-psycho-social factors on subjective sleepiness of female nurses during the night shift.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zion, Nataly; Drach-Zahavy, Anat; Shochat, Tamar

    2018-07-01

    Sleepiness is a common complaint during the night shift and may impair performance. The current study aims to identify bio-psycho-social factors associated with subjective sleepiness during the night shift. Ninety-two female nurses working rotating shifts completed a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Munich ChronoType Questionaire for shift workers, the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index, and the Pre-sleep Arousal Scale. Subjective sleepiness was measured hourly during two night shifts using the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale, and activity monitors assessed sleep duration 24-h before each shift. Findings showed that increased sleepiness was associated with increased age in nurses with early chronotypes and with more children. High cognitive pre-sleep arousal, but not sleep, was associated with increased sleepiness, especially in late chronotypes. The impact of bio-psycho-social factors on night shift sleepiness is complex, and depends on mutual interactions between these factors. Nurses most prone to increased sleepiness must develop personal strategies for maintaining vigilance on the night shift. Practitioner Summary: This study aims to identify bio-psycho-social factors associated with subjective sleepiness of female nurses during the night shift. Increasing sleepiness was associated with increased age in nurses with early chronotypes and with more children. Increased cognitive pre-sleep arousal, but not sleep, was associated with increased sleepiness, especially in late chronotypes.

  7. Origin of metallic surface core-level shifts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Aldén, Magnus; Skriver, Hans Lomholt; Abrikosov, I. A.

    1995-01-01

    The unique property of the open 4f energy shell in the lanthanide metals is used to show that the initial-state energy shift gives an insufficient description of surface core-level shifts. Instead a treatment, which fully includes the final-state screening, account for the experimentally observed...

  8. Short-term Memory as a Processing Shift

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewis-Smith, Marion Quinn

    1975-01-01

    The series of experiments described here examined the predictions for free recall from sequential models and the shift formulation, focusing on the roles of short- and long-term memory in the primacy/recency shift and on the effects of expectancies on short- and long-term memory. (Author/RK)

  9. Tax Bunching, Income Shifting and Self-employment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    le Maire, Christian Daniel; Schjerning, Bertel

    shifting was neglected in this case, we would conclude that taxable incomes were highly sensitive to changes in marginal tax rates. We show, however, that more than half of the observed bunching in taxable income for the self-employed is driven by intertemporal income shifting, implying a structural...

  10. Overnight shift work: factors contributing to diagnostic discrepancies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanna, Tarek N; Loehfelm, Thomas; Khosa, Faisal; Rohatgi, Saurabh; Johnson, Jamlik-Omari

    2016-02-01

    The aims of the study are to identify factors contributing to preliminary interpretive discrepancies on overnight radiology resident shifts and apply this data in the context of known literature to draw parallels to attending overnight shift work schedules. Residents in one university-based training program provided preliminary interpretations of 18,488 overnight (11 pm–8 am) studies at a level 1 trauma center between July 1, 2013 and December 31, 2014. As part of their normal workflow and feedback, attendings scored the reports as major discrepancy, minor discrepancy, agree, and agree--good job. We retrospectively obtained the preliminary interpretation scores for each study. Total relative value units (RVUs) per shift were calculated as an indicator of overnight workload. The dataset was supplemented with information on trainee level, number of consecutive nights on night float, hour, modality, and per-shift RVU. The data were analyzed with proportional logistic regression and Fisher's exact test. There were 233 major discrepancies (1.26 %). Trainee level (senior vs. junior residents; 1.08 vs. 1.38 %; p performance. Increased workload affected more junior residents' performance, with R3 residents performing significantly worse on busier nights. Hour of the night was not significantly associated with performance, but there was a trend toward best performance at 2 am, with subsequent decreased accuracy throughout the remaining shift hours. Improved performance occurred after the first six night float shifts, presumably as residents acclimated to a night schedule. As overnight shift work schedules increase in popularity for residents and attendings, focused attention to factors impacting interpretative accuracy is warranted.

  11. Gastrointestinal complaints in shift-working and day-working nurses in Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moravveji Ali

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background There is evidence in the scientific literature of the adverse physiological and psychological effects of shift work. The work of nurses in hospitals is connected with shift and night work. Several publications have described gastrointestinal disturbances in shift workers. The aim of this study was to compare the frequency of gastrointestinal (GI complaints of nurses on a rotating shift with that of nurses on a regular day shift. Methods The study involved 160 nurses (133 working in shifts and at night and 27 working on day shifts in the Shahid Beheshti Hospital in Kashan, Iran. These nurses answered a Gastrointestinal Symptom Questionnaire regarding the presence of gastrointestinal symptoms (including heartburn, regurgitation, constipation, diarrhea and bloating. Positive responses required frequent symptom occurrence in the past 4 weeks. Significance of group differences was assessed by chi-square and Fisher-exact tests. Results Prevalence of GI symptoms was significantly higher (p = 0.009 in rotating-shift nurses (81.9% than in day-shift nurses (59.2%. Irregular meal consumption (p = 0.01 and GI medications (p = 0.002 were all significantly higher among the rotating shift nurses. In both groups, regurgitation was the most common symptom. Conclusion Nurses on rotating shifts in Iran experience more GI disturbances than do nurses on day shifts.

  12. Shift in Terms of Trade Towards the Rural Economy

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    First page Back Continue Last page Overview Graphics. Shift in Terms of Trade Towards the Rural Economy. Three Questions. What is the evidence? How did this shift in ToT come about? What are the implications and challenges of this shift on the way forward? Notes: No Notes.

  13. Lamb shift in helium-like uranium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Munger, C.T. Jr.

    1987-01-01

    The author reports an experimental value of 70.4 (8.3) ev for the one-electron Lamb shift in uranium, in agreement with the theoretical value of 75.3 (0.4) ev. He extracts the Lamb shift from a beam-foil time-of-flight measurement of the 54.4 (3.4) ps lifetime of the 1s2p/sub 1/2/ 3 P 0 state of helium-like (two electron) uranium

  14. Metabolic syndrome in fixed-shift workers

    OpenAIRE

    Raquel Canuto; Marcos Pascoal Pattussi; Jamile Block Araldi Macagnan; Ruth Liane Henn; Maria Teresa Anselmo Olinto

    2015-01-01

    OBJECTIVE To analyze if metabolic syndrome and its altered components are associated with demographic, socioeconomic and behavioral factors in fixed-shift workers. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 902 shift workers of both sexes in a poultry processing plant in Southern Brazil in 2010. The diagnosis of metabolic syndrome was determined according to the recommendations from Harmonizing the Metabolic Syndrome. Its frequency was evaluated according to the demographic ...

  15. Metabolic syndrome in fixed-shift workers

    OpenAIRE

    Canuto, Raquel; Pattussi, Marcos Pascoal; Macagnan, Jamile Block Araldi; Henn, Ruth Liane; Olinto, Maria Teresa Anselmo

    2015-01-01

    OBJECTIVE To analyze if metabolic syndrome and its altered components are associated with demographic, socioeconomic and behavioral factors in fixed-shift workers.METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 902 shift workers of both sexes in a poultry processing plant in Southern Brazil in 2010. The diagnosis of metabolic syndrome was determined according to the recommendations from Harmonizing the Metabolic Syndrome. Its frequency was evaluated according to the demographic (...

  16. Effect of shift work on hypertension: cross sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeom, Jeong Han; Sim, Chang Sun; Lee, Jiho; Yun, Seok Hyeon; Park, Sang Jin; Yoo, Cheol-In; Sung, Joo Hyun

    2017-01-01

    The need of efficient resource management and full-time accessibility to resources has increased with the development of industry, resulting in the increase of shift workers. Previous researches of past decades show that there are various health effects on shift workers. However, the definition and the form of shift work have varied from each research and occupational harmful factors except for shift work have not been excluded completely in previous researches. Therefore, in this research, we tried to find out the effect of shift work focusing on the hypertension. To complement previously mentioned weakness of other researches, we performed our research on participants to whom we could minimize other risk factors excluding shift work. This research examined 1,953 petrochemical plant male workers (shift work 1,075, day worker 878) who did medical checkup from 1st Jan. 2014 to 31th Dec. 2014 in a general hospital located in Ulsan, based on their medical records and questionnaires. With the questionnaire, we found out their basic information including age, social status, occupational history, and we took their physical measurements. Compared to day workers, shift workers' odds ratio of developing hypertension was 1.31 (95% CI 0.98-1.75). After adjusting confounding variables, adjusted odds ratio for entire subjects was 1.51 (95% CI 1.11-2.06). Also, for subjects who were in continuous service for over 20 years, odds ratio was 1.51 (95% CI 1.08-2.11). Shift workers had a higher chance of hypertension than day workers do. Particularly, the longer the workers work continuously, the risk of hypertension getting higher.

  17. The Effect of Shift Work on Urogenital Disease: a Systematic Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Nanfu; Haney, Nora M; Kohn, Taylor P; Pastuszak, Alexander W; Lipshultz, Larry I

    2018-05-28

    Non-standard shift work schedules negatively impact the overall health of shift workers, and several studies have shown that shift work, specifically, is detrimental to urogenital health. The aims of this study are to systematically review the literature and determine the effect of shift work on the outcomes of hypogonadism, male infertility, lower urinary tract symptoms, and urogenital cancers. Recent evidence supports associations between non-standard shift work and an increase in the frequency of prostate cancer and the severity of erectile dysfunction, lower urinary tract symptoms, and hypogonadal symptoms, as well as worsening of semen parameters and fertility. These associations are strengthened by the presence of shift work sleep disorder (SWSD) which affects up to 20% of shift workers. No studies have assessed the impact of shift work on the frequency or severity of nephrolithiasis, interstitial cystitis, pelvic pain, prostatitis, or urinary tract infections. Non-standard shift work has been associated with a variety of negative health outcomes and urologic complications, especially with concurrent shift work sleep disorder. Recognition of these elevated risks among shift workers can aid in more effective screening for urologic conditions.

  18. Phase-shift calculation using continuum-discretized states

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suzuki, Y.; Horiuchi, W.; Arai, K.

    2009-01-01

    We present a method for calculating scattering phase shifts which utilizes continuum-discretized states obtained in a bound-state type calculation. The wrong asymptotic behavior of the discretized state is remedied by means of the Green's function formalism. Test examples confirm the accuracy of the method. The α+n scattering is described using realistic nucleon-nucleon potentials. The 3/2 - and 1/2 - phase shifts obtained in a single-channel calculation are too small in comparison with experiment. The 1/2 + phase shifts are in reasonable agreement with experiment, and gain contributions both from the tensor and central components of the nucleon-nucleon potential.

  19. Search for Higgs shifts in white dwarfs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Onofrio, Roberto [Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia " Galileo Galilei," Università di Padova, Via Marzolo 8, I-35131 Padova (Italy); Wegner, Gary A., E-mail: onofrior@gmail.com, E-mail: gary.a.wegner@dartmouth.edu [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Dartmouth College, 6127 Wilder Laboratory, Hanover, NH 03755 (United States)

    2014-08-20

    We report on a search for differential shifts between electronic and vibronic transitions in carbon-rich white dwarfs BPM 27606 and Procyon B. The absence of differential shifts within the spectral resolution and taking into account systematic effects such as space motion and pressure shifts allows us to set the first upper bound of astrophysical origin on the coupling between the Higgs field and the Kreschmann curvature invariant. Our analysis provides the basis for a more general methodology to derive bounds to the coupling of long-range scalar fields to curvature invariants in an astrophysical setting complementary to the ones available from high-energy physics or table-top experiments.

  20. Examining the Conservative Shift from Harsh Justice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joycelyn Pollock

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Recently, a political shift has been observed, in that some political conservatives are now advocating, adjusting, or abandoning draconian drug laws, including mandatory minimums, and funding diversion, re-entry, and drug programs. Vocal proponents of this movement include Grover Norquist, Rand Paul, Edwin Meese, and Mark Levin, from the Texas Public Policy Council. Any movement away from the mass incarceration that has characterized the U.S. correctional policy for the last 30 years is welcomed; however, it is important to note carefully the philosophical foundation of the conservative’s interest in shifting correctional policy. This paper explores the potential factors contributing to this philosophical shift.

  1. Rapid and reliable protein structure determination via chemical shift threading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hafsa, Noor E; Berjanskii, Mark V; Arndt, David; Wishart, David S

    2018-01-01

    Protein structure determination using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy can be both time-consuming and labor intensive. Here we demonstrate how chemical shift threading can permit rapid, robust, and accurate protein structure determination using only chemical shift data. Threading is a relatively old bioinformatics technique that uses a combination of sequence information and predicted (or experimentally acquired) low-resolution structural data to generate high-resolution 3D protein structures. The key motivations behind using NMR chemical shifts for protein threading lie in the fact that they are easy to measure, they are available prior to 3D structure determination, and they contain vital structural information. The method we have developed uses not only sequence and chemical shift similarity but also chemical shift-derived secondary structure, shift-derived super-secondary structure, and shift-derived accessible surface area to generate a high quality protein structure regardless of the sequence similarity (or lack thereof) to a known structure already in the PDB. The method (called E-Thrifty) was found to be very fast (often chemical shift refinement, these results suggest that protein structure determination, using only NMR chemical shifts, is becoming increasingly practical and reliable. E-Thrifty is available as a web server at http://ethrifty.ca .

  2. Social Change and Language Shift: South Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamwangamalu, Nkonko M.

    2003-01-01

    Examines language shift from majority African languages, such as Sotho, Xhosa, and Zulu to English in South Africa. Examines the extent to which sociopolitical changes that have taken place in South Africa have impacted everyday linguistic interaction and have contributed to language shift from the indigenous African language to English,…

  3. Education and training of the shift technical advisor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thomas, E.L.

    1981-01-01

    This paper discusses the background and current approaches for qualifying the required position of Shift Technical Advisor (STA). Industry positions regarding the regulation are given. Problems associated with meeting the requirement are identified, along with a discussion of other alternatives for upgrading the education level of shift management. Inherent in the discussion is the conclusion that voluntary improvements in the training and education of shift management personnel are more effective than mandatory positions or degree requirements

  4. Assessment of the pivot shift using inertial sensors

    OpenAIRE

    Zaffagnini, Stefano; Signorelli, Cecilia; Grassi, Alberto; Yue, Han; Raggi, Federico; Urrizola, Francisco; Bonanzinga, Tommaso; Marcacci, Maurilio

    2016-01-01

    The pivot shift test is an important clinical tool used to assess the stability of the knee following an injury to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Previous studies have shown that significant variability exists in the performance and interpretation of this manoeuvre. Accordingly, a variety of techniques aimed at standardizing and quantifying the pivot shift test have been developed. In recent years, inertial sensors have been used to measure the kinematics of the pivot shift. The goal o...

  5. [Effect of the night shift work on micturition patterns of nurses].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Q; Hu, H; Liang, C; Wang, J; Xu, K X

    2016-08-18

    To compare the effects of rotational night shifts on the micturition patterns of female nurses. A total of 58 nurses without lower urinary tract symptoms were recruited, who worked in the Peking University People's Hospital during January and June in 2014. The nurses aged 20-43 years were divided into two groups, the night-shift group (n=28) and the non-shift group (n=30). The alcohol or coffee intaking were forbidden. In the night-shift group, nurses had worked on rotational shifts for at least 6 months. Their average age was (26.75±4.11) years. In the non-shift group, nurses took regular day-time work, whose average age was (27.80±5.60) years. A voiding diary was kept for 7 consecutive days at the end of 6 months, starting 2 days before their night duties until 4 days after completion of their night duties. For comparison, the non-shift group with regular shifts completed a 7-day voiding diary. In the 7-day recording voiding diary, the nurses were required to have the normal intake of liquid about 1 500-2 000 mL/d. The frequency volume charts of nocturia, the 8-hour interval urine production and frequency were compared between the two groups. Nocturia frequency was increased in the night-shift group [0.5 (0-2.4)] compared with the non-shift group [0 (0-2), P=0.02]. The volume of nocturia was increased in the night-shift group [125 mL (0-660 mL)] compared with the non-shift group [0 mL (0-340 mL), Pshift (Pnight-shift group increased on the day after night shift. When the night-shift nurses returned to daytime duty, the volume of urine decreased but nocturnal urine production remained high, and the frequency of nocturia also increased significantly (Pnight-shift group's voiding volume [(542.35±204.66) mL] and voiding frequency (2.24±0.69) were more than those of the non-shift group at the afternoon time (from 2 pm to 10 pm). During the 8 h interval night time (from 10 pm to 6 am), the volume of nocturia in the night-shift group [(309.74±162.74) mL] was more

  6. Mechanisms of Breast Cancer in Shift Workers: DNA Methylation in Five Core Circadian Genes in Nurses Working Night Shifts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samulin Erdem, Johanna; Skare, Øivind; Petersen-Øverleir, Marte; Notø, Heidi Ødegaard; Lie, Jenny-Anne S; Reszka, Edyta; Pepłońska, Beata; Zienolddiny, Shanbeh

    2017-01-01

    Shift work has been suggested to be associated with breast cancer risk, and circadian disruption in shift workers is hypothesized as one of the mechanisms of increased cancer risk. There is, however, insufficient molecular evidence supporting this hypothesis. Using the quantitative methodology of pyrosequencing, epigenetic changes in 5-methyl cytosine (5mC) in five circadian genes CLOCK , BMAL1 , CRY1, PER1 and PER2 in female nurses working night shift work (278 breast cancer cases, 280 controls) were analyzed. In breast cancer cases, a medium exposure to night work was associated with increased methylation levels of the CLOCK (p=0.050), BMAL1 (p=0.001) and CRY1 (p=0.040) genes, compared with controls. Within the cases, analysis of the effects of shift work on the methylation patterns showed that methylation of CRY1 was lower in those who had worked night shift and had a high exposure (p=0.006) compared with cases that had worked only days. For cases with a medium exposure to night work, an increase in BMAL1 (p=0.003) and PER1 (p=0.035) methylation was observed compared with day working (unexposed) cases. The methylation levels of the five core circadian genes were also analyzed in relation to the estrogen and progesterone receptors status of the tumors in the cases, and no correlations were observed. Furthermore, nineteen polymorphisms in the five circadian genes were assessed for their effects on the methylation levels of the respective genes, but no associations were found. In summary, our data suggest that epigenetic regulation of CLOCK , BMAL1, CRY1 and PER1 may contribute to breast cancer in shift workers.

  7. A probabilistic approach for validating protein NMR chemical shift assignments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Bowei; Wang, Yunjun; Wishart, David S.

    2010-01-01

    It has been estimated that more than 20% of the proteins in the BMRB are improperly referenced and that about 1% of all chemical shift assignments are mis-assigned. These statistics also reflect the likelihood that any newly assigned protein will have shift assignment or shift referencing errors. The relatively high frequency of these errors continues to be a concern for the biomolecular NMR community. While several programs do exist to detect and/or correct chemical shift mis-referencing or chemical shift mis-assignments, most can only do one, or the other. The one program (SHIFTCOR) that is capable of handling both chemical shift mis-referencing and mis-assignments, requires the 3D structure coordinates of the target protein. Given that chemical shift mis-assignments and chemical shift re-referencing issues should ideally be addressed prior to 3D structure determination, there is a clear need to develop a structure-independent approach. Here, we present a new structure-independent protocol, which is based on using residue-specific and secondary structure-specific chemical shift distributions calculated over small (3-6 residue) fragments to identify mis-assigned resonances. The method is also able to identify and re-reference mis-referenced chemical shift assignments. Comparisons against existing re-referencing or mis-assignment detection programs show that the method is as good or superior to existing approaches. The protocol described here has been implemented into a freely available Java program called 'Probabilistic Approach for protein Nmr Assignment Validation (PANAV)' and as a web server (http://redpoll.pharmacy.ualberta.ca/PANAVhttp://redpoll.pharmacy.ualberta.ca/PANAV) which can be used to validate and/or correct as well as re-reference assigned protein chemical shifts.

  8. Students' educational experiences and interaction with residents on night shifts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schiller, Jocelyn; Sokoloff, Max; Tendhar, Chosang; Schmidt, John; Christner, Jennifer

    2017-08-01

    The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to investigate whether increased night shifts for students on paediatric rotations had any negative impact on their overall quality of educational experiences in light of the implementation of duty-hour restrictions. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 30 students on paediatric rotations during the academic year 2011/12. Students completed two questionnaires, one in response to their experiences during the day shifts and another in response to their experiences during the night shifts. Only 25 cases were retained for the final analyses. The non-parametric Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to analyse the quantitative data, and constant comparative thematic analyses, as described by Creswell, were used to analyse the qualitative data. [Do] increased nights shifts for students … [have] any negative impact on their overall quality of educational experiences[?] RESULTS: The results indicated that students' perceived quality of experiences during the night shifts was greater, compared with their day shifts. Students reported having more time to socialise during the night shifts. They further reported that informal ways of learning, such as impromptu teaching and spontaneous discussions on clinical problems, were more beneficial, and these often occurred in abundance during the night shifts as opposed to the scheduled didactic teaching sessions that occur during the day shifts. This study documented many unanticipated benefits of night shifts. The feeling of cohesiveness of the night team deserves further exploration, as this can be linked to better performance outcomes. More consideration should be given to implementing night shifts as a regular feature of clerkships. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and The Association for the Study of Medical Education.

  9. Tax shifting in long-term gas sales contracts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Asche, Frank; Osmundsen, Petter; Tveteraas, Ragnar

    2002-01-01

    Producers or consumers faced with an increase in taxes are usually able to shift parts of it to other levels in the value chain. We examine who are actually bearing the burden of increased taxes on natural gas in the EU-area - consumers or exporters. Strategic trade policy and cross-border consumer tax shifting are of particular interest, as the EU-area increasingly is a net importer of gas. Traditional tax incidence theory presumes spot markets. Natural gas in the EU-area, however, is to a large extent regulated by incomplete long-term contracts. Still, spot market forces could be indicative for tax shifting, by determining the ex post bargaining power in contract renegotiations. By examining tax shifting in gas sales data we test whether this is the case. To investigate tax incidence, we estimate natural gas demand elasticities for the household sector in EU countries as well as a reduced form import equation. We test whether gas import prices, which are predominantly determined by long-term contracts, have been influenced by end-user tax shifts. (author)

  10. Comportamento de conectores de cisalhamento em vigas mistas aço-concreto com análise da resposta numérica

    OpenAIRE

    Gustavo Alves Tristão

    2002-01-01

    As vigas mistas aço-concreto têm sido bastante utilizadas na engenharia civil, tanto no Brasil como no contexto mundial. O comportamento adequado deste elemento estrutural faz-se pela interação entre ambos os materiais, a qual é garantida por conectores de cisalhamento. O presente trabalho apresenta uma visão geral do comportamento das vigas mistas aço-concreto, e, principalmente o estudo do comportamento estrutural de conectores de cisalhamento. Para tanto, faz-se uma simulação numérica dos ...

  11. Análise térmica de vigas mistas aço-concreto em situação de incêndio

    OpenAIRE

    Pitanga, Marcelo de Andrade

    2004-01-01

    A estabilidade estrutural dos edifícios em situação de incêndio é diretamente dependente da resistência mecânica de seus elementos estruturais que, por sua vez, dependem da temperatura que estarão sujeitos durante o incêndio. Os elementos estruturais quando expostos aos gases quentes do incêndio perdem resistência e rigidez devido à degeneração das propriedades físicas de seus materiais constituintes. A temperatura atingida por um elemento estrutural durante o incêndio é obj...

  12. Attentional Set-Shifting in Fragile X Syndrome

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van der Molen, M. J. W.; Van der Molen, M. W.; Ridderinkhof, K. R.; Hamel, B. C. J.; Curfs, L. M. G.; Ramakers, G. J. A.

    2012-01-01

    The ability to flexibly adapt to the changing demands of the environment is often reported as a core deficit in fragile X syndrome (FXS). However, the cognitive processes that determine this attentional set-shifting deficit remain elusive. The present study investigated attentional set-shifting ability in fragile X syndrome males with the…

  13. Hippocampal theta frequency shifts and operant behaviour

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lopes da Silva, F.H.; Kamp, A.

    1. 1. A shift of hippocampal dominant theta frequency to 6 c/sec has been demonstrated in the post-reward period in two dogs, which occurs consistently related in time to a well defined behavioural pattern in the course of an operant conditioning paradigm. 2. 2. The frequency shift was detected and

  14. Rotating shift work associated with obesity in men from northeastern Ontario.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grundy, Anne; Cotterchio, Michelle; Kirsh, Victoria A; Nadalin, Victoria; Lightfoot, Nancy; Kreiger, Nancy

    2017-08-01

    While some studies have suggested associations between shift work and obesity, few have been population-based or considered multiple shift schedules. Since obesity is linked with several chronic health conditions, understanding which types of shift work influence obesity is important and additional work with more detailed exposure assessment of shift work is warranted. Using multivariate polytomous logistic regression, we investigated the associations between shift work (evening/night, rotating and other shift schedules) and overweight and obesity as measured by body mass index cross-sectionally among 1561 men. These men had previously participated as population controls in a prostate cancer case-control study conducted in northeastern Ontario from 1995 to 1999. We obtained information on work history (including shift work), height and weight from the existing self-reported questionnaire data. We observed an association for ever (vs. never) having been employed in rotating shift work for both the overweight (OR [odds ratio] = 1.34; 95% CI [confidence interval]: 1.05-1.73) and obese (OR = 1.57; 95% CI: 1.12-2.21) groups. We also observed nonsignificant associations for ever (vs. never) having been employed in permanent evening/night shifts. In addition, we found a significant trend of increased risk for both overweight and obesity with increasing duration of rotating shift work. Both the positive association between rotating shift work and obesity and the suggested positive association for permanent evening/night shift work in this study are consistent with previous findings. Future population-based research that is able to build on our results while examining additional shift work characteristics will further clarify whether some shift patterns have a greater impact on obesity than others.

  15. Shift Work and Endocrine Disorders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. A. Ulhôa

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this review was to investigate the impact of shift and night work on metabolic processes and the role of alterations in the sleep-wake cycle and feeding times and environmental changes in the occurrence of metabolic disorders. The literature review was performed by searching three electronic databases for relevant studies published in the last 10 years. The methodological quality of each study was assessed, and best-evidence synthesis was applied to draw conclusions. The literature has shown changes in concentrations of melatonin, cortisol, ghrelin, and leptin among shift workers. Melatonin has been implicated for its role in the synthesis and action of insulin. The action of this hormone also regulates the expression of transporter glucose type 4 or triggers phosphorylation of the insulin receptor. Therefore, a reduction in melatonin can be associated with an increase in insulin resistance and a propensity for the development of diabetes. Moreover, shift work can negatively affect sleep and contribute to sedentarism, unhealthy eating habits, and stress. Recent studies on metabolic processes have increasingly revealed their complexity. Physiological changes induced in workers who invert their activity-rest cycle to fulfill work hours include disruptions in metabolic processes.

  16. [Night work, shift work: Breast cancer risk factor?].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benabu, J-C; Stoll, F; Gonzalez, M; Mathelin, C

    2015-12-01

    The aim of this review was to determine the link between night/shift work and breast cancer. The analysed articles were taken from the PUBMED database between 1996 and 2015. The keywords used were "breast cancer risk", "night work" and "shift work". In total, 25 articles were selected. Night/shift workers are more at risk to develop a breast cancer (relative risk (RR) between 1.09; 95% CI: 1.02-1.20 and 1.48; 95% CI: 1.36-1.61 in the meta-analyses). However, this risk is not found by some cohort and case-control studies. The circadian rhythm disruption, responsible of disorderliness of melatonin secretion, could be one of the mechanisms involved in the increase of that risk. Hormonal status of night/shift workers, their geographic origin, their lifestyle and their vitamin D deficiency appear as other mechanisms potentially responsible for increased risk of cancer in this professional population. Moreover, a dose-effect connection may exist, with an increase of the risk with the number of years of night/shift work. Night/shift work is associated with a moderate increased risk of breast cancer, especially among women who worked over 20 years. Recommendations concerning the breast monitoring in this population could be diffused. The benefit of melatonin supplementation remains to be assessed. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier SAS.

  17. Study on the Control Strategy of Shifting Time Involving Multigroup Clutches

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhen Zhu

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper focuses on the control strategy of shifting time involving multigroup clutches for a hydromechanical continuously variable transmission (HMCVT. The dynamic analyses of mathematical models are presented in this paper, and the simulation models are used to study the control strategy of HMCVT. Simulations are performed in Simulation X platform to investigate the shifting time of clutches under different operating conditions. On this basis, simulation analysis and test verification of two typical conditions, which play the decisive roles for the shifting quality, are carried out. The results show that there are differences in the shifting time of the two typical conditions. In the shifting process from the negative transmission of hydromechanical ranges to the positive transmission of hydromechanical ranges, the control strategy based on the shifting time is switching the clutches of shifting mechanism firstly and then disengaging a group of clutches of planetary gear mechanism and engaging another group of the clutches of planetary gear mechanism lastly. In the shifting process from the hydraulic range to the hydromechanical range, the control strategy based on the shifting time is switching the clutches of hydraulic shifting mechanism and planetary gear mechanism at first and then engaging the clutch of shifting mechanism.

  18. Doppler Shift Compensation Schemes in VANETs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. Nyongesa

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Over the last decade vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V communication has received a lot of attention as it is a crucial issue in intravehicle communication as well as in Intelligent Transportation System (ITS. In ITS the focus is placed on integration of communication between mobile and fixed infrastructure to execute road safety as well as nonsafety information dissemination. The safety application such as emergence alerts lays emphasis on low-latency packet delivery rate (PDR, whereas multimedia and infotainment call for high data rates at low bit error rate (BER. The nonsafety information includes multimedia streaming for traffic information and infotainment applications such as playing audio content, utilizing navigation for driving, and accessing Internet. A lot of vehicular ad hoc network (VANET research has focused on specific areas including channel multiplexing, antenna diversity, and Doppler shift compensation schemes in an attempt to optimize BER performance. Despite this effort few surveys have been conducted to highlight the state-of-the-art collection on Doppler shift compensation schemes. Driven by this cause we survey some of the recent research activities in Doppler shift compensation schemes and highlight challenges and solutions as a stock-taking exercise. Moreover, we present open issues to be further investigated in order to address the challenges of Doppler shift in VANETs.

  19. Rotating shift work associated with obesity in men from northeastern Ontario

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anne Grundy

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: While some studies have suggested associations between shift work and obesity, few have been population-based or considered multiple shift schedules. Since obesity is linked with several chronic health conditions, understanding which types of shift work influence obesity is important and additional work with more detailed exposure assessment of shift work is warranted. Methods: Using multivariate polytomous logistic regression, we investigated the associations between shift work (evening/night, rotating and other shift schedules and overweight and obesity as measured by body mass index cross-sectionally among 1561 men. These men had previously participated as population controls in a prostate cancer case-control study conducted in northeastern Ontario from 1995 to 1999. We obtained information on work history (including shift work, height and weight from the existing self-reported questionnaire data. Results: We observed an association for ever (vs. never having been employed in rotating shift work for both the overweight (OR [odds ratio] = 1.34; 95% CI [confidence interval]: 1.05–1.73 and obese (OR = 1.57; 95% CI: 1.12–2.21 groups. We also observed nonsignificant associations for ever (vs. never having been employed in permanent evening/night shifts. In addition, we found a significant trend of increased risk for both overweight and obesity with increasing duration of rotating shift work. Conclusion: Both the positive association between rotating shift work and obesity and the suggested positive association for permanent evening/night shift work in this study are consistent with previous findings. Future population-based research that is able to build on our results while examining additional shift work characteristics will further clarify whether some shift patterns have a greater impact on obesity than others.

  20. Operator performance on the night shift: phases 1 and 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morisseau, Dolores; Beere, Barnaby; Collier, Steve

    1999-04-01

    The objective of the project on operator performance on the night shift is to determine the effects of circadian rhythms on higher order cognitive processes. The project had two preliminary phases. Subjects were operators from the Halden Boiling Water Reactor, (Phase 1: 7 male operators and shift leaders, aged 26 to 35; Phase 2: 8 male operators and shift leaders, aged 26 to 53). The majority of the operators were the same for both studies. The preliminary work established that Norwegian operators' circadian rhythms fall within universal population norms and, thus, they are suitable subjects for such experiments. During Phase 1, two self-assessment instruments, the Stanford Sleepiness Scale (SSS) and the Global Vigour and Affect Scale (GVA), were administered every hour on all three shifts at the reactor. During Phase 2, three tests from the Walter Reed Performance Assessment Battery were administered at the beginning, middle, and end of each of the three shifts at the reactor. The tests (Serial Add-Subtract, Two-Column Addition, and Logical Reasoning) were administered using a hand-held computer. Both phases were conducted during regular work shifts for one complete shift rota (six weeks). ANOVA with two repeated measures showed that self-reported sleepiness on the night shift, sleepiness with respect to hours into the shift, and the interaction between them all reached statistical significance at p<.001. Data analyses (ANOVA) from Phase 2 indicate that the main effect of SHIFTNO (morning, afternoon, evening) on response times was significant (p<.002); the interaction between SHIFTNO and TINSHIFT (hours into shift) was also significant (p<.009). None of the effects on correctness of response was significant (Phase 2). While correctness of response was not significant for routine cognitive measures, the significant, progressive slowing of response times on the night shift reinforces the concern for possible performance decrements on the night shift. Thus, it

  1. Nonradioactive RNA mobility shift with chemiluminescent detection ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    hesham

    RNA mobility shift is one among many procedures used to study RNA-protein interaction. Yet, there are some limitations for the radioactive RNA mobility shift including; 1) the risk of using radiolabeled nucleotides, 2) the long time to get the results; this could range from days to weeks, and 3) its high cost as compared to ...

  2. Relationship of night and shift work with weight change and lifestyle behaviors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bekkers, Marga B M; Koppes, Lando L J; Rodenburg, Wendy; van Steeg, Harry; Proper, Karin I

    2015-04-01

    To prospectively study the association of night and shift work with weight change and lifestyle behaviors. Workers participating in the Netherlands Working Conditions Cohort Study (2008 and 2009) (N = 5951) reported night and shift work, weight and height. Groups included stable night or shift work, from day work to night or shift work, from night or shift work to day work, and no night or shift work in 2008 and 2009. Regression analyses were used to study association changes in night and shift work with weight change and changes in lifestyle behaviors. A larger weight change was seen in normal-weight workers changing from day to shift work (β = 0.93%; 95% confidence interval, 0.01 to 1.85) compared with stable no shift workers. No further associations of night and shift work with weight change were observed, neither in normal-weight, overweight, and obese workers. Despite the fact that starting night or shift work is associated with some unhealthy lifestyle habits, this study did not confirm a positive association of night and shift work with weight change over 1 year, except for normal-weight workers moving from day to shift work.

  3. Rotating shift work associated with obesity in men from northeastern Ontario

    OpenAIRE

    Anne Grundy; Michelle Cotterchio; Victoria A. Kirsh; Victoria Nadalin; Nancy Lightfoot; Nancy Kreiger

    2017-01-01

    Introduction: While some studies have suggested associations between shift work and obesity, few have been population-based or considered multiple shift schedules. Since obesity is linked with several chronic health conditions, understanding which types of shift work influence obesity is important and additional work with more detailed exposure assessment of shift work is warranted. Methods: Using multivariate polytomous logistic regression, we investigated the associations between shift work...

  4. The relationship between quality of sleep and night shift rotation interval.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Jae Youn; Chae, Chang Ho; Kim, Young Ouk; Son, Jun Seok; Kim, Ja Hyun; Kim, Chan Woo; Park, Hyoung Ouk; Lee, Jun Ho; Kwon, Soon Il; Kwon, Sun Il

    2015-01-01

    Shift work is closely related with workers' health. In particular, sleep is thought to be affected by shift work. In addition, shift work has been reported to be associated with the type or direction of shift rotation, number of consecutive night shifts, and number of off-duty days. We aimed to analyze the association between the night shift rotation interval and the quality of sleep reported by Korean female shift workers. In total, 2,818 female shift workers from the manufacturing industry who received an employee physical examination at a single university hospital from January to August in 2014 were included. Subjects were classified into three groups (A, B, and C) by their night shift rotation interval. The quality of sleep was measured using the Korean version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Descriptive analysis, univariate logistic regression, and multivariate logistic regression were performed. With group A as the reference, the odds ratio (OR) for having a seriously low quality of sleep was 1.456 (95% CI 1.171-1.811) and 2.348 (95% CI 1.852-2.977) for groups B and C, respectively. Thus, group C with the shortest night shift rotation interval was most likely to have a low quality of sleep. After adjustment for age, obesity, smoking status, alcohol consumption, exercise, being allowed to sleep during night shifts, work experience, and shift work experience, groups B and C had ORs of 1.419 (95% CI 1.134-1.777) and 2.238 (95% CI 1.737-2.882), respectively, compared to group A. Our data suggest that a shorter night shift rotation interval does not provide enough recovery time to adjust the circadian rhythm, resulting in a low quality of sleep. Because shift work is influenced by many different factors, future studies should aim to determine the most optimal shift work model and collect accurate, prospective data.

  5. Calculation of relativistic and isotope shifts in Mg I

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berengut, J.C.; Flambaum, V.V.; Kozlov, M.G.

    2005-01-01

    We present an ab initio method of calculation of the isotope and relativistic shifts in atoms with a few valence electrons. It is based on an energy calculation involving the combination of the configuration-interaction method and many-body perturbation theory. This work is motivated by analyses of quasar absorption spectra that suggest that the fine-structure constant α was smaller at an early epoch. Relativistic shifts are needed to measure this variation of α, while isotope shifts are needed to resolve systematic effects in this study. The isotope shifts can also be used to measure isotopic abundances in gas clouds in the early universe, which are needed to study nuclear reactions in stars and supernovae and test models of chemical evolution. This paper shows that the isotope shift in magnesium can be calculated to very high precision using our method

  6. Methodology to reduce 6D patient positional shifts into a 3D linear shift and its verification in frameless stereotactic radiotherapy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarkar, Biplab; Ray, Jyotirmoy; Ganesh, Tharmarnadar; Manikandan, Arjunan; Munshi, Anusheel; Rathinamuthu, Sasikumar; Kaur, Harpreet; Anbazhagan, Satheeshkumar; Giri, Upendra K.; Roy, Soumya; Jassal, Kanan; Kalyan Mohanti, Bidhu

    2018-04-01

    The aim of this article is to derive and verify a mathematical formulation for the reduction of the six-dimensional (6D) positional inaccuracies of patients (lateral, longitudinal, vertical, pitch, roll and yaw) to three-dimensional (3D) linear shifts. The formulation was mathematically and experimentally tested and verified for 169 stereotactic radiotherapy patients. The mathematical verification involves the comparison of any (one) of the calculated rotational coordinates with the corresponding value from the 6D shifts obtained by cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). The experimental verification involves three sets of measurements using an ArcCHECK phantom, when (i) the phantom was not moved (neutral position: 0MES), (ii) the position of the phantom shifted by 6D shifts obtained from CBCT (6DMES) from neutral position and (iii) the phantom shifted from its neutral position by 3D shifts reduced from 6D shifts (3DMES). Dose volume histogram and statistical comparisons were made between ≤ft and ≤ft . The mathematical verification was performed by a comparison of the calculated and measured yaw (γ°) rotation values, which gave a straight line, Y  =  1X with a goodness of fit as R 2  =  0.9982. The verification, based on measurements, gave a planning target volume receiving 100% of the dose (V100%) as 99.1  ±  1.9%, 96.3  ±  1.8%, 74.3  ±  1.9% and 72.6  ±  2.8% for the calculated treatment planning system values TPSCAL, 0MES, 3DMES and 6DMES, respectively. The statistical significance (p-values: paired sample t-test) of V100% were found to be 0.03 for the paired sample ≤ft and 0.01 for ≤ft . In this paper, a mathematical method to reduce 6D shifts to 3D shifts is presented. The mathematical method is verified by using well-matched values between the measured and calculated γ°. Measurements done on the ArcCHECK phantom also proved that the proposed methodology is correct. The post-correction of the

  7. Do working environment interventions reach shift workers?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nabe-Nielsen, Kirsten; Jørgensen, Marie Birk; Garde, Anne Helene; Clausen, Thomas

    2016-01-01

    Shift workers are exposed to more physical and psychosocial stressors in the working environment as compared to day workers. Despite the need for targeted prevention, it is likely that workplace interventions less frequently reach shift workers. The aim was therefore to investigate whether the reach of workplace interventions varied between shift workers and day workers and whether such differences could be explained by the quality of leadership exhibited at different times of the day. We used questionnaire data from 5361 female care workers in the Danish eldercare sector. The questions concerned usual working hours, quality of leadership, and self-reported implementation of workplace activities aimed at stress reduction, reorganization of the working hours, and participation in improvements of working procedures or qualifications. Compared with day workers, shift workers were less likely to be reached by workplace interventions. For example, night workers less frequently reported that they had got more flexibility (OR 0.5; 95 % CI 0.3-0.7) or that they had participated in improvements of the working procedures (OR 0.6; 95 % CI 0.5-0.8). Quality of leadership to some extent explained the lack of reach of interventions especially among fixed evening workers. In the light of the evidence of shift workers' stressful working conditions, we suggest that future studies focus on the generalizability of results of the present study and on how to reach this group and meet their needs when designing and implementing workplace interventions.

  8. Shift work, emotional labour and psychological well-being of nursing staff

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christel Vermaak

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This study explored the effect of emotional labour and the psychological experience of shift work on the psychological well-being at work (PWBW of long term care nursing staff (n = 206. The ‘psychological experience of shift work’ construct defines the perception of the negative effect that working shifts has on the employees’ daily life. Correlation and multiple regression analyses were conducted. Support was found for the negative relationships between the psychological experience of shift work and PWBW, as well as the emotional labour dimension of surface acting and PWBW. A hierarchical regression analysis suggested that, when controlling for the effect of emotional labour and certain demographic variables (including number of dependents, tenure and actual shift worked, a significant amount of unique variance in PWBW, could be accounted for by the psychological experience of shift work. These results indicate that the PWBW of nursing staff is not only influenced by which shift the individual is on (i.e. day or night shift, but more so by the individuals’ psychological experience of shift work.

  9. The STAR ESL, electronic shift and handover log

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hajdu, L; Lauret, J, E-mail: lbhajdu@bnl.gov

    2008-07-01

    Keeping a clear and accurate experiment log is important for any scientific experiment. The concept is certainly not new but keeping accurate while useful records for a Nuclear Physics experiment such as the Solenoidal Tracker at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (STAR at RHIC) is not a priori a simple matter - STAR operates 24 hours a day for six months out of the year with more than 24 shift crews operating 16 different subsystems (some located remotely). To meet the challenge of not only logging the information but passing it in a concise manner from one shift to another, the STAR experiment has designed an Electronic Shift-Log (ESL), a flexible application written in Java and interfacing with the Data Acquisition tools, Quality Assurance reporting, Online shift crews or remote personnel and experts as well as including features such as shift change-over (or handover) forms, tailored to the sub-group of interest. We will present an overview of STAR's Electronic Log, a system that is clear, reliable, safe, consistent, easy to use and globally viewable in real time with secure connections.

  10. Food and nutrient intake among workers with different shift systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hemiö, Katri; Puttonen, Sampsa; Viitasalo, Katriina; Härmä, Mikko; Peltonen, Markku; Lindström, Jaana

    2015-07-01

    Over 20% of employees in Europe work in shifts. Shift work increases the risk for chronic diseases, but a healthy lifestyle may attenuate the adverse effect of shift work. The aim of this study was to explore food and nutrient intake differences between working time groups. The participants were 1478 employees (55% of men) of an airline divided into three working time groups: day work (n=608), shift work without in-flight work (n=541) and in-flight work (n=329). Measures included laboratory tests, physical measurements, a questionnaire, and food and nutrient intake estimations by a validated 16-item food intake questionnaire. Shift working men were less likely to consume vegetables (p<0.001) and fruits (p=0.049) daily than male day and in-flight workers. In women, energy intake from saturated fat was higher among shift workers compared with day workers (12.6 vs 12.2 E%, p=0.023). In older female participants, energy intake from fat and saturated fat was higher in the shift work and in-flight work groups than in the day work group (p<0.001). In this study, shift work and working environment were associated with dietary habits, and this association was not explained by other characteristics such as workers' educational level. Shift workers' increased risk for chronic diseases should be taken into account and lifestyle counselling including advice in nutrition should be incorporated in routine occupational healthcare of shift workers. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  11. When teams shift among processes: insights from simulation and optimization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kennedy, Deanna M; McComb, Sara A

    2014-09-01

    This article introduces process shifts to study the temporal interplay among transition and action processes espoused in the recurring phase model proposed by Marks, Mathieu, and Zacarro (2001). Process shifts are those points in time when teams complete a focal process and change to another process. By using team communication patterns to measure process shifts, this research explores (a) when teams shift among different transition processes and initiate action processes and (b) the potential of different interventions, such as communication directives, to manipulate process shift timing and order and, ultimately, team performance. Virtual experiments are employed to compare data from observed laboratory teams not receiving interventions, simulated teams receiving interventions, and optimal simulated teams generated using genetic algorithm procedures. Our results offer insights about the potential for different interventions to affect team performance. Moreover, certain interventions may promote discussions about key issues (e.g., tactical strategies) and facilitate shifting among transition processes in a manner that emulates optimal simulated teams' communication patterns. Thus, we contribute to theory regarding team processes in 2 important ways. First, we present process shifts as a way to explore the timing of when teams shift from transition to action processes. Second, we use virtual experimentation to identify those interventions with the greatest potential to affect performance by changing when teams shift among processes. Additionally, we employ computational methods including neural networks, simulation, and optimization, thereby demonstrating their applicability in conducting team research. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

  12. Lamb shift of energy levels in quantum rings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kryuchkyan, G Yu; Kyriienko, O; Shelykh, I A

    2015-01-01

    We study the vacuum radiative corrections to energy levels of a confined electron in quantum rings. The calculations are provided for the Lamb shift of energy levels in a low-momentum region of virtual photons and for both one-dimensional and two-dimensional quantum rings. We show that contrary to the well known case of a hydrogen atom the value of the Lamb shift increases with the magnetic momentum quantum number m. We also investigate the dependence of the Lamb shift on magnetic flux piercing the ring and demonstrate a presence of magnetic-flux-dependent oscillations. For a one-dimensional ring the value of the shift strongly depends on the radius of the ring. It is small for semiconductor rings but can attain measurable quantities in natural organic ring-shape molecules, such as benzene, cycloalcanes and porphyrins. (paper)

  13. Linear beam-beam tune shift calculations for the Tevatron Collider

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, D.

    1989-01-01

    A realistic estimate of the linear beam-beam tune shift is necessary for the selection of an optimum working point in the tune diagram. Estimates of the beam-beam tune shift using the ''Round Beam Approximation'' (RBA) have over estimated the tune shift for the Tevatron. For a hadron machine with unequal lattice functions and beam sizes, an explicit calculation using the beam size at the crossings is required. Calculations for various Tevatron lattices used in Collider operation are presented. Comparisons between the RBA and the explicit calculation, for elliptical beams, are presented. This paper discusses the calculation of the linear tune shift using the program SYNCH. Selection of a working point is discussed. The magnitude of the tune shift is influenced by the choice of crossing points in the lattice as determined by the pbar ''cogging effects''. Also discussed is current cogging procedures and presents results of calculations for tune shifts at various crossing points in the lattice. Finally, a comparison of early pbar tune measurements with the present linear tune shift calculations is presented. 17 refs., 13 figs., 3 tabs

  14. The shifting beverage landscape.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Storey, Maureen

    2010-04-26

    STOREY, M.L. The shifting beverage landscape. PHYSIOL BEHAV, 2010. - Simultaneous lifestyle changes have occurred in the last few decades, creating an imbalance in energy intake and energy expenditure that has led to overweight and obesity. Trends in the food supply show that total daily calories available per capita increased 28% since 1970. Total energy intake among men and women has also increased dramatically since that time. Some have suggested that intake of beverages has had a disproportional impact on obesity. Data collected by the Beverage Marketing Corporation between 1988-2008 demonstrate that, in reality, fewer calories per ounce are being produced by the beverage industry. Moreover, data from the National Cancer Institute show that soft drink intake represents 5.5% of daily calories. Data from NHANES 1999-2003 vs. 2003-06 may demonstrate a shift in beverage consumption for age/gender groups, ages 6 to>60years. The beverages provided in schools have significantly changed since 2006 when the beverage industry implemented School Beverage Guidelines. This voluntary action has removed full-calorie soft drinks from participating schools across the country. This shift to lower-calorie and smaller-portion beverages in school has led to a significant decrease in total beverage calories in schools. These data support the concept that to prevent and treat obesity, public health efforts should focus on energy balance and that a narrow focus on sweetened beverages is unlikely to have any meaningful impact on this complex problem. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. KN phase shifts in a constituent quark model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lemaire, S.; Labarsouque, J.; Silvestre-Brac, B.

    2001-01-01

    In a first step, the I=1 and I=0 kaon-nucleon s-wave phase shifts have been calculated in a quark potential model using the resonating group method (RGM) and a relativistic kinematics. The spinless Salpeter equation has been solved numerically using the Fourier grid hamiltonian method. The results have been compared to the nonrelativistic ones. For each isospin channel the phase shifts obtained are not so far from the nonrelativistic results. Then, K-nucleon p, d, f, g-waves phase shifts have been calculated using a nonrelativistic kinematics

  16. Origins of Stokes shift in PbS nanocrystals

    KAUST Repository

    Voznyy, Oleksandr; Levina, Larissa; Fan, Feng-Jia; Walters, Grant; Fan, James Z.; Kiani, Amirreza; Ip, Alexander H.; Thon, Susanna M.; Proppe, Andrew; Liu, Mengxia; Sargent, Edward H.

    2017-01-01

    shift of up to 200 meV is observed, substantially larger than the estimates of dark-bright state splitting or vibronic relaxations. The shift origin remains highly debated, as contradictory signatures of both surface and bulk character were reported

  17. Night-shift work is associated with increased pain perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matre, Dagfinn; Knardahl, Stein; Nilsen, Kristian Bernhard

    2017-05-01

    Objectives The aim of the present study was to determine whether shift workers exhibit increased perception of experimentally induced pain after working night shifts. Methods The study was a paired cross-over design with two sleep conditions, after at least two nights of habitual sleep and after two consecutive night shifts at work. Fifty-three nurses in rotating shift work participated. The sensitivity to electrically induced pain, heat pain, cold pain, pressure pain and pain inhibition was determined experimentally in each sleep condition. Sleepiness and vigilance were also assessed. Results Night-shift work (NSW) increased the sensitivity to electrically induced pain and heat pain (P≤0.001). Relative to habitual sleep, electrically induced pain increased by 22.3% and heat pain increased by 26.5%. The sensitivity to cold and pressure pain did not change, changes relative to habitual sleep was 0.5). Pain inhibition was 66.9% stronger after NSW versus after habitual sleep (Peffect sizes and may be an important marker for studies comparing the physiological effects of different shift work schedules. Explanations for the differential effect on different pain modalities should be a focus for future studies.

  18. An algebraic substructuring using multiple shifts for eigenvalue computations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ko, Jin Hwan; Jung, Sung Nam; Byun, Do Young; Bai, Zhaojun

    2008-01-01

    Algebraic substructuring (AS) is a state-of-the-art method in eigenvalue computations, especially for large-sized problems, but originally it was designed to calculate only the smallest eigenvalues. Recently, an updated version of AS has been introduced to calculate the interior eigenvalues over a specified range by using a shift concept that is referred to as the shifted AS. In this work, we propose a combined method of both AS and the shifted AS by using multiple shifts for solving a considerable number of eigensolutions in a large-sized problem, which is an emerging computational issue of noise or vibration analysis in vehicle design. In addition, we investigated the accuracy of the shifted AS by presenting an error criterion. The proposed method has been applied to the FE model of an automobile body. The combined method yielded a higher efficiency without loss of accuracy in comparison to the original AS

  19. The effect of shift work on red blood cell distribution width.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loprinzi, Paul D

    2015-04-01

    Limited research demonstrates that shift work (e.g., evening shift, night shift, rotating shift) increases the risk of certain health outcomes, such as hypertriglyceridemia and metabolic syndrome. Red blood cell distribution width (RDW), which is commonly assessed and reported by physicians, is a novel biomarker of cardiovascular disease. However, no study has examined the association of shift work on RDW, which was the purpose of this study. Data from the 2005-2010 NHANES were used. RDW was assessed from a blood sample; shift work was assessed from a questionnaire, and various demographic, behavioral/psychological, occupational, and biological parameters were included as covariates. The fully adjusted model showed that the odds of having an elevated RDW for women on rotating shift vs. day shift increased by 46% (OR=1.46; 95% CI: 1.03-2.08). Women on a rotating shift had increased odds of having an elevated RDW, which is concerning as elevated RDW increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality. Health care professionals are encouraged to include questions about organization of work schedules and their tolerance of such schedules during the patient's consultation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Prevalence of workers with shifts in hearing by industry: a comparison of OSHA and NIOSH Hearing Shift Criteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masterson, Elizabeth A; Sweeney, Marie Haring; Deddens, James A; Themann, Christa L; Wall, David K

    2014-04-01

    The purpose of this study was to compare the prevalence of workers with National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health significant threshold shifts (NSTS), Occupational Safety and Health Administration standard threshold shifts (OSTS), and with OSTS with age correction (OSTS-A), by industry using North American Industry Classification System codes. From 2001 to 2010, worker audiograms were examined. Prevalence and adjusted prevalence ratios for NSTS were estimated by industry. NSTS, OSTS, and OSTS-A prevalences were compared by industry. Twenty percent of workers had an NSTS, 14% had an OSTS, and 6% had an OSTS-A. For most industries, the OSTS and OSTS-A criteria identified 28% to 36% and 66% to 74% fewer workers than the NSTS criteria, respectively. Use of NSTS criteria allowing for earlier detection of shifts in hearing is recommended for improved prevention of occupational hearing loss.

  1. Nurses’ Shift Length and Overtime Working in 12 European Countries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dall’Ora, Chiara; Simon, Michael; Ball, Jane; Lindqvist, Rikard; Rafferty, Anne-Marie; Schoonhoven, Lisette; Tishelman, Carol; Aiken, Linda H.

    2014-01-01

    Background: Despite concerns as to whether nurses can perform reliably and effectively when working longer shifts, a pattern of two 12- to 13-hour shifts per day is becoming common in many hospitals to reduce shift to shift handovers, staffing overlap, and hence costs. Objectives: To describe shift patterns of European nurses and investigate whether shift length and working beyond contracted hours (overtime) is associated with nurse-reported care quality, safety, and care left undone. Methods: Cross-sectional survey of 31,627 registered nurses in general medical/surgical units within 488 hospitals across 12 European countries. Results: A total of 50% of nurses worked shifts of ≤8 hours, but 15% worked ≥12 hours. Typical shift length varied between countries and within some countries. Nurses working for ≥12 hours were more likely to report poor or failing patient safety [odds ratio (OR)=1.41; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.13–1.76], poor/fair quality of care (OR=1.30; 95% CI, 1.10–1.53), and more care activities left undone (RR=1.13; 95% CI, 1.09–1.16). Working overtime was also associated with reports of poor or failing patient safety (OR=1.67; 95% CI, 1.51–1.86), poor/fair quality of care (OR=1.32; 95% CI, 1.23–1.42), and more care left undone (RR=1.29; 95% CI, 1.27–1.31). Conclusions: European registered nurses working shifts of ≥12 hours and those working overtime report lower quality and safety and more care left undone. Policies to adopt a 12-hour nursing shift pattern should proceed with caution. Use of overtime working to mitigate staffing shortages or increase flexibility may also incur additional risk to quality. PMID:25226543

  2. Crichton's phase-shift ambiguity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Atkinson, D.; Johnson, P.W.; Mehta, N.; Roo, M. de

    1973-01-01

    A re-examination of the SPD phase-shift ambiguity is made with a view to understanding certain singular features of the elastic unitarity constraint. An explicit solution of Crichton's equations is presented, and certain features of this solution are displayed graphically. In particular, it is shown

  3. Maximum intensity projection MR angiography using shifted image data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Machida, Yoshio; Ichinose, Nobuyasu; Hatanaka, Masahiko; Goro, Takehiko; Kitake, Shinichi; Hatta, Junicchi.

    1992-01-01

    The quality of MR angiograms has been significantly improved in past several years. Spatial resolution, however, is not sufficient for clinical use. On the other hand, MR image data can be filled at anywhere using Fourier shift theorem, and the quality of multi-planar reformed image has been reported to be improved remarkably using 'shifted data'. In this paper, we have clarified the efficiency of 'shifted data' for maximum intensity projection MR angiography. Our experimental studies and theoretical consideration showd that the quality of MR angiograms has been significantly improved using 'shifted data' as follows; 1) remarkable reduction of mosaic artifact, 2) improvement of spatial continuity for the blood vessels, and 3) reduction of variance for the signal intensity along the blood vessels. In other words, the angiograms looks much 'finer' than conventional ones, although the spatial resolution is not improved theoretically. Furthermore, we found the quality of MR angiograms dose not improve significantly with the 'shifted data' more than twice as dense as ordinal ones. (author)

  4. PEAK SHIFTS PRODUCED BY CORRELATED RESPONSE TO SELECTION.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Price, Trevor; Turelli, Michael; Slatkin, Montgomery

    1993-02-01

    Traits may evolve both as a consequence of direct selection and also as a correlated response to selection on other traits. While correlated response may be important for both the production of evolutionary novelty and in the build-up of complex characters, its potential role in peak shifts has been neglected empirically and theoretically. We use a quantitative genetic model to investigate the conditions under which a character, Y, which has two alternative optima, can be dragged from one optimum to the other as a correlated response to selection on a second character, X. High genetic correlations between the two characters make the transition, or peak shift, easier, as does weak selection tending to restore Y to the optimum from which it is being dragged. When selection on Y is very weak, the conditions for a peak shift depend only on the location of the new optimum for X and are independent of the strength of selection moving it there. Thus, if the "adaptive valley" for Y is very shallow, little reduction in mean fitness is needed to produce a shift. If the selection acts strongly to keep Y at its current optimum, very intense directional selection on X, associated with a dramatic drop in mean fitness, is required for a peak shift. When strong selection is required, the conditions for peak shifts driven by correlated response might occur rarely, but still with sufficient frequency on a geological timescale to be evolutionarily important. © 1993 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

  5. Analytic matrix elements with shifted correlated Gaussians

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fedorov, D. V.

    2017-01-01

    Matrix elements between shifted correlated Gaussians of various potentials with several form-factors are calculated analytically. Analytic matrix elements are of importance for the correlated Gaussian method in quantum few-body physics.......Matrix elements between shifted correlated Gaussians of various potentials with several form-factors are calculated analytically. Analytic matrix elements are of importance for the correlated Gaussian method in quantum few-body physics....

  6. PaaS for web applications with OpenShift Origin

    OpenAIRE

    Lossent, A; Rodriguez Peon, A; Wagner, A

    2017-01-01

    The CERN Web Frameworks team has deployed OpenShift Origin to facilitate deployment of web applications and to improving efficiency in terms of computing resource usage. OpenShift leverages Docker containers and Kubernetes orchestration to provide a Platform-as-a-service solution oriented for web applications. We will review use cases and how OpenShift was integrated with other services such as source control, web site management and authentication services.

  7. PaaS for web applications with OpenShift Origin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lossent, A.; Rodriguez Peon, A.; Wagner, A.

    2017-10-01

    The CERN Web Frameworks team has deployed OpenShift Origin to facilitate deployment of web applications and to improving efficiency in terms of computing resource usage. OpenShift leverages Docker containers and Kubernetes orchestration to provide a Platform-as-a-service solution oriented for web applications. We will review use cases and how OpenShift was integrated with other services such as source control, web site management and authentication services.

  8. Problems with the use of line shifts in plasmas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alexiou, Spiros

    2003-01-01

    In this work a nonperturbative semiclassical treatment with proper account of penetrating collisions and monopoles is used to illustrate the relative importance of penetration, close collisions and monopoles to the line shift. The main result of this work is that shifts are very sensitive, not linear in the density and even the sign of shifts may be affected by fairly fine effects, such as small deviations from thermal behavior

  9. Enhanced preference for high-fat foods following a simulated night shift.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cain, Sean W; Filtness, Ashleigh J; Phillips, Craig L; Anderson, Clare

    2015-05-01

    Shift workers are prone to obesity and associated co-morbidities such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Sleep restriction associated with shift work results in dramatic endocrine and metabolic effects that predispose shift workers to these adverse health consequences. While sleep restriction has been associated with increased caloric intake, food preference may also play a key role in weight gain associated with shift work. This study examined the impact of an overnight simulated night shift on food preference. Sixteen participants [mean 20.1, standard deviation (SD) 1.4 years; 8 women] underwent a simulated night shift and control condition in a counterbalanced order. On the following morning, participants were provided an opportunity for breakfast that included high- and low-fat food options (mean 64.8% and 6.4% fat, respectively). Participants ate significantly more high-fat breakfast items after the simulated night shift than after the control condition [167.3, standard error of the mean (SEM 28.7) g versus 211.4 (SEM 35.6) g; P=0.012]. The preference for high-fat food was apparent among the majority of individuals following the simulated night shift (81%), but not for the control condition (31%). Shift work and control conditions did not differ, however, in the total amount of food or calories consumed. A simulated night shift leads to preference for high-fat food during a subsequent breakfast opportunity. These results suggest that food choice may contribute to weight-related chronic health problems commonly seen among night shift workers.

  10. The experience of being a shift-leader in a hospital ward.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldblatt, Hadass; Granot, Michal; Admi, Hanna; Drach-Zahavy, Anat

    2008-07-01

    This paper is a report of a study to explore the experience of being a shift-leader, and how these nurses view the management of their shift. Professional demands on skilled and capable shift-leaders, who competently handle multi-disciplinary staff and patients, as well as operations and information, call for the development of efficient nursing leadership roles. Nevertheless, knowledge of shift-leaders' perspectives concerning their task management and leadership styles is relatively limited. Twenty-eight Registered Nurses working in an Israeli medical centre participated in this qualitative study. Data were gathered through in-depth interviews conducted in two phases between February and October 2005: three focus group interviews (phase 1) followed by seven individual interviews (phase 2). Content analysis revealed two major themes which constitute the essence of being a shift-leader: (1) a burden of responsibility, where the shift-leader moves between positions of maximum control and delegating some responsibility to other nurses; (2) the role's temporal dimension, expressed as a strong desire to reach the end of the shift safely, and taking managerial perspectives beyond the boundaries of the specific shift. The core of the shift-leader's position is an immense sense of responsibility. However, this managerial role is transient and therefore lacks an established authority. A two-dimensional taxonomy of these themes reveals four types of potential and actual coping among shift-leaders, indicating the need to train them in leadership skills and systemic thinking. Interventions to limit the potential stress hazards should be focused simultaneously on shift-leaders themselves and on job restructuring.

  11. Blackbody radiation shift of the Ga+ clock transition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cheng, Yongjun; Mitroy, J

    2013-01-01

    The blackbody radiation shift of the Ga + clock transition is computed to be −0.0140 ± 0.0062 Hz at 300 K. The small shift is consistent with the blackbody radiation shifts of the clock transitions of other group III ions which are of a similar size. The polarizabilities of the Ga + states were computed using the configuration interaction method with an underlying semi-empirical core potential. Quadrupole and non-adiabatic dipole polarizabilities were also computed. A byproduct of the analysis involved calculations of the low-lying spectrum and oscillator strengths, including polarizabilities, of the Ga 2+ ion. (paper)

  12. Probabilistic validation of protein NMR chemical shift assignments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dashti, Hesam; Tonelli, Marco; Lee, Woonghee; Westler, William M.; Cornilescu, Gabriel; Ulrich, Eldon L.; Markley, John L.

    2016-01-01

    Data validation plays an important role in ensuring the reliability and reproducibility of studies. NMR investigations of the functional properties, dynamics, chemical kinetics, and structures of proteins depend critically on the correctness of chemical shift assignments. We present a novel probabilistic method named ARECA for validating chemical shift assignments that relies on the nuclear Overhauser effect data. ARECA has been evaluated through its application to 26 case studies and has been shown to be complementary to, and usually more reliable than, approaches based on chemical shift databases. ARECA is available online at http://areca.nmrfam.wisc.edu/ http://areca.nmrfam.wisc.edu/

  13. Probabilistic validation of protein NMR chemical shift assignments

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dashti, Hesam [University of Wisconsin-Madison, Graduate Program in Biophysics, Biochemistry Department (United States); Tonelli, Marco; Lee, Woonghee; Westler, William M.; Cornilescu, Gabriel [University of Wisconsin-Madison, Biochemistry Department, National Magnetic Resonance Facility at Madison (United States); Ulrich, Eldon L. [University of Wisconsin-Madison, BioMagResBank, Biochemistry Department (United States); Markley, John L., E-mail: markley@nmrfam.wisc.edu, E-mail: jmarkley@wisc.edu [University of Wisconsin-Madison, Biochemistry Department, National Magnetic Resonance Facility at Madison (United States)

    2016-01-15

    Data validation plays an important role in ensuring the reliability and reproducibility of studies. NMR investigations of the functional properties, dynamics, chemical kinetics, and structures of proteins depend critically on the correctness of chemical shift assignments. We present a novel probabilistic method named ARECA for validating chemical shift assignments that relies on the nuclear Overhauser effect data. ARECA has been evaluated through its application to 26 case studies and has been shown to be complementary to, and usually more reliable than, approaches based on chemical shift databases. ARECA is available online at http://areca.nmrfam.wisc.edu/ http://areca.nmrfam.wisc.edu/.

  14. The evolution of sheep production in Rio Grande do Sul and Uruguay: a comparative analysis of structural change Evolução da produção ovina no Rio Grande do Sul e Uruguai: análise comparativa de mudança estrutural

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    João Garibaldi Almeida Viana

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available This study intended to analyze comparatively the evolution and the structural changes in sheep production in Rio Grande do Sul and Uruguay, being the international wool crisis used as a reference point. The analysis method was based on an econometrics time series, and the analysis began with the estimation of models that used linear and semi logarithmic regression. The estimation of the models proved that there were structural changes in sheep production in these regions, and this estimation used the wool crisis as a point of reference. In Rio Grande do Sul after 1990, the variables of sheep stock, wool and sheep meat presented a negative variable in their posted annual growth rates, as they decreased by 5.9%, 5.6% and 5.6%, respectively. The negative growth rates in Uruguay for the same variables in the same period were 6.1%, 5.6% and 0.9%, respectively. The data models indicate that there was no return to a balanced situation after the changes caused by the crisis. Therefore, the sheep market was permanently affected, which dynamically determined the evolution of sheep production and was defined by changes and uncertainty.O artigo teve por objetivo analisar comparativamente a evolução e a mudança estrutural da produção ovina no Rio Grande do Sul e Uruguai utilizando como ponto de referência a crise internacional de lã. O método de análise baseou-se na econometria de séries temporais, partindo da estimação de modelos de regressão linear e semilogarítmica. A estimação dos modelos comprovou a mudança estrutural na produção ovina do Rio Grande do Sul e Uruguai, tendo como referência a crise da lã. No Rio Grande do Sul, as variáveis de rebanho ovino, produção de lã e de carne ovina apresentou uma variação negativa em sua taxa anual pós-1990 de 5,9%, 5,6% e 5,6%, respectivamente. No Uruguai, as taxas negativas foram de 6,1%, 5,6% e 0,9%, para as mesmas variáveis do período. Os dados dos modelos indicam que não houve

  15. Monitoring of the sleep patterns of shift workers in the automotive industry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kawada, Tomoyuki; Shimizu, Takako; Kuratomi, Yushiro; Suto, Sachiko; Kanai, Tomoe; Nishime, Akemi; Nakano, Noriko

    2011-01-01

    The effect of shift schedules on the amount of sleep that workers receive is an important factor in workplace health and safety as well as the employees' overall quality of life. The objective of this study is to compare sleep period among workers engaging in each of the three-shift work. The amount of sleep (sleep period) that male workers with rotating shift schedules received was measured using accelerometers. The mean age of the 16 male workers enrolled in this study was 54.3 years (one standard deviation, 6.7 years). Thirteen participants ranged in age from 51 to 60 years of age, and the other three participants were 32, 48, and 50 years old. Work shifts were rotated on a weekly basis and were categorized into three periods: shift-1 (8:00 to 17:00), shift-2 (15:00 to 23:50), and shift-3 (23:30 to 8:15). Each work week consisted of 5 days. No significant differences were observed in the mean sleep period for each of the three shifts. However, the sleep periods during shift-1 or shift-2 tended to be longer than that obtained during shift-3. No effect of age on the length of the sleep period was observed. Rotating shift-work did not affect the amount of sleep that workers obtained. However, a comparison with previous study results suggests that morning shifts (starting at 6 AM) and day shifts (starting at 8 AM) may have different effects on sleep time.

  16. Improving image quality of parallel phase-shifting digital holography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Awatsuji, Yasuhiro; Tahara, Tatsuki; Kaneko, Atsushi; Koyama, Takamasa; Nishio, Kenzo; Ura, Shogo; Kubota, Toshihiro; Matoba, Osamu

    2008-01-01

    The authors propose parallel two-step phase-shifting digital holography to improve the image quality of parallel phase-shifting digital holography. The proposed technique can increase the effective number of pixels of hologram twice in comparison to the conventional parallel four-step technique. The increase of the number of pixels makes it possible to improve the image quality of the reconstructed image of the parallel phase-shifting digital holography. Numerical simulation and preliminary experiment of the proposed technique were conducted and the effectiveness of the technique was confirmed. The proposed technique is more practical than the conventional parallel phase-shifting digital holography, because the composition of the digital holographic system based on the proposed technique is simpler.

  17. Inequalities for scattering phase shifts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baumgartner, B.; Grosse, H.

    1985-01-01

    A recently developed method, which was used to derive bounds on energy levels, is applied to continuous spectra and gives relations between scattering phase shifts of various angular momenta. (Author)

  18. Long range surface plasmon resonance enhanced electro-optically tunable Goos-Hänchen shift and Imbert-Fedorov shift in ZnSe prism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goswami, Nabamita; Kar, Aparupa; Saha, Ardhendu

    2014-11-01

    A new theoretical approach towards the tuning of Goos-Hänchen shift and Imbert-Fedorov shift for the reflected light beam is observed, designed and simulated in this paper through electro-optically tunable liquid crystal at an incident wavelength of 1550 nm within the communication window. Here the considered Kretschmann-Raether geometry comprises a ZnSe prism and a liquid crystal layer of E44 between two metal layers of silver, where with the application of electric field from (0-10) V electro-optically tuning of the Goos-Hänchen shift from 64.09 μm to -53.408 μm and the Imbert-Fedorov shift from 122.8 μm to -32.5 μm for a change in refractive index of the liquid crystal layer from 1.52-1.79 are envisaged. This idea expedites the scope of fine tuning in optical switching within the μm ranges.

  19. Assessment of cardiometabolic risk among shift workers in Hungary

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jermendy György

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Aim Shift workers may be at risk of different diseases. In order to assess cardiometabolic risk in shift workers, a cross-sectional study was performed among active workers. Methods A total of 481 workers (121 men, 360 women were investigated; most of them were employees in light industry (58.2% or in public services (23.9%. Past medical history was recorded and physical examination was performed. Questionnaires were used to characterize daily activity. Fasting venous blood sample was collected for measuring laboratory parameters. Data from shift workers (n = 234, age: 43.9 ± 8.1 years were compared to those of daytime workers (n = 247, age: 42.8 ± 8.5 years, men and women were analyzed separately. Results In men, systolic blood pressure was higher in shift workers compared to daytime workers (133 ± 8 vs 126 ± 17 mmHg; p vs 67.7 ± 13.2 kg; p vs 13.4%; p vs 21.7%; p vs 1.68 ± 0.36 mmol/l; p Conclusion Middle-aged active shift workers, especially women, have a less healthy lifestyle and are at higher cardiometabolic risk as compared to daytime workers. Our study highlights the importance of measures for identifying and preventing cardiometabolic risk factors in shift workers.

  20. Comparison of menstrual disorders in hospital nursing staff according to shift work pattern.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albert-Sabater, Josep Amílcar; Martínez, José Miguel; Baste, Valborg; Moen, Bente E; Ronda-Perez, Elena

    2016-11-01

    To assess the association between work in a rotating shift schedule and menstruation characteristics among nurse staff in a prospective study. Rotating shifts have been linked to alterations in the reproductive cycle. In the case of menstrual alterations, the conclusions are not clear. Prospective epidemiological study with follow-up over four months. All the female nurse staff (shifts and characteristics of their menstruation (duration, amount of blood, dysmenorrhoea). They had two types of shifts: (1) Rotating shift schedule (two mornings, two afternoons, one night and two days off) including morning shifts (8:00-15:00), afternoon/evening shifts (15:00-22:00) and night shifts (22:00-8:00), and (2) Day shift schedule including morning shifts (8:00-15:00) and/or afternoon/evening shifts (15:00-22:00). The crude and adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence interval were calculated using logistic generalised estimating equations (GEE) taking into account the correlations of multiple cycles per worker. One hundred and thirteen workers on the rotating shift and 75 on the day shift participated, and information from 730 menstrual cycles were obtained. There were no differences in prolonged duration, dysmenorrhoea, prolonged duration dysmenorrhoea and excessive bleeding among nurses on rotating shift compared to those on the day shift. For prolonged duration of menstruation, workers with more than five years on the rotating shift showed a slightly lower (nonsignificant) risk compared with those with shift did not show increased risk of having menstrual disorders comparing with day staff. Shifts with short rotation cycles and a progressive sequence do not appear to cause menstrual disorders in nurse staff who work rotating shifts. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. [Associations among physical condition, life hour, and dietary intake male Japanese shift workers: physical condition and lifestyle survey of male Japanese shift workers].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fukumura, Tomoe; Yoshita, Katsushi; Tabata, Masaji

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to understand the actual state of life hours (working time, sleep time, and time of meal intake) and dietary habits of male shift work employees, and to elucidate the impact of working arrangements and dietary habits on their physical condition and health problems. The subjects were 187 male employees (aged 18-64 years) working for an industrial company in Toyama prefecture. We used a self-administered questionnaire to assess dietary habit, lifestyle habits, and life hours at the time of a periodic health examination in April 2013. The subjects were grouped based on their working condition (i.e., day shift, late shift, and late-night shift) into two groups of day shift (n = 107) and shiftwork (n = 80). The proportion of time spent sleeping and feeding was determined in half hour increments, and the incidences of skipping meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and midnight snack intake were calculated for each working condition. We also examined the association between the frequency of eating and physical condition for each working condition. The state of life hours of the shiftwork group during the day was similar to that of the day shift group. However, the workers' state of life hours, incidences of skipping meals, and midnight snack intake varied considerably when working at the other shift times. In the shiftwork group, regardless of the working patterns, the BMI and % body fat of the group that ate more than three times a day were significantly lower than those of the group that ate less than twice a day. The results of the present study suggest that it is difficult to ensure the time and opportunity for meals for shift workers. We consider that it is necessary to prevent them skipping of meals, and to support a proper dietary intake during the night.

  2. Personnel shift assignment: Existence conditions and network models

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van den Berg, Jeroen P.; van den Berg, J.P.; Panton, David M.

    1994-01-01

    The personnel scheduling problem is known to be a five-stage process in which the final stage involves the assignment of shifts to the days worked in the schedule. This paper discusses the existence conditions for both continuous and forward rotating shift assignments and heuristic network

  3. Health consequences of shift work and insufficient sleep

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kecklund, L.G.; Axelsson, J.

    2016-01-01

    This review summarises the literature on shift work and its relation to insufficient sleep, chronic diseases, and accidents. It is based on 38 meta-analyses and 24 systematic reviews, with additional narrative reviews and articles used for outlining possible mechanisms by which shift work may cause

  4. The impact of shift work on intensive care nurses' lives outside work

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Hanne Irene; Larsen, Jette West; Thomsen, Tina Damgaard

    2018-01-01

    AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To examine how shift work affects intensive care nurses' lives outside work. BACKGROUND: Shift work is unavoidable for many nurses. When attempting to minimise negative effects of shift work it is important to identify areas which affect nurses working shifts. DESIGN: A cross...... subsequently to plan interventions aimed at decreasing the negative effects. Interventions may include nurses having increased influence on their work schedules and education in sleep hygiene and dietary habits. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.......AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To examine how shift work affects intensive care nurses' lives outside work. BACKGROUND: Shift work is unavoidable for many nurses. When attempting to minimise negative effects of shift work it is important to identify areas which affect nurses working shifts. DESIGN: A cross......-sectional study. METHODS: A questionnaire survey among Danish intensive care nurses concerning experiences with shift work and family life, spare time activities, sleep and health. RESULTS: A total of 114 nurses (88%) participated. Shift work was found to influence the opportunities for spare time activities...

  5. [Shift work and night work: what effect on blood pressure?].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cassat, M; Wuerzner, G; Burnier, M

    2015-09-09

    Shift work has become more and more common for the last thirty years. By definition, shift work disturbs the circadian rhythm and the internal clock. Even if the pathophysiological mechanisms are not well understood, a greater cardiovascular risk has been attributed to shift work. Cross-sectional and cohort studies have identified an association between shift work and an elevated blood pressure. Shift workers also present a higher incidence of hypertension and progression than day workers. Unfortunately, the heterogeneity of the studies, the multiple confounding factors, as well as the complexity to achieve a suitable comparison group make it impossible to draw firm clinical evidence. Nevertheless, this population needs a medical follow-up focused on the cardiovascular risks and blood pressure.

  6. Increased Set Shifting Costs in Fasted Healthy Volunteers

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2014-01-01

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

  7. A phenomenological view of language shift.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsitsipis, Lukas D

    2004-01-01

    Sociolinguistic studies of language shift have in their majority framed their research object in a horizon of theoretically received variables such as class, ethnicity, locality, attitudes etc. In spite of a limited usefulness of such conceptual variables, and of a recently emerging focus on agency, negotiation, and praxis the best results we obtain have not questioned in a coherent and theoretically sound manner the continuing hegemony of mechanistic-metaphorical models (language death, language suicide). In this paper I propose to examine language shift as a multifaceted phenomenon, joining in this respect work by other linguistic anthropologists researching similar areas. I specifically argue that by replacing vertical concepts such as age and generation, and dichotomous logics such as center and periphery with phenomenologically inspired concepts such as typifications, consociateship, contemporariness, and stream of consciousness we are in a better position to generalize about language shift dynamics. Data for this work is derived primarily from the Albanian speech communities of modern Greece, but also from other communities for comparative purposes.

  8. Prevalence of myopic shifts among patients seeking cataract surgery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rafael Iribarren

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Modern cataract surgery by phacoemulsification is a widely accepted procedure with a rapid recovery time. The prescription of specific intraocular lens, implanted during surgery, makes it possible to anticipate whether the patient will need reading glasses after the procedure. The present study analyses a sample of cataract surgery patients to show the frequency of myopic shifts related to nuclear opacity, which can result in clear near vision before surgery. A non-selected sample of consecutive patients who underwent elective cataract surgery in a private clinic was studied retrospectively. The myopic shift in refraction was assessed by comparing the old prescription with the spectacle correction at the time of interviewing.The mean age of the 229 subjects studied was 71.5 ± 10.4 years (109, 47.6%, males. A myopic shift in refraction, defined as at least - 0.5 diopters, was present in 37.1% of subjects (95% CI: 30.8%-43.4%. The mean change in refraction in these subjects was -2.52 ± 1.52 diopters. The percentage of subjects who had developed a myopic shift was significantly greater in those who presented greater nuclear opalescence. There were also differences in the mean myopic shift by refractive group, with the emmetropes having the greatest myopic shift. In this study of patients seeking cataract surgery in a clinical setting, more than one third had myopic shifts in refraction. This must be taken into account in order that patients maintain the benefit of clear near vision after surgery.

  9. Primary selection into shift work and change of cardiovascular risk profile.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yong, Mei; Germann, Christina; Lang, Stefan; Oberlinner, Christoph

    2015-05-01

    A potential "healthy shift worker effect" may bias the studied effect of shift work on health. The observed differences among shift and day workers in health behavior and health outcomes can be caused by: (i) primary selection, (ii) the influence from the shift work-related environment, and (iii) the impact of shift work. We aimed to study these potential sources. A cohort of 4754 male trainees who had finished their professional training and started their career in production in a chemical company between 1995 and 2012 was identified. Among them, 1348 (28%) were involved in rotating shift work and 3406 (72%) in day work. Information on health behavior and risk factors for cardiovascular diseases was retrieved from the medical examinations. This information was then compared (i) at the beginning of training, (ii) at the end of training, and (iii) 3 years after the employment, in relation to the working time. At the beginning of the training, the prevalence of smokers was higher among future shift workers (26% versus 21%), from 1995 to 2012. During the training and the first three years of employment, a marginal decline of systolic blood pressure and an elevation of triglyceride were related with shift work. No difference was found with respect to other risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. Our findings do not support a primary selection in favor of shift workers. An impact of shift work on the risk profile of cardiovascular diseases was not indicated in the observation period.

  10. Insomnia, excessive sleepiness, excessive fatigue, anxiety, depression and shift work disorder in nurses having less than 11 hours in-between shifts.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Fagerbakke Eldevik

    Full Text Available STUDY OBJECTIVE: To assess if less than 11 hours off work between work shifts (quick returns was related to insomnia, sleepiness, fatigue, anxiety, depression and shift work disorder among nurses. METHODS: A questionnaire including established instruments measuring insomnia (Bergen Insomnia Scale, sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale, fatigue (Fatigue Questionnaire, anxiety/depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and shift work disorder was administered. Among the 1990 Norwegian nurses who participated in the study; 264 nurses had no quick returns, 724 had 1-30 quick returns and 892 had more than 30 quick returns during the past year. 110 nurses did not report the number of quick returns during the past year. The prevalence of insomnia, excessive sleepiness, excessive fatigue, anxiety, depression and shift work disorder was calculated within the three groups of nurses. Crude and adjusted logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the relation between quick returns and such complaints. RESULTS: We found a significant positive association between quick returns and insomnia, excessive sleepiness, excessive fatigue and shift work disorder. Anxiety and depression were not related to working quick returns. CONCLUSIONS: There is a health hazard associated with quick returns. Further research should aim to investigate if workplace strategies aimed at reducing the number of quick returns may reduce complaints among workers.

  11. Insomnia, excessive sleepiness, excessive fatigue, anxiety, depression and shift work disorder in nurses having less than 11 hours in-between shifts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eldevik, Maria Fagerbakke; Flo, Elisabeth; Moen, Bente Elisabeth; Pallesen, Ståle; Bjorvatn, Bjørn

    2013-01-01

    To assess if less than 11 hours off work between work shifts (quick returns) was related to insomnia, sleepiness, fatigue, anxiety, depression and shift work disorder among nurses. A questionnaire including established instruments measuring insomnia (Bergen Insomnia Scale), sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale), fatigue (Fatigue Questionnaire), anxiety/depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) and shift work disorder was administered. Among the 1990 Norwegian nurses who participated in the study; 264 nurses had no quick returns, 724 had 1-30 quick returns and 892 had more than 30 quick returns during the past year. 110 nurses did not report the number of quick returns during the past year. The prevalence of insomnia, excessive sleepiness, excessive fatigue, anxiety, depression and shift work disorder was calculated within the three groups of nurses. Crude and adjusted logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the relation between quick returns and such complaints. We found a significant positive association between quick returns and insomnia, excessive sleepiness, excessive fatigue and shift work disorder. Anxiety and depression were not related to working quick returns. There is a health hazard associated with quick returns. Further research should aim to investigate if workplace strategies aimed at reducing the number of quick returns may reduce complaints among workers.

  12. Experimental shift work studies of permanent night, and rapidly rotating, shift systems. Pt. 1. Behaviour of various characteristics of sleep

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Knauth, P.; Rutenfranz, J.; Romberg, H.P.; Decoster, F.; Kiesswetter, E. (Dortmund Univ. (Germany, F.R.). Inst. fuer Arbeitsphysiologie); Schulz, H. (Max-Planck-Institut fuer Psychiatrie, Muenchen (Germany, F.R.). Klinisches Inst.)

    1980-06-01

    In connection with experimental shift work 20 volunteers were examined while working on different rapidly or slowly rotating shift systems. Sleep was analyzed over a total of 112 days. Sleep was disturbed by children's noise or traffic noise. Sleep duration and sleep quality were particularly badly affected by noise with a high information value (children's noise). The ultradian rhythmicity of sleep did not appear to be disrupted by the change from day to night work. There were no significant differences between morning sleep and afternoon sleep after night work. In the laboratory experiments with fixed sleep durations, no separate effects on sleep quality could be established for different shift systems.

  13. Relationship of night and shift work with weight change and lifestyle behaviors.

    OpenAIRE

    Bekkers, M.B.M; Koppes, L.L.J.; Rodenburg, W.; Steeg, H. van; Proper, K.I.

    2015-01-01

    Objective: To prospectively study the association of night and shift work with weight change and lifestyle behaviors. Methods: Workers participating in the Netherlands Working Conditions Cohort Study (2008 and 2009) (N = 5951) reported night and shift work, weight and height. Groups included stable night or shift work, from day work to night or shift work, from night or shift work to day work, and no night or shift work in 2008 and 2009. Regression analyses were used to study association chan...

  14. Phenological Shifts in Animals Under Contemporary Climate Change

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Visser, M.E.; Roitberg, Bernard D.

    2017-01-01

    One of the best documented impacts of climate change has been on the seasonal timing, or phenology, of species. There are clear shifts in all taxonomic groups in terrestrial, aquatic, and marine environments. There is, however, ample variation in the rate at which species shift in response to warmer

  15. Pressure and solvent shifts of charge transfer absorption band of iodine complexes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sawamura, Seiji; Taniguchi, Yoshihiro; Suzuki, Keizo

    1979-01-01

    Absorption spectra of the CT band of I 2 complexes were observed in several nonpolar solvents at 1 bar, and in heptane up to 4400 bar. All solvent shifts were red with an increase in (n 2 - 1)/(2n 2 + 1), the refractive index (n) function of solvents, consistent with the solvent shift theory. On the other hand pressure caused a variety of shifts, that is, red shifts in benzene-, toluene-, and mesitylene-I 2 complexes, an inversion shift from red to blue in HMB-I 2 complex, and blue shifts in Et 3 N-, n-Pr 3 N-, and n-Bu 3 N-I 2 complexes, though increase in pressure invariably raises the (n 2 - 1)/(2n 2 + 1) value of solvent. The pressure shifts of I 2 complexes seem to be interpreted by a sum of two effects. One is the increased polarity of the solvent, which causes a red shift. The other is the decrease in the bond distance between a donor and an acceptor, which contributes to a blue shift in a strong CT complex and to a red shift in a week one. The pressure and solvent shifts of I 2 complexes were compared with those of π-donor-TCNE complexes. (author)

  16. Sleep loss and circadian disruption in shift work: health burden and management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rajaratnam, Shantha M W; Howard, Mark E; Grunstein, Ronald R

    2013-10-21

    About 1.5 million Australians are shift workers. Shift work is associated with adverse health, safety and performance outcomes. Circadian rhythm misalignment, inadequate and poor-quality sleep, and sleep disorders such as sleep apnoea, insomnia and shift work disorder (excessive sleepiness and/or insomnia temporally associated with the work schedule) contribute to these associations. Falling asleep at work at least once a week occurs in 32%-36% of shift workers. Risk of occupational accidents is at least 60% higher for non-day shift workers. Shift workers also have higher rates of cardiometabolic diseases and mood disturbances. Road and workplace accidents related to excessive sleepiness, to which shift work is a significant contributor, are estimated to cost $71-$93 billion per annum in the United States. There is growing evidence that understanding the interindividual variability in sleep-wake responses to shift work will help detect and manage workers vulnerable to the health consequences of shift work. A range of approaches can be used to enhance alertness in shift workers, including screening and treating sleep disorders, melatonin treatment to promote sleep during the daytime, and avoidance of inappropriate use of sedatives and wakefulness-promoters such as modafinil and caffeine. Short naps, which minimise sleep inertia, are generally effective. Shifting the circadian pacemaker with appropriately timed melatonin and/or bright light may be used to facilitate adjustment to a shift work schedule in some situations, such as a long sequence of night work. It is important to manage the health risk of shift workers by minimising vascular risk factors through dietary and other lifestyle approaches.

  17. Shift technical advisors: in the eyes of the NRC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Crocker, L.P.

    1981-01-01

    Since January 1, 1980, the NRC has required that Shift Technical Advisors be on-shift at all operating nuclear power plants. The objective of the requirement is to assure that technical expertise is immediately available to each operating shift to assess off-normal events and to provide advice to control room personnel. Further, this advice and assistance is to be provided by an individual not responsible for control manipulations or for directing the activities of reactor operators. The long-term requirement for on-shift technical expertise is firm. However, the exact manner in which this expertise must be furnished has not been determined. Licensees have proposed various alternatives to meet this requirement. These proposals still are being reviewed by the NRC staff

  18. The human factors of implementing shift work in logging operations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitchell, D L; Gallagher, T V; Thomas, R E

    2008-10-01

    A fairly recent development in the forest industry is the use of shift work in logging in the southeastern U.S. Logging company owners are implementing shift work as an opportunity to increase production and potentially reduce the cost of producing each unit of wood, without consideration of the potential impacts on the logging crew. There are many documented physiological and psychological impacts on workers from shift work in a variety of industries, although few address forestry workers in the U.S. Semi-structured interviews were performed to gather information about how logging company owners were implementing shift work in seven southeastern states. Data collected during the interviews included employee turnover, shift hours, shift scheduling, safety considerations, and production impacts. Various work schedules were employed. The majority of the schedules encompassed less than 24 hours per day. Permanent and rotating shift schedules were found. None of the logging company owners used more than two crews in a 24-hour period. Additional safety precautions were implemented as a result of working after dark. No in-woods worker accidents or injuries were reported by any of those interviewed. Results indicate that a variety of work schedules can be successfully implemented in the southeastern logging industry.

  19. Determination of both mechanical and electronic shifts in cone beam SPECT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jianying Li; Jaszczak, R.J.; Huili Wang; Greer, K.L.; Coleman, R.E.

    1993-01-01

    The difference between the displacement of the centre of rotation (mechanical shift, MS) and the electronic centring misalignment (electronic shift, ES) in cone beam SPECT is evaluated. A method is proposed to determine both MS and ES using the centroid of a projected point source sampled over 360 o C and the Marquardt non-linear fitting algorithm. Both shifts are characterized by two orthogonal components. This method is verified using Monte Carlo simulated point source data with different combinations of mechanical and electronic shifts. Both shifts can be determined correctly. The proposed method was also applied to the authors' cone beam SPECT system to determine both shifts as well as the focal length. The determined ES parameters are then used to correct the projections and the MS parameters are incorporated into a reconstruction algorithm. The point source image are reconstructed and the image resolutions with and without the shift corrections are measured. (Author)

  20. Precise optical Lamb shift measurements in atomic hydrogen

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weitz, M.; Schmidt-Kaler, F.; Haensch, T.W.

    1992-01-01

    The 1S ground-state Lamb shift in atomic hydrogen has been measured to an accuracy of 1.3 parts in 10 5 by directly comparing the optical frequencies of the 1S-2S and the 2S-4S,4D two-photon transitions. The result, 8172.82(11) MHz, agrees with the theoretical prediction of 8172.94(9) MHz and rivals measurements of the 2S Lamb shift as a test of QED for a bound system. A comparison of the 2S-4S and 2S-4D intervals yields a 4S Lamb shift of 131.66(4) MHz

  1. 12-hour-shift plant schedule improves operator productivity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gould, S.

    1989-01-01

    Twelve-hour scheduling has been a mainstay of the petrochemical industry, is common in the papermill industry, and is relatively new to the nuclear utility industry. A review of industry experiences, research, and a federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) study of the 12-hour shift (NUREG/CR-4248) demonstrate that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. The primary advantages are greater job satisfaction, fewer errors, and the better communications inherent in two shift turnovers versus three. Several companies that implemented the 12-hour shift found an increase in employee morale, no adverse effect on worker health, and no decline in safety. They experienced greater productivity, fewer operator errors, and better communication

  2. $J/\\Psi$ mass shift in nuclear matter

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gastao Krein, Anthony Thomas, Kazuo Tsushima

    2011-02-01

    The $J/\\Psi$ mass shift in cold nuclear matter is computed using an effective Lagrangian approach. The mass shift is computed by evaluating $D$ and $D^*$ meson loop contributions to the $J/\\Psi$ self-energy employing medium-modified meson masses. The modification of the $D$ and $D^*$ masses in nuclear matter is obtained using the quark-meson coupling model. The loop integrals are regularized with dipole form factors and the sensitivity of the results to the values of form-factor cutoff masses is investigated. The $J/\\Psi$ mass shift arising from the modification of the $D$ and $D^*$ loops at normal nuclear matter density is found to range from $-16$~MeV to $-24$~MeV under a wide variation of values of the cutoff masses. Experimental perspectives for the formation of a bound state of $J/\\Psi$ to a nucleus are investigated.

  3. The pace of shifting climate in marine and terrestrial ecosystems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Burrows, Michael T.; Schoeman, David S.; Buckley, Lauren B.

    2011-01-01

    Climate change challenges organisms to adapt or move to track changes in environments in space and time. We used two measures of thermal shifts from analyses of global temperatures over the past 50 years to describe the pace of climate change that species should track: the velocity of climate...... change (geographic shifts of isotherms over time) and the shift in seasonal timing of temperatures. Both measures are higher in the ocean than on land at some latitudes, despite slower ocean warming. These indices give a complex mosaic of predicted range shifts and phenology changes that deviate from...... simple poleward migration and earlier springs or later falls. They also emphasize potential conservation concerns, because areas of high marine biodiversity often have greater velocities of climate change and seasonal shifts....

  4. Effects of shift operation according to theory and in practice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Preuss, W.; Reinartz, G.

    1985-01-01

    The specific conditions applicable during rotating shift work including night work represent an additional qualitative impairment of the performance assumptions relating to maintenance personnel in addition to other work stresses. Factors affecting performance during rotating shift work in nuclear power plant operationhave been investigated as part of a research project. The basic chronobiological data were developed and the features of shift systems being practized and the operating principles of the structure of shift systems have been deduced by means of a literature survey and consulations with power plant operators. The investigation has shown that - with various compromise solutions - industrial medicine and social requirements and also operational objectives are to a large extent mutually compatible when the five or six shift systems which prevail in nuclear power stations are considered. (orig.) [de

  5. Practical use of chemical shift databases for protein solid-state NMR: 2D chemical shift maps and amino-acid assignment with secondary-structure information

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fritzsching, K. J.; Yang, Y.; Schmidt-Rohr, K.; Hong Mei

    2013-01-01

    We introduce a Python-based program that utilizes the large database of 13 C and 15 N chemical shifts in the Biological Magnetic Resonance Bank to rapidly predict the amino acid type and secondary structure from correlated chemical shifts. The program, called PACSYlite Unified Query (PLUQ), is designed to help assign peaks obtained from 2D 13 C– 13 C, 15 N– 13 C, or 3D 15 N– 13 C– 13 C magic-angle-spinning correlation spectra. We show secondary-structure specific 2D 13 C– 13 C correlation maps of all twenty amino acids, constructed from a chemical shift database of 262,209 residues. The maps reveal interesting conformation-dependent chemical shift distributions and facilitate searching of correlation peaks during amino-acid type assignment. Based on these correlations, PLUQ outputs the most likely amino acid types and the associated secondary structures from inputs of experimental chemical shifts. We test the assignment accuracy using four high-quality protein structures. Based on only the Cα and Cβ chemical shifts, the highest-ranked PLUQ assignments were 40–60 % correct in both the amino-acid type and the secondary structure. For three input chemical shifts (CO–Cα–Cβ or N–Cα–Cβ), the first-ranked assignments were correct for 60 % of the residues, while within the top three predictions, the correct assignments were found for 80 % of the residues. PLUQ and the chemical shift maps are expected to be useful at the first stage of sequential assignment, for combination with automated sequential assignment programs, and for highly disordered proteins for which secondary structure analysis is the main goal of structure determination.

  6. The association between shift work and sick leave: a systematic review

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Drongelen, Alwin; Holte, Kari Anne; Labriola, Merete; Lund, Thomas; van Mechelen, Willem; van der Beek, Allard J

    2012-01-01

    Shift work is associated with a number of negative health outcomes, although it is not known whether it is associated with sick leave. This systematic review therefore aimed to determine whether an association exists between shift work and sick leave. A systematic literature search was conducted in six databases on observational studies. Two reviewers independently selected relevant articles and appraised methodological quality. Data extraction was performed independently by review couples. Articles were categorised according to shift work characteristics and summarised using a levels of evidence synthesis. In total, the search strategy yielded 1207 references, of which 24 studies met the inclusion criteria. Nine studies were appraised as high quality and used in the levels of evidence synthesis. Two high quality longitudinal studies found a positive association between fixed evening shifts and longer sick leave for female healthcare workers. The evidence was assessed as strong. Evidence was inconclusive for rotating shifts, shift work including nights, for fixed night work, and for 8-hour and 12-hour shifts. The association found between evening work and sick leave in female healthcare workers implies that the association between shift work and sick leave might be schedule and population specific. To study the association further, more high quality studies are necessary that assess and adjust for detailed shift work exposure. PMID:22767871

  7. Isotope shifts in unstable nuclei

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rebel, H.

    1980-05-01

    Current experimental investigations of isotope shifts in atomic spectra of unstable nuclei and the resulting information about size and shape of nuclei far off stability are discussed with reference to some representative examples. (orig.)

  8. Network periodic solutions: patterns of phase-shift synchrony

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Golubitsky, Martin; Wang, Yunjiao; Romano, David

    2012-01-01

    We prove the rigid phase conjecture of Stewart and Parker. It then follows from previous results (of Stewart and Parker and our own) that rigid phase-shifts in periodic solutions on a transitive network are produced by a cyclic symmetry on a quotient network. More precisely, let X(t) = (x 1 (t), ..., x n (t)) be a hyperbolic T-periodic solution of an admissible system on an n-node network. Two nodes c and d are phase-related if there exists a phase-shift θ cd in [0, 1) such that x d (t) = x c (t + θ cd T). The conjecture states that if phase relations persist under all small admissible perturbations (that is, the phase relations are rigid), then for each pair of phase-related cells, their input signals are also phase-related to the same phase-shift. For a transitive network, rigid phase relations can also be described abstractly as a Z m permutation symmetry of a quotient network. We discuss how patterns of phase-shift synchrony lead to rigid synchrony, rigid phase synchrony, and rigid multirhythms, and we show that for each phase pattern there exists an admissible system with a periodic solution with that phase pattern. Finally, we generalize the results to nontransitive networks where we show that the symmetry that generates rigid phase-shifts occurs on an extension of a quotient network

  9. Effect of a 12-hour/day shift on performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lewis, P.M.; Swaim, D.J.

    1988-06-01

    The operating crews at the Fast Flux Facility near Richland, Washington, changed their rotating shift schedule from an 8- to 12- hour/day work schedule. The primary reason for the change was to reduce the attrition of operators by increasing their job satisfaction. Eighty-four percent of the operators favored the change. Plant performance and safety were not adversely affected. A statistical analysis of 53 operator-related, off-normal events in 28 months concluded that there was no significant difference in either the number or the severity of off-normal events on the 12-hour shift. A statistical analysis of 200,000 log entries concluded that the error rate in completing logs actually declined by 25 percent on the 12-hour shift. Alertness, which was measured using computerized tests of mathematics and logical reasoning, reach a nadir on the first night shift for the 8- and 12-hour schedules alike, which indicates that the primary cause of fatigue was sleep disruption, not cumulative hours of work. All supervisors and 52 percent of the operators believe their crews work more effectively on the 12-hour shift; only 12 percent of the operators believe that their crews work less effectively. The evaluation indicated that the 12-hour shift scheduled is a reasonable alternative to an 8-hour schedule at this facility. 2 refs

  10. Clinical investigation of set-shifting subtypes in anorexia nervosa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abbate-Daga, Giovanni; Buzzichelli, Sara; Marzola, Enrica; Amianto, Federico; Fassino, Secondo

    2014-11-30

    While evidence continues to accumulate on the relevance of cognitive inflexibility in anorexia nervosa (AN), its clinical correlates remain unclear. We aimed at examining the relationship between set-shifting and clinical variables (i.e., eating psychopathology, depression, and personality) in AN. Ninety-four individuals affected by AN and 59 healthy controls (HC) were recruited. All participants were assessed using: Eating Disorders Inventory-2 (EDI-2), Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). The AN group scored worse than HCs on set-shifting. According to their neuropsychological performances, AN patients were split into two groups corresponding to poor (N=30) and intact (N=64) set-shifting subtypes. Interoceptive awareness, impulse regulation, and maturity fears on the EDI-2 and depression on the BDI differed across all groups (HC, intact, and poor set-shifting subtype). Self-directedness on the TCI differed significantly among all groups. Cooperativeness and reward dependence differed instead only between HC and AN poor set-shifting subtype. After controlling for depression, only interoceptive awareness remained significant with reward dependence showing a trend towards statistical significance. These findings suggest that multiple clinical variables may be correlated with set-shifting performances in AN. The factors contributing to impaired cognitive inflexibility could be more complex than heretofore generally considered. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. High risk of near-crash driving events following night-shift work.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Michael L; Howard, Mark E; Horrey, William J; Liang, Yulan; Anderson, Clare; Shreeve, Michael S; O'Brien, Conor S; Czeisler, Charles A

    2016-01-05

    Night-shift workers are at high risk of drowsiness-related motor vehicle crashes as a result of circadian disruption and sleep restriction. However, the impact of actual night-shift work on measures of drowsiness and driving performance while operating a real motor vehicle remains unknown. Sixteen night-shift workers completed two 2-h daytime driving sessions on a closed driving track at the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety: (i) a postsleep baseline driving session after an average of 7.6 ± 2.4 h sleep the previous night with no night-shift work, and (ii) a postnight-shift driving session following night-shift work. Physiological measures of drowsiness were collected, including infrared reflectance oculography, electroencephalography, and electrooculography. Driving performance measures included lane excursions, near-crash events, and drives terminated because of failure to maintain control of the vehicle. Eleven near-crashes occurred in 6 of 16 postnight-shift drives (37.5%), and 7 of 16 postnight-shift drives (43.8%) were terminated early for safety reasons, compared with zero near-crashes or early drive terminations during 16 postsleep drives (Fishers exact: P = 0.0088 and P = 0.0034, respectively). Participants had a significantly higher rate of lane excursions, average Johns Drowsiness Scale, blink duration, and number of slow eye movements during postnight-shift drives compared with postsleep drives (3.09/min vs. 1.49/min; 1.71 vs. 0.97; 125 ms vs. 100 ms; 35.8 vs. 19.1; respectively, P Night-shift work increases driver drowsiness, degrading driving performance and increasing the risk of near-crash drive events. With more than 9.5 million Americans working overnight or rotating shifts and one-third of United States commutes exceeding 30 min, these results have implications for traffic and occupational safety.

  12. Effects of strain on Goos-Hänchen-like shifts of graphene

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cao Zhenzhou; Cheng Yanfu; Li Guanqiang

    2012-01-01

    We have studied the Goos-Hänchen-like (GHL) shifts for massless Dirac electrons passing across a potential barrier in strained graphene. The analytical solutions of the transmission coefficient and the GHL shifts are obtained. The GHL shifts as the function of the strain tensor and direction, the incidence angle and the barrier's width are discussed. We also explore how critical angles change as the strain tensor and incidence electron energy change. Finally, we make a proposal of experimental measurement of the GHL shifts. The study of the GHL shifts will make for applications in graphene-based nano-electronics.

  13. Relationship between shift work schedule and self-reported sleep quality in Chinese employees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Yifei; Wei, Fu; Nie, Guanghui; Zhang, Li'e; Qin, Jian; Peng, Suwan; Xiong, Feng; Zhang, Zhiyong; Yang, Xiaobo; Peng, Xiaowu; Wang, Mingjun; Zou, Yunfeng

    2018-02-01

    Few studies have reported on the effects of fixed and rotating shift systems on the prevalence of sleep disturbance. Thus, in this study, the relationships between different work schedules and sleep disturbance in Chinese workers were investigated. A total of 2180 workers aged 19-65 years responded to the self-report questionnaire on shift work schedule (fixed day-shift, fixed night-shift, two-shift or three-shift system), working hours a day, and working days a week, physical effort, subjective sleep quality and subjective mental state. It was found that the rotating shift workers, namely, two- and three-shift workers, exhibited higher risks of sleep disturbance than with the fixed day-shift workers did (OR 1.37; 95% CI 1.07to 1.74; and OR 2.19; 95% CI 1.52 to 3.15, respectively). The risk was particularly high among two- or three-shift workers who worked more than 8 hours a day or more than 5 days a week and among three-shift workers who reported both light and heavy physical effort at work. Moreover, the two- and three-shift workers (rotating shift workers) suffered from poorer sleep quality than the fixed night shift workers did (OR 1.84; 95% CI 1.01 to 3.32; and OR 2.94; 95% CI 1.53 to 5.64, respectively). Consequently, rotating shift work (two- and three-shift work) is a risk factor for sleep disturbance, and the fixed work rhythm may contribute to the quality of sleep.

  14. Patient Handoffs: Is Cross Cover or Night Shift Better?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Higgins, Alanna; Brannen, Melissa L; Heiman, Heather L; Adler, Mark D

    2017-06-01

    Studies show singular handoffs between health care providers to be risky. Few describe sequential handoffs or compare handoffs from different provider types. We investigated the transfer of information across 2 handoffs using a piloted survey instrument. We compared cross-cover (every fourth night call) with dedicated night-shift residents. Surveys assessing provider knowledge of hospitalized patients were administered to pediatric residents. Primary teams were surveyed about their handoff upon completion of daytime coverage of a patient. Night-shift or cross-covering residents were surveyed about their handoff of the same patient upon completion of overnight coverage. Pediatric hospitalists rated the consistency of information between the surveys. Absolute difference was calculated between the 2 providers' rating of a patient's (a) complexity and (b) illness severity. Scores were compared across provider type. Fifty-nine complete handoff pairs were obtained. Fourteen and 45 handoff surveys were completed by a cross-covering and a night-shift provider, respectively. There was no significant difference in information consistency between primary and night-shift (median, 4.0; interquartile range [IQR], 3-4) versus primary and cross-covering providers (median, 4.0; IQR, 3-4). There was no significant difference in median patient complexity ratings (night shift, 3.0; IQR, 1-5, versus cross cover, 3.5; IQR, 1-5) or illness severity ratings (night shift, 2.0; IQR, 1-4, versus cross-cover, 3.0; IQR, 1-6) when comparing provider types giving a handoff. We did not find a difference in physicians' transfer of information during 2 handoffs among providers taking traditional call or on night shift. Development of tools to measure handoff consistency is needed.

  15. Evaluating amber force fields using computed NMR chemical shifts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koes, David R; Vries, John K

    2017-10-01

    NMR chemical shifts can be computed from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations using a template matching approach and a library of conformers containing chemical shifts generated from ab initio quantum calculations. This approach has potential utility for evaluating the force fields that underlie these simulations. Imperfections in force fields generate flawed atomic coordinates. Chemical shifts obtained from flawed coordinates have errors that can be traced back to these imperfections. We use this approach to evaluate a series of AMBER force fields that have been refined over the course of two decades (ff94, ff96, ff99SB, ff14SB, ff14ipq, and ff15ipq). For each force field a series of MD simulations are carried out for eight model proteins. The calculated chemical shifts for the 1 H, 15 N, and 13 C a atoms are compared with experimental values. Initial evaluations are based on root mean squared (RMS) errors at the protein level. These results are further refined based on secondary structure and the types of atoms involved in nonbonded interactions. The best chemical shift for identifying force field differences is the shift associated with peptide protons. Examination of the model proteins on a residue by residue basis reveals that force field performance is highly dependent on residue position. Examination of the time course of nonbonded interactions at these sites provides explanations for chemical shift differences at the atomic coordinate level. Results show that the newer ff14ipq and ff15ipq force fields developed with the implicitly polarized charge method perform better than the older force fields. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  16. A Decision-Theoretic Basis for Choice Shifts in Groups

    OpenAIRE

    Eliaz, Kfir; Ray, Debraj; Razin, Ronny

    2004-01-01

    The phenomenon of choice shifts in group decision-making is fairly ubiquitous in the social psychology literature. Faced with a choice between a ‘safe’ and ‘risky’ decision, group members appear to move to one extreme or the other, relative to the choices each member might have made alone. Both risky and cautious shifts have been identified in different situations. This Paper demonstrates that from an individual decision-making perspective, choice shifts may be viewed as a systematic violatio...

  17. Rotating night shift work, sleep, and colorectal adenoma in women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Devore, Elizabeth E; Massa, Jennifer; Papantoniou, Kyriaki; Schernhammer, Eva S; Wu, Kana; Zhang, Xuehong; Willett, Walter C; Fuchs, Charles S; Chan, Andrew T; Ogino, Shuji; Giovannucci, Edward; Wei, Esther K

    2017-07-01

    This study aims to investigate the associations of rotating night shift work history and sleep duration with risk of colorectal adenoma. We evaluated 56,275 cancer-free participants of the Nurses' Health Study II, who had their first colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy between 1991 and 2011; rotating night shift work and sleep duration were reported by mailed questionnaire. Multivariable-adjusted logistic regression was used to estimate relative risks (RR) of colorectal adenoma, with 95% confidence intervals (CI), across categories of rotating night shift work history (none, 1-4, 5-9, and ≥10 years) and sleep duration (≤5, 6, 7, 8, and ≥9 h/day). We found no association between duration of rotating night shift work and occurrence of colorectal adenoma (p-trend across shift work categories = 0.5). Women with the longest durations of rotating night shift work (≥10 years) had a similar risk of adenoma compared to women without a history of rotating night shift work (multivariable-adjusted RR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.83-1.11). Similarly, there were no associations of shorter or longer sleep durations with adenoma risk (p-trend = 0.2 across sleep durations of ≤5 through 7 h/day and p-trend = 0.5 across sleep durations of 7 through ≥9 h/day). Results were similar when we examined associations according to adenoma location and subtype. Our results do not support an association between rotating night shift work or sleep duration and risk of colorectal adenoma in women.

  18. The Response Shift Bias in Self-Report Tests: A Function of an Expectation of Change or a Shift in Internal Scaling?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riedel, Sharon; And Others

    Self-report, pre/post testing is a frequently employed measure of therapeutic change. To investigate whether expectation of change might be an alternative explanation to the scale shift explanation of response shift bias in a self-report measure, a two-session assertiveness training intervention for college women was evaluated under manipulated…

  19. Policy and programmatic implications of task shifting in Uganda: a case study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dambisya Yoswa M

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Uganda has a severe health worker shortage and a high demand for health care services. This study aimed to assess the policy and programmatic implications of task shifting in Uganda. Methods This was a qualitative, descriptive study through 34 key informant interviews and eight (8 focus group discussions, with participants from various levels of the health system. Results Policy makers understood task shifting, but front-line health workers had misconceptions on the meaning and intention(s of task shifting. Examples were cited of task shifting within the Ugandan health system, some formalized (e.g. psychiatric clinical officers, and some informal ones (e.g. nurses inserting IV lines and initiating treatment. There was apparently high acceptance of task shifting in HIV/AIDS service delivery, with involvement of community health workers (CHW and PLWHA in care and support of AIDS patients. There was no written policy or guidelines on task shifting, but the policy environment was reportedly conducive with plans to develop a policy and guidelines on task shifting. Factors favouring task shifting included successful examples of task shifting, proper referral channels, the need for services, scarcity of skills and focused initiatives such as home based management of fever. Barriers to task shifting included reluctance to change, protection of professional turf, professional boundaries and regulations, heavy workload and high disease burden, poor planning, lack of a task shifting champion, lack of guidelines, the name task shifting itself, and unemployed health professionals. There were both positive and negative views on task shifting: the positive ones cast task shifting as one of the solutions to the dual problem of lack of skills and high demand for service, and as something that is already happening; while negative ones saw it as a quick fix intended for the poor, a threat to quality care and likely to compromise the health

  20. Attitudes towards rotating shift work in clinical nurses: a Q-methodology study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ha, Eun-Ho

    2015-09-01

    To identify clinical nurses' attitudes towards rotating shift work. Many hospitals worldwide employ rotating shift work patterns to staff their facilities. Attitudes of clinical nurses towards rotating shift work vary. To understand clinical nurses' attitudes towards rotating shift work, Q-methodology, a method for the analysis of subjective viewpoints with the strengths of both qualitative and quantitative methods, was used. Forty-six selected Q-statements from each of the 39 participants were classified into a normal distribution using an 11-point bipolar scale. The collected data were analysed using pc-QUANL program. Three discrete factors emerged as follows: factor I (rotating shift work is frustrating: objectionable perspective), factor II (rotating shift work is satisfactory: constructive perspective) and factor III (rotating shift work is problematic, but necessary: ambivalent perspective). The subjective viewpoints of the three identified factors can be applied in developing various roster designs for nurses engaging in rotating shift work. The findings provide the baseline for nurse leaders in helping nurses adjust and deal with rotating shift work. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. Effects of Napping During Shift Work on Sleepiness and Performance in Emergency Medical Services Personnel and Similar Shift Workers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin-Gill, Christian; Barger, Laura K; Moore, Charity G; Higgins, J Stephen; Teasley, Ellen M; Weiss, Patricia M; Condle, Joseph P; Flickinger, Katharyn L; Coppler, Patrick J; Sequeira, Denisse J; Divecha, Ayushi A; Matthews, Margaret E; Lang, Eddy S; Patterson, P Daniel

    2018-02-15

    Scheduled napping during work shifts may be an effective way to mitigate fatigue-related risk. This study aimed to critically review and synthesize existing literature on the impact of scheduled naps on fatigue-related outcomes for EMS personnel and similar shift worker groups. A systematic literature review was performed of the impact of a scheduled nap during shift work on EMS personnel or similar shift workers. The primary (critical) outcome of interest was EMS personnel safety. Secondary (important) outcomes were patient safety; personnel performance; acute states of fatigue, alertness, and sleepiness; indicators of sleep duration and/or quality; employee retention/turnover; indicators of long-term health; and cost to the system. Meta-analyses were performed to evaluate the impact of napping on a measure of personnel performance (the psychomotor vigilance test [PVT]) and measures of acute fatigue. Of 4,660 unique records identified, 13 experimental studies were determined relevant and summarized. The effect of napping on reaction time measured at the end of shift was small and non-significant (SMD 0.12, 95% CI -0.13 to 0.36; p = 0.34). Napping during work did not change reaction time from the beginning to the end of the shift (SMD -0.01, 95% CI -25.0 to 0.24; p = 0.96). Naps had a moderate, significant effect on sleepiness measured at the end of shift (SMD 0.40, 95% CI 0.09 to 0.72; p = 0.01). The difference in sleepiness from the start to the end of shift was moderate and statistically significant (SMD 0.41, 95% CI 0.09 to 0.72; p = 0.01). Reviewed literature indicated that scheduled naps at work improved performance and decreased fatigue in shift workers. Further research is required to identify the optimal timing and duration of scheduled naps to maximize the beneficial outcomes.

  2. Factors affecting work ability in day and shift-working nurses

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Camerino, Donatella; Conway, Paul Maurice; Sartori, Samantha

    2008-01-01

    Satisfactory work ability is sustained and promoted by good physical and mental health and by favorable working conditions. This study examined whether favorable and rewarding work-related factors increased the work ability among European nurses. The study sample was drawn from the Nurses' Early...... Exit Study and consisted of 7,516 nursing staff from seven European countries working in state-owned and private hospitals. In all, 10.8% were day, 4.2% were permanent night, 20.9% were shift without night shift, and 64.1% were shift workers with night shifts. Participants were administered a composite...

  3. A systematic review evaluating the impact of task shifting on access ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A systematic review evaluating the impact of task shifting on access to antiretroviral therapy in sub-Saharan Africa. ... Background: Task shifting, defined for this review as the shifting of ART initiation and ... AJOL African Journals Online.

  4. Steganalytic methods for the detection of histogram shifting data-hiding schemes

    OpenAIRE

    Lerch Hostalot, Daniel

    2011-01-01

    In this paper, some steganalytic techniques designed to detect the existence of hidden messages using histogram shifting methods are presented. Firstly, some techniques to identify specific methods of histogram shifting, based on visible marks on the histogram or abnormal statistical distributions are suggested. Then, we present a general technique capable of detecting all histogram shifting techniques analyzed. This technique is based on the effect of histogram shifting methods on the "volat...

  5. Remote MINOS Shift Station at IF-UFG

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tognini, Stefano Castro; Gomes, Ricardo Avelino

    2011-01-01

    Full text: MINOS is a very well known neutrino experiment mainly designed to study neutrino oscillations and measure the parameters that rule the phenomena. The experiment uses an intense neutrino beam provided by the NuMI (Neutrinos at the Main Injector) beamline at Fermilab and two similar magnetized detectors - the Near Detector located at Fermilab, 1 km downstream the target and 94 m underground; and the Far Detector located in the Soudan Mine in northern Minnesota, 734 km downstream the Near Detector and 713 m underground. The MINOS control room is consisted of four main systems used to monitor the beam, the detectors and the data acquisition process: the Beam Monitoring System - a set of tools used to monitor the status of the NuMI beam, such as its intensity, its alignment with the target and beamline and if the beam data acquisition is working properly; the Online Monitoring System (OM) - responsible for monitoring the electronics of both detectors, which determines the quality of the data; the Detector Control System (DCS) - which monitors the detectors information, such as the high voltage systems, state of the rack protection system, the magnet control, chiller monitor, coil current, humidity and environmental temperatures; and the Data Acquisition System (DAQ) - used to control the runs/subruns and monitor the recording process. The experiment is taking data with the Far Detector since 2003 and with the Near Detector since 2005. The Physics Institute of the Federal University of Goias (IF-UFG) is joining the MINOS Collaboration since June 2009 and this work describes the configuration of our Remote MINOS Shift Station. In order to accomplish the shift tasks with minimum expenditure of time and money efforts, MINOS decided to authorize remote shifts on January 2011. Apart of being able to realize remote shifts, the main goals of our shift station are to allow the training of new users, in particular graduate students; to allow our real-time monitoring of

  6. A cognitive-pragmatic model for translation-shift analysis in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A cognitive-pragmatic model for translation-shift analysis in descriptive case ... This model responds to the tendency of descriptive studies to analyse all translation shifts under the same rubric of neutrality. ... AJOL African Journals Online.

  7. Heart rate variability changes in business process outsourcing employees working in shifts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kunikullaya, Kirthana U; Kirthi, Suresh K; Venkatesh, D; Goturu, Jaisri

    2010-10-31

    Irregular and poor quality sleep is common in business process outsourcing (BPO) employees due to continuous shift working. The influence of this on the cardiac autonomic activity was investigated by the spectral analysis of heart rate variability (HRV). 36 night shift BPO employees (working from 22:00 to 06:00h) and 36 age and sex matched day shift BPO employees (working from 08:00 to 16:00h) were recruited for the study. Five minute electrocardiogram (ECG) was recorded in all the subjects. Heart rate variability was analyzed by fast Fourier transformation using RMS Vagus HRV software. The results were analyzed using Mann Whitney U test, Student t-test, Wilcoxon signed rank test and were expressed as mean ± SD. Sleepiness was significantly higher among night shift workers as measured by Epworth Sleepiness Scale (p<0.001). Night shift BPO employees were found to have a trend towards lower values of vagal parameters - HF power (ms(2)), and higher values of sympathovagal parameters like LF Power (ms(2)) and the LF/HF power (%) suggesting decreased vagal activity and sympathetic over activity, when compared to day shift employees. However, HRV parameters did not vary significantly between the day shift employees and night shift workers baseline values, and also within the night shift group. Night shift working increased the heart rate and shifted the sympathovagal balance towards sympathetic dominance and decreased vagal parameters of HRV. This is an indicator of unfavorable change in the myocardial system, and thus shows increased risk of cardiovascular disease among the night shift employees.

  8. Smoked marijuana attenuates performance and mood disruptions during simulated night shift work.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keith, Diana R; Gunderson, Erik W; Haney, Margaret; Foltin, Richard W; Hart, Carl L

    2017-09-01

    Individuals who work nonstandard schedules, such as rotating or night shifts, are more susceptible to workplace injuries, performance decrements, and reduced productivity. This population is also almost twice as likely to use illicit drugs as individuals working a standard day shift. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of smoked marijuana on performance, mood, and sleep during simulated shift work. Ten experienced marijuana smokers completed this 23-day, within-participant residential study. They smoked a single marijuana cigarette (0, 1.9, 3.56% Δ 9 -THC) one hour after waking for three consecutive days under two shift conditions: day shift and night shift. Shifts alternated three times during the study, and shift conditions were separated by an 'off' day. When participants smoked placebo cigarettes, psychomotor performance and subjective-effect ratings were altered during the night shift compared to the day shift: performance (e.g., vigilance) and a few subjective ratings were decreased (e.g., "Self-Confident"), whereas other ratings were increased (e.g., "Tired"). Objective and subjective measures of sleep were also disrupted, but to a lesser extent. Marijuana attenuated some performance, mood, and sleep disruptions: participants performed better on vigilance tasks, reported being less miserable and tired and sleep a greater number of minutes. Limited negative effects of marijuana were noted. These data demonstrate that abrupt shift changes produce performance, mood, and sleep decrements during night shift work and that smoked marijuana containing low to moderate Δ 9 -THC concentrations can offset some of these effects in frequent marijuana smokers. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Effect of shift work on mental state of factory workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaneko, Shin-Ya; Maeda, Takafumi; Sasaki, Akihiko; Sato, Akihiko; Tanaka, Kazuko; Kobayashi, Toshio; Tanaka, Masatoshi; Fukushima, Tetsuhito

    2004-06-01

    This paper examines the effects of shift work on the mental state of factory workers. As an indicator of the workers' mental condition, the authors used a scoring system (referred to below as the 'depression tendency score') based on the SRQ-D investigative report. The depression tendency score of the men was higher among the shift worker group than among the regular day worker group (p workers was higher than that of the male regular day workers among skilled workers (p worker group and the shift worker group. However, the depression tendency score of the female two-shift workers was higher than that of the female regular day workers among skilled workers (p work and that of women is affected by two-shift work because of the difference in modern societal/home role between man and woman.

  10. Repetition and Translation Shifts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simon Zupan

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available Repetition manifests itself in different ways and at different levels of the text. The first basic type of repetition involves complete recurrences; in which a particular textual feature repeats in its entirety. The second type involves partial recurrences; in which the second repetition of the same textual feature includes certain modifications to the first occurrence. In the article; repetitive patterns in Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Fall of the House of Usher” and its Slovene translation; “Konec Usherjeve hiše”; are compared. The author examines different kinds of repetitive patterns. Repetitions are compared at both the micro- and macrostructural levels. As detailed analyses have shown; considerable microstructural translation shifts occur in certain types of repetitive patterns. Since these are not only occasional; sporadic phenomena; but are of a relatively high frequency; they reduce the translated text’s potential for achieving some of the gothic effects. The macrostructural textual property particularly affected by these shifts is the narrator’s experience as described by the narrative; which suffers a reduction in intensity.

  11. On the Structure of Covers of Sofic Shifts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Johansen, Rune

    2011-01-01

    A canonical cover generalizing the left Fischer cover to arbitrary sofic shifts is introduced and used to prove that the left Krieger cover and the past set cover of a sofic shift can be divided into natural layers. These results are used to find the range of a flow-invariant and to investigate t...

  12. Vocal Pitch Shift in Congenital Amusia (Pitch Deafness)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hutchins, Sean; Peretz, Isabelle

    2013-01-01

    We tested whether congenital amusics, who exhibit pitch perception deficits, nevertheless adjust the pitch of their voice in response to a sudden pitch shift applied to vocal feedback. Nine amusics and matched controls imitated their own previously-recorded speech or singing, while the online feedback they received was shifted mid-utterance by 25…

  13. What is the evidence for less shift work tolerance in older workers?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Blok, M.M.; Looze, M.P.de

    2011-01-01

    This paper explores the suggestion that older people would be less tolerant to shift work. Field studies on age-shift work interaction effects on sleep, fatigue, performance, accidents and health were reviewed. Studies on age-shift (morning, afternoon, night) and age-shift system (roster)

  14. Health effects of the shift work system

    OpenAIRE

    Yüzügüllü, Didem Ata; Aytaç, Necdet; Akbaba, Muhsin

    2018-01-01

    Technological advances and the changes to methods ofproduction in many industrialized countries led to the introduction of shiftwork systems to ensure the continuity in operation of industries. Shift workhas long been known to disrupt circadian rhythm,sleep, and work-life balance.Alfredsson et al. carried out a study of 334 cases with myocardial infarctionand 882 controls, who were selected randomly from the general population in thesame region. The shift-work exposure was assessed from the o...

  15. Limited Effects of Set Shifting Training in Healthy Older Adults

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Petra Grönholm-Nyman

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Our ability to flexibly shift between tasks or task sets declines in older age. As this decline may have adverse effects on everyday life of elderly people, it is of interest to study whether set shifting ability can be trained, and if training effects generalize to other cognitive tasks. Here, we report a randomized controlled trial where healthy older adults trained set shifting with three different set shifting tasks. The training group (n = 17 performed adaptive set shifting training for 5 weeks with three training sessions a week (45 min/session, while the active control group (n = 16 played three different computer games for the same period. Both groups underwent extensive pre- and post-testing and a 1-year follow-up. Compared to the controls, the training group showed significant improvements on the trained tasks. Evidence for near transfer in the training group was very limited, as it was seen only on overall accuracy on an untrained computerized set shifting task. No far transfer to other cognitive functions was observed. One year later, the training group was still better on the trained tasks but the single near transfer effect had vanished. The results suggest that computerized set shifting training in the elderly shows long-lasting effects on the trained tasks but very little benefit in terms of generalization.

  16. Prolonged Instability Prior to a Regime Shift | Science ...

    Science.gov (United States)

    Regime shifts are generally defined as the point of ‘abrupt’ change in the state of a system. However, a seemingly abrupt transition can be the product of a system reorganization that has been ongoing much longer than is evident in statistical analysis of a single component of the system. Using both univariate and multivariate statistical methods, we tested a long-term high-resolution paleoecological dataset with a known change in species assemblage for a regime shift. Analysis of this dataset with Fisher Information and multivariate time series modeling showed that there was a∼2000 year period of instability prior to the regime shift. This period of instability and the subsequent regime shift coincide with regional climate change, indicating that the system is undergoing extrinsic forcing. Paleoecological records offer a unique opportunity to test tools for the detection of thresholds and stable-states, and thus to examine the long-term stability of ecosystems over periods of multiple millennia. This manuscript explores various methods of assessing the transition between alternative states in an ecological system described by a long-term high-resolution paleoecological dataset.

  17. Accessible surface area from NMR chemical shifts

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hafsa, Noor E.; Arndt, David; Wishart, David S., E-mail: david.wishart@ualberta.ca [University of Alberta, Department of Computing Science (Canada)

    2015-07-15

    Accessible surface area (ASA) is the surface area of an atom, amino acid or biomolecule that is exposed to solvent. The calculation of a molecule’s ASA requires three-dimensional coordinate data and the use of a “rolling ball” algorithm to both define and calculate the ASA. For polymers such as proteins, the ASA for individual amino acids is closely related to the hydrophobicity of the amino acid as well as its local secondary and tertiary structure. For proteins, ASA is a structural descriptor that can often be as informative as secondary structure. Consequently there has been considerable effort over the past two decades to try to predict ASA from protein sequence data and to use ASA information (derived from chemical modification studies) as a structure constraint. Recently it has become evident that protein chemical shifts are also sensitive to ASA. Given the potential utility of ASA estimates as structural constraints for NMR we decided to explore this relationship further. Using machine learning techniques (specifically a boosted tree regression model) we developed an algorithm called “ShiftASA” that combines chemical-shift and sequence derived features to accurately estimate per-residue fractional ASA values of water-soluble proteins. This method showed a correlation coefficient between predicted and experimental values of 0.79 when evaluated on a set of 65 independent test proteins, which was an 8.2 % improvement over the next best performing (sequence-only) method. On a separate test set of 92 proteins, ShiftASA reported a mean correlation coefficient of 0.82, which was 12.3 % better than the next best performing method. ShiftASA is available as a web server ( http://shiftasa.wishartlab.com http://shiftasa.wishartlab.com ) for submitting input queries for fractional ASA calculation.

  18. Ocular Measures of Sleepiness Are Increased in Night Shift Workers Undergoing a Simulated Night Shift Near the Peak Time of the 6-Sulfatoxymelatonin Rhythm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ftouni, Suzanne; Sletten, Tracey L.; Nicholas, Christian L.; Kennaway, David J.; Lockley, Steven W.; Rajaratnam, Shantha M.W.

    2015-01-01

    Study Objectives: The study examined the relationship between the circadian rhythm of 6-sulphatoxymelatonin (aMT6s) and ocular measures of sleepiness and neurobehavioral performance in shift workers undergoing a simulated night shift. Methods: Twenty-two shift workers (mean age 33.4, SD 11.8 years) were tested at approximately the beginning (20:00) and the end (05:55) of a simulated night shift in the laboratory. At the time point corresponding to the end of the simulated shift, 14 participants were classified as being within range of 6-sulphatoxymelatonin (aMT6s) acrophase— defined as 3 hours before or after aMT6s peak—and 8 were classified as outside aMT6s acrophase range. Participants completed the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) and the auditory psychomotor vigilance task (aPVT). Waking electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded and infrared reflectance oculography was used to collect ocular measures of sleepiness: positive and negative amplitude/velocity ratio (PosAVR, NegAVR), mean blink total duration (BTD), the percentage of eye closure (%TEC), and a composite score of sleepiness levels (Johns Drowsiness Scale; JDS). Results: Participants who were tested within aMT6s acrophase range displayed higher levels of sleepiness on ocular measures (%TEC, BTD, PosAVR, JDS), objective sleepiness (EEG delta power frequency band), subjective ratings of sleepiness, and neurobehavioral performance, compared to those who were outside aMT6s acrophase range. Conclusions: The study demonstrated that objective ocular measures of sleepiness are sensitive to circadian rhythm misalignment in shift workers. Citation: Ftouni S, Sletten TL, Nicholas CL, Kennaway DJ, Lockley SW, Rajaratnam SM. Ocular measures of sleepiness are increased in night shift workers undergoing a simulated night shift near the peak time of the 6-sulfatoxymelatonin rhythm. J Clin Sleep Med 2015;11(10):1131–1141. PMID:26094925

  19. Practical use of chemical shift databases for protein solid-state NMR: 2D chemical shift maps and amino-acid assignment with secondary-structure information

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fritzsching, K. J.; Yang, Y.; Schmidt-Rohr, K.; Hong Mei, E-mail: mhong@iastate.edu [Iowa State University, Department of Chemistry (United States)

    2013-06-15

    We introduce a Python-based program that utilizes the large database of {sup 13}C and {sup 15}N chemical shifts in the Biological Magnetic Resonance Bank to rapidly predict the amino acid type and secondary structure from correlated chemical shifts. The program, called PACSYlite Unified Query (PLUQ), is designed to help assign peaks obtained from 2D {sup 13}C-{sup 13}C, {sup 15}N-{sup 13}C, or 3D {sup 15}N-{sup 13}C-{sup 13}C magic-angle-spinning correlation spectra. We show secondary-structure specific 2D {sup 13}C-{sup 13}C correlation maps of all twenty amino acids, constructed from a chemical shift database of 262,209 residues. The maps reveal interesting conformation-dependent chemical shift distributions and facilitate searching of correlation peaks during amino-acid type assignment. Based on these correlations, PLUQ outputs the most likely amino acid types and the associated secondary structures from inputs of experimental chemical shifts. We test the assignment accuracy using four high-quality protein structures. Based on only the C{alpha} and C{beta} chemical shifts, the highest-ranked PLUQ assignments were 40-60 % correct in both the amino-acid type and the secondary structure. For three input chemical shifts (CO-C{alpha}-C{beta} or N-C{alpha}-C{beta}), the first-ranked assignments were correct for 60 % of the residues, while within the top three predictions, the correct assignments were found for 80 % of the residues. PLUQ and the chemical shift maps are expected to be useful at the first stage of sequential assignment, for combination with automated sequential assignment programs, and for highly disordered proteins for which secondary structure analysis is the main goal of structure determination.

  20. Empirical correlation between protein backbone {sup 15}N and {sup 13}C secondary chemical shifts and its application to nitrogen chemical shift re-referencing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang Liya [Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (United States); Markley, John L. [University of Wisconsin, Biochemistry Department (United States)], E-mail: markley@nmrfam.wisc.edu

    2009-06-15

    The linear analysis of chemical shifts (LACS) has provided a robust method for identifying and correcting {sup 13}C chemical shift referencing problems in data from protein NMR spectroscopy. Unlike other approaches, LACS does not require prior knowledge of the three-dimensional structure or inference of the secondary structure of the protein. It also does not require extensive assignment of the NMR data. We report here a way of extending the LACS approach to {sup 15}N NMR data from proteins, so as to enable the detection and correction of inconsistencies in chemical shift referencing for this nucleus. The approach is based on our finding that the secondary {sup 15}N chemical shift of the backbone nitrogen atom of residue i is strongly correlated with the secondary chemical shift difference (experimental minus random coil) between the alpha and beta carbons of residue i - 1. Thus once alpha and beta {sup 13}C chemical shifts are available (their difference is referencing error-free), the {sup 15}N referencing can be validated, and an appropriate offset correction can be derived. This approach can be implemented prior to a structure determination and can be used to analyze potential referencing problems in database data not associated with three-dimensional structure. Application of the LACS algorithm to the current BMRB protein chemical shift database, revealed that nearly 35% of the BMRB entries have {delta}{sup 15}N values mis-referenced by over 0.7 ppm and over 25% of them have {delta}{sup 1}H{sup N} values mis-referenced by over 0.12 ppm. One implication of the findings reported here is that a backbone {sup 15}N chemical shift provides a better indicator of the conformation of the preceding residue than of the residue itself.

  1. Are Categorical Spatial Relations Encoded by Shifting Visual Attention between Objects?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uttal, David; Franconeri, Steven

    2016-01-01

    Perceiving not just values, but relations between values, is critical to human cognition. We tested the predictions of a proposed mechanism for processing categorical spatial relations between two objects—the shift account of relation processing—which states that relations such as ‘above’ or ‘below’ are extracted by shifting visual attention upward or downward in space. If so, then shifts of attention should improve the representation of spatial relations, compared to a control condition of identity memory. Participants viewed a pair of briefly flashed objects and were then tested on either the relative spatial relation or identity of one of those objects. Using eye tracking to reveal participants’ voluntary shifts of attention over time, we found that when initial fixation was on neither object, relational memory showed an absolute advantage for the object following an attention shift, while identity memory showed no advantage for either object. This result is consistent with the shift account of relation processing. When initial fixation began on one of the objects, identity memory strongly benefited this fixated object, while relational memory only showed a relative benefit for objects following an attention shift. This result is also consistent, although not as uniquely, with the shift account of relation processing. Taken together, we suggest that the attention shift account provides a mechanistic explanation for the overall results. This account can potentially serve as the common mechanism underlying both linguistic and perceptual representations of spatial relations. PMID:27695104

  2. Ripplonic Lamb Shift for Electrons on Liquid Helium

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dykman, M. I.; Kono, K.; Konstantinov, D.; Lea, M. J.

    2017-12-01

    We study the shift of the energy levels of electrons on a helium surface due to the coupling to the quantum field of surface vibrations. As in quantum electrodynamics, the coupling is known, and it is known to lead to an ultraviolet divergence of the level shifts. We show that there are diverging terms of different nature and use the Bethe-type approach to show that they cancel each other, to leading order. This resolves the long-standing theoretical controversy and explains the existing experiments. The results allow us to study the temperature dependence of the level shift. The predictions are in good agreement with the experimental data, with no adjustable parameters.

  3. Lorentz invariance and the rotor Doppler shift experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rodrigues Junior, W.A.; Tiomno, J.

    1984-01-01

    It is shown that 'Rotor Doppler shift Experiments' provide a way to distinguish Einstein's Special Relativity (SR) from Lorentz's Aether Theory (LAT). Misconceptions in previous papers involving the Doppler shift experiments are examined. The theoretical and experimental data available on rotor Doppler shift experiments are analysed. Two models of SR violating theories are used to predict the output of a recently proposed experiment by Torr and Kolen. The first one corresponds to (strict) LAT and the other to an extended form of LAT Contrary to the first, the second theory leads to results in agreement with the preliminary experimental data of Torr et al indicating a breakdown both of SR and strict LAT. (Author) [pt

  4. Lorentz invariance and the rotor Doppler shift experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rodrigues Junior, W.A.; Tiomno, J.

    1984-01-01

    It is shown that 'Rotor Doppler shift Experiments' provide a way to distinguish Einstein's Special Relativity (SR) from Lorentz's Aether Theory (LAT). Misconceptions in previous papers involving the Doppler shift experiments are examined. The theoretical and experimental data available on rotor Doppler shift experiments are analysed. Two models of SR violating theories are used to predict the output of a recently proposed experiment by Torr and Kolen. The first one corresponds to (strict) LAT and the other to an extended form of LAT. Contrary to the first, the second theory leads to results in agreement with the preliminary experimental data of Torr et al indicating a breakdown both of SR and strict LAT. (Author) [pt

  5. The Atmospheric Oxidation of Volatile Organic Compounds Through Hydrogen Shift Reactions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Knap, Hasse Christian

    a radical is denoted as a H-shift reaction. Quantum chemical calculations were carried out to investigate the potential energy surface of the H-shift reactions and the subsequent decomposition pathways. The transition state theory including the Eckart quantum tunneling correction have been used to calculate...... the reaction rate constants of the H-shift reactions. The autoxidation of volatile organic compounds is an important oxidation mechanism that produces secondary organic aerosols (SOA) and recycles hydroxyl (OH) radicals. The autoxidation cycle produces a second generation peroxy radical (OOQOOH) through...... a series of H-shift reactions and O2 attachments. I have investigated the H-shift reactions in two OOQOOH radicals (hydroperoxy peroxy radicals and hydroperoxy acyl peroxy radicals). The H-shift reaction rate constants have been compared with the bimolecular reaction rate constants of the peroxy radicals...

  6. 12-hour shifts: an ethical dilemma for the nurse executive.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lorenz, Susan G

    2008-06-01

    Flexible work hours, including 12-hour shifts, have become a common scheduling option for nurses. The author explores whether 12-hour shifts are an ethical scheduling option for nurses because recent research suggests that 12-hour shifts are a potential hazard to patients. A multistep model for ethical decision making, reflecting the concept of procedural justice, is used to examine this issue.

  7. Static shift correction of MT data in Tohoku district using TEM soundings; TEM ho data wo mochiita Tohoku chiho MT ho data no statistic shift hosei

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kawakami, N; Kumekawa, Y; Miura, Y; Takasugi, S [GERD Geothermal Energy Research and Development Co. Ltd., Tokyo (Japan); Fujinawa, Y [National Research Institute for Disaster Prevention, Tsukuba (Japan)

    1997-05-27

    There is a possibility that the wide-band MT observation data obtained in the central part of Tohoku district include the static shift effect. To grasp the static shift effect in the MT data, the TEM soundings were conducted at all the site where the MT data were measured. The TEM sounding system was developed for the shallow survey depth ranging from 5 m to 150 m. When showing the measured results on the histogram, it was found that the static shifts were concentrated in the vicinity of zero. About 70% of the data was below 0.2 decade. Only a slight static shift effect was observed. This means that the results obtained by the two-dimensional analysis are plausible. Especially, the static shift around plain was small. Therefore, the current results around the plain were trustful. On the other hand, the static shift in the mountainous area was rather large. Accordingly, the results around the mountainous area should be carefully treated. 7 refs., 10 figs.

  8. Orientation-dependent surface core-level shifts and chemical shifts on clean and H 2S-covered GaAs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ranke, W.; Finster, J.; Kuhr, H. J.

    1987-08-01

    Photoelectron spectra of the As 3d and Ga 3d core levels were studied in situ on a cylindrically shaped GaAs single crystal for the six inequivalent orientations (001), (113), (111), (110), (11¯1) and (11¯3). On the clean surface, prepared by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), surface core levels are shifted by 0.25 to 0.55 eV towards smaller binding energy (BE) for As 3d and -0.25 to -0.35 eV towards higher BE for Ga, depending on orientation. Additional As causes As 3d contributions shifted between -0.45 and -0.7 eV towards higher BE. The position and intensity of them is influenced by H 2S adsorption. At 150 K, H 2S adsorbs preferentially on As sites. As chemical shifts appear at -0.6 to -0.9 eV towards higher BE. Simultaneously, As accumulation occurs on all orientations with the exception of (110). High temperature adsorption (550 K, 720 K) influences mainly the Ga 3d peaks. Two peaks shifted by about -0.45 and -0.8 eV towards higher Be were found which are attributed to Ga atoms with one or two sulfur ligands, respectively. At 720 K, also As depletion is observed. The compatibility of surface core-level positions and intensities with recent structural models for the (111) and (11¯1) surfaces is discussed.

  9. Is the Lamb shift chemically significant?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dyall, Kenneth G.; Bauschlicher, Charles W., Jr.; Schwenke, David W.; Pyykko, Pekka; Arnold, James (Technical Monitor)

    2001-01-01

    The contribution of the Lamb shift to the atomization energies of some prototype molecules, BF3, AlF3, and GaF3, is estimated by a perturbation procedure. It is found to be in the range of 3-5% of the one-electron scalar relativistic contribution to the atomization energy. The maximum absolute value is 0.2 kcal/mol for GaF3. These sample calculations indicate that the Lamb shift is probably small enough to be neglected for energetics of molecules containing light atoms if the target accuracy is 1 kcal/mol, but for higher accuracy calculations and for molecules containing heavy elements it must be considered.

  10. Unraveling the meaning of chemical shifts in protein NMR.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berjanskii, Mark V; Wishart, David S

    2017-11-01

    Chemical shifts are among the most informative parameters in protein NMR. They provide wealth of information about protein secondary and tertiary structure, protein flexibility, and protein-ligand binding. In this report, we review the progress in interpreting and utilizing protein chemical shifts that has occurred over the past 25years, with a particular focus on the large body of work arising from our group and other Canadian NMR laboratories. More specifically, this review focuses on describing, assessing, and providing some historical context for various chemical shift-based methods to: (1) determine protein secondary and super-secondary structure; (2) derive protein torsion angles; (3) assess protein flexibility; (4) predict residue accessible surface area; (5) refine 3D protein structures; (6) determine 3D protein structures and (7) characterize intrinsically disordered proteins. This review also briefly covers some of the methods that we previously developed to predict chemical shifts from 3D protein structures and/or protein sequence data. It is hoped that this review will help to increase awareness of the considerable utility of NMR chemical shifts in structural biology and facilitate more widespread adoption of chemical-shift based methods by the NMR spectroscopists, structural biologists, protein biophysicists, and biochemists worldwide. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Biophysics in Canada, edited by Lewis Kay, John Baenziger, Albert Berghuis and Peter Tieleman. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Influence of shifting cultivation practices on soil-plant-beetle interactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ibrahim, Kalibulla Syed; Momin, Marcy D; Lalrotluanga, R; Rosangliana, David; Ghatak, Souvik; Zothansanga, R; Kumar, Nachimuthu Senthil; Gurusubramanian, Guruswami

    2016-08-01

    Shifting cultivation (jhum) is a major land use practice in Mizoram. It was considered as an eco-friendly and efficient method when the cycle duration was long (15-30 years), but it poses the problem of land degradation and threat to ecology when shortened (4-5 years) due to increased intensification of farming systems. Studying beetle community structure is very helpful in understanding how shifting cultivation affects the biodiversity features compared to natural forest system. The present study examines the beetle species diversity and estimates the effects of shifting cultivation practices on the beetle assemblages in relation to change in tree species composition and soil nutrients. Scarabaeidae and Carabidae were observed to be the dominant families in the land use systems studied. Shifting cultivation practice significantly (P PERMANOVA), permutational multivariate analysis of dispersion (PERMDISP)) statistical analyses. Besides changing the tree species composition and affecting the soil fertility, shifting cultivation provides less suitable habitat conditions for the beetle species. Bioindicator analysis categorized the beetle species into forest specialists, anthropogenic specialists (shifting cultivation habitat specialist), and habitat generalists. Molecular analysis of bioindicator beetle species was done using mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) marker to validate the beetle species and describe genetic variation among them in relation to heterogeneity, transition/transversion bias, codon usage bias, evolutionary distance, and substitution pattern. The present study revealed the fact that shifting cultivation practice significantly affects the beetle species in terms of biodiversity pattern as well as evolutionary features. Spatiotemporal assessment of soil-plant-beetle interactions in shifting cultivation system and their influence in land degradation and ecology will be helpful in making biodiversity conservation decisions in the

  12. Nutrition and health in hotel staff on different shift patterns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seibt, R; Süße, T; Spitzer, S; Hunger, B; Rudolf, M

    2015-08-01

    Limited research is available that examines the nutritional behaviour and health of hotel staff working alternating and regular shifts. To analyse the nutritional behaviour and health of employees working in alternating and regular shifts. The study used an ex post facto cross-sectional analysis to compare the nutritional behaviour and health parameters of workers with alternating shifts and regular shift workers. Nutritional behaviour was assessed with the Food Frequency Questionnaire. Body dimensions (body mass index, waist hip ratio, fat mass and active cell mass), metabolic values (glucose, triglyceride, total cholesterol and low- and high-density lipoprotein), diseases and health complaints were included as health parameters. Participants worked in alternating (n = 53) and regular shifts (n = 97). The average age of subjects was 35 ± 10 years. There was no significant difference in nutritional behaviour, most surveyed body dimensions or metabolic values between the two groups. However, alternating shift workers had significantly lower fat mass and higher active cell mass but nevertheless reported more pronounced health complaints. Sex and age were also confirmed as influencing the surveyed parameters. Shift-dependent nutritional problems were not conspicuously apparent in this sample of hotel industry workers. Health parameters did not show significantly negative attributes for alternating shift workers. Conceivably, both groups could have the same level of knowledge on the health effects of nutrition and comparable opportunities to apply this. Further studies on nutritional and health behaviour in the hotel industry are necessary in order to create validated screening programmes. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  13. Quantifying attention shifts in augmented reality image-guided neurosurgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Léger, Étienne; Drouin, Simon; Collins, D Louis; Popa, Tiberiu; Kersten-Oertel, Marta

    2017-10-01

    Image-guided surgery (IGS) has allowed for more minimally invasive procedures, leading to better patient outcomes, reduced risk of infection, less pain, shorter hospital stays and faster recoveries. One drawback that has emerged with IGS is that the surgeon must shift their attention from the patient to the monitor for guidance. Yet both cognitive and motor tasks are negatively affected with attention shifts. Augmented reality (AR), which merges the realworld surgical scene with preoperative virtual patient images and plans, has been proposed as a solution to this drawback. In this work, we studied the impact of two different types of AR IGS set-ups (mobile AR and desktop AR) and traditional navigation on attention shifts for the specific task of craniotomy planning. We found a significant difference in terms of the time taken to perform the task and attention shifts between traditional navigation, but no significant difference between the different AR set-ups. With mobile AR, however, users felt that the system was easier to use and that their performance was better. These results suggest that regardless of where the AR visualisation is shown to the surgeon, AR may reduce attention shifts, leading to more streamlined and focused procedures.

  14. Shift work and breast cancer among women textile workers in Shanghai, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Wenjin; Ray, Roberta M; Thomas, David B; Davis, Scott; Yost, Michael; Breslow, Norman; Gao, Dao Li; Fitzgibbons, E Dawn; Camp, Janice E; Wong, Eva; Wernli, Karen J; Checkoway, Harvey

    2015-01-01

    Although night-shift work has been associated with elevated risk of breast cancer in numerous epidemiologic studies, evidence is not consistent. We conducted a nested case-cohort study to investigate a possible association between shift work including a night shift and risk of breast cancer within a large cohort of women textile workers in Shanghai, China. The study included 1,709 incident breast cancer cases and 4,780 non-cases. Data on historical shift work schedules were collected by categorized jobs from the factories, where the study subjects had worked, and then were linked to the complete work histories of each subject. No jobs in the factories involved exclusively night-shift work. Therefore, night shift was evaluated as part of a rotating shift work pattern. Hazard ratios and 95 % confidence intervals were calculated using Cox proportional hazards modeling adapted for the case-cohort design for years of night-shift work and the total number of nights worked. Additionally, analyses were repeated with exposures lagged by 10 and 20 years. We observed no associations with either years of night-shift work or number of nights worked during the entire employment period, irrespective of lag intervals. Findings from the age-stratified analyses were very similar to those observed for the entire study population. The findings from this study provide no evidence to support the hypothesis that shift work increases breast cancer risk. The positive association between shift work and breast cancer observed in Western populations, but not observed in this and other studies of the Chinese population, suggests that the effect of shift work on breast cancer risk may be different in Asian and Caucasian women.

  15. SHIFT WORK AND BREAST CANCER AMONG WOMEN TEXTILE WORKERS IN SHANGHAI, CHINA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Wenjin; Ray, Roberta M.; Thomas, David B.; Davis, Scott; Yost, Michael; Breslow, Norman; Gao, Dao Li; Fitzgibbons, E. Dawn; Camp, Janice E.; Wong, Eva; Wernli, Karen J.; Checkoway, Harvey

    2014-01-01

    PURPOSE Although night shift work has been associated with elevated risk of breast cancer in numerous epidemiologic studies, evidence is not consistent. We conducted a nested case-cohort study to investigate a possible association between shift work including a night shift and risk of breast cancer within a large cohort of women textile workers in Shanghai, China. METHODS The study included 1709 incident breast cancer cases and 4780 non-cases. Data on historical shift-work schedules were collected by categorized jobs from the factories where the study subjects had worked, and then were linked to the complete work histories of each subject. No jobs in the factories involved exclusively night shift work. Therefore, night shift was evaluated as part of a rotating shift work pattern. Hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using Cox proportional hazards modeling adapted for the case-cohort design for years of night-shift work and the total number of nights worked. Additionally, analyses were repeated with exposures lagged by 10 and 20 years. RESULTS We observed no associations with either years of night-shift work, or number of nights worked during the entire employment period, irrespective of lag intervals. Findings from the age-stratified analyses were very similar to those observed for the entire study population. CONCLUSIONS The findings from this study provide no evidence to support the hypothesis that shift work increases breast cancer risk. The positive association between shift work and breast cancer observed in Western populations, but not observed in this and other studies of the Chinese population, suggest that the effect of shift work on breast cancer risk may be different in Asian and Caucasian women. PMID:25421377

  16. Asymmetry and the shift of the Compton profile

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chatterjee, B.K.; Roy, S.C.; Suric, T.; LaJohn, L.A.; Pratt, R.H.

    2007-01-01

    We show that the conventionally defined asymmetry of the Compton profile (CP) is, to a large extent, simply a shift of CP. Compton scattering is widely used in studying the electron momentum distribution (EMD) of complex systems. Extraction of information about the EMD is based on an impulse approximation (IA) description of the process. In IA the scattering from bound electrons is described as scattering from the EMD of free electrons. Most often the angular and energy distributions of scattered photons (doubly differential cross sections (DDCS)) is measured and presented in terms of CP, which is just the DDCS normalized by a kinematical factor. The deviations of measured CP from the IA results are conventionally described as an asymmetry of CP about the IA peak position. IA predicts CP to be symmetric. We have examined the discrepancy between IA predictions (and the corresponding relativistic version of IA, RIA) and more rigorous approaches (A 2 and S-matrix), using independent particle approximations for the description of the bound state of electrons. In the nonrelativistic region (in which many measurements of CP are performed) we find that the conventional asymmetry can largely be understood as the shift of the peak position. The true asymmetry with respect to the shifted peak position is in fact much smaller. RIA has similar properties to IA, except that for atoms with high nuclear charge the p → .A → interaction may modify the shift and limit the utility of description as a shift

  17. Discrepancy and Disliking Do Not Induce Negative Opinion Shifts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flache, Andreas; Mäs, Michael

    2016-01-01

    Both classical social psychological theories and recent formal models of opinion differentiation and bi-polarization assign a prominent role to negative social influence. Negative influence is defined as shifts away from the opinion of others and hypothesized to be induced by discrepancy with or disliking of the source of influence. There is strong empirical support for the presence of positive social influence (a shift towards the opinion of others), but evidence that large opinion differences or disliking could trigger negative shifts is mixed. We examine positive and negative influence with controlled exposure to opinions of other individuals in one experiment and with opinion exchange in another study. Results confirm that similarities induce attraction, but results do not support that discrepancy or disliking entails negative influence. Instead, our findings suggest a robust positive linear relationship between opinion distance and opinion shifts. PMID:27333160

  18. Predominant natural red-shift of quasi-conservative nonlinear systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pugno, Nicola Maria; Carpinteri, Alberto; Delsanto, Pier Paolo

    2009-01-01

    Recent discoveries of nonclassical nonlinear phenomena are attracting a large interest in the scientific community, especially in material science. In spite of this, the natural frequency shift related to the appearance of such phenomena remains partially unclear. In this paper, we apply the general and only recently developed Interaction Box Formalism for investigating if a universality in the natural frequency shift of quasi-conservative nonlinear systems exists. Such universality clearly emerges as a rupture in the symmetry, usually leading to a red-shift, quantifiable as a function of the higher- and sub-harmonic generation.

  19. Shifts happened…time to optimize your practice!

    Science.gov (United States)

    Washington, Greg

    2010-11-01

    The 21st century opened with economic shifts the likes of which were not experienced for over half a century. The effects of these shifts require facial surgery specialists to conduct an objective audit of their business to not only survive but thrive in the new economic environment. This article discusses specific steps and provides checklists for practitioners in cosmetic surgery related to strategy, auditing, budgeting, marketing, and innovating to grow a successful practice. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Mode Shift Control for a Hybrid Heavy-Duty Vehicle with Power-Split Transmission

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kun Huang

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Given that power-split transmission (PST is considered to be a major powertrain technology for hybrid heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs, the development and application of PST in the HDVs make mode shift control an essential aspect of powertrain system design. This paper presents a shift schedule design and torque control strategy for a hybrid HDV with PST during mode shift, intended to reduce the output torque variation and improve the shift quality (SQ. Firstly, detailed dynamic models of the hybrid HDV are developed to analyze the mode shift characteristics. Then, a gear shift schedule calculation method including a dynamic shift schedule and an economic shift schedule is provided. Based on the dynamic models and the designed shift schedule, a mode shift performance simulator is built using MATLAB/Simulink, and simulations are carried out. Through analysis of the dynamic equations, it is seen that the inertia torques of the motor–generator lead to the occurrence of transition torque. To avoid the unwanted transition torque, we use a mode shift control strategy that coordinates the motor–generator torque to compensate for the transition torque. The simulation and experimental results demonstrate that the output torque variation during mode shift is effectively reduced by the proposed control strategy, thereby improving the SQ.

  1. Eye blinking in an avian species is associated with gaze shifts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yorzinski, Jessica L

    2016-08-30

    Even when animals are actively monitoring their environment, they lose access to visual information whenever they blink. They can strategically time their blinks to minimize information loss and improve visual functioning but we have little understanding of how this process operates in birds. This study therefore examined blinking in freely-moving peacocks (Pavo cristatus) to determine the relationship between their blinks, gaze shifts, and context. Peacocks wearing a telemetric eye-tracker were exposed to a taxidermy predator (Vulpes vulpes) and their blinks and gaze shifts were recorded. Peacocks blinked during the majority of their gaze shifts, especially when gaze shifts were large, thereby timing their blinks to coincide with periods when visual information is already suppressed. They inhibited their blinks the most when they exhibited high rates of gaze shifts and were thus highly alert. Alternative hypotheses explaining the link between blinks and gaze shifts are discussed.

  2. Four days of simulated shift work reduces insulin sensitivity in humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bescos, R; Boden, M J; Jackson, M L; Trewin, A J; Marin, E C; Levinger, I; Garnham, A; Hiam, D S; Falcao-Tebas, F; Conte, F; Owens, J A; Kennaway, D J; McConell, G K

    2018-06-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of 4 consecutive simulated night shifts on glucose homeostasis, mitochondrial function and central and peripheral rhythmicities compared with a simulated day shift schedule. Seventeen healthy adults (8M:9F) matched for sleep, physical activity and dietary/fat intake participated in this study (night shift work n = 9; day shift work n = 8). Glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity before and after 4 nights of shift work were measured by an intravenous glucose tolerance test and a hyperinsulinaemic euglycaemic clamp respectively. Muscles biopsies were obtained to determine insulin signalling and mitochondrial function. Central and peripheral rhythmicities were assessed by measuring salivary melatonin and expression of circadian genes from hair samples respectively. Fasting plasma glucose increased (4.4 ± 0.1 vs. 4.6 ± 0.1 mmol L -1 ; P = .001) and insulin sensitivity decreased (25 ± 7%, P night shift, with no changes following the day shift. Night shift work had no effect on skeletal muscle protein expression (PGC1α, UCP3, TFAM and mitochondria Complex II-V) or insulin-stimulated pAkt Ser473, pTBC1D4Ser318 and pTBC1D4Thr642. Importantly, the metabolic changes after simulated night shifts occurred despite no changes in the timing of melatonin rhythmicity or hair follicle cell clock gene expression across the wake period (Per3, Per1, Nr1d1 and Nr1d2). Only 4 days of simulated night shift work in healthy adults is sufficient to reduce insulin sensitivity which would be expected to increase the risk of T2D. © 2018 Scandinavian Physiological Society. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  3. Sensorimotor and executive function slowing in anesthesiology residents after overnight shifts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, George W; Shankar, Bairavi; Klier, Eliana M; Chuang, Alice Z; El Marjiya-Villarreal, Salma; Nwokolo, Omonele O; Sharma, Aanchal; Sereno, Anne B

    2017-08-01

    Medical residents working overnight call shifts experience sleep deprivation and circadian clock disruption. This leads to deficits in sensorimotor function and increases in workplace accidents. Using quick tablet-based tasks, we investigate whether measureable executive function differences exist following a single overnight call versus routine shift, and whether factors like stress, rest and caffeine affect these measures. A prospective, observational, longitudinal, comparison study was conducted. An academic tertiary hospital's main operating room suite staffed by attending anesthesiologists, anesthesiology residents, anesthesiologist assistants and nurse anesthetists. Subjects were 30 anesthesiology residents working daytime shifts and 30 peers working overnight call shifts from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Before and after their respective work shifts, residents completed the Stanford Sleepiness Scale (SSS) and the ProPoint and AntiPoint tablet-based tasks. These latter tasks are designed to measure sensorimotor and executive functions, respectively. The SSS is a self-reported measure of sleepiness. Response times (RTs) are measured in the pointing tasks. Call residents exhibited increased RTs across their shifts (post-pre) on both ProPoint (p=0.002) and AntiPoint (pRoutine residents. Increased stress was associated with decreases in AntiPoint RT for Routine (p=0.007), but with greater increases in sleepiness for Call residents (proutine daytime shift residents, (2) sensorimotor slowing is greater in overnight Call residents who drink caffeine habitually, and (3) increased stress during a shift reduces (improves) cognitive RTs during routine daytime but not overnight call shifts. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Random coil chemical shifts in acidic 8 M urea: Implementation of random coil shift data in NMRView

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schwarzinger, Stephan; Kroon, Gerard J.A.; Foss, Ted R.; Wright, Peter E.; Dyson, H. Jane

    2000-01-01

    Studies of proteins unfolded in acid or chemical denaturant can help in unraveling events during the earliest phases of protein folding. In order for meaningful comparisons to be made of residual structure in unfolded states, it is necessary to use random coil chemical shifts that are valid for the experimental system under study. We present a set of random coil chemical shifts obtained for model peptides under experimental conditions used in studies of denatured proteins. This new set, together with previously published data sets, has been incorporated into a software interface for NMRView, allowing selection of the random coil data set that fits the experimental conditions best

  5. The affective shift model of work engagement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bledow, Ronald; Schmitt, Antje; Frese, Michael; Kühnel, Jana

    2011-11-01

    On the basis of self-regulation theories, the authors develop an affective shift model of work engagement according to which work engagement emerges from the dynamic interplay of positive and negative affect. The affective shift model posits that negative affect is positively related to work engagement if negative affect is followed by positive affect. The authors applied experience sampling methodology to test the model. Data on affective events, mood, and work engagement was collected twice a day over 9 working days among 55 software developers. In support of the affective shift model, negative mood and negative events experienced in the morning of a working day were positively related to work engagement in the afternoon if positive mood in the time interval between morning and afternoon was high. Individual differences in positive affectivity moderated within-person relationships. The authors discuss how work engagement can be fostered through affect regulation. (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved.

  6. Michelson interferometer based spatial phase shift shearography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Xin; Yang, Lianxiang; Xu, Nan; Chen, Xu

    2013-06-10

    This paper presents a simple spatial phase shift shearography based on the Michelson interferometer. The Michelson interferometer based shearographic system has been widely utilized in industry as a practical nondestructive test tool. In the system, the Michelson interferometer is used as a shearing device to generate a shearing distance by tilting a small angle in one of the two mirrors. In fact, tilting the mirror in the Michelson interferometer also generates spatial frequency shift. Based on this feature, we introduce a simple Michelson interferometer based spatial phase shift shearography. The Fourier transform (FT) method is applied to separate the spectrum on the spatial frequency domain. The phase change due to the loading can be evaluated using a properly selected windowed inverse-FT. This system can generate a phase map of shearography by using only a single image. The effects of shearing angle, spatial resolution of couple charge device camera, and filter methods are discussed in detail. The theory and the experimental results are presented.

  7. Midline Shift Threshold Value for Hemiparesis in Chronic Subdural Hematoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Juković, Mirela F; Stojanović, Dejan B

    2015-01-01

    Chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) has a variety of clinical presentations, with numerous neurological symptoms and signs. Hemiparesis is one of the leading signs that potentially indicates CSDH. Purpose of this study was to determine the threshold (cut-off) value of midsagittal line (MSL) shift after which hemiparesis is likely to appear. The study evaluated 83 patients with 53 unilateral and 30 bilateral CSDHs in period of three years. Evaluated computed tomography (CT) findings in patients with CSDH were diameter of the hematoma and midsagittal line shift, measured on non-contrast CT scan in relation with occurrence of hemiparesis. Threshold values of MSL shift for both types of CSDHs were obtained as maximal (equal) sensitivity and specificity (intersection of the curves). MSL is a good predictor for hemiparesis occurrence (total sample, AUROC 0.75, p=0.0001). Unilateral and bilateral CSDHs had different threshold values of the MSL for hemiparesis development. Results suggested that in unilateral CSDH the threshold values of MSL could be at 10 mm (AUROC=0.65; p=0.07). For bilateral CSDH the threshold level of MSL shift was 4.5 mm (AUROC=0.77; p=0.01). Our study pointed on the phenomenon that midsagittal line shift can predict hemiparesis occurrence. Hemiparesis in patients with bilateral CSDH was more related to midsagittal line shift compared with unilateral CSDH. When value of midsagittal line shift exceed the threshold level, hemiparesis occurs with certain probability.

  8. Estimating profit shifting in South Africa using firm-level tax returns

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wier, Ludvig

    2016-01-01

    Using the universe of South African corporate tax returns for 2009–14, we estimate profit- and debt-shifting responses in South Africa. We find evidence that South African subsidiaries engage in profit shifting and that profit-shifting responses to tax incentives across all channels...

  9. Meta-analysis on shift work and risks of specific obesity types.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, M; Feng, W; Wang, F; Li, P; Li, Z; Li, M; Tse, G; Vlaanderen, J; Vermeulen, R; Tse, L A

    2018-01-01

    This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the associations between shift work patterns and risks of specific types of obesity. PubMed was searched until March 2017 for observational studies that examined the relationships between shift work patterns and obesity. Odds ratio for obesity was extracted using a fixed-effects or random-effects model. Subgroup meta-analyses were carried out for study design, specific obesity types and characteristics of shift work pattern. A total of 28 studies were included in this meta-analysis. The overall odds ratio of night shift work was 1.23 (95% confidence interval = 1.17-1.29) for risk of obesity/overweight. Cross-sectional studies showed a higher risk of 1.26 than those with the cohort design (risk ratio = 1.10). Shift workers had a higher frequency of developing abdominal obesity (odds ratio = 1.35) than other obesity types. Permanent night workers demonstrated a 29% higher risk than rotating shift workers (odds ratio 1.43 vs. 1.14). This meta-analysis confirmed the risks of night shift work for the development of overweight and obesity with a potential gradient association suggested, especially for abdominal obesity. Modification of working schedules is recommended, particularly for prolonged permanent night work. More accurate and detailed measurements on shift work patterns should be conducted in future research. © 2017 World Obesity Federation.

  10. Changes in nurses' decision making during a 12-h day shift.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McClelland, L E; Switzer, F S; Pilcher, J J

    2013-01-01

    Although shift work is necessary in many health-care settings, research suggests that it can have detrimental effects on performance in health-care providers. To determine if a change in decision-making occurred across a 12-h day shift in a sample of registered nurses. The participants were nurses working a 12-h day shift (7 a.m.-7 p.m.) at a large hospital in the south-eastern USA. Participants completed a policy-capturing questionnaire, examining their likelihood of calling a physician in response to specific patient symptoms, at the beginning and end of the shift. They also completed self-report surveys on alertness, stress and sleepiness. Sixty-five nurses completed the study, an overall response rate of 41%. Participants significantly changed their decision-making policies from the beginning to the end of the work shift and also became significantly less alert and more stressed. However, there was no correlation between decision-making and reported alertness and stress. These results suggest that medical judgment in registered nurses changed from the beginning to the end of a 12-h day shift. One possible underlying mechanism responsible for the changes seen across the shift could be the ability to maintain attention, as suggested by the Controlled Attention Model. The current results expand upon previous research, indicating there are a variety of negative outcomes associated with shift work.

  11. Diet quality and sleep quality among day and night shift nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beebe, Deborah; Chang, Jen Jen; Kress, Kathleen; Mattfeldt-Beman, Mildred

    2017-10-01

    To determine whether night shift workers have a poorer diet quality and sleep quality when compared with day shift nurses. There is a dearth of research investigating the association between diet quality and sleep quality of day and night shift nurses. Data on nurses (n = 103) working either a day or night shift from two Midwestern hospitals were obtained from August 2015 to February 2016. The instruments used were the Diet History Questionnaire and the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index. Independent samples t-tests were used to examine differences in diet and sleep quality by work shift schedule. There were no statistically significant differences between nurses working day or night shift and sleep quality (P = 0.0684), as well as diet quality (P = 0.6499). There was a significant difference between both body mass index (P = 0.0014) and exercise (P = 0.0020) with regard to diet quality. Body mass index and sleep quality were also significantly associated (P = 0.0032). Our study found no differences between day and night shift with regard to sleep and diet quality among nurses. Deliberate health initiatives and wellness programmes specifically targeting nurses are needed to increase knowledge about maintaining a healthy lifestyle while working as a nurse, whether it is day or night shift. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  12. Dynamic Stark shift and alignment-to-orientation conversion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuntz, Matthew C.; Hilborn, Robert C.; Spencer, Alison M.

    2002-01-01

    We have observed alignment-to-orientation conversion in the (5d6p) 1 P state of atomic barium due to the combined effects of a static Zeeman shift and a dynamic Stark shift associated with the electric field of a pulsed laser beam. The measurements yield a value for the frequency-dependent tensor polarizability of the state in reasonable agreement with a simple perturbation theory calculation. With a tunable laser producing the dynamic Stark shift, we can both enhance the magnitude of the effect by tuning close to a resonance and reverse the sign of the orientation by tuning above or below the resonance. This method of producing an oriented atomic state is quite general, and with easily available field strengths can produce large orientations

  13. Digital phase-shifting atomic force microscope Moire method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Chiaming; Chen Lienwen

    2005-01-01

    In this study, the digital atomic force microscope (AFM) Moire method with phase-shifting technology is established to measure the in-plane displacement and strain fields. The Moire pattern is generated by the interference between the specimen grating and the virtual reference grating formed by digital image processes. The overlapped image is filtered by two-dimensional wavelet transformation to obtain the clear interference Moire patterns. The four-step phase-shifting method is realized by translating the phase of the virtual reference grating from 0 to 2π. The principle of the digital AFM Moire method and the phase-shifting technology are described in detail. Experimental results show that this method is convenient to use and efficient in realizing the microscale measurement

  14. Study: Long nursing shifts linked to burnout, job dissatisfaction, negative patient assessments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-01

    While nurses often choose to work 12-hour shifts, there is new evidence that too many of these longer shifts can lead to burnout and job dissatisfaction. Further, a new study suggests that patients are less satisfied with their care when nurses are working longer shifts, and patient outcomes may suffer as well. Experts recommend education around this issue for both staff nurses and nurse managers, and they urge administrators to devise sensible scheduling solutions. A three-year study, involving 23,000 registered nurses from four states, showed that nurses working shifts of 10 hours or longer were up to two and a half times more likely to experience burnout and dissatisfaction with their jobs than nurses working shorter shifts. Also, the study showed that seven out of 10 patient outcomes were adversely impacted by the longest nursing shifts. The Cleveland Clinic's 'parent shift' gives nurses the option of working shifts of six hours or less in exchange for less pay and no benefits. Administrators use these nurses to help their units manage busy hours or patient surges.

  15. Mechanical spectral shift reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sherwood, D.G.; Wilson, J.F.; Salton, R.B.; Fensterer, H.F.

    1981-01-01

    A mechanical spectral shift reactor comprises apparatus for inserting and withdrawing water displacer elements from the reactor core for selectively changing the water-moderator volume in the core thereby changing the reactivity of the core. The apparatus includes drivemechanisms for moving the displacer elements relative to the core and guide mechanisms for guiding the displayer rods through the reactor vessel

  16. Mechanical spectral shift reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sherwood, D.G.; Wilson, J.F.; Salton, R.B.; Fensterer, H.F.

    1982-01-01

    A mechanical spectral shift reactor comprises apparatus for inserting and withdrawing water displacer elements from the reactor core for selectively changing the water-moderator volume in the core thereby changing the reactivity of the core. The apparatus includes drive mechanisms for moving the displacer elements relative to the core and guide mechanisms for guiding the displacer rods through the reactor vessel. (author)

  17. Shift Work and the Relationship with Metabolic Syndrome in Chinese Aged Workers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Yanjun; Rong, Yi; Huang, Xiji; Lai, Hanpeng; Luo, Xin; Zhang, Zhihong; Liu, Yuewei; He, Meian; Wu, Tangchun; Chen, Weihong

    2015-01-01

    Background Shift work is indicated to be associated with adverse metabolic disorders. However, potential effects of shift work on metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components have not been well established. Methods In total, 26,382 workers from Dongfeng-Tongji Cohort were included in this study. Information on shift work history was gathered through questionnaires and metabolic traits were measured. Logistic regression models were used to calculate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for long-term shift work related with MetS and each component, respectively. Further stratification analysis was performed to detect the differences on MetS between female and male shift workers. Results Long-term shift work was associated with MetS without adjusting for any confounders. Compared with the group of non-shift work, the multivariate-adjusted ORs (95%CI) of MetS associated with 1–10, 11−20, and ≥20y of shift work were 1.05 (0.95−1.16), 1.14 (1.03−1.26), 1.16 (1.01−1.31), respectively. In female workers, we found a dose-response relationship that every 10 years increase in shift work was associated with a 10% (95% CI: 1%−20%) elevated OR of MetS, while no significant dose-response trend was found among male workers. Furthermore, shift work duration was significantly associated with ORs of high blood pressure (1.07, 1.01−1.13), long waist circumference (1.10, 1.01−1.20) and high glucose levels (1.09, 1.04−1.15). No significant association was observed between shift work and low HDL cholesterol) and raised triglyceride levels. Conclusions Long-term shift work was associated with metabolic syndrome and the association might differ by gender in retired workers. Applicable intervention strategies are needed for prevention of metabolic disorders for shift workers. PMID:25761114

  18. On the counting rate-dependent amplitude shifts in proportional counters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mahesh, K.

    1976-01-01

    The presence of a positive ion cloud near the anode wire, which has been believed to be the cause of the observed counting rate-dependent peak shifts in proportional counters, does not explain various exhibited features of these shifts. The possibility of other mechanisms involved is, therefore, examined. The columnar recombination of primary ions in the counter is considered to explain the origin of the shifts and their observed features. (Auth.)

  19. [NIGHT SHIFT WORK AND HEALTH DISORDER RISK IN FEMALE WORKERS].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kukhtina, E G; Solionova, L G; Fedichkina, T P; Zykova, I E

    2015-01-01

    There was evaluated the risk to health in females employed in shift work, including night shifts. According to the data of periodical medical examinations health indices of 403 females employed in shift work, including night shifts, were compared with indices of 205 females--workers of administrative units of the same enterprise. Overall relative risk (RR) for the health disorder associated with the night shift was 1.2 (95%; confidence interval (CI): 1.09-1.28). A statistically significant increase in risk was observed in relation to uterine fibroids (OR 1.3; 95% CI: 1.06-1.54), mastopathy (OR 1.4; 95% CI: 1.2-1.6), inorganic sleep disorders (OR 8.8; 95% CI 2.6-29.8). At the boundary of the statistical significance there was the increase in the risk for obesity (OR 1.2; 95% C: 0.97-1.39), hypertension (OR 1.2; 95% CI, 0.9-1.5) and endometriosis (OR 1.5; 95% CI: 0.98-2.16). There was revealed an adverse effect of night shifts on the gestation course: ectopic pregnancy in the experimental group occurred 6.6 times more frequently than in the control group (95% CI: 0.87-50.2), and spontaneous abortion--1.7 times (95% CI: 0.95-3.22). The performed study has once again confirmed the negative impact of smoking on women's reproductive health: smoking women in the experimental group compared with the control group smokers had 2.7 times increased risk of uterine fibroids (within 1.06-7.0), the risk in non-smokers was significantly lower--1.2 (0.98-1.4). The findings suggest about a wide range of health problems related to employment on shift work, including night shifts, which indicates to the need for adoption of regulatory and preventive measures aimed to this professional group.

  20. Faraday-Shielded dc Stark-Shift-Free Optical Lattice Clock

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beloy, K.; Zhang, X.; McGrew, W. F.; Hinkley, N.; Yoon, T. H.; Nicolodi, D.; Fasano, R. J.; Schäffer, S. A.; Brown, R. C.; Ludlow, A. D.

    2018-05-01

    We demonstrate the absence of a dc Stark shift in an ytterbium optical lattice clock. Stray electric fields are suppressed through the introduction of an in-vacuum Faraday shield. Still, the effectiveness of the shielding must be experimentally assessed. Such diagnostics are accomplished by applying high voltage to six electrodes, which are grounded in normal operation to form part of the Faraday shield. Our measurements place a constraint on the dc Stark shift at the 10-20 level, in units of the clock frequency. Moreover, we discuss a potential source of error in strategies to precisely measure or cancel nonzero dc Stark shifts, attributed to field gradients coupled with the finite spatial extent of the lattice-trapped atoms. With this consideration, we find that Faraday shielding, complemented with experimental validation, provides both a practically appealing and effective solution to the problem of dc Stark shifts in optical lattice clocks.

  1. Neuroendocrine recovery after 2-week 12-h day and night shifts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Merkus, Suzanne L; Holte, Kari Anne; Huysmans, Maaike A

    2015-01-01

    PURPOSE: The study aimed to investigate the course and duration of neuroendocrine recovery after 2-week 12-h day and night shift working periods and to study whether there were differences in recovery between the shift groups. METHODS: Twenty-nine male offshore employees working 2-week 12-h shift...... tours participated in the study; 15 participated after a day shift tour and 14 after a night shift tour. Salivary cortisol was assessed at awakening, 30 min after awakening, and before bedtime on the 1st, 4th, 7th, and 11th day of the free period, with a reference day prior to the offshore tour....... Differences were tested using generalised estimating equations analysis. RESULTS: Compared to the reference day, night shift workers had a significantly flatter cortisol profile on the 1st day off, significantly lower cortisol concentrations at 30 min after awakening on day 4 and at awakening on day 7...

  2. Health consequences of shift-work: the case of iranian hospital security personnel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abedini, Roghayeh; Soltanzadeh, Ahmad; Faghih, Mohammad Amin; Mohammadi, Heidar; Kamalinia, Mojtaba; Mohraz, Majid Habibi; Arassi, Maziyar; Veyseh, Peyman Piran; Aghaei, Hamed; Hosseini, Seyed Younes

    2015-01-01

    Shift-work, which is an ergonomics issue in workplaces, can negatively affect workers. The security personnel of medical centers in Iran have multiple responsibilities and consequently are exposed to such unwanted situations as observing patients, disputing with patient's attendants, unwanted shift schedules, and being away from family for long periods. This study assessed health problems of Iranian hospital security personnel (shift-worker personnel) using the Survey of Shift-workers (SOS) questionnaire (Persian version). This cross-sectional study was conducted in seven medical centers (4 hospitals and 3 clinics). A total of 416 workers were surveyed: shift-workers (exposed group) (n=209) and non-shift-workers (unexposed group) (n=207). The prevalence of adverse health effects was higher in shift-workers than day-workers. The level of education and mean Body Mass Index (BMI) in shift-workers were significantly higher compared with day-workers. The prevalence of gastrointestinal disorders, cardiovascular and psychological problems were also significantly higher in shift-workers compared with day-workers. Overall, the prevalence of health problems among the security personnel of medical centers was high. Hence, it is recommended that personnel be put under periodic monitoring and receive medical counseling and treatment if there is any disorder.

  3. Reducing hours of work of preregistration house officers: report on a shift system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nasmyth, D G; Pickersgill, A; Hogarth, M

    1991-01-12

    To determine the advantages and disadvantages of a shift system of working compared with the conventional on call system for preregistration house officers. A shift system of working was employed in the unit from 1 August 1989 to 31 July 1990. During attachments of three or six months four house officers rotated at intervals of one month among three daytime shifts and one night shift (Mondays to Fridays only). Weekends (48 hours) were worked on a one in three rota by the doctors working a day shift. The views of the house officers working this shift system were sought in writing and by direct interview. Professorial surgical unit, Royal Liverpool Hospital. The 14 house officers who were attached to the unit for three or six months during their preregistration year. The shift system was preferred to conventional on call without exception. The incidence of chronic tiredness was reduced and formal hand-over between shifts resulted in more informed decision making by doctors while on call. During annual leave it was sometimes necessary to revert to the conventional one in three on call system to ensure that daytime work was completed. Other disadvantages were the long weekend shift and an inequitable distribution of the night shift. The house officers recommended extending the shifts to weekends and working the night shift one week in four. A shift system of working was effective in reducing chronic tiredness among house officers, who found it preferable to conventional on call arrangements. Shift working is feasible only if the daytime duties of the doctor working at night can be completed by the other doctors on the rota.

  4. On the physical origin of blue-shifted hydrogen bonds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xiaosong; Liu, Lei; Schlegel, H Bernhard

    2002-08-14

    For blue-shifted hydrogen-bonded systems, the hydrogen stretching frequency increases rather than decreases on complexation. In computations at various levels of theory, the blue-shift in the archetypical system, F(3)C-H.FH, is reproduced at the Hartree-Fock level, indicating that electron correlation is not the primary cause. Calculations also demonstrate that a blue-shift does not require either a carbon center or the absence of a lone pair on the proton donor, because F(3)Si-H.OH(2), F(2)NH.FH, F(2)PH.NH(3), and F(2)PH.OH(2) have substantial blue-shifts. Orbital interactions are shown to lengthen the X-H bond and lower its vibrational frequency, and thus cannot be the source of the blue-shift. In the F(3)CH.FH system, the charge redistribution in F(3)CH can be reproduced very well by replacing the FH with a simple dipole, which suggests that the interactions are predominantly electrostatic. When modeled with a point charge for the proton acceptor, attractive electrostatic interactions elongate the F(3)C-H, while repulsive interactions shorten it. At the equilibrium geometry of a hydrogen-bonded complex, the electrostatic attraction between the dipole moments of the proton donor and proton acceptor must be balanced by the Pauli repulsion between the two fragments. In the absence of orbital interactions that cause bond elongation, this repulsive interaction leads to compression of the X-H bond and a blue-shift in its vibrational frequency.

  5. Rotating shift work and menstrual characteristics in a cohort of Chinese nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yizi; Gu, Fang; Deng, Mingfen; Guo, Lan; Lu, Ciyong; Zhou, Canquan; Chen, Shouzhen; Xu, Yanwen

    2016-05-04

    Shift work disrupts the circadian rhythm and may cause menstruation disorders. This study assessed the impact of shift work on menstrual cycle in a population of Chinese nurses. Questionnaires on menstrual characteristics and shift schedules were sent to female nurses of the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University (FAHSYSU) and Guanghua Hospital of Stomatology (GHHS), affiliated to Sun Yat-sen University. Part I was a cross-sectional study and included 139 nurses in GHHS who had regular 8:00-17:30 working (non-shift group), and 334 nurses from FAHSYSU who worked shifts, a response rate of 67.5 % and 59.6 %, respectively (age ≤ 50 years). Menstrual patterns were compared and age-adjusted relative risks of shift work were analyzed. Part II was a nested case-control study. Cases were nurses in Part I who had regular cycle with mean cycle length (MCL) of 25-31 days and but at least 3 days variation in MCL after starting shift work (n = 45). Controls consisted of 67 nurses with matching shift patterns and age, but no MCL changes. A control non-shift age-matched group consisted of 30 GHHS nurses with no MCL changes. A follow-up second questionnaire was sent 2 years later. In Part I, the shift group had a significantly higher proportion of nurses with menstrual cycle irregularity. The proportion of nurses with a cycle of 25-31 days decreased from 81.7 to 67.8 % after changing to shift work. Logistic regression analysis showed that night shift frequency was the only risk factor associated with cycle shortening. After adjusting for age, MCL was shorter when night work was performed > 7 times per month. In Part II, the mean change in MCL in the case group, including prolongation or shortening, was 4.115 ± 2.084 days after shift working. In the 2 years' follow-up, the MCL of the study group did not recover to the original length. Rotating shift work can increase the prevalence of menstrual cycle irregularity. Night shift frequency was

  6. Shift Work Is Associated with Metabolic Syndrome in Young Female Korean Workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Kyoung Hwa; Yi, Yu Hyeon; Kim, Yun Jin; Cho, Byung Mann; Lee, Sang Yeoup; Lee, Jeong Gyu; Jeong, Dong Wook; Ji, So Yeon

    2017-03-01

    Shift work is associated with health problems, including metabolic syndrome. This study investigated the association between shift work and metabolic syndrome in young workers. A total of 3,317 subjects aged 20-40 years enrolled in the 2011-2012 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were divided into shift and day workers. We conducted a cross-sectional study and calculated odds ratios using multivariate logistic regression analysis in order to examine the association between shift work and metabolic syndrome. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 14.3% and 7.1% among male and female shift workers, respectively. After adjusting for confounding factors, shift work was associated with metabolic syndrome in female workers (odds ratio, 2.53; 95% confidence interval, 1.12 to 5.70). Shift work was associated with metabolic syndrome in young women. Timely efforts are necessary to manage metabolic syndrome in the workplace.

  7. Night shift work and incidence of diabetes in the Danish Nurse Cohort

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Anne B.; Stayner, Leslie; Hansen, Johnni

    2016-01-01

    OBJECTIVES: Night shift work has been associated with poor sleep, weight gain, metabolic syndrome, which are recognised risk factor for diabetes. However, only a few studies have examined the effect of shift work on diabetes risk. Here, we study the association between shift work and incidence...... for incidence of diabetes until 2013. Nurses reported whether they worked night, evening, rotating or day shifts. We analysed the association between working time and diabetes incidence using a Cox proportional hazards model adjusted for diabetes risk factors, separately with and without adjustment for body...... mass index (BMI) which might be an intermediate variable. RESULTS: Of 19 873 nurses who worked and were diabetes-free at recruitment, 837 (4.4%) developed diabetes during 15 years of follow-up. The majority of nurses (62.4%) worked day shifts, 21.8% rotating shift, 10.1% evening and 5.5% night shifts...

  8. Comparação de programas comerciais de cálculo automático para estruturas porticadas

    OpenAIRE

    Oliveira, António F. M.; Lourenço, Paulo B.

    2001-01-01

    O presente trabalho pretende sensibilizar técnicos e investigadores para a problemática associada ao cálculo estrutural baseado em programas de cálculo automático comerciais. É notória a evolução que este tipo de programas experimentou nas últimas décadas, desde a emergência do computador como ferramenta disponível ao cálculo estrutural. Não é de difícil constatação que, quanto maior é a capacidade de cálculo dos programas, menor é o domínio do utilizador sobre as ferramentas que utiliza. Pre...

  9. Reduction of the chronic pain associated to the scoliosis non structural, in university students submitted to the Pilates method

    OpenAIRE

    Araújo, Maria Erivânia Alves de; Silva, Elirez Bezerra da; Vieira, Pollyana Coelho; Cader, Samária Ali; Mello, Danielli Braga de; Dantas, Estélio Henrique Martin

    2010-01-01

    Objetivo: Avaliar a eficácia do método Pilates na redução da dor crônica associada à escoliose não estrutural. Método: Participaram do estudo ensaio clínico controlado e aleatorizado 31 universitárias, com idade entre 18 e 25 anos, com diagnóstico de escoliose não estrutural e apresentando dor crônica na coluna vertebral. A amostra foi dividida em grupo controle (n=11) que não foi submetido a nenhuma intervenção terapêutica e grupo experimental (n=20) que participou do programa de mecanoterap...

  10. A computational investigation of the red and blue shifts in hydrogen

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    The presentwork reports results of computational investigations of hydrogen bonding, with regard to the most common red shift in the vibrational frequency, as well as the less common blue shift in several hydrogen bonded systems. A few new correlations of the frequency shifts with the calculated electrostatic parameters ...

  11. Relative Configuration of Natural Products Using NMR Chemical Shifts

    Science.gov (United States)

    By comparing calculated with experimental NMR chemical shifts, we were able to determine the relative configurations of three monoterpene diastereomers produced by the walkingstick Anisomorpha buprestoides. The combined RMSDs of both 1H and 13C quantum chemically calculated shifts were able to predi...

  12. Regime shifts, resilience and recovery of a cod stock

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lindegren, Martin; Diekmann, Rabea; Möllmann, Christian

    2010-01-01

    In the North and Baltic seas Atlantic cod Gadus morhua stocks collapsed as part or one of the major factors inducing large-scale ecosystem regime shifts. Determining the relative contribution of overfishing and climate variability in causing these shifts has proven difficult. While facing similar...

  13. Guidelines for secondary analysis in search of response shift

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schwartz, Carolyn E.; Ahmed, Sara; Sawatzky, Richard; Sajobi, Tolulope; Mayo, Nancy; Finkelstein, Joel; Lix, Lisa; Verdam, Mathilde G. E.; Oort, Frans J.; Sprangers, Mirjam A. G.

    2013-01-01

    Response shift methods have developed substantially in the past decade, with a notable emphasis on model-based methods for response shift detection that are appropriate for the analysis of existing data sets. These secondary data analyses have yielded useful insights and motivated the continued

  14. Guidelines for secondary analysis in search of response shift

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schwartz, C.E.; Ahmed, S.; Sawatzky, R.; Sajobi, T.; Mayo, N.; Finkelstein, J.; Verdam, M.G.E.; Oort, F.J.; Sprangers, M.A.G.

    2013-01-01

    Objective: Response shift methods have developed substantially in the past decade, with a notable emphasis on model-based methods for response shift detection that are appropriate for the analysis of existing data sets. These secondary data analyses have yielded useful insights and motivated the

  15. Accurate conjugate gradient methods for families of shifted systems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Eshof, J. van den; Sleijpen, G.L.G.

    We present an efficient and accurate variant of the conjugate gradient method for solving families of shifted systems. In particular we are interested in shifted systems that occur in Tikhonov regularization for inverse problems since these problems can be sensitive to roundoff errors. The

  16. The target-to-foils shift in simultaneous and sequential lineups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clark, Steven E; Davey, Sherrie L

    2005-04-01

    A theoretical cornerstone in eyewitness identification research is the proposition that witnesses, in making decisions from standard simultaneous lineups, make relative judgments. The present research considers two sources of support for this proposal. An experiment by G. L. Wells (1993) showed that if the target is removed from a lineup, witnesses shift their responses to pick foils, rather than rejecting the lineups, a result we will term a target-to-foils shift. Additional empirical support is provided by results from sequential lineups which typically show higher accuracy than simultaneous lineups, presumably because of a decrease in the use of relative judgments in making identification decisions. The combination of these two lines of research suggests that the target-to-foils shift should be reduced in sequential lineups relative to simultaneous lineups. Results of two experiments showed an overall advantage for sequential lineups, but also showed a target-to-foils shift equal in size for simultaneous and sequential lineups. Additional analyses indicated that the target-to-foils shift in sequential lineups was moderated in part by an order effect and was produced with (Experiment 2) or without (Experiment 1) a shift in decision criterion. This complex pattern of results suggests that more work is needed to understand the processes which underlie decisions in simultaneous and sequential lineups.

  17. How do employees prioritise when they schedule their own shifts?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nabe-Nielsen, Kirsten; Lund, Henrik; Ajslev, Jeppe Z; Hansen, Åse Marie; Albertsen, Karen; Hvid, Helge; Garde, Anne Helene

    2013-01-01

    We investigated how employees prioritised when they scheduled their own shifts and whether priorities depended on age, gender, educational level, cohabitation and health status. We used cross-sectional questionnaire data from the follow-up survey of an intervention study investigating the effect of self-scheduling (n = 317). Intervention group participants were asked about their priorities when scheduling their own shifts succeeded by 17 items covering family/private life, economy, job content, health and sleep. At least half of the participants reported that they were giving high priority to their family life, having consecutive time off, leisure-time activities, rest between shifts, sleep, regularity of their everyday life, health and that the work schedule balanced. Thus, employees consider both their own and the workplace's needs when they have the opportunity to schedule their own shifts. Age, gender, cohabitation and health status were all significantly associated with at least one of these priorities. Intervention studies report limited health effects of self-scheduling. Therefore, we investigated to what extent employees prioritise their health and recuperation when scheduling their own shifts. We found that employees not only consider both their health and family but also the workplace's needs when they schedule their own shifts.

  18. The effect of work shift configurations on emergency medical dispatch center response.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montassier, Emmanuel; Labady, Julien; Andre, Antoine; Potel, Gilles; Berthier, Frederic; Jenvrin, Joel; Penverne, Yann

    2015-01-01

    It has been proved that emergency medical dispatch centers (EMDC) save lives by promoting an appropriate allocation of emergency medical service resources. Indeed, optimal dispatcher call duration is pivotal to reduce the time gap between the time a call is placed and the delivery of medical care. However, little is known about the impact of work shift configurations (i.e., work shift duration and work shift rotation throughout the day) and dispatcher call duration. Thus, the objective of our study was to assess the effect of work shift configurations on dispatcher call duration. During a 1-year study period, we analyzed the dispatcher call durations for medical and trauma calls during the 4 different work shift rotations (day, morning, evening, and night) and during the 10-hour work shift of each dispatcher in the EMDC of Nantes. We extracted dispatcher call durations from our advanced telephone system, configured with CC Pulse + (Genesys, Alcatel Lucent), and collected them in a custom designed database (Excel, Microsoft). Afterward, we analyzed these data using linear mixed effects models. During the study period, our EMDC received 408,077 calls. Globally, the mean dispatcher call duration was 107 ± 45 seconds. Based on multivariate linear mixed effects models, the dispatcher call duration was affected by night work shift and work shift duration greater than 8 hours, increasing it by about 10 ± 1 seconds and 4 ± 1 seconds, respectively (both p work shift rotation and duration, with longer durations seen over night shifts and shifts over 8 hours. While these differences are small and may not have clinical significance, they may have implications for EMDC efficiency.

  19. Shift work disorder in nurses--assessment, prevalence and related health problems.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elisabeth Flo

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: This study investigates the prevalence of symptoms of shift work disorder in a sample of nurses, and its association to individual, health and work variables. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We investigated three different shift work disorder assessment procedures all based on current diagnostic criteria and employing symptom based questions. Crude and adjusted logistic regression analyses were performed with symptoms of shift work disorder as the dependent variable. Participants (n = 1968 reported age, gender, work schedule, commuting time, weekly work hours, children in household, number of nights and number of shifts separated by less than 11 hours worked the last year, use of bright light therapy, melatonin and sleep medication, and completed the Bergen Insomnia Scale, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Global Sleep Assessment Questionnaire, Diurnal Scale, Revised Circadian Type Inventory, Dispositional Resilience (Hardiness Scale--Revised, Fatigue Questionnaire, questions about alcohol and caffeine consumption, as well as the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Prevalence rates of symptoms of shift work disorder varied from 32.4-37.6% depending on the assessment method and from 4.8-44.3% depending on the work schedule. Associations were found between symptoms of shift work disorder and age, gender, circadian type, night work, number of shifts separated by less than 11 hours and number of nights worked the last year, insomnia and anxiety. The different assessment procedures yielded similar results (prevalence and logistic regression analyses. The prevalence of symptoms indicative of shift work disorder was high. We argue that three symptom-based questions used in the present study adequately assess shift work disorder in epidemiological studies.

  20. Lamb shift of an atom in a dielectric medium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Milonni, P.W.; Schaden, M.; Spruch, L.

    1999-01-01

    Adapting an approach used by Feynman for the Lamb shift of an isolated atom, we obtain a nonperturbative expression for the Lamb shift of an atom in a dielectric medium, previously calculated perturbatively [P. W. Milonni, J. Mod. Opt. 42, 1191 (1995)]. The separation of the Lamb and Casimir components of the field energy is greatly simplified, and previous nonperturbative results for the Lamb shift [M. Schaden, L. Spruch, and F. Zhou, Phys. Rev. A 57, 1108 (1998)], based on the generalized argument theorem, are obtained much more easily and directly. copyright 1999 The American Physical Society