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Sample records for short strategy consisting

  1. Precommitted Investment Strategy versus Time-Consistent Investment Strategy for a Dual Risk Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lidong Zhang

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available We are concerned with optimal investment strategy for a dual risk model. We assume that the company can invest into a risk-free asset and a risky asset. Short-selling and borrowing money are allowed. Due to lack of iterated-expectation property, the Bellman Optimization Principle does not hold. Thus we investigate the precommitted strategy and time-consistent strategy, respectively. We take three steps to derive the precommitted investment strategy. Furthermore, the time-consistent investment strategy is also obtained by solving the extended Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equations. We compare the precommitted strategy with time-consistent strategy and find that these different strategies have different advantages: the former can make value function maximized at the original time t=0 and the latter strategy is time-consistent for the whole time horizon. Finally, numerical analysis is presented for our results.

  2. Cinematic diamonds : narrative storytelling strategies in short fiction film

    OpenAIRE

    Cantell, Saara (kirjoittaja); Jeremiah, Fleur (kääntäjä)

    2012-01-01

    Saara Cantell proposes and discusses alternative ways of approaching short film. This book emphasizes short film as an independent and challenging cinematic art form of its own right. The "mystery" of short film is approached by examining the aesthetics of other short forms, The structural parallels between e.g. jokes and short films, as well as narrative strategies found in poetry, offer meaningful references. The research consists of both the analysis of selected short films and the five sh...

  3. Precommitted Investment Strategy versus Time-Consistent Investment Strategy for a General Risk Model with Diffusion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lidong Zhang

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available We mainly study a general risk model and investigate the precommitted strategy and the time-consistent strategy under mean-variance criterion, respectively. A lagrange method is proposed to derive the precommitted investment strategy. Meanwhile from the game theoretical perspective, we find the time-consistent investment strategy by solving the extended Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equations. By comparing the precommitted strategy with the time-consistent strategy, we find that the company under the time-consistent strategy has to give up the better current utility in order to keep a consistent satisfaction over the whole time horizon. Furthermore, we theoretically and numerically provide the effect of the parameters on these two optimal strategies and the corresponding value functions.

  4. Parent-Offspring Conflict over Short-Term Mating Strategies

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    Spyroulla Georgiou

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Individuals engage in short-term mating strategies that enable them to obtain fitness benefits from casual relationships. These benefits, however, count for less and cost more to their parents. On this basis three hypotheses are tested. First, parents and offspring are likely to disagree over short-term mating strategies, with the former considering these as less acceptable than the latter. Second, parents are more likely to disapprove of the short-term mating strategies of their daughters than of their sons. Finally, mothers and fathers are expected to agree on how much they disagree over the short-term mating strategies of their children. Evidence from a sample of 148 Greek-Cypriot families (140 mothers, 105 fathers, 119 daughters, 77 sons provides support for the first two hypotheses and partial support for the third hypothesis. The implications of these findings for understanding family dynamics are further discussed.

  5. Time-Consistent Strategies for a Multiperiod Mean-Variance Portfolio Selection Problem

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    Huiling Wu

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available It remained prevalent in the past years to obtain the precommitment strategies for Markowitz's mean-variance portfolio optimization problems, but not much is known about their time-consistent strategies. This paper takes a step to investigate the time-consistent Nash equilibrium strategies for a multiperiod mean-variance portfolio selection problem. Under the assumption that the risk aversion is, respectively, a constant and a function of current wealth level, we obtain the explicit expressions for the time-consistent Nash equilibrium strategy and the equilibrium value function. Many interesting properties of the time-consistent results are identified through numerical sensitivity analysis and by comparing them with the classical pre-commitment solutions.

  6. Reading Abilities and Strategies: A Short Introduction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Feng

    2010-01-01

    This paper gives a short analysis of reading abilities and reading strategies. Much research has been done to investigate the nature of reading, though it's had to exactly define reading abilities and strategies. Different kinds of readings are discussed in this paper and distinctions are made between first language reading and second or foreign…

  7. Time Consistent Strategies for Mean-Variance Asset-Liability Management Problems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hui-qiang Ma

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper studies the optimal time consistent investment strategies in multiperiod asset-liability management problems under mean-variance criterion. By applying time consistent model of Chen et al. (2013 and employing dynamic programming technique, we derive two-time consistent policies for asset-liability management problems in a market with and without a riskless asset, respectively. We show that the presence of liability does affect the optimal strategy. More specifically, liability leads a parallel shift of optimal time-consistent investment policy. Moreover, for an arbitrarily risk averse investor (under the variance criterion with liability, the time-diversification effects could be ignored in a market with a riskless asset; however, it should be considered in a market without any riskless asset.

  8. Internal consistency of a Spanish translation of the Francis Scale of Attitude Toward Christianity Short Form.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campo-Arias, Adalberto; Oviedo, Heidi Celina; Díaz, Carmen Elena; Cogollo, Zuleima

    2006-12-01

    This study evaluated the internal consistency of a Spanish version of the short form of the Francis Scale of Attitude Toward Christianity based on responses of 405 Colombian adolescent students ages 13 to 17 years. This translated short-form version of the scale had an internal consistency of .80. This estimate indicates suitable internal consistency reliability for research use in this population.

  9. Structural Consistency, Consistency, and Sequential Rationality.

    OpenAIRE

    Kreps, David M; Ramey, Garey

    1987-01-01

    Sequential equilibria comprise consistent beliefs and a sequentially ra tional strategy profile. Consistent beliefs are limits of Bayes ratio nal beliefs for sequences of strategies that approach the equilibrium strategy. Beliefs are structurally consistent if they are rationaliz ed by some single conjecture concerning opponents' strategies. Consis tent beliefs are not necessarily structurally consistent, notwithstan ding a claim by Kreps and Robert Wilson (1982). Moreover, the spirit of stru...

  10. Relationship between short-term sexual strategies and sexual jealousy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathes, Eugene W

    2005-02-01

    In a classic study, Buss, Larson, Westen, and Semmelroth reported that men were more distressed by the thought of a partner's sexual infidelity (sexual jealousy) and women were more distressed by the thought of a partner's emotional infidelity (emotional jealousy). Initially, Buss and his associates explained these results by suggesting that men are concerned about uncertainty of paternity, that is, the possibility of raising another man's child while believing the child is their own. However, later they explained the results in terms of men's preference for short-term sexual strategies. The purpose of this research was to test the explanation of short-term sexual strategies. Men and women subjects were instructed to imagine themselves in a relationship which was either short-term (primarily sexual) or long-term (involving commitment) and then respond to Buss's jealousy items. It was hypothesized that, when both men and women imagined a short-term relationship, they would be more threatened by a partner's sexual infidelity, and, when they imagined a long-term relationship, they would be more threatened by a partner's emotional infidelity. Support was found for this hypothesis.

  11. Estimating True Short-Term Consistency in Vocational Interests: A Longitudinal SEM Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaudron, Jean-Philippe; Vautier, Stephane

    2007-01-01

    This study aimed at estimating the correlation between true scores (true consistency) of vocational interest over a short time span in a sample of 1089 adults. Participants were administered 54 items assessing vocational, family, and leisure interests twice over a 1-month period. Responses were analyzed with a multitrait (MT) model, which supposes…

  12. Stochastic Optimal Wind Power Bidding Strategy in Short-Term Electricity Market

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hu, Weihao; Chen, Zhe; Bak-Jensen, Birgitte

    2012-01-01

    Due to the fluctuating nature and non-perfect forecast of the wind power, the wind power owners are penalized for the imbalance costs of the regulation, when they trade wind power in the short-term liberalized electricity market. Therefore, in this paper a formulation of an imbalance cost...... minimization problem for trading wind power in the short-term electricity market is described, to help the wind power owners optimize their bidding strategy. Stochastic optimization and a Monte Carlo method are adopted to find the optimal bidding strategy for trading wind power in the short-term electricity...... market in order to deal with the uncertainty of the regulation price, the activated regulation of the power system and the forecasted wind power generation. The Danish short-term electricity market and a wind farm in western Denmark are chosen as study cases due to the high wind power penetration here...

  13. On pre-commitment aspects of a time-consistent strategy for a mean-variance investor

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    F. Cong (Fei); C.W. Oosterlee (Cornelis)

    2016-01-01

    htmlabstractIn this paper, a link between a time-consistent and a pre-commitment investment strategy is established. We define an implied investment target, which is implicitly con- tained in a time-consistent strategy at a given time step and wealth level. By imposing the

  14. Internal consistency, reliability, and temporal stability of the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire short-form: Test-retest data over two weeks

    OpenAIRE

    MCGUCKIN, CONOR

    2006-01-01

    PUBLISHED The Oxford Happiness Questionnaire short-form is a recently developed eight-item measure of happiness. This study evaluated the internal consistency reliability and test-retest reliability of the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire short-form among 55 Northern Irish undergraduate university students who completed the measure on two occasions separated by two weeks. Internal consistency of the measure on both occasions was satisfactory at both Time 1 (alpha = .62) and Time 2 (alpha = ....

  15. Strategy in short-term memory for pictures in childhood: a near-infrared spectroscopy study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanefuji, Masafumi; Takada, Yui; Kimura, Naoko; Torisu, Hiroyuki; Kira, Ryutaro; Ishizaki, Yoshito; Hara, Toshiro

    2011-02-01

    In Baddeley's working memory model, verbalizable visual material such as pictures are recoded into a phonological form and then rehearsed, while auditory material is rehearsed directly. The recoding and rehearsal processes are mediated by articulatory control process in the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC). Developmentally, the phonological strategy for serially-presented visual material emerges around 7 years of age, while that for auditory material is consistently present by 4 years of age. However, the strategy change may actually be correlated with memory ability as this usually increases with age. To investigate the relationship between the strategy for pictures and memory ability, we monitored the left VLPFC activation in 5 to 11 year-old children during free recall of visually- or auditorily-presented familiar objects using event-related near-infrared spectroscopy. We hypothesized that the phonological strategy of rehearsal and recoding for visual material would provoke greater activation than only rehearsal for auditory material in the left VLPFC. Therefore, we presumed that the activation difference for visual material compared with auditory material in the left VLPFC may represent the tendency to use a phonological strategy. We found that the activation difference in the left VLPFC showed a significant positive correlation with memory ability but not with age, suggesting that children with high memory ability make more use of phonological strategy for pictures. The present study provides functional evidence that the strategy in short-term memory for pictures shifts gradually from non-phonological to phonological as memory ability increases in childhood. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Short and long term maintenance strategy for reactor vessel head penetrations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Teissier, A.; Heuze, A.

    1995-01-01

    This paper presents elements based on : surveys, operating inspection, theoretical studies, safety analysis, laboratory results, that enabled to determine maintenance options and short and long term strategies for processing on reactor vessel head leaks. (TEC). 1 tab

  17. The Impact of Short-Sale Constraints on Asset Allocation Strategies via the Backward Markov Chain Approximation Method

    OpenAIRE

    Carl Chiarella; Chih-Ying Hsiao

    2005-01-01

    This paper considers an asset allocation strategy over a finite period under investment uncertainty and short-sale constraints as a continuous time stochastic control problem. Investment uncertainty is characterised by a stochastic interest rate and inflation risk. If there are no short-sale constraints, the optimal asset allocation strategy can be solved analytically. We consider several kinds of short-sale constraints and employ the backward Markov chain approximation method to explore the ...

  18. Strategies for ensuring global consistency/comparability of water-quality data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klein, J.M.

    1999-01-01

    In the past 20 years the water quality of the United States has improved remarkably-the waters are safer for drinking, swimming, and fishing. However, despite many accomplishments, it is still difficult to answer such basic questions as: 'How clean is the water?' and 'How is it changing over time?' These same questions exist on a global scale as well. In order to focus water-data issues in the United States, a national Intergovernmental Task Force on Monitoring Water Quality (ITFM) was initiated for public and private organizations, whereby key elements involved in data collection, analysis, storage, and management could be made consistent and comparable. The ITFM recommended and its members are implementing a nationwide strategy to improve water-quality monitoring, assessment, and reporting activities. The intent of this paper is to suggest that a voluntary effort be initiated to ensure the comparability and utility of hydrological data on a global basis. Consistent, long-term data sets that are comparable are necessary in order to formulate ideas regarding regional and global trends in water quantity and quality. The author recommends that a voluntary effort similar to the ITFM effort be utilized. The strategy proposed would involve voluntary representation from countries and international organizations (e.g. World Health Organization) involved in drinking-water assessments and/or ambient water-quality monitoring. Voluntary partnerships such as this will improve curability to reduce health risks and achieve a better return on public and private investments in monitoring, environmental protection, and natural resource management, and result in a collaborative process that will save millions of dollars.In this work it is suggested that a voluntary effort be initiated to ensure the comparability and utility of hydrological data on a global basis. The strategy proposed would involve voluntary representation from countries and international organizations involved in

  19. Phonological, visual, and semantic coding strategies and children's short-term picture memory span.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henry, Lucy A; Messer, David; Luger-Klein, Scarlett; Crane, Laura

    2012-01-01

    Three experiments addressed controversies in the previous literature on the development of phonological and other forms of short-term memory coding in children, using assessments of picture memory span that ruled out potentially confounding effects of verbal input and output. Picture materials were varied in terms of phonological similarity, visual similarity, semantic similarity, and word length. Older children (6/8-year-olds), but not younger children (4/5-year-olds), demonstrated robust and consistent phonological similarity and word length effects, indicating that they were using phonological coding strategies. This confirmed findings initially reported by Conrad (1971), but subsequently questioned by other authors. However, in contrast to some previous research, little evidence was found for a distinct visual coding stage at 4 years, casting doubt on assumptions that this is a developmental stage that consistently precedes phonological coding. There was some evidence for a dual visual and phonological coding stage prior to exclusive use of phonological coding at around 5-6 years. Evidence for semantic similarity effects was limited, suggesting that semantic coding is not a key method by which young children recall lists of pictures.

  20. On the Consistency of Individual Classification Using Short Scales

    Science.gov (United States)

    Emons, Wilco H. M.; Sijtsma, Klaas; Meijer, Rob R.

    2007-01-01

    Short tests containing at most 15 items are used in clinical and health psychology, medicine, and psychiatry for making decisions about patients. Because short tests have large measurement error, the authors ask whether they are reliable enough for classifying patients into a treatment and a nontreatment group. For a given certainty level,…

  1. THE STRATEGY OF GENRE IN A. PLATONOV’S SHORT NOVELS OF THE 1930

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marina V. Zavarkina

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available The article analyzes a writer’s genre strategy based on the materials of A. Platonov’s short novels of the 1930s (“Th e Foundation Pit” [“Kotlovan”], “For future use” [“Vprok”], “Bread and reading” [“Hleb i chtenie”], “Juvenile sea” [“Uvenil’noe more”], “Dzhan”. These short novels became a link between his two novels “Chevengur” (1926—1928 and “Happy Moscow” (1933—1936. The comprehensive analysis of the short novels of the 1930s in the dialectics of genre development allows us to understand Andrei Platonov’s artistic world, the role of genre in the implementation of his creative idea, the specifi cs of genre thinking, and to identify the relationship between the genre and utopian/dystopian strategies of the writer. The article concludes that the short novels of the 1930s constitute a cycle and are united by a usual plot of “test”, the type of a hero (a worker-wanderer, the poetics of the conclusions. The recon-struction of the author’s model of the genre and its dynamics in the works of one of the distinguished writers of Russian and World literature of contemporary history leads to a deeper understanding of the artistic nature, role and genesis of the short novel in genre analysis of 20th century-literature

  2. Short-term memory and strategy use in children with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolters, C A; Yu, S L; Hagen, J W; Kail, R

    1996-12-01

    The present study was designed to examine recall and rehearsal in short-term memory among children with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). Children with onset of IDDM before age 5 years, children with onset after 5 years, and children without IDDM were administered a measure of short-term memory that provides information about rehearsal as well as level of recall. Children with later onset of diabetes and children without IDDM were expected to recall more words and use more effective rehearsal strategies than children with early onset of diabetes. Results indicate that children diagnosed with IDDM early in life used similar rehearsal strategies but recalled fewer words than children with later onset of diabetes and children without IDDM. In addition, results provide evidence that children who are in poor control of their diabetes did not use strategies designed to increase recall as often, or as well as, children in better control of their diabetes.

  3. [Teaching coping strategies to parents of children suffering from cancer using a short film].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Espada, M C; Barón, Ma Carmen Espada; Grau, C; Rubio, Claudia Grau; Fortes, M C; Fortes del Valle, Ma Carmen

    2010-01-01

    This paper studies the usefulness of a short film in teaching strategies for parents of children with cancer to cope with the situation. The short film is based on an analysis of the transcripts from eight sessions of a self-help group. The short film has been evaluated by psychologists working for each of the parent groups belonging to the Federation of parents of children with cancer. Furthermore, the film has been exhibited in group sessions that took place in the Valencia and Alicante branches of ASPANION (Association of Parents with Oncologic Children in the Valencia Region). About 70% of the experts have declared that the film is a valuable resource for teaching useful strategies to parents. The film also improves the group sessions since it addresses a number of issues that had not been addressed before, and it stimulates the participation of, and communication between, parents during the session.

  4. Task-level strategies for human sagittal-plane running maneuvers are consistent with robotic control policies.

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    Mu Qiao

    Full Text Available The strategies that humans use to control unsteady locomotion are not well understood. A "spring-mass" template comprised of a point mass bouncing on a sprung leg can approximate both center of mass movements and ground reaction forces during running in humans and other animals. Legged robots that operate as bouncing, "spring-mass" systems can maintain stable motion using relatively simple, distributed feedback rules. We tested whether the changes to sagittal-plane movements during five running tasks involving active changes to running height, speed, and orientation were consistent with the rules used by bouncing robots to maintain stability. Changes to running height were associated with changes to leg force but not stance duration. To change speed, humans primarily used a "pogo stick" strategy, where speed changes were associated with adjustments to fore-aft foot placement, and not a "unicycle" strategy involving systematic changes to stance leg hip moment. However, hip moments were related to changes to body orientation and angular speed. Hip moments could be described with first order proportional-derivative relationship to trunk pitch. Overall, the task-level strategies used for body control in humans were consistent with the strategies employed by bouncing robots. Identification of these behavioral strategies could lead to a better understanding of the sensorimotor mechanisms that allow for effective unsteady locomotion.

  5. Quasiparticle self-consistent GW method: a short summary

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kotani, Takao; Schilfgaarde, Mark van; Faleev, Sergey V; Chantis, Athanasios

    2007-01-01

    We have developed a quasiparticle self-consistent GW method (QSGW), which is a new self-consistent method to calculate the electronic structure within the GW approximation. The method is formulated based on the idea of a self-consistent perturbation; the non-interacting Green function G 0 , which is the starting point for GWA to obtain G, is determined self-consistently so as to minimize the perturbative correction generated by GWA. After self-consistency is attained, we have G 0 , W (the screened Coulomb interaction) and G self-consistently. This G 0 can be interpreted as the optimum non-interacting propagator for the quasiparticles. We will summarize some theoretical discussions to justify QSGW. Then we will survey results which have been obtained up to now: e.g., band gaps for normal semiconductors are predicted to a precision of 0.1-0.3 eV; the self-consistency including the off-diagonal part is required for NiO and MnO; and so on. There are still some remaining disagreements with experiments; however, they are very systematic, and can be explained from the neglect of excitonic effects

  6. Altered strategy in short-term memory for pictures in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a near-infrared spectroscopy study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanefuji, Masafumi; Yamashita, Hiroshi; Torisu, Hiroyuki; Takada, Yui; Imanaga, Hisako; Matsunaga, Mayumi; Ishizaki, Yoshito; Sakai, Yasunari; Yoshida, Keiko; Hara, Toshiro

    2014-07-30

    Strategy in short-term memory for serially presented pictures shifts gradually from a non-phonological to a phonological method as memory ability increases during typical childhood development. However, little is known about the development of this strategic change in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). To understand the neural basis of ADHD, we investigated short-term memory strategies using near-infrared spectroscopy. ADHD children aged from 6 to 12 years and age- and sex-matched control children were assessed in this study. Regional activity was monitored in the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex to assess strategies used during short-term memory for visual or phonological objects. We examined the hypothesis that the strategic methods used would be correlated with memory ability. Higher memory ability and the phonological strategy were significantly correlated in the control group but not in the ADHD group. Intriguingly, ADHD children receiving methylphenidate treatment exhibited increased use of phonological strategy compared with those without. In conclusion, we found evidence of an altered strategy in short-term memory in ADHD children. The modulatory effect of methylphenidate indicates its therapeutic efficacy. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Dynamic Volatility Arbitrage: The advents of long/short trading strategies with dynamic participation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dorn, Jochen

    on Forex, interest rates and commodities. If an investor positions himself on the (volatility) market within a long/short trading framework, he typically bets on a traditional mispricing arbitrage. However as this corresponds to a call spread with equal exercise prices, this strategy alone would...

  8. Short term memory bowing effect is consistent with presentation rate dependent decay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tarnow, Eugen

    2010-12-01

    I reanalyze the free recall data of Murdock, J Exp Psychol 64(5):482-488 (1962) and Murdock and Okada, J Verbal Learn and Verbal Behav 86:263-267 (1970) which show the famous bowing effect in which initial and recent items are recalled better than intermediate items (primacy and recency effects). Recent item recall probabilities follow a logarithmic decay with time of recall consistent with the tagging/retagging theory. The slope of the decay increases with increasing presentation rate. The initial items, with an effectively low presentation rate, decay with the slowest logarithmic slope, explaining the primacy effect. The finding that presentation rate limits the duration of short term memory suggests a basis for memory loss in busy adults, for the importance of slow music practice, for long term memory deficiencies for people with attention deficits who may be artificially increasing the presentation rates of their surroundings. A well-defined, quantitative measure of the primacy effect is introduced.

  9. Electronic structure of disordered alloys - I: self-consistent cluster CPA incorporating off-diagonal disorder and short-range order

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumar, V.; Mookerjee, A.; Srivastava, V.K.

    1980-09-01

    We have developed here a self-consistent coherent potential approximation generalized to take into account effect of clusters. Off-diagonal disorder and short-range order are taken into account. A graphical method married to the recursion technique, enables us to work on realistic three-dimensional lattices. Calculations are shown for a binary alloy on a diamond lattice. (author)

  10. Are coping styles consistent in the teleost fish Sparus aurata through sexual maturation and sex reversal?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castanheira, Maria Filipa; Martínez Páramo, Sonia; Figueiredo, F; Cerqueira, Marco; Millot, Sandie; Oliveira, Catarina C V; Martins, Catarina I M; Conceição, Luís E C

    2016-10-01

    Individual differences in behaviour and physiological responses to stress are associated with evolutionary adaptive variation and thus raw material for evolution. In farmed animals, the interest in consistent trait associations, i.e. coping styles, has increased dramatically over the last years. However, one of limitations of the available knowledge, regarding the temporal consistency, is that it refers always to short-term consistency (usually few weeks). The present study used an escape response during a net restraining test, previously shown to be an indicative of coping styles in seabream, to investigate long-term consistency of coping styles both over time and during different life history stages. Results showed both short-term (14 days) consistency and long-term (8 months) consistency of escape response. However, we did not found consistency in the same behaviour after sexual maturation when the restraining test was repeated 16, 22 and 23 months after the first test was performed. In conclusion, this study showed consistent behaviour traits in seabream when juveniles, and a loss of this behavioural traits when adults. Therefore, these results underline that adding a life story approach to data interpretation as an essential step forward towards coping styles foreground. Furthermore, a fine-tuning of aquaculture rearing strategies to adapt to different coping strategies may need to be adjusted differently at early stages of development and adults to improve the welfare of farmed fish.

  11. Consistent individual differences in human social learning strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Molleman, Lucas; van den Berg, Pieter; Weissing, Franz J

    2014-04-04

    Social learning has allowed humans to build up extensive cultural repertoires, enabling them to adapt to a wide variety of environmental and social conditions. However, it is unclear which social learning strategies people use, especially in social contexts where their payoffs depend on the behaviour of others. Here we show experimentally that individuals differ in their social learning strategies and that they tend to employ the same learning strategy irrespective of the interaction context. Payoff-based learners focus on their peers' success, while decision-based learners disregard payoffs and exclusively focus on their peers' past behaviour. These individual differences may be of considerable importance for cultural evolution. By means of a simple model, we demonstrate that groups harbouring individuals with different learning strategies may be faster in adopting technological innovations and can be more efficient through successful role differentiation. Our study highlights the importance of individual variation for human interactions and sheds new light on the dynamics of cultural evolution.

  12. Calming and Focusing: Students' Perceptions of Short Classroom Strategies for Fostering Presence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    VanKuiken, Debra; Bradley, Jennifer; Harland, Barbara; King, Margaret O'Brien

    2016-05-05

    Presence is the essence of professional nursing in the nurse-patient connection. Nursing students have little exposure to strategies fostering presence. This pilot study explored students' perceptions of strategies to encourage presence in the classroom. A three-question survey was distributed to students in the last week of classes. Faculty not teaching that course administered the survey. Four faculty used strategies aimed at encouraging presence. These strategies included starting class with a mindfulness minute, mindful movement, singing bowl, peace and power check in, and a discussion of a current event. Each class used only one strategy consistently through the semester. Participants were undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in one of seven classes taught by these faculty. Overall the students found strategies to be beneficial. In reflecting on the experience with the strategies, four themes emerged: calming/relaxing; focusing/centering; setting aside distractions; and feeling community and connection. These brief strategies were acceptable to most students and were helpful to the students in preparing for class. The response to mindfulness minute was most positive. Further research is needed on the introduction of strategies that help students in the classroom and may also increase presence at the bedside. © The Author(s) 2016.

  13. Ways of ensuring short/long term safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boeck, B. de; Baltes, B.; Besnus, F.

    2006-01-01

    Various strategies have been adopted among countries to manage radioactive waste. The present publication gives to this respect a broad overview of the policies and strategies adopted by Germany, Belgium and France. It appears that these may show remarkable differences, but motivated mainly by political and societal considerations. With regard to safety, practices for waste management are consistent and reflect the broad international consensus that has been progressively established. As an illustration, safety practices and possible specificities for the storage and geological disposal of spent fuel and high level radioactive waste from reprocessing are shortly described. (authors)

  14. A New Strategy for Short-Term Load Forecasting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi Yang

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Electricity is a special energy which is hard to store, so the electricity demand forecasting remains an important problem. Accurate short-term load forecasting (STLF plays a vital role in power systems because it is the essential part of power system planning and operation, and it is also fundamental in many applications. Considering that an individual forecasting model usually cannot work very well for STLF, a hybrid model based on the seasonal ARIMA model and BP neural network is presented in this paper to improve the forecasting accuracy. Firstly the seasonal ARIMA model is adopted to forecast the electric load demand day ahead; then, by using the residual load demand series obtained in this forecasting process as the original series, the follow-up residual series is forecasted by BP neural network; finally, by summing up the forecasted residual series and the forecasted load demand series got by seasonal ARIMA model, the final load demand forecasting series is obtained. Case studies show that the new strategy is quite useful to improve the accuracy of STLF.

  15. A Novel Short-Term Maintenance Strategy for Power Transmission and Transformation Equipment Based on Risk-Cost-Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hang Yang

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Current studies on preventive condition-based maintenance of power transmission and transformation equipment mainly focus on mid-term or long-term maintenance, and cannot meet the requirements of short-term especially temporary maintenance. In order to solve the defects of the present preventive maintenance strategies, according to the engineering application and based on risk-cost analysis, a short-term maintenance strategy is proposed in this manuscript. For the equipment working in bad health condition, its active maintenance costs and operation risk costs are evaluated, respectively. Then the latest maintenance time is calculated in accordance with the principle that its operation risk costs are no higher than active maintenance costs. Utilizing the latest maintenance time, the best maintenance time is calculated by setting the maximum relative earnings of postponing maintenance as the target, which provides the operation staffs with comprehensive maintenance-decision support. In the end, different cases on the IEEE 24-bus system are simulated. The effectiveness and advantages of the proposed strategy are demonstrated by the simulation results.

  16. Optimal Time-Consistent Investment Strategy for a DC Pension Plan with the Return of Premiums Clauses and Annuity Contracts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    De-Lei Sheng

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Defined contribution and annuity contract are merged into one pension plan to study both accumulation phase and distribution phase, which results in such effects that both phases before and after retirement being “defined”. Under the Heston’s stochastic volatility model, this paper focuses on mean-variance insurers with the return of premiums clauses to study the optimal time-consistent investment strategy for the DC pension merged with an annuity contract. Both accumulation phase before retirement and distribution phase after retirement are studied. In the time-consistent framework, the extended Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equations associated with the optimization problem are established. Applying stochastic optimal control technique, the time-consistent explicit solutions of the optimal strategies and the efficient frontiers are obtained. In addition, numerical analysis illustrates our results and also deepens our knowledge or understanding of the research results.

  17. Short-term airing by natural ventilation - modeling and control strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perino, M; Heiselberg, P

    2009-10-01

    The need to improve the energy efficiency of buildings requires new and more efficient ventilation systems. It has been demonstrated that innovative operating concepts that make use of natural ventilation seem to be more appreciated by occupants. This kind of system frequently integrates traditional mechanical ventilation components with natural ventilation devices, such as motorized windows and louvers. Among the various ventilation strategies that are currently available, buoyancy driven single-sided natural ventilation has proved to be very effective and can provide high air change rates for temperature and IAQ control. However, in order to promote a wider applications of these systems, an improvement in the knowledge of their working principles and the availability of new design and simulation tools is necessary. In this context, the paper analyses and presents the results of a research that was aimed at developing and validating numerical models for the analysis of buoyancy driven single-sided natural ventilation systems. Once validated, these models can be used to optimize control strategies in order to achieve satisfactory indoor comfort conditions and IAQ. Practical Implications Numerical and experimental analyses have proved that short-term airing by intermittent ventilation is an effective measure to satisfactorily control IAQ. Different control strategies have been investigated to optimize the capabilities of the systems. The proposed zonal model has provided good performances and could be adopted as a design tool, while CFD simulations can be profitably used for detailed studies of the pollutant concentration distribution in a room and to address local discomfort problems.

  18. Short-Cut Estimators of Criterion-Referenced Test Consistency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, James Dean

    1990-01-01

    Presents simplified methods for deriving estimates of the consistency of criterion-referenced, English-as-a-Second-Language tests, including (1) the threshold loss agreement approach using agreement or kappa coefficients, (2) the squared-error loss agreement approach using the phi(lambda) dependability approach, and (3) the domain score…

  19. Optimal short-sighted rules

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sacha eBourgeois-Gironde

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to assess the relevance of methodological transfers from behavioral ecology to experimental economics with respect to the elicitation of intertemporal preferences. More precisely our discussion will stem from the analysis of Stephens and Anderson’s (2001 seminal article. In their study with blue jays they document that foraging behavior typically implements short sighted choice rules which are beneficial in the long-run. Such long term profitability of short-sighted behavior cannot be evidenced when using a self-control paradigm (one which contrasts in a binary way sooner smaller and later larger payoffs but becomes apparent when ecological patch-paradigms (replicating economic situations in which the main trade-off consists in staying on a food patch or leaving for another patch are implemented. We transfer this methodology in view of contrasting foraging strategies and self-control in human intertemporal choices.

  20. Emission control strategies for short-chain chloroparaffins in two semi-hypothetical case cities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Eriksson, Eva; Revitt, M.; Lützhøft, Hans-Christian Holten

    2012-01-01

    The short-chain chloroparaffins (SCCP), (C10-13 chloroalkanes) are identified in the European Water Framework Directive, as priority hazardous substances. Within the ScorePP project, the aim is to develop emission control strategies that can be employed to reduce emissions from urban areas...... into receiving waters. Six different scenarios for mitigating SCCP emissions in two different semi-hypothetical case cities representing eastern inland and northern coastal conditions have been evaluated. The analysis, associated with scenario uncertainty, indicates that the EU legislation, Best Available...

  1. Psychometric Evaluation of a Coping Strategies Inventory Short-Form (CSI-SF in the Jackson Heart Study Cohort

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Herman Taylor

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available This study sought to establish the psychometric properties of a Coping Strategies Inventory Short Form (CSISF by examining coping skills in the Jackson Heart Study cohort. We used exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, Pearson’s correlation, and Cronbach Alpha to examine reliability and validity in the CSI-SF that solicited responses from 5302 African American men and women between the ages of 35 and 84. One item was dropped from the 16-item CSI-SF, making it a 15-item survey. No significant effects were found for age and gender, strengthening the generalizability of the CSI-SF. The internal consistency reliability analysis revealed reliability between alpha = 0.58-0.72 for all of the scales, and all of the fit indices used to examine the CSI-SF provided support for its use as an adequate measure of coping. This study provides empirical support for utilizing this instrument in future efforts to understand the role of coping in moderating health outcomes.

  2. Short-lived pollutants in the Arctic: their climate impact and possible mitigation strategies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Menon

    2008-03-01

    Full Text Available Several short-lived pollutants known to impact Arctic climate may be contributing to the accelerated rates of warming observed in this region relative to the global annually averaged temperature increase. Here, we present a summary of the short-lived pollutants that impact Arctic climate including methane, tropospheric ozone, and tropospheric aerosols. For each pollutant, we provide a description of the major sources and the mechanism of forcing. We also provide the first seasonally averaged forcing and corresponding temperature response estimates focused specifically on the Arctic. The calculations indicate that the forcings due to black carbon, methane, and tropospheric ozone lead to a positive surface temperature response indicating the need to reduce emissions of these species within and outside the Arctic. Additional aerosol species may also lead to surface warming if the aerosol is coincident with thin, low lying clouds. We suggest strategies for reducing the warming based on current knowledge and discuss directions for future research to address the large remaining uncertainties.

  3. Short-lived pollutants in the Arctic: their climate impact and possible mitigation strategies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Menon, Surabi; Quinn, P.K.; Bates, T.S.; Baum, E.; Doubleday, N.; Fiore, A.M.; Flanner, M.; Fridlind, A.; Garrett, T.J.; Koch, D.; Menon, S.; Shindell, D.; Stohl, A.; Warren, S.G.

    2007-09-24

    Several short-lived pollutants known to impact Arctic climate may be contributing to the accelerated rates of warming observed in this region relative to the global annually averaged temperature increase. Here, we present a summary of the short-lived pollutants that impact Arctic climate including methane, tropospheric ozone, and tropospheric aerosols. For each pollutant, we provide a description of the major sources and the mechanism of forcing. We also provide the first seasonally averaged forcing and corresponding temperature response estimates focused specifically on the Arctic. The calculations indicate that the forcings due to black carbon, methane, and tropospheric ozone lead to a positive surface temperature response indicating the need to reduce emissions of these species within and outside the Arctic. Additional aerosol species may also lead to surface warming if the aerosol is coincident with thin, low lying clouds. We suggest strategies for reducing the warming based on current knowledge and discuss directions for future research to address the large remaining uncertainties.

  4. Self-consistent quark bags

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rafelski, J.

    1979-01-01

    After an introductory overview of the bag model the author uses the self-consistent solution of the coupled Dirac-meson fields to represent a bound state of strongly ineteracting fermions. In this framework he discusses the vivial approach to classical field equations. After a short description of the used numerical methods the properties of bound states of scalar self-consistent Fields and the solutions of a self-coupled Dirac field are considered. (HSI) [de

  5. The Efficacy of Rehearsal Strategy on Auditory Short-Term Memory of Educable 5 to 8 Years Old Children with Down Syndrome

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Esmaeil Esmaieli

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Objective: One of the problems of children with Down syndrome is their low performance on retention of information and its recall in the memory. The present study aimed to determine the efficacy of rehearsal strategy on auditory short-term memory of educable 5 to 8 years old children with Down syndrome. Materials & Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, 24 children (14 boys and 10 girls were selected in convenience from Iranian Down Syndrome Charity Association and evaluated by Raven’s Intelligence Progressive Matrices. Then, children were assigned into two experimental and control groups randomly (each contained 12 individuals. Experimental group participated in 8 group sessions (two sessions per week, each lasting 30 minutes and trained by rehearsal strategy. All subjects were evaluated by Expressive-Auditory Memory Sequence Test before and after intervention sessions. Data were analyzed by multiple analysis of covariance.  Results: The results of analysis of covariance showed that rehearsal strategy have led to increase of digit span, word span and auditory short-term memory (P<0.01 in experimental group compared to control group. Conclusion: It can be concluded that rehearsal strategy training is an effective method on promotion of digit span, word span and auditory short-term memory of children with Down syndrome and implies important consequences for their education.

  6. Nordic Experiences: Participants' Expectations and Experiences of Short-Term Study Abroad Programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahikainen, Katariina; Hakkarainen, Kai

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate Finnish high school students' and teachers' perceptions of the effects of short-term Nordic study abroad programs in which they had participated. The data presented were based on a "mixed-methods strategy." The data set consisted of responses from 158 students and 92 teachers to a specifically…

  7. Non-surgical care in patients with hip or knee osteoarthritis is modestly consistent with a stepped care strategy after its implementation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smink, Agnes J; Bierma-Zeinstra, Sita M A; Schers, Henk J; Swierstra, Bart A; Kortland, Joke H; Bijlsma, Johannes W J; Teerenstra, Steven; Voorn, Theo B; Dekker, Joost; Vliet Vlieland, Thea P M; van den Ende, Cornelia H M

    2014-08-01

    To improve the management of hip or knee osteoarthritis (OA), a stepped care strategy (SCS) has been developed that presents the optimal sequence for care in three steps. This study evaluates the extent to which clinical practice is consistent with the strategy after implementation and identifies determinants of SCS-consistent care. A 2-year observational prospective cohort study. General practices in the region of Nijmegen in the Netherlands. Three hundred and thirteen patients with hip or knee OA and their general practitioner (GP). Multifaceted interventions were developed to implement the strategy. Consistency between clinical practice and the strategy was examined regarding three aspects of care: (i) timing of radiological assessment, (ii) sequence of non-surgical treatment options and (iii) making follow-up appointments. Out of the 212 patients who reported to have had an X-ray, 92 (44%) received it in line with the SCS. The sequence of treatment was inconsistent with the SCS in 58% of the patients, which was mainly caused by the underuse of lifestyle advice and dietary therapy. In 57% of the consultations, the patient reported to have been advised to make a follow-up appointment. No determinants that influenced all three aspects of care were identified. Consistency with the SCS was found in about half of the patients for each of the three aspects of care. Health care can be further optimized by encouraging GP s to use X-rays more appropriately and to make more use of lifestyle advice, dietary therapy and follow-up appointments. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press in association with the International Society for Quality in Health Care; all rights reserved.

  8. Consistency of Higher Education Institutions’ Strategies: A Study Based on the Stakeholders’ Perception using the Balanced Scorecard

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexsandra Barcelos Dias

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The strategic orientation of the company was conceived as a management tool known as the Balanced Scorecard (BSC, which aims to measure and monitor the strategy in action. The objective of this study was to verify the strategic consistency in the perception of the stakeholders at Private Higher Education Institutions (HEI, through the perspective of the Balanced Scorecard. The method used was a descriptive research, through a quantitative approach. Data were collected through a questionnaire, applied at four HEIs in the State of Minas Gerais, including directors / coordinators, teachers and students called stakeholders, to identify, based on a Balanced Scorecard model with four indicators in each perspective (financial, clients, learning and growth and internal processes, the consistency of the strategies as perceived by these groups. The main results pointed to a perception difference of the managers regarding the perspectives, with a greater degree of importance given to the perspective “Learning and Growth” and “Internal Processes”. The group of teachers attributed less importance to the “Customers” perspective. The main inconsistencies were found in the “Internal Processes” perspective. The “Financial” perspective presented less gaps when compared between the groups, which reveals a strategic inconsistency at the HEIs through the stakeholders’ perception. It is concluded that strategic consistency can contribute to organizational competitiveness, identifying the existence of alignment in the actions developed that result in greater efficiency for a competitive scenario according to its stakeholders.

  9. Multi-resistance strategy for viral diseases and short hairpin RNA verification method in pigs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jong-nam Oh

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Objective Foot and mouth disease (FMD and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS are major diseases that interrupt porcine production. Because they are viral diseases, vaccinations are of only limited effectiveness in preventing outbreaks. To establish an alternative multi-resistant strategy against FMD virus (FMDV and PRRS virus (PRRSV, the present study introduced two genetic modification techniques to porcine cells. Methods First, cluster of differentiation 163 (CD163, the PRRSV viral receptor, was edited with the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-CRISPR-associated protein 9 technique. The CD163 gene sequences of edited cells and control cells differed. Second, short hairpin RNA (shRNAs were integrated into the cells. The shRNAs, targeting the 3D gene of FMDV and the open reading frame 7 (ORF7 gene of PRRSV, were transferred into fibroblasts. We also developed an in vitro shRNA verification method with a target gene expression vector. Results shRNA activity was confirmed in vitro with vectors that expressed the 3D and ORF7 genes in the cells. Cells containing shRNAs showed lower transcript levels than cells with only the expression vectors. The shRNAs were integrated into CD163-edited cells to combine the two techniques, and the viral genes were suppressed in these cells. Conclusion We established a multi-resistant strategy against viral diseases and an in vitro shRNA verification method.

  10. Increased performance in the short-term water demand forecasting through the use of a parallel adaptive weighting strategy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sardinha-Lourenço, A.; Andrade-Campos, A.; Antunes, A.; Oliveira, M. S.

    2018-03-01

    Recent research on water demand short-term forecasting has shown that models using univariate time series based on historical data are useful and can be combined with other prediction methods to reduce errors. The behavior of water demands in drinking water distribution networks focuses on their repetitive nature and, under meteorological conditions and similar consumers, allows the development of a heuristic forecast model that, in turn, combined with other autoregressive models, can provide reliable forecasts. In this study, a parallel adaptive weighting strategy of water consumption forecast for the next 24-48 h, using univariate time series of potable water consumption, is proposed. Two Portuguese potable water distribution networks are used as case studies where the only input data are the consumption of water and the national calendar. For the development of the strategy, the Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) method and a short-term forecast heuristic algorithm are used. Simulations with the model showed that, when using a parallel adaptive weighting strategy, the prediction error can be reduced by 15.96% and the average error by 9.20%. This reduction is important in the control and management of water supply systems. The proposed methodology can be extended to other forecast methods, especially when it comes to the availability of multiple forecast models.

  11. Traffic Multiresolution Modeling and Consistency Analysis of Urban Expressway Based on Asynchronous Integration Strategy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liyan Zhang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper studies multiresolution traffic flow simulation model of urban expressway. Firstly, compared with two-level hybrid model, three-level multiresolution hybrid model has been chosen. Then, multiresolution simulation framework and integration strategies are introduced. Thirdly, the paper proposes an urban expressway multiresolution traffic simulation model by asynchronous integration strategy based on Set Theory, which includes three submodels: macromodel, mesomodel, and micromodel. After that, the applicable conditions and derivation process of the three submodels are discussed in detail. In addition, in order to simulate and evaluate the multiresolution model, “simple simulation scenario” of North-South Elevated Expressway in Shanghai has been established. The simulation results showed the following. (1 Volume-density relationships of three submodels are unanimous with detector data. (2 When traffic density is high, macromodel has a high precision and smaller error and the dispersion of results is smaller. Compared with macromodel, simulation accuracies of micromodel and mesomodel are lower but errors are bigger. (3 Multiresolution model can simulate characteristics of traffic flow, capture traffic wave, and keep the consistency of traffic state transition. Finally, the results showed that the novel multiresolution model can have higher simulation accuracy and it is feasible and effective in the real traffic simulation scenario.

  12. Reporting consistently on CSR

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thomsen, Christa; Nielsen, Anne Ellerup

    2006-01-01

    This chapter first outlines theory and literature on CSR and Stakeholder Relations focusing on the different perspectives and the contextual and dynamic character of the CSR concept. CSR reporting challenges are discussed and a model of analysis is proposed. Next, our paper presents the results...... of a case study showing that companies use different and not necessarily consistent strategies for reporting on CSR. Finally, the implications for managerial practice are discussed. The chapter concludes by highlighting the value and awareness of the discourse and the discourse types adopted...... in the reporting material. By implementing consistent discourse strategies that interact according to a well-defined pattern or order, it is possible to communicate a strong social commitment on the one hand, and to take into consideration the expectations of the shareholders and the other stakeholders...

  13. Protected area types, strategies and impacts in Brazil's Amazon: public protected area strategies do not yield a consistent ranking of protected area types by impact

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pfaff, Alexander; Robalino, Juan; Sandoval, Catalina; Herrera, Diego

    2015-01-01

    The leading policy to conserve forest is protected areas (PAs). Yet, PAs are not a single tool: land users and uses vary by PA type; and public PA strategies vary in the extent of each type and in the determinants of impact for each type, i.e. siting and internal deforestation. Further, across regions and time, strategies respond to pressures (deforestation and political). We estimate deforestation impacts of PA types for a critical frontier, the Brazilian Amazon. We separate regions and time periods that differ in their deforestation and political pressures and document considerable variation in PA strategies across regions, time periods and types. The siting of PAs varies across regions. For example, all else being equal, PAs in the arc of deforestation are relatively far from non-forest, while in other states they are relatively near. Internal deforestation varies across time periods, e.g. it is more similar across the PA types for PAs after 2000. By contrast, after 2000, PA extent is less similar across PA types with little non-indigenous area created inside the arc. PA strategies generate a range of impacts for PA types—always far higher within the arc—but not a consistent ranking of PA types by impact. PMID:26460126

  14. Protected area types, strategies and impacts in Brazil's Amazon: public protected area strategies do not yield a consistent ranking of protected area types by impact.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pfaff, Alexander; Robalino, Juan; Sandoval, Catalina; Herrera, Diego

    2015-11-05

    The leading policy to conserve forest is protected areas (PAs). Yet, PAs are not a single tool: land users and uses vary by PA type; and public PA strategies vary in the extent of each type and in the determinants of impact for each type, i.e. siting and internal deforestation. Further, across regions and time, strategies respond to pressures (deforestation and political). We estimate deforestation impacts of PA types for a critical frontier, the Brazilian Amazon. We separate regions and time periods that differ in their deforestation and political pressures and document considerable variation in PA strategies across regions, time periods and types. The siting of PAs varies across regions. For example, all else being equal, PAs in the arc of deforestation are relatively far from non-forest, while in other states they are relatively near. Internal deforestation varies across time periods, e.g. it is more similar across the PA types for PAs after 2000. By contrast, after 2000, PA extent is less similar across PA types with little non-indigenous area created inside the arc. PA strategies generate a range of impacts for PA types--always far higher within the arc--but not a consistent ranking of PA types by impact. © 2015 The Author(s).

  15. The Consistent Preferences Approach to Deductive Reasoning in Games

    CERN Document Server

    Asheim, Geir B

    2006-01-01

    "The Consistent Preferences Approach to Deductive Reasoning in Games" presents, applies, and synthesizes what my co-authors and I have called the 'consistent preferences' approach to deductive reasoning in games. Briefly described, this means that the object of the analysis is the ranking by each player of his own strategies, rather than his choice. The ranking can be required to be consistent (in different senses) with his beliefs about the opponent's ranking of her strategies. This can be contrasted to the usual 'rational choice' approach where a player's strategy choice is (in dif

  16. Validation of the CLIC alignment strategy on short range

    CERN Document Server

    Mainaud Durand, H; Griffet, S; Kemppinen, J; Rude, V; Sosin, M

    2012-01-01

    The pre-alignment of CLIC consists of aligning the components of linacs and beam delivery systems (BDS) in the most accurate possible way, so that a first pilot beam can circulate and allow the implementation of the beam based alignment. Taking into account the precision and accuracy needed: 10 µm rms over sliding windows of 200m, this pre-alignment must be active and it can be divided into two parts: the determination of a straight reference over 20 km, thanks to a metrological network and the determination of the component positions with respect to this reference, and their adjustment. The second part is the object of the paper, describing the steps of the proposed strategy: firstly the fiducialisation of the different components of CLIC; secondly, the alignment of these components on common supports and thirdly the active alignment of these supports using sensors and actuators. These steps have been validated on a test setup over a length of 4m, and the obtained results are analysed.

  17. Short-term feeding strategies and pork quality

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Geesink, G.H.; Buren, van R.G.C.; Savenije, B.; Verstegen, M.W.A.; Ducro, B.J.; Palen, van der J.G.P.; Hemke, G.

    2004-01-01

    Two experiments were done to determine whether short-term supplementation (5 days pre-slaughter) with magnesium acetate, or a combination of magnesium acetate, tryptophan, vitamin E and vitamin C would improve pork quality. In the first experiment the pigs (Pietrain x Yorkshire, n = 96) were fed a

  18. The Prediction of Coping Strategies Based on Personality Traits in Irritants Affiliates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ali Masoud Rostami

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Objective: This study aimed to predict coping strategies based on the characteristics of the stimulants-dependent people. Method: The research method was correlational. The population consisted of all stimulant-dependent individuals (n=402 that consecutively admitted to addiction centers of Tehran over the last year and had a drug dependence diagnosis. By systematic sampling, 201 subjects were selected of this population. The NEO personality inventory (NEO-FFI short form and Lazarus-Folkman’s coping strategies (WCQ-short form questionnaires administered among selected sample. Results: The results showed that there is a positive correlation between the personality dimension of neuroticism and coping strategies of avoidance, disengagement, and a negative one with continence. There is a positive correlation between the personality dimension of extroversion and avoidance, seeking social support and a negative one with (assuming responsibility. Also there is a positive correlation between the personality dimension of compatibility with restraint coping strategies and seeking social support. Conscientiousness personality dimension did not predict any coping strategies in stimulus-dependent patients. Conclusion: Personality traits can predict coping strategies in stimulus-dependent individuals. For the treatment of addicted patients paying attention to evaluation of the patients’ characteristics is suggested.

  19. Self-assessment: Strategy for higher standards, consistency, and performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ide, W.E.

    1996-01-01

    In late 1994, Palo Verde operations underwent a transformation from a unitized structure to a single functional unit. It was necessary to build consistency in watchstanding practices and create a shared mission. Because there was a lack of focus on actual plant operations and because personnel were deeply involved with administrative tasks, command and control of evolutions were weak. Improvement was needed. Consistent performance standards have been set for all three operating units. These expectation focus on nuclear, radiological, and industrial safety. Straightforward descriptions of watchstanding and monitoring practices have been provided to all department personnel. The desired professional and leadership qualities for employee conduct have been defined and communicated thoroughly. A healthy and competitive atmosphere developed with the successful implementation of these standards. Overall performance improved. The auxiliary operators demonstrated increased pride and ownership in the performance of their work activities. In addition, their morale improved. Crew teamwork improved as well as the quality of shift briefs. There was a decrease in the noise level and the administrative functions in the control room. The use of self-assessment helped to anchor and define higher and more consistent standards. The proof of Palo Verde's success was evident when an Institute of Nuclear Power Operations finding was turned into a strength within 1 yr

  20. Short-term consistency testing vs. long-term behavior

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ebert, W.L.; Bakel, A.J.; Wolf, S.F.; Strachan, D.M.

    1997-01-01

    The authors conducted Product Consistency Tests (PCTs) with a surrogate low-activity waste (LAW) glass to (1) evaluate the possible use of various test conditions in a specification test for LAW waste forms, (2) measure the reproducibility of the test at low temperatures, and (3) determine if the rates calculated from 7-day PCTs bound the rates measured in PCT conducted for longer durations, which represent more advanced corrosion. The effects of temperature and pH on the dissolution rate in PCTs are much less than the effects observed in dilute solutions due to the buildup of dissolved glass components in the PCTs. The precision of replicate 7-day tests at 20 and 40 degrees C was limited by the analytical uncertainty. The dissolution rates at all temperatures decreased with the test duration initially. However, the dissolution rates in tests at 70 and 90 degrees C increased when certain alteration phases formed after about 100 and 500 days, respectively; the rates in some tests exceeded that measured in a 7-day PCT. While the 7-day PCT does not provide a bounding rate for this glass at 70 or 90 degrees C, tests for longer durations are needed to determine if a 7-day test provides a bounding rate at lower temperatures

  1. Glass consistency and glass performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Plodinec, M.J.; Ramsey, W.G.

    1994-01-01

    Glass produced by the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) will have to consistently be more durable than a benchmark glass (evaluated using a short-term leach test), with high confidence. The DWPF has developed a Glass Product Control Program to comply with this specification. However, it is not clear what relevance product consistency has on long-term glass performance. In this report, the authors show that DWPF glass, produced in compliance with this specification, can be expected to effectively limit the release of soluble radionuclides to natural environments. However, the release of insoluble radionuclides to the environment will be limited by their solubility, and not glass durability

  2. Strategies identification in an experimental reading comprehension task

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stanković Sanda

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Standardized reading comprehension tests (RCTs usually consist of a small number of texts each accompanied by several multiple-choice questions, with texts and questions simultaneously presented. The score the common measure of reading comprehension ability in RCTs is the score. Literature review suggests that strategies subjects employ may influence their performance on RCT, however the score itself provides no information on the specific strategy employed. Knowledge of test-taking strategies could have impact on understanding of the actual purpose and benefits of using RCTs in pedagogical and psychological practice. With the ultimate objective of constructing a first standard RCT in Serbian language, the preliminary step we took was to conduct an experimental reading comprehension task (ERCT consisting of 27 short texts displayed in succession, each followed by a single multiplechoice question. Using qualitative analysis of subjects’ responses in semi-structured postexperimental interview, we identified four overall strategies used on ERCT. Our results show that groups of students who used specific strategies differed significantly from one another in text reading time, with no differences found regarding the question reading and answering time. More importantly, there were no significant between-group differences found in terms of ERCT score. These findings suggest that choice of strategy is a way to optimize the relation between one’s own potential and ERCT task requirements. RCT based on ERCT principles would allow for a flexible choice of strategy which would not influence the final score.

  3. A new therapeutic strategy for lengthening severe short nose.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rikimaru, Hideaki; Kiyokawa, Kensuke; Watanabe, Koichi; Koga, Noriyuki; Nishi, Yukiko

    2010-03-01

    Correction of severe short nose is a distressing problem for plastic surgeons. It is difficult to simultaneously lengthen the 3 components of the nose, which are the outer skin envelope, the framework, and the mucosal lining. We developed a new method to lengthen the nose more than 10 mm definitively and safely, which was performed using the technique of distraction osteogenesis. The procedure involves a 2-stage operation. At the first stage, boat-shaped iliac bone is grafted on the dorsum. More than 6 months later, the second-stage operation is performed. The grafted bone is cut horizontally in the center, and the distraction device is applied to it. Distraction osteogenesis is started after a latency period of 14 days and performed at a rate of 0.6 mm once daily. The distraction device is replaced by a special attachment (Ribbond; Ribbond Inc) during the 3-month consolidation period. Our method was applied for 2 patients with congenitally and posttraumatic severe short nose, respectively. The total amount of distraction osteogenesis was 12.6 and 13.8 mm, respectively. The profiles of both of the patients improved, and they were satisfied with the results. The method we developed is an entirely new approach to the correction of severe short nose. Furthermore, it was determined that nonvascularized grafted iliac bone could be lengthened by distraction osteogenesis. Our new method was a very effective and definitive technique and could become a mainstream procedure for the correction of severe short nose.

  4. Incremental Validity of the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short Form (TEIQue-SF).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siegling, A B; Vesely, Ashley K; Petrides, K V; Saklofske, Donald H

    2015-01-01

    This study examined the incremental validity of the adult short form of the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue-SF) in predicting 7 construct-relevant criteria beyond the variance explained by the Five-factor model and coping strategies. Additionally, the relative contributions of the questionnaire's 4 subscales were assessed. Two samples of Canadian university students completed the TEIQue-SF, along with measures of the Big Five, coping strategies (Sample 1 only), and emotion-laden criteria. The TEIQue-SF showed consistent incremental effects beyond the Big Five or the Big Five and coping strategies, predicting all 7 criteria examined across the 2 samples. Furthermore, 2 of the 4 TEIQue-SF subscales accounted for the measure's incremental validity. Although the findings provide good support for the validity and utility of the TEIQue-SF, directions for further research are emphasized.

  5. the strategy of finger use in children's addition Relationship with short-term memory, finger dexterity, and addition skills

    OpenAIRE

    Asakawa, Atsushi; Sugimura, Shinichiro

    2009-01-01

    Previous research has shown that the children's use of the fingers in additon changes with age. In this study, a part of data on the strategy of finger use by Asakawa and Sugimura (2009) was reanalyzed to clarify the relationship between, short-term memory, finger dexterity and addition skills. A two-way ANOVA showed a significant interaction between memory span and finger use. Examination of simple main effect indicated that significant effect of memory span at the group of the children who ...

  6. Short rendezvous missions for advanced Russian human spacecraft

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murtazin, Rafail F.; Budylov, Sergey G.

    2010-10-01

    The two-day stay of crew in a limited inhabited volume of the Soyuz-TMA spacecraft till docking to ISS is one of the most stressful parts of space flight. In this paper a number of possible ways to reduce the duration of the free flight phase are considered. The duration is defined by phasing strategy that is necessary for reduction of the phase angle between the chaser and target spacecraft. Some short phasing strategies could be developed. The use of such strategies creates more comfortable flight conditions for crew thanks to short duration and additionally it allows saving spacecraft's life support resources. The transition from the methods of direct spacecraft rendezvous using one orbit phasing (first flights of " Vostok" and " Soyuz" vehicles) to the currently used methods of two-day rendezvous mission can be observed in the history of Soviet manned space program. For an advanced Russian human rated spacecraft the short phasing strategy is recommended, which can be considered as a combination between the direct and two-day rendezvous missions. The following state of the art technologies are assumed available: onboard accurate navigation; onboard computations of phasing maneuvers; launch vehicle with high accuracy injection orbit, etc. Some operational requirements and constraints for the strategies are briefly discussed. In order to provide acceptable phase angles for possible launch dates the experience of the ISS altitude profile control can be used. As examples of the short phasing strategies, the following rendezvous missions are considered: direct ascent, short mission with the phasing during 3-7 orbits depending on the launch date (nominal or backup). For each option statistical modeling of the rendezvous mission is fulfilled, as well as an admissible phase angle range, accuracy of target state vector and addition fuel consumption coming out of emergency is defined. In this paper an estimation of pros and cons of all options is conducted.

  7. Self-reported strategies in decisions under risk: role of feedback, reasoning abilities, executive functions, short-term-memory, and working memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schiebener, Johannes; Brand, Matthias

    2015-11-01

    In decisions under objective risk conditions information about the decision options' possible outcomes and the rules for outcomes' occurrence are provided. Thus, deciders can base decision-making strategies on probabilistic laws. In many laboratory decision-making tasks, choosing the option with the highest winning probability in all trials (=maximization strategy) is probabilistically regarded the most rational behavior. However, individuals often behave less optimal, especially in case the individuals have lower cognitive functions or in case no feedback about consequences is provided in the situation. It is still unclear which cognitive functions particularly predispose individuals for using successful strategies and which strategies profit from feedback. We investigated 195 individuals with two decision-making paradigms, the Game of Dice Task (GDT) (with and without feedback), and the Card Guessing Game. Thereafter, participants reported which strategies they had applied. Interaction effects (feedback × strategy), effect sizes, and uncorrected single group comparisons suggest that feedback in the GDT tended to be more beneficial to individuals reporting exploratory strategies (e.g., use intuition). In both tasks, the self-reported use of more principled and more rational strategies was accompanied by better decision-making performance and better performances in reasoning and executive functioning tasks. The strategy groups did not significantly differ in most short-term and working-memory tasks. Thus, particularly individual differences in reasoning and executive functions seem to predispose individuals toward particular decision-making strategies. Feedback seems to be useful for individuals who rather explore the decision-making situation instead of following a certain plan.

  8. Factors in the development of proportional reasoning strategies by concrete operational college students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roth, Wolff-Michael; Milkent, Marlene M.

    This study was designed as a test for two neo-Piagetian theories. More specifically, this research examined the relationships between the development of proportional reasoning strategies and three cognitive variables from Pascual-Leone's and Case's neo-Piagetian theories. A priori hypotheses linked the number of problems students worked until they induced a proportional reasoning strategy to the variables of M-space, degree of field dependence, and short-term storage space. The subjects consisted of students enrolled in Physical Science I, a science course for nonscience majors at the University of Southern Mississippi. Of the 34 subjects in the study, 23 were classified as concrete operational on the basis of eight ratio tasks. Problems corresponding to five developmental levels of proportional reasoning (according to Piagetian and neo-Piagetian theory), were presented by a microcomputer to the 23 subjects who had been classified as concrete operational. After a maximum of 6 hours of treatment, 17 of the 23 subjects had induced ratio schemata at the upper formal level (IIIB), while the remaining subjects used lower formal level (IIIA) schemata. The data analyses showed that neither M-space and degree of field-dependence, either alone or in combination, nor short-term storage predicted the number of problems students need to do until they induce an appropriate problem-solving strategy. However, there were significant differences in the short-term storage space of those subjects who mastered ratio problems at the highest level and those who did not. Also, the subjects' degree of field-dependence was not a predictor of either the ability to transfer problem-solving strategies to a new setting or the reuse of inappropriate strategies. The results of this study also suggest that short-term storage space is a variable with high correlations to a number of aspects of learning such as transfer and choice of strategy after feedback.

  9. Consistent force fields for saccharides

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Kjeld

    1999-01-01

    Consistent force fields for carbohydrates were hitherto developed by extensive optimization ofpotential energy function parameters on experimental data and on ab initio results. A wide range of experimental data is used: internal structures obtained from gas phase electron diffraction and from x......-anomeric effects are accounted for without addition of specific terms. The work is done in the framework of the Consistent Force Field which originatedin Israel and was further developed in Denmark. The actual methods and strategies employed havebeen described previously. Extensive testing of the force field...

  10. Strategy as simple rules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eisenhardt, K M; Sull, D N

    2001-01-01

    The success of Yahoo!, eBay, Enron, and other companies that have become adept at morphing to meet the demands of changing markets can't be explained using traditional thinking about competitive strategy. These companies have succeeded by pursuing constantly evolving strategies in market spaces that were considered unattractive according to traditional measures. In this article--the third in an HBR series by Kathleen Eisenhardt and Donald Sull on strategy in the new economy--the authors ask, what are the sources of competitive advantage in high-velocity markets? The secret, they say, is strategy as simple rules. The companies know that the greatest opportunities for competitive advantage lie in market confusion, but they recognize the need for a few crucial strategic processes and a few simple rules. In traditional strategy, advantage comes from exploiting resources or stable market positions. In strategy as simple rules, advantage comes from successfully seizing fleeting opportunities. Key strategic processes, such as product innovation, partnering, or spinout creation, place the company where the flow of opportunities is greatest. Simple rules then provide the guidelines within which managers can pursue such opportunities. Simple rules, which grow out of experience, fall into five broad categories: how- to rules, boundary conditions, priority rules, timing rules, and exit rules. Companies with simple-rules strategies must follow the rules religiously and avoid the temptation to change them too frequently. A consistent strategy helps managers sort through opportunities and gain short-term advantage by exploiting the attractive ones. In stable markets, managers rely on complicated strategies built on detailed predictions of the future. But when business is complicated, strategy should be simple.

  11. TECHNICAL AND PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS OF SHORT SELLING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Radu BORES

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims at providing insight into some of the implication of short selling for markets, investors as well as regulators. Findings show that capital flows are adversely affected by strict regulation and bans of short sales, while market liquidity, and bid-ask spread can be improved by allowing short selling. Additionally portfolios that incorporate short selling strategies can have lower volatility in returns. The informational content of short sales can provide important feedback for informed investors and lead to better price discovery.

  12. Short-peptide-based molecular hydrogels: novel gelation strategies and applications for tissue engineering and drug delivery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Huaimin; Yang, Zhimou

    2012-08-01

    Molecular hydrogels hold big potential for tissue engineering and controlled drug delivery. Our lab focuses on short-peptide-based molecular hydrogels formed by biocompatible methods and their applications in tissue engineering (especially, 3D cell culture) and controlled drug delivery. This feature article firstly describes our recent progresses of the development of novel methods to form hydrogels, including the strategy of disulfide bond reduction and assistance with specific protein-peptide interactions. We then introduce the applications of our hydrogels in fields of controlled stem cell differentiation, cell culture, surface modifications of polyester materials by molecular self-assembly, and anti-degradation of recombinant complex proteins. A novel molecular hydrogel system of hydrophobic compounds that are only formed by hydrolysis processes was also included in this article. The hydrogels of hydrophobic compounds, especially those of hydrophobic therapeutic agents, may be developed into a carrier-free delivery system for long term delivery of therapeutic agents. With the efforts in this field, we believe that molecular hydrogels formed by short peptides and hydrophobic therapeutic agents can be practically applied for 3D cell culture and long term drug delivery in near future, respectively.

  13. The Iranian version of 12-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12: factor structure, internal consistency and construct validity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mousavi Sayed

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The 12-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12 as a shorter alternative of the SF-36 is largely used in health outcomes surveys. The aim of this study was to validate the SF-12 in Iran. Methods A random sample of the general population aged 15 years and over living in Tehran, Iran completed the SF-12. Reliability was estimated using internal consistency and validity was assessed using known groups comparison and convergent validity. In addition, the factor structure of the questionnaire was extracted by performing both exploratory factor analysis (EFA and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA. Results: In all, 5587 individuals were studied (2721 male and 2866 female. The mean age and formal education of the respondents were 35.1 (SD = 15.4 and 10.2 (SD = 4.4 years respectively. The results showed satisfactory internal consistency for both summary measures, that are the Physical Component Summary (PCS and the Mental Component Summary (MCS; Cronbach's α for PCS-12 and MCS-12 was 0.73 and 0.72, respectively. Known-groups comparison showed that the SF-12 discriminated well between men and women and those who differed in age and educational status (P Conclusion In general the findings suggest that the SF-12 is a reliable and valid measure of health related quality of life among Iranian population. However, further studies are needed to establish stronger psychometric properties for this alternative form of the SF-36 Health Survey in Iran.

  14. Short Stature

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christesen, Henrik Boye Thybo; Pedersen, Birgitte Tønnes; Pournara, Effie

    2016-01-01

    -scale, non-interventional, multinational study. The patient cohort consisted of 5996 short pediatric patients diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency (GHD), Turner syndrome (TS) or born small for gestational age (SGA). The proportions of children with baseline height standard deviation score (SDS) below......The use of appropriate growth standards/references is of significant clinical importance in assessing the height of children with short stature as it may determine eligibility for appropriate therapy. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of using World Health Organization (WHO) instead...... of national growth standards/references on height assessment in short children. Data were collected from routine clinical practice (1998-2014) from nine European countries that have available national growth references and were enrolled in NordiNet® International Outcome Study (IOS) (NCT00960128), a large...

  15. A planning model for the short-term management of cash.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Broyles, Robert W; Mattachione, Steven; Khaliq, Amir

    2011-02-01

    This paper develops a model that enables the health administrator to identify the balance that minimizes the projected cost of holding cash. Adopting the principles of mathematical expectation, the model estimates the expected total costs of adopting each of the several strategies concerning the cash balance that the organization might maintain. Expected total costs consist of anticipated short costs, resulting from a potential shortage of funds. Long costs are associated with a potential surplus of funds and an opportunity cost represented by foregone investment income. Of importance to the model is the potential for the health service organization to realize a surplus of funds during periods characterized by a net cash disbursement. The paper also develops an interactive spreadsheet that enables the administrator to perform sensitivity analysis and examine the response of the desired or target cash balance to changes in the parameters that define the expected long and short cost functions.

  16. Strategies of Human Mating

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David M. Buss

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available Modern humans have inherited the mating strategies that led to the success of their ancestors. These strategies include long-term mating, short-term mating, extra-pair mating, mate poaching, and mate guarding. This article presents empirical evidence supporting evolution-based hypotheses about the complexities of these mating strategies. Since men and women historically confronted different adaptive problems in the mating domain, the sexes differ profoundly in evolved strategic solutions. These differences include possessing different mate preferences, different desires for short-term mating, and differences in the triggers that evoke sexual jealousy. The study of human mating is one of the “success stories” of evolutionary psychology.

  17. Short-Term Lifestyle Strategies for Sustaining Cognitive Status

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elizabeth P. Howard

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Cognitive decline impacts older adults, particularly their independence. The goal of this project was to increase understanding of how short-term, everyday lifestyle options, including physical activity, help an older adult sustain cognitive independence. Using a secondary analysis of lifestyle choices, we drew on a dataset of 4,620 community-dwelling elders in the US, assessed at baseline and one year later using 2 valid and reliable tools, the interRAI Community Health Assessment and the interRAI Wellness tool. Decline or no decline on the Cognitive Performance Scale was the dependent variable. We examined sustaining one’s status on this measure over a one-year period in relation to key dimensions of wellness through intellectual, physical, emotional, social, and spiritual variables. Engaging in physical activity, formal exercise, and specific recreational activities had a favorable effect on short-term cognitive decline. Involvement with computers, crossword puzzles, handicrafts, and formal education courses also were protective factors. The physical and intellectual domains of wellness are prominent aspects in protection from cognitive decline. Inherent in these two domains are mutable factors suitable for targeted efforts to promote older adult health and well-being.

  18. Short-Term Lifestyle Strategies for Sustaining Cognitive Status

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morris, John N.; Steel, Knight; Strout, Kelley A.; Fries, Brant E.; Moore, Alice; Garms-Homolová, Vjenka

    2016-01-01

    Cognitive decline impacts older adults, particularly their independence. The goal of this project was to increase understanding of how short-term, everyday lifestyle options, including physical activity, help an older adult sustain cognitive independence. Using a secondary analysis of lifestyle choices, we drew on a dataset of 4,620 community-dwelling elders in the US, assessed at baseline and one year later using 2 valid and reliable tools, the interRAI Community Health Assessment and the interRAI Wellness tool. Decline or no decline on the Cognitive Performance Scale was the dependent variable. We examined sustaining one's status on this measure over a one-year period in relation to key dimensions of wellness through intellectual, physical, emotional, social, and spiritual variables. Engaging in physical activity, formal exercise, and specific recreational activities had a favorable effect on short-term cognitive decline. Involvement with computers, crossword puzzles, handicrafts, and formal education courses also were protective factors. The physical and intellectual domains of wellness are prominent aspects in protection from cognitive decline. Inherent in these two domains are mutable factors suitable for targeted efforts to promote older adult health and well-being. PMID:27891520

  19. Consistent Estimation of Partition Markov Models

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jesús E. García

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The Partition Markov Model characterizes the process by a partition L of the state space, where the elements in each part of L share the same transition probability to an arbitrary element in the alphabet. This model aims to answer the following questions: what is the minimal number of parameters needed to specify a Markov chain and how to estimate these parameters. In order to answer these questions, we build a consistent strategy for model selection which consist of: giving a size n realization of the process, finding a model within the Partition Markov class, with a minimal number of parts to represent the process law. From the strategy, we derive a measure that establishes a metric in the state space. In addition, we show that if the law of the process is Markovian, then, eventually, when n goes to infinity, L will be retrieved. We show an application to model internet navigation patterns.

  20. The efficacy of a short education program and a short physiotherapy program for treating low back pain in primary care: a cluster randomized trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albaladejo, Celia; Kovacs, Francisco M; Royuela, Ana; del Pino, Rafael; Zamora, Javier

    2010-03-01

    Cluster randomized clinical trial. To assess the efficacy of a short education program and short physiotherapy program for treating low back pain (LBP) in primary care. There is sparse evidence on the effectiveness of education and physiotherapy programs that are short enough to be feasible in primary care. Sixty-nine primary care physicians were randomly assigned to 3 groups and recruited 348 patients consulting for LBP; 265 (79.8%) were chronic. All patients received usual care, were given a booklet and received a consistent 15 minutes group talk on health education, which focused on healthy nutrition habits in the control group, and on active management for LBP in the "education" and "education + physiotherapy" groups. Additionally, in the "education + physiotherapy" group, patients were given a second booklet and a 15-minute group talk on postural hygiene, and 4 one-hour physiotherapy sessions of exercise and stretching which they were encouraged to keep practicing at home. The main outcome measure was improvement of LBP-related disability at 6 months. Patients' assessment and data analyses were blinded. During the 6-month follow-up period, improvement in the "control" group was negligible. Additional improvement in the "education" and "education + physiotherapy" groups was found for disability (2.0 and 2.2 Roland Morris Questionnaire points, respectively), LBP (1.8 and 2.10 Visual Analogue Scale points), referred pain (1.3 and 1.6 Visual Analogue Scale points), catastrophizing (1.6 and 1.8 Coping Strategies Questionnaire points), physical quality of life (2.9 and 2.9 SF-12 points), and mental quality of life (3.7 and 5.1 SF-12 points). The addition of a short education program on active management to usual care in primary care leads to small but consistent improvements in disability, pain, and quality of life. The addition of a short physiotherapy program composed of education on postural hygiene and exercise intended to be continued at home, increases those

  1. Environment-dependence of behavioural consistency in adult male European green lizards (Lacerta viridis)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Urszán, Tamás János; Bajer, Katalin; Molnár, Orsolya; Garamszegi, László Zsolt; Herczeg, Gábor

    2017-01-01

    Understanding the background mechanisms affecting the emergence and maintenance of consistent between-individual variation within population in single (animal personality) or across multiple (behavioural syndrome) behaviours has key importance. State-dependence theory suggests that behaviour is ‘anchored’ to individual state (e.g. body condition, gender, age) and behavioural consistency emerges through behavioural-state feedbacks. A number of relevant state variables are labile (e.g. body condition, physiological performance) and expected to be affected by short-term environmental change. Yet, whether short-term environmental shifts affect behavioural consistency during adulthood remains questionable. Here, by employing a full-factorial laboratory experiment, we explored if quantity of food (low vs. high) and time available for thermoregulation (3h vs. 10h per day) had an effect on activity and risk-taking of reproductive adult male European green lizards (Lacerta viridis). We focussed on different components of behavioural variation: (i) strength of behavioural consistency (repeatability for animal personality; between-individual correlation for behavioural syndrome), (ii) behavioural type (individual mean behaviour) and (iii) behavioural predictability (within-individual behavioural variation). Activity was repeatable in all treatments. Risk-taking was repeatable only in the low basking treatments. We found significant between-individual correlation only in the low food × long basking time group. The treatments did not affect behavioural type, but affected behavioural predictability. Activity predictability was higher in the short basking treatment, where it also decreased with size (≈ age). Risk-taking predictability in the short basking treatment increased with size under food limitation, but decreased when food supply was high. We conclude that short-term environmental change can alter various components of behavioural consistency. The effect could be

  2. Environment-dependence of behavioural consistency in adult male European green lizards (Lacerta viridis).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horváth, Gergely; Mészáros, Boglárka; Urszán, Tamás János; Bajer, Katalin; Molnár, Orsolya; Garamszegi, László Zsolt; Herczeg, Gábor

    2017-01-01

    Understanding the background mechanisms affecting the emergence and maintenance of consistent between-individual variation within population in single (animal personality) or across multiple (behavioural syndrome) behaviours has key importance. State-dependence theory suggests that behaviour is 'anchored' to individual state (e.g. body condition, gender, age) and behavioural consistency emerges through behavioural-state feedbacks. A number of relevant state variables are labile (e.g. body condition, physiological performance) and expected to be affected by short-term environmental change. Yet, whether short-term environmental shifts affect behavioural consistency during adulthood remains questionable. Here, by employing a full-factorial laboratory experiment, we explored if quantity of food (low vs. high) and time available for thermoregulation (3h vs. 10h per day) had an effect on activity and risk-taking of reproductive adult male European green lizards (Lacerta viridis). We focussed on different components of behavioural variation: (i) strength of behavioural consistency (repeatability for animal personality; between-individual correlation for behavioural syndrome), (ii) behavioural type (individual mean behaviour) and (iii) behavioural predictability (within-individual behavioural variation). Activity was repeatable in all treatments. Risk-taking was repeatable only in the low basking treatments. We found significant between-individual correlation only in the low food × long basking time group. The treatments did not affect behavioural type, but affected behavioural predictability. Activity predictability was higher in the short basking treatment, where it also decreased with size (≈ age). Risk-taking predictability in the short basking treatment increased with size under food limitation, but decreased when food supply was high. We conclude that short-term environmental change can alter various components of behavioural consistency. The effect could be

  3. Environment-dependence of behavioural consistency in adult male European green lizards (Lacerta viridis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gergely Horváth

    Full Text Available Understanding the background mechanisms affecting the emergence and maintenance of consistent between-individual variation within population in single (animal personality or across multiple (behavioural syndrome behaviours has key importance. State-dependence theory suggests that behaviour is 'anchored' to individual state (e.g. body condition, gender, age and behavioural consistency emerges through behavioural-state feedbacks. A number of relevant state variables are labile (e.g. body condition, physiological performance and expected to be affected by short-term environmental change. Yet, whether short-term environmental shifts affect behavioural consistency during adulthood remains questionable. Here, by employing a full-factorial laboratory experiment, we explored if quantity of food (low vs. high and time available for thermoregulation (3h vs. 10h per day had an effect on activity and risk-taking of reproductive adult male European green lizards (Lacerta viridis. We focussed on different components of behavioural variation: (i strength of behavioural consistency (repeatability for animal personality; between-individual correlation for behavioural syndrome, (ii behavioural type (individual mean behaviour and (iii behavioural predictability (within-individual behavioural variation. Activity was repeatable in all treatments. Risk-taking was repeatable only in the low basking treatments. We found significant between-individual correlation only in the low food × long basking time group. The treatments did not affect behavioural type, but affected behavioural predictability. Activity predictability was higher in the short basking treatment, where it also decreased with size (≈ age. Risk-taking predictability in the short basking treatment increased with size under food limitation, but decreased when food supply was high. We conclude that short-term environmental change can alter various components of behavioural consistency. The effect could be

  4. Initiation process of earthquakes and its implications for seismic hazard reduction strategy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanamori, H

    1996-04-30

    For the average citizen and the public, "earthquake prediction" means "short-term prediction," a prediction of a specific earthquake on a relatively short time scale. Such prediction must specify the time, place, and magnitude of the earthquake in question with sufficiently high reliability. For this type of prediction, one must rely on some short-term precursors. Examinations of strain changes just before large earthquakes suggest that consistent detection of such precursory strain changes cannot be expected. Other precursory phenomena such as foreshocks and nonseismological anomalies do not occur consistently either. Thus, reliable short-term prediction would be very difficult. Although short-term predictions with large uncertainties could be useful for some areas if their social and economic environments can tolerate false alarms, such predictions would be impractical for most modern industrialized cities. A strategy for effective seismic hazard reduction is to take full advantage of the recent technical advancements in seismology, computers, and communication. In highly industrialized communities, rapid earthquake information is critically important for emergency services agencies, utilities, communications, financial companies, and media to make quick reports and damage estimates and to determine where emergency response is most needed. Long-term forecast, or prognosis, of earthquakes is important for development of realistic building codes, retrofitting existing structures, and land-use planning, but the distinction between short-term and long-term predictions needs to be clearly communicated to the public to avoid misunderstanding.

  5. Twisting the Dollar? On the Consistency of Short-Run and Long-Run Exchange Rate Expectations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stadtmann, Georg; Rülke, Jan; Frenkel, Michael

    2012-01-01

    ’ in the dollar/euro expectation formation process, i.e. market participants expect bandwagon effects in the short run, while they have stabilizing expectations in their long-run forecasts. Applying a panel probit analysis we find that this twisting behavior is more likely to occur in periods of excess exchange...

  6. Periodization of Carbohydrate Intake: Short-Term Effect on Performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laurie-Anne Marquet

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Background: “Sleep-low” consists of a sequential periodization of carbohydrate (CHO availability—low glycogen recovery after “train high” glycogen-depleting interval training, followed by an overnight-fast and light intensity training (“train low” the following day. This strategy leads to an upregulation of several exercise-responsive signaling proteins, but the chronic effect on performance has received less attention. We investigated the effects of short-term exposure to this strategy on endurance performance. Methods: Following training familiarization, 11 trained cyclists were divided into two groups for a one-week intervention—one group implemented three cycles of periodized CHO intake to achieve the sleep-low strategy over six training sessions (SL, CHO intake: 6 g·kg−1·day−1, whereas the control group consumed an even distribution of CHO over the day (CON. Tests were a 2 h submaximal ride and a 20 km time trial. Results: SL improved their performance (mean: +3.2%; p < 0.05 compared to CON. The improvement was associated with a change in pacing strategy with higher power output during the second part of the test. No change in substrate utilization was observed after the training period for either group. Conclusion: Implementing the “sleep-low” strategy for one week improved performance by the same magnitude previously seen in a three-week intervention, without any significant changes in selected markers of metabolism.

  7. Periodization of Carbohydrate Intake: Short-Term Effect on Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marquet, Laurie-Anne; Hausswirth, Christophe; Molle, Odeline; Hawley, John A.; Burke, Louise M.; Tiollier, Eve; Brisswalter, Jeanick

    2016-01-01

    Background: “Sleep-low” consists of a sequential periodization of carbohydrate (CHO) availability—low glycogen recovery after “train high” glycogen-depleting interval training, followed by an overnight-fast and light intensity training (“train low”) the following day. This strategy leads to an upregulation of several exercise-responsive signaling proteins, but the chronic effect on performance has received less attention. We investigated the effects of short-term exposure to this strategy on endurance performance. Methods: Following training familiarization, 11 trained cyclists were divided into two groups for a one-week intervention—one group implemented three cycles of periodized CHO intake to achieve the sleep-low strategy over six training sessions (SL, CHO intake: 6 g·kg−1·day−1), whereas the control group consumed an even distribution of CHO over the day (CON). Tests were a 2 h submaximal ride and a 20 km time trial. Results: SL improved their performance (mean: +3.2%; p < 0.05) compared to CON. The improvement was associated with a change in pacing strategy with higher power output during the second part of the test. No change in substrate utilization was observed after the training period for either group. Conclusion: Implementing the “sleep-low” strategy for one week improved performance by the same magnitude previously seen in a three-week intervention, without any significant changes in selected markers of metabolism. PMID:27897989

  8. The Efficacy of Rehearsal Strategy on Auditory Short-Term Memory of Educable 5 to 8 Years Old Children with Down Syndrome

    OpenAIRE

    Esmaeil Esmaieli; Ma'soumeh Pourmohammadreza-Tajrishi; Sahel Hemmati; Akbar Biglarian

    2014-01-01

    Objective: One of the problems of children with Down syndrome is their low performance on retention of information and its recall in the memory. The present study aimed to determine the efficacy of rehearsal strategy on auditory short-term memory of educable 5 to 8 years old children with Down syndrome. Materials & Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, 24 children (14 boys and 10 girls) were selected in convenience from Iranian Down Syndrome Charity Association and evaluated by Raven...

  9. Innovation: study of 'ultra-short' time reactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    2001-01-01

    This short article presents the new Elyse facility of Orsay-Paris 11 university for the study of ultra-short chemical and biochemical phenomena. Elyse uses the 'pump-probe' technique which consists in two perfectly synchronized electron and photon pulses. It comprises a 3 to 9 MeV electron accelerator with a HF gun photo-triggered with a laser. Elyse can initiate reactions using ultra-short electron pulses (radiolysis) or ultra-short photon pulses (photolysis). (J.S.)

  10. Utilization of Short-Simulations for Tuning High-Resolution Climate Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, W.; Xie, S.; Ma, P. L.; Rasch, P. J.; Qian, Y.; Wan, H.; Ma, H. Y.; Klein, S. A.

    2016-12-01

    Many physical parameterizations in atmospheric models are sensitive to resolution. Tuning the models that involve a multitude of parameters at high resolution is computationally expensive, particularly when relying primarily on multi-year simulations. This work describes a complementary set of strategies for tuning high-resolution atmospheric models, using ensembles of short simulations to reduce the computational cost and elapsed time. Specifically, we utilize the hindcast approach developed through the DOE Cloud Associated Parameterization Testbed (CAPT) project for high-resolution model tuning, which is guided by a combination of short (tests have been found to be effective in numerous previous studies in identifying model biases due to parameterized fast physics, and we demonstrate that it is also useful for tuning. After the most egregious errors are addressed through an initial "rough" tuning phase, longer simulations are performed to "hone in" on model features that evolve over longer timescales. We explore these strategies to tune the DOE ACME (Accelerated Climate Modeling for Energy) model. For the ACME model at 0.25° resolution, it is confirmed that, given the same parameters, major biases in global mean statistics and many spatial features are consistent between Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP)-type simulations and CAPT-type hindcasts, with just a small number of short-term simulations for the latter over the corresponding season. The use of CAPT hindcasts to find parameter choice for the reduction of large model biases dramatically improves the turnaround time for the tuning at high resolution. Improvement seen in CAPT hindcasts generally translates to improved AMIP-type simulations. An iterative CAPT-AMIP tuning approach is therefore adopted during each major tuning cycle, with the former to survey the likely responses and narrow the parameter space, and the latter to verify the results in climate context along with assessment in

  11. A novel quantitative approach to women's reproductive strategies.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fritha H Milne

    Full Text Available The patterned way in which individuals allocate finite resources to various components of reproduction (e.g. mating effort, reproductive timing and parental investment is described as a reproductive strategy. As energy is limited, trade-offs between and within aspects of reproductive strategies are expected. The first aim of this study was to derive aspects of reproductive strategies using complete reproductive histories from 718 parous Western Australian women. Factor analysis using a subset of these participants resulted in six factors that represented 'short-term mating strategy', 'early onset of sexual activity', 'reproductive output', 'timing of childbearing', 'breastfeeding', and 'child spacing'. This factor structure was internally validated by replication using a second independent subset of the data. The second aim of this study examined trade-offs between aspects of reproductive strategies derived from aim one. Factor scores calculated for each woman were incorporated in generalised linear models and interaction terms were employed to examine the effect of mating behaviour on the relationships between reproductive timing, parental investment and overall reproductive success. Early sexual activity correlates with early reproductive onset for women displaying more long-term mating strategies. Women with more short-term mating strategies exhibit a trade-off between child quantity and child quality not observed in women with a long-term mating strategy. However, women with a short-term mating strategy who delay reproductive timing exhibit levels of parental investment (measured as breastfeeding duration per child similar to that of women with long-term mating strategies. Reproductive delay has fitness costs (fewer births for women displaying more short-term mating strategies. We provide empirical evidence that reproductive histories of contemporary women reflect aspects of reproductive strategies, and associations between these strategic

  12. Role of serial order in the impact of talker variability on short-term memory: testing a perceptual organization-based account.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hughes, Robert W; Marsh, John E; Jones, Dylan M

    2011-11-01

    In two experiments, we examined the impact of the degree of match between sequential auditory perceptual organization processes and the demands of a short-term memory task (memory for order vs. item information). When a spoken sequence of digits was presented so as to promote its perceptual partitioning into two distinct streams by conveying it in alternating female (F) and male (M) voices (FMFMFMFM)--thereby disturbing the perception of true temporal order--recall of item order was greatly impaired (as compared to recall of item identity). Moreover, an order error type consistent with the formation of voice-based streams was committed more quickly in the alternating-voice condition (Exp. 1). In contrast, when the perceptual organization of the sequence mapped well onto an optimal two-group serial rehearsal strategy--by presenting the two voices in discrete clusters (FFFFMMMM)--order, but not item, recall was enhanced (Exp. 2). The results are consistent with the view that the degree of compatibility between perceptual and deliberate sequencing processes is a key determinant of serial short-term memory performance. Alternative accounts of talker variability effects in short-term memory, based on the concept of a dedicated phonological short-term store and a capacity-limited focus of attention, are also reviewed.

  13. Self-consistent approximations beyond the CPA: Part II

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaplan, T.; Gray, L.J.

    1982-01-01

    This paper concentrates on a self-consistent approximation for random alloys developed by Kaplan, Leath, Gray, and Diehl. The construction of the augmented space formalism for a binary alloy is sketched, and the notation to be used derived. Using the operator methods of the augmented space, the self-consistent approximation is derived for the average Green's function, and for evaluating the self-energy, taking into account the scattering by clusters of excitations. The particular cluster approximation desired is derived by treating the scattering by the excitations with S /SUB T/ exactly. Fourier transforms on the disorder-space clustersite labels solve the self-consistent set of equations. Expansion to short range order in the alloy is also discussed. A method to reduce the problem to a computationally tractable form is described

  14. Star marketer’s impact on the market strategy choice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vlašić Goran

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available We focus on understanding the role of star marketers in pursuing a market-driven vs. a market-driving strategy. Results indicate that market-driving and market-driven strategies are two approaches that can be pursued by market-oriented firms. A star marketer has a robust positive influence on market-driving strategy. In contrast, a star marketer has no meaningful influence on market-driven strategy. In short, while star marketers are very important for market-driving strategy and long term success, they represent an unnecessary cost and provide no added value to companies focusing on market-driven strategies and short term results.

  15. The Short Selling Regulation in the EU: Assessing the Authorization Granted for ESMA to Prohibit Short Selling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matias Huhtilainen

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The paper discusses the renewed short selling regulation (Regulation (EU No 236/2012 in the European Union. The focus is on the provisions that deal with prohibiting short selling in exceptional market circumstances. The Regulation further enforces certain obligations to report and disclose short positions. It is concluded that banning short selling is not an effective tool to contain extreme price volatility. The difference-in-differences regression and repeated measures GLM were used to test whether short selling bans were successful in containing volatility of those Spanish and Italian stocks that were subject to two back-to-back prohibitions during the years 2011-2013. The results are consistent with the majority of previous research, suggesting that the effectiveness of short sale constraints in reducing volatility is limited at best. Furthermore, there are evidence of counterproductive effects: constraints on short selling may actually increase volatility as well as deteriorate liquidity. However, based on theory and previous studies, reporting and disclosure requirements shall be favored provided they improve market efficiency as well as supervisory work of regulatory bodies.This paper discusses the renewed short selling regulation (Regulation (EU No 236/2012 in the European Union. The focus is on the provisions that deal with prohibiting short selling in exceptional market circumstances. The Regulation further enforces certain obligations to report and disclose short positions. It is concluded that banning short selling is not an effective tool to contain extreme price volatility. The difference-in-differences regression and repeated measures GLM were used to test whether short selling bans were successful in containing volatility of those Spanish and Italian stocks that were subject to two back-to-back prohibitions during the years 2011-2013. The results are consistent with the majority of previous research, suggesting that the

  16. An algebraic method for constructing stable and consistent autoregressive filters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harlim, John; Hong, Hoon; Robbins, Jacob L.

    2015-01-01

    In this paper, we introduce an algebraic method to construct stable and consistent univariate autoregressive (AR) models of low order for filtering and predicting nonlinear turbulent signals with memory depth. By stable, we refer to the classical stability condition for the AR model. By consistent, we refer to the classical consistency constraints of Adams–Bashforth methods of order-two. One attractive feature of this algebraic method is that the model parameters can be obtained without directly knowing any training data set as opposed to many standard, regression-based parameterization methods. It takes only long-time average statistics as inputs. The proposed method provides a discretization time step interval which guarantees the existence of stable and consistent AR model and simultaneously produces the parameters for the AR models. In our numerical examples with two chaotic time series with different characteristics of decaying time scales, we find that the proposed AR models produce significantly more accurate short-term predictive skill and comparable filtering skill relative to the linear regression-based AR models. These encouraging results are robust across wide ranges of discretization times, observation times, and observation noise variances. Finally, we also find that the proposed model produces an improved short-time prediction relative to the linear regression-based AR-models in forecasting a data set that characterizes the variability of the Madden–Julian Oscillation, a dominant tropical atmospheric wave pattern

  17. Congenital Short QT Syndrome

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lia Crotti

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available The Short QT Syndrome is a recently described new genetic disorder, characterized by abnormally short QT interval, paroxysmal atrial fibrillation and life threatening ventricular arrhythmias. This autosomal dominant syndrome can afflict infants, children, or young adults; often a remarkable family background of cardiac sudden death is elucidated. At electrophysiological study, short atrial and ventricular refractory periods are found, with atrial fibrillation and polymorphic ventricular tachycardia easily induced by programmed electrical stimulation. Gain of function mutations in three genes encoding K+ channels have been identified, explaining the abbreviated repolarization seen in this condition: KCNH2 for Ikr (SQT1, KCNQ1 for Iks (SQT2 and KCNJ2 for Ik1 (SQT3. The currently suggested therapeutic strategy is an ICD implantation, although many concerns exist for asymptomatic patients, especially in pediatric age. Pharmacological treatment is still under evaluation; quinidine has shown to prolong QT and reduce the inducibility of ventricular arrhythmias, but awaits additional confirmatory clinical data.

  18. On the internal consistency of the term structure of forecasts of housing starts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pierdzioch, C.; Rulke, J. C.; Stadtmann, G.

    2013-01-01

    We use the term structure of forecasts of housing starts to test for rationality of forecasts. Our test is based on the idea that short-term and long-term forecasts should be internally consistent. We test the internal consistency of forecasts using data for Australia, Canada, Japan and the United...

  19. The Iranian version of 12-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12): factor structure, internal consistency and construct validity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montazeri, Ali; Vahdaninia, Mariam; Mousavi, Sayed Javad; Omidvari, Speideh

    2009-09-16

    The 12-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) as a shorter alternative of the SF-36 is largely used in health outcomes surveys. The aim of this study was to validate the SF-12 in Iran. A random sample of the general population aged 15 years and over living in Tehran, Iran completed the SF-12. Reliability was estimated using internal consistency and validity was assessed using known groups comparison and convergent validity. In addition, the factor structure of the questionnaire was extracted by performing both exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). In all, 5587 individuals were studied (2721 male and 2866 female). The mean age and formal education of the respondents were 35.1 (SD = 15.4) and 10.2 (SD = 4.4) years respectively. The results showed satisfactory internal consistency for both summary measures, that are the Physical Component Summary (PCS) and the Mental Component Summary (MCS); Cronbach's alpha for PCS-12 and MCS-12 was 0.73 and 0.72, respectively. Known-groups comparison showed that the SF-12 discriminated well between men and women and those who differed in age and educational status (P < 0.001). In addition, correlations between the SF-12 scales and single items showed that the physical functioning, role physical, bodily pain and general health subscales correlated higher with the PCS-12 score, while the vitality, social functioning, role emotional and mental health subscales more correlated with the MCS-12 score lending support to its good convergent validity. Finally the principal component analysis indicated a two-factor structure (physical and mental health) that jointly accounted for 57.8% of the variance. The confirmatory factory analysis also indicated a good fit to the data for the two-latent structure (physical and mental health). In general the findings suggest that the SF-12 is a reliable and valid measure of health related quality of life among Iranian population. However, further studies are needed to

  20. Roosting patterns in a captive colony of short-nosed fruit bat Cynopterus sphinx (Vahl).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gopukumar, N; Manikandan, M; Arivarignan, G

    2002-10-01

    Development of roosting patterns under a limited resource was studied in the short-nosed fruit bat C. sphinx in captivity. Spatial fidelity during the resting period (day time) and the individual male bat's presence/absence in the roost (occupancy index) were estimated during the active period (night time). Results show the presence of three groups on the basis of spatial fidelity. The first group was associated with the tent consisting of a harem male and seven females. The second group stayed near to the harem. The third group consisting of two males showed little occupancy index and no spatial fidelity. Female turnover between the first and second groups, and harem male replacement were observed. These findings of male groupings and female loyalty on the basis of "resource", suggest that resource defence polygyny is the primary mating strategy in C. sphinx.

  1. Competitive advantage for multiple-memory strategies in an artificial market

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitman, Kurt E.; Choe, Sehyo C.; Johnson, Neil F.

    2005-05-01

    We consider a simple binary market model containing N competitive agents. The novel feature of our model is that it incorporates the tendency shown by traders to look for patterns in past price movements over multiple time scales, i.e. multiple memory-lengths. In the regime where these memory-lengths are all small, the average winnings per agent exceed those obtained for either (1) a pure population where all agents have equal memory-length, or (2) a mixed population comprising sub-populations of equal-memory agents with each sub-population having a different memory-length. Agents who consistently play strategies of a given memory-length, are found to win more on average -- switching between strategies with different memory lengths incurs an effective penalty, while switching between strategies of equal memory does not. Agents employing short-memory strategies can outperform agents using long-memory strategies, even in the regime where an equal-memory system would have favored the use of long-memory strategies. Using the many-body 'Crowd-Anticrowd' theory, we obtain analytic expressions which are in good agreement with the observed numerical results. In the context of financial markets, our results suggest that multiple-memory agents have a better chance of identifying price patterns of unknown length and hence will typically have higher winnings.

  2. A Novel Quantitative Approach to Women’s Reproductive Strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milne, Fritha H.; Judge, Debra S.

    2012-01-01

    The patterned way in which individuals allocate finite resources to various components of reproduction (e.g. mating effort, reproductive timing and parental investment) is described as a reproductive strategy. As energy is limited, trade-offs between and within aspects of reproductive strategies are expected. The first aim of this study was to derive aspects of reproductive strategies using complete reproductive histories from 718 parous Western Australian women. Factor analysis using a subset of these participants resulted in six factors that represented ‘short-term mating strategy’, ‘early onset of sexual activity’, ‘reproductive output’, ‘timing of childbearing’, ‘breastfeeding’, and ‘child spacing’. This factor structure was internally validated by replication using a second independent subset of the data. The second aim of this study examined trade-offs between aspects of reproductive strategies derived from aim one. Factor scores calculated for each woman were incorporated in generalised linear models and interaction terms were employed to examine the effect of mating behaviour on the relationships between reproductive timing, parental investment and overall reproductive success. Early sexual activity correlates with early reproductive onset for women displaying more long-term mating strategies. Women with more short-term mating strategies exhibit a trade-off between child quantity and child quality not observed in women with a long-term mating strategy. However, women with a short-term mating strategy who delay reproductive timing exhibit levels of parental investment (measured as breastfeeding duration per child) similar to that of women with long-term mating strategies. Reproductive delay has fitness costs (fewer births) for women displaying more short-term mating strategies. We provide empirical evidence that reproductive histories of contemporary women reflect aspects of reproductive strategies, and associations between these

  3. Another look at trading costs and short-term reversal profits

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    W.A. de Groot (Wilma); J.J. Huij (Joop); W. Zhou (Weili)

    2012-01-01

    textabstractSeveral studies report that abnormal returns associated with short-term reversal investment strategies diminish once trading costs are taken into account. We show that the impact of trading costs on the strategies' profitability can largely be attributed to excessively trading in small

  4. Sex-Linked Mating Strategies Diverge with a Manipulation of Genital Salience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fetterman, Adam K; Kruger, Nicole N; Robinson, Michael D

    2015-02-01

    Trivers (1972) proposed that evolutionary factors should favor divergent mating strategies for males versus females. Such differences may be less pronounced among human beings than other animals and social norms and sex roles are also pertinent influences. The present experiment ( N = 133 college undergraduates, 74 female) sought to bypass some of these other influences. Participants were randomly assigned to a condition designed to increase attention to the genital region (a downward pointing arrow) or not (an upward pointing arrow). They then reported on their interest in short-term (e.g., a one-night stand) and long-term (e.g., a potential marital partner) mating opportunities. A theory-consistent three-way interaction occurred such that the genital salience manipulation primed a shorter-term reproductive strategy among men and a longer-term reproductive strategy among women. The results provide unique support for evolution-linked ideas about sex differences in the form of a role for bodily attention.

  5. Naumoff short-rib polydactyly syndrome compounded with Mohr oral-facial-digital syndrome

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Young, L.W.; Wilhelm, L.L. [Loma Linda Univ., CA (United States). Medical Center; Zuppan, C.W. [Div. of Pediatric Pathology, Loma Linda University Medical Center, CA (United States); Clark, R. [Div. of Medical Genetics, Loma Linda University Medical Center, CA (United States)

    2001-01-01

    A stillborn baby boy had findings of severe constitutional dwarfism with short limbs, short ribs, and polydactyly that were consistent with Naumoff (type III) short-rib polydactyly syndrome. He also had additional congenital anomalies, including cleft palate, notching of the upper lip, small tongue with accessory sublingual tissue. These oral and pharyngeal anomalies were consistent with Mohr (type II) oral-facial-digital syndrome. We suggest the stillborn infant represented a compound of Naumoff short-rib polydactyly syndrome (SRPS-III) and Mohr oral-facial-digital syndrome (OFDS-II). (orig.)

  6. Determinants of Short-Term Export Performance in Pakistan

    OpenAIRE

    Subhani, Muhammad Imtiaz; Osman, Ms.Amber; Habib, Sukaina

    2010-01-01

    This research investigates the interdependency between independent (Increase of pricing strategy adaptation, Increase of export intensity, Firm's commitment to exporting, Export market development, Export market competition, Past Pricing Strategy Adaptation, Past Export Performance Satisfaction, Past Export Intensity, Export market distance) and dependent variables (i.e. Expected Short-Term Export Performance improvement) of export performance. The framework is tested via a survey through que...

  7. Biomechanical Diversity of Mating Structures among Harvestmen Species Is Consistent with a Spectrum of Precopulatory Strategies.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mercedes Burns

    Full Text Available Diversity in reproductive structures is frequently explained by selection acting at individual to generational timescales, but interspecific differences predicted by such models (e.g., female choice or sexual conflict are often untestable in a phylogenetic framework. An alternative approach focuses on clade- or function-specific hypotheses that predict evolutionary patterns in terms neutral to specific modes of sexual selection. Here we test a hypothesis that diversity of reproductive structures in leiobunine harvestmen (daddy longlegs of eastern North America reflects two sexually coevolved but non-overlapping precopulatory strategies, a primitive solicitous strategy (females enticed by penis-associated nuptial gifts, and a multiply derived antagonistic strategy (penis exerts mechanical force against armature of the female pregenital opening. Predictions of sexual coevolution and fidelity to precopulatory categories were tested using 10 continuously varying functional traits from 28 species. Multivariate analyses corroborated sexual coevolution but failed to partition species by precopulatory strategy, with multiple methods placing species along a spectrum of mechanical antagonistic potential. These findings suggest that precopulatory features within species reflect different co-occurring levels of solicitation and antagonism, and that gradualistic evolutionary pathways exist between extreme strategies. The ability to quantify antagonistic potential of precopulatory structures invites comparison with ecological variables that may promote evolutionary shifts in precopulatory strategies.

  8. Individual Differences in the Phenotypic Flexibility of Basal Metabolic Rate in Siberian Hamsters Are Consistent on Short- and Long-Term Timescales.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boratyński, Jan S; Jefimow, Małgorzata; Wojciechowski, Michał S

    Basal metabolic rate (BMR) correlates with the cost of life in endothermic animals. It usually differs consistently among individuals in a population, but it may be adjusted in response to predictable or unpredictable changes in the environment. The phenotypic flexibility of BMR is considered an adaptation to living in a stochastic environment; however, whether it is also repeatable it is still unexplored. Assuming that variations in phenotypic flexibility are evolutionarily important, we hypothesized that they are consistently different among individuals. We predicted that not only BMR but also its flexibility in response to changes in ambient temperature (T a ) are repeatable on short- and long-term timescales. To examine this, we acclimated Siberian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus) for 100 d to winterlike and then to summerlike conditions, and after each acclimation we exposed them interchangeably to 10° and 28°C for 14 d. The difference in BMR measured after each exposure defined an individual's phenotypic flexibility (ΔBMR). BMR was repeatable within and among seasons. It was also flexible in both seasons, but in winter this flexibility was lower in individuals responding to seasonal changes than in nonresponding ones. When we accounted for individual responsiveness, the repeatability of ΔBMR was significant in winter (τ = 0.48, P = 0.01) and in summer (τ = 0.55, P = 0.005). Finally, the flexibility of BMR in response to changes in T a was also repeatable on a long-term timescale, that is, among seasons (τ = 0.31, P = 0.008). Our results indicate the evolutionary importance of the phenotypic flexibility of energy metabolism and suggest that it may be subject to selection.

  9. Measuring consistency of autobiographical memory recall in depression.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Semkovska, Maria

    2012-05-15

    Autobiographical amnesia assessments in depression need to account for normal changes in consistency over time, contribution of mood and type of memories measured. We report herein validation studies of the Columbia Autobiographical Memory Interview - Short Form (CAMI-SF), exclusively used in depressed patients receiving electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) but without previous published report of normative data. The CAMI-SF was administered twice with a 6-month interval to 44 healthy volunteers to obtain normative data for retrieval consistency of its Semantic, Episodic-Extended and Episodic-Specific components and assess their reliability and validity. Healthy volunteers showed significant large decreases in retrieval consistency on all components. The Semantic and Episodic-Specific components demonstrated substantial construct validity. We then assessed CAMI-SF retrieval consistencies over a 2-month interval in 30 severely depressed patients never treated with ECT compared with healthy controls (n=19). On initial assessment, depressed patients produced less episodic-specific memories than controls. Both groups showed equivalent amounts of consistency loss over a 2-month interval on all components. At reassessment, only patients with persisting depressive symptoms were distinguishable from controls on episodic-specific memories retrieved. Research quantifying retrograde amnesia following ECT for depression needs to control for normal loss in consistency over time and contribution of persisting depressive symptoms.

  10. Involving Employees in Strategy innovation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Friis, Ole Uhrskov; Koch, Christian

    2011-01-01

    Strategy as a practice and continuous innovation approaches are combined to conceptualise dilemmas of short versus long term and to analyse a case of employee participation as a particular example of strategy innovation. The case is a medium size textile company developing its strategy involving ...... and Balanced Score Card consultancy, an ‘open space’ workshop and organized strategy projects. Especially the latter two are important in facilitating the employee involvement. The case however also exhibit enterprise situated praxis’s like mitigation of taboos....

  11. Self-consistent Green’s-function technique for surfaces and interfaces

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skriver, Hans Lomholt; Rosengaard, N. M.

    1991-01-01

    We have implemented an efficient self-consistent Green’s-function technique for calculating ground-state properties of surfaces and interfaces, based on the linear-muffin-tin-orbitals method within the tight-binding representation. In this approach the interlayer interaction is extremely short...... ranged, and only a few layers close to the interface need be treated self-consistently via a Dyson equation. For semi-infinite jellium, the technique gives work functions and surface energies that are in excellent agreement with earlier calculations. For the bcc(110) surface of the alkali metals, we find...

  12. Universities-industry collaboration strategies: a micro-level perspective

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bjerregaard, Toke

    2009-01-01

    Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the collaboration strategies employed by collaborating small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and university researchers for initiating and optimizing the process and outcome of R&D collaboration. Design/methodology/approach - The paper is based...... upon a long-term strategy aiming at developing UI relations beyond the immediate project and practical learning. A variety of shifting strategies shape researchers' decisions during UI collaborations, which thus convey different notions of success. Research limitations/implications - The findings...... partners choose to pursue difference short- or long-term strategies to optimize the process and outcome of university-industry (UI) collaboration. Some collaborations were thus informed by a short-term strategy aimed at achieving immediate R&D results. However, to a high extent, many SME partners relied...

  13. Energy policy, strategies for uncertainty

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cook, P.L.; Surrey, A.J.

    1977-01-01

    The subject is dealt with in chapters, entitled: energy policy-objectives, strategies and policies; the 1967 fuel policy; problems of the optimising approach; the uncertain outlook; oil; coal; gas; electricity; the interdependence of the four fuel industries; energy policy for the future - the need for a long-term strategy; medium-term strategies and short-term policies; the organisational decisions of energy policy. Nuclear power is included in the subject matter. (U.K.)

  14. The Strategy Blueprint: A Strategy Process Computer-Aided Design Tool

    OpenAIRE

    Aldea, Adina Ioana; Febriani, Tania Rizki; Daneva, Maya; Iacob, Maria Eugenia

    2017-01-01

    Strategy has always been a main concern of organizations because it dictates their direction, and therefore determines their success. Thus, organizations need to have adequate support to guide them through their strategy formulation process. The goal of this research is to develop a computer-based tool, known as ‘the Strategy Blueprint’, consisting of a combination of nine strategy techniques, which can help organizations define the most suitable strategy, based on the internal and external f...

  15. Dynamically consistent oil import tariffs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Karp, L.; Newbery, D.M.

    1992-01-01

    The standard theory of optimal tariffs considers tariffs on perishable goods produced abroad under static conditions, in which tariffs affect prices only in that period. Oil and other exhaustable resources do not fit this model, for current tariffs affect the amount of oil imported, which will affect the remaining stock and hence its future price. The problem of choosing a dynamically consistent oil import tariff when suppliers are competitive but importers have market power is considered. The open-loop Nash tariff is solved for the standard competitive case in which the oil price is arbitraged, and it was found that the resulting tariff rises at the rate of interest. This tariff was found to have an equilibrium that in general is dynamically inconsistent. Nevertheless, it is shown that necessary and sufficient conditions exist under which the tariff satisfies the weaker condition of time consistency. A dynamically consistent tariff is obtained by assuming that all agents condition their current decisions on the remaining stock of the resource, in contrast to open-loop strategies. For the natural case in which all agents choose their actions simultaneously in each period, the dynamically consistent tariff was characterized, and found to differ markedly from the time-inconsistent open-loop tariff. It was shown that if importers do not have overwhelming market power, then the time path of the world price is insensitive to the ability to commit, as is the level of wealth achieved by the importer. 26 refs., 4 figs

  16. A new cascade NN based method to short-term load forecast in deregulated electricity market

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kouhi, Sajjad; Keynia, Farshid

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • We are proposed a new hybrid cascaded NN based method and WT to short-term load forecast in deregulated electricity market. • An efficient preprocessor consist of normalization and shuffling of signals is presented. • In order to select the best inputs, a two-stage feature selection is presented. • A new cascaded structure consist of three cascaded NNs is used as forecaster. - Abstract: Short-term load forecasting (STLF) is a major discussion in efficient operation of power systems. The electricity load is a nonlinear signal with time dependent behavior. The area of electricity load forecasting has still essential need for more accurate and stable load forecast algorithm. To improve the accuracy of prediction, a new hybrid forecast strategy based on cascaded neural network is proposed for STLF. This method is consists of wavelet transform, an intelligent two-stage feature selection, and cascaded neural network. The feature selection is used to remove the irrelevant and redundant inputs. The forecast engine is composed of three cascaded neural network (CNN) structure. This cascaded structure can be efficiently extract input/output mapping function of the nonlinear electricity load data. Adjustable parameters of the intelligent feature selection and CNN is fine-tuned by a kind of cross-validation technique. The proposed STLF is tested on PJM and New York electricity markets. It is concluded from the result, the proposed algorithm is a robust forecast method

  17. Visual short-term store can compensate for a defective phonological short-term store in patients with apraxia of speech.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silveri, Maria Caterina; Baldonero, Eleonora

    2013-11-01

    The aim of the study was to investigate whether, within the phonological short-term memory (STM) system, speech articulation disorders primarily due to cortical damage are associated with deficits in the phonological recoding of visual-verbal material, and whether the visual short-term store (STS) can compensate for inefficient access to the phonological STS, as suggested in previous reports. Two patients (AE and TM) with apraxia of speech due to atrophic cerebral damage were administered a battery of tasks devised to explore the organization of the phonological STM. AE's span was normal and TM's span was markedly reduced. Phonological similarity and word-length effects: Both patients showed the effects in visual presentation; the effect was less evident in verbal presentation. This suggests a phonological STS disorder and preserved rehearsal/phonological recoding, consistently with involvement of the left parietal regions, which was documented by the MRI in both patients. Unexpectedly, TM had a longer span for similar than for dissimilar words in visually presented stimuli. Silent phonology (on written material): At variance with controls, stress assignment improved during unattended speech both in AE and TM, while in both patients and controls a detrimental effect of unattended speech was documented in the initial sound task. To account for this unusual pattern of results, we hypothesized that whenever possible, AE and TM adopt the strategy that takes advantage of the visual STM store to compensate for a defective phonological STS. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

  18. SPORT PROMOTION STRATEGIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexandru Lucian MIHAI

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available In sport marketing, the word promotion covers a range of interrelated activities. All of these activities are designed to attract attention, stimulate the interest and awareness of consumers, and of course, encourage them to purchase a sport product. Promotion is about communicating with and educating consumers. The purpose of a sport promotional strategy is to build brand loyalty and product credibility, develop image, and position the brand. A promotional strategy is similar to a marketing strategy, but the promotional strategy seeks short-term objectives, both direct and indirect. Promotional objectives usually include increased sales, stimulate impulse buying, raise customer traffic, and present and reinforce image. It also provides information about products and services, publicizes new stores or websites, and creates and enhances customer satisfaction.

  19. Measuring consistency of autobiographical memory recall in depression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Semkovska, Maria; Noone, Martha; Carton, Mary; McLoughlin, Declan M

    2012-05-15

    Autobiographical amnesia assessments in depression need to account for normal changes in consistency over time, contribution of mood and type of memories measured. We report herein validation studies of the Columbia Autobiographical Memory Interview - Short Form (CAMI-SF), exclusively used in depressed patients receiving electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) but without previous published report of normative data. The CAMI-SF was administered twice with a 6-month interval to 44 healthy volunteers to obtain normative data for retrieval consistency of its Semantic, Episodic-Extended and Episodic-Specific components and assess their reliability and validity. Healthy volunteers showed significant large decreases in retrieval consistency on all components. The Semantic and Episodic-Specific components demonstrated substantial construct validity. We then assessed CAMI-SF retrieval consistencies over a 2-month interval in 30 severely depressed patients never treated with ECT compared with healthy controls (n=19). On initial assessment, depressed patients produced less episodic-specific memories than controls. Both groups showed equivalent amounts of consistency loss over a 2-month interval on all components. At reassessment, only patients with persisting depressive symptoms were distinguishable from controls on episodic-specific memories retrieved. Research quantifying retrograde amnesia following ECT for depression needs to control for normal loss in consistency over time and contribution of persisting depressive symptoms. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Vervet monkeys use paths consistent with context-specific spatial movement heuristics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teichroeb, Julie A

    2015-10-01

    Animal foraging routes are analogous to the computationally demanding "traveling salesman problem" (TSP), where individuals must find the shortest path among several locations before returning to the start. Humans approximate solutions to TSPs using simple heuristics or "rules of thumb," but our knowledge of how other animals solve multidestination routing problems is incomplete. Most nonhuman primate species have shown limited ability to route plan. However, captive vervets were shown to solve a TSP for six sites. These results were consistent with either planning three steps ahead or a risk-avoidance strategy. I investigated how wild vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) solved a path problem with six, equally rewarding food sites; where site arrangement allowed assessment of whether vervets found the shortest route and/or used paths consistent with one of three simple heuristics to navigate. Single vervets took the shortest possible path in fewer than half of the trials, usually in ways consistent with the most efficient heuristic (the convex hull). When in competition, vervets' paths were consistent with different, more efficient heuristics dependent on their dominance rank (a cluster strategy for dominants and the nearest neighbor rule for subordinates). These results suggest that, like humans, vervets may solve multidestination routing problems by applying simple, adaptive, context-specific "rules of thumb." The heuristics that were consistent with vervet paths in this study are the same as some of those asserted to be used by humans. These spatial movement strategies may have common evolutionary roots and be part of a universal mental navigational toolkit. Alternatively, they may have emerged through convergent evolution as the optimal way to solve multidestination routing problems.

  1. A Short Take on: Teaching Strategies for Workplace Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Desai, Raj

    2006-01-01

    The American workplace needs a workforce competent in a trade area and proficient in communication skills, group interaction skills, computer skills, and critical thinking skills. Many may argue that it is not possible to teach a technician all these skills in just two years--hence the need for new teaching strategies. Thus, in this article, the…

  2. Climate change mitigation strategies in fast-growing countries: The benefits of early action

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bosetti, Valentina; Carraro, Carlo; Tavoni, Massimo

    2009-01-01

    This paper builds on the assumption that OECD countries are (or will soon be) taking actions to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. These actions, however, will not be sufficient to control global warming, unless developing countries also get involved in the cooperative effort to reduce GHG emissions. The paper investigates the best short-term strategies that emerging economies can adopt in reacting to OECD countries' mitigation effort, given the common long-term goal to prevent excessive warming without hampering economic growth. Results indicate that developing countries would incur substantial economic losses by following a myopic strategy that disregards climate in the short-run, and that their optimal investment behaviour is to anticipate the implementation of a climate policy by roughly 10 years. Investing in innovation ahead of time is also found to be advantageous. The degree of policy anticipation is shown to be important in determining the financial transfers of an international carbon market meant to provide incentives for the participation of developing countries. This is especially relevant for China, whose recent and foreseeable trends of investments in innovation are consistent with the adoption of domestic emission reduction obligations in 2030.

  3. Oncological strategies for locally advanced rectal cancer with synchronous liver metastases, interval strategy versus rectum first strategy: a comparison of short-term outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salvador-Rosés, H; López-Ben, S; Casellas-Robert, M; Planellas, P; Gómez-Romeu, N; Farrés, R; Ramos, E; Codina-Cazador, A; Figueras, J

    2017-12-22

    The goal of treatment for patients with synchronous liver metastases (SLM) from rectal cancer is to achieve a complete resection of both tumor locations. For patients with symptomatic locally advanced rectal cancer with resectable SLM at diagnosis, our usual strategy has been the rectum first approach (RF). However, since 2014, we advocate for the interval approach (IS) that involves the administration of chemo-radiotherapy followed by the resection of the SLM in the interval of time between rectal cancer radiation and rectal surgery. From 2010 to 2016, 16 patients were treated according to this new strategy and 19 were treated according RF strategy. Data were collected prospectively and analyzed with an intention-to-treat perspective. Complete resection rate, duration of the treatment and morbi-mortality were the main outcomes. The complete resection rate in the IS was higher (100%, n = 16) compared to the RF (74%, n = 14, p = 0.049) and the duration of the strategy was shorter (6 vs. 9 months, respectively, p = 0.006). The incidence of severe complications after liver surgery was 14% (n = 2) in the RF and 0% in the IS (p = 1.000), and after rectal surgery was 24% (n = 4) and 12% (n = 2), respectively (p = 1.000). The IS is a feasible and safe strategy that procures higher level of complete resection rate in a shorter period of time compared to RF strategy.

  4. Consistent evolution in a pedestrian flow

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guan, Junbiao; Wang, Kaihua

    2016-03-01

    In this paper, pedestrian evacuation considering different human behaviors is studied by using a cellular automaton (CA) model combined with the snowdrift game theory. The evacuees are divided into two types, i.e. cooperators and defectors, and two different human behaviors, herding behavior and independent behavior, are investigated. It is found from a large amount of numerical simulations that the ratios of the corresponding evacuee clusters are evolved to consistent states despite 11 typically different initial conditions, which may largely owe to self-organization effect. Moreover, an appropriate proportion of initial defectors who are of herding behavior, coupled with an appropriate proportion of initial defectors who are of rationally independent thinking, are two necessary factors for short evacuation time.

  5. Height among Women is Curvilinearly Related to Life History Strategy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abraham P. Buunk

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available It was hypothesized that women of medium height would show a more secure, long-term mating pattern characterized by less jealousy, less intrasexual competition and a “slower” life history strategy. In three samples of female undergraduate students clear support was found for these hypotheses. In Study 1, among 120 participants, height was curvilinearly related to well-established measures of possessive and reactive jealousy, with women of medium height being less jealous than tall as well as short women. In Study 2, among 40 participants, height was curvilinearly related to intrasexual competition, with women of medium height being less competitive towards other women than tall as well as short women. In Study 3, among 299 participants, height was curvilinearly related to the Mini-K, a well-validated measure of “slower” life history strategy, with women of medium height having a slower life history strategy than tall as well as short women. The results suggest that women of medium height tend to follow a different mating strategy than either tall or short women. Various explanations and implications of these results are discussed.

  6. On robust multi-period pre-commitment and time-consistent mean-variance portfolio optimization

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    F. Cong (Fei); C.W. Oosterlee (Kees)

    2017-01-01

    textabstractWe consider robust pre-commitment and time-consistent mean-variance optimal asset allocation strategies, that are required to perform well also in a worst-case scenario regarding the development of the asset price. We show that worst-case scenarios for both strategies can be found by

  7. Thermodynamically Consistent Algorithms for the Solution of Phase-Field Models

    KAUST Repository

    Vignal, Philippe

    2016-01-01

    of thermodynamically consistent algorithms for time integration of phase-field models. The first part of this thesis focuses on an energy-stable numerical strategy developed for the phase-field crystal equation. This model was put forward to model microstructure

  8. Differential reproductive responses to stress reveal the role of life-history strategies within a species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schultner, J; Kitaysky, A S; Gabrielsen, G W; Hatch, S A; Bech, C

    2013-11-22

    Life-history strategies describe that 'slow'- in contrast to 'fast'-living species allocate resources cautiously towards reproduction to enhance survival. Recent evidence suggests that variation in strategies exists not only among species but also among populations of the same species. Here, we examined the effect of experimentally induced stress on resource allocation of breeding seabirds in two populations with contrasting life-history strategies: slow-living Pacific and fast-living Atlantic black-legged kittiwakes. We tested the hypothesis that reproductive responses in kittiwakes under stress reflect their life-history strategies. We predicted that in response to stress, Pacific kittiwakes reduce investment in reproduction compared with Atlantic kittiwakes. We exposed chick-rearing kittiwakes to a short-term (3-day) period of increased exogenous corticosterone (CORT), a hormone that is released during food shortages. We examined changes in baseline CORT levels, parental care and effects on offspring. We found that kittiwakes from the two populations invested differently in offspring when facing stress. In response to elevated CORT, Pacific kittiwakes reduced nest attendance and deserted offspring more readily than Atlantic kittiwakes. We observed lower chick growth, a higher stress response in offspring and lower reproductive success in response to CORT implantation in Pacific kittiwakes, whereas the opposite occurred in the Atlantic. Our findings support the hypothesis that life-history strategies predict short-term responses of individuals to stress within a species. We conclude that behaviour and physiology under stress are consistent with trade-off priorities as predicted by life-history theory. We encourage future studies to consider the pivotal role of life-history strategies when interpreting inter-population differences of animal responses to stressful environmental events.

  9. Thin film surface processing by UltraShort Laser Pulses (USLP)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Scorticati, D.; Skolski, J.Z.P.; Römer, G.R.B.E.; Huis in 't Veld, A.J.; Workum, M.; Theelen, M.J.; Zeman, M.

    2012-01-01

    In this work, we studied the feasibility of surface texturing of thin molybdenum layers on a borosilicate glass substrate with Ultra-Short Laser Pulses (USLP). Large areas of regular diffraction gratings were produced consisting of Laserinduced periodic surface structures (LIPSS). A short pulsed

  10. Short-term memory coding in children with intellectual disabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henry, Lucy

    2008-05-01

    To examine visual and verbal coding strategies, I asked children with intellectual disabilities and peers matched for MA and CA to perform picture memory span tasks with phonologically similar, visually similar, long, or nonsimilar named items. The CA group showed effects consistent with advanced verbal memory coding (phonological similarity and word length effects). Neither the intellectual disabilities nor MA groups showed evidence for memory coding strategies. However, children in these groups with MAs above 6 years showed significant visual similarity and word length effects, broadly consistent with an intermediate stage of dual visual and verbal coding. These results suggest that developmental progressions in memory coding strategies are independent of intellectual disabilities status and consistent with MA.

  11. Narcissism and the Strategic Pursuit of Short-Term Mating

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schmitt, David P.; Alcalay, Lidia; Allik, Jüri

    2017-01-01

    Previous studies have documented links between sub-clinical narcissism and the active pursuit of short-term mating strategies (e.g., unrestricted sociosexuality, marital infidelity, mate poaching). Nearly all of these investigations have relied solely on samples from Western cultures. In the curr...... limitations of these cross-culturally universal findings and presents suggestions for future research into revealing the precise psychological features of narcissism that facilitate the strategic pursuit of short-term mating....

  12. Dynamical Detection of Topological Phase Transitions in Short-Lived Atomic Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Setiawan, F.; Sengupta, K.; Spielman, I. B.; Sau, Jay D.

    2015-11-01

    We demonstrate that dynamical probes provide direct means of detecting the topological phase transition (TPT) between conventional and topological phases, which would otherwise be difficult to access because of loss or heating processes. We propose to avoid such heating by rapidly quenching in and out of the short-lived topological phase across the transition that supports gapless excitations. Following the quench, the distribution of excitations in the final conventional phase carries signatures of the TPT. We apply this strategy to study the TPT into a Majorana-carrying topological phase predicted in one-dimensional spin-orbit-coupled Fermi gases with attractive interactions. The resulting spin-resolved momentum distribution, computed by self-consistently solving the time-dependent Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations, exhibits Kibble-Zurek scaling and Stückelberg oscillations characteristic of the TPT. We discuss parameter regimes where the TPT is experimentally accessible.

  13. A New Strategy for Mitigating Climate Change

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kaya, Y.; Akimoto, K./ Oda, J.

    2007-07-01

    This paper proposes a new strategy for mitigating climate change, both in short term and in long term. The basic character of the strategy is action oriented with multi-country collaboration, while the Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) and Kyoto protocol is numerical target oriented within United Nation Framework. The introductory part of the paper briefly describes deficits of FCCC and Kyoto protocol and the needs of a different strategy for mitigating climate change. Then the short term strategy is focused on energy conservation and its effectiveness for mitigating climate change is illustrated by estimating the potential of reducing CO{sub 2} emission when intense collaboration is achieved for distributing main energy conservation measures in power generation and key industries among Asia Pacific Partnership countries. The long term strategy is developing novel types of renewables among countries. Geoheat and space solar power systems (SSPS) are candidates which may be developed among major developed countries. Necessity of international collaboration is stressed for R and D of these candidate renewables. (auth)

  14. Enhancing condom use experiences among young men to improve correct and consistent condom use: feasibility of a home-based intervention strategy (HIS-UK).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stone, Nicole; Graham, Cynthia; Anstee, Sydney; Brown, Katherine; Newby, Katie; Ingham, Roger

    2018-01-01

    Condoms remain the main protection against sexually transmitted infections (STIs) when used correctly and consistently. Yet, there are many reported barriers to their use such as negative attitudes, reduced sexual pleasure, fit-and-feel problems and erection difficulties. The UK home-based intervention strategy (HIS-UK) is a behaviour change condom promotion intervention for use among young men (aged 16-25 years) designed to increase condom use by enhancing enjoyment of condom-protected intercourse. The objective of this feasibility study was to test HIS-UK for viability, operability and acceptability. Along with an assessment of the recruitment strategy and adherence to the intervention protocol, the study tested the reliability and suitability of a series of behavioural and condom use outcome measures to assess condom use attitudes, motivations, self-efficacy, use experience, errors and problems and fit and feel. The HIS-UK intervention and associated assessment instruments were tested for feasibility using a single-arm, repeated measures design with baseline measurement and two follow-up measurements over 3 months. A 3-month target of 50 young men completing the baseline questionnaire was set. Twenty process and acceptability evaluation interviews with participants and health promotion professionals were conducted post trial. Of the 61 young men who registered for the study, 57 completed the baseline questionnaire and 33 met with the study researcher to receive the HIS-UK condom kit. Twenty-one young men remained for the duration of the study (64% retention). The Cronbach's alpha scores for the condom use outcome measures were 0.84 attitudes, 0.78 self-efficacy, 0.83 use experience, 0.69 errors and problems and 0.75 fit and feel. Participant and health professional feedback indicated strong acceptability of the intervention. The feasibility study demonstrated that our recruitment strategy was appropriate and the target sample size was achieved. Adherence was

  15. Studi Meta Analisa: Strategi Rehearsal Dan Memori Jangka Pendek

    OpenAIRE

    Suparmi, Suparmi

    2010-01-01

    This article is a study meta analysis of the experimental literature that has examined the effect of rehearsal strategy to improve short-term memory. It reviewed 59 studies from 13 journals. The population are 1341 people with down syndrome and children with specifict language impairmen, who included in special school and mainstream school, and 3487 students and graduated students. The meta analysis shows that strategy rehearsal have moderate impact on short-term memory on individu with...

  16. Listening strategies instruction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nogueroles López, Marta

    2017-01-01

    , who presented similar level of Spanish, needs, educational and cultural background, but did not receive such a training. The listening strategies instruction consisted in integrating the development of listening strategies into a regular course of Spanish as a foreign language. Data referring...

  17. A metabolomics strategy to assess the combined toxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Feidi; Zhang, Haijun; Geng, Ningbo; Ren, Xiaoqian; Zhang, Baoqin; Gong, Yufeng; Chen, Jiping

    2018-03-01

    The combined toxicity of mixed chemicals is usually evaluated according to several specific endpoints, and other potentially toxic effects are disregarded. In this study, we provided a metabolomics strategy to achieve a comprehensive understanding of toxicological interactions between mixed chemicals on metabolism. The metabolic changes were quantified by a pseudotargeted analysis, and the types of combined effects were quantitatively discriminated according to the calculation of metabolic effect level index (MELI). The metabolomics strategy was used to assess the combined effects of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) on the metabolism of human hepatoma HepG2 cells. Our data suggested that exposure to a combination of PAHs and SCCPs at human internal exposure levels could result in an additive effect on the overall metabolism, whereas diverse joint effects were observed on various metabolic pathways. The combined exposure could induce a synergistic up-regulation of phospholipid metabolism, an additive up-regulation of fatty acid metabolism, an additive down-regulation of tricarboxylic acid cycle and glycolysis, and an antagonistic effect on purine metabolism. SCCPs in the mixture acted as the primary driver for the acceleration of phospholipid and fatty acid metabolism. Lipid metabolism disorder caused by exposure to a combination of PAHs and SCCPs should be an important concern for human health. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Short Horizon Control Strategies for an Alternating Activated Sludge Process

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Isaacs, Steven Howard

    1996-01-01

    Three control strategies allowing improved operational flexibility of an alternating type activated sludge process are presented in a unified model based framework. The control handles employed are the addition rate of an external carbon source to denitrification, the cycle length, and the dissol...

  19. Validation of the Short Form of the Academic Procrastination Scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yockey, Ronald D

    2016-02-01

    The factor structure, internal consistency reliability, and convergent validity of the five-item Academic Procrastination Scale-Short Form was investigated on an ethnically diverse sample of college students. The results provided support for the Academic Procrastination Scale-Short Form as a unidimensional measure of academic procrastination, which possessed good internal consistency reliability in this sample of 282 students. The scale also demonstrated good convergent validity, with moderate to large correlations with both the Procrastination Assessment Scale-Students and the Tuckman Procrastination Scale. Implications of the results are discussed and recommendations for future work provided.

  20. Metabolic changes in the normal ageing brain: Consistent findings from short and long echo time proton spectroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gruber, S.; Pinker, K.; Riederer, F.; Chmelik, M.; Stadlbauer, A.; Bittsansky, M.; Mlynarik, V.; Frey, R.; Serles, W.; Bodamer, O.; Moser, E.

    2008-01-01

    Objectives: Sixty three healthy subjects were measured to assess dependence of brain metabolites on age using short- and long echo time spectroscopy in different brain regions. Material and methods: Younger and elderly humans were measured with long echo time (TE = 135 ms) 3D-MR-spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) (10 subjects) and with ultra-short echo (TE = 11 ms) time 2D-MRSI (7 subjects). In addition, results from single voxel 1 H-spectroscopy (TE = 20 ms) of two cohorts of 46 healthy subjects were retrospectively correlated with age. Results: 3D-MR SI revealed reduced NAA/Cr in the older group in the frontal lobe (-22%; p < 0.01), parietal lobe (-28%; p < 0.01) and semiovale (-9%; p < 0.01) compared to the younger group. Cho/Cr was elevated in the semiovale (+35%; p < 0.01) and in the n. lentiformis (+42%; p < 0.01) in the older group. NAA/Cho was reduced in all regions measured, except the thalamus, in the older group compared to the younger group (from -21 to -49%; p < 0.01). 2D-MRSI revealed decreased total NAA (-3.1% per decade; p < 0.01) and NAA/Cr (-3.8% per decade; p < 0.01), increased total Cho (+3.6% per decade; p < 0.01) and Cho/Cr (+4.6% per decade; p < 0.01) and increased total myo-Inositol (mI, +4.7% per decade; p < 0.01) and mI/Cr (+5.4% per decade; p < 0.01) and decreased NAA/Cho (-8% per decade; p < 0.01) in semiovale WM. Results from single voxel spectroscopy revealed a significantly negative correlation of NAA/Cho in frontal (-13% per decade; p < 0.01) and in temporal lobe (-7.4% per decade; p < 0.01) as well as increased total Cr (10% per decade; p < 0.01) in frontal lobe. Other results from single voxel measurements were not significant, but trends were comparable to that from multivoxel spectroscopy. Conclusion: Age-related changes measured with long echo time and short echo time 1H-MRS were comparable and cannot, therefore, be caused by different T2 relaxation times in young and old subjects, as suggested previously

  1. Defense transuranic waste program strategy document

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1982-07-01

    This document summarizes the strategy for managing transuranic (TRU) wastes generated in defense and research activities regulated by the US Department of Energy. It supercedes a document issued in July 1980. In addition to showing how current strategies of the Defense Transuranic Waste Program (DTWP) are consistent with the national objective of isolating radioactive wastes from the biosphere, this document includes information about the activities of the Transuranic Lead Organization (TLO). To explain how the DTWP strategy is implemented, this document also discusses how the TLO coordinates and integrates the six separate elements of the DTWP: (1) Waste Generation Site Activities, (2) Storage Site Activities, (3) Burial Site Activities, (4) Technology Development, (5) Transportation Development, and (6) Permanent Disposal. Storage practices for TRU wastes do not pose short-term hazards to public health and safety or to the environment. Isolation of TRU wastes in a deep-mined geologic repository is considered the most promising of the waste disposal alternatives available. This assessment is supported by the DOE Record of Decision to proceed with research and development work at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in southeastern New Mexico - a deep-mined geologic research and development project. In support of the WIPP research project and the permanent disposal of TRU waste, the DTWP strategy for the near term will concentrate on completion of procedures and the design and construction of all facilities necessary to certify newly-generated (NG) and stored TRU wastes for emplacement in the WIPP. In addition, the strategy involves evaluating alternatives for disposing of some transuranic wastes by methods which may allow for on-site disposal of these wastes and yet preserve adequate margins of safety to protect public health and the environment

  2. CRYOPRESERVATION STRATEGY FOR TISSUE ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTS CONSISTING OF HUMAN MESENHYMAL STEM CELLS AND HYDROGEL BIOMATERIALS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Y; Wen, F; Gouk, S S; Lee, E H; Kuleshova, L

    2015-01-01

    The development of vitrification strategy for cell-biomaterial constructs, particularly biologically inspired nanoscale materials and hydrogels mimicking the in vivo environment is an active area. A cryopreservation strategy mimicking the in vivo environment for cell-hydrogel constructs may enhance cell proliferation and biological function. To demonstrate the efficacy of vitrification as a platform technology involving tissue engineering and human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). Microcarriers made from alginate coated with chitosan and collagen are used. Conventional freezing and vitrification were compared. The vitrification strategy includes 10 min step-wise exposure to a vitrification solution (40% v/v EG, 0.6M sucrose) and immersion into liquid nitrogen. Confocal imaging of live/dead staining of hMSCs cultured on the surface of microcarriers demonstrated that vitrified cells had excellent appearance and prolonged spindle shape morphology. The proliferation ability of post-vitrified cells arbitrated to protein Ki-67 gene expression was not significantly different in comparison to untreated control, while that of post-freezing cells was almost lost. The ability of hMSCs cultured on the surface of microcarriers to proliferate has been not affected by vitrification and it was significantly better after vitrification than after conventional freezing during continuous culture. Collagen II related mRNA expression by 4 weeks post-vitrification and post-freezing showed that ability to differentiate into cartilage was sustained during vitrification and reduced during conventional freezing. No significant difference was found between control and vitrification groups only. Vitrification strategy coupled with advances in hMSC-expansion platform that completely preserves the ability of stem cells to proliferate and subsequently differentiate allows not only to reach a critical cell number, but also demonstrate prospects for effective utilization and transportation of cells

  3. Editorial: Sales Strategy (2010

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chris McPhee

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available The editorial theme for this issue of the OSBR is Sales Strategy. While "marketing" is everything a company does to build interest in its offers, "sales" consists of converting these offers into cash. By "sales strategy," we refer to all sales planning and process development activities leading up to the actual selling of a product or service. In his recent blog post at MaRS Discovery District, Mark Zimmerman answered a question he is frequently asked by the founders of startups: "How do we find a good sales person?" In short, his answer is "Don't." This is not meant as a slight to sales professionals, but rather, Zimmerman is advocating that companies should not equate having sales professionals to having a sales strategy. Sales professionals have a critical role to play in a company's success, but they are being given an impossible task if asked to sell something that has not been validated with customers. Zimmerman explains that sales professionals should be hired only once a company has validated that the value proposition resonates with customers and that the sales model will be effective. This lesson also applies to established companies, where existing sales staff require this same foundation to be effective. So how does a company determine whether its value proposition resonates with customers? The answer, of course, is to talk to customers. In the OSBR and elsewhere, the need for early customer input is a dominant theme in recent discussions of product development, marketing, and now sales strategy. By talking to customers, listening to how they describe their needs, and interpreting how their needs could be met, a value proposition can tested and refined. It is far more efficient and effective to iteratively refine a value proposition before attempting to sell than to attempt a salvage operation in response to slumping sales. Customer input is also a critical ingredient in developing an effective sales strategy. In this issue of the

  4. WHEN BUSINESS STRATEGY MEETS CREATIVITY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sorin-George TOMA

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Purpose – Our paper aims to present in short the theoretical foundation of the concepts of business strategy and creativity, and to highlight the relationship between them. Design/methodology/approach – Using the literature review, the study examined the conceptual framework of the notions of strategy, business strategy, and creativity. Also, it analysed the relationship between business strategy and creativity. Findings – The results confirm previous studies related to the beneficial impact of creativity on the business strategy of a company. As creativity has become an important input for a successful business strategy, companies are making significant efforts in order to bring creativity into play. Practical implications/originality/value – Business strategy and creativity are two interconnected concepts not only in theory, but also in practice. Also, creativity represents a fundamental asset of a successful company in turbulent times.

  5. Computationally derived points of fragility of a human cascade are consistent with current therapeutic strategies.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Deyan Luan

    2007-07-01

    Full Text Available The role that mechanistic mathematical modeling and systems biology will play in molecular medicine and clinical development remains uncertain. In this study, mathematical modeling and sensitivity analysis were used to explore the working hypothesis that mechanistic models of human cascades, despite model uncertainty, can be computationally screened for points of fragility, and that these sensitive mechanisms could serve as therapeutic targets. We tested our working hypothesis by screening a model of the well-studied coagulation cascade, developed and validated from literature. The predicted sensitive mechanisms were then compared with the treatment literature. The model, composed of 92 proteins and 148 protein-protein interactions, was validated using 21 published datasets generated from two different quiescent in vitro coagulation models. Simulated platelet activation and thrombin generation profiles in the presence and absence of natural anticoagulants were consistent with measured values, with a mean correlation of 0.87 across all trials. Overall state sensitivity coefficients, which measure the robustness or fragility of a given mechanism, were calculated using a Monte Carlo strategy. In the absence of anticoagulants, fluid and surface phase factor X/activated factor X (fX/FXa activity and thrombin-mediated platelet activation were found to be fragile, while fIX/FIXa and fVIII/FVIIIa activation and activity were robust. Both anti-fX/FXa and direct thrombin inhibitors are important classes of anticoagulants; for example, anti-fX/FXa inhibitors have FDA approval for the prevention of venous thromboembolism following surgical intervention and as an initial treatment for deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. Both in vitro and in vivo experimental evidence is reviewed supporting the prediction that fIX/FIXa activity is robust. When taken together, these results support our working hypothesis that computationally derived points of

  6. Positive Pacing Strategies Are Utilized by Elite Male and Female Para-cyclists in Short Time Trials in the Velodrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wright, Rachel L

    2015-01-01

    In para-cycling, competitors are classed based on functional impairment resulting in cyclists with neurological and locomotor impairments competing against each other. In Paralympic competition, classes are combined by using a factoring adjustment to race times to produce the overall medallists. Pacing in short-duration track cycling events is proposed to utilize an "all-out" strategy in able-bodied competition. However, pacing in para-cycling may vary depending on the level of impairment. Analysis of the pacing strategies employed by different classification groups may offer scope for optimal performance; therefore, this study investigated the pacing strategy adopted during the 1-km time trial (TT) and 500-m TT in elite C1 to C3 para-cyclists and able-bodied cyclists. Total times and intermediate split times (125-m intervals; measured to 0.001 s) were obtained from the C1-C3 men's 1-km TT (n = 28) and women's 500-m TT (n = 9) from the 2012 Paralympic Games and the men's 1-km TT (n = 19) and women's 500-m TT (n = 12) from the 2013 UCI World Track Championships from publically available video. Split times were expressed as actual time, factored time (for the para-cyclists) and as a percentage of total time. A two-way analysis of variance was used to investigate differences in split times between the different classifications and the able-bodied cyclists in the men's 1-km TT and between the para-cyclists and able-bodied cyclists in the women's 500-m TT. The importance of position at the first split was investigated with Kendall's Tau-b correlation. The first 125-m split time was the slowest for all cyclists, representing the acceleration phase from a standing start. C2 cyclists were slowest at this 125-m split, probably due to a combination of remaining seated in this acceleration phase and a high proportion of cyclists in this group being trans-femoral amputees. Not all cyclists used aero-bars, preferring to use drop, flat or bullhorn handlebars. Split times

  7. Positive pacing strategies are utilised by elite male and female para-cyclists in short time trials in the velodrome

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rachel Lindsey Wright

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available In para-cycling, competitors are classed based on functional impairment resulting in cyclists with neurological and locomotor impairments competing against each other. In Paralympic competition, classes are combined by using a factoring adjustment to race times to produce the overall medallists. Pacing in short-duration track cycling events is proposed to utilise an all-out strategy in able-bodied competition. However, pacing in para-cycling may vary depending on the level of impairment. Analysis of the pacing strategies employed by different classification groups may offer scope for optimal performance; therefore, this study investigated the pacing strategy adopted during the 1-km time trial (TT and 500-m TT in elite C1 to C3 para-cyclists and able-bodied cyclists. Total times and intermediate split times (125-m intervals; measured to 0.001s were obtained from the C1-C3 men’s 1-km TT (n=28 and women’s 500-m TT (n=9 from the 2012 Paralympic Games and the men’s 1-km TT (n=19 and women’s 500-m TT (n=12 from the 2013 UCI World Track Championships from publically available video. Split times were expressed as actual time, factored time (for the para-cyclists and as a percentage of total time. A two-way analysis of variance was used to investigate differences in split times between the different classifications and the able-bodied cyclists in the men’s 1-km TT and between the para-cyclists and able-bodied cyclists in the women’s 500-m TT. The importance of position at the first split was investigated with Kendall’s Tau-b correlation. The first 125-m split time was the slowest for all cyclists, representing the acceleration phase from a standing start. C2 cyclists were slowest at this 125-m split, probably due to a combination of remaining seated in this acceleration phase and a high proportion of cyclists in this group being trans-femoral amputees. Not all cyclists used aero-bars, preferring to use drop, flat or bullhorn handlebars

  8. Mitigating action strategies in radiological emergencies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carrillo, D.

    1984-08-01

    On the basis of an assumed reactor accident, the report deals with the evaluation of the emergency response effectiveness obtained under several response strategies. The selected strategies consider sheltering, evacuation and short-term relocation (24 h) separately and in combination. The selected strategies give rise to different biological radiation effects. These effects are used as comparative parameters in the evaluation of the response effectiveness. The biological radiation effects have been calculated by means of the consequence assessment program CRAC 2

  9. Is There a Future for Education Consistent with Agenda 21?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smyth, John

    1999-01-01

    Discusses recent experiences in developing and implementing strategies for education consistent with the concept of sustainable development at two different levels: (1) the international level characterized by Agenda 21 along with the efforts of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development to foster its progress; and (2) the national…

  10. Short-term and long-term strategies for NPP KRSKO radwaste management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fink, K.; Tankosic, D.; Feizullahi, F.

    1990-01-01

    All radioactive waste generated by the Nuklearna Elektrana Krsko (NEK) has been stored in a temporary storage building located at the site. In 1987, the plant owner embarked upon a program to develop and operate a low-level repository for permanent disposal of NEK waste by 1992. However, due to institutional and political considerations the schedule for the repository program has been substantially delayed. As a result, the plant owner has developed new strategies for the plant systems modifications as needed to cope with the shortage of the much needed storage and disposal space. This paper contains a presentation of these strategies and summarized the process which was used to develop them. 2 figs

  11. Consistent Partial Least Squares Path Modeling via Regularization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jung, Sunho; Park, JaeHong

    2018-01-01

    Partial least squares (PLS) path modeling is a component-based structural equation modeling that has been adopted in social and psychological research due to its data-analytic capability and flexibility. A recent methodological advance is consistent PLS (PLSc), designed to produce consistent estimates of path coefficients in structural models involving common factors. In practice, however, PLSc may frequently encounter multicollinearity in part because it takes a strategy of estimating path coefficients based on consistent correlations among independent latent variables. PLSc has yet no remedy for this multicollinearity problem, which can cause loss of statistical power and accuracy in parameter estimation. Thus, a ridge type of regularization is incorporated into PLSc, creating a new technique called regularized PLSc. A comprehensive simulation study is conducted to evaluate the performance of regularized PLSc as compared to its non-regularized counterpart in terms of power and accuracy. The results show that our regularized PLSc is recommended for use when serious multicollinearity is present.

  12. Consistent Partial Least Squares Path Modeling via Regularization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sunho Jung

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Partial least squares (PLS path modeling is a component-based structural equation modeling that has been adopted in social and psychological research due to its data-analytic capability and flexibility. A recent methodological advance is consistent PLS (PLSc, designed to produce consistent estimates of path coefficients in structural models involving common factors. In practice, however, PLSc may frequently encounter multicollinearity in part because it takes a strategy of estimating path coefficients based on consistent correlations among independent latent variables. PLSc has yet no remedy for this multicollinearity problem, which can cause loss of statistical power and accuracy in parameter estimation. Thus, a ridge type of regularization is incorporated into PLSc, creating a new technique called regularized PLSc. A comprehensive simulation study is conducted to evaluate the performance of regularized PLSc as compared to its non-regularized counterpart in terms of power and accuracy. The results show that our regularized PLSc is recommended for use when serious multicollinearity is present.

  13. Analysis of human resources for health strategies and policies in 5 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, in response to GFATM and PEPFAR-funded HIV-activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cailhol, Johann; Craveiro, Isabel; Madede, Tavares; Makoa, Elsie; Mathole, Thubelihle; Parsons, Ann Neo; Van Leemput, Luc; Biesma, Regien; Brugha, Ruairi; Chilundo, Baltazar; Lehmann, Uta; Dussault, Gilles; Van Damme, Wim; Sanders, David

    2013-10-25

    Global Health Initiatives (GHIs), aiming at reducing the impact of specific diseases such as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), have flourished since 2000. Amongst these, PEPFAR and GFATM have provided a substantial amount of funding to countries affected by HIV, predominantly for delivery of antiretroviral therapy (ARV) and prevention strategies. Since the need for additional human resources for health (HRH) was not initially considered by GHIs, countries, to allow ARV scale-up, implemented short-term HRH strategies, adapted to GHI-funding conditionality. Such strategies differed from one country to another and slowly evolved to long-term HRH policies. The processes and content of HRH policy shifts in 5 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa were examined. A multi-country study was conducted from 2007 to 2011 in 5 countries (Angola, Burundi, Lesotho, Mozambique and South Africa), to assess the impact of GHIs on the health system, using a mixed methods design. This paper focuses on the impact of GFATM and PEPFAR on HRH policies. Qualitative data consisted of semi-structured interviews undertaken at national and sub-national levels and analysis of secondary data from national reports. Data were analysed in order to extract countries' responses to HRH challenges posed by implementation of HIV-related activities. Common themes across the 5 countries were selected and compared in light of each country context. In all countries successful ARV roll-out was observed, despite HRH shortages. This was a result of mostly short-term emergency response by GHI-funded Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and to a lesser extent by governments, consisting of using and increasing available HRH for HIV tasks. As challenges and limits of short-term HRH strategies were revealed and HIV became a chronic disease, the 5 countries slowly implemented mid to long-term HRH strategies, such as formalisation of pilot initiatives, increase in HRH production and mitigation of internal migration of HRH

  14. Portfolio as a learning strategy and a tool for assessment - a Danish experience

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mogensen, Arne

    A short presentation of some Danish expereriences using portfolio in maths teaching in primary and lower secondary schools as a learning strategy AND a tool for assessment.......A short presentation of some Danish expereriences using portfolio in maths teaching in primary and lower secondary schools as a learning strategy AND a tool for assessment....

  15. Merajut Strategi dan “Merubahnya” Menjadi Aksi (Kajian Buku : “Strategy Maps” oleh Kaplan & Norton, dan Crafting And Executing Strategy oleh Thompson & Strickland)

    OpenAIRE

    Rizal Rivai, Alimuddin

    2006-01-01

    Strategies are important for an organization. Basic framework in the study of management strategy is that the strategy is built base on the right and proper organization's situation and condition. However, empirically, it is failvery often in the implementation. That's why the execution strategy level requires the correct socialized, structured, and systematically process which is done in the right time. The strategy will be useful for a company if it isexecuted consistently by all management...

  16. Extending ultra-short pulse laser texturing over large area

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mincuzzi, G., E-mail: girolamo.mincuzzi@alphanov.com; Gemini, L.; Faucon, M.; Kling, R.

    2016-11-15

    Highlights: • We carried out metal surface texturing (Ripples, micro grooves, Spikes) using a high power, high repetition rate, industrial, Ultra-short pulses laser. • Extremely Fast processing is shown (Laser Scan speed as high as 90 m/s) with a polygon scanner head. • Stainless steel surface blackening with Ultra-short pulses laser has been obtained with unprecedented scanspeed. • Full SEM surface characterization was carried out for all the different structures obtained. • Reflectance measurements were carried out to characterize surface reflectance. - Abstract: Surface texturing by Ultra-Short Pulses Laser (UPL) for industrial applications passes through the use of both fast beam scanning systems and high repetition rate, high average power P, UPL. Nevertheless unwanted thermal effects are expected when P exceeds some tens of W. An interesting strategy for a reliable heat management would consists in texturing with a low fluence values (slightly higher than the ablation threshold) and utilising a Polygon Scanner Heads delivering laser pulses with unrepeated speed. Here we show for the first time that with relatively low fluence it is possible over stainless steel, to obtain surface texturing by utilising a 2 MHz femtosecond laser jointly with a polygonal scanner head in a relatively low fluence regime (0.11 J cm{sup −2}). Different surface textures (Ripples, micro grooves and spikes) can be obtained varying the scan speed from 90 m s{sup −1} to 25 m s{sup −1}. In particular, spikes formation process has been shown and optimised at 25 m s{sup −1} and a full morphology characterization by SEM has been carried out. Reflectance measurements with integrating sphere are presented to compare reference surface with high scan rate textures. In the best case we show a black surface with reflectance value < 5%.

  17. Strategi, Planlægning, Multikriterier

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Lene; Vidal, Rene Victor Valqui; Borges, Pedro Manuel F. C.

    1998-01-01

    The paper introduces concepts and methodologies for strategy development and planning in organisations. Soft Operational Research methodologies and multi-criteria decision making is the main methodological focus. Short case studies give examples on how these methodologies support practical real...

  18. Short-range correlations in quark and nuclear matter

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Froemel, Frank

    2007-06-15

    In the first part of this thesis, the role of short-range correlations in quark matter is explored within the framework of the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model. Starting from a next-to-leading order expansion in the inverse number of the quark colors, a fully self-consistent model constructed that employs the close relations between spectral functions and self-energies. In contrast to the usual quasiparticle approximations, this approach allows the investigation of the collisional broadening of the quark spectral function. Numerical calculations at various chemical potentials and zero temperature show that the short-range correlations do not only induce a finite width of the spectral function but also have some influence on the structure of the chiral phase transition. In the second part of this thesis, the temperature and density dependence of the nucleon spectral function in symmetric nuclear matter is investigated. The short-range correlations can be well described by a simple, self-consistent model on the one-particle-two-hole and two-particle-one-hole level (1p2h, 2p1h). The thermodynamically consistent description of the mean-field properties of the nucleons is ensured by incorporating a Skyrme-type potential. Calculations at temperatures and densities that can also be found in heavy-ion collisions or supernova explosions and the formation of neutron stars show that the correlations saturate at high temperatures and densities. (orig.)

  19. Waste Management Strategy in The Netherlands. Part 3. Strategy Selection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haverkate, B.R.W.

    2003-01-01

    This report reflects the Dutch input prepared in the framework of work package 3 of the EU thematic network COMPAS, which dealt with the evaluation and comparison of waste management strategies in EU member states and their applicant countries. Based on three generic decision trees the current strategy as well as the reason(s) for the selected options regarding radioactive waste management in The Netherlands is extensively described in this report. The trees are represented in terms of (numbered) decision nodes. Each node is discussed in the context of the Dutch situation, with relevant potential outcomes being highlighted where possible. After a short introduction (chapter 1) followed by a brief waste management policy overview (chapter 2), this approach is considered, in chapter 3, for: spent nuclear fuel and high level waste; low and intermediate level waste; disposal strategy

  20. Assessment of Short Term Flood Operation Strategies Using Numerical Weather Prediction Data in YUVACΙK DAM Reservoir, Turkey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uysal, G.; Yavuz, O.; Sensoy, A.; Sorman, A.; Akgun, T.; Gezgin, T.

    2011-12-01

    Yuvacik Dam Reservoir Basin, located in the Marmara region of Turkey with 248 km2 drainage area, has steep topography, mild and rainy climate thus induces high flood potential with fast flow response, especially to early spring and fall precipitation events. Moreover, the basin provides considerable snowmelt contribution to the streamflow during melt season since the elevation ranges between 80 - 1548 m. The long term strategies are based on supplying annual demand of 142 hm3 water despite a relatively small reservoir capacity of 51 hm3. This situation makes short term release decisions as the challenging task regarding the constrained downstream safe channel capacity especially in times of floods. Providing the demand of 1.5 million populated city of Kocaeli is the highest priority issue in terms of reservoir management but risk optimization is also required due to flood regulation. Although, the spillway capacity is 1560 m3/s, the maximum amount of water to be released is set as 100 m3/s by the regional water authority taking into consideration the downstream channel capacity which passes through industrial region of the city. The reservoir is a controlled one and it is possible to hold back the 15 hm3 additional water by keeping the gates closed. Flood regulation is set to achieve the maximum possible flood attenuation by using the full flood-control zone capacity in the reservoir before making releases in excess of the downstream safe-channel capacity. However, the operators still need to exceed flood regulation zones to take precautions for drought summer periods in order to supply water without any shortage that increases the risk in times of flood. Regarding to this circumstances, a hydrological model integrated reservoir modeling system, is applied to account for the physical behavior of the system. Hence, this reservoir modeling is carried out to analyze both previous decisions and also the future scenarios as a decision support tool for operators. In the

  1. On the short distance behavior of string theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guida, R.; Konishi, K.; Provero, P.

    1991-01-01

    Short distance behavior of string theories is investigated by the use of the discretized path-integral formulation. In particular, the minimum physical length and the generalized uncertainty relation are re-derived from a set of Ward-Takahashi identities. In this paper several issues related to the form of the generalized uncertainty relation and to its implications are discussed. A consistent qualitative picture of short distance behavior of string theory seems to emerge from such a study

  2. Short- and long-range energy strategies for Japan and the world after the Fukushima nuclear accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Muraoka, K.; Wagner, F.; Yamagata, Y.; Donné, A.J.H.

    2016-01-01

    The accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station in 2011 has caused profound effects on energy policies in Japan and worldwide. This is particularly because it occurred at the time of the growing awareness of global warming forcing measures towards decarbonised energy production, namely the use of fossil fuels has to be drastically reduced from the present level of more than 80% by 2050. A dilemma has now emerged because nuclear power, a CO 2 -free technology with proven large-scale energy production capability, lost confidence in many societies, especially in Japan and Germany. As a consequence, there is a world-wide effort now to expand renewable energies (REs), specifically photo-voltaic (PV) and wind power. However, the authors conjecture that PV and wind power can provide only up to a 40% share of the electricity production as long as sufficient storage is not available. Beyond this level, the technological (high grid power) and economic problems (large surplus production) grow. This is the result of the analysis of the growing use of REs in the electricity systems for Germany and Japan. The key element to overcome this situation is to develop suitable energy storage technologies. This is particularly necessary when electricity will become the main energy source because also transportation, process heat and heating, will be supplied by it. Facing the difficulty in replacing all fossil fuels in all countries with different technology standards, a rapid development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) might also be necessary. Therefore, for the short-range strategy up to 2050, all meaningful options have to be developed. For the long-range strategy beyond 2050, new energy sources (such as thermonuclear fusion, solar fuels and nuclear power—if inherently safe concepts will gain credibility of societies again), and large-scale energy storage systems based on novel concepts (such as large-capacity batteries and hydrogen) is required. It is acknowledged

  3. Short- and long-range energy strategies for Japan and the world after the Fukushima nuclear accident

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muraoka, K.; Wagner, F.; Yamagata, Y.; Donné, A. J. H.

    2016-01-01

    The accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station in 2011 has caused profound effects on energy policies in Japan and worldwide. This is particularly because it occurred at the time of the growing awareness of global warming forcing measures towards decarbonised energy production, namely the use of fossil fuels has to be drastically reduced from the present level of more than 80% by 2050. A dilemma has now emerged because nuclear power, a CO2-free technology with proven large-scale energy production capability, lost confidence in many societies, especially in Japan and Germany. As a consequence, there is a world-wide effort now to expand renewable energies (REs), specifically photo-voltaic (PV) and wind power. However, the authors conjecture that PV and wind power can provide only up to a 40% share of the electricity production as long as sufficient storage is not available. Beyond this level, the technological (high grid power) and economic problems (large surplus production) grow. This is the result of the analysis of the growing use of REs in the electricity systems for Germany and Japan. The key element to overcome this situation is to develop suitable energy storage technologies. This is particularly necessary when electricity will become the main energy source because also transportation, process heat and heating, will be supplied by it. Facing the difficulty in replacing all fossil fuels in all countries with different technology standards, a rapid development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) might also be necessary. Therefore, for the short-range strategy up to 2050, all meaningful options have to be developed. For the long-range strategy beyond 2050, new energy sources (such as thermonuclear fusion, solar fuels and nuclear power—if inherently safe concepts will gain credibility of societies again), and large-scale energy storage systems based on novel concepts (such as large-capacity batteries and hydrogen) is required. It is acknowledged

  4. Implications of life-history strategies for obesity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maner, Jon K; Dittmann, Andrea; Meltzer, Andrea L; McNulty, James K

    2017-08-08

    The association between low socioeconomic status (SES) and obesity is well documented. In the current research, a life history theory (LHT) framework provided an explanation for this association. Derived from evolutionary behavioral science, LHT emphasizes how variability in exposure to unpredictability during childhood gives rise to individual differences in a range of social psychological processes across the life course. Consistent with previous LHT research, the current findings suggest that exposure to unpredictability during childhood (a characteristic common to low SES environments) is associated with the adoption of a fast life-history strategy, one marked by impulsivity and a focus on short-term goals. We demonstrate that a fast life-history strategy, in turn, was associated with dysregulated weight-management behaviors (i.e., eating even in the absence of hunger), which were predictive of having a high body mass index (BMI) and being obese. In both studies, findings held while controlling for participants' current socioeconomic status, suggesting that obesity is rooted in childhood experiences. A serial mediation model in study 2 confirmed that effects of childhood SES on adult BMI and obesity can be explained in part by exposure to unpredictability, the adoption of a fast life-history strategy, and dysregulated-eating behaviors. These findings suggest that weight problems in adulthood may be rooted partially in early childhood exposure to unpredictable events and environments. LHT provides a valuable explanatory framework for understanding the root causes of obesity.

  5. Big Five Traits Related to Short-Term Mating: From Personality to Promiscuity across 46 Nations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David P. Schmitt

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available As part of the International Sexuality Description Project, 13,243 participants from 46 nations responded to self-report measures of personality and mating behavior. Several traits showed consistent links with short-term mating. Extraversion positively correlated with interest in short-term mating, unrestricted sociosexuality, having engaged in short-term mate poaching attempts, having succumbed to short-term poaching attempts of others, and lacking relationship exclusivity. Low levels of agreeableness and conscientiousness also related to short-term mating, especially with extra-pair mating. Neuroticism and openness were associated with short-term mating as well, but these links were less consistent across sex and nation. Nation-level links between personality and sexuality replicated within-region findings, such as the strong association between national extraversion and national sociosexuality. Discussion focuses on the origins of personality-sexuality links and their implications across nations.

  6. Pro short-term procurement - U.S. utility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thompson, R.D.

    1990-01-01

    The author expresses the opinion that rather than focusing market discussions around short-term versus long-term procurement strategies, the parties need to be focusing on how long it is going to take to get to a predominantly market-based price both in uranium and enrichment. Long-term contracts are going to be around and will always be an important part of buyers' and sellers' strategies. It is evident that the annual term contract price renegotiations around the world are resulting in continually lower prices. When these price negotiations finally arrive in the range of the market price, a commodity market that resembles other energy commodity markets can be obtained

  7. Effects of Two Listening Strategies for Melodic Dictation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buonviri, Nathan O.

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this research was to examine effects of two listening strategies on melodic dictation scores. Fifty-four undergraduate music majors completed short tonal melodic dictations in a within-subjects design with three conditions: (a) no specified strategy in the instructions, (b) required listening before writing, and (c) required writing…

  8. Validating a Cantonese short version of the Zarit Burden Interview (CZBI-Short) for dementia caregivers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Jennifer Yee-Man; Ho, Andy Hau-Yan; Luo, Hao; Wong, Gloria Hoi-Yan; Lau, Bobo Hi-Po; Lum, Terry Yat-Sang; Cheung, Karen Siu-Lan

    2016-09-01

    The present study aimed to develop and validate a Cantonese short version of the Zarit Burden Interview (CZBI-Short) for Hong Kong Chinese dementia caregivers. The 12-item Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) was translated into spoken Cantonese and back-translated by two bilingual research assistants and face validated by a panel of experts. Five hundred Chinese dementia caregivers showing signs of stress reported their burden using the translated ZBI and rated their depressive symptoms, overall health, and care recipients' physical functioning and behavioral problems. The factor structure of the translated scale was identified using principal component analysis and confirmatory factor analysis; internal consistency and item-total correlations were assessed; and concurrent validity was tested by correlating the ZBI with depressive symptoms, self-rated health, and care recipients' physical functioning and behavioral problems. The principal component analysis resulted in 11 items loading on a three-factor model comprised role strain, self-criticism, and negative emotion, which accounted for 59% of the variance. The confirmatory factor analysis supported the three-factor model (CZBI-Short) that explained 61% of the total variance. Cronbach's alpha (0.84) and item-total correlations (rho = 0.39-0.71) indicated CZBI-Short had good reliability. CZBI-Short showed correlations with depressive symptoms (r = 0.50), self-rated health (r = -0.26) and care recipients' physical functioning (r = 0.18-0.26) and disruptive behaviors (r = 0.36). The 12-item CZBI-Short is a concise, reliable, and valid instrument to assess burden in Chinese dementia caregivers in clinical and social care settings.

  9. Star marketer’s impact on the market strategy choice

    OpenAIRE

    Goran, Vlašić; Hair, Joe F.; Krupka, Zoran

    2017-01-01

    We focus on understanding the role of star marketers in pursuing a market-driven vs. a market-driving strategy. Results indicate that market-driving and market-driven strategies are two approaches that can be pursued by market-oriented firms. A star marketer has a robust positive influence on market-driving strategy. In contrast, a star marketer has no meaningful influence on market-driven strategy. In short, while star marketers are very important for market-driving strategy and long term su...

  10. The impact of European balancing rules on wind power economics and on short-term bidding strategies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chaves-Ávila, J.P.; Hakvoort, R.A.; Ramos, A.

    2014-01-01

    Wind power represents a significant percentage of the European generation mix and this will increase to fulfill the renewable energy targets. Different balancing rules are applied to wind power among the countries; for instance, to what extent wind power producers (WPPs) are responsible for the energy imbalances and how those imbalances are penalized. This paper discusses those different rules and evaluates their effects on WPP bidding strategies. To do so, a quantitative analysis is presented for an offshore wind farm, considering the differences in the balancing rules and prices of Belgium, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands. The quantitative approach consists of a stochastic optimization model that maximizes the profits of a WPP by trading in different markets (day-ahead and intraday) and computes the final energy delivered. The model considers uncertainties of most important parameters such as wind energy forecasts and prices at different time frames. The results show that the imbalance pricing design and the allocation of balance responsibility significantly affect WPP’ revenues. Additionally, WPPs deviate differently from the expected energy depending on the balancing rules, which can impact the system. Furthermore, these balancing rules should be considered with other market regulations, such as the design of support schemes. - Highlights: • European countries apply different imbalance pricing rules. • The allocation of balance responsibility to wind power varies between the countries. • A stochastic optimization model is used to compare the effect of balancing rules. • Balancing rules have an important impact on wind generators bidding strategies. • Balancing rules have also an effect on the system imbalances

  11. Classification of prophylactic antiradiation drugs as the consistency of conceptual basis of current radiation pharmacology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vasin, M.F

    1999-01-01

    The consistency of the classification of prophylactic antiradiation drugs have been given consideration as history of their discovery, theory of the radioprotection mechanisms and their use in applied medicine. Prophylactic drugs consists of radioprotectors with short-term of long-term action, drugs stimulating radioresistance, the ones suppressing symptoms of primary radiation reaction, the ones of early detoxication, the ones for adsorption and elimination of radionuclides from an organism [ru

  12. Strategy of technology and innovation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Yeon Min

    1998-10-01

    This book introduces strategy of technology and innovation which includes design and development of strategy of technology, performance of strategy of technology and building and practice of strategy of development. The contents of this book are form of industrial innovation, act in strategy, advantage of technical innovation, new perspective of studying and innovation, alliance with competitor, cost of transmission and innovation, learning cycle of new product and power of consistency of product.

  13. libgapmis: extending short-read alignments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alachiotis, Nikolaos; Berger, Simon; Flouri, Tomáš; Pissis, Solon P; Stamatakis, Alexandros

    2013-01-01

    A wide variety of short-read alignment programmes have been published recently to tackle the problem of mapping millions of short reads to a reference genome, focusing on different aspects of the procedure such as time and memory efficiency, sensitivity, and accuracy. These tools allow for a small number of mismatches in the alignment; however, their ability to allow for gaps varies greatly, with many performing poorly or not allowing them at all. The seed-and-extend strategy is applied in most short-read alignment programmes. After aligning a substring of the reference sequence against the high-quality prefix of a short read--the seed--an important problem is to find the best possible alignment between a substring of the reference sequence succeeding and the remaining suffix of low quality of the read--extend. The fact that the reads are rather short and that the gap occurrence frequency observed in various studies is rather low suggest that aligning (parts of) those reads with a single gap is in fact desirable. In this article, we present libgapmis, a library for extending pairwise short-read alignments. Apart from the standard CPU version, it includes ultrafast SSE- and GPU-based implementations. libgapmis is based on an algorithm computing a modified version of the traditional dynamic-programming matrix for sequence alignment. Extensive experimental results demonstrate that the functions of the CPU version provided in this library accelerate the computations by a factor of 20 compared to other programmes. The analogous SSE- and GPU-based implementations accelerate the computations by a factor of 6 and 11, respectively, compared to the CPU version. The library also provides the user the flexibility to split the read into fragments, based on the observed gap occurrence frequency and the length of the read, thereby allowing for a variable, but bounded, number of gaps in the alignment. We present libgapmis, a library for extending pairwise short-read alignments. We

  14. Short-course versus long-course chemoradiation in rectal cancer--time to change strategies?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palta, Manisha; Willett, Christopher G; Czito, Brian G

    2014-09-01

    There is significant debate regarding the optimal neoadjuvant regimen for resectable rectal cancer patients. Short-course radiotherapy, a standard approach throughout most of northern Europe, is generally defined as 25 Gy in 5 fractions over the course of 1 week without the concurrent administration of chemotherapy. Long-course radiotherapy is typically defined as 45 to 50.4 Gy in 25-28 fractions with the administration of concurrent 5-fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy and is the standard approach in other parts of Europe and the United States. At present, two randomized trials have compared outcomes for short course radiotherapy with long-course chemoradiation showing no difference in respective study endpoints. Late toxicity data are lacking given limited follow-up. Although the ideal neoadjuvant regimen is controversial, our current bias is long-course chemoradiation to treat patients with locally advanced, resectable rectal cancer.

  15. Short and inflamed cervix predicts spontaneous preterm birth (COLIBRI study).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raiche, Evelyne; Ouellet, Annie; Berthiaume, Maryse; Rousseau, Éric; Pasquier, Jean-Charles

    2014-07-01

    To develop a new strategy of predicting spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) by combination of transvaginal ultrasound (TVUS) assessment and inflammatory proteins detection in vaginal secretions. Prospective study of 87 women referred for cervical length assessment with a standardized TVUS combined to vaginal secretions sampling. Samples were analyzed for presence of 10 cytokines. Main outcome was sPTB (women at a median gestational age of 35.6 weeks of gestation. Short cervix (women with a short inflamed cervix. COLIBRI study used a novel, single-step method of vaginal secretions sampling during TVUS and demonstrated that combination of short cervix and IL-8 in vaginal secretions is a promising sPTB predictive test.

  16. The Convertible Arbitrage Strategy Analyzed

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Loncarski, I.; Ter Horst, J.R.; Veld, C.H.

    2006-01-01

    This paper analyzes convertible bond arbitrage on the Canadian market for the period 1998 to 2004.Convertible bond arbitrage is the combination of a long position in convertible bonds and a short position in the underlying stocks. Convertible arbitrage has been one of the most successful strategies

  17. Management: A Strategy for Change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, Herbert S.

    1978-01-01

    Traces the recent history of libraries and mentions loss of status, insufficient funds, insufficient evaluation methods, and unspecified goals as major contributors to contemporary management problems. Also outlined is a management strategy, which includes public relations, long-range and short-range goals, and budget and financing. (JVP)

  18. A deceleration search for magnetar pulsations in the X-ray plateaus of short GRBs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rowlinson, A.; Patruno, A.; O'Brien, P. T.

    2017-11-01

    A newly formed magnetar has been proposed as the central engine of short GRBs to explain ongoing energy injection giving observed plateau phases in the X-ray light curves. These rapidly spinning magnetars may be capable of emitting pulsed emission comparable to known pulsars and magnetars. In this paper we show that, if present, a periodic signal would be detectable during the plateau phases observed using the Swift/X-Ray Telescope recording data in Window Timing mode. We conduct a targeted deceleration search for a periodic signal from a newly formed magnetar in 2 Swift short GRBs and rule out any periodic signals in the frequency band 10-285 Hz to ≈15-30 per cent rms. These results demonstrate that we would be able to detect pulsations from the magnetar central engine of short GRBs if they contribute to 15-30 per cent of the total emission. We consider these constraints in the context of the potential emission mechanisms. The non-detection is consistent with the emission being reprocessed in the surrounding environment or with the rotation axis being highly aligned with the observing angle. As the emission may be reprocessed, the expected periodic emission may only constitute a few per cent of the total emission and be undetectable in our observations. Applying this strategy to future observations of the plateau phases with more sensitive X-ray telescopes may lead to the detection of the periodic signal.

  19. Very short/short-term benefit of inpatient/outpatient cardiac rehabilitation programs after coronary artery bypass grafting surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spiroski, Dejan; Andjić, Mojsije; Stojanović, Olivera Ilić; Lazović, Milica; Dikić, Ana Djordjević; Ostojić, Miodrag; Beleslin, Branko; Kostić, Snežana; Zdravković, Marija; Lović, Dragan

    2017-05-01

    Exercise-based rehabilitation is an important part of treatment patients following coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. To evaluate effect of very short/short-term exercise training on cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) parameters. We studied 54 consecutive patients with myocardial infarction (MI) treated with CABG surgery referred for rehabilitation. The study population consisted of 50 men and 4 women (age 57.72 ± 7.61 years, left ventricular ejection fraction 55% ± 5.81%), who participated in a 3-week clinical and 6-month outpatient cardiac rehabilitation program. The Inpatient program consisted of cycling 7 times/week and daily walking for 45 minutes. The outpatient program consisted mainly of walking 5 times/week for 45 minutes and cycling 3 times/week. All patients performed symptom-limited CPET on a bicycle ergometer with a ramp protocol of 10 W/minute at the start, for 3 weeks, and for 6 months. After 3 weeks of an exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation program, exercise tolerance improved as compared to baseline, as well as peak respiratory exchange ratio. Most importantly, peak VO 2 (16.35 ± 3.83 vs 17.88 ± 4.25 mL/kg/min, respectively, P exercise training in patients with MI treated with CABG surgery is safe and improves functional capacity. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  20. The rise and demise of the convertible arbitrage strategy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Loncarski, I.; Ter Horst, J.R.; Veld, C.H.

    2009-01-01

    This article analyzes convertible arbitrage, one of the most successful hedge fund strategies. The aim of the strategy is to exploit underpricing of convertible bonds by taking a long position in a convertible and a short position in the underlying asset. The authors find that convertible bonds are

  1. Introduction of a breast cancer care programme including ultra short hospital stay in 4 early adopter centres: framework for an implementation study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Kok, Mascha; Frotscher, Caroline N A; van der Weijden, Trudy; Kessels, Alfons G H; Dirksen, Carmen D; van de Velde, Cornelis J H; Roukema, Jan A; Bell, Antoine V R J; van der Ent, Fred W; von Meyenfeldt, Maarten F

    2007-07-02

    Whereas ultra-short stay (day care or 24 hour hospitalisation) following breast cancer surgery was introduced in the US and Canada in the 1990s, it is not yet common practice in Europe. This paper describes the design of the MaDO study, which involves the implementation of ultra short stay admission for patients after breast cancer surgery, and evaluates whether the targets of the implementation strategy are reached. The ultra short stay programme and the applied implementation strategy will be evaluated from the economic perspective. The MaDO study is a pre-post-controlled multi-centre study, that is performed in four hospitals in the Netherlands. It includes a pre and post measuring period of six months each with six months of implementation in between in at least 40 patients per hospital per measurement period. Primary outcome measure is the percentage of patients treated in ultra short stay. Secondary endpoints are the percentage of patients treated according to protocol, degree of involvement of home care nursing, quality of care from the patient's perspective, cost-effectiveness of the ultra short stay programme and cost-effectiveness of the implementation strategy. Quality of care will be measured by the QUOTE-breast cancer instrument, cost-effectiveness of the ultra short stay programme will be measured by means of the EuroQol (administered at four time-points) and a cost book for patients. Cost-effectiveness analysis will be performed from a societal perspective. Cost-effectiveness of the implementation strategy will be measured by determination of the costs of implementation activities. This study will reveal barriers and facilitators for implementation of the ultra short stay programme. Moreover, the results of the study will provide information about the cost-effectiveness of the ultra short stay programme and the implementation strategy. Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN77253391.

  2. 76 FR 26787 - Short Sale Reporting Study Required by Dodd-Frank Act Section 417(a)(2)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-05-09

    ... likely effect of these possible future reporting regimes on the securities markets, including their... Division of Risk, Strategy, and Financial Innovation (``Division''), is requesting public comment with... companies would agree to have all trades of their shares marked ``long,'' ``short,'' ``market maker short...

  3. The hard fall effect: high working memory capacity leads to a higher, but less robust short-term memory performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomassin, Noémylle; Gonthier, Corentin; Guerraz, Michel; Roulin, Jean-Luc

    2015-01-01

    Participants with a high working memory span tend to perform better than low spans in a variety of tasks. However, their performance is paradoxically more impaired when they have to perform two tasks at once, a phenomenon that could be labeled the "hard fall effect." The present study tested whether this effect exists in a short-term memory task, and investigated the proposal that the effect is due to high spans using efficient facilitative strategies under simple task conditions. Ninety-eight participants performed a spatial short-term memory task under simple and dual task conditions; stimuli presentation times either allowed for the use of complex facilitative strategies or not. High spans outperformed low spans only under simple task conditions when presentation times allowed for the use of facilitative strategies. These results indicate that the hard fall effect exists on a short-term memory task and may be caused by individual differences in strategy use.

  4. Integrating complexity into data-driven multi-hazard supply chain network strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Long, Suzanna K.; Shoberg, Thomas G.; Ramachandran, Varun; Corns, Steven M.; Carlo, Hector J.

    2013-01-01

    Major strategies in the wake of a large-scale disaster have focused on short-term emergency response solutions. Few consider medium-to-long-term restoration strategies that reconnect urban areas to the national supply chain networks (SCN) and their supporting infrastructure. To re-establish this connectivity, the relationships within the SCN must be defined and formulated as a model of a complex adaptive system (CAS). A CAS model is a representation of a system that consists of large numbers of inter-connections, demonstrates non-linear behaviors and emergent properties, and responds to stimulus from its environment. CAS modeling is an effective method of managing complexities associated with SCN restoration after large-scale disasters. In order to populate the data space large data sets are required. Currently access to these data is hampered by proprietary restrictions. The aim of this paper is to identify the data required to build a SCN restoration model, look at the inherent problems associated with these data, and understand the complexity that arises due to integration of these data.

  5. PERFORMANCE OF SELECTED PRE-HARVEST AND POST-HARVEST CORN AND SOYBEAN MARKETING STRATEGIES VS. ALTERNATIVE MARKET BENCHMARKS

    OpenAIRE

    Blue, E. Neal; Wisner, Robert N.; Baldwin, E. Dean

    2004-01-01

    This study was undertaken to update earlier work by the authors that analyzed selected preharvest pricing strategies utilizing options markets to establish a price floor for part of the crop in the spring, with additional pricing done by use of short hedges in early summer. The timing of implementing these strategies was moved back to late February if the previous year's U.S. crop was a weather-induced short crop. A weather-induced short crop as opposed to a government program induced short c...

  6. Short sleep duration as a possible cause of obesity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, L S; Danielsen, Karen; Sørensen, T I A

    2011-01-01

    with particular emphasis on prospective studies. The studies showed that short sleep duration is consistently associated with development of obesity in children and young adults, but not consistently so in older adults. We have identified critical aspects of the evidence, and assessed the possibility...... for interpretation of the evidence in terms of causality. We have discussed the requirement of temporal sequence between putative exposure and outcome and the implications of the time lag between them, the problems in adequate measurements of exposure and effects, the possible bidirectional causal effects......Systematic literature search for epidemiological evidence for an association of short sleep with weight gain and eventual development of obesity provided 71 original studies and seven reviews of various subsets of these studies. We have summarized the evidence for such an association...

  7. Hybrid solar cells with outstanding short-circuit currents based on a room temperature soft-chemical strategy: the case of P3HT:Ag2S.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lei, Yan; Jia, Huimin; He, Weiwei; Zhang, Yange; Mi, Liwei; Hou, Hongwei; Zhu, Guangshan; Zheng, Zhi

    2012-10-24

    P3HT:Ag(2)S hybrid solar cells with broad absorption from the UV to NIR band were directly fabricated on ITO glass by using a room temperature, low energy consumption, and low-cost soft-chemical strategy. The resulting Ag(2)S nanosheet arrays facilitate the construction of a perfect percolation structure with organic P3HT to form ordered bulk heterojunctions (BHJ); without interface modification, the assembled P3HT:Ag(2)S device exhibits outstanding short-circuit current densities (J(sc)) around 20 mA cm(-2). At the current stage, the optimized device exhibited a power conversion efficiency of 2.04%.

  8. A Positive Diagnostic Strategy Is Noninferior to a Strategy of Exclusion for Patients With Irritable Bowel Syndrome

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Begtrup, Luise M; Engsbro, Anne Line; Kjeldsen, Jens

    2013-01-01

    . No cases of inflammatory bowel disease, colorectal cancer, or celiac disease were found. CONCLUSIONS: In diagnosing IBS in primary care, use of a positive diagnostic strategy is noninferior to using a strategy of exclusion with regard to the patients' HRQOL. Our findings support the current guideline......BACKGROUND & AIMS: Guidelines recommend a positive strategy based on symptom criteria to diagnose patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). We conducted a randomized noninferiority trial to determine whether a positive diagnostic strategy is noninferior to a strategy of exclusion, with regard...... year between groups (on the basis of the Short Form 36 health survey, physical component summary, and noninferiority margin of 3 points). Secondary outcomes were change in gastrointestinal symptoms, satisfaction with management, and use of resources. Findings of diagnostic misclassification were...

  9. Development and Validation of the Drinking Motive Questionnaire Revised Short Form (DMQ-R SF)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuntsche, Emmanuel; Kuntsche, Sandra

    2009-01-01

    A short form of the Drinking Motive Questionnaire Revised (DMQ-R; Cooper, 1994) was developed, using different item selection strategies based on a national representative sample of 5,617 12- to 18-year-old students in Switzerland. To confirm the concurrent validity of the short-form questionnaire, or DMQ-R SF, data from a second national sample…

  10. Consistent strategy updating in spatial and non-spatial behavioral experiments does not promote cooperation in social networks.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jelena Grujić

    Full Text Available The presence of costly cooperation between otherwise selfish actors is not trivial. A prominent mechanism that promotes cooperation is spatial population structure. However, recent experiments with human subjects report substantially lower level of cooperation then predicted by theoretical models. We analyze the data of such an experiment in which a total of 400 players play a Prisoner's Dilemma on a 4×4 square lattice in two treatments, either interacting via a fixed square lattice (15 independent groups or with a population structure changing after each interaction (10 independent groups. We analyze the statistics of individual decisions and infer in which way they can be matched with the typical models of evolutionary game theorists. We find no difference in the strategy updating between the two treatments. However, the strategy updates are distinct from the most popular models which lead to the promotion of cooperation as shown by computer simulations of the strategy updating. This suggests that the promotion of cooperation by population structure is not as straightforward in humans as often envisioned in theoretical models.

  11. Short QT syndrome

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fiorenzo Gaita

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available The short QT syndrome (SQTS is a recently described genetic arrhythmogenic disorder, characterized by abnormally short QT intervals on surface electrocardiogram (ECG and a high incidence of sudden death (SD during life, including the first months of life. The inheritance of SQTS is autosomal dominant, with genetic heterogeneity. Gain-of-function mutations in 3 genes encoding potassium channels have been associated to the disease: KCNH2 encoding IKr (SQT1, KCNQ1 encoding IKs (SQT2, and KCNJ2 encoding IK1 (SQT3. Loss-of-function mutations in 3 genes encoding the cardiac L-type calcium channel, CACNA1C, CACNB2b and CACNA2D1 may underlie a mixed phenotype of Brugada pattern ECG (or non-specific repolarization changes in case of CACNA2D1 and shorter than normal QT intervals. Clinical presentation is often severe, as cardiac arrest represents the first clinical presentation in most subjects. Moreover, often a noticeable family history of cardiac SD is present. Atrial fibrillation may be observed, also in young individuals. At electrophysiological study, short atrial and ventricular refractory periods are found, and atrial and ventricular fibrillation are easily induced by programmed electrical stimulation. The outcome of patients with SQTS becomes relatively safe when they are identified and treated. Currently, the suggested therapeutic strategy is an implantable cardioverter- defibrillator (ICD in patients with personal history of aborted SD or syncope. In asymptomatic adult patients from highly symptomatic families and in newborn children pharmacological treatment with hydroquinidine, which has been shown to prolong the QT interval and reduce the inducibility of ventricular arrhythmias, may be proposed.

  12. Strategies of Qualitative Inquiry. Third Edition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denzin, Norman K., Ed.; Lincoln, Yvonna S., Ed.

    2007-01-01

    "Strategies of Qualitative Inquiry, Third Edition," the second volume in the paperback version of "The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research, 3rd Edition," consists of Part III of the handbook ("Strategies of Inquiry"). "Strategies of Qualitative Inquiry, Third Edition" presents the major tactics--historically, the research methods--that…

  13. A Microgenetic/Cross-Sectional Study of Matrix Completion: Comparing Short-Term and Long-Term Change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siegler, Robert S.; Svetina, Matija

    2002-01-01

    This study examined 6- to 8-year-old Slovenian children's acquisition of matrix completion proficiency and compared microgenetic and age-related changes on the task. Microgenetic analyses indicated that: variability of children's errors increased before they discovered the correct strategy, the correct strategy became dominant shortly after…

  14. The Health and Safety Executive's strategy for nuclear safety research 1996

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1996-01-01

    This brochure illustrates HSE's nuclear safety research strategy for 1996. It is divided into two parts. The first part presents HSE's overall strategy. The second contains short strategy statements for the individual areas detailed above, providing a rationale and objectives for the particular safety issues in the NRI, where greater detail can be found. (author)

  15. Pain Coping Strategies for Children with Arthritis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kim J. Rosenzweig

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective. To present information on pain management strategies for children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA. Methods. The second author developed a manual to present pain management strategies to children. The use of the manual was pilot-tested with a group of children with JIA. Telephone interviews were used to gather information on implementation of pain management strategies. Results. Children were able to implement the pain management strategies. Children reported a reduction in daily pain experiences related to JIA when using the pain management strategies. Conclusions. The pain management strategies were successful as an adjunctive intervention for short-term pain management. Pain symptoms related to JIA can severely limit children's participation in daily activities. Further study on how children use pain management strategies to improve their involvement in daily activities will provide useful clinical information.

  16. Active Strategies for Older Workers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Hans

    This report is also to be published by ETUI (Euruopean Trade Unions' Institute) in a book on Active Strategies for Older Workers. It is the National report for Denmark and contains a short section on characteristics of the Danish labour market, with a special focus on the situation of the elderly...

  17. Promotional Strategy of Advent Himalaya Trekks Private Limited

    OpenAIRE

    Gurung, Sabin

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of conducting this thesis was to study on the promotional strategy of a trekking company. The aim of this thesis was to study on current promotional strategy and suggest the case company with new and effective ideas and tools for promotion. The theoretical part of this thesis includes basic knowledge of marketing, promotion, promotional mix and promotional strategy. Also, a short overview of tourism business of Nepal and promotional strengths of the case company is also done. H...

  18. Waste Management Strategy in The Netherlands. Part 2. Strategy Principles and Influencing Issues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haverkate, B.R.W.

    2002-01-01

    This report reflects the Dutch input prepared in the framework of work package 2 of the EU thematic network COMPAS, which deals with the identification of alternative waste management strategies and issues influencing strategy selection in EU member states and their applicant countries. All elements that could have an effect in identifying alternative policies to manage (long-lived) radioactive wastes are addressed in this report. After a short introduction, in chapter 1, about some general issues influencing decision-making such as public acceptance, involvement, perception and (European) legislation, the considered disposal methods and disposal requirements are given in chapter 2. Chapter 3 of this report deals with the background topics of the current waste management strategy in The Netherlands. A detailed overview of (basic) strategy principles and their influencing issues is the subject of chapter 4. Issues considered include: safety and environmental impact; technical limitations; nuclear materials safeguards; monitoring and retrievability; ethical issues; public acceptance; (timing of) strategy development and implementation; and economical considerations. Relevant additional issues that could have an effect in identifying alternative waste management strategy are provided in appendices, including signed treaties (appendix B) and nuclear statutory regulations (appendix C)

  19. Abnormal Returns and Contrarian Strategies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivana Dall'Agnol

    2003-12-01

    Full Text Available We test the hypothesis that strategies which are long on portfolios of looser stocks and short on portfolios of winner stocks generate abnormal returns in Brazil. This type of evidence for the US stock market was interpreted by The Bondt and Thaler (1985 as reflecting systematic evaluation mistakes caused by investors overreaction to news related to the firm performance. We found evidence of contrarian strategies profitability for horizons from 3 months to 3 years in a sample of stock returns from BOVESPA and SOMA from 1986 to 2000. The strategies are more profitable for shorter horizons. Therefore, there was no trace of the momentum effect found by Jagadeesh and Titman (1993 for the same horizons with US data. There are remaing unexplained positive returns for contrarian strategies after accounting for risk, size, and liquidity. We also found that the strategy profitability is reduced after the Real Plan, which suggests that the Brazilian stock market became more efficient after inflation stabilization.

  20. Are Canadian clinicians providing consistent sport-related concussion management advice?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carson, James D; Rendely, Alexandra; Garel, Alisha; Meaney, Christopher; Stoller, Jacqueline; Kaicker, Jatin; Hayden, Leigh; Moineddin, Rahim; Frémont, Pierre

    2016-06-01

    To compare the knowledge and use of recommendations for the management of sport-related concussion (SRC) among sport and exercise medicine physicians (SEMPs) and emergency department physicians (EDPs) to assess the success of SRC knowledge transfer across Canada. A self-administered, multiple-choice survey accessed via e-mail by SEMPs and EDPs. The survey had been assessed for content validity. Canada. The survey was completed between May and July 2012 by SEMPs who had passed the diploma examination of the Canadian Academy of Sport and Exercise Medicine and by EDPs who did not hold this diploma. Knowledge and identification of sources of concussion management information, use of concussion diagnosis strategies, and whether physicians use common and consistent terminology when explaining cognitive rest strategies to patients after an SRC. There was a response rate of 28% (305 of 1085). The SEMP and EDP response rates were 41% (147 of 360) and 22% (158 of 725), respectively. Of the responses, 41% of EDPs and 3% of SEMPs were unaware of any consensus statements on concussion in sport; 74% of SEMPs used the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool, version 2 (SCAT2), "usually or always," whereas 88% of EDPs never used the SCAT2. When queried about how cognitive rest could best be achieved after an SRC, no consistent answer was documented. Differences and a lack of consistency in the implementation of recommendations for SRC patients were identified for SEMPs and EDPs. It appears that the SCAT2 is used more in the SEMP setting than in the emergency context. Further knowledge transfer efforts and research should address the barriers to achieving more consistent advice given by physicians who attend SRC patients. Copyright© the College of Family Physicians of Canada.

  1. Evaluation of coping strategies in established rheumatoid arthritis patients: emergence of concealment in an Asian cohort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chew, Elizabeth; Griva, Konstadina; Cheung, Peter P

    2016-11-01

    To evaluate coping strategies of Asian RA patients and their associations with health-related quality of life (HRQoL). A cross-sectional sample of patients with established RA was evaluated using measures of coping (Coping in Rheumatoid Arthritis Questionnaire [C-RAQ]; appraisal of coping effectiveness and helplessness), HRQoL (Mental and Physical Components [MCS/PCS] of the Short Form 12v2; Rheumatoid Arthritis Impact of Disease score [RAID]) and clinical/laboratory assessments. Principal component analysis was conducted to identify coping strategies. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed to evaluate the associations between coping strategies and HRQoL outcomes. The study sample comprised 101 patients, 81% female, 72.3% Chinese, mean age 54.2 ± 12.6 years. Five coping strategies were identified: Active problem solving (E = 5.36), Distancing (E = 2.30), Concealment (E = 1.89), Cognitive reframing (E = 1.55) and Emotional expression (E = 1.26). Concealment was consistently associated with PCS (r s = -0.23, P = 0.049), MCS (r s = -0.24, P = 0.04) and RAID (r s = 0.39, P culture-specific. Interventions should tailor psychosocial support needs to address not only coping strategies, but patients' perception of their coping. © 2016 Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

  2. Strategies for sustainable households. The SusHouse project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vergragt, Ph.J.; Knot, J.M.C.

    2001-01-01

    The international SusHouse project has developed a strategy design approach that can contribute to major (factor 20) efficiency improvements in household activities. Stakeholder workshops have been held to develop scenarios for a sustainable future (2050). These scenarios were evaluated on their economic consequences, environmental impacts and consumer acceptance. the results were then used as the input for a second round of stakeholder workshops, which aimed at developing short-term strategies and implementation plans. This Research Note reviews the SusHouse approach and its results. It ends with suggestions for further steps to be taken. A SusHouse CD-ROM is available, containing all final project reports as well as a scenario presentation in the form of images and short texts. 22 refs

  3. Burnout Syndrome: Global Medicine Volunteering as a Possible Treatment Strategy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iserson, Kenneth V

    2018-04-01

    In the last few decades, "burnout syndrome" has become more common among clinicians, or at least more frequently recognized. Methods to prevent and treat burnout have had inconsistent results. Simultaneously, clinicians' interest in global medicine has increased dramatically, offering a possible intervention strategy for burnout while providing help to underserved areas. Caused by a variety of stressors, burnout syndrome ultimately results in physicians feeling that their work no longer embodies why they entered the medical field. This attitude harms clinicians, their patients and colleagues, and society. Few consistently successful interventions exist. At the same time, clinicians' interest in global medicine has risen exponentially. This paper reviews the basics of both phenomena and posits that global medicine experiences, although greatly assisting target populations, also may offer a strategy for combating burnout by reconnecting physicians with their love of the profession. Because studies have shown that regular volunteering improves mental health, short-term global medicine experiences may reinvigorate and reengage clinicians on the verge of, or suffering from, persistent burnout syndrome. Fortuitously, this intervention often will greatly benefit medically underserved populations. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Real-life decision making in college students. I: Consistency across specific decisions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galotti, Kathleen M; Wiener, Hillary J D; Tandler, Jane M

    2014-01-01

    First-year undergraduates participated in a short-term longitudinal study of real-life decision making over their first 14 months of college. They were surveyed about 7 different decisions: choosing courses for an upcoming term (3 different terms), choosing an academic major (twice), planning for the upcoming summer, and planning for sophomore-year housing. Participants showed moderate levels of consistency in the options they considered and in the criteria they used to decide between options, with about half of the options or criteria being used at 2 different points on the decision repeatedly studied. Participants varied somewhat in structural consistency, the tendency to consider the same number of options or criteria across decisions. They also varied in the way they integrated information across decision-making tasks. We suggest that people attempt to keep the information demands of the task within workable limits, sometimes sacrificing consistency as a result.

  5. Strategies of inducing cooperation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deutsch, M.

    1986-01-01

    The results of the four experiments described in this paper are very consistent, and they can be summarized as follows: (1) The ''nonpunitive'' strategy was most effective in eliciting cooperative behavior from the subjects and, overall, resulted in the highest joint outcomes as well as the highest outcomes for the accomplice. (2) The effectiveness of the turn-the-other-cheek strategy was very much influenced by the competitiveness of the situation; the more competitive the incentives of the subjects, the more massively they exploited the accomplice who employed this strategy. (3) The punitive deterrent strategy elicited more agressive and self-protective, as well as less cooperative, behavior from the subjects than did the other strategies

  6. Short-term regulation of hydro powerplants. Studies on the environmental effects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sinisalmi, T.; Riihimaeki, J.; Vehanen, T.; Yrjaenae, T.

    1997-01-01

    The publication is a final report on a project studying effects of short-term regulation of hydro power plants. The project consists of two parts: (1) examining and developing methods for evaluation, (2) applying methods in a case study at the Oulujoki River. The economic value of short-term regulation was studied with a model consisting of an optimization model and a river simulation model. Constraints on water level or discharge variations could be given to the power plants and their economical influence could be studied. Effects on shoreline recreation use due to water level fluctuation were studied with a model where various effects are made commensurable and expressed in monetary terms. A literature survey and field experiments were used to study the methods for assessing effects of short-term regulation on river habitats. The state and development needs of fish stocks and fisheries in large regulated rivers were studied and an environmental classification was made. Remedial measures for the short-term regulated rivers were studied with a literature survey and enquiries. A comprehensive picture of the various effects of short-term regulation was gained in the case study in Oulujoki River (110 km long, 7 power plants). Harmful effects can be reduced with the given recommendations of remedial measures on environment and the usage of the hydro power plants. (orig.) 52 refs

  7. Short-term regulation of hydro powerplants. Studies on the environmental effects

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sinisalmi, T. [ed.; Forsius, J.; Muotka, J.; Soimakallio, H. [Imatran Voima Oy, Vantaa (Finland); Riihimaeki, J. [VTT, Espoo (Finland); Vehanen, T. [Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Inst. (Finland); Yrjaenae, T. [North Ostrobothnia Regional Environmental Centre, Oulu (Finland)

    1997-12-31

    The publication is a final report on a project studying effects of short-term regulation of hydro power plants. The project consists of two parts: (1) examining and developing methods for evaluation, (2) applying methods in a case study at the Oulujoki River. The economic value of short-term regulation was studied with a model consisting of an optimization model and a river simulation model. Constraints on water level or discharge variations could be given to the power plants and their economical influence could be studied. Effects on shoreline recreation use due to water level fluctuation were studied with a model where various effects are made commensurable and expressed in monetary terms. A literature survey and field experiments were used to study the methods for assessing effects of short-term regulation on river habitats. The state and development needs of fish stocks and fisheries in large regulated rivers were studied and an environmental classification was made. Remedial measures for the short-term regulated rivers were studied with a literature survey and enquiries. A comprehensive picture of the various effects of short-term regulation was gained in the case study in Oulujoki River (110 km long, 7 power plants). Harmful effects can be reduced with the given recommendations of remedial measures on environment and the usage of the hydro power plants. (orig.) 52 refs.

  8. Pozitioning Strategies Used in Strategic Marketing

    OpenAIRE

    Ionel Dumitru

    2007-01-01

    The consumer’s perception of the marketing company’s activities is represented by the positioning strategy. The positioning process consists of approaching the market’s segments in different ways, with deferent’s offer, using three fundamentals strategies: strengthen the current company position, competition free segments identification and repositioning the competition using an aggressive marketing strategy.

  9. Origin of very-short orbital-period binary systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miyaji, S.

    1983-01-01

    Recent observations of four close binaries have established that there is a group of very-short orbital-period (VSOP) binaries whose orbital periods are less than 60 minutes. The VSOP binaries consist of both X-ray close binaries and cataclysmic variables. Their orbital periods are too short to have a main-sequence companion. However, four binaries, none of which belongs to any globular cluster, are too abundant to be explained by the capturing mechanism of a white dwarf. Therefore it seemed to be worthwhile to present an evolutionary scenario from an original binary system which can be applied for all VSOP binaries. (Auth.)

  10. Design and preparation of bi-functionalized short-chain modified zwitterionic nanoparticles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Fenglin; Chen, Kaimin; Xu, Hong; Gu, Hongchen

    2018-05-01

    An ideal nanomaterial for use in the bio-medical field should have a distinctive surface capable of effectively preventing nonspecific protein adsorption and identifying target bio-molecules. Recently, the short-chain zwitterion strategy has been suggested as a simple and novel approach to create outstanding anti-fouling surfaces. In this paper, the carboxyl end group of short-chain zwitterion-coated silica nanoparticles (SiO 2 -ZWS) was found to be difficult to functionalize via a conventional EDC/NHS strategy due to its rapid hydrolysis side-reactions. Hence, a series of bi-functionalized silica nanoparticles (SiO 2 -ZWS/COOH) were designed and prepared by controlling the molar ratio of 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) to short-chain zwitterionic organosiloxane (ZWS) in order to achieve above goal. The synthesized SiO 2 -ZWS/COOH had similar excellent anti-fouling properties compared with SiO 2 -ZWS, even in 50% fetal bovine serum characterized by DLS and turbidimetric titration. Subsequently, SiO 2 -ZWS/COOH 5/1 was chosen as a representative and then demonstrated higher detection signal intensity and more superior signal-to-noise ratios compare with the pure SiO 2 -COOH when they were used as a bio-carrier for chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassay (CLEIA). These unique bi-functionalized silica nanoparticles have many potential applications in the diagnostic and therapeutic fields. Reducing nonspecific protein adsorption and enhancing the immobilized efficiency of specific bio-probes are two of the most important issues for bio-carriers, particularly for a nanoparticle based bio-carrier. Herein, we designed and prepared a bi-functional nanoparticle with anti-fouling property and bio conjugation capacity for further bioassay by improving the short-chain zwitterionic modification strategy we have proposed previously. The heterogeneous surface of this nanoparticle showed effective anti-fouling properties both in model protein solutions and fetal bovine serum

  11. Effects of an Inquiry-Based Short Intervention on State Test Anxiety in Comparison to Alternative Coping Strategies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ann Krispenz

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Background and Objectives: Test anxiety can have undesirable consequences for learning and academic achievement. The control-value theory of achievement emotions assumes that test anxiety is experienced if a student appraises an achievement situation as important (value appraisal, but feels that the situation and its outcome are not fully under his or her control (control appraisal. Accordingly, modification of cognitive appraisals is assumed to reduce test anxiety. One method aiming at the modification of appraisals is inquiry-based stress reduction. In the present study (N = 162, we assessed the effects of an inquiry-based short intervention on test anxiety.Design: Short-term longitudinal, randomized control trial.Methods: Focusing on an individual worry thought, 53 university students received an inquiry-based short intervention. Control participants reflected on their worry thought (n = 55 or were distracted (n = 52. Thought related test anxiety was assessed before, immediately after, and 2 days after the experimental treatment.Results: After the intervention as well as 2 days later, individuals who had received the inquiry-based intervention demonstrated significantly lower test anxiety than participants from the pooled control groups. Further analyses showed that the inquiry-based short intervention was more effective than reflecting on a worry thought but had no advantage over distraction.Conclusions: Our findings provide first experimental evidence for the effectiveness of an inquiry-based short intervention in reducing students’ test anxiety.

  12. Combined short-arm centrifuge and aerobic exercise training improves cardiovascular function and physical working capacity in humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Chang-Bin; Zhang, Shu; Zhang, Yu; Wang, Bing; Yao, Yong-Jie; Wang, Yong-Chun; Wu, Yan-Hong; Liang, Wen-Bin; Sun, Xi-Qing

    2010-12-01

    Musculoskeletal and cardiovascular deconditioning occurring in long-term spaceflight gives rise to the needs to develop new strategies to counteract these adverse effects. Short-arm centrifuge combined with ergometer has been proposed as a strategy to counteract adverse effects of microgravity. This study sought to investigate whether the combination of short-arm centrifuge and aerobic exercise training have advantages over short-arm centrifuge or aerobic exercise training alone. One week training was conducted by 24 healthy men. They were randomly divided into 3 groups: (1) short-arm centrifuge training, (2) aerobic exercise training, 40 W, and (3) combined short-arm centrifuge and aerobic exercise training. Before and after training, the cardiac pump function represented by stroke volume, cardiac output, left ventricular ejection time, and total peripheral resistance was evaluated. Variability of heart rate and systolic blood pressure were determined by spectral analysis. Physical working capacity was surveyed by near maximal physical working capacity test. The 1-week combined short-arm centrifuge and aerobic exercise training remarkably ameliorated the cardiac pump function and enhanced vasomotor sympathetic nerve modulation and improved physical working capacity by 10.9% (Pcentrifuge nor the aerobic exercise group showed improvements in these functions. These results demonstrate that combined short-arm centrifuge and aerobic exercise training has advantages over short-arm centrifuge or aerobic exercise training alone in influencing several physiologically important cardiovascular functions in humans. The combination of short-arm centrifuge and aerobic exercise offers a promising countermeasure to microgravity.

  13. Success rates for product development strategies in new drug development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dahlin, E; Nelson, G M; Haynes, M; Sargeant, F

    2016-04-01

    While research has examined the likelihood that drugs progress across phases of clinical trials, no research to date has examined the types of product development strategies that are the most likely to be successful in clinical trials. This research seeks to identify the strategies that are most likely to reach the market-those generated using a novel product development strategy or strategies that combine a company's expertise with both drugs and indications, which we call combined experience strategies. We evaluate the success of product development strategies in the drug development process for a sample of 2562 clinical trials completed by 406 US pharmaceutical companies. To identify product development strategies, we coded each clinical trial according to whether it consisted of an indication or a drug that was new to the firm. Accordingly, a clinical trial that consists of both an indication and a drug that were both new to the firm represents a novel product development strategy; indication experience is a product development strategy that consists of an indication that a firm had tested previously in a clinical trial, but with a drug that was new to the firm; drug experience is a product development strategy that consists of a drug that the firm had prior experience testing in clinical trials, but with an indication that was new to the firm; combined experience consists of both a drug and an indication that the firm had experience testing in clinical trials. Success rates for product development strategies across clinical phases were calculated for the clinical trials in our sample. Combined experience strategies had the highest success rate. More than three and a half percent (0·036) of the trials that combined experience with drugs and indications eventually reached the market. The next most successful strategy is drug experience (0·025) with novel strategies trailing closely (0·024). Indication experience strategies are the least successful (0·008

  14. Bosons system with finite repulsive interaction: self-consistent field method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Renatino, M.M.B.

    1983-01-01

    Some static properties of a boson system (T = zero degree Kelvin), under the action of a repulsive potential are studied. For the repulsive potential, a model was adopted consisting of a region where it is constant (r c ), and a decay as 1/r (r > r c ). The self-consistent field approximation used takes into account short range correlations through a local field corrections, which leads to an effective field. The static structure factor S(q-vector) and the effective potential ψ(q-vector) are obtained through a self-consistent calculation. The pair-correlation function g(r-vector) and the energy of the collective excitations E(q-vector) are also obtained, from the structure factor. The density of the system and the parameters of the repulsive potential, that is, its height and the size of the constant region were used as variables for the problem. The results obtained for S(q-vector), g(r-vector) and E(q-vector) for a fixed ratio r o /r c and a variable λ, indicates the raising of a system structure, which is more noticeable when the potential became more repulsive. (author)

  15. Investigating Connectivity and Consistency Criteria for Phrase Pair Extraction in Statistical Machine Translation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Martzoukos, S.; Costa Florêncio, C.; Monz, C.; Kornai, A.; Kuhlmann, M.

    2013-01-01

    The consistency method has been established as the standard strategy for extracting high quality translation rules in statistical machine translation (SMT). However, no attention has been drawn to why this method is successful, other than empirical evidence. Using concepts from graph theory, we

  16. Decay uncovered in nonverbal short-term memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mercer, Tom; McKeown, Denis

    2014-02-01

    Decay theory posits that memory traces gradually fade away over the passage of time unless they are actively rehearsed. Much recent work exploring verbal short-term memory has challenged this theory, but there does appear to be evidence for trace decay in nonverbal auditory short-term memory. Numerous discrimination studies have reported a performance decline as the interval separating two tones is increased, consistent with a decay process. However, most of this tone comparison research can be explained in other ways, without reference to decay, and these alternative accounts were tested in the present study. In Experiment 1, signals were employed toward the end of extended retention intervals to ensure that listeners were alert to the presence and frequency content of the memoranda. In Experiment 2, a mask stimulus was employed in an attempt to distinguish between a highly detailed sensory trace and a longer-lasting short-term memory, and the distinctiveness of the stimuli was varied. Despite these precautions, slow-acting trace decay was observed. It therefore appears that the mere passage of time can lead to forgetting in some forms of short-term memory.

  17. Simultaneous improvement in short circuit current, open circuit voltage, and fill factor of polymer solar cells through ternary strategy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    An, Qiaoshi; Zhang, Fujun; Li, Lingliang; Wang, Jian; Sun, Qianqian; Zhang, Jian; Tang, Weihua; Deng, Zhenbo

    2015-02-18

    We present a smart strategy to simultaneously increase the short circuit current (Jsc), the open circuit voltage (Voc), and the fill factor (FF) of polymer solar cells (PSCs). A two-dimensional conjugated small molecule photovoltaic material (SMPV1), as the second electron donor, was doped into the blend system of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and [6,6]-phenyl-C71-butyric acid methyl (PC71BM) to form ternary PSCs. The ternary PSCs with 5 wt % SMPV1 doping ratio in donors achieve 4.06% champion power conversion efficiency (PCE), corresponding to about 21.2% enhancement compared with the 3.35% PCE of P3HT:PC71BM-based PSCs. The underlying mechanism on performance improvement of ternary PSCs can be summarized as (i) harvesting more photons in the longer wavelength region to increase Jsc; (ii) obtaining the lower mixed highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy level by incorporating SMPV1 to increase Voc; (iii) forming the better charge carrier transport channels through the cascade energy level structure and optimizing phase separation of donor/acceptor materials to increase Jsc and FF.

  18. Forge: a short pulse x-ray diagnostic development facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stradling, G.L.; Hurry, T.R.; Denbow, E.R.; Selph, M.M.; Ameduri, F.P.

    1985-01-01

    A new short pulse x-ray calibration facility has been brought on line at Los Alamos. This facility is being used for the development, testing and calibration of fast x-ray diagnostic systems. The x-ray source consists of a moderate size, sub-nanosecond laser focused at high intensity on an appropriate target material to generate short pulses of x-ray emission from the resulting plasma. Dynamic performance parameters of fast x-ray diagnostic instruments, such as x-ray streak cameras, can be conveniently measured using this facility

  19. Strategy for a consistent selection of radionuclide migration parameters for the Belgian safety and feasibility case-1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bruggeman, C.; Maes, N.; Salah, S.; Brassinnes, S.; Van Geet, M.

    2010-01-01

    solution species and retention processes. The drafting of such phenomenological models will allow the different radionuclides in the database to be grouped according to the similarity of the processes to which they are subjected with respect to their transport behaviour. Examples of such groups are 'anionic species', 'cations whose uptake is dominated by ion exchange processes', 'cations whose solution speciation is dominated by a natural organic matter complex', etc. Within each group of radionuclides, the chemical affinity of each radionuclide towards a geochemical process which is considered of importance for this group, will then allow individual radionuclides to be ranked and parameters to be differentiated. These ranking exercises take advantage of general existing knowledge concerning the process involved, e.g. by using scientifically established Linear Free Energy Relationships between well-documented thermodynamic parameters and more ill-defined specific interaction constants. The approach of building phenomenological models, grouping radionuclides, and ranking the individual radionuclides within each group, will maximise consistency in the selection of retention and migration parameters, which is not guaranteed if parameters are selected on a case-by-case approach for each radionuclide separately. In this presentation, both the above-described general strategy will be further elucidated, and practical examples will be given to illustrate the selection strategy

  20. Short-Term Memory Limitations in Children: Capacity or Processing Deficits?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chi, Michelene T. H.

    1976-01-01

    Evaluates the assertion that short-term memory (STM) capacity increases with age and concludes that the STM capacity limitation in children is due to the deficits in the processing strategies and speeds, which presumably improve with age through cumulative learning. (JM) Available from: Memory and Cognition, Psychonomic Society, 1018 West 34…

  1. Contrasting water strategies of two Mediterranean shrubs of limited distribution: uncertain future under a drier climate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lázaro-Nogal, Ana; Forner, Alicia; Traveset, Anna; Valladares, Fernando

    2013-12-01

    Plants have evolved different strategies to cope with drought, involving alternative ecophysiologies and different levels of plasticity. These strategies are critical for species of limited distribution, which are especially vulnerable to the current rates of rapid environmental change. The aim of this study was to assess the water strategy of two species with limited distribution, Cneorum tricoccon L. and Rhamnus ludovici-salvatoris Chodat., and evaluate their interpopulation variability along an aridity gradient to estimate their vulnerability to a drier climate. We measured different ecophysiological traits influenced by drought--stomatal conductance, maximum photochemical efficiency of photosynthesis II, carbon isotope ratio and chlorophyll concentration--in two climatically contrasting years, before and during summer drought. Both species were vulnerable to drought at the aridity limit of the gradient, but showed contrasting water strategies: while C. tricoccon was consistent in its water conservation strategy across the aridity gradient, R. ludovici-salvatoris was not, displaying higher and more variable stomatal conductances and being able to increase water-use efficiency at the most xeric sites. Changes in length and intensity of drought events may favor one species' strategy to the detriment of the other: C. tricoccon is more vulnerable to chronic and prolonged droughts, whereas short but acute droughts might have a stronger effect on R. ludovici-salvatoris. In those communities where these two species coexist, such different strategies might lead to changes in community structure under climate change scenarios, with unknown cascade effects on ecosystem functioning.

  2. Thermodynamically Consistent Algorithms for the Solution of Phase-Field Models

    KAUST Repository

    Vignal, Philippe

    2016-02-11

    Phase-field models are emerging as a promising strategy to simulate interfacial phenomena. Rather than tracking interfaces explicitly as done in sharp interface descriptions, these models use a diffuse order parameter to monitor interfaces implicitly. This implicit description, as well as solid physical and mathematical footings, allow phase-field models to overcome problems found by predecessors. Nonetheless, the method has significant drawbacks. The phase-field framework relies on the solution of high-order, nonlinear partial differential equations. Solving these equations entails a considerable computational cost, so finding efficient strategies to handle them is important. Also, standard discretization strategies can many times lead to incorrect solutions. This happens because, for numerical solutions to phase-field equations to be valid, physical conditions such as mass conservation and free energy monotonicity need to be guaranteed. In this work, we focus on the development of thermodynamically consistent algorithms for time integration of phase-field models. The first part of this thesis focuses on an energy-stable numerical strategy developed for the phase-field crystal equation. This model was put forward to model microstructure evolution. The algorithm developed conserves, guarantees energy stability and is second order accurate in time. The second part of the thesis presents two numerical schemes that generalize literature regarding energy-stable methods for conserved and non-conserved phase-field models. The time discretization strategies can conserve mass if needed, are energy-stable, and second order accurate in time. We also develop an adaptive time-stepping strategy, which can be applied to any second-order accurate scheme. This time-adaptive strategy relies on a backward approximation to give an accurate error estimator. The spatial discretization, in both parts, relies on a mixed finite element formulation and isogeometric analysis. The codes are

  3. Short-term synaptic plasticity and heterogeneity in neural systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mejias, J. F.; Kappen, H. J.; Longtin, A.; Torres, J. J.

    2013-01-01

    We review some recent results on neural dynamics and information processing which arise when considering several biophysical factors of interest, in particular, short-term synaptic plasticity and neural heterogeneity. The inclusion of short-term synaptic plasticity leads to enhanced long-term memory capacities, a higher robustness of memory to noise, and irregularity in the duration of the so-called up cortical states. On the other hand, considering some level of neural heterogeneity in neuron models allows neural systems to optimize information transmission in rate coding and temporal coding, two strategies commonly used by neurons to codify information in many brain areas. In all these studies, analytical approximations can be made to explain the underlying dynamics of these neural systems.

  4. Consistent assignment of nursing staff to residents in nursing homes: a critical review of conceptual and methodological issues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts, Tonya; Nolet, Kimberly; Bowers, Barbara

    2015-06-01

    Consistent assignment of nursing staff to residents is promoted by a number of national organizations as a strategy for improving nursing home quality and is included in pay for performance schedules in several states. However, research has shown inconsistent effects of consistent assignment on quality outcomes. In order to advance the state of the science of research on consistent assignment and inform current practice and policy, a literature review was conducted to critique conceptual and methodological understandings of consistent assignment. Twenty original research reports of consistent assignment in nursing homes were found through a variety of search strategies. Consistent assignment was conceptualized and operationalized in multiple ways with little overlap from study to study. There was a lack of established methods to measure consistent assignment. Methodological limitations included a lack of control and statistical analyses of group differences in experimental-level studies, small sample sizes, lack of attention to confounds in multicomponent interventions, and outcomes that were not theoretically linked. Future research should focus on developing a conceptual understanding of consistent assignment focused on definition, measurement, and links to outcomes. To inform current policies, testing consistent assignment should include attention to contexts within and levels at which it is most effective. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Gerontological Society of America 2013.

  5. Írói névadási tendenciák és stratégiák Kosztolányi Dezső novellái alapján [Name giving tendencies and strategies in short stories by Dezső Kosztolányi

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Páji, Gréta

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available When examining Kosztolányi’s short stories, as in the case of his novels, great importance should be attached to names and to comments made on names. Three distinct name giving strategies can be observed in Kosztolányi’s short stories, which, at the same time, can also be used as bases for comparison of the tendencies in name giving and name use in texts of different genres by the same author. Besides namelessness – which itself may fulfil different functions – two other tendencies seem to be relevant. One strategy uses the appellative meaning of the name as a stylistic and story organizing element; the other strategy relies on the basic and well-practised knowledge the reader has of names and name use, focusing attention directly without long explanations. The author emphasizes the well-known fact that names and name choice play an essential role in Kosztolányi’s works.

  6. The Directly Observed Therapy Short-Course (DOTS strategy in Samara Oblast, Russian Federation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nikolayevskyy V

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The World Health Organisation (WHO defines Russia as one of the 22 highest-burden countries for tuberculosis (TB. The WHO Directly Observed Treatment Short Course (DOTS strategy employing a standardised treatment for 6 months produces the highest cure rates for drug sensitive TB. The Russian TB service traditionally employed individualised treatment. The purpose of this study was to implement a DOTS programme in the civilian and prison sectors of Samara Region of Russia, describe the clinical features and outcomes of recruited patients, determine the proportion of individuals in the cohorts who were infected with drug resistant TB, the degree to which resistance was attributed to the Beijing TB strain family and establish risk factors for drug resistance. Methods prospective study Results 2,099 patients were recruited overall. Treatment outcomes were analysed for patients recruited up to the third quarter of 2003 (n = 920. 75.3% of patients were successfully treated. Unsuccessful outcomes occurred in 7.3% of cases; 3.6% of patients died during treatment, with a significantly higher proportion of smear-positive cases dying compared to smear-negative cases. 14.0% were lost and transferred out. A high proportion of new cases (948 sequential culture-proven TB cases had tuberculosis that was resistant to first-line drugs; (24.9% isoniazid resistant; 20.3% rifampicin resistant; 17.3% multidrug resistant tuberculosis. Molecular epidemiological analysis demonstrated that half of all isolated strains (50.7%; 375/740 belonged to the Beijing family. Drug resistance including MDR TB was strongly associated with infection with the Beijing strain (for MDR TB, 35.2% in Beijing strains versus 9.5% in non-Beijing strains, OR-5.2. Risk factors for multidrug resistant tuberculosis were: being a prisoner (OR 4.4, having a relapse of tuberculosis (OR 3.5, being infected with a Beijing family TB strain (OR 6.5 and having an unsuccessful outcome

  7. Trend of tuberculosis cases under directly observed treatment, short-course strategy in Tabriz, Iran, from 2001 to 2011

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhila Khamnian

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: The universal target under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs is to reduce the worldwide burden of tuberculosis (TB 2015, and we wanted to evaluate development in TB control by assessment of the time trend in incidence and death rate in Tabriz, Iran. Methods: This was a retrospective trend analysis of the data have been recorded in East Azerbaijan State TB center during 10 years. Data were related to patients have been registered for treatment under the directly observed treatment, short-course (DOTS strategy from 2001 to 2011. Results: In total, 3283 TB patients were treated under DOTS strategy during 2001-2011. Males constituted 55.0% of subjects. The risk was the highest among the productive age group (15-44 years. About 61.0% of cases had pulmonary, and 78.0% of pulmonary TB patients were found to be the sputum smear positive than 46.0% of them were new sputum smear positive, and 2.0% of them were relapse. On average, for sputum smear positive, TB cases from 2005 to 2011; the treatment success rate was 87.3%; the cure rate was 80.2%; the treatment failure rate was 0.5% and death rate was 10.3%. In general, the TB incidence rate for all TB cases was decreased from 11.9-8.1 a 100000 population and the smear-positive pulmonary TB incidence rate were decreased from 4.7 to 4.1 a 100000 population in eastern Azerbaijan province during 2001-2011. Conclusion: In general, we had a decrease in the incidence rate for all of TB cases. In addition, we had a fall in cure rate and had an increase in drug side effects rate in this year that can be because of elevated old people ratio and high death rate by other indirect causes and lack of regular visits and medications taking according to the treatment protocol.

  8. Short-term strategies for Dutch wind power producers to reduce imbalance costs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chaves-Ávila, José Pablo; Hakvoort, Rudi A.; Ramos, Andrés

    2013-01-01

    The paper assesses bidding strategies for a wind power producer in the Netherlands. To this end, a three-stage stochastic optimization framework is used, maximizing wind power producer's profit using the day-ahead and cross-border intraday market, taking into account available interconnection capacity. Results show that the wind power producer can increase its profits by trading on the intraday market and – under certain imbalance prices – by intentionally creating imbalances. It has been considered uncertainties about prices, power forecast and interconnection capacity at the day-ahead and intraday timeframes. - Highlights: ► A cross-border bidding strategy model for wind power producers has been developed. ► The model was applied to a real case study of a Dutch offshore wind power producer. ► Under certain imbalance prices, it is not profitable to deliver all possible power. ► Intraday markets give the possibility to reduce imbalance costs. ► Integration of intraday markets will increase liquidity.

  9. A short-run solution to the power crisis of Pakistan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Imran, Muhammad; Amir, Namra

    2015-01-01

    Pakistan is in a deep power crisis since 2008 which the government is trying to control by adding new generation capacity. This strategy, however, will not be helpful in the short-run. The only way, the power crisis can be controlled or mitigated in the short-run, is to efficiently utilize the available resources. Government lacks such a strategy at this point. The paper provides such a strategy by setting up a power sector model with multiple modules of generation, transmission and distribution. The model provides an efficient way of utilizing the available resources and can be used to perform simulations at different stages of the supply-chain. The results of model show that, if the given resources are utilized efficiently, the power generation increases by 3222 GWh or 5 percent of the current output and the revenue increases by $945 million or 12 percent. The extra generated power decrease the cost of power production by 0.52 ¢/KWh cents and reduces the power load-shedding for 2–3 h. These outcomes can significantly relieve the sector and the people of Pakistan. The results of the model have important policy implications on working of the sector and circular debt reduction. - Highlights: • Government needs a new strategy to come out of the power crisis along with adding new power generation. • Because one major reason of current power crisis is the inefficient use of available resources. • Focus of this paper is to provide such a strategy by setting up a power sector supply-chain model. • When resources are utilized efficiently, power generation and revenue increases by 5 and 12 percent respectively. • These outputs decreases cost of power production by 0.52¢/KWh and power load-shedding by 2–3 h.

  10. Consistent mutational paths predict eukaryotic thermostability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    van Noort Vera

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Proteomes of thermophilic prokaryotes have been instrumental in structural biology and successfully exploited in biotechnology, however many proteins required for eukaryotic cell function are absent from bacteria or archaea. With Chaetomium thermophilum, Thielavia terrestris and Thielavia heterothallica three genome sequences of thermophilic eukaryotes have been published. Results Studying the genomes and proteomes of these thermophilic fungi, we found common strategies of thermal adaptation across the different kingdoms of Life, including amino acid biases and a reduced genome size. A phylogenetics-guided comparison of thermophilic proteomes with those of other, mesophilic Sordariomycetes revealed consistent amino acid substitutions associated to thermophily that were also present in an independent lineage of thermophilic fungi. The most consistent pattern is the substitution of lysine by arginine, which we could find in almost all lineages but has not been extensively used in protein stability engineering. By exploiting mutational paths towards the thermophiles, we could predict particular amino acid residues in individual proteins that contribute to thermostability and validated some of them experimentally. By determining the three-dimensional structure of an exemplar protein from C. thermophilum (Arx1, we could also characterise the molecular consequences of some of these mutations. Conclusions The comparative analysis of these three genomes not only enhances our understanding of the evolution of thermophily, but also provides new ways to engineer protein stability.

  11. Instructional Strategy: Administration of Injury Scripts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schilling, Jim

    2016-01-01

    Context: Learning how to form accurate and efficient clinical examinations is a critical factor in becoming a competent athletic training practitioner, and instructional strategies differ for this complex task. Objective: To introduce an instructional strategy consistent with complex learning to encourage improved efficiency by minimizing…

  12. Spawning strategies and transport of early stages of the two Cape ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Seasonal and short-term variability of environmental parameters influence the spawning strategies of fish species. In this study, the spawning strategies and the transport of early stages of the two Cape hake species off South Africa were investigated. Distribution of eggs and larvae of Merluccius paradoxus and M. capensis ...

  13. Consistency of differential and integral thermonuclear neutronics data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reupke, W.A.

    1978-01-01

    To increase the accuracy of the neutronics analysis of nuclear reactors, physicists and engineers have employed a variety of techniques, including the adjustment of multigroup differential data to improve consistency with integral data. Of the various adjustment strategies, a generalized least-squares procedure which adjusts the combined differential and integral data can significantly improve the accuracy of neutronics calculations compared to calculations employing only differential data. This investigation analyzes 14 MeV neutron-driven integral experiments, using a more extensively developed methodology and a newly developed computer code, to extend the domain of adjustment from the energy range of fission reactors to the energy range of fusion reactors

  14. Time-consistent and market-consistent evaluations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pelsser, A.; Stadje, M.A.

    2014-01-01

    We consider evaluation methods for payoffs with an inherent financial risk as encountered for instance for portfolios held by pension funds and insurance companies. Pricing such payoffs in a way consistent to market prices typically involves combining actuarial techniques with methods from

  15. A network architecture supporting consistent rich behavior in collaborative interactive applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marsh, James; Glencross, Mashhuda; Pettifer, Steve; Hubbold, Roger

    2006-01-01

    Network architectures for collaborative virtual reality have traditionally been dominated by client-server and peer-to-peer approaches, with peer-to-peer strategies typically being favored where minimizing latency is a priority, and client-server where consistency is key. With increasingly sophisticated behavior models and the demand for better support for haptics, we argue that neither approach provides sufficient support for these scenarios and, thus, a hybrid architecture is required. We discuss the relative performance of different distribution strategies in the face of real network conditions and illustrate the problems they face. Finally, we present an architecture that successfully meets many of these challenges and demonstrate its use in a distributed virtual prototyping application which supports simultaneous collaboration for assembly, maintenance, and training applications utilizing haptics.

  16. Short-term economics of virtual power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kok, J.K.

    2009-08-01

    The Virtual Power Plant (VPP) has gained an increasing interest over the last few years. A VPP is a flexible representation of a portfolio of Distributed Energy Resources (DER: distributed generation, demand response and electricity storage). One of the key activities of a VPP is the delivery of (near-)real-time balancing services. In order to operate such a (near-)real-time coordination activity optimally, the VPP needs to maintain a dynamic merit-order list of all DER participating in the VPP. In order to make optimal decisions based on this list, the merit order needs to be based on the true marginal cost (or marginal benefit in case of demand response) of the individual DER units. The marginal electricity costs of most types of DER are highly dependent on local context and, hence, change over time. From analysis of the short-term bid strategies of various DER units, the existence of a bid strategy spectrum becomes clear. On one end of the spectrum, bidding strategies are based straightforwardly on true marginal cost or benefit. Further along the spectrum, optimal bidding strategies become less dependent on marginal cost levels and more on the price dynamics in the (VPP) market context. These results are relevant for VPP operations both from business and technical perspectives.

  17. Design and production of a short 2D animated film

    OpenAIRE

    Prusnik, Petra

    2014-01-01

    Design and production of a short 2D animated film The thesis aims at analysing animation, the process of creating an ani- mated film with its technical and compositional details as well as show the process of making a short 2D animated movie with Toon Boom Studio. It is composed of theoretical and practical part. The theoretical part of this thesis consists of the definition of the term "animation", a quick overview of its history and evolution, and an in-depth look into var...

  18. Temporal information processing in short- and long-term memory of patients with schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Landgraf, Steffen; Steingen, Joerg; Eppert, Yvonne; Niedermeyer, Ulrich; van der Meer, Elke; Krueger, Frank

    2011-01-01

    Cognitive deficits of patients with schizophrenia have been largely recognized as core symptoms of the disorder. One neglected factor that contributes to these deficits is the comprehension of time. In the present study, we assessed temporal information processing and manipulation from short- and long-term memory in 34 patients with chronic schizophrenia and 34 matched healthy controls. On the short-term memory temporal-order reconstruction task, an incidental or intentional learning strategy was deployed. Patients showed worse overall performance than healthy controls. The intentional learning strategy led to dissociable performance improvement in both groups. Whereas healthy controls improved on a performance measure (serial organization), patients improved on an error measure (inappropriate semantic clustering) when using the intentional instead of the incidental learning strategy. On the long-term memory script-generation task, routine and non-routine events of everyday activities (e.g., buying groceries) had to be generated in either chronological or inverted temporal order. Patients were slower than controls at generating events in the chronological routine condition only. They also committed more sequencing and boundary errors in the inverted conditions. The number of irrelevant events was higher in patients in the chronological, non-routine condition. These results suggest that patients with schizophrenia imprecisely access temporal information from short- and long-term memory. In short-term memory, processing of temporal information led to a reduction in errors rather than, as was the case in healthy controls, to an improvement in temporal-order recall. When accessing temporal information from long-term memory, patients were slower and committed more sequencing, boundary, and intrusion errors. Together, these results suggest that time information can be accessed and processed only imprecisely by patients who provide evidence for impaired time comprehension

  19. Selection of intellectual capital management strategies

    OpenAIRE

    Shcherbachenko Viktoriia Oleksiivna

    2016-01-01

    This article deals with the selection of intellectual capital management strategy. The attention is paid to the structure of intellectual capital, which consists of human capital, customer capital, process capital, intellectual property, intangible assets. The algorithm of selection of intellectual capital management strategy was created by author.

  20. Analysts forecast error : A robust prediction model and its short term trading

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Boudt, Kris; de Goeij, Peter; Thewissen, James; Van Campenhout, Geert

    We examine the profitability of implementing a short term trading strategy based on predicting the error in analysts' earnings per share forecasts using publicly available information. Since large earnings surprises may lead to extreme values in the forecast error series that disrupt their smooth

  1. Inventory strategies for systems with fast remanufacturing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    R.H. Teunter (Ruud); E.A. van der Laan (Erwin); D. Vlachos (Dimitrios)

    2002-01-01

    textabstractWe describe hybrid manufacturing/remanufacturing systems with a long lead time for manufacturing and a short lead time for remanufacturing. We review the classes of inventory strategies for hybrid systems in the literature. These are all based on equal lead times. For systems with slow

  2. Persistence Modeling for Assessing Marketing Strategy Performance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    M.G. Dekimpe (Marnik); D.M. Hanssens (Dominique)

    2003-01-01

    textabstractThe question of long-run market response lies at the heart of any marketing strategy that tries to create a sustainable competitive advantage for the firm or brand. A key challenge, however, is that only short-run results of marketing actions are readily observable. Persistence modeling

  3. Phonological, visual, and semantic coding strategies and children's short-term picture memory span

    OpenAIRE

    Henry, L.; Messer, D. J.; Luger-Klein, S.; Crane, L.

    2012-01-01

    Three experiments addressed controversies in the previous literature on the development of phonological and other forms of short-term memory coding in children, using assessments of picture memory span that ruled out potentially confounding effects of verbal input and output. Picture materials were varied in terms of phonological similarity, visual similarity, semantic similarity, and word length. Older children (6/8-year-olds), but not younger children (4/5-year-olds), demonstrated robust an...

  4. Cognitive Strategy in Learning Chemistry: How Chunking and Learning Get Together

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lah, Norma Che; Saat, Rohaida Mohd; Hassan, Ruhaya

    2014-01-01

    The study explores chunking strategies applied in Short Term Memory (STM) by upper secondary students of mixed chemistry learning abilities. The aim of the study is to observe variations in chunking strategies utilized by these students when learning the Periodic Table of Elements in the Form Four Chemistry syllabus. Findings show that students…

  5. The Source for Learning & Memory Strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richards, Regina G.

    This book is a comprehensive guide to learning and memory strategies for all students and especially those with learning problems. Chapter 1, on memory and the brain, explains brain cells, the cortex, function of the cerebral lobes, and other brain structures. Chapter 2 examines the memory process and discusses sensory memory, short-term memory,…

  6. Short Large-Amplitude Magnetic Structures (SLAMS) at Venus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collinson, G. A.; Wilson, L. B.; Sibeck, D. G.; Shane, N.; Zhang, T. L.; Moore, T. E.; Coates, A. J.; Barabash, S.

    2012-01-01

    We present the first observation of magnetic fluctuations consistent with Short Large-Amplitude Magnetic Structures (SLAMS) in the foreshock of the planet Venus. Three monolithic magnetic field spikes were observed by the Venus Express on the 11th of April 2009. The structures were approx.1.5->11s in duration, had magnetic compression ratios between approx.3->6, and exhibited elliptical polarization. These characteristics are consistent with the SLAMS observed at Earth, Jupiter, and Comet Giacobini-Zinner, and thus we hypothesize that it is possible SLAMS may be found at any celestial body with a foreshock.

  7. The Short- and Long-Run Marginal Cost Curve: A Pedagogical Note.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sexton, Robert L.; And Others

    1993-01-01

    Contends that the standard description of the relationship between the long-run marginal cost curve and the short-run marginal cost curve is often misleading and imprecise. Asserts that a sampling of college-level textbooks confirms this confusion. Provides a definition and instructional strategy that can be used to promote student understanding…

  8. Probabilistic eruption forecasting at short and long time scales

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marzocchi, Warner; Bebbington, Mark S.

    2012-10-01

    Any effective volcanic risk mitigation strategy requires a scientific assessment of the future evolution of a volcanic system and its eruptive behavior. Some consider the onus should be on volcanologists to provide simple but emphatic deterministic forecasts. This traditional way of thinking, however, does not deal with the implications of inherent uncertainties, both aleatoric and epistemic, that are inevitably present in observations, monitoring data, and interpretation of any natural system. In contrast to deterministic predictions, probabilistic eruption forecasting attempts to quantify these inherent uncertainties utilizing all available information to the extent that it can be relied upon and is informative. As with many other natural hazards, probabilistic eruption forecasting is becoming established as the primary scientific basis for planning rational risk mitigation actions: at short-term (hours to weeks or months), it allows decision-makers to prioritize actions in a crisis; and at long-term (years to decades), it is the basic component for land use and emergency planning. Probabilistic eruption forecasting consists of estimating the probability of an eruption event and where it sits in a complex multidimensional time-space-magnitude framework. In this review, we discuss the key developments and features of models that have been used to address the problem.

  9. Chromosome 2 short arm translocations revealed by M-FISH analysis of neuroblastoma cell lines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Roy, N; Van Limbergen, H; Vandesompele, J; Van Gele, M; Poppe, B; Laureys, G; De Paepe, A; Speleman, F

    2000-12-01

    M-FISH analysis was performed on 18 neuroblastoma cell lines, which were previously studied with cytogenetic, standard FISH and CGH data. One of the most striking findings of this study was the detection of chromosome 2 short arm rearrangements in 61% of the investigated cell lines. These rearrangements resulted from translocations with various partner chromosomes. All translocations, except one were unbalanced, leading to the consistent gain of chromosome segment 2pter-p22. A cryptic balanced translocation t(2;4) was observed with a breakpoint located in the vicinity of MYCN in cell line NBL-S. Combination of M-FISH results together with cytogenetic, standard FISH and CGH data yielded the most comprehensive description of chromosome 2 short arm rearrangements, leading to a consistent gain of chromosome 2 short arm material. Copyright 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  10. Effectiveness and Retention of Teaching Memory Strategy Use to Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bebko, James M.; Rhee, Thomas; Ncube, Busisiwe L.; Dahary, Hadas

    2017-01-01

    Although low levels of memory strategy use have been found in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), few studies have explored the effectiveness of interventions for improving strategy use with this population. In two studies, we examined the short- and longer term effectiveness of rehearsal strategy training. In Study 1, children with…

  11. Short sellers’ accusations against Chinese reverse mergers: Information analytics or guilt by association?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hongqi Liu

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper studies short sellers’ trading strategies and their effects on the financial market by examining their accusations of fraud against Chinese reverse merger firms (CRMs in the US. We find that short sellers rely on firms’ fundamental information, especially relative financial indicators, to locate their “prey.” Specifically, they compare a target firm’s financial indicators (e.g., growth and receivables with both the industry average and the firm’s history. We find no evidence that short sellers accuse CRMs simply because of their reverse merger label. Additionally, we test the accuracy of short sellers’ accusations in the long run and find that accused firms are more likely to delist and less likely to recover from price plunges. Our results also indicate that CRMs’ high exposure to short sellers’ accusations stem from adverse selection problems: firms with high litigation risk are more likely to choose reverse mergers to access the US capital market. Overall, our results support the view that short sellers are sophisticated investors and shed some light on their decision processes.

  12. Control strategies for bovine dermatophilosis with particular ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The various control strategies for Dermatophilosis are discussed in this paper. Recommendations for control of Dermatophilosis in Nigeria on short term include ecto-parasite control by regular use of insecticide/acaricide in dips with added 0.03% copper sulphate or 1% solution of alum (potassium aluminium sulphate) ...

  13. Validation of a short food frequency questionnaire in Australian adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khalesi, Saman; Doshi, Deepak; Buys, Nicholas; Sun, Jing

    2017-05-01

    The aim of this article is to report on the validity and internal consistency of a short food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to measure dietary intake in Australian adults. A total of 407 individuals completed the short FFQ. The Cronbach's alpha of 0.66 indicated acceptable internal consistency for the FFQ. Content validity was measured using factor analysis showed that 35% of total variance was explained by factor analysis. The FFQ was also validated against 31 3-day food records (FR). No significant difference between average intake of energy, most macronutrients, and some micronutrients between two instruments was identified. An acceptable levels of correlation (0.39-0.69) was observed between the two instruments. Bland and Altman's plots showed relative agreement in both instruments with potential bias in measuring iron and iodine. The current FFQ can be an acceptable tool to quickly measuring dietary intake in Australian adults.

  14. Planck 2013 results. XXXI. Consistency of the Planck data

    CERN Document Server

    Ade, P A R; Ashdown, M; Aumont, J; Baccigalupi, C; Banday, A.J; Barreiro, R.B; Battaner, E; Benabed, K; Benoit-Levy, A; Bernard, J.P; Bersanelli, M; Bielewicz, P; Bond, J.R; Borrill, J; Bouchet, F.R; Burigana, C; Cardoso, J.F; Catalano, A; Challinor, A; Chamballu, A; Chiang, H.C; Christensen, P.R; Clements, D.L; Colombi, S; Colombo, L.P.L; Couchot, F; Coulais, A; Crill, B.P; Curto, A; Cuttaia, F; Danese, L; Davies, R.D; Davis, R.J; de Bernardis, P; de Rosa, A; de Zotti, G; Delabrouille, J; Desert, F.X; Dickinson, C; Diego, J.M; Dole, H; Donzelli, S; Dore, O; Douspis, M; Dupac, X; Ensslin, T.A; Eriksen, H.K; Finelli, F; Forni, O; Frailis, M; Fraisse, A A; Franceschi, E; Galeotta, S; Ganga, K; Giard, M; Gonzalez-Nuevo, J; Gorski, K.M.; Gratton, S.; Gregorio, A; Gruppuso, A; Gudmundsson, J E; Hansen, F.K; Hanson, D; Harrison, D; Henrot-Versille, S; Herranz, D; Hildebrandt, S.R; Hivon, E; Hobson, M; Holmes, W.A.; Hornstrup, A; Hovest, W.; Huffenberger, K.M; Jaffe, T.R; Jaffe, A.H; Jones, W.C; Keihanen, E; Keskitalo, R; Knoche, J; Kunz, M; Kurki-Suonio, H; Lagache, G; Lahteenmaki, A; Lamarre, J.M; Lasenby, A; Lawrence, C.R; Leonardi, R; Leon-Tavares, J; Lesgourgues, J; Liguori, M; Lilje, P.B; Linden-Vornle, M; Lopez-Caniego, M; Lubin, P.M; Macias-Perez, J.F; Maino, D; Mandolesi, N; Maris, M; Martin, P.G; Martinez-Gonzalez, E; Masi, S; Matarrese, S; Mazzotta, P; Meinhold, P.R; Melchiorri, A; Mendes, L; Mennella, A; Migliaccio, M; Mitra, S; Miville-Deschenes, M.A; Moneti, A; Montier, L; Morgante, G; Mortlock, D; Moss, A; Munshi, D; Murphy, J A; Naselsky, P; Nati, F; Natoli, P; Norgaard-Nielsen, H.U; Noviello, F; Novikov, D; Novikov, I; Oxborrow, C.A; Pagano, L; Pajot, F; Paoletti, D; Partridge, B; Pasian, F; Patanchon, G; Pearson, D; Pearson, T.J; Perdereau, O; Perrotta, F; Piacentini, F; Piat, M; Pierpaoli, E; Pietrobon, D; Plaszczynski, S; Pointecouteau, E; Polenta, G; Ponthieu, N; Popa, L; Pratt, G.W; Prunet, S; Puget, J.L; Rachen, J.P; Reinecke, M; Remazeilles, M; Renault, C; Ricciardi, S.; Ristorcelli, I; Rocha, G.; Roudier, G; Rubino-Martin, J.A; Rusholme, B; Sandri, M; Scott, D; Stolyarov, V; Sudiwala, R; Sutton, D; Suur-Uski, A.S; Sygnet, J.F; Tauber, J.A; Terenzi, L; Toffolatti, L; Tomasi, M; Tristram, M; Tucci, M; Valenziano, L; Valiviita, J; Van Tent, B; Vielva, P; Villa, F; Wade, L.A; Wandelt, B.D; Wehus, I K; White, S D M; Yvon, D; Zacchei, A; Zonca, A

    2014-01-01

    The Planck design and scanning strategy provide many levels of redundancy that can be exploited to provide tests of internal consistency. One of the most important is the comparison of the 70 GHz (amplifier) and 100 GHz (bolometer) channels. Based on different instrument technologies, with feeds located differently in the focal plane, analysed independently by different teams using different software, and near the minimum of diffuse foreground emission, these channels are in effect two different experiments. The 143 GHz channel has the lowest noise level on Planck, and is near the minimum of unresolved foreground emission. In this paper, we analyse the level of consistency achieved in the 2013 Planck data. We concentrate on comparisons between the 70, 100, and 143 GHz channel maps and power spectra, particularly over the angular scales of the first and second acoustic peaks, on maps masked for diffuse Galactic emission and for strong unresolved sources. Difference maps covering angular scales from 8°...

  15. The effect of short recovery period investment on least-cost generation system expansion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yiqun He; David, A.K.; Fernando, P.N.

    1995-01-01

    The effect of the short recovery period of private investment on least-cost generation system expansion is analysed, and a trade-off method for generation system expansion, which gives consideration to both the least-cost strategy and the short recovery period of private investment, is presented. First, the optimal mix of generation units under a standard recovery period for all units is established, and then the surcharge, due to the difference between the short recovery period and the standard recovery period, is calculated and shared between all units. The former is an optimization to make best use of natural resources, and the latter is a trade-off method to spread the surcharge throughout the system. (Author)

  16. Short Assessment of Health Literacy for Portuguese-speaking Adults

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Apolinario

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To develop and validate a short health literacy assessment tool for Portuguese-speaking adults. METHODS: The Short Assessment of Health Literacy for Portuguese-speaking Adults is an assessment tool which consists of 50 items that assess an individual's ability to correctly pronounce and understand common medical terms. We evaluated the instrument's psychometric properties in a convenience sample of 226 Brazilian older adults. Construct validity was assessed by correlating the tool scores with years of schooling, self-reported literacy, and global cognitive functioning. Discrimination validity was assessed by testing the tool's accuracy in detecting inadequate health literacy, defined as failure to fully understand standard medical prescriptions. RESULTS: Moderate to high correlations were found in the assessment of construct validity (Spearman's coefficients ranging from 0.63 to 0.76. The instrument showed adequate internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha=0.93 and adequate test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient=0.95. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for detection of inadequate health literacy was 0.82. A version consisting of 18 items was tested and showed similar psychometric properties. CONCLUSIONS: The instrument developed showed good validity and reliability in a sample of Brazilian older adults. It can be used in research and clinical settings for screening inadequate health literacy.

  17. Concepts for the Temporal Characterization of Short Optical Pulses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Walmsley Ian A

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Methods for the characterization of the time-dependent electric field of short optical pulses are reviewed. The representation of these pulses in terms of correlation functions and time-frequency distributions is discussed, and the strategies for their characterization are explained using these representations. Examples of the experimental implementations of the concepts of spectrography, interferometry, and tomography for the characterization of pulses in the optical telecommunications environment are presented.

  18. Selection of intellectual capital management strategies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shcherbachenko Viktoriia Oleksiivna

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available This article deals with the selection of intellectual capital management strategy. The attention is paid to the structure of intellectual capital, which consists of human capital, customer capital, process capital, intellectual property, intangible assets. The algorithm of selection of intellectual capital management strategy was created by author.

  19. Short forms of the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale and the Social Phobia Scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fergus, Thomas A; Valentiner, David P; McGrath, Patrick B; Gier-Lonsway, Stephanie L; Kim, Hyun-Soo

    2012-01-01

    Mattick and Clarke's (1998) Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) and Social Phobia Scale (SPS) are commonly used self-report measures that assess 2 dimensions of social anxiety. Given the need for short, readable measures, this research proposes short forms of both scales. Item-level analyses of readability characteristics of the SIAS and SPS items led to the selection of 6 items from each scale for use in the short forms. The SIAS and SPS short forms had reading levels at approximately the 6th and 5th grade level, respectively. Results using nonclinical (Study 1: N = 469) and clinical (Study 2: N = 145) samples identified these short forms as being factorially sound, possessing adequate internal consistency, and having strong convergence with their full-length counterparts. Moreover, these short forms showed convergence with other measures of social anxiety, showed divergence from measures assessing related constructs, and predicted concurrent interpersonal functioning. Recommendations for the use of these short forms are discussed.

  20. Gone in Six Characters: Short URLs Considered Harmful for Cloud Services

    OpenAIRE

    Georgiev, Martin; Shmatikov, Vitaly

    2016-01-01

    Modern cloud services are designed to encourage and support collaboration. To help users share links to online documents, maps, etc., several services, including cloud storage providers such as Microsoft OneDrive and mapping services such as Google Maps, directly integrate URL shorteners that convert long, unwieldy URLs into short URLs, consisting of a domain such as 1drv.ms or goo.gl and a short token. In this paper, we demonstrate that the space of 5- and 6-character tokens included in shor...

  1. Multi-instance learning based on instance consistency for image retrieval

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Miao; Wu, Zhize; Wan, Shouhong; Yue, Lihua; Yin, Bangjie

    2017-07-01

    Multiple-instance learning (MIL) has been successfully utilized in image retrieval. Existing approaches cannot select positive instances correctly from positive bags which may result in a low accuracy. In this paper, we propose a new image retrieval approach called multiple instance learning based on instance-consistency (MILIC) to mitigate such issue. First, we select potential positive instances effectively in each positive bag by ranking instance-consistency (IC) values of instances. Then, we design a feature representation scheme, which can represent the relationship among bags and instances, based on potential positive instances to convert a bag into a single instance. Finally, we can use a standard single-instance learning strategy, such as the support vector machine, for performing object-based image retrieval. Experimental results on two challenging data sets show the effectiveness of our proposal in terms of accuracy and run time.

  2. Strategi Permintaan dalam Bahasa Jepang

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Timur Sri Astami

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Request strategy in Japanese serves to present desires to hearer and speaker gets benefit from the request. Request strategy consists of bald on record, on record with positive politeness, on record with negative politeness, and off record. Research used qualitative descriptive approach. Data were gathered from Maya Koikeda’s Tokimeki Makkun comic book. Research, in the corpus of data, found bald on record strategy was a strategy without any strings attached. Then, on record with positive politeness was showed by the closeness and solidarity relationship. While on record with negative politeness was showed by minimizing load demand and apology, and off record with a vague ellipsis sentence. 

  3. Fast-slow continuum and reproductive strategies structure plant life-history variation worldwide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salguero-Gómez, Roberto; Jones, Owen R; Jongejans, Eelke; Blomberg, Simon P; Hodgson, David J; Mbeau-Ache, Cyril; Zuidema, Pieter A; de Kroon, Hans; Buckley, Yvonne M

    2016-01-05

    The identification of patterns in life-history strategies across the tree of life is essential to our prediction of population persistence, extinction, and diversification. Plants exhibit a wide range of patterns of longevity, growth, and reproduction, but the general determinants of this enormous variation in life history are poorly understood. We use demographic data from 418 plant species in the wild, from annual herbs to supercentennial trees, to examine how growth form, habitat, and phylogenetic relationships structure plant life histories and to develop a framework to predict population performance. We show that 55% of the variation in plant life-history strategies is adequately characterized using two independent axes: the fast-slow continuum, including fast-growing, short-lived plant species at one end and slow-growing, long-lived species at the other, and a reproductive strategy axis, with highly reproductive, iteroparous species at one extreme and poorly reproductive, semelparous plants with frequent shrinkage at the other. Our findings remain consistent across major habitats and are minimally affected by plant growth form and phylogenetic ancestry, suggesting that the relative independence of the fast-slow and reproduction strategy axes is general in the plant kingdom. Our findings have similarities with how life-history strategies are structured in mammals, birds, and reptiles. The position of plant species populations in the 2D space produced by both axes predicts their rate of recovery from disturbances and population growth rate. This life-history framework may complement trait-based frameworks on leaf and wood economics; together these frameworks may allow prediction of responses of plants to anthropogenic disturbances and changing environments.

  4. Routing strategy in a distribution network when the driver learning effect is considered

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Battini, Daria; Faccio, Maurizio; Persona, Alessandro

    2015-01-01

    This paper faces one critical short term decision: the construction of routes for daily goods' deliveries in a distribution network. It investigates the possibility of applying a fixed routing strategy instead of a daily routing optimisation strategy, analysing the benefits derived from the drive...

  5. The effect of a short integrated study skills programme for first-year

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stegers-Jager, K.M.; Cohen-Schotanus, J.; Themmen, A.P.

    2012-01-01

    Background: There is a need for outcome-based studies on strategies for supporting at-risk medical students that use long-term follow-up and contemporaneous controls. AIM: To measure the effect of a short integrated study skills programme (SSP) on the study progress of at-risk medical students.

  6. Drawing versus Writing: The Role of Preference in Regulating Short-Term Affect

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drake, Jennifer E.; Hodge, Adeline

    2015-01-01

    In a pilot study we investigated whether the most effective medium for regulating short-term affect depends on one's preference for drawing or writing, and also investigated the emotion regulation strategy (distraction versus expression) spontaneously chosen when drawing and writing. Eighty undergraduates indicated their preference for drawing or…

  7. Storage and handling of willow from short rotation coppice

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kofman, P. D.; Spinelli, R.

    1997-07-01

    During the project two main storage and drying trials were organised. The first trial in 1996 consisted of 14 piles of 6 different size material (whole shoots, via 200 mm chunk, 100 mm chunk, 50 mm chip, 28 mm chips, 25 mm chips) and six different methods of covering: Open air storage, storage under plastic cover, storage under top-cover, airtight storage, unventilated storage under roof, and intermittent ventilation (cooling) under roof. The drying trial in 1997 which consisted of four piles was established in Horsens in the same building as the ventilated trials the year before. Only Austoft 50 mm chips were used for this trial. The four piles were established in February and removed in May. Based on all the results of the trials the following conclusions can be drawn: Storage of willow from short rotation coppice is very difficult. Fine chips, such as producted by the two main harvesting machines Claas and Austoft are not suitable for storage over prolonged periods of time (more than 2 months); fine chips loose a large amount of dry matter and a lot of their lower heating value; fine chips also have a heavy infestation of micro-organisms which might cause working environment problems; short rotation coppice is best delivered straight into the heating plants during harvest; if short rotation coppice has to be stored, then this should be done as whole shoots or large chunk; if short rotation coppice has to be stored as chips for a longer period of time (more than two months), then these chips should be sealed airtight as silage. (EG) EFP-94; EFP-95; EFP-96. 10 refs.

  8. Linguistic Features of Persuasive Communication: The Case of DRTV Short Form Spots

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Smiljana Komar

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Direct response television commercials (DRTV exhibit a very specific style of speech and delivery whose main function is to boost the product’s value and sales. This paper presents the findings of the structural and the linguistic analyses of three English DRTV short form spots as seen on Highstreet TV. The emphasis is on the verbal strategies used by advertisers to get the consumers’ attention, develop their interest and desire to own the product and to convince them to purchase it. These strategies include different lexical, syntactic and prosodic features. The structural analysis focuses mainly on non-verbal strategies of broadcasting advertisements whose purpose is to inspire interest and credibility in potential consumers.

  9. Out-of-the-Box Marketing Strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Joanna Warren

    1997-01-01

    The new definition of camp includes year-round camp programs for a variety of populations at multiple sites. Developing a marketing strategy involves creating a mission statement that is unique, publishing a year-round marketing strategy, delivering a consistent quality product, and getting people to talk about camp. Sidebar lists elements of how…

  10. Demand and Supply Side Management Strategies for Zero Energy Buildings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ghiasi, Mohammad Iman; Hajizadeh, Amin; Aliakbar Golkar, Masoud

    2017-01-01

    operational scenarios. Afterwards, the SSM strategy based on adaptive fuzzy control is proposed to control of power flow between hybrid renewable sources and PEVs of the main building for a short time interval. Moreover, an fuzzy sliding power control strategy for the controlling of battery energy storage...... is introduced to keep the balance between the requested power from building, PEV and output power of hybrid power generation resources. Simulation and experimental results are presented to validate the capability of the proposed power and energy flow control strategy....

  11. A Strategy Modelling Technique for Financial Services

    OpenAIRE

    Heinrich, Bernd; Winter, Robert

    2004-01-01

    Strategy planning processes often suffer from a lack of conceptual models that can be used to represent business strategies in a structured and standardized form. If natural language is replaced by an at least semi-formal model, the completeness, consistency, and clarity of strategy descriptions can be drastically improved. A strategy modelling technique is proposed that is based on an analysis of modelling requirements, a discussion of related work and a critical analysis of generic approach...

  12. An energy strategy for France; Une strategie energetique pour la France

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fontaine, N.

    2003-10-01

    The present report endeavors tpo make a synthesis of the debate about energy to deduce numerous measures devoted to define the French energy strategy for the short, middle and long term. Two parts are studied in this report. In the first one, the landscape of energy is set, the market is tackled, the energy supply and demand are object of controversy. In the second part, the objective for an energy policy are summarized, elements for the control of energy demand are studied, the energy supply is equally tackled. (N.C.)

  13. Short-Term Memory Coding in Children With Intellectual Disabilities

    OpenAIRE

    Henry, L.; Conners, F.

    2008-01-01

    To examine visual and verbal coding strategies, I asked children with intellectual disabilities and peers matched for MA and CA to perform picture memory span tasks with phonologically similar, visually similar, long, or nonsimilar named items. The CA group showed effects consistent with advanced verbal memory coding (phonological similarity and word length effects). Neither the intellectual disabilities nor MA groups showed evidence for memory coding strategies. However, children in these gr...

  14. The breastfeeding self-efficacy scale: psychometric assessment of the short form.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dennis, Cindy-Lee

    2003-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to reduce the number of items on the original Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale (BSES) and psychometrically assess the revised BSES-Short Form (BSES-SF). As part of a longitudinal study, participants completed mailed questionnaires at 1, 4, and 8 weeks postpartum. Health region in British Columbia. A population-based sample of 491 breastfeeding mothers. BSES, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and Perceived Stress Scale. Internal consistency statistics with the original BSES suggested item redundancy. As such, 18 items were deleted, using explicit reduction criteria. Based on the encouraging reliability analysis of the new 14-item BSES-SF, construct validity was assessed using principal components factor analysis, comparison of contrasted groups, and correlations with measures of similar constructs. Support for predictive validity was demonstrated through significant mean differences between breastfeeding and bottle feeding mothers at 4 (p self-efficacy and considered ready for clinical use to (a) identify breastfeeding mothers at high risk, (b) assess breastfeeding behaviors and cognitions to individualize confidence-building strategies, and (c) evaluate the effectiveness of various interventions and guide program development.

  15. PROBLEM SOLVING IN SCHOOL MATHEMATICS BASED ON HEURISTIC STRATEGIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    NOVOTNÁ, Jarmila

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available The paper describes one of the ways of developing pupils’ creative approach to problem solving. The described experiment is a part of a longitudinal research focusing on improvement of culture of problem solving by pupils. It deals with solving of problems using the following heuristic strategies: Analogy, Guess – check – revise, Systematic experimentation, Problem reformulation, Solution drawing, Way back and Use of graphs of functions. Most attention is paid to the question whether short-term work, in this case only over the period of three months, can result in improvement of pupils’ abilities to solve problems whose solving algorithms are easily accessible. It also answers the question which strategies pupils will prefer and with what results. The experiment shows that even short-term work can bear positive results as far as pupils’ approach to problem solving is concerned.

  16. Strategies for dark matter detection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silk, J.

    1988-01-01

    The present status of alternative forms of dark matter, both baryonic and nonbaryonic, is reviewed. Alternative arguments are presented for the predominance of either cold dark matter (CDM) or of baryonic dark matter (BDM). Strategies are described for dark matter detection, both for dark matter that consists of weakly interacting relic particles and for dark matter that consists of dark stellar remnants

  17. Short-cavity squeezing in barium

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hope, D. M.; Bachor, H-A.; Manson, P. J.; Mcclelland, D. E.

    1992-01-01

    Broadband phase sensitive noise and squeezing were experimentally observed in a system of barium atoms interacting with a single mode of a short optical cavity. Squeezing of 13 +/- 3 percent was observed. A maximum possible squeezing of 45 +/- 8 percent could be inferred for out experimental conditions, after correction for measured loss factors. Noise reductions below the quantum limit were found over a range of detection frequencies 60-170 MHz and were best for high cavity transmission and large optical depths. The amount of squeezing observed is consistent with theoretical predictions from a full quantum statistical model of the system.

  18. Role of elasticity forces in thermodynamics of intercalation compounds : Self-consistent mean-field theory and Monte Carlo simulations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kalikmanov, V.I.; De Leeuw, S.W.

    2002-01-01

    We propose a self-consistent mean-field lattice-gas theory of intercalation compounds based on effective interactions between interstitials in the presence of the host atoms. In addition to short-range screened Coulomb repulsions, usually discussed in the lattice gas models, the present theory takes

  19. Typhoid fever vaccination strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Date, Kashmira A; Bentsi-Enchill, Adwoa; Marks, Florian; Fox, Kimberley

    2015-06-19

    Typhoid vaccination is an important component of typhoid fever prevention and control, and is recommended for public health programmatic use in both endemic and outbreak settings. We reviewed experiences with various vaccination strategies using the currently available typhoid vaccines (injectable Vi polysaccharide vaccine [ViPS], oral Ty21a vaccine, and injectable typhoid conjugate vaccine [TCV]). We assessed the rationale, acceptability, effectiveness, impact and implementation lessons of these strategies to inform effective typhoid vaccination strategies for the future. Vaccination strategies were categorized by vaccine disease control strategy (preemptive use for endemic disease or to prevent an outbreak, and reactive use for outbreak control) and vaccine delivery strategy (community-based routine, community-based campaign and school-based). Almost all public health typhoid vaccination programs used ViPS vaccine and have been in countries of Asia, with one example in the Pacific and one experience using the Ty21a vaccine in South America. All vaccination strategies were found to be acceptable, feasible and effective in the settings evaluated; evidence of impact, where available, was strongest in endemic settings and in the short- to medium-term. Vaccination was cost-effective in high-incidence but not low-incidence settings. Experience in disaster and outbreak settings remains limited. TCVs have recently become available and none are WHO-prequalified yet; no program experience with TCVs was found in published literature. Despite the demonstrated success of several typhoid vaccination strategies, typhoid vaccines remain underused. Implementation lessons should be applied to design optimal vaccination strategies using TCVs which have several anticipated advantages, such as potential for use in infant immunization programs and longer duration of protection, over the ViPS and Ty21a vaccines for typhoid prevention and control. Copyright © 2015. Published by

  20. Open Source Partner Strategy: Are Your Core Businesses Aligned?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susan Riekki-Odle

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Technology companies have historically viewed partnerships through myopic, one-way lenses, asking only: "What can this partner do for me?" This type of thinking is even more pervasive with channel sales partnerships, where technology vendors limit the exploration of value to short term revenue contribution. Vendors must broaden their scope and range of site when embarking on a path of partnership strategy. Ecosystem analysis, economic modeling, and creative go-to-market development are critical components of successful partnership strategies. This article discusses this critical business strategy through a real world example and an overview of best practice.

  1. SHORT-TERM MEMORY IS INDEPENDENT OF BRAIN PROTEIN SYNTHESIS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Davis, Hasker P.; Rosenzweig, Mark R.; Jones, Oliver W.

    1980-09-01

    Male Swiss albino CD-1 mice given a single injection of a cerebral protein synthesis inhibitor, anisomycin (ANI) (1 mg/animal), 20 min prior to single trial passive avoidance training demonstrated impaired retention at tests given 3 hr, 6 hr, 1 day, and 7 days after training. Retention was not significantly different from saline controls when tests were given 0.5 or 1.5 hr after training. Prolonging inhibition of brain protein synthesis by giving either 1 or 2 additional injections of ANI 2 or 2 and 4 hr after training did not prolong short-term retention performance. The temporal development of impaired retention in ANI treated mice could not be accounted for by drug dosage, duration of protein synthesis inhibition, or nonspecific sickness at test. In contrast to the suggestion that protein synthesis inhibition prolongs short-term memory (Quinton, 1978), the results of this experiment indicate that short-term memory is not prolonged by antibiotic drugs that inhibit cerebral protein synthesis. All evidence seems consistent with the hypothesis that short-term memory is protein synthesis independent and that the establishment of long-term memory depends upon protein synthesis during or shortly after training. Evidence for a role of protein synthesis in memory maintenance is discussed.

  2. Unveiling the Progenitors of Short-duration Gamma-ray Bursts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fong, Wen-Fai

    2016-03-01

    Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are relativistic explosions which originate at cosmological distances, and are among the most luminous transients in the universe. Following the prompt gamma-ray emission, a fading synchrotron ``afterglow'' is detectable at lower energies. While long-duration GRBs (duration >2 sec) are linked to the deaths of massive stars, the progenitors of short-duration GRBs (duration black hole. Such merging systems are also important to understand because they are premier candidates for gravitational wave detections with current facilities and are likely sites of heavy element nucleosynthesis. The launch of NASA's Swift satellite in 2004, with its rapid multi-wavelength monitoring and localization capabilities, led to the first discoveries of short GRB afterglows and therefore robust associations to host galaxies. At a detection rate of roughly 10 events per year, the growing number of well-localized short GRBs has enabled comprehensive population studies of their afterglows and environments for the first time. In this talk, I describe my multi-wavelength observational campaign to address testable predictions for the progenitors of short GRBs. My work comprises several lines of independent evidence to demonstrate that short GRBs originate from the mergers of two compact objects, and also provides the first constraints on the explosion properties for a large sample of events. With the direct detection of gravitational waves from compact object mergers on the horizon, these studies provide necessary inputs to inform the next decade of joint electromagnetic-gravitational wave search strategies.

  3. A probabilistic production costing analysis of SO2 emissions reduction strategies for Ohio: emissions, costs and employment tradeoffs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heslin, J.S.; Hobbs, B.F.

    1991-01-01

    A new approach for state- and utility-level analysis of the cost and regional economic impacts of strategies for reducing utility SO 2 emissions is summarized and applied to Ohio. The methodology is based upon probabilistic production costing and economic input-output analysis. It is an improvement over previous approaches because it: (1) accurately models random outages of generating units, 'must-run' constraints on unit output, and the distribution of power demands; and (2) runs quickly on a microcomputer and yet considers the entire range of potential control strategies from a systems perspective. The input-output analysis considers not only the economic effects of utility fuel use and capital investment, but also those of increased electric rates. Two distinct strategies are found to be most attractive for Ohio. The first, more flexible one, consists of emissions dispatching (ED) alone to meet short run emissions reduction targets. A 75 percent reduction can then be achieved by the turn of the century by combining ED and fuel switching (FS) with flue gas desulfurization, limestone injection multistage burners, and physical coal cleaning at selected plants. The second is a scrubber-based strategy which includes ED. By the year 2000, energy conservation becomes a cost effective component of these strategies. In order to minimize compliance costs, acid rain legislation which facilitates emission trading and places regional tonnage limits on emissions is desirable

  4. Intestino Corto Short bowel syndrome

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María Matilde Socarrás Suárez

    2004-06-01

    Full Text Available El intestino corto está asociado a pérdida o disfunción del intestino delgado por resección del mismo, que causa diarreas, tránsito intestinal acelerado, malabsorción intestinal, y eventualmente la pérdida de peso y el desgaste muscular. El objetivo de este trabajo fue actualizar el conocimiento acerca de este síndrome. Se realiza una revisión del tema de intestino corto donde se refiere a su definición, causas fundamentales frecuentes e infrecuentes en el niño y en el adulto, cómo se adapta el intestino a la resección de diferentes extensiones, las funciones del íleon terminal. Se hacen una valoración clínica inicial, con el interrogatorio médico, revisión minuciosa de la historia clínica para cuantificar la capacidad de absorción. Se habla de los síntomas y signos de deficiencia nutricional. Se explican las estrategias del tratamiento, que tienen 3 etapas de evolución clínica. Se concluye que se indica la dietoterapia adecuada según el estado nutricional del paciente y la resección intestinal realizada, evitando las complicaciones para lograr una calidad máxima de vidaShort bowel is associated with loss or dysfunction of the small bowel due to its resection, which causes diarrheas, accelerated intestinal transit, intestinal malabsorption and, eventually, weight loss ansd muscular waste. The objective of this paper was to update knowledge about this syndrome. A review of the short intestine topic is made, making reference to its definition, common and uncommon main cuases in the child and adult, how the bowel adapts itslef to resection of different extensions, and the functions of the terminal ileum. An initial clinical assessment is made with the medical questionnaire and a detailed review of the medical history to quantify the absorption capacity. The symptoms and signs of nutritional deficiency are dealt with. The strategies of the treatment consisting of 3 stages of clinical evolution are explained. It is concluded

  5. Strategies and planning for enriched uranium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Villard, C.

    1991-01-01

    The author describes the main elements of Florida Power and Light (FPL) nuclear fuels procurement strategy: costs, security of supply, and quality. FPL's procurement strategy calls for the evaluation of all alternatives as follows: purchase materials and services separately or in various combinations; short or long term contracting; spot procurement; inventory purchasing for economic reasons, if market and long term contract prices are projected to rise much above the current market price; and, a combination of some or all of the above. At the same time, FPL would want to preserve enough flexibility and options to participate in the spot market and minimize its costs, should the market remain depressed

  6. Orthographic Structure and Reading Experience Affect the Transfer from Iconic to Short Term Memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lefton, Lester A.; Spragins, Anne B.

    1974-01-01

    The basic hypothesis of these experiments was that the processing strategy for the transfer of alphabetic material from iconic storage to short-term memory involves a sequential left-to-right factor that develops with increases in experience with reading. (Author)

  7. Development and Validation of A Short Form of the Attitude Toward Poverty Scale

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sung Hyun Yun

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available This study outlines the development and validation of a short form of the 37-item Attitude toward Poverty (ATP scale. Employing a cross-sectional survey design, the authors sampled 319 undergraduate students at a mid-sized university located in central Canada. The short form evinced high levels of internal consistency ranging from .87 to .89. Evidence for the validity was established through correlational analyses and independent samples t-tests. The findings suggest the short form is a feasible alternative to the original ATP scale for researchers and academics seeking to assess the poverty-related attitudes of university students.

  8. The Influence of Market Context on Business Strategy, Competitor Imitation and Operational Effectiveness

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Madalina Balau

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The importance of strategic positioning, along with operational effectiveness, has long been presented as key for the success of the company. There are few studies that highlighted the way in which the market context affects these efforts of the company. The aim of this paper is to explore the influence of the market context on competitor imitation and its further implications on strategy. For this purpose, a literature review was conducted and major concepts were drawn from works of M. Porter, while the influence of market context was found in research papers. Putting together these different perspectives on the company and the strategic choices it must make, the results of our analysis suggest that choosing a differentiation strategy and not imitating the reference competitors is a daring initiative, that involves the risk of standing out from the crowd. The implication of this finding is that imitation of the competitor is an easier solution for the company and it has an important attraction, due to the short term influence on increasing sales, while deterring innovation. The value of this paper consists in exploring the contextual influence of well-established concepts for company’s management.

  9. Climate Variability and Its Effects on Gender and Coping Strategies ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    PROF HORSFALL

    observed here that the least long term coping strategy adopted is finding alternative job as reputed ... Special intervention projects such as rain water harvesting techniques, drought resistant crops, short term ... severe drought in living memory.

  10. Politeness Strategies Used in Text Messaging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shahrzad Eshghinejad

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available One aspect of short message service (SMS communication through a cell phone is use of politeness strategies. As it is extensively argued that females are more polite language users, the present study sought to describe the strategies used by these two groups and to find out whether there is any significant difference between male and female English as a foreign language (EFL learners in the use of positive and negative politeness strategies in sending SMS to their professors, considering that there is an asymmetric power relation and social distance between them. To this end, a corpus of 300 L1 (Persian and L2 (English request messages was compiled. Results of qualitative and quantitative data analysis showed no significant difference between the two groups. Results of the study have implication in politeness research.

  11. Subtask 4.2 - Coal Gasification Short Course

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kevin Galbreath

    2009-06-30

    Major utilities, independent power producers, and petroleum and chemical companies are intent on developing a fleet of gasification plants primarily because of high natural gas prices and the implementation of state carbon standards, with federal standards looming. Currently, many projects are being proposed to utilize gasification technologies to produce a synthesis gas or fuel gas stream for the production of hydrogen, liquid fuels, chemicals, and electricity. Financing these projects is challenging because of the complexity, diverse nature of gasification technologies, and the risk associated with certain applications of the technology. The Energy & Environmental Research Center has developed a gasification short course that is designed to provide technical personnel with a broad understanding of gasification technologies and issues, thus mitigating the real or perceived risk associated with the technology. Based on a review of research literature, tutorial presentations, and Web sites on gasification, a short course presentation was prepared. The presentation, consisting of about 500 PowerPoint slides, provides at least 7 hours of instruction tailored to an audience's interests and needs. The initial short course is scheduled to be presented September 9 and 10, 2009, in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

  12. Social strategies that work.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piskorski, Mikołaj Jan

    2011-11-01

    Although most companies have collected lots of friends and followers on social platforms such as Facebook, few have succeeded in generating profits there. That's because they merely port their digital strategies into social environments by broadcasting their commercial messages or seeking customer feedback. To succeed on social platforms, says Harvard Business School's Piskorski, businesses need to devise social strategies that are consistent with users' expectations and behavior in these venues--namely, people want to connect with other people, not with companies. The author defines successful social strategies as those that reduce costs or increase customers' willingness to pay by helping people establish or strengthen relationships through doing free work on a company's behalf. Citing successes at Zynga, eBay, American Express, and Yelp, Piskorski shows that social strategies can generate profits by helping people connect in exchange for tasks that benefit the company such as customer acquisition, marketing, and content creation. He lays out a systematic way to build a social strategy and shows how a major credit card company he advised used the method to roll out its own strategy.

  13. Short-term statistics of waves measured off Ratnagiri, eastern Arabian Sea

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Amrutha, M.M.; SanilKumar, V.

    coast of India have been analyzed to study the short-term statistics of waves covering full one year period. The study indicates that the values of the observed maximum wave height as a function of duration are not consistent with the theoretical...

  14. The Development of Automaticity in Short-Term Memory Search: Item-Response Learning and Category Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Rui; Nosofsky, Robert M.; Shiffrin, Richard M.

    2017-01-01

    In short-term-memory (STM)-search tasks, observers judge whether a test probe was present in a short list of study items. Here we investigated the long-term learning mechanisms that lead to the highly efficient STM-search performance observed under conditions of consistent-mapping (CM) training, in which targets and foils never switch roles across…

  15. Inflation Protected Investment Strategies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mirco Mahlstedt

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, a dynamic inflation-protected investment strategy is presented, which is based on traditional asset classes and Markov-switching models. Different stock market, as well as inflation regimes are identified, and within those regimes, the inflation hedging potential of stocks, bonds, real estate, commodities and gold are investigated. Within each regime, we determine optimal investment portfolios driven by the investment idea of protection from losses due to changing inflation if inflation is rising or high, but decoupling the performance from inflation if inflation is low. The results clearly indicate that these asset classes behave differently in different stock market and inflation regimes. Whereas in the long-run, we agree with the general opinion in the literature that stocks and bonds are a suitable hedge against inflation, we observe for short time horizons that the hedging potential of each asset class, especially of real estate and commodities, depend strongly on the state of the current market environment. Thus, our approach provides a possible explanation for different statements in the literature regarding the inflation hedging properties of these asset classes. A dynamic inflation-protected investment strategy is developed, which combines inflation protection and upside potential. This strategy outperforms standard buy-and-hold strategies, as well as the well-known 1 N -portfolio.

  16. The case against specialized visual-spatial short-term memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morey, Candice C

    2018-05-24

    The dominant paradigm for understanding working memory, or the combination of the perceptual, attentional, and mnemonic processes needed for thinking, subdivides short-term memory (STM) according to whether memoranda are encoded in aural-verbal or visual formats. This traditional dissociation has been supported by examples of neuropsychological patients who seem to selectively lack STM for either aural-verbal, visual, or spatial memoranda, and by experimental research using dual-task methods. Though this evidence is the foundation of assumptions of modular STM systems, the case it makes for a specialized visual STM system is surprisingly weak. I identify the key evidence supporting a distinct verbal STM system-patients with apparent selective damage to verbal STM and the resilience of verbal short-term memories to general dual-task interference-and apply these benchmarks to neuropsychological and experimental investigations of visual-spatial STM. Contrary to the evidence on verbal STM, patients with apparent visual or spatial STM deficits tend to experience a wide range of additional deficits, making it difficult to conclude that a distinct short-term store was damaged. Consistently with this, a meta-analysis of dual-task visual-spatial STM research shows that robust dual-task costs are consistently observed regardless of the domain or sensory code of the secondary task. Together, this evidence suggests that positing a specialized visual STM system is not necessary. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  17. Strategies To Enhance Memory Based on Brain-Research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banikowski, Alison K.; Mehring, Teresa A.

    1999-01-01

    This article reviews the literature on three aspects of memory: (1) an information processing model of memory (including the sensory register, attention, short-term memory, and long-term memory); (2) instructional strategies designed to enhance memory (which stress gaining students' attention and active involvement); and (3) reasons why…

  18. Memory Vocabulary Learning Strategies and Long-Term Retention ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The present study was an attempt to compare the impact of teaching through memory strategies, where students were taught the meaning of new vocabulary items by giving them synonyms, antonyms, definitions and mini-contexts. The results were reflected in the students' short-term and long-term memory retention.

  19. Editorial: Sales Strategy (2010)

    OpenAIRE

    Chris McPhee

    2010-01-01

    The editorial theme for this issue of the OSBR is Sales Strategy. While "marketing" is everything a company does to build interest in its offers, "sales" consists of converting these offers into cash. By "sales strategy," we refer to all sales planning and process development activities leading up to the actual selling of a product or service. In his recent blog post at MaRS Discovery District, Mark Zimmerman answered a question he is frequently asked by the founders of startups: "How do we f...

  20. Short Vacation Improves Stress-Level and Well-Being in German-Speaking Middle-Managers—A Randomized Controlled Trial

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gatterer, Katharina; Leichtfried, Veronika; Pollhammer, Doris; Mair-Raggautz, Maria; Duschek, Stefan; Humpeler, Egon; Schobersberger, Wolfgang

    2018-01-01

    Stress in the work place has a detrimental effect on people’s health. Sufficient recovery is necessary to counteract severe chronic negative load reactions. Previous research has shown that vacationing for at least seven consecutive days provided an efficient recovery strategy. Yet, thus far, the effects of short vacations and the mode of vacation (whether at home or in a new environment) have rarely been studied. We investigated the immediate and long-term effects of a short vacation (four nights) on well-being and perceived stress and whether the mode of vacation impacted on these results. Data was obtained from 40 middle managers (67.5% men and 32.5% women). The intervention group (n = 20) spent a short vacation in a hotel outside their usual environment. The control group (n = 20) spent their vacation at home. Results indicated that one single short-term vacation, independent of the mode, has large, positive and immediate effects on perceived stress, recovery, strain, and well-being. Strain levels decreased to a greater extent in the intervention group compared to the control group. The effects can still be detected at 30 days (recovery) and 45 days (well-being and strain) post-vacation. Encouraging middle management employees to take short vacations seems to be an efficient health promotion strategy; environmental effects seem to play a minor role. PMID:29342844

  1. Short Vacation Improves Stress-Level and Well-Being in German-Speaking Middle-Managers—A Randomized Controlled Trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cornelia Blank

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Stress in the work place has a detrimental effect on people’s health. Sufficient recovery is necessary to counteract severe chronic negative load reactions. Previous research has shown that vacationing for at least seven consecutive days provided an efficient recovery strategy. Yet, thus far, the effects of short vacations and the mode of vacation (whether at home or in a new environment have rarely been studied. We investigated the immediate and long-term effects of a short vacation (four nights on well-being and perceived stress and whether the mode of vacation impacted on these results. Data was obtained from 40 middle managers (67.5% men and 32.5% women. The intervention group (n = 20 spent a short vacation in a hotel outside their usual environment. The control group (n = 20 spent their vacation at home. Results indicated that one single short-term vacation, independent of the mode, has large, positive and immediate effects on perceived stress, recovery, strain, and well-being. Strain levels decreased to a greater extent in the intervention group compared to the control group. The effects can still be detected at 30 days (recovery and 45 days (well-being and strain post-vacation. Encouraging middle management employees to take short vacations seems to be an efficient health promotion strategy; environmental effects seem to play a minor role.

  2. Self-consistent embedding of density-matrix renormalization group wavefunctions in a density functional environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dresselhaus, Thomas; Neugebauer, Johannes; Knecht, Stefan; Keller, Sebastian; Ma, Yingjin; Reiher, Markus

    2015-01-28

    We present the first implementation of a density matrix renormalization group algorithm embedded in an environment described by density functional theory. The frozen density embedding scheme is used with a freeze-and-thaw strategy for a self-consistent polarization of the orbital-optimized wavefunction and the environmental densities with respect to each other.

  3. Occlusion-Aware Fragment-Based Tracking With Spatial-Temporal Consistency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Chong; Wang, Dong; Lu, Huchuan

    2016-08-01

    In this paper, we present a robust tracking method by exploiting a fragment-based appearance model with consideration of both temporal continuity and discontinuity information. From the perspective of probability theory, the proposed tracking algorithm can be viewed as a two-stage optimization problem. In the first stage, by adopting the estimated occlusion state as a prior, the optimal state of the tracked object can be obtained by solving an optimization problem, where the objective function is designed based on the classification score, occlusion prior, and temporal continuity information. In the second stage, we propose a discriminative occlusion model, which exploits both foreground and background information to detect the possible occlusion, and also models the consistency of occlusion labels among different frames. In addition, a simple yet effective training strategy is introduced during the model training (and updating) process, with which the effects of spatial-temporal consistency are properly weighted. The proposed tracker is evaluated by using the recent benchmark data set, on which the results demonstrate that our tracker performs favorably against other state-of-the-art tracking algorithms.

  4. The urban short story cycle before Joyce: James Stephens’ Here are Ladies

    OpenAIRE

    Brouckmans, Debbie

    2013-01-01

    Published ten years after George Moore’s The Untilled Field (1903) and one year before James Joyce’s Dubliners (1914), James Stephens’ Here are Ladies (1913) consists of short stories, poems and monologues. The work is not often discussed, presumably because it is rather difficult to define. It is usually classified as a collection of short stories, but this neglects the poems and monologues and fails to do justice to the thematic and formal links between the texts. Therefore, I would like to...

  5. High frequency study of a short niobium/lead alloy line

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mazuer, J.; Gilchrist, J.

    1974-01-01

    The resonant Q-factors of coaxial lines 1.42 m in length, consisting of fine niobium wires in superconducting tubes, have been studied. The lines are either open-circuited at each end or else short-circuited at each end. In either case the fundamental resonance and odd harmonics up to the ninth were observed. Various surface treatments of the wire made no appreciable difference to the Q value of the open-circuited lines. The short-circuited lines had much lower Q values due to imperfect short-circuiting contacts, and were used mainly to study the effect of a superposed direct current. This was appreciable even when the current was much smaller than the current that the wire would support without resistive transition. The additional high-frequency loss caused by the current was attributed to flux penetration. (author)

  6. A mild ovarian stimulation strategy in women with poor ovarian reserve undergoing IVF: a multicenter randomized non-inferiority trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Youssef, M A; van Wely, M; Al-Inany, H; Madani, T; Jahangiri, N; Khodabakhshi, S; Alhalabi, M; Akhondi, M; Ansaripour, S; Tokhmechy, R; Zarandi, L; Rizk, A; El-Mohamedy, M; Shaeer, E; Khattab, M; Mochtar, M H; van der Veen, F

    2017-01-01

    In subfertile women with poor ovarian reserve undergoing IVF does a mild ovarian stimulation strategy lead to comparable ongoing pregnancy rates in comparison to a conventional ovarian stimulation strategy? A mild ovarian stimulation strategy in women with poor ovarian reserve undergoing IVF leads to similar ongoing pregnancy rates as a conventional ovarian stimulation strategy. Women diagnosed with poor ovarian reserve are treated with a conventional ovarian stimulation strategy consisting of high-dose gonadotropins and pituitary downregulation with a long mid-luteal start GnRH-agonist protocol. Previous studies comparing a conventional strategy with a mild ovarian stimulation strategy consisting of low-dose gonadotropins and pituitary downregulation with a GnRH-antagonist have been under powered and their effectiveness is inconclusive. This open label multicenter randomized trial was designed to compare one cycle of a mild ovarian stimulation strategy consisting of low-dose gonadotropins (150 IU FSH) and pituitary downregulation with a GnRH-antagonist to one cycle of a conventional ovarian stimulation strategy consisting of high-dose gonadotropins (450 IU HMG) and pituitary downregulation with a long mid-luteal GnRH-agonist in women of advanced maternal age and/or women with poor ovarian reserve undergoing IVF between May 2011 and April 2014. Couples seeking infertility treatment were eligible if they fulfilled the following inclusion criteria: female age ≥35 years, a raised basal FSH level >10 IU/ml irrespective of age, a low antral follicular count of ≤5 follicles or poor ovarian response or cycle cancellation during a previous IVF cycle irrespective of age. The primary outcome was ongoing pregnancy rate per woman randomized. Analyses were on an intention-to-treat basis. We randomly assigned 195 women to the mild ovarian stimulation strategy and 199 women to the conventional ovarian stimulation strategy. Ongoing pregnancy rate was 12.8% (25/195) for mild

  7. Personality and Emotion Regulation Strategies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Esti Hayu Purnamaningsih

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The emotions has many important functions in our life such as in relation of interpersonal communication, and health. In interpersonal communicative function aimed to signal to other information about internal state. Emotions manifests in specific cognitive, behavioural, and physiological reactions, thus closely related to health. There is wide variety of ways for individuals to regulate their emotion. In this regard, there are two kinds of emotion regulation strategy; first Antecedent-focused emotion regulation consisting of situation selection, situation modification, attentional deployment, cognitive change and second, Response-focused emotion regulation consisting of suppression. The purpose of this research is to investigate personality factors relate with emotion regulation strategies. 339 students from Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Gadjah Mada were participating in this study and given The Big Five Personality Factors (Ramdhani, 2012, adaptation, and the modified version of the Emotion Regulation Scale was used, Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (John & Gross, 2004 which measure personality and emotion regulation respectively. Using multiple regression analysis, the study indicated that personality predicts emotion regulation strategies.

  8. Short (

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Telleman, Gerdien; den Hartog, Laurens

    2013-01-01

    Aim: This systematic review assessed the implant survival rate of short (<10 mm) dental implants installed in partially edentulous patients. A case report of a short implant in the posterior region have been added. Materials and methods: A search was conducted in the electronic databases of MEDLINE

  9. Business Model and Strategy Development of Commulus Digital Marketing and COmmunication Indonesia

    OpenAIRE

    Saputra, Arif Fajar; Motik, Suryani Sidik

    2013-01-01

    The findings of this study will help CIDMAC as new venture in digital advertising industry to formulate their business strategy (Especially in the beginning of their business) to be able to compete with existing competitors and capture many opportunities ahead. The authors propose the formulation of CIDMAC's business model and DIAMOND Strategy as outlined in the implementation of business strategies in short term (1 year) and long term (3 years) that are expected to make CIDMAC business conti...

  10. Structures and scan strategies of software net models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Puhr-Westerheide, P.; Sandbaek, H.

    1984-01-01

    The present paper deals with some aspects of plant control and monitoring systems as used in nuclear power plants. These aspects concern executable net models to run on computers. A short survey on the nets' environment and on some net scan strategies is given. Among the strategies are the 'topologically ordered scan' and the 'signal propagation scan'. A combined method 'topologically ordered signal propagation (TOSIP) scan' will be outlined as well as a net model data structure that allows the definition of subsystems for the use of clear structuration and dischargement to distributed systems. (author)

  11. Free cooling of hard-spheres with short and long range interactions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gonzalez Briones, Sebastián; Thornton, Anthony Richard; Luding, Stefan

    2015-01-01

    We study the stability, the clustering and the phase-diagram of free cooling granular gases. The systems consist of mono-disperse particles with additional non-contact (long-range) interactions, and are simulated here by the event-driven molecular dynamics algorithm with discrete (short-range

  12. Simulation-based method to determine climatic energy strategies of an adaptable building retrofit façade system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Capeluto, I. Guedi; Ochoa, Carlos E.

    2014-01-01

    Vast amounts of the European residential stock were built with limited consideration for energy efficiency, yet its refurbishment can help reach national energy reduction goals, decreasing environmental impact. Short-term retrofits with reduced interference to inhabitants can be achieved by upgrading facades with elements that enhance energy efficiency and user comfort. The European Union-funded Meefs Retrofitting (Multifunctional Energy Efficient Façade System) project aims to develop an adaptable mass-produced facade system for energy improvement in existing residential buildings throughout the continent. This article presents a simplified methodology to identify preferred strategies and combinations for the early design stages of such system. This was derived from studying weather characteristics of European regions and outlining climatic energy-saving strategies based on human thermal comfort. Strategies were matched with conceptual technologies like glazing, shading and insulation. The typical building stock was characterized from statistics of previous European projects. Six improvements and combinations were modelled using a simulation model, identifying and ranking preferred configurations. The methodology is summarized in a synoptic scheme identifying the energy rankings of each improvement and combination for the studied climates and façade orientations. - Highlights: • First results of EU project for new energy efficient façade retrofit system. • System consists of prefabricated elements with multiple options for flexibility. • Modular strategies were determined that adapt to different climates. • Technologies matching the strategies were identified. • Presents a method for use and application in different climates across Europe

  13. Stacking Ensemble Learning for Short-Term Electricity Consumption Forecasting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Federico Divina

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The ability to predict short-term electric energy demand would provide several benefits, both at the economic and environmental level. For example, it would allow for an efficient use of resources in order to face the actual demand, reducing the costs associated to the production as well as the emission of CO 2 . To this aim, in this paper we propose a strategy based on ensemble learning in order to tackle the short-term load forecasting problem. In particular, our approach is based on a stacking ensemble learning scheme, where the predictions produced by three base learning methods are used by a top level method in order to produce final predictions. We tested the proposed scheme on a dataset reporting the energy consumption in Spain over more than nine years. The obtained experimental results show that an approach for short-term electricity consumption forecasting based on ensemble learning can help in combining predictions produced by weaker learning methods in order to obtain superior results. In particular, the system produces a lower error with respect to the existing state-of-the art techniques used on the same dataset. More importantly, this case study has shown that using an ensemble scheme can achieve very accurate predictions, and thus that it is a suitable approach for addressing the short-term load forecasting problem.

  14. Individual consistency in the behaviors of newly-settled reef fish.

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, James R; Meekan, Mark G; McCormick, Mark I

    2015-01-01

    Flexibility in behavior is advantageous for organisms that transition between stages of a complex life history. However, various constraints can set limits on plasticity, giving rise to the existence of personalities that have associated costs and benefits. Here, we document a field and laboratory experiment that examines the consistency of measures of boldness, activity, and aggressive behavior in the young of a tropical reef fish, Pomacentrus amboinensis (Pomacentridae) immediately following their transition between pelagic larval and benthic juvenile habitats. Newly-settled fish were observed in aquaria and in the field on replicated patches of natural habitat cleared of resident fishes. Seven behavioral traits representing aspects of boldness, activity and aggression were monitored directly and via video camera over short (minutes), medium (hours), and long (3 days) time scales. With the exception of aggression, these behaviors were found to be moderately or highly consistent over all time scales in both laboratory and field settings, implying that these fish show stable personalities within various settings. Our study is the first to examine the temporal constancy of behaviors in both field and laboratory settings in over various time scales at a critically important phase during the life cycle of a reef fish.

  15. Empirical analysis of investment strategies for institutional investors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Swinkels, L.A.P.

    2003-01-01

    This thesis consists of three parts that examine several topics concerning institutional asset management. In Part I, investment strategies based on stock returns in previous months known as momentum strategies are investigated in more detail. More specifically, the driving forces behind these

  16. Swarm Intelligence-Based Hybrid Models for Short-Term Power Load Prediction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jianzhou Wang

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Swarm intelligence (SI is widely and successfully applied in the engineering field to solve practical optimization problems because various hybrid models, which are based on the SI algorithm and statistical models, are developed to further improve the predictive abilities. In this paper, hybrid intelligent forecasting models based on the cuckoo search (CS as well as the singular spectrum analysis (SSA, time series, and machine learning methods are proposed to conduct short-term power load prediction. The forecasting performance of the proposed models is augmented by a rolling multistep strategy over the prediction horizon. The test results are representative of the out-performance of the SSA and CS in tuning the seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA and support vector regression (SVR in improving load forecasting, which indicates that both the SSA-based data denoising and SI-based intelligent optimization strategy can effectively improve the model’s predictive performance. Additionally, the proposed CS-SSA-SARIMA and CS-SSA-SVR models provide very impressive forecasting results, demonstrating their strong robustness and universal forecasting capacities in terms of short-term power load prediction 24 hours in advance.

  17. Modeling change in learning strategies throughout higher education: a multi-indicator latent growth perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coertjens, Liesje; Donche, Vincent; De Maeyer, Sven; Vanthournout, Gert; Van Petegem, Peter

    2013-01-01

    The change in learning strategies during higher education is an important topic of research in the Student Approaches to Learning field. Although the studies on this topic are increasingly longitudinal, analyses have continued to rely primarily on traditional statistical methods. The present research is innovative in the way it uses a multi-indicator latent growth analysis in order to more accurately estimate the general and differential development in learning strategy scales. Moreover, the predictive strength of the latent growth models are estimated. The sample consists of one cohort of Flemish University College students, 245 of whom participated in the three measurement waves by filling out the processing and regulation strategies scales of the Inventory of Learning Styles--Short Versions. Independent-samples t-tests revealed that the longitudinal group is a non-random subset of students starting University College. For each scale, a multi-indicator latent growth model is estimated using Mplus 6.1. Results suggest that, on average, during higher education, students persisting in their studies in a non-delayed manner seem to shift towards high-quality learning and away from undirected and surface-oriented learning. Moreover, students from the longitudinal group are found to vary in their initial levels, while, unexpectedly, not in their change over time. Although the growth models fit the data well, significant residual variances in the latent factors remain.

  18. Modeling change in learning strategies throughout higher education: a multi-indicator latent growth perspective.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liesje Coertjens

    Full Text Available The change in learning strategies during higher education is an important topic of research in the Student Approaches to Learning field. Although the studies on this topic are increasingly longitudinal, analyses have continued to rely primarily on traditional statistical methods. The present research is innovative in the way it uses a multi-indicator latent growth analysis in order to more accurately estimate the general and differential development in learning strategy scales. Moreover, the predictive strength of the latent growth models are estimated. The sample consists of one cohort of Flemish University College students, 245 of whom participated in the three measurement waves by filling out the processing and regulation strategies scales of the Inventory of Learning Styles--Short Versions. Independent-samples t-tests revealed that the longitudinal group is a non-random subset of students starting University College. For each scale, a multi-indicator latent growth model is estimated using Mplus 6.1. Results suggest that, on average, during higher education, students persisting in their studies in a non-delayed manner seem to shift towards high-quality learning and away from undirected and surface-oriented learning. Moreover, students from the longitudinal group are found to vary in their initial levels, while, unexpectedly, not in their change over time. Although the growth models fit the data well, significant residual variances in the latent factors remain.

  19. The redevelopment of the Copenhagen harbourfront and recent planning strategies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Khani, Roudaina Al

    2001-01-01

    development principles has been attached to the planning of the redevelopment of the harborfront areas. Nevertheless, this paper shortly presents an evaluation of the urban conversion of the Copenhagen harborfront sites and of their redevelopment strategies with regards to their contribution to sustainable...... strategies of the late 1990s and highlights their potentials for drawing up new paths towards sustainability. The aspects of the recent strategies demonstrate that a better reconciliation of the conflicting interests between the actors involved (the State, the Municipality and the Port Authority) is more...... the implementation of a coordinated redevelopment strategy. Finally, this paper culminates by extracting some conclusions that should be taken into account when making both planning and political choices....

  20. Problem Solving Strategies among Primary School Teachers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yew, Wun Thiam; Lian, Lim Hooi; Meng, Chew Cheng

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this article was to examine problem solving strategies among primary school teachers. The researchers employed survey research design to examine their problem solving strategies. The participants of this study consisted of 120 primary school teachers from a public university in Peninsula Malaysia who enrolled in a 4-year Graduating…

  1. To Your Health: NLM update transcript - Gun safety strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... transcript040918.html To Your Health: NLM update Transcript Gun safety strategies : 04/09/2018 To use the ... on weekly topics. An evidence-based, public health gun safety strategy that is consistent with second amendment ...

  2. Option Valuation with Long-run and Short-run Volatility Components

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christoffersen, Peter; Jacobs, Kris; Ornthanalai, Chayawat

    This paper presents a new model for the valuation of European options, in which the volatility of returns consists of two components. One of these components is a long-run component, and it can be modeled as fully persistent. The other component is short-run and has a zero mean. Our model can...... be viewed as an affine version of Engle and Lee (1999), allowing for easy valuation of European options. The model substantially outperforms a benchmark single-component volatility model that is well-established in the literature, and it fits options better than a model that combines conditional...... model long-maturity and short-maturity options....

  3. Tall or short? Slender or thick? A plant strategy for regulating elongation growth of roots by low concentrations of gibberellin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanimoto, Eiichi

    2012-07-01

    Since the plant hormone gibberellin (GA) was discovered as a fungal toxin that caused abnormal elongation of rice shoots, the physiological function of GA has mainly been investigated in relation to the regulation of plant height. However, an indispensable role for GA in root growth has been elucidated by using severely GA-depleted plants, either with a gene mutation in GA biosynthesis or which have been treated by an inhibitor of GA biosynthesis. The molecular sequence of GA signalling has also been studied to understand GA functions in root growth. This review addresses research progress on the physiological functions of GA in root growth. Concentration-dependent stimulation of elongation growth by GA is important for the regulation of plant height and root length. Thus the endogenous level of GA and/or the GA sensitivity of shoots and roots plays a role in determining the shoot-to-root ratio of the plant body. Since the shoot-to-root ratio is an important parameter for agricultural production, control of GA production and GA sensitivity may provide a strategy for improving agricultural productivity. The sequence of GA signal transduction has recently been unveiled, and some component molecules are suggested as candidate in planta regulatory sites and as points for the artificial manipulation of GA-mediated growth control. This paper reviews: (1) the breakthrough dose-response experiments that show that root growth is regulated by GA in a lower concentration range than is required for shoot growth; (2) research on the regulation of GA biosynthesis pathways that are known predominantly to control shoot growth; and (3) recent research on GA signalling pathways, including GA receptors, which have been suggested to participate in GA-mediated growth regulation. This provides useful information to suggest a possible strategy for the selective control of shoot and root growth, and to explain how GA plays a role in rosette and liana plants with tall or short, and slender

  4. Strategies for converting to a DBMS environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Durban, D. M.

    1984-01-01

    The conversion to data base management systems processing techniques consists of three different strategies - one for each of the major stages in the development process. Each strategy was chosen for its approach in bringing about a smooth evolutionary type transition from one mode of operation to the next. The initial strategy of the indoctrination stage consisted of: (1) providing maximum access to current administrative data as soon as possible; (2) select and developing small prototype systems; (3) establishing a user information center as a central focal point for user training and assistance; and (4) developing a training program for programmers, management and ad hoc users in DBMS application and utilization. Security, the rate of the data dictionary, and data base tuning and capacity planning, and the development of a change of attitude in an automated office are issues meriting consideration.

  5. Subjective costs drive overly patient foraging strategies in rats on an intertemporal foraging task.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wikenheiser, Andrew M; Stephens, David W; Redish, A David

    2013-05-14

    Laboratory studies of decision making often take the form of two-alternative, forced-choice paradigms. In natural settings, however, many decision problems arise as stay/go choices. We designed a foraging task to test intertemporal decision making in rats via stay/go decisions. Subjects did not follow the rate-maximizing strategy of choosing only food items associated with short delays. Instead, rats were often willing to wait for surprisingly long periods, and consequently earned a lower rate of food intake than they might have by ignoring long-delay options. We tested whether foraging theory or delay discounting models predicted the behavior we observed but found that these models could not account for the strategies subjects selected. Subjects' behavior was well accounted for by a model that incorporated a cost for rejecting potential food items. Interestingly, subjects' cost sensitivity was proportional to environmental richness. These findings are at odds with traditional normative accounts of decision making but are consistent with retrospective considerations having a deleterious influence on decisions (as in the "sunk-cost" effect). More broadly, these findings highlight the utility of complementing existing assays of decision making with tasks that mimic more natural decision topologies.

  6. High-Specificity Targeted Functional Profiling in Microbial Communities with ShortBRED.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James Kaminski

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Profiling microbial community function from metagenomic sequencing data remains a computationally challenging problem. Mapping millions of DNA reads from such samples to reference protein databases requires long run-times, and short read lengths can result in spurious hits to unrelated proteins (loss of specificity. We developed ShortBRED (Short, Better Representative Extract Dataset to address these challenges, facilitating fast, accurate functional profiling of metagenomic samples. ShortBRED consists of two components: (i a method that reduces reference proteins of interest to short, highly representative amino acid sequences ("markers" and (ii a search step that maps reads to these markers to quantify the relative abundance of their associated proteins. After evaluating ShortBRED on synthetic data, we applied it to profile antibiotic resistance protein families in the gut microbiomes of individuals from the United States, China, Malawi, and Venezuela. Our results support antibiotic resistance as a core function in the human gut microbiome, with tetracycline-resistant ribosomal protection proteins and Class A beta-lactamases being the most widely distributed resistance mechanisms worldwide. ShortBRED markers are applicable to other homology-based search tasks, which we demonstrate here by identifying phylogenetic signatures of antibiotic resistance across more than 3,000 microbial isolate genomes. ShortBRED can be applied to profile a wide variety of protein families of interest; the software, source code, and documentation are available for download at http://huttenhower.sph.harvard.edu/shortbred.

  7. Rapid hybrid de novo assembly of a microbial genome using only short reads: Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis I19 as a case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cerdeira, Louise Teixeira; Carneiro, Adriana Ribeiro; Ramos, Rommel Thiago Jucá; de Almeida, Sintia Silva; D'Afonseca, Vivian; Schneider, Maria Paula Cruz; Baumbach, Jan; Tauch, Andreas; McCulloch, John Anthony; Azevedo, Vasco Ariston Carvalho; Silva, Artur

    2011-08-01

    Due to the advent of the so-called Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies the amount of monetary and temporal resources for whole-genome sequencing has been reduced by several orders of magnitude. Sequence reads can be assembled either by anchoring them directly onto an available reference genome (classical reference assembly), or can be concatenated by overlap (de novo assembly). The latter strategy is preferable because it tends to maintain the architecture of the genome sequence the however, depending on the NGS platform used, the shortness of read lengths cause tremendous problems the in the subsequent genome assembly phase, impeding closing of the entire genome sequence. To address the problem, we developed a multi-pronged hybrid de novo strategy combining De Bruijn graph and Overlap-Layout-Consensus methods, which was used to assemble from short reads the entire genome of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis strain I19, a bacterium with immense importance in veterinary medicine that causes Caseous Lymphadenitis in ruminants, principally ovines and caprines. Briefly, contigs were assembled de novo from the short reads and were only oriented using a reference genome by anchoring. Remaining gaps were closed using iterative anchoring of short reads by craning to gap flanks. Finally, we compare the genome sequence assembled using our hybrid strategy to a classical reference assembly using the same data as input and show that with the availability of a reference genome, it pays off to use the hybrid de novo strategy, rather than a classical reference assembly, because more genome sequences are preserved using the former. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. SOAP2: an improved ultrafast tool for short read alignment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Li, Ruiqiang; Yu, Chang; Li, Yingrui

    2009-01-01

    SUMMARY: SOAP2 is a significantly improved version of the short oligonucleotide alignment program that both reduces computer memory usage and increases alignment speed at an unprecedented rate. We used a Burrows Wheeler Transformation (BWT) compression index to substitute the seed strategy...... for indexing the reference sequence in the main memory. We tested it on the whole human genome and found that this new algorithm reduced memory usage from 14.7 to 5.4 GB and improved alignment speed by 20-30 times. SOAP2 is compatible with both single- and paired-end reads. Additionally, this tool now supports...... multiple text and compressed file formats. A consensus builder has also been developed for consensus assembly and SNP detection from alignment of short reads on a reference genome. AVAILABILITY: http://soap.genomics.org.cn....

  9. Traders' strategy with price feedbacks in financial market

    OpenAIRE

    Mizuno, Takayuki; Nakano, Tohur; Takayasu, Misako; Takayasu, Hideki

    2003-01-01

    We introduce an autoregressive-type model of prices in financial market taking into account the self-modulation effect. We find that traders are mainly using strategies with weighted feedbacks of past prices. These feedbacks are responsible for the slow diffusion in short times, apparent trends and power law distribution of price changes.

  10. Perceptions about HIV and Condoms and Consistent Condom Use among Male Clients of Commercial Sex Workers in the Philippines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Regan, Rotrease; Morisky, Donald E.

    2013-01-01

    Because consistent condom use is an effective strategy in the prevention of sexually transmitted infections and HIV transmission, it is important to examine social cognitive influences of consistent condom use not only among female sex workers (FSWs) but also among their male clients, for whom less is known. Because little is known about how HIV…

  11. Psychometric testing of the properties of the spiritual health scale short form.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsiao, Ya-Chu; Chiang, Yi-Chien; Lee, Hsiang-Chun; Han, Chin-Yen

    2013-11-01

    To further examine the psychometric properties of the spiritual health scale short form, including its reliability and validity. Spirituality is one of the main factors associated with good health outcomes. A reliable and valid instrument to measure spirituality is essential to identify the spiritual needs of an individual and to evaluate the effect of spiritual care. A cross-sectional study design was used. The study was conducted in six nursing schools in northern, central and southern Taiwan. The inclusion criterion for participants was nursing students with clinical practice experience. Initially, 1141 participants were recruited for the study, but 67 were absent and 48 did not complete the questionnaires. A total of 1026 participants were finally recruited, indicating a response rate of 89·9%. The psychometric testing of the spiritual health scale short form included construct validity with confirmatory factor analysis, known-group validity and internal consistency reliability. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis supported the five-factor model as an acceptable model fit. In the known-group validity, the results indicated that people who are in the category of primary religious affiliation have better spiritual health than people in the category of secondary religious affiliation and atheism. The result also indicated that the 24-item spiritual health scale short form achieved an acceptable internal consistency coefficient. The findings suggest that the spiritual health scale short form is a valid and reliable instrument for the appraisal of individual spiritual health. The spiritual health scale short form could provide useful information to guide clinical practice in assessing and managing people's spiritual health in Taiwan. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  12. Novel strategies to improve the patency of vascular prostheses

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Heyligers, J.M.M.

    2006-01-01

    Two novel strategies to improve the patency of vascular prostheses are described in this thesis. To improve the outcome of synthetic vascular bypass surgery, cell seeding is a promising concept that has extensively been investigated and is still evolving. To improve the short term effects due to

  13. Consistent model driven architecture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niepostyn, Stanisław J.

    2015-09-01

    The goal of the MDA is to produce software systems from abstract models in a way where human interaction is restricted to a minimum. These abstract models are based on the UML language. However, the semantics of UML models is defined in a natural language. Subsequently the verification of consistency of these diagrams is needed in order to identify errors in requirements at the early stage of the development process. The verification of consistency is difficult due to a semi-formal nature of UML diagrams. We propose automatic verification of consistency of the series of UML diagrams originating from abstract models implemented with our consistency rules. This Consistent Model Driven Architecture approach enables us to generate automatically complete workflow applications from consistent and complete models developed from abstract models (e.g. Business Context Diagram). Therefore, our method can be used to check practicability (feasibility) of software architecture models.

  14. Short-term wind power combined forecasting based on error forecast correction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liang, Zhengtang; Liang, Jun; Wang, Chengfu; Dong, Xiaoming; Miao, Xiaofeng

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • The correlation relationships of short-term wind power forecast errors are studied. • The correlation analysis method of the multi-step forecast errors is proposed. • A strategy selecting the input variables for the error forecast models is proposed. • Several novel combined models based on error forecast correction are proposed. • The combined models have improved the short-term wind power forecasting accuracy. - Abstract: With the increasing contribution of wind power to electric power grids, accurate forecasting of short-term wind power has become particularly valuable for wind farm operators, utility operators and customers. The aim of this study is to investigate the interdependence structure of errors in short-term wind power forecasting that is crucial for building error forecast models with regression learning algorithms to correct predictions and improve final forecasting accuracy. In this paper, several novel short-term wind power combined forecasting models based on error forecast correction are proposed in the one-step ahead, continuous and discontinuous multi-step ahead forecasting modes. First, the correlation relationships of forecast errors of the autoregressive model, the persistence method and the support vector machine model in various forecasting modes have been investigated to determine whether the error forecast models can be established by regression learning algorithms. Second, according to the results of the correlation analysis, the range of input variables is defined and an efficient strategy for selecting the input variables for the error forecast models is proposed. Finally, several combined forecasting models are proposed, in which the error forecast models are based on support vector machine/extreme learning machine, and correct the short-term wind power forecast values. The data collected from a wind farm in Hebei Province, China, are selected as a case study to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed

  15. Aspects if stochastic models for short-term hydropower scheduling and bidding

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Belsnes, Michael Martin [Sintef Energy, Trondheim (Norway); Follestad, Turid [Sintef Energy, Trondheim (Norway); Wolfgang, Ove [Sintef Energy, Trondheim (Norway); Fosso, Olav B. [Dep. of electric power engineering NTNU, Trondheim (Norway)

    2012-07-01

    This report discusses challenges met when turning from deterministic to stochastic decision support models for short-term hydropower scheduling and bidding. The report describes characteristics of the short-term scheduling and bidding problem, different market and bidding strategies, and how a stochastic optimization model can be formulated. A review of approaches for stochastic short-term modelling and stochastic modelling for the input variables inflow and market prices is given. The report discusses methods for approximating the predictive distribution of uncertain variables by scenario trees. Benefits of using a stochastic over a deterministic model are illustrated by a case study, where increased profit is obtained to a varying degree depending on the reservoir filling and price structure. Finally, an approach for assessing the effect of using a size restricted scenario tree to approximate the predictive distribution for stochastic input variables is described. The report is a summary of the findings of Work package 1 of the research project #Left Double Quotation Mark#Optimal short-term scheduling of wind and hydro resources#Right Double Quotation Mark#. The project aims at developing a prototype for an operational stochastic short-term scheduling model. Based on the investigations summarized in the report, it is concluded that using a deterministic equivalent formulation of the stochastic optimization problem is convenient and sufficient for obtaining a working prototype. (author)

  16. Auditory short-term memory activation during score reading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simoens, Veerle L; Tervaniemi, Mari

    2013-01-01

    Performing music on the basis of reading a score requires reading ahead of what is being played in order to anticipate the necessary actions to produce the notes. Score reading thus not only involves the decoding of a visual score and the comparison to the auditory feedback, but also short-term storage of the musical information due to the delay of the auditory feedback during reading ahead. This study investigates the mechanisms of encoding of musical information in short-term memory during such a complicated procedure. There were three parts in this study. First, professional musicians participated in an electroencephalographic (EEG) experiment to study the slow wave potentials during a time interval of short-term memory storage in a situation that requires cross-modal translation and short-term storage of visual material to be compared with delayed auditory material, as it is the case in music score reading. This delayed visual-to-auditory matching task was compared with delayed visual-visual and auditory-auditory matching tasks in terms of EEG topography and voltage amplitudes. Second, an additional behavioural experiment was performed to determine which type of distractor would be the most interfering with the score reading-like task. Third, the self-reported strategies of the participants were also analyzed. All three parts of this study point towards the same conclusion according to which during music score reading, the musician most likely first translates the visual score into an auditory cue, probably starting around 700 or 1300 ms, ready for storage and delayed comparison with the auditory feedback.

  17. Development Planning & Policies under Mahalanobis Strategy: A Tale of India’s Dilemma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dr. Asim K. Karmakar

    2013-07-01

    In the above backdrop the present paper gives a short review of Mahalanobis strategy of development planning in the context of the then India’s dilemma: dynamic industrialization and static agriculture.

  18. Capillary condensation of short-chain molecules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bryk, Paweł; Pizio, Orest; Sokolowski, Stefan

    2005-05-15

    A density-functional study of capillary condensation of fluids of short-chain molecules confined to slitlike pores is presented. The molecules are modeled as freely jointed tangent spherical segments with a hard core and with short-range attractive interaction between all the segments. We investigate how the critical parameters of capillary condensation of the fluid change when the pore width decreases and eventually becomes smaller than the nominal linear dimension of the single-chain molecule. We find that the dependence of critical parameters for a fluid of dimers and of tetramers on pore width is similar to that of the monomer fluid. On the other hand, for a fluid of chains consisting of a larger number of segments we observe an inversion effect. Namely, the critical temperature of capillary condensation decreases with increasing pore width for a certain interval of values of the pore width. This anomalous behavior is also influenced by the interaction between molecules and pore walls. We attribute this behavior to the effect of conformational changes of molecules upon confinement.

  19. Short-term meal replacements followed by dietary macronutrient restriction enhance weight loss in polycystic ovary syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moran, Lisa J; Noakes, Manny; Clifton, Peter M; Wittert, Gary A; Williams, Gemma; Norman, Robert J

    2006-07-01

    Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a common condition in women, improves with weight loss. Meal replacements in short-term weight loss and strategies for weight maintenance have not been investigated in PCOS. We compared in overweight women with PCOS the effects of meal replacements in short-term weight-loss and longer-term carbohydrate- or fat-restriction strategies on weight maintenance and improvements in reproductive and metabolic variables. Overweight women with PCOS (n = 43; x +/- SD age: 32.1 +/- 5.2 y; weight: 96.1 +/- 18.4 kg) followed an 8-wk weight-loss regimen (2 meal replacements/d, 4904.4 +/- 127 kJ; phase 1) and then a 6-mo weight-maintenance carbohydrate- (weight (5.6 +/- 2.4 kg), waist circumference (6.1 +/- 2.5 cm), body fat (4.1 +/- 2.2 kg), insulin (2.8 +/- 1.1 mU/L), total testosterone (0.3 +/- 0.7 nmol/L), and free androgen index (3.1 +/- 4.6) occurred; these changes were sustained during phase 2. No significant differences between diet groups were seen for any variables. At 6 mo, both approaches resulted in a net weight loss of 4.7 +/- 4.6 kg. Improvements in menstrual cyclicity occurred for 16 (57.1%) of 28 subjects. Meal replacements are an effective strategy for the short-term management of PCOS. Advice on moderate fat or carbohydrate restriction was equally effective in maintaining weight reduction and improving reproductive and metabolic variables.

  20. Plant Ecological Strategies Shift Across the Cretaceous–Paleogene Boundary

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blonder, Benjamin; Royer, Dana L.; Johnson, Kirk R.; Miller, Ian; Enquist, Brian J.

    2014-01-01

    The Chicxulub bolide impact caused the end-Cretaceous mass extinction of plants, but the associated selectivity and ecological effects are poorly known. Using a unique set of North Dakota leaf fossil assemblages spanning 2.2 Myr across the event, we show among angiosperms a reduction of ecological strategies and selection for fast-growth strategies consistent with a hypothesized recovery from an impact winter. Leaf mass per area (carbon investment) decreased in both mean and variance, while vein density (carbon assimilation rate) increased in mean, consistent with a shift towards “fast” growth strategies. Plant extinction from the bolide impact resulted in a shift in functional trait space that likely had broad consequences for ecosystem functioning. PMID:25225914

  1. ENSI’s regulatory framework strategy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2015-03-01

    This short brochure issued by the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate ENSI defines the organisation’s regulatory framework strategy. Six guiding principles are declared and discussed: Comprehensive harmonisation with relevant international requirements, basing the regulatory framework on existing, tried-and-tested regulations, issuing of its own guidelines only when it is necessary to do so, guidelines to be drawn up transparently and with the involvement of all stakeholders and basing the level of detail of its regulatory framework on hazard potential and risk

  2. Synchronizing Strategies under Partial Observability

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Kim Guldstrand; Laursen, Simon; Srba, Jiri

    2014-01-01

    Embedded devices usually share only partial information about their current configurations as the communication bandwidth can be restricted. Despite this, we may wish to bring a failed device into a given predetermined configuration. This problem, also known as resetting or synchronizing words, has...... been intensively studied for systems that do not provide any information about their configurations. In order to capture more general scenarios, we extend the existing theory of synchronizing words to synchronizing strategies, and study the synchronization, short-synchronization and subset...

  3. Value Positions in E-government strategies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Persson, John Stouby; Reinwald, Anja Kaldahl; Skorve, Espen

    2017-01-01

    by value positions deeply enshrined in the traditions of public administration. We present a theory directed con-tent analysis of value positions in the national e-government strategy for Denmark published for the first time in 1994 and latest in 2016. Our comparison of the value positions in the two e......-government strategies show consistency over time when looking at the ideals of professionalism, service, and efficiency. While the least dominant ideal of engagement, has declined. The 22-year timespan separating the development of these two strategies had major technological advances, but little transformational...... impact on Danish e-government strategies in their general value positions. We discuss how our findings contribute to previous research on values in e-government and have practical implications for working with e-government strategies....

  4. A Comparison of Short- and Long-Term Therapeutic Outcomes of Infliximab- versus Tacrolimus-Based Strategies for Steroid-Refractory Ulcerative Colitis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katsuya Endo

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Background/Aims. Antitumor necrosis factor antibodies and calcineurin inhibitors have shown good therapeutic efficacy for steroid-refractory ulcerative colitis (UC. Although some studies have compared the efficacy of infliximab (IFX and cyclosporin A, there are no published studies comparing IFX and tacrolimus (Tac. This study aimed to compare therapeutic efficacies between IFX- and Tac-based strategies for steroid-refractory UC. Methods. Between July 2009 and August 2013, 95 patients with steroid-refractory UC received either IFX (n=48 or Tac (n=47 in our hospital. In the IFX group, the patients continued to receive maintenance treatment with IFX. In the Tac group, patients discontinued Tac treatment up to 3 months and subsequently received thiopurine. We retrospectively compared the therapeutic outcomes between the groups. Results. There was no significant difference in the colectomy-free rate, clinical remission rate, and clinical response rate at 2 months between the groups. However, relapse-free survival was significantly higher in the IFX group than in the Tac group (p<0.001; log-rank test. The proportions of serious adverse events did not differ between the groups. Conclusion. The findings of our study showed that IFX and Tac have similar short-term therapeutic efficacy for steroid-refractory UC. Maintenance treatment with IFX, however, yields better long-term outcomes than Tac-thiopurine bridging treatment.

  5. Implementation Planning and Progress on Physical Activity Goals: The Mediating Role of Life-Management Strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dugas, Michelle; Gaudreau, Patrick; Carraro, Natasha

    2012-01-01

    This 4-week prospective study examined whether the use of life-management strategies mediates the relationship between implementation planning and short-term progress on physical activity goals. In particular, the strategies of elective selection, compensation, and loss-based selection were disentangled to assess their specific mediating effects.…

  6. The Central Engines of Short-Duration Gamma-Ray Bursts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Metzger, Brian; Arcones, A.; Quataert, E.; Martinez-Pinedo, G.

    2010-01-01

    One of the most important discoveries made with Swift is that long and short-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) originate from distinct stellar progenitors. While long GRBs track ongoing star formation and result from the deaths of massive stars, short GRBs have been localized to both early and late-type galaxies, suggesting a more evolved progenitor population. Although the origin of short GRBs remains a mystery, the most popular and well-studied model is accretion following the merger of neutron star binaries. This model is qualitatively consistent with both the demographics of short GRBs and the lack of a bright associated supernova in some cases. Despite these successes, this picture has grown complex with the discovery that short GRBs are often followed by a "tail" of emission (usually soft X-rays) lasting 100 seconds after the burst. Such energetic, late-time emission from the central engine is difficult to explain in standard merger pictures. One proposed explanation is late-time "fall-back" onto the black hole of material that was ejected during the merger into highly eccentric, marginally-bound orbits. As this matter decompresses from nuclear densities, however, it undergoes rapid-neutron capture (r-process) nucleosynthesis, which can release energy comparable to the orbital binding energy. This implies that the r-process (normally thought unimportant dynamically in astrophysical contexts) has important implications for the quantity and time-dependence of fall-back and, ultimately, the source of flaring and identity of the central engine.

  7. Natural short sleeper

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sleep - natural short sleeper ... 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night. Short sleepers sleep less than 75% of what is normal for their age. Natural short sleepers are different from people who chronically do ...

  8. How visual short-term memory maintenance modulates subsequent visual aftereffects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saad, Elyana; Silvanto, Juha

    2013-05-01

    Prolonged viewing of a visual stimulus can result in sensory adaptation, giving rise to perceptual phenomena such as the tilt aftereffect (TAE). However, it is not known if short-term memory maintenance induces such effects. We examined how visual short-term memory (VSTM) maintenance modulates the strength of the TAE induced by subsequent visual adaptation. We reasoned that if VSTM maintenance induces aftereffects on subsequent encoding of visual information, then it should either enhance or reduce the TAE induced by a subsequent visual adapter, depending on the congruency of the memory cue and the adapter. Our results were consistent with this hypothesis and thus indicate that the effects of VSTM maintenance can outlast the maintenance period.

  9. Influence of the management strategy model on estimating water system performance under climate change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Francois, Baptiste; Hingray, Benoit; Creutin, Jean-Dominique; Hendrickx, Frederic

    2015-04-01

    The performance of water systems used worldwide for the management of water resources is expected to be influenced by future changes in regional climates and water uses. Anticipating possible performance changes of a given system requires a modeling chain simulating its management. Operational management is usually not trivial especially when several conflicting objectives have to be accounted for. Management models are therefore often a crude representation of the real system and they only approximate its performance. Estimated performance changes are expected to depend on the management model used, but this is often not assessed. This communication analyzes the influence of the management strategy representation on the performance of an Alpine reservoir (Serre-Ponçon, South-East of France) for which irrigation supply, hydropower generation and recreational activities are the main objectives. We consider three ways to construct the strategy named as clear-, short- and far-sighted management. They are based on different forecastability degrees of seasonal inflows into the reservoir. The strategies are optimized using a Dynamic Programming algorithm (deterministic for clear-sighted and implicit stochastic for short- and far-sighted). System performance is estimated for an ensemble of future hydro-meteorological projections obtained in the RIWER2030 research project (http://www.lthe.fr/RIWER2030/) from a suite of climate experiments from the EU - ENSEMBLES research project. Our results show that changes in system performance is much more influenced by changes in hydro-meteorological variables than by the choice of strategy modeling. They also show that a simple strategy representation (i.e. clear-sighted management) leads to similar estimates of performance modifications than those obtained with a representation supposedly closer to real world (i.e. the far-sighted management). The Short-Sighted management approach lead to significantly different results, especially

  10. Peculiarities of the propagation of multidimensional extremely short optical pulses in germanene

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhukov, Alexander V., E-mail: alex_zhukov@sutd.edu.sg [Singapore University of Technology and Design, 8 Somapah Road, 487372 Singapore (Singapore); Bouffanais, Roland [Singapore University of Technology and Design, 8 Somapah Road, 487372 Singapore (Singapore); Konobeeva, Natalia N. [Volgograd State University, 400062 Volgograd (Russian Federation); Belonenko, Mikhail B. [Laboratory of Nanotechnology, Volgograd Institute of Business, 400048 Volgograd (Russian Federation); Volgograd State University, 400062 Volgograd (Russian Federation)

    2016-09-07

    Highlights: • Established dynamics of ultra-short pulses in germanene. • Studied balance between dispersive and nonlinear effects in germanene. • Spin–orbit interaction effect onto pulse propagation. - Abstract: In this Letter, we study the propagation characteristics of both two-dimensional and three-dimensional extremely short optical pulses in germanene. A distinguishing feature of germanene—in comparison with other graphene-like structures—is the presence of a significant spin–orbit interaction. The account of this interaction has a significant impact on the evolution of extremely short pulses in such systems. Specifically, extremely short optical pulses, consisting of two electric field oscillations, cause the appearance of a tail associated with the excitation of nonlinear waves. Due to the large spin–orbit interaction in germanene, this tail behind the main pulse is much smaller in germanene-based samples as compared to graphene-based ones, thereby making germanene a preferred material for the stable propagation of pulses along the sample.

  11. Assessing short-term individual consistency using IRT-based statistics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pere J. Ferrando

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Se propone un procedimiento, basado en un estadístico global para evaluar la consistencia intra-individual en un diseño retest basado en un intervalo de retest corto. El procedimiento se desarrolla en el marco de los modelos paramétricos de TRI, y el estadístico, que se basa en la función de verosimilitud, puede ser considerado como una extensión del estadístico lz. Se discute la justificación para el uso e interpretación del estadístico y se propone además un estadístico estandarizado a nivel de ítem para obtener claves acerca de las posibles causas de la inconsistencia detectada mediante el índice global. El procedimiento se ilustra con un ejemplo real y una simulación paralela en el dominio de la personalidad.

  12. Short philtrum

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... this page: //medlineplus.gov/ency/article/003302.htm Short philtrum To use the sharing features on this page, please enable JavaScript. A short philtrum is a shorter than normal distance between ...

  13. Short-term scheduling of an open-pit mine with multiple objectives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blom, Michelle; Pearce, Adrian R.; Stuckey, Peter J.

    2017-05-01

    This article presents a novel algorithm for the generation of multiple short-term production schedules for an open-pit mine, in which several objectives, of varying priority, characterize the quality of each solution. A short-term schedule selects regions of a mine site, known as 'blocks', to be extracted in each week of a planning horizon (typically spanning 13 weeks). Existing tools for constructing these schedules use greedy heuristics, with little optimization. To construct a single schedule in which infrastructure is sufficiently utilized, with production grades consistently close to a desired target, a planner must often run these heuristics many times, adjusting parameters after each iteration. A planner's intuition and experience can evaluate the relative quality and mineability of different schedules in a way that is difficult to automate. Of interest to a short-term planner is the generation of multiple schedules, extracting available ore and waste in varying sequences, which can then be manually compared. This article presents a tool in which multiple, diverse, short-term schedules are constructed, meeting a range of common objectives without the need for iterative parameter adjustment.

  14. Spectrum-energy Correlations in GRBs: Update, Reliability, and the Long/Short Dichotomy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Z. B.; Zhang, C. T.; Zhao, Y. X.; Luo, J. J.; Jiang, L. Y.; Wang, X. L.; Han, X. L.; Terheide, R. K.

    2018-05-01

    Spectrum-energy correlations of peak energy with total prompt γ-ray emission energies, namely {E}p,i-{E}{iso}, {E}p,i-{E}γ , and {E}p,i-{L}p, had been studied for long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) previously by many authors. These energy correlations were proposed to measure the universe and classify GRBs as useful probes. However, most of these relations were built by non-Swift bursts. The spectrum-energy correlations of short bursts have not been systematically established yet; in particular, how the newly found GRB170817A matches these energy relations is unknown to date. We will first refresh the three spectrum-energy relations of Swift/BAT and Fermi/GBM long bursts and build the corresponding relations of short bursts. Then, we confirm whether they are commonly available as a discriminator of short and long GRBs. Some potential violators to these relations will be investigated. Combining with the plane of peak energy versus fluence, we select 31 short and 252 long GRBs with well-measured peak energy and redshift to study the issue of GRB classifications connected with the above energy relations statistically. We find that the three energy relations do exist in our new GRB samples and they are marginally consistent with some previous results. We report for the first time that short GRBs hold the three corresponding energy relations having the consistent power-law indices with long GRBs. It is found that these energy relations can be adopted to discriminate GRBs successfully if they are put in the peak energy versus fluence plane. Excitingly, we point out that GRB090510 matches the energy relations of {E}p,i-{E}{iso} and {E}p,i-{L}p, but violates the {E}p,i-{E}γ relation. More excitingly, we find that GRB170817A is an outlier to all the three energy correlations.

  15. Optimal strategies and complexity: a theoretical analysis of the anti-predatory behavior of the hare.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Focardi, S; Rizzotto, M

    1999-09-01

    Predator-prey relationships involving rabbits and hares are widely studied at a long-term population level, while the short-term ethological interactions between one predator and one prey are less well documented. We use a physiologically-based model of hare behavior, developed in the framework of artificial intelligence studies, to analyse its sophisticated anti-predatory behavior. The hares use to stand to the fox in order to inform it that its potential prey is alerted. The behavior of the hare is characterized by specific standing and flushing distances. We show that both hare survival probability and body condition depend on habitat cover, as well as on the ability of the predator to approach-undetected-a prey. We study two anti-predatory strategies, one based on the maximization of the survival probability and the other on the maximization of the body conditions of the hare. Despite the fact that the two strategies are not independent, they are characterized by quite different behavioral patterns. Field estimates of flushing and standing distances are consistent with survival maximization. There exists an optimal anti-predatory strategy, characterized by a flushing distance of 20 m and a standing distance of 30 m, which is optimal in a large set of environmental conditions with a sharp fitness advantage with respect to suboptimal strategies. These results improve our understanding of the anti-predatory behavior of the hare and lend credibility to the optimality approach in the behavioral analysis, showing that even for complex organisms, characterized by a large network of internal constraints and feedback, it is possible to identify simple optimal strategies with a large potential for selection.

  16. EVALUASI STRATEGI BERSAING SMA KRISTEN 1 SALATIGA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eclesia Tehupeiory

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to evaluate the competitive strategies of SMA Kristen 1 Salatiga. The type of this study was a qualitative evaluation, through data collection by means of interviews, questionnaires, observation and documentation study. Data obtained and analyzed by an evaluation component based on Rumelt (2000 were consistency, consonance, advantage and feasibility. The results showed that: (1 Consistency evaluation of competitive strategy applied by SMA Kristen 1 Salatiga has shown consistency with the goals, values and policies of the school. (2 Consonance evaluation of competitive strategy has demonstrated suitability with the needs of society, while for competition with other schools, the school programs such as Peduli Kasih program, Sekolah Lima Hari, moving class, SMUQI Radio and multimedia extracurricular namely cinematography and photography are not appropriate. (3 Advantage evaluation of competitive strategy in the school programs such as Peduli Kasih, moving class, and Sekolah Lima Hari do not excel the resources, skills and superior positions. Other programs such as multimedia Extracurricular namely photography and cinematography is not superior to the superior position. Meanwhile, special programs such as the education expo, parenting day, career day and the Field Trip program through Live In and outdoor study do not excel in superior skills. (4 Feasibility evaluation shows that multimedia extracurricular programs have not showed the feasibility of the physical resources which involves computer supporting facilities and Wi-Fi. Suggestion to school in order to maintain the consistency that was owned, suitability to the needs of society as well as pay attention to competition with other schools also enhance the achievement of advantage and checking of IT facilities.

  17. Developing Business School Strategies: A Practitioner-Oriented Conceptualization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Seelhofer

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available This conceptual paper examines the rationale for strategic planning in business schools and outlines an applied strategy development and controlling process that has been in use at a major Swiss business school for several years, contributing to a significant strengthening of the school's strategic position. It explains the strategy hierarchy and the strategy planning cycle, describes how to conduct a consistent strategic situation analysis, and details how to develop and manage a coherent strategy at all levels (normative, strategic, tactical, and operational, including type, nature, and structure of the corresponding documents.

  18. Studies toward brevisulcenal F via convergent strategies for marine ladder polyether synthesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katcher, Matthew; Jamison, Timothy F

    2018-03-15

    Shortly after the initial isolation of marine ladder polyether natural products, biomimetic epoxide-opening cascade reactions were proposed as an efficient strategy for the synthesis of these compounds. However, difficulties in assembling the cascade precursors have limited the realization of these cascades. In this report, we describe strategies that provide convergent access to cascade precursors via regioselective allylation and efficient fragment coupling. We then investigate epoxide-opening cascades promoted by strong bases for the formation of fused tetrahydropyrans. These strategies are evaluated in the context of the synthesis of rings CDEFG of brevisulcenal F.

  19. Strategies for Overcoming Key Barriers to Development of a National Security Workforce

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    None

    2008-06-30

    This report documents the strategies for overcoming identified key barriers to development of an adequate national security workforce as part of the National Security Preparedness Project (NSPP) being performed under a Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) grant. Many barriers currently exist that prevent the development of an adequate number of properly trained national security personnel. The identified strategies to address the barriers will focus on both short-term and long-term efforts, as well as strategies to capture legacy knowledge of retiring national security workforce personnel.

  20. Strategy Development of CV. Gamma Citra Mandiri (Kaospolos) in Order to Increase Customer and Profit

    OpenAIRE

    Elfasa, Andy; Hamsal, Mohammad

    2013-01-01

    The study aims to develop business strategy that can support KaosPolos in getting the customer and growing a business is run, so that the profit earned can also be increased, Study conducted in 2013 at KaosPolos that located in South Tangerang city. The authors propose the business strategy using tools as Generic Competitive Strategy, Business Model Canvas, and Business Diamond Strategy. the implementation of business solutions is divided into two programs, which is short-term and long-term p...

  1. Direct observation of short-circuit diffusion during the formation of a single cupric oxide nanowire

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cheng, C-L; Ma, Y-R; Chou, M H; Huang, C Y; Yeh, V; Wu, S Y

    2007-01-01

    Short-circuit diffusion was observed in a single CuO nanowire synthesized using a thermal oxidation method. The confocal Raman spectra of a single CuO nanowire permit direct observation of the nature of an individual CuO nanowire. The parameter order obtained from the inverse Raman B g 2 peak linewidth results in the length dependence of the linewidth and a short-circuit diffusion length of 3.3 μm. The observed structural information is also consistent with the energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopic mapping. The results confirm that the growth of CuO nanowires occurs through the short-circuit diffusion mechanism

  2. Training Support Staff to Modify Fluids to Appropriate Safe Consistencies for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities and Dysphagia: An Efficacy Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chadwick, D. D.; Stubbs, J.; Fovargue, S.; Anderson, D.; Stacey, G.; Tye, S.

    2014-01-01

    Background: Modifying the consistency of food and drink is a strategy commonly used in the management of dysphagia for people with intellectual disabilities (ID). People with ID often depend on others for the preparation of food and drink and therefore depend on those caregivers achieving the correct consistency to keep them safe and avoid…

  3. High-repetition-rate short-pulse gas discharge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tulip, J; Seguin, H; Mace, P N

    1979-09-01

    A high-average-power short-pulse gas discharge is described. This consists of a volume-preionized transverse discharge of the type used in gas lasers driven by a Blumlein energy storage circuit. The Blumlein circuit is fabricated from coaxial cable, is pulse-charged from a high-repetition-rate Marx-bank generator, and is switched by a high-repetition-rate segmented rail gap. The operation of this discharge under conditions typical of rare-gas halide lasers is described. A maximum of 900 pps was obtained, giving a power flow into the discharge of 30 kW.

  4. Skill and strategy in games

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dreef, M.R.M.

    2005-01-01

    This thesis consists of two parts. Part I deals with relative skill and the role of random factors in games. Part II is devoted to the computation of optimal strategies in two interesting classes of games: poker and take-and-guess games.

  5. ESOL facility for the generation and radiochemical separation of short half-life fission products

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gehrke, R.J.; Meikrantz, D.H.; Baker, J.D.; Anderl, R.A.; Novick, V.J.; Greenwood, R.C.

    1988-01-01

    A facility has been developed at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) for the generation and rapid radiochemical separation of short half-life mixed fission products. This facility, referred to as the Idaho Elemental Separation On Line (ESOL), consists of electro-plated sources of spontaneously fissioning 252 Cf with a helium jet transport arrangement to continuously deliver short half-life, mixed fission products to the radiochemistry laboratory for rapid, computer controlled, radiochemical separations. 18 refs., 13 figs

  6. A fast fault protection based on direction of bus-side capacitor discharge current for a high-surety power supply

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Li, Haijin; Chen, Min; Yang, Boping

    2017-01-01

    A short-circuit fault protection strategy based on the direction of bus-side capacitor discharge current for a high-surety power supply, known as Super Uninterruptable Power Supply (Super UPS), is studied in this paper. It consists of multiple energy sources and storage components. All energy...... strategy is necessary to keep the uninterruptable power for the critical load. In this paper, the characteristics of the short-circuit fault are analyzed first. Then, a fast short-circuit fault locating and isolating strategy based on the direction of the discharge current of the busside capacitors...

  7. Single-field consistency relations of large scale structure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Creminelli, Paolo; Noreña, Jorge; Simonović, Marko; Vernizzi, Filippo

    2013-01-01

    We derive consistency relations for the late universe (CDM and ΛCDM): relations between an n-point function of the density contrast δ and an (n+1)-point function in the limit in which one of the (n+1) momenta becomes much smaller than the others. These are based on the observation that a long mode, in single-field models of inflation, reduces to a diffeomorphism since its freezing during inflation all the way until the late universe, even when the long mode is inside the horizon (but out of the sound horizon). These results are derived in Newtonian gauge, at first and second order in the small momentum q of the long mode and they are valid non-perturbatively in the short-scale δ. In the non-relativistic limit our results match with [1]. These relations are a consequence of diffeomorphism invariance; they are not satisfied in the presence of extra degrees of freedom during inflation or violation of the Equivalence Principle (extra forces) in the late universe

  8. Distribution of Short-Term and Lifetime Predicted Risks of Cardiovascular Diseases in Peruvian Adults

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quispe, Renato; Bazo-Alvarez, Juan Carlos; Burroughs Peña, Melissa S; Poterico, Julio A; Gilman, Robert H; Checkley, William; Bernabé-Ortiz, Antonio; Huffman, Mark D; Miranda, J Jaime

    2015-01-01

    Background Short-term risk assessment tools for prediction of cardiovascular disease events are widely recommended in clinical practice and are used largely for single time-point estimations; however, persons with low predicted short-term risk may have higher risks across longer time horizons. Methods and Results We estimated short-term and lifetime cardiovascular disease risk in a pooled population from 2 studies of Peruvian populations. Short-term risk was estimated using the atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease Pooled Cohort Risk Equations. Lifetime risk was evaluated using the algorithm derived from the Framingham Heart Study cohort. Using previously published thresholds, participants were classified into 3 categories: low short-term and low lifetime risk, low short-term and high lifetime risk, and high short-term predicted risk. We also compared the distribution of these risk profiles across educational level, wealth index, and place of residence. We included 2844 participants (50% men, mean age 55.9 years [SD 10.2 years]) in the analysis. Approximately 1 of every 3 participants (34% [95% CI 33 to 36]) had a high short-term estimated cardiovascular disease risk. Among those with a low short-term predicted risk, more than half (54% [95% CI 52 to 56]) had a high lifetime predicted risk. Short-term and lifetime predicted risks were higher for participants with lower versus higher wealth indexes and educational levels and for those living in urban versus rural areas (PPeruvian adults were classified as low short-term risk but high lifetime risk. Vulnerable adults, such as those from low socioeconomic status and those living in urban areas, may need greater attention regarding cardiovascular preventive strategies. PMID:26254303

  9. “Diagnosis of sleep apnea in network” respiratory polygraphy as a decentralization strategy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eduardo Borsini

    2016-07-01

    Conclusions: Physicians were able to diagnosis OSA by doing portable respiratory polygraphy at distance. The remote diagnosis strategy presented short delays, safe data transmission, and low rate of missing data.

  10. Five-Item Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity: Construct and Nomological Validity and Internal Consistency among Colombian College Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ceballos, Guillermo A.; Suescun, Jesus D.; Oviedo, Heidi C.; Herazo, Edwin; Campo-Arias, Adalberto

    2015-01-01

    The Spanish version of the five-item Francis scale of attitude toward Christianity is a refinement of the short version of the Francis scale of attitude toward Christianity. The scale is a good measurement for intrinsic religiosity. It has been applied previously among Colombian adolescent students. The internal consistency and construct and…

  11. Relationship Between Strategy Shaping and Management Control Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcia Athayde Moreira

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available This research analyzed the interactions between strategy shaping and management control systems, having as parameter of analysis the system of levers of control recommended by Simons (1995. A multiple case study was carried out of two companies in the construction sector in Brazil. It was found that these companies use generic niche strategies to sell the properties they have built. One of these companies uses long-term planning while the other is guided by short-term perspectives and perceptions. Both companies employ various formal control tools. It was noted, however, that some of these tools exist for the purpose of meeting the requirements of standards and audits established by certifying bodies and are not being used as tools for decision making. It was thus concluded that the relationship between managerial controls and the shaping of strategy in these organizations occurs in a passive way, with the management control systems serving as guarantors of the accomplishment of organizational strategies and goals, but not being used effectively to identify opportunities or as a source for shaping new strategies.

  12. Canonical-ensemble state-averaged complete active space self-consistent field (SA-CASSCF) strategy for problems with more diabatic than adiabatic states: Charge-bond resonance in monomethine cyanines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Olsen, Seth, E-mail: seth.olsen@uq.edu.au [School of Mathematics and Physics, The University of Queensland, Brisbane QLD 4072 (Australia)

    2015-01-28

    This paper reviews basic results from a theory of the a priori classical probabilities (weights) in state-averaged complete active space self-consistent field (SA-CASSCF) models. It addresses how the classical probabilities limit the invariance of the self-consistency condition to transformations of the complete active space configuration interaction (CAS-CI) problem. Such transformations are of interest for choosing representations of the SA-CASSCF solution that are diabatic with respect to some interaction. I achieve the known result that a SA-CASSCF can be self-consistently transformed only within degenerate subspaces of the CAS-CI ensemble density matrix. For uniformly distributed (“microcanonical”) SA-CASSCF ensembles, self-consistency is invariant to any unitary CAS-CI transformation that acts locally on the ensemble support. Most SA-CASSCF applications in current literature are microcanonical. A problem with microcanonical SA-CASSCF models for problems with “more diabatic than adiabatic” states is described. The problem is that not all diabatic energies and couplings are self-consistently resolvable. A canonical-ensemble SA-CASSCF strategy is proposed to solve the problem. For canonical-ensemble SA-CASSCF, the equilibrated ensemble is a Boltzmann density matrix parametrized by its own CAS-CI Hamiltonian and a Lagrange multiplier acting as an inverse “temperature,” unrelated to the physical temperature. Like the convergence criterion for microcanonical-ensemble SA-CASSCF, the equilibration condition for canonical-ensemble SA-CASSCF is invariant to transformations that act locally on the ensemble CAS-CI density matrix. The advantage of a canonical-ensemble description is that more adiabatic states can be included in the support of the ensemble without running into convergence problems. The constraint on the dimensionality of the problem is relieved by the introduction of an energy constraint. The method is illustrated with a complete active space

  13. Energy security strategy and nuclear power

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Toichi, Tsutomu; Shibata, Masaharu; Uchiyama, Yoji; Suzuki, Tatsujiro; Yamazaki, Kazuo

    2006-01-01

    This special edition of 'Energy security strategy and nuclear power' is abstracts of the 27 th Policy Recommendations 'The Establishment of an International Energy Security System' by the Japan Forum on International Relations, Inc on May 18 th , 2006. It consists of five papers: Energy security trend in the world and Japan strategy by Tsutomu Toichi, Establishment of energy strategy supporting Japan as the focus on energy security by Masaharu Shibata, World pays attention to Japan nuclear power policy and nuclear fuel cycle by Yoji Uchiyama, Part of nuclear power in the energy security - the basic approach and future problems by Tatsujiro Suzuki, and Drawing up the energy strategy focused on the national interests - a demand for the next government by Kazuo Yamazaki. (S.Y.)

  14. Consistency in boldness, activity and exploration at different stages of life

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Background Animals show consistent individual behavioural patterns over time and over situations. This phenomenon has been referred to as animal personality or behavioural syndromes. Little is known about consistency of animal personalities over entire life times. We investigated the repeatability of behaviour in common voles (Microtus arvalis) at different life stages, with different time intervals, and in different situations. Animals were tested using four behavioural tests in three experimental groups: 1. before and after maturation over three months, 2. twice as adults during one week, and 3. twice as adult animals over three months, which resembles a substantial part of their entire adult life span of several months. Results Different behaviours were correlated within and between tests and a cluster analysis showed three possible behavioural syndrome-axes, which we name boldness, exploration and activity. Activity and exploration behaviour in all tests was highly repeatable in adult animals tested over one week. In animals tested over maturation, exploration behaviour was consistent whereas activity was not. Voles that were tested as adults with a three-month interval showed the opposite pattern with stable activity but unstable exploration behaviour. Conclusions The consistency in behaviour over time suggests that common voles do express stable personality over short time. Over longer periods however, behaviour is more flexible and depending on life stage (i.e. tested before/after maturation or as adults) of the tested individual. Level of boldness or activity does not differ between tested groups and maintenance of variation in behavioural traits can therefore not be explained by expected future assets as reported in other studies. PMID:24314274

  15. Idiopathic short stature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vlaški Jovan

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Growth is a complex process and the basic characteristic of child- hood growth monitoring provides insight into the physiological and pathological events in the body. Statistically, the short stature means departure from the values of height for age and sex (in a particular environment, which is below -2 standard deviation score, or less than -2 standard deviation, i.e. below the third percentile. Advances in molecular genetics have contributed to the improvement of diagnostics in endocrinology. Analysis of patients’ genotypes should not be performed before taking a classical history, detailed clinical examination and appropriate tests. In patients with idiopathic short stature specific causes are excluded, such as growth hormone deficiency, Turner syndrome, short stature due to low birth weight, intrauterine growth retardation, small for gestational age, dysmorphology syndromes and chronic childhood diseases. The exclusion of abovementioned conditions leaves a large number of children with short stature whose etiology includes patients with genetic short stature or familial short stature and those who are low in relation to genetic potential, and who could also have some unrecognized endocrine defect. Idiopathic short stature represents a short stature of unknown cause of heterogeneous etiology, and is characterized by a normal response of growth hormone during stimulation tests (>10 ng/ml or 20 mJ/l, without other disorders, of normal body mass and length at birth. In idiopathic short stature standard deviation score rates <-2.25 (-2 to -3 or <1.2 percentile. These are also criteria for the initiation of growth hormone therapy. In children with short stature there is also the presence of psychological and social suffering. Goals of treatment with growth hormone involve achieving normal height and normal growth rate during childhood.

  16. Gender, Strategy Selection, and Discussion Satisfaction in Interpersonal Conflict.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papa, Michael J.; Natalle, Elizabeth J.

    1989-01-01

    Examines gender-related similarities and differences regarding conflict strategies and satisfaction with conflict interaction in a corporate setting. Reports that gender significantly affected the selection of influence strategies: male-male dyads used assertiveness and reason consistently, while female-female dyads shifted from high levels of…

  17. Research Tool to Evaluate the Safety Response of Lithium Batteries to an Internal Short Circuit

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Keyser, Matthew; Darcy, Eric; Pesaran, Ahmad

    2016-06-19

    Li-ion cells provide the highest specific energy and energy density rechargeable battery with the longest life. Many safety incidents that take place in the field originate due to an internal short that was not detectable or predictable at the point of manufacture. NREL's internal short circuit (ISC) device is capable of simulating shorts and produces consistent and reproducible results. The cell behaves normally until the ISC device is activated wherein a latent defect (i.e., built into the cell during manufacturing) gradually moves into position to create an internal short while the battery is in use, providing relevant data to verify abuse models. The ISC device is an effective tool for studying the safety features of parts of Li-ion batteries.

  18. Effects of Preschool Intervention Strategies on School Readiness in Kindergarten

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Xin; Nelson, Regena F.; Shen, Jianping; Krenn, Huilan Y.

    2015-01-01

    Using hierarchical linear modeling, the present study aimed to examine whether targeted intervention strategies implemented individually during a preschool program exhibited any short-term and long-term effects on children's school readiness in kindergarten, utilizing data gathered through the Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids (SPARK)…

  19. Lanthanide-Based Metal Organic Frameworks: Synthetic Strategies and Catalytic Applications

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pagis, C.; Ferbinteanu, M.; Rothenberg, G.; Grecea, S.

    2016-01-01

    This short critical review outlines the main synthetic strategies used in the designed synthesis of lanthanide-based metal organic frameworks (Ln-MOFs). It explains the impact of the choice of organic linker on the final network topology, and it highlights the applications of Ln-MOFs in the

  20. Resuming growth in Latin America: short and long term policies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julio Lopez G.

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available The authors of this paper assert that the paralysis of the state generated by the crises of the 1970s and 1980s deprived the economies of the region of an important lever to resume and sustain growth. They thus maintain that to overcome stagnation it will be necessary to reconstruct the state's capacity to implement pro-growth policies. Following Keynes and Kalecki's ideas, but also classical development economists, the authors argue, first, that short-term macroeconomic policies, to reduce unemployment and to increase the degree of capacity utilization, should be used to promote the generation of profits to firms and to wake up entrepreneurs' animal spirits. Short-term expansionary policies should be coupled with measures to improve competitiveness and avoid balance of payments problems. They also claim that alternatives to the liberal programme will fail unless a pro-growth strategy is adopted which includes both short- and long-term policies. They thus propose that long-term policies must complete the package, signaling: a sustained increases of effective demand in the future; and b investment priorities to ensure that capacities will be created in strategic sectors and branches of the economy.

  1. Assessment of consistency in the dimension of gutta-percha cones of ProTaper Next and WaveOne with their corresponding number files

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bajaj, Nitika; Monga, Prashant; Mahajan, Pardeep

    2017-01-01

    Objectives: To compare the dimensions of gutta-percha (GP) cones of ProTaper Next (25/0.06) and WaveOne (25/0.08) in relation to their corresponding instruments of the same dimension, respectively. Materials and Methods: Two groups of GP cones were made with 25 cones in each group. Group 1 consisted of 25 GP cones # 25/0.06 (ProTaper Next). Group 2 consisted of 25 GP cones # 25/0.08 (WaveOne). Measurements were done at D1 (1 mm short of the tip), D3 (3 mm short of the tip), and D11 (11 mm short of the tip) for GP cones of both groups and were compared with their corresponding instruments. Results: Group 1 (ProTaper) 25/.06 GP points showed greater diameters than those of the corresponding instrument, which was statistically significant. Group 2 (WaveOne) 25/0.08 GP points showed greater diameters than those of the corresponding instrument which was statistically significant whereas it was nonsignificant at level D1. Conclusion: Diameters of both ProTaper Next and WaveOne GP cones were greater than their corresponding instruments. Hence, there are chances of under obturation with both systems. PMID:28729793

  2. Modal shifts in short-haul passenger travel and the consequent energy impacts. [Intercity travel under 500 miles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1980-03-01

    A study was performed to evaluate the impacts of strategies to effect modal shifts in short-haul passenger travel (defined herein as intercity travel under 500 miles) from energy-intensive modes to those modes that are less energy-intensive. A series of individual strategies, ranging from incentives to the less energy-intensive modes (bus, rail) to penalties to the more energy-intensive modes (auto, air) was examined to determine energy saved and policy implications relative to strategy implementation. The most effective of the individual strategies were then combined in all permutations, and the analysis was repeated. As part of the analytical process, effects of factors other than energy (user cost and time, emissions, government subsidy, and travel fatailities) were examined in a benefit/cost analysis. Finally, energy savings, benefit/cost impacts, implementation considerations, and policy implications were evaluated to arrive at conclusions as to the effectiveness of the more-influential strategies and to the overall effectiveness of induced modal shifts. The principal conclusion of the study is that the maximum 1980 energy saving that might be realized by modal shifts, discounting the concurrent effects of demand suppression and improvement of mode efficiency, is approximately 83 x 10/sup 12/ Btu (46,500 bbl gasoline per day), 3.8% of the total projected 1980 energy consumption in the short-haul transportation sector and 0.23% of the total US petroleum use. It was also concluded that strategies to achieve these small savings by modal shifts would result in significant economic, social, and business disruptions.

  3. Short-term memory for tactile and temporal stimuli in a shared-attention recall task.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bowers, R L; Mollenhauer, M S; Luxford, J

    1990-06-01

    The present study examined short-term memory for tactile and temporal stimuli. Subjects were required to touch three-dimensional sample objects of different shapes and textures, presented for three durations: short, medium, or long. After the sample duration elapsed, a retention interval (5 sec.-20 sec.) occurred followed by a recall test for one of the sample dimensions of shape, texture, or time, across trials. Analysis showed that accuracy for shape and texture was high throughout testing (95-99%), but memory for perceived duration was relatively poor (60%). Further analysis indicated that poor recall on the time dimension was isolated to the medium and long samples; accuracy for short durations was consistently high (90%). In addition, a reliable response bias emerged; subjects recalled durations shorter than the actual duration presented. The results were discussed in terms of two lines of research, one indicating that haptic short-term memory is strong relative to other memory systems, and the other suggesting that the choose-short bias occurs across species.

  4. Developing 2050 decarbonization strategies in the EU: Insights on good practice from national experiences

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sartor, Oliver; Donat, Lena; Duwe, Matthias; Umpfenbach, Katharina

    2017-01-01

    There is increasing recognition that achieving deep cuts to GHG emissions requires a close link between long term strategic planning and short term policy action. Long term decarbonization strategies are important at a technical level, because they can help countries to identify concrete and feasible pathways to decarbonization, based on their national particularities, and then to determine their implications for immediate policies and measures. They can also serve an important social and political function, by facilitating a concrete and analytically based discussion between national stakeholders about what long-term decarbonization implies. Article 4.19 called on Parties to the Paris Agreement to develop long term low emissions development strategies, and decision 1/CP21 invites Parties to present them ahead of 2020. To implement this requirement across all 28 EU countries, the EU is in the process of agreeing minimum requirements and guidelines under a draft new governance regulation for the EU's Energy Union project. Unfortunately, early drafts of this document contain too little detail on what these strategies should include, or how member states should go about developing them. This is a concern, not only for the quality of climate governance in the EU, but also in terms of the potentially negative signal the EU may send under the Paris process, if many of its member states are incapable of producing robust and credible 2050 decarbonization strategies. A small number of EU member states have already developed their own 2050 decarbonization strategies and plans. This study - which was jointly undertaken by IDDRI in France and Ecologic in Germany - highlights some important lessons that can be learned from recent experiences with 2050 decarbonization strategies in selected EU countries. It builds on experiences in a small group of EU member states to highlight some examples of good practice when it comes to long term decarbonization strategy development. If the

  5. Ultra-short time sciences. From the atto-second to the peta-watts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2000-01-01

    This book presents the recent advances in the scientific and technical domains linked with ultra-short time physics. It deals first with the conceptual and technological aspects of ultra-intense and ultra-brief lasers. Then, it describes the different domains of research (atoms, molecules and aggregates; gaseous phase dynamics using the pump-probe technique; femto-chemistry in dense phase; condensed matter; plasma physics; consistent control; aerosols; functional femto-biology) and the different domains of application (medical diagnosis; ophthalmology; telecommunications; technological and industrial developments). A last part is devoted to the teaching of ultra-short time sciences. (J.S.)

  6. Production of exotic, short lived carbon isotopes in ISOL-type facilities

    CERN Document Server

    Franberg, Hanna; Köster, Ulli; Ammann, Markus

    2008-01-01

    The beam intensities of short-lived carbon isotopes at Isotope Separation On-Line (ISOL) facilities have been limited in the past for technical reasons. The production of radioactive ion beams of carbon isotopes is currently of high interest for fundamental nuclear physics research. To produce radioactive ions a target station consisting of a target in a container connected to an ion source via a transfer line is commonly used. The target is heated to vaporize the product for transport. Carbon in elementary form is a very reactive element and react strongly with hot metal surfaces. Due to the strong chemisorption interaction, in the target and ion source unit, the atoms undergo significant retention on their way from the target to the ion source. Due to this the short lived isotopes decays and are lost leading to low ion yields. A first approach to tackle these limitations consists of incorporating the carbon atoms into less reactive molecules and to use materials for the target housing and the transfer line ...

  7. Short-circuit logic

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bergstra, J.A.; Ponse, A.

    2010-01-01

    Short-circuit evaluation denotes the semantics of propositional connectives in which the second argument is only evaluated if the first argument does not suffice to determine the value of the expression. In programming, short-circuit evaluation is widely used. A short-circuit logic is a variant of

  8. Monitoring strategies and scale appropriate hydrologic and biogeochemical modelling for natural resource management

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bende-Michl, Ulrike; Volk, Martin; Harmel, Daren

    2011-01-01

    This short communication paper presents recommendations for developing scale-appropriate monitoring and modelling strategies to assist decision making in natural resource management (NRM). These ideas presented here were discussed in the session (S5) ‘Monitoring strategies and scale...... and communication between researcher and model developer on the one side, and natural resource managers and the model users on the other side to increase knowledge in: 1) the limitations and uncertainties of current monitoring and modelling strategies, 2) scale-dependent linkages between monitoring and modelling...

  9. Analysis of self-consistency effects in range-separated density-functional theory with Møller-Plesset perturbation theory

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fromager, Emmanuel; Jensen, Hans Jørgen Aagaard

    2011-01-01

    Range-separated density-functional theory combines wave function theory for the long-range part of the two-electron interaction with density-functional theory for the short-range part. When describing the long-range interaction with non-variational methods, such as perturbation or coupled......-cluster theories, self-consistency effects are introduced in the density functional part, which for an exact solution requires iterations. They are generally assumed to be small but no detailed study has been performed so far. Here, the authors analyze self-consistency when using Møller-Plesset-type (MP......) perturbation theory for the long range interaction. The lowest-order self-consistency corrections to the wave function and the energy, that enter the perturbation expansions at the second and fourth order, respectively, are both expressed in terms of the one-electron reduced density matrix. The computational...

  10. DSM-5 Insomnia and Short Sleep: Comorbidity Landscape and Racial Disparities.

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2016-12-01

    We estimated rates of cardiometabolic disease, pain conditions, and psychiatric illness associated with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) insomnia disorder (current and in remission) and habitual short sleep (fewer than 6 h), and examined the roles of insomnia and short sleep in racial disparities in disease burden between black and non-Hispanic white Americans. This epidemiological survey study was cross-sectional. The community-based sample consisted of 3,911 subjects (46.0 y ± 13.3; 65.4% female; 25.0% black) across six sleep groups based on DSM-5 insomnia classification ( never vs. remitted vs. current ) and self-reported habitual sleep duration ( normal vs. short ). Vascular events, cardiometabolic disease, pain conditions, and psychiatric symptoms were self-reported. Short sleeping insomniacs were at elevated risk for myocardial infarction, stroke, treated hypertension, diabetes, chronic pain, back pain, depression, and anxiety, independent of sex, age, and obesity. Morbidity profiles for insomniacs with normal sleep duration and former insomniacs, irrespective of sleep duration, were similar with elevations in treated hypertension, chronic pain, depression, and anxiety. Regarding racial disparities, cardiometabolic and psychiatric illness burden was greater for blacks, who were more likely to have short sleep and the short sleep insomnia phenotype. Evidence suggested that health disparities may be attributable in part to race-related differences in sleep. Insomnia disorder with short sleep is the most severe phenotype of insomnia and comorbid with many cardiometabolic and psychiatric illnesses, whereas morbidity profiles are highly similar between insomniacs with normal sleep duration and former insomniacs. Short sleep endemic to black Americans increases risk for the short sleep insomnia phenotype and likely contributes to racial disparities in cardiometabolic disease and psychiatric illness. © 2016 Associated

  11. The Long and Short Side of Real Estate, Real Estate Stocks, and Equity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    M. Porras Prado (Melissa)

    2012-01-01

    textabstractThis thesis consists of three studies in the investments field, which examines the interaction between long and short positions and their impact on market participants, prices and portfolio allocations. In chapter 2, I examine the optimal portfolio composition for institutional investors

  12. Helsinki Metropolitan Area Climate Change Adaptation Strategy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2012-07-01

    The Helsinki Metropolitan Area Climate Change Adaptation Strategy has been prepared in close cooperation with the four cities of the metropolitan area (Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen), the Helsinki Region Environmental Services Authority HSY and other municipal, regional and state level organisations. In the strategy, strategic starting points and policies with which the metropolitan area prepares for the consequences of climate change, are compiled. The Helsinki Metropolitan Area adaptation strategy concentrates on the adaptation of the built and urban environment to the changing climate. The vision of the strategy is climate proof city - the future is built now. The strategy aims to (1) assess the impacts of climate change in the area, (2) prepare for the impacts of climate change and to extreme weather events and (3) to reduce the vulnerabilities of the area to climate variability and change. The target is to secure the well-being of the citizens and the functioning of the cities also in the changing climate conditions. The preparation of the adaptation strategy started in 2009 by producing the background studies. They include the regional climate and sea level scenarios, modelling of river floods in climate change conditions and a survey of climate change impacts in the region. Also, existing programmes, legislation, research and studies concerning adaptation were collected. The background studies are published in a report titled 'The Helsinki metropolitan area climate is changing - Adaptation strategy background studies' (in Finnish) (HSY 2010). HSY coordinated the strategy preparation. The work was carried out is close cooperation with the experts of the metropolitan area cities, regional emergency services, Ministry of the Environment, Helsinki Region Transport Authority and other regional organisations. The strategy work has had a steering group that consists of representatives of the cities and other central cooperation partners. The

  13. The CEA in mutation redefines its strategy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    2005-01-01

    The French atomic energy commission has redefined its medium- and long-term plan which fixes its strategy for the ten coming years. A. Bugat, general director of the CEA briefly presents the new missions of the CEA: budget and investments, cooperation with universities, place of fundamental research, activities in fuel cells and photovoltaic energy, cooperation with EdF, Areva and Cogema in civil nuclear research. Short paper. (J.S.)

  14. Metacognitive Online Reading Strategies among Pre-Service EFL Teachers in Indonesia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heri Mudra

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available The study aimed to establish the metacognitive online reading strategies used by pre-service EFL teachers and to describe their experiences in employing the strategies. This mixed-methods study employed 65 participants (n = 65. The data were collected by using Online Survey of Reading Strategies (OSORS, as developed by Anderson (2003, and through a semi-structured interview. The findings showed that the subscale Global Reading Strategies (GLOB was employed most frequently, followed by Problem Solving Strategies (SOLV and then Support Strategies (SUPP. The most frequent levels of strategies included guessing the contents, scrolling through the texts, associating schemata and current information, using context clues, using tables or pictures, pausing and thinking about the contents, using printed texts, and translating the contents into Indonesian. The interview also reported that the strategies employed were focusing on simplified texts, focusing on colorful texts, translating texts into Indonesian, reading for fun, and utilizing schemata. In short, various strategies can be employed to comprehend and increase better understanding of the online texts.

  15. Human Resources Strategies in Romanian Tourism Companies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tătăruşanu Maria

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available In the context of political, social and economic global worries, tourism remains an underexploited option as its ability to be a consistent revenues source in Romania. Some companies have understood this and thus they have successfully developed their activities by building their business in a strategic way. In the same way, others failed due to lack of vision and coherence. The strategic thinking capacity, that has led them to success, has been reflected specially in their human resources strategies - positive effects generator on long term. What do they mean and what do these strategies consist of? The main purpose of this article consists in the analysis of information both from the online environment and literature reviews referring to this subject. It also aims to provide best practices and recommendations for a strategic approach of human resources in tourism companies, having in mind an area whose future must to be considered.

  16. How to integrate Investment strategies and Finance strategies. Case: Messukeskus

    OpenAIRE

    Kolodiy, Oleg

    2013-01-01

    This Bachelor’s thesis examines an integration process of strategic planning, where an investment strategy is defined with financial planning in order to ensure long-term company success. The primary objective of the study is to determine present and emerging instruments available for a case company to finance their investments activities. The thesis consists of a theory section and an empirical section that deals with the commissioning party, a cooperative by form. The theory sectio...

  17. Measuring process and knowledge consistency

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Edwards, Kasper; Jensen, Klaes Ladeby; Haug, Anders

    2007-01-01

    When implementing configuration systems, knowledge about products and processes are documented and replicated in the configuration system. This practice assumes that products are specified consistently i.e. on the same rule base and likewise for processes. However, consistency cannot be taken...... for granted; rather the contrary, and attempting to implement a configuration system may easily ignite a political battle. This is because stakes are high in the sense that the rules and processes chosen may only reflect one part of the practice, ignoring a majority of the employees. To avoid this situation......, this paper presents a methodology for measuring product and process consistency prior to implementing a configuration system. The methodology consists of two parts: 1) measuring knowledge consistency and 2) measuring process consistency. Knowledge consistency is measured by developing a questionnaire...

  18. SAAS: Short Amino Acid Sequence - A Promising Protein Secondary Structure Prediction Method of Single Sequence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhou Yuan Wu

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available In statistical methods of predicting protein secondary structure, many researchers focus on single amino acid frequencies in α-helices, β-sheets, and so on, or the impact near amino acids on an amino acid forming a secondary structure. But the paper considers a short sequence of amino acids (3, 4, 5 or 6 amino acids as integer, and statistics short sequence's probability forming secondary structure. Also, many researchers select low homologous sequences as statistical database. But this paper select whole PDB database. In this paper we propose a strategy to predict protein secondary structure using simple statistical method. Numerical computation shows that, short amino acids sequence as integer to statistics, which can easy see trend of short sequence forming secondary structure, and it will work well to select large statistical database (whole PDB database without considering homologous, and Q3 accuracy is ca. 74% using this paper proposed simple statistical method, but accuracy of others statistical methods is less than 70%.

  19. ARE ALL SHORT-HARD GAMMA-RAY BURSTS PRODUCED FROM MERGERS OF COMPACT STELLAR OBJECTS?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Virgili, Francisco J.; Zhang Bing; O'Brien, Paul; Troja, Eleonora

    2011-01-01

    The origin and progenitors of short-hard gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) remain a puzzle and a highly debated topic. Recent Swift observations suggest that these GRBs may be related to catastrophic explosions in degenerate compact stars, denoted as 'Type I' GRBs. The most popular models include the merger of two compact stellar objects (NS-NS or NS-BH). We utilize a Monte Carlo approach to determine whether a merger progenitor model can self-consistently account for all the observations of short-hard GRBs, including a sample with redshift measurements in the Swift era (z-known sample) and the CGRO/BATSE sample. We apply various merger time delay distributions invoked in compact star merger models to derive the redshift distributions of these Type I GRBs, and then constrain the unknown luminosity function of Type I GRBs using the observed luminosity-redshift (L-z) distributions of the z-known sample. The best luminosity function model, together with the adopted merger delay model, is then applied to confront the peak flux distribution (log N-log P distribution) of the BATSE and Swift samples. We find that for all the merger models invoking a range of merger delay timescales (including those invoking a large fraction of 'prompt mergers'), it is difficult to reconcile the models with all the data. The data are instead statistically consistent with the following two possible scenarios. First, that short/hard GRBs are a superposition of compact-star-merger-origin (Type I) GRBs and a population of GRBs that track the star formation history, which are probably related to the deaths of massive stars (Type II GRBs). Second, the entire short/hard GRB population is consistent with a typical delay of 2 Gyr with respect to the star formation history with modest scatter. This may point toward a different Type I progenitor than the traditional compact star merger models.

  20. Bitcoin Meets Strong Consistency

    OpenAIRE

    Decker, Christian; Seidel, Jochen; Wattenhofer, Roger

    2014-01-01

    The Bitcoin system only provides eventual consistency. For everyday life, the time to confirm a Bitcoin transaction is prohibitively slow. In this paper we propose a new system, built on the Bitcoin blockchain, which enables strong consistency. Our system, PeerCensus, acts as a certification authority, manages peer identities in a peer-to-peer network, and ultimately enhances Bitcoin and similar systems with strong consistency. Our extensive analysis shows that PeerCensus is in a secure state...

  1. Internal consistency of a five-item form of the Francis Scale of Attitude Toward Christianity among adolescent students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campo-Arias, Adalberto; Oviedo, Heidi Celina; Cogollo, Zuleima

    2009-04-01

    The short form of the Francis Scale of Attitude Toward Christianity (L. J. Francis, 1992) is a 7-item Likert-type scale that shows high homogeneity among adolescents. The psychometric performance of a shorter version of this scale has not been explored. The authors aimed to determine the internal consistency of a 5-item form of the Francis Scale of Attitude Toward Christianity among 405 students from a school in Cartagena, Colombia. The authors computed the Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the 5 items with a greater corrected item-total punctuation correlation. The version without Items 2 and 7 showed internal consistency of .87. The 5-item version of the Francis Scale of Attitude Toward Christianity exhibited higher internal consistency than did the 7-item version. Future researchers should corroborate this finding.

  2. Intelligent National Strategy

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2008-01-01

    China has unveiled a strategic plan aimed at strengthening I PR protection and enhancing the country’s overall competitiveness China’s State Council published the Outline of the National Intellectual Property Strategy in early June, taking on one of the country’s major bugbears. The plan aims to improve the use of intellectual property rights (IPR) by 2020 and consists of a preface, guiding prin- ciples and strategic goals, strategic focuses,

  3. STRATEGI PEMASARAN PRODUK DIGITAL PRINTING PADA CV. FNB DIGITAL JAMBI

    OpenAIRE

    Yuniarti, Yenni; Mauliana, Sarah

    2012-01-01

    CV. Digital FNB is one of the companies that involved in Digital Printing business. Based on survey in the middle of 2011-2012, there are 31 digital printing businesses in the city of Jambi. In order to examine the marketing stratey implemented, descriptive study has been conducted, uses interview, observation, and documentation as instruments. The strategy that observed in this study consist of marketing strategy including market segmentation, targeting, product strategy, pricing strategy, ...

  4. Configuring Product Modularity and Service Modularity for Mass Customization Strategies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bask, Anu; Hsuan, Juliana; Rajahonka, Mervi

    , and how such configurations become the foundations for mass customization strategies. As a result we identify critical characteristics that are relevant for both product and services, and suggest a conceptual framework consisting of twelve dynamic mass customization strategies with paired product...

  5. Short Stature in Chronic Kidney Disease Treated with Growth Hormone and an Aromatase Inhibitor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susan R. Mendley

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available We describe an alternative strategy for management of severe growth failure in a 14-year-old child who presented with advanced chronic kidney disease close to puberty. The patient was initially treated with growth hormone for a year until kidney transplantation, followed immediately by a year-long course of an aromatase inhibitor, anastrozole, to prevent epiphyseal fusion and prolong the period of linear growth. Outcome was excellent, with successful transplant and anticipated complete correction of height deficit. This strategy may be appropriate for children with chronic kidney disease and short stature who are in puberty.

  6. Language Learning Strategies of Multilingual Adults Learning Additional Languages

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dmitrenko, Violetta

    2017-01-01

    The main goal consisted in identifying and bringing together strategies of multilinguals as a particular learner group. Therefore, research was placed in the intersection of the three fields: language learning strategies (LLS), third language acquisition (TLA), and the didactics of plurilingualism. First, the paper synthesises the major findings…

  7. Distribution of Short-Term and Lifetime Predicted Risks of Cardiovascular Diseases in Peruvian Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quispe, Renato; Bazo-Alvarez, Juan Carlos; Burroughs Peña, Melissa S; Poterico, Julio A; Gilman, Robert H; Checkley, William; Bernabé-Ortiz, Antonio; Huffman, Mark D; Miranda, J Jaime

    2015-08-07

    Short-term risk assessment tools for prediction of cardiovascular disease events are widely recommended in clinical practice and are used largely for single time-point estimations; however, persons with low predicted short-term risk may have higher risks across longer time horizons. We estimated short-term and lifetime cardiovascular disease risk in a pooled population from 2 studies of Peruvian populations. Short-term risk was estimated using the atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease Pooled Cohort Risk Equations. Lifetime risk was evaluated using the algorithm derived from the Framingham Heart Study cohort. Using previously published thresholds, participants were classified into 3 categories: low short-term and low lifetime risk, low short-term and high lifetime risk, and high short-term predicted risk. We also compared the distribution of these risk profiles across educational level, wealth index, and place of residence. We included 2844 participants (50% men, mean age 55.9 years [SD 10.2 years]) in the analysis. Approximately 1 of every 3 participants (34% [95% CI 33 to 36]) had a high short-term estimated cardiovascular disease risk. Among those with a low short-term predicted risk, more than half (54% [95% CI 52 to 56]) had a high lifetime predicted risk. Short-term and lifetime predicted risks were higher for participants with lower versus higher wealth indexes and educational levels and for those living in urban versus rural areas (PPeruvian adults were classified as low short-term risk but high lifetime risk. Vulnerable adults, such as those from low socioeconomic status and those living in urban areas, may need greater attention regarding cardiovascular preventive strategies. © 2015 The Authors. Published on behalf of the American Heart Association, Inc., by Wiley Blackwell.

  8. The role of interactive control systems in obtaining internal consistency in the management control system package

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Toldbod, Thomas; Israelsen, Poul

    2014-01-01

    Companies rely on multiple Management Control Systems to obtain their short and long term objectives. When applying a multifaceted perspective on Management Control System the concept of internal consistency has been found to be important in obtaining goal congruency in the company. However, to d...... management is aware of this shortcoming they use the cybernetic controls more interactively to overcome this shortcoming, whereby the cybernetic controls are also used as a learning platform and not just for performance control....

  9. The disturbing virgin : an analysis of criticism on Mary Wilkins Freeman's short story "A New England Nun"

    OpenAIRE

    Tidemann, Line Næstby

    2007-01-01

    Abstract Few female literary characters have been treated with more scorn and ridicule than the ‘spinster’. In this essay, I examine how modern critics of Mary Wilkins Freeman’s “A New England Nun” (1891) have interpreted the unmarried female protagonist of this short story, Louisa Ellis. Representative critical strategies are analysed with focus on how they interpret the protagonist, and what the political and methodological implications of choosing a particular strategy are. The two com...

  10. Short-Term Synaptic Plasticity Regulation in Solution-Gated Indium-Gallium-Zinc-Oxide Electric-Double-Layer Transistors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wan, Chang Jin; Liu, Yang Hui; Zhu, Li Qiang; Feng, Ping; Shi, Yi; Wan, Qing

    2016-04-20

    In the biological nervous system, synaptic plasticity regulation is based on the modulation of ionic fluxes, and such regulation was regarded as the fundamental mechanism underlying memory and learning. Inspired by such biological strategies, indium-gallium-zinc-oxide (IGZO) electric-double-layer (EDL) transistors gated by aqueous solutions were proposed for synaptic behavior emulations. Short-term synaptic plasticity, such as paired-pulse facilitation, high-pass filtering, and orientation tuning, was experimentally emulated in these EDL transistors. Most importantly, we found that such short-term synaptic plasticity can be effectively regulated by alcohol (ethyl alcohol) and salt (potassium chloride) additives. Our results suggest that solution gated oxide-based EDL transistors could act as the platforms for short-term synaptic plasticity emulation.

  11. Toward a consistent model for glass dissolution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Strachan, D.M.; McGrail, B.P.; Bourcier, W.L.

    1994-01-01

    Understanding the process of glass dissolution in aqueous media has advanced significantly over the last 10 years through the efforts of many scientists around the world. Mathematical models describing the glass dissolution process have also advanced from simple empirical functions to structured models based on fundamental principles of physics, chemistry, and thermodynamics. Although borosilicate glass has been selected as the waste form for disposal of high-level wastes in at least 5 countries, there is no international consensus on the fundamental methodology for modeling glass dissolution that could be used in assessing the long term performance of waste glasses in a geologic repository setting. Each repository program is developing their own model and supporting experimental data. In this paper, we critically evaluate a selected set of these structured models and show that a consistent methodology for modeling glass dissolution processes is available. We also propose a strategy for a future coordinated effort to obtain the model input parameters that are needed for long-term performance assessments of glass in a geologic repository. (author) 4 figs., tabs., 75 refs

  12. Short-Term Memory Coding in Children with Intellectual Disabilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henry, Lucy

    2008-01-01

    To examine visual and verbal coding strategies, I asked children with intellectual disabilities and peers matched for MA and CA to perform picture memory span tasks with phonologically similar, visually similar, long, or nonsimilar named items. The CA group showed effects consistent with advanced verbal memory coding (phonological similarity and…

  13. Short Term Airing by Natural Ventilation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Heiselberg, Per; Perino, M.

    2010-01-01

    The need to improve the energy efficiency of buildings requires new and more efficient ventilation systems. It has been demonstrated that innovative operating concepts that make use of natural ventilation seem to be more appreciated by occupants. Among the available ventilation strategies...... that are currently available, buoyancy driven, single-sided natural ventilation has proved to be very effective and can provide high air change rates for temperature and Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) control. However, to promote a wider distribution of these systems an improvement in the knowledge of their working...... airflow rate, ventilation efficiency, thermal comfort and dynamic temperature conditions. A suitable laboratory test rig was developed to perform extensive experimental analyses of the phenomenon under controlled and repeatable conditions. The results showed that short-term window airing is very effective...

  14. Step-up fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) strategy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Bota; Li, Pan; Xu, Lijuan; Peng, Zhaoyuan; Xiang, Jie; He, Zhi; Zhang, Ting; Ji, Guozhong; Nie, Yongzhan; Wu, Kaichun; Fan, Daiming; Zhang, Faming

    2016-01-01

    ABSTRACT Gut dysbiosis is a characteristic of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and is believed to play a role in the pathogenesis of IBD. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is an effective strategy to restore intestinal microbial diversity and has been reported to have a potential therapeutic value in IBD. Our recent study reported a holistic integrative therapy called “step-up FMT strategy,” which was beneficial in treating steroid-dependent IBD patients. This strategy consists of scheduled FMTs combined with steroids, anti-TNF-α antibody treatment or enteral nutrition. Herein, we will elaborate the strategy thoroughly, introducing the concept, potential indication, methodology, and safety of “step-up FMT strategy” in detail. PMID:26939622

  15. Evolutionary stability of mixed strategies on graphs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Yan; Liu, Xinsheng; Claussen, Jens Christian

    2016-01-01

    Up to the present time, the study of evolutionary dynamics mostly focused on pure strategy games in finite discrete strategy space, either in well-mixed or structured populations. In this paper, we study mixed strategy games in continuous strategy space on graphs of degree k . Each player is arranged on a vertex of the graph. The edges denote the interaction between two individuals. In the limit of weak selection, we first derive the payoff functions of two mixed strategies under three different updating rules, named birth–death, death–birth and imitation. Then we obtain the conditions for a strategy being a continuously stable strategy (CSS), and we also confirm that the equilibrium distribution corresponding to the CSS is neighborhood attracting and strongly uninvadable. Finally, we apply our theory to the prisoner’s dilemma and the snowdrift game to obtain possible CSS. Simulations are performed for the two special games and the results are well consistent with the conclusions we made. (paper)

  16. Validation of a short Korean version of the UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, Sun Young; Kim, Seog Ju

    2018-04-23

    The purpose of the present study was to validate a Korean version of the short UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale (UPPS-P). This study included 724 undergraduate students who completed the following questionnaires: the Korean UPPS-P, Beck Depression Inventory, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Eating Disorder Inventory-2, Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test, and Canadian Problem Gambling Index. A confirmatory factor analysis supported a 5-factor interrelated model. The internal consistency coefficients for the 5 factors of the short Korean UPPS-P were acceptable (.65-.78 across the subscales), and the subscales of the short Korean UPPS-P were strongly correlated with the long UPPS-P subscales. External validity was demonstrated by associations between the subfactors of impulsivity and various psychopathologies, including depression, anxiety, binge eating, alcohol abuse, and gambling. The present results indicate that the short Korean version of the UPPS-P may be a useful and reliable alternative to the original long-form UPPS-P. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

  17. Psychometric properties of the Hebrew short version of the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orkibi, Hod

    2015-06-01

    The purpose of this study was to develop a short Hebrew version of the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory that can be easily administered by health professionals in research, therapy, and counseling. First, the empirical links of time perspective (TP) to subjective well-being and health protective and health risk behaviors are reviewed. Then, a brief account of the instrument's previous modifications is provided. Results of confirmatory factor analysis (N = 572) verified the five-factor structure of the short version and yielded acceptable internal consistency reliability for each factor. The correlation coefficients between the five subscales of the short (20 items) and the original (56 items) instruments were all above .79, indicating the suitability of the short version for assessing the five TP factors. Support for the discriminant and concurrent validity was also achieved, largely in agreement with previous findings. Finally, limitations and future directions are addressed, and potential applications in therapy and counseling are offered. © The Author(s) 2014.

  18. [Development of a Japanese version of a short form of the Profile of Emotional Competence].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nozaki, Yuki; Koyasu, Masuo

    2015-06-01

    Emotional competence refers to individual differences in the ability to appropriately identity, understand, express, regulate, and utilize one's own emotions and those of others. This study developed a Japanese version of a short form of the Profile of Emotional Competence, a measure that allows the comprehensive assessment of intra- and interpersonal emotional competence with shorter items, and investigated its reliability and validity. In Study 1, we selected items for a short version and compared it with the full scale in terms of scores, internal consistency, and validity. In Study 2, we examined the short form's test-retest reliability. Results supported the original two-factor model and the measure had adequate reliability and validity. We discuss the construct validity and practical applicability of the short form of the Profile of Emotional Competence.

  19. Another short and elementary proof of strong subadditivity of quantum entropy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruskai, Mary Beth

    2007-08-01

    A short and elementary proof of the joint convexity of relative entropy is presented, using nothing beyond linear algebra. The key ingredients are an easily verified integral representation and the strategy used to prove the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality in elementary courses. Several consequences are proved in a way which allows an elementary proof of strong subadditivity in a few more lines. Some expository material on Schwarz inequalities for operators and the Holevo bound for partial measurements is also included.

  20. A Strategy for the Third Breeding Cycle of Loblolly Pine in the Southeastern U.S.

    Science.gov (United States)

    S.E. McKeand; F.E. Bridgwater

    1998-01-01

    A strategy for the North Carolina State University - Industry Cooperative Tree Improvement Program's third-cycle breeding for loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) was developed to provide genetic gain in the short-term as well as to maintain genetic diversity so that long-term genetic gains will also be possible. Our strategy will be to manage a...

  1. Translation modalities: an investigation of the translated short story “Dez de dezembro”

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Clara Peron da Silva Guedes

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available During the translation process translators adopt linguistic strategies in order to make decisions that help to render a translated text suitable to the target language and culture. The translation modalities proposed by Aubert (105-10 constitute a tool that enables one to identify some of these strategies. In addition, they permit to measure the level of linguistic differentiation between a source text and a target text verifying the distance or the proximity of the target text to the linguistic and cultural issues of the source text. Thus, this paper aims to investigate the translation modalities in the short story “Dez de dezembro” (Saunders 204-38, a translation of the short story “Tenth of December” (Saunders 215-51. For quantifying the translation modalities in the translated text the noun phrases from the source text were selected and their counterparts in the target text were classified and annotated within Notepad++ software. The most recurrent translation modalities in the corpus were Literal Translation and Transposition, categories considered intermediate ones in the rank proposed by Aubert (105-10. Therefore, a relation of equivalence can be established between the target and the source texts.

  2. Short-term electricity prices forecasting in a competitive market: A neural network approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Catalao, J.P.S.; Mariano, S.J.P.S.; Mendes, V.M.F.; Ferreira, L.A.F.M.

    2007-01-01

    This paper proposes a neural network approach for forecasting short-term electricity prices. Almost until the end of last century, electricity supply was considered a public service and any price forecasting which was undertaken tended to be over the longer term, concerning future fuel prices and technical improvements. Nowadays, short-term forecasts have become increasingly important since the rise of the competitive electricity markets. In this new competitive framework, short-term price forecasting is required by producers and consumers to derive their bidding strategies to the electricity market. Accurate forecasting tools are essential for producers to maximize their profits, avowing profit losses over the misjudgement of future price movements, and for consumers to maximize their utilities. A three-layered feedforward neural network, trained by the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm, is used for forecasting next-week electricity prices. We evaluate the accuracy of the price forecasting attained with the proposed neural network approach, reporting the results from the electricity markets of mainland Spain and California. (author)

  3. Stimulus-specific suppression preserves information in auditory short-term memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linke, Annika C; Vicente-Grabovetsky, Alejandro; Cusack, Rhodri

    2011-08-02

    Philosophers and scientists have puzzled for millennia over how perceptual information is stored in short-term memory. Some have suggested that early sensory representations are involved, but their precise role has remained unclear. The current study asks whether auditory cortex shows sustained frequency-specific activation while sounds are maintained in short-term memory using high-resolution functional MRI (fMRI). Investigating short-term memory representations within regions of human auditory cortex with fMRI has been difficult because of their small size and high anatomical variability between subjects. However, we overcame these constraints by using multivoxel pattern analysis. It clearly revealed frequency-specific activity during the encoding phase of a change detection task, and the degree of this frequency-specific activation was positively related to performance in the task. Although the sounds had to be maintained in memory, activity in auditory cortex was significantly suppressed. Strikingly, patterns of activity in this maintenance period correlated negatively with the patterns evoked by the same frequencies during encoding. Furthermore, individuals who used a rehearsal strategy to remember the sounds showed reduced frequency-specific suppression during the maintenance period. Although negative activations are often disregarded in fMRI research, our findings imply that decreases in blood oxygenation level-dependent response carry important stimulus-specific information and can be related to cognitive processes. We hypothesize that, during auditory change detection, frequency-specific suppression protects short-term memory representations from being overwritten by inhibiting the encoding of interfering sounds.

  4. THE IMPACT OF THE CULTURE ON THE STRATEGIES OF THE COUNTY MEHEDINTI ORGANISATIONS

    OpenAIRE

    Doina Rosca; Adriana Schiopoiu Burlea; Marioara Avram; Mirela Sîrbu; Laurentiu Constantin Dragomir; Mihail Cristian Negulescu; Irina Morarasu; Viorina Judeu

    2010-01-01

    The aim of the paper is to evaluate the influence of the strategies and culture on the social behaviour of County Mehedinti organizations. Starting from the reference literature on strategies management and culture, this article is an investigation of the impact that short/long term orientation has on the behaviour of the employees in organizations. Our research underpins quantitative and qualitative methodology based on the outcomes of the COMOR project

  5. DSM-5 Insomnia and Short Sleep: Comorbidity Landscape and Racial Disparities

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2016-01-01

    Study Objectives: We estimated rates of cardiometabolic disease, pain conditions, and psychiatric illness associated with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) insomnia disorder (current and in remission) and habitual short sleep (fewer than 6 h), and examined the roles of insomnia and short sleep in racial disparities in disease burden between black and non-Hispanic white Americans. Methods: This epidemiological survey study was cross-sectional. The community-based sample consisted of 3,911 subjects (46.0 y ± 13.3; 65.4% female; 25.0% black) across six sleep groups based on DSM-5 insomnia classification (never vs. remitted vs. current) and self-reported habitual sleep duration (normal vs. short). Vascular events, cardiometabolic disease, pain conditions, and psychiatric symptoms were self-reported. Results: Short sleeping insomniacs were at elevated risk for myocardial infarction, stroke, treated hypertension, diabetes, chronic pain, back pain, depression, and anxiety, independent of sex, age, and obesity. Morbidity profiles for insomniacs with normal sleep duration and former insomniacs, irrespective of sleep duration, were similar with elevations in treated hypertension, chronic pain, depression, and anxiety. Regarding racial disparities, cardiometabolic and psychiatric illness burden was greater for blacks, who were more likely to have short sleep and the short sleep insomnia phenotype. Evidence suggested that health disparities may be attributable in part to race-related differences in sleep. Conclusions: Insomnia disorder with short sleep is the most severe phenotype of insomnia and comorbid with many cardiometabolic and psychiatric illnesses, whereas morbidity profiles are highly similar between insomniacs with normal sleep duration and former insomniacs. Short sleep endemic to black Americans increases risk for the short sleep insomnia phenotype and likely contributes to racial disparities in cardiometabolic disease

  6. A Short Journey from Quarks to the Universe

    CERN Document Server

    Economou, Eleftherios N

    2011-01-01

    This book takes the reader for a short journey over the structures of matter showing that their main properties can be obtained even at a quantitative level with a minimum background knowledge. The latter, besides some high school physics and mathematics, consists of the three cornerstones of science presented in chapters 1 to 3, namely the atomic idea, the wave-particle duality, and the minimization of energy as the condition for equilibrium. Dimensional analysis employing the universal constants and combined with “a little imagination and thinking”, to quote Feynman, allows an amazing short-cut derivation of several quantitative results concerning the structures of matter. This book is expected to be of interest to physics, engineering, and other science students and to researchers in physics, material science, chemistry, and engineering who may find stimulating the alternative derivation of several real world results, which sometimes seem to pop out the magician’s hat.

  7. Planetary perturbations and the origins of short-period comets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Quinn, T.; Tremaine, S.; Duncan, M.

    1990-01-01

    To investigate the dynamical plausibility of possible sources for the short-period comets, a representative sample of comet orbits in the field of the sun and the giant planets was integrated, with the aim to determine whether the distribution of orbits from a proposed source that reach observable perihelia (q less than 2.5 AU) matches the observed distribution of short-period orbits. It is found that the majority of the short-period comets, those with orbital period P less than 20 yr (the Jupiter family), cannot arise from isotropic orbits with perihelia near Jupiter's orbit, because the resulting observable comet orbits have the wrong distribution in period, inclination, and argument of perihelion. The simulations also show that Jupiter-family comets cannot arise from isotropic orbits with perihelia in the Uranus-Neptune region. On the other hand, a source of low-inclination Neptune-crossing orbits yields a distribution of observable Jupiter-family comets that is consistent with the data in all respects. These results imply that the Jupiter-family comets arise from a disk source in the outer solar system rather than from the Oort comet cloud. 30 refs

  8. Urea and short-chain fatty acids metabolism in Holstein cows fed a low-nitrogen grass-based diet

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Røjen, B A; Lund, P; Kristensen, N B

    2008-01-01

    Three ruminally cannulated and multicatheterised lactating dairy cows were used to investigate the effect of different supplement strategies to fresh clover grass on urea and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) metabolism in a zero-grazing experiment with 24-h blood and ruminal samplings....

  9. Development of Short-term Molecular Thresholds to Predict Long-term Mouse Liver Tumor Outcomes: Phthalate Case Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Short-term molecular profiles are a central component of strategies to model health effects of environmental chemicals. In this study, a 7 day mouse assay was used to evaluate transcriptomic and proliferative responses in the liver for a hepatocarcinogenic phthalate, di (2-ethylh...

  10. Profitabilitas Strategi Momentum di Bursa Efek Indonesia (Periode Januari 2003 – Desember 2007

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B Yuliarto Nugroho

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available Momentum trading strategy present challenges to the concept of efficient market theory. Many studies investigate the profitability of momentum trading strategy in international and domestic equity market and evidence has shown that this strategy could lead to abnormal profit. The purpose of this paper are to examine and analyse the profitability of momentum strategy in the Indonesia equity market from January 2003 to December 2007. This paper also investigates factor such as size and trading volume to identify potential source of profits in momentum strategy. The result of this research show that short-term momentum strategy are profitable on all stock listed on IDX. The findings of the research also show that in the shortterm, trading volume have significant effects and could be potential source of profits in momentum strategy.Keywords: profitability, momentum, size, trading volume

  11. SOHO/SWAN OBSERVATIONS OF SHORT-PERIOD SPACECRAFT TARGET COMETS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Combi, M. R.; Lee, Y.; Patel, T. S.; Maekinen, J. T. T.; Bertaux, J.-L.; Quemerais, E.

    2011-01-01

    SWAN, the Solar Wind ANisotropies all-sky hydrogen Lyα camera on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory spacecraft that makes all-sky images of interplanetary neutral hydrogen, has an ongoing campaign to make special observations of comets, both short- and long-period ones, in addition to the serendipitous observations of comets as part of the all-sky monitoring program. We report here on a study of several short-period comets that were detected by SWAN: 21P/Giacobini-Zinner (1998 and 2005 apparitions), 19P/Borrelly (2001 apparition), 81P/Wild 2 (1997 apparition), and 103P/Hartley 2 (1997 apparition). SWAN observes comets over long continuous stretches of their visible apparitions and therefore provides excellent temporal coverage of the water production. For some of the observations we are also able to analyze an entire sequence of images over many days to several weeks/months using our time-resolved model and extract daily average water production rates over continuous periods of several days to months. The short-term (outburst) and long-term behavior can be correlated with other observations. The overall long-term variation is examined in light of seasonal effects seen in the pre- to post-perihelion differences. For 21P/Giacobini-Zinner and 81P/Wild 2 the activity variations over each apparition were more continuously monitored but nonetheless consistent with previous observations. For 19P/Borrelly we found a very steep variation of water production rates, again consistent with some previous observations, and a variation over six months around perihelion that was reasonably consistent with the spin-axis model of Schleicher et al. and the illumination of the main active areas. During the 1997-1998 apparition of 103P/Hartley 2, the target comet of the EPOXI mission (the Deep Impact extended mission), we found a variation with heliocentric distance (∼r -3.6 ) that was almost as steep as 19P/Borrelly and, given the small measured radius near aphelion, this places

  12. The patient safety climate in healthcare organizations (PSCHO) survey: Short-form development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benzer, Justin K; Meterko, Mark; Singer, Sara J

    2017-08-01

    Measures of safety climate are increasingly used to guide safety improvement initiatives. However, cost and respondent burden may limit the use of safety climate surveys. The purpose of this study was to develop a 15- to 20-item safety climate survey based on the Patient Safety Climate in Healthcare Organizations survey, a well-validated 38-item measure of safety climate. The Patient Safety Climate in Healthcare Organizations was administered to all senior managers, all physicians, and a 10% random sample of all other hospital personnel in 69 private sector hospitals and 30 Veterans Health Administration hospitals. Both samples were randomly divided into a derivation sample to identify a short-form subset and a confirmation sample to assess the psychometric properties of the proposed short form. The short form consists of 15 items represented 3 overarching domains in the long-form scale-organization, work unit, and interpersonal. The proposed short form efficiently captures 3 important sources of variance in safety climate: organizational, work-unit, and interpersonal. The short-form development process was a practical method that can be applied to other safety climate surveys. This safety climate short form may increase response rates in studies that involve busy clinicians or repeated measures. Published 2017. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

  13. Time Perspective and Identity Formation: Short-Term Longitudinal Dynamics in College Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luyckx, Koen; Lens, Willy; Smits, Ilse; Goossens, Luc

    2010-01-01

    Planning for the future and developing a personalized identity are conceived of as important developmental tasks that adolescents and emerging adults are confronted with on the pathway to adulthood. The present study set out to examine whether both tasks develop in tandem by using a short-term longitudinal dataset consisting of 371 college…

  14. Forgetting-relearning cycles in organizational downsizing strategies

    OpenAIRE

    Suñé Torrents, Albert; López, Luis Eduardo

    2017-01-01

    When firms seek to reduce costs and increase productivity, they often view downsizing as a viable strategy. However, research on downsizing outcomes is not conclusive. Recent studies describe several counterproductive consequences of downsizing, which include, among others, loss of motivation, decreased innovation capacity, the appearance of a short-term mind set, the rise of organizational conflicts, and the loss of product or service quality. From the knowledge-based-view of the firm, downs...

  15. Strategy Development of PT XYZ a Startup Technology Company

    OpenAIRE

    Rahman, Leila Fatmasari; Mangkusubroto, Kuntoro; Sunitiyoso, Yos

    2012-01-01

    PT. XYZ (XYZ) is an Indonesian startup technology company which provides IT Consulting and System Integration services. In this research, XYZ's strategy for the next three years (until 2015) will be crafted by going through the strategic management process which consists of the following stages: (1) environment analysis of XYZ, (2) setting strategic vision, (3) setting objective, (4) crafting strategy and (5) executing the strategy. Based on the result of the environment analysis, XYZ's visio...

  16. Information strategy and information products in radiation protection. A Norwegian RISKPERCOM study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reitan, J B; Toennesen, A [Statens Straalevern, Oesteraas (Norway); Waldahl, R [Avdeling for media og kommunikasjon, Oslo Univ., Oslo (Norway)

    1998-02-01

    A short description of the national background for the radiation issue is presented together with a presentation of information strategy and analysis of the information products of the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority. This is part of an international study. 35 refs.

  17. Information strategy and information products in radiation protection. A Norwegian RISKPERCOM study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reitan, J.B.; Toennesen, A.; Waldahl, R.

    1998-02-01

    A short description of the national background for the radiation issue is presented together with a presentation of information strategy and analysis of the information products of the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority. This is part of an international study. 35 refs

  18. Migration characteristics and early clinical results of the NANOS® short-stem hip arthroplasty.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaipel, Martin; Grabowiecki, Phillip; Sinz, Katrina; Farr, Sebastian; Sinz, Günter

    2015-05-01

    Femoral short stems promise essential advantages in total hip arthroplasty. Up to now, only short- and midterm clinical studies exist. Data on early stem migration that could predict later aseptic loosening at an early stage are rare. The purpose of this study was to assess migration patterns and clinical outcome 2 years after hip replacement by a metaphyseal anchored cementless short stem. Migration data and clinical results were prospectively assessed in 49 patients. Clinical outcome was measured using the Harris Hip Score (HHS). Migration analyses were performed using the computer-assisted Einzel-Bild-Roentgen-Analyse (EBRA) system. At 2 years after surgery, none of the implants needed revision, and HHS increased from 47.9 up to 98.1. Of 49 patients, 5 (10%) showed increased vertical stem migration (1.5 mm/2a) that might predict late aseptic loosening. Of 49 stems, 44 (90%) showed stable migration patterns indicating a beneficial long-term outcome. Results of this study confirm the excellent clinical data of previous works. Migration patterns strongly suggest that short-stem arthroplasty is not only an innovative but also a reliable strategy in total hip replacement.

  19. Landfill gas for energy utilisation. A market strategy for Europe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-05-01

    The Biogas and Landfill Gas Marketing Strategy Group was set up with the objective to advise EU-DG 17 (THERMIE/OPET) on the dissemination strategies for biogas and landfill gas (LFG), a subsector of the Renewable Energy Sector (RES). The Marketing Strategy Group has identified market barriers and users' needs in the biogas and LFG subsector. Subsequently, the group evaluated successful instruments/methods to overcome these market barriers and to satisfy the users' needs. The group investigated the feasibility of transposing these instruments/success stories to other countries. The work of the Marketing Strategy Group resulted in proposals for future dissemination of biogas and LFG technology. After a short introduction into LFG technology and the LFG market, this document describes barriers to landfill gas technology dissemination and gives some examples about how to overcome them. This results in recommendations on a strategy for dissemination of LFG technology and expanding LFG markets. The document is mainly based on experience gained in the United Kingdom, Italy and the Netherlands

  20. Recall effect of short message service (SMS) as a complementary marketing communications instrument

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wouters, J.P.M.; Wetzels, M.G.M.

    2006-01-01

    A quasi-experimental study was designed to investigate the recall effect of Short Message Service (SMS) as a complementary marketing communications instrument. An experimental group (EG) was formed, consisting of people who had called an SMS number mentioned in a car brand campaign. A control group

  1. Short-term nutritional strategies before slaughter are effective in modulating the final pH and color of broiler breast meat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guardia, Sarah; Lessire, Michel; Corniaux, Alain; Métayer-Coustard, Sonia; Mercerand, Frédéric; Tesseraud, Sophie; Bouvarel, Isabelle; Berri, Cécile

    2014-07-01

    The poultry meat industry is faced with various quality issues related to variations in the ultimate pH of breast meat. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possibility to control breast ultimate pH by distributing finishing diets varying in amino acid (AA) and energy content for a short period before slaughter. Experimental diets were distributed to PM3 broilers on the last 3 d before slaughter (36 d of age). They consisted of a control (C) diet (3,150 kcal/kg; 200 g/kg of CP; 10.0 g/kg of true digestible Lys) with adequate amounts of AA other than Lys, 6 diets isocaloric to the control diet including 3 Lys-deficient (8.0 g/kg) diets with an adequate (Lys-/AA), low (Lys-/AA-), or high (Lys-/AA+) amount of other essential AA calculated in relation to Lys, and 3 Lys-rich (12.0 g/kg) diets with an adequate (Lys+/AA), low (Lys+/AA-), or high (Lys+/AA+) amount of other essential AA calculated in relation to Lys, and 2 diets isoproteic to C with a high (3,300 kcal/kg, E+) or low (3,000 kcal/kg, E-) energy content. Broiler feed consumption and growth performance were slightly affected by AA and energy content during the finishing period. Feed intake (33-36 d) was lower with the Lys+/AA+ and E+, and FCR between 24 and 36 d was higher with the Lys-/AA- and E- than with the C diet. Body weight at d 36 was lower in Lys-/AA-, Lys+/AA+, and E+ than in C, whereas the breast meat yield and abdominal fatness were not affected by diet. Lower pH values were observed in broilers fed Lys-deficient diets containing a high amount of other AA (Lys-/AA+) than in broilers fed diets containing low (AA-) or adequate (AA) amounts of other AA. This study shows that it is possible to alter the pH of breast meat by changing AA profile over a short period before slaughter, with limited impact on broiler growth and carcass composition. © 2014 Poultry Science Association Inc.

  2. A basic strategy for financing long term care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greenberg, J A; Leutz, W N

    1984-02-01

    As pressure mounts to contain Medicaid long term care spending, short-range "quick fixes" must be avoided. Three such false solutions in particular have shortcomings that may actually exacerbate long term care's financial dilemma because they are based on inadequate definitions of the problem. Two of these proposals--legislation to broaden family responsibility toward institutionalized elders on Medicaid and expanded state power to put liens on such elders' real property--err by trying to mandate "caring" and are predicated on a misunderstanding of the "spend-down" problem. The other proposal--to provide tax incentives to family members who care for elders--requires a large administrative apparatus, assumes an elasticity of supply that may not exist, and could disrupt the "gift relationship" on which family exchanges are often based. What is needed is a strategy with short term, intermediate, and long term objectives that move toward an insurance approach. The short term plan should lay the groundwork for intermediate strategy and control costs by changing rate-setting methods and putting limits on facility construction. The intermediate plan should change the problem's definition from one of merely controlling Medicaid long term care expenditures to one of efficiently managing state resources for the elderly through the development of state financing and local delivery systems that target older persons in greatest need. An effective means of doing this is through the creation of social/HMOs, which have five key features: integration of service responsibility and authority; flexibility in organizational design; balanced clientele; pooled prepaid funding; and financial risk for the provider organization. Finally, the long term strategy should transfer much of the long term care financial burden from individuals and state Medicaid agencies to insurance mechanisms. Many individuals would thus avoid impoverishment caused by health care spending and Medicaid would

  3. Consistently violating the non-Gaussian consistency relation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mooij, Sander; Palma, Gonzalo A.

    2015-01-01

    Non-attractor models of inflation are characterized by the super-horizon evolution of curvature perturbations, introducing a violation of the non-Gaussian consistency relation between the bispectrum's squeezed limit and the power spectrum's spectral index. In this work we show that the bispectrum's squeezed limit of non-attractor models continues to respect a relation dictated by the evolution of the background. We show how to derive this relation using only symmetry arguments, without ever needing to solve the equations of motion for the perturbations

  4. ANALISIS PENCAPAIAN STRATEGI MENGGUNAKAN BALANCED SCORECARD

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arasy Aalimudin

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this research is measurement strategy achievement of public education office of surabaya city using Balanced Scorecard as a measurement tool based on financial perspective, internal business process perspective, customer perspective, and learning and growth perspective. The research approach used is descriptive qualitative by using the method of observation and interview and then analyzed by giving an overview of the performance of the strategy undertaken and explain systematically. The stages of the analysis include weighting performance to measure the number of indexes, which consists of Major Performance Indicator Achievement Index (IKU, Strategic Target Value (NSS, Performance Perspective Value (NKP, Unit Performance Value (NKU. Based on the achievement of strategy using balanced scorecard on the strategy used by Surabaya Education Department in improving the quality of education in Surabaya has been achieved well this is indicated by the achievement of Unit Performance Value of 102.31% which means it has met the target set 100%. Keyword :Strategy Achievement, Balanced Scorecard, Performance

  5. Instructional Strategies to Support Creativity and Innovation in Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seechaliao, Thapanee

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of the study focused on the instructional strategies that support creation of creative and innovative education. The sample for this study consisted of 11 experts in the field of instructional strategies that support innovation of education. Among them, five were specialists in design and development of teaching and learning, three…

  6. Bank Activity and Funding Strategies : The Impact on Risk and Return

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Demirgüc-Kunt, A.; Huizinga, H.P.

    2009-01-01

    This paper examines the implications of bank activity and short-term funding strategies for bank risk and return using an international sample of 1334 banks in 101 countries leading up to the 2007 financial crisis. Expansion into non-interest income generating activities such as trading increases

  7. Sharp superconductor-insulator transition in short wires

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meidan, Dganit; Oreg, Yuval; Refael, Gil; Smith, Robert A.

    2008-01-01

    Recent experiments on short MoGe nanowires show a sharp superconductor-insulator transition tuned by the normal state resistance of the wire, with a critical resistance of R c ∼ R Q = h/(4e 2 ). These results are at odds with a broad range of theoretical work on Josephson-like systems that predicts a smooth transition, tuned by the value of the resistance that shunts the junction. We develop a self-consistent renormalization group treatment of interacting phase-slips and their dual counterparts, correlated cooper pair tunneling, beyond the dilute approximation. This analysis leads to a very sharp transition with a critical resistance of R Q . The addition of the quasi-particles' resistance at finite temperature leads to a quantitative agreement with the experimental results. This self-consistent renormalization group method should also be applicable to other physical systems that can be mapped onto similar sine-Gordon models, in the previously inaccessible intermediate-coupling regime

  8. Do Health Systems Have Consistent Performance Across Locations and Is Consistency Associated With Higher Performance?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crespin, Daniel J; Christianson, Jon B; McCullough, Jeffrey S; Finch, Michael D

    This study addresses whether health systems have consistent diabetes care performance across their ambulatory clinics and whether increasing consistency is associated with improvements in clinic performance. Study data included 2007 to 2013 diabetes care intermediate outcome measures for 661 ambulatory clinics in Minnesota and bordering states. Health systems provided more consistent performance, as measured by the standard deviation of performance for clinics in a system, relative to propensity score-matched proxy systems created for comparison purposes. No evidence was found that improvements in consistency were associated with higher clinic performance. The combination of high performance and consistent care is likely to enhance a health system's brand reputation, allowing it to better mitigate the financial risks of consumers seeking care outside the organization. These results suggest that larger health systems are most likely to deliver the combination of consistent and high-performance care. Future research should explore the mechanisms that drive consistent care within health systems.

  9. A short review of game theory for neurosurgeons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steiger, H-J; Steiger, U R

    2011-02-01

    Neurosurgery and medicine in general are increasingly dominated by economic factors and considerations. Physicians themselves have partially adopted economic terminology, although they rarely have a profound knowledge of economics. Today game theory is one of the most important factors driving microeconomics, which is the competition for limited resources within a small group of individuals. The purpose of this article is to give a short introduction to game theory and its application to the healthcare system. The Prisoner's Dilemma considers strategies between two persons. In the classic version two burglars are caught. Each could confess and be released from jail if the other does not confess--who will then get a long term in prison. If both confess, both get an intermediate time in jail, and if no one confesses, both get a mild sentence. Wanting to be released from jail, they both confess and get the intermediate term in prison. This remarkable result, initially described by John von Neumann in 1928 and showing that individually rational actions can result in both persons becoming worse off, had a great impact on modern social science. Other scenarios are more complex. The Nash Equilibrium is a wider concept. If there is a set of strategies with the property that no player can benefit by changing his strategy while the other players keep their strategies unchanged, then that set of strategies and the corresponding payoffs constitute the Nash Equilibrium. Another concept particularly important in sociology is the Pareto criterion. If no one can be made better off without making somebody else worse off, then that outcome is Pareto optimal. Respecting these basic principles is a necessary precondition for successful deals and cooperative projects. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  10. Self consistent and covariant propagation of pions, nucleon and isobar resonances in cold nuclear matter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Korpa, C.L.; Lutz, M.F.M.; Technische Univ. Darmstadt

    2003-06-01

    We evaluate the in-medium spectral functions for pions, nucleon and isobar resonances in a self consistent and covariant manner. The calculations are based on a recently developed formulation which leads to predictions in terms of the pion-nucleon scattering phase shifts and a set of Migdal parameters describing important short range correlation effects. We do not observe any significant softening of pion modes if we insist on reasonable isobar resonance properties but predict a considerable broadening of the N(1440) and N(1520) resonances in nuclear matter. (orig.)

  11. Consistency argued students of fluid

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viyanti; Cari; Suparmi; Winarti; Slamet Budiarti, Indah; Handika, Jeffry; Widyastuti, Fatma

    2017-01-01

    Problem solving for physics concepts through consistency arguments can improve thinking skills of students and it is an important thing in science. The study aims to assess the consistency of the material Fluid student argmentation. The population of this study are College students PGRI Madiun, UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta and Lampung University. Samples using cluster random sampling, 145 samples obtained by the number of students. The study used a descriptive survey method. Data obtained through multiple-choice test and interview reasoned. Problem fluid modified from [9] and [1]. The results of the study gained an average consistency argmentation for the right consistency, consistency is wrong, and inconsistent respectively 4.85%; 29.93%; and 65.23%. Data from the study have an impact on the lack of understanding of the fluid material which is ideally in full consistency argued affect the expansion of understanding of the concept. The results of the study as a reference in making improvements in future studies is to obtain a positive change in the consistency of argumentations.

  12. Short endovenous laser ablation of the great saphenous vein in a modified CHIVA strategy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sergio Gianesini

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Mini-invasiveness, ease of use and execution speed represent the reasons for endovenous laser ablation success. Nevertheless, the strategic choice remains the ablation of the saphenous trunk. Hemodynamic correction (CHIVA represents an option, based on a saphenous-sparing therapeutic strategy. We tested the feasibility of a modified CHIVA strategy by means of endovenous lasers (EL shrinkage of segmental great saphenous vein (GSV tracts, in networks characterized by sapheno-femoral incompetence and re-entry perforators focused on the GSV. We report the follow up of the first 2 chronic venous disease [C1,2,3sEpAsPr1,2,3, venous clinical severity score (VCSS 8 and 9 respectively] treated cases. At 1-year follow up both patients were C1,2,3sEpAsPr1,2,3 and the VCSS were 1 and 2 respectively. The non-treated GSV tracts maintained their patency. ELs were herein used within a saphenous-sparing therapeutic plan, thanks to an accurate pre-operative hemodynamic assessment, which allowed the shrinkage of only the first saphenous trunk tract only. Proper technical and hemodynamic considerations are discussed.

  13. Bigger, Brighter, Bluer-Better?Current light-emitting devices- adverse sleep properties and preventative strategies.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul eGringras

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available ObjectiveIn an effort to enhance the efficiency, brightness and contrast of light-emitting (LE devices during the day, displays often generate substantial short-wavelength (blue-enriched light emissions that can adversely affect sleep. We set out to verify the extent of such short-wavelength emissions, produced by a tablet (iPad Air, e-reader (Kindle Paperwhite 1st generation and smartphone (iPhone 5s and to determine the impact of strategies designed to reduce these light emissions. SettingUniversity of Surrey dedicated chronobiology facility.MethodsFirstly, the spectral power of all the light-emitting (LE devices was assessed when displaying identical text. Secondly, we compared the text output with that of ‘Angry Birds’-a popular top 100 ‘App Store’ game. Finally we measured the impact of two strategies that attempt to reduce the output of short-wavelength light emissions. The first strategy employed an inexpensive commercially available pair of orange-tinted ‘blue-blocking’ glasses. The second tested an app designed to be ‘sleep-aware’ whose designers deliberately attempted to reduce blue-enriched light emissions.ResultsAll the LE devices shared very similar enhanced blue-light peaks when displaying text. This included the output from the backlit Kindle Paperwhite device. The spectra when comparing text to the Angry Birds game were also very similar, although the

  14. Consistency of orthodox gravity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bellucci, S. [INFN, Frascati (Italy). Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati; Shiekh, A. [International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste (Italy)

    1997-01-01

    A recent proposal for quantizing gravity is investigated for self consistency. The existence of a fixed-point all-order solution is found, corresponding to a consistent quantum gravity. A criterion to unify couplings is suggested, by invoking an application of their argument to more complex systems.

  15. Performance Implications of Environment-Strategy-Governance Misfit

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lindawati Gani

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available This study examines the impacts of matching competitive environment, business strategy, and corporate governance structure on firm performance. We predict that in a dynamic environment, firms pursuing a product differentiation strategy will perform better than firms pursuing a strategy of cost leadership, but the performance differential is affected by the level of board independence and managerial share ownership. In a stable environment, we predict that firms pursuing a strategy of cost leadership will perform better than firms pursuing a product differentiation strategy, and the performance differential is affected by the level of board independence and managerial share ownership. Overall, the results are consistent with the predictions of this study. Board independence and managerial ownership affect the performance differential between product differentiators and cost leaders in a dynamic environment. In a stable environment, however, the results are not statistically significant.

  16. Short-run Exchange-Rate Dynamics: Theory and Evidence

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Carlson, John A.; Dahl, Christian Møller; Osler, Carol L.

    Recent research has revealed a wealth of information about the microeconomics of currency markets and thus the determination of exchange rates at short horizons. This information is valuable to us as scientists since, like evidence of macroeconomic regularities, it can provide critical guidance...... of currency markets, it accurately reflects the constraints and objectives faced by the major participants, and it fits key stylized facts concerning returns and order flow. With respect to macroeconomics, the model is consistent with most of the major puzzles that have emerged under floating rates....

  17. Micromechanical modeling of short glass-fiber reinforced thermoplastics-Isotropic damage of pseudograins

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kammoun, S.; Brassart, L.; Doghri, I.; Delannay, L.; Robert, G.

    2011-01-01

    A micromechanical damage modeling approach is presented to predict the overall elasto-plastic behavior and damage evolution in short fiber reinforced composite materials. The practical use of the approach is for injection molded thermoplastic parts reinforced with short glass fibers. The modeling is proceeded as follows. The representative volume element is decomposed into a set of pseudograins, the damage of which affects progressively the overall stiffness and strength up to total failure. Each pseudograin is a two-phase composite with aligned inclusions having same aspect ratio. A two-step mean-field homogenization procedure is adopted. In the first step, the pseudograins are homogenized individually according to the Mori-Tanaka scheme. The second step consists in a self-consistent homogenization of homogenized pseudograins. An isotropic damage model is applied at the pseudograin level. The model is implemented as a UMAT in the finite element code ABAQUS. Model is shown to reproduce the strength and the anisotropy (Lankford coefficient) during uniaxial tensile tests on samples cut under different directions relative to the injection flow direction.

  18. Managed care, vertical integration strategies and hospital performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, B B; Wan, T T; Clement, J; Begun, J

    2001-09-01

    The purpose of this study is to examine the association of managed care with hospital vertical integration strategies, as well as to observe the relationships of different types of vertical integration with hospital efficiency and financial performance. The sample consists of 363 California short-term acute care hospitals in 1994. Linear structure equation modeling is used to test six hypotheses derived from the strategic adaptation model. Several organizational and market factors are controlled statistically. Results suggest that managed care is a driving force for hospital vertical integration. In terms of performance, hospitals that are integrated with physician groups and provide outpatient services (backward integration) have better operating margins, returns on assets, and net cash flows (p < 0.01). These hospitals are not, however, likely to show greater productivity. Forward integration with a long-term-care facility, on the other hand, is positively and significantly related to hospital productivity (p < 0.001). Forward integration is negatively related to financial performance (p < 0.05), however, opposite to the direction hypothesized. Health executives should be responsive to the growth of managed care in their local market and should probably consider providing more backward integrated services rather than forward integrated services in order to improve the hospital's financial performance in today's competitive health care market.

  19. Hyperspectral band selection based on consistency-measure of neighborhood rough set theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

    2016-01-01

    Band selection is a well-known approach for reducing dimensionality in hyperspectral imaging. In this paper, a band selection method based on consistency-measure of neighborhood rough set theory (CMNRS) was proposed to select informative bands from hyperspectral images. A decision-making information system was established by the reflection spectrum of soybeans’ hyperspectral data between 400 nm and 1000 nm wavelengths. The neighborhood consistency-measure, which reflects not only the size of the decision positive region, but also the sample distribution in the boundary region, was used as the evaluation function of band significance. The optimal band subset was selected by a forward greedy search algorithm. A post-pruning strategy was employed to overcome the over-fitting problem and find the minimum subset. To assess the effectiveness of the proposed band selection technique, two classification models (extreme learning machine (ELM) and random forests (RF)) were built. The experimental results showed that the proposed algorithm can effectively select key bands and obtain satisfactory classification accuracy. (paper)

  20. Hypothesis driven development of new adjuvants: short peptides as immunomodulators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, Jessica C; Kobinger, Gary P

    2013-04-01

    To date, vaccinations have been one of the key strategies in the prevention and protection against infectious pathogens. Traditional vaccines have well-known limitations such as safety and efficacy issues, which consequently deems it inappropriate for particular populations and may not be an effective strategy against all pathogens. This evidence highlights the need to develop more efficacious vaccination regiments. Higher levels of protection can be achieved by the addition of immunostimulating adjuvants. Many adjuvants elicit strong, undefined inflammation, which produces increased immunogenicity but may also lead to undesirable effects. Hypothesis driven development of adjuvants is needed to achieve a more specific and directed immune response required for optimal and safe vaccine-induced immune protection. An example of such hypothesis driven development includes the use of short immunomodulating peptides as adjuvants. These peptides have the ability to influence the immune response and can be extrapolated for adjuvant use, but requires further investigation.

  1. Quench simulation of SMES consisting of some superconducting coils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Noguchi, S.; Oga, Y.; Igarashi, H.

    2011-01-01

    A chain of quenches may be caused by a quench of one element coil when SMES is consists of many element coils. To avoid the chain of quenches, the energy stored in element coil has to be quickly discharged. The cause of the chain of the quenches is the short time constant of the decreasing current of the quenched coil. In recent years, many HTS superconducting magnetic energy storage (HTS-SMES) systems are investigated and designed. They usually consist of some superconducting element coils due to storing excessively high energy. If one of them was quenched, the storage energy of the superconducting element coil quenched has to be immediately dispersed to protect the HTS-SMES system. As the result, the current of the other element coils, which do not reach to quench, increases since the magnetic coupling between the quenched element coil and the others are excessively strong. The increase of the current may cause the quench of the other element coils. If the energy dispersion of the element coil quenched was failed, the other superconducting element coil would be quenched in series. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the behavior of the HTS-SMES after quenching one or more element coils. To protect a chain of quenches, it is also important to investigate the time constant of the coils. We have developed a simulation code to investigate the behavior of the HTS-SMES. By the quench simulation, it is indicated that a chain of quenches is caused by a quench of one element coil.

  2. SECURITY STRATEGIES OF MEMBER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION FROM THE LISBON TREATY AND THE EUROPEAN SECURITY STRATEGY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    PABLO RIVAS PARDO

    2017-09-01

    in mind, it is possible to study the variability of the Security Strategy in relation to four strategic guidelines: strategic self-perception, the necessity to tune these postulates with the common objectives of the European Union, the statement of threats and finally the actions projected by these strategies to face the changing environment of international security. This variability will seek the fact of the existence or nonexistence of tuning and consistency between the Security Strategies and the community positions in the matter of security and defense. The selected countries are those who have published their documents after the signing of the Treaty of Lisbon and the publication of the European Security Strategy, in other words, after2009: Austria, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Spain, Estonia, Holland, Hungary, Lithuania, UK and the Czech Republic.

  3. A Short Measure of the Revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory - RSQ17.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Čolović, Petar; Smederevac, Snežana; Oljača, Milan; Nikolašević, Željka; Mitrović, Dušanka

    2018-04-03

    The need for a research and practical tool, such as a short, reliable, and valid personality assessment test, suggests researchers to create shortened versions of original instruments. Reinforcement sensitivity questionnaire (RSQ) was created in line with some basic premises of revised Reinforcement sensitivity theory, which proposes three motivational and emotional systems: Behavioral inhibition system (BIS), responsible for scanning environment for potential threats, Behavioral activation system (BAS), responsible for aproaching behavior, and the Fight/Flight/Freeze system (FFFS), responsible for behavior in the present threat. RSQ comprises five scales: BIS, BAS, Fight, Flight, and Freeze. The aim of this study was to develop a short version of RSQ, which would be beneficial to both research and practical purposes. Item response theory analyses were used for item selection. The study comprised two samples of participants, whereby Sample 1 (N = 837, 34.6% male, aged 18 - 82, M = 31.63, SD = 13.54) served as the derivation sample, while Sample 2 (818 participants, 43.6% male, 18-75 years, M = 29.65, SD = 12.52) served as validation sample. Factorial validity of the short RSQ was examined on both Sample 1 and Sample 2. Convergent and divergent validity of the short RSQ was examined using RST-PQ, Jackson-5, BIS/BAS scales, and Big Five Inventory. The results point to satisfactory internal consistency, factorial validity, and construct validity of the short RSQ, suggesting that it is an adequate measure for research settings or other contexts which require the use of short personality questionnaires.

  4. The use of influence diagrams for evaluating severe accident management strategies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jae, M.; Apostolakis, G.E.

    1992-01-01

    In this paper, the influence diagram, a new analytical tool for developing and evaluating severe accident management strategies, is presented. Influence diagrams are much simpler than decision trees because they do not lead to the large number of branches that are generated when decision trees are used in realistic problems; furthermore, they show explicitly the dependencies between the variables of the problem. One of the accident management strategies proposed for light water reactors, flooding the reactor cavity as a means of preventing vessel breach during a short-term station blackout sequence, is presented. The influence diagram associated with this strategy is constructed. Finally, the advantages of using influence diagrams in accident management are explored

  5. Coping and adaptive strategies of traumatic brain injury survivors and primary caregivers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adams, Deana; Dahdah, Marie

    2016-06-27

    Qualitative research methods allowed the investigator to contribute to the development of new theories and to examine change in processes over time, which added rich detail to existing knowledge of the use of coping and adaptive strategies by traumatic brain injury survivors and their primary caregivers (Ponsford, Sloan, & Snow, 2013). The advantages of phenomenological study were that it allows flexibility to explore and understand meanings attached by people to well-studied concepts such as coping, resiliency, and adaptation or compensation. Phenomenological study was sensitive to contextual factors. It also permitted the study of in-depth dynamics of coping and adaptive strategies of TBI survivors and primary caregivers, while understanding the social and psychological implications of the phenomenon. To explore the needs and deficits of adult traumatic brain injury (TBI) survivors and primary caregivers; and to identify their self-initiated coping and adaptive strategies. Significant to this study was the development of coping and adaptive strategies by the participants after their discharge from inpatient and rehabilitation treatment. The compensatory skills taught in treatment settings did not transfer to the home environment. Therefore, these strategies developed independently from previous treatment recommendations contributed to the development of theory related to rehabilitation and counseling. Distinctive to this study was the similarity of coping and adaptive strategies developed from both mild and severe traumatic brain injury survivors. This study consisted of eleven with TBI and six primary caregivers (N = 17), who participated in a series of semi-structured interviews aimed at discovering the coping and adaptive strategies utilized in dealing with the effects of brain injury. A Qualitative Phenomenological design was employed. Patience and understanding, support, and professional help were identified by TBI survivors and caregivers as being their

  6. A short-breath-hold technique for lung pO2 mapping with 3He MRI.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, G Wilson; Mugler, John P; Altes, Talissa A; Cai, Jing; Mata, Jaime F; de Lange, Eduard E; Tobias, William A; Cates, Gordon D; Brookeman, James R

    2010-01-01

    A pulse-sequence strategy was developed for generating regional maps of alveolar oxygen partial pressure (pO2) in a single 6-sec breath hold, for use in human subjects with impaired lung function. Like previously described methods, pO2 values are obtained by measuring the oxygen-induced T1 relaxation of inhaled hyperpolarized 3He. Unlike other methods, only two 3He images are acquired: one with reverse-centric and the other with centric phase-encoding order. This phase-encoding arrangement minimizes the effects of regional flip-angle variations, so that an accurate map of instantaneous pO2 can be calculated from two images acquired a few seconds apart. By combining this phase-encoding strategy with variable flip angles, the vast majority of the hyperpolarized magnetization goes directly into the T1 measurement, minimizing noise in the resulting pO2 map. The short-breath-hold pulse sequence was tested in phantoms containing known O2 concentrations. The mean difference between measured and prepared pO2 values was 1 mm Hg. The method was also tested in four healthy volunteers and three lung-transplant patients. Maps of healthy subjects were largely uniform, whereas focal regions of abnormal pO2 were observed in diseased subjects. Mean pO2 values varied with inhaled O2 concentration. Mean pO2 was consistent with normal steady-state values in subjects who inhaled 3He diluted only with room air. Copyright (c) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  7. Analysis of the competitive position of short sea shipping : Development of policy measures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Peeters, C.; Verbeke, A.; Declercq, E.; Wijnolst, N.

    1995-01-01

    This study on the potentialof Short Sea Shipping (SSS) in Europe, with a focus on four corridors, consists of four parts. In the first part (Chapter I) the existing intra-European SSS-traffic is identified and analyzed for each relevant category of goods and transport corridor. In the second part

  8. The smartphone addiction scale: development and validation of a short version for adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwon, Min; Kim, Dai-Jin; Cho, Hyun; Yang, Soo

    2013-01-01

    This study was designed to investigate the revised and short version of the smartphone addiction scale and the proof of its validity in adolescents. In addition, it suggested cutting off the values by gender in order to determine smartphone addiction and elaborate the characteristics of smartphone usage in adolescents. A set of questionnaires were provided to a total of 540 selected participants from April to May of 2013. The participants consisted of 343 boys and 197 girls, and their average age was 14.5 years old. The content validity was performed on a selection of shortened items, while an internal-consistency test was conducted for the verification of its reliability. The concurrent validity was confirmed using SAS, SAPS and KS-scale. Receiver operating characteristics analysis was conducted to suggest cut-off. The 10 final questions were selected using content validity. The internal consistency and concurrent validity of SAS were verified with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.911. The SAS-SV was significantly correlated with the SAS, SAPS and KS-scale. The SAS-SV scores of gender (psmartphone addiction (psmartphone addiction. The smartphone addiction scale short version, which was developed and validated in this study, could be used efficiently for the evaluation of smartphone addiction in community and research areas.

  9. Iterative quantum-classical path integral with dynamically consistent state hopping

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Walters, Peter L.; Makri, Nancy [Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801 (United States)

    2016-01-28

    We investigate the convergence of iterative quantum-classical path integral calculations in sluggish environments strongly coupled to a quantum system. The number of classical trajectories, thus the computational cost, grows rapidly (exponentially, unless filtering techniques are employed) with the memory length included in the calculation. We argue that the choice of the (single) trajectory branch during the time preceding the memory interval can significantly affect the memory length required for convergence. At short times, the trajectory branch associated with the reactant state improves convergence by eliminating spurious memory. We also introduce an instantaneous population-based probabilistic scheme which introduces state-to-state hops in the retained pre-memory trajectory branch, and which is designed to choose primarily the trajectory branch associated with the reactant at early times, but to favor the product state more as the reaction progresses to completion. Test calculations show that the dynamically consistent state hopping scheme leads to accelerated convergence and a dramatic reduction of computational effort.

  10. Language model: Extension to solve inconsistency, incompleteness, and short query in cultural heritage collection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Kian Lam; Lim, Chen Kim

    2017-10-01

    With the explosive growth of online information such as email messages, news articles, and scientific literature, many institutions and museums are converting their cultural collections from physical data to digital format. However, this conversion resulted in the issues of inconsistency and incompleteness. Besides, the usage of inaccurate keywords also resulted in short query problem. Most of the time, the inconsistency and incompleteness are caused by the aggregation fault in annotating a document itself while the short query problem is caused by naive user who has prior knowledge and experience in cultural heritage domain. In this paper, we presented an approach to solve the problem of inconsistency, incompleteness and short query by incorporating the Term Similarity Matrix into the Language Model. Our approach is tested on the Cultural Heritage in CLEF (CHiC) collection which consists of short queries and documents. The results show that the proposed approach is effective and has improved the accuracy in retrieval time.

  11. Short-term mindfulness intervention reduces the negative attentional effects associated with heavy media multitasking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gorman, Thomas E; Green, C Shawn

    2016-04-18

    Recent research suggests that frequently switching between various forms of media (i.e. 'media multitasking') is associated with diminished attentional abilities, a disconcerting result given the prevalence of media multitasking in today's society. In the present study, we sought to investigate the extent to which the deficits associated with frequent media multitasking can be temporarily ameliorated via a short-term mindfulness intervention previously shown to produce beneficial effects on the attentional abilities of normally functioning individuals. Consistent with previous work, we found: (1) that heavy media multitaskers showed generally poorer attentional abilities than light media multitaskers and (2) that all participants showed benefits from the short-term mindfulness intervention. Furthermore, we found that the benefits of the short-term mindfulness intervention were not equivalently large across participants. Instead, these benefits were disproportionately large in the heavy media multitaskers. While the positive outcomes were short-lived, this opens the possibility of performing long-term interventions with the goal of realizing lasting gains in this population.

  12. Semantic strategy training increases memory performance and brain activity in patients with prefrontal cortex lesions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miotto, Eliane C; Savage, Cary R; Evans, Jonathan J; Wilson, Barbara A; Martin, Maria G M; Balardin, Joana B; Barros, Fabio G; Garrido, Griselda; Teixeira, Manoel J; Amaro Junior, Edson

    2013-03-01

    Memory deficit is a frequent cognitive disorder following acquired prefrontal cortex lesions. In the present study, we investigated the brain correlates of a short semantic strategy training and memory performance of patients with distinct prefrontal cortex lesions using fMRI and cognitive tests. Twenty-one adult patients with post-acute prefrontal cortex (PFC) lesions, twelve with left dorsolateral PFC (LPFC) and nine with bilateral orbitofrontal cortex (BOFC) were assessed before and after a short cognitive semantic training using a verbal memory encoding paradigm during scanning and neuropsychological tests outside the scanner. After the semantic strategy training both groups of patients showed significant behavioral improvement in verbal memory recall and use of semantic strategies. In the LPFC group, greater activity in left inferior and medial frontal gyrus, precentral gyrus and insula was found after training. For the BOFC group, a greater activation was found in the left parietal cortex, right cingulated and precuneus after training. The activation of these specific areas in the memory and executive networks following cognitive training was associated to compensatory brain mechanisms and application of the semantic strategy. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Ionospheric Data Assimilation and Targeted Observation Strategies: Proof of Concept Analysis in a Geomagnetic Storm Event

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kostelich, Eric; Durazo, Juan; Mahalov, Alex

    2017-11-01

    The dynamics of the ionosphere involve complex interactions between the atmosphere, solar wind, cosmic radiation, and Earth's magnetic field. Geomagnetic storms arising from solar activity can perturb these dynamics sufficiently to disrupt radio and satellite communications. Efforts to predict ``space weather,'' including ionospheric dynamics, require the development of a data assimilation system that combines observing systems with appropriate forecast models. This talk will outline a proof-of-concept targeted observation strategy, consisting of the Local Ensemble Transform Kalman Filter, coupled with the Thermosphere Ionosphere Electrodynamics Global Circulation Model, to select optimal locations where additional observations can be made to improve short-term ionospheric forecasts. Initial results using data and forecasts from the geomagnetic storm of 26-27 September 2011 will be described. Work supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (Grant Number FA9550-15-1-0096) and by the National Science Foundation (Grant Number DMS-0940314).

  14. Short bowel syndrome

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Engels, L.G.J.B.

    1983-01-01

    This thesis describes some aspects of short bowel syndrome. When approximately 1 m or less small bowel is retained after extensive resection, a condition called short bowel syndrome is present. Since the advent of parenteral nutrition, the prognosis of patients with a very short bowel has dramatically improved. Patients with 40 to 100 cm remaining jejunum and/or ileum can generally be maintained with oral nutrition due to increased absorption of the small bowel remnant as result of intestinal adaptation. This study reports clinical, biochemical and nutritional aspects of short bowel patients on oral or parenteral nutrition, emphasizing data on absorption of various nutrients and on bone metabolism. Furthermore, some technical apsects concerning long-term parenteral nutrition are discussed. (Auth.)

  15. Market-consistent actuarial valuation

    CERN Document Server

    Wüthrich, Mario V

    2016-01-01

    This is the third edition of this well-received textbook, presenting powerful methods for measuring insurance liabilities and assets in a consistent way, with detailed mathematical frameworks that lead to market-consistent values for liabilities. Topics covered are stochastic discounting with deflators, valuation portfolio in life and non-life insurance, probability distortions, asset and liability management, financial risks, insurance technical risks, and solvency. Including updates on recent developments and regulatory changes under Solvency II, this new edition of Market-Consistent Actuarial Valuation also elaborates on different risk measures, providing a revised definition of solvency based on industry practice, and presents an adapted valuation framework which takes a dynamic view of non-life insurance reserving risk.

  16. Memahami Strategi Komunikasi Pemasaran Kartu Brizzi PT Bank BRI, Tbk. Kanwil Semarang

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Widia Febriana

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available With increasing public awareness of the technology, there are a trend the demand for banking products based on technology, in particular transactions through cards. But the public's knowledge about the e-money making product marketing e-money is still lacking. To overcome this, we need a marketing communication strategy of e-money is appropriate and effective. The cornerstone of the theory used in this study the theories of Kotler Kotler, said that elements of the promotion mix (promotion mix consists of five main device, namely: Advertising, Sales Promotions, Public Relations and publicity, Personal Selling and Direct Marketing. This research aims to determine the effectiveness of of the activities of marketing communications strategy that has been done. To analyze the marketing communication strategies, conducted research at PT. Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero Regional Office Semarang. Data collected from various sources consisting of external factors and internal, ie interviews, observation and documentation. Furthermore, these factors were analyzed to get the strategy formulation. Resource persons / informants consists of the CBK offices and the Customer card user Semarang BRIZZI. All of the strategies undertaken in marketing BRIZZI, the most effective way is to give the gift of groceries to customers BRIZZI users when shopping at the supermarkets in Semarang.

  17. Minimization of the Electromagnetic Torque Ripple Caused by the Coils Inter-Turn Short Circuit Fault in Dual-Redundancy Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yiguang Chen

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available With the development of electric vehicles and More-Electric/All-Electric aircraft, high reliability is required in motor servo systems. The redundancy technique is one of the most effective methods to improve the reliability of motor servo systems. In this paper, the structure of dual-redundancy permanent magnet synchronous motor (DRPMSM with weak thermal coupling and no electromagnetic coupling is analyzed and the mathematical model of this motor is established. However, there is little research on how to suppress the torque ripple caused by short-circuited coils in the DRPMSM. The main contribution of this paper is to present the advantages of DRPMSM and to find a way to suppress the torque ripple caused by the short circuit fault in DRPMSM. In order to improve operation quality and enhance the reliability of DRPMSM after a short circuit occurs, the torque ripple caused by the coils inter-turn short circuit fault in DRPMSM is analyzed in detail. Then, a control method for suppressing the electromagnetic torque ripple of a short-circuited coil is proposed for the first time by using an improved adaptive proportional resonant (PR controller and a proportional integral (PI controller in parallel. PR control is a method of controlling alternating components without steady-state error, and it can be used to suppress torque ripple. DRPMSM adopts speed and current double closed-loop control strategies. An improved adaptive PR controller and a PI controller are employed in parallel for the speed loop, while traditional PI control is adopted in current loop. From the simulation and experimental results, the torque ripple is reduced from 45.4 to 5.6% when the torque ripple suppression strategy proposed in this paper is adopted, in the case that the speed is 600 r/min. The torque ripple suppression strategy based on the PR controller can quickly and effectively suppress the torque ripple caused by the short-circuited coils, which makes the motor speed

  18. On the universality of the long-/short-range separation in multiconfigurational density-functional theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fromager, Emmanuel; Toulouse, Julien; Jensen, Hans Jørgen Aa.

    2007-02-01

    In many cases, the dynamic correlation can be calculated quite accurately and at a fairly low computational cost in Kohn-Sham density-functional theory (KS-DFT), using current standard approximate functionals. However, in general, KS-DFT does not treat static correlation effects (near degeneracy) adequately which, on the other hand, can be described in wave-function theory (WFT), for example, with a multiconfigurational self-consistent field (MCSCF) model. It is therefore of high interest to develop a hybrid model which combines the best of both WFT and DFT approaches. The merge of WFT and DFT can be achieved by splitting the two-electron interaction into long-range and short-range parts. The long-range part is then treated by WFT and the short-range part by DFT. In this work the authors consider the so-called "erf" long-range interaction erf(μr12)/r12, which is based on the standard error function, and where μ is a free parameter which controls the range of the long-/short-range decomposition. In order to formulate a general method, they propose a recipe for the definition of an optimal μopt parameter, which is independent of the approximate short-range functional and the approximate wave function, and they discuss its universality. Calculations on a test set consisting of He, Be, Ne, Mg, H2, N2, and H2O yield μopt≈0.4a.u.. A similar analysis on other types of test systems such as actinide compounds is currently in progress. Using the value of 0.4a.u. for μ, encouraging results are obtained with the hybrid MCSCF-DFT method for the dissociation energies of H2, N2, and H2O, with both short-range local-density approximation and PBE-type functionals.

  19. Quasiparticles and thermodynamical consistency

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shanenko, A.A.; Biro, T.S.; Toneev, V.D.

    2003-01-01

    A brief and simple introduction into the problem of the thermodynamical consistency is given. The thermodynamical consistency relations, which should be taken into account under constructing a quasiparticle model, are found in a general manner from the finite-temperature extension of the Hellmann-Feynman theorem. Restrictions following from these relations are illustrated by simple physical examples. (author)

  20. Strategi Peningkatan Kompetensi Sumber Daya Manusia Pendidikan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    imam junaris

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT: Educators and education personnel are the key human resources that are key to the success of educational institutions, therefore their competence must be developed continuously according to the demands and changes in the development of education. To have and prepare competent and professional educators and education personnel in their performance, educational institutions are required to apply leadership by implementing good strategies through disciplined coaching, motivation, rewards and perceptions. Guidance and development of competence, profession and career of educators and education personnel can be implemented through various strategies in the form of education and training, among others; In-house training, internship programs, school partnerships, distance learning, tiered training and specialized training, short courses at colleges or other educational institutions, internal coaching by schools, and advanced study education.

  1. Orbit Determination with Very Short Arcs: Admissible Regions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gronchi, G. F.; Milani, A.; de'Michieli Vitturi, M.; Knezevic, Z.

    2004-05-01

    Contemporary observational surveys provide a huge number of detections of small solar system bodies, in particular of asteroids. These have to be reduced in real time in order to optimize the observational strategy and to select the targets for the follow-up and for the subsequent determination of an orbit. Typically, reported astrometry consists of few positions over a short time span, and this information is often not enough to compute a preliminary orbit and perform an identification. Classical methods for preliminary orbit determination based on three observations fail in such cases, and a new approach is necessary to cope with the problem. We introduce the concept of attributable, which is a vector composed by two angles and two angular velocities at a given time. It is then shown that the missing values (geocentric range and range rate), necessary for the computation of an orbit, can be constrained to a compact set that we call admissible region (AR). The latter is defined on the basis of requirements that the body belongs to the solar system, that it is not a satellite of the Earth, and that it is not a "shooting star" (very close and very small). A mathematical description of the AR is given, together with the proof of its topological properties: it turns out that the AR cannot have more than two connected components. A sampling of the AR can be performed by means of a Delaunay triangulation. A finite number of six-parameter sets of initial conditions are thus defined, with each node of triangulation representing a Virtual Asteroid for which it is possible to propagate the corresponding orbit and to predict ephemerides.

  2. The role of short messaging service in supporting the delivery of healthcare: An umbrella systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Househ, Mowafa

    2016-06-01

    Short messaging service (SMS) messages may present a convenient and cost-effective method to support healthcare interventions. This work assesses the effects of short messaging service on various healthcare interventions found in systematic reviews. The search strategy was based on two key concepts: short messaging service and healthcare delivery. The initial search was conducted in December 2012 and was updated in June 2013. Of the 550 identified references, 13 systematic reviews met the inclusion criteria, of which 8 were published in peer-reviewed journals and 5 were retrieved from the Cochrane library. Data analysis shows that low to moderate research evidence exists on the benefits of short messaging service interventions for appointment reminders, promoting health in developing countries and preventive healthcare. In many interventions, however, there were a few studies that were of high quality, and most of the studies were rated from low to moderate quality or had no rating at all. Healthcare organizations, policy makers, or clinicians using short messaging service messages to support healthcare interventions should (1) implement interventions that have been found to work in healthcare settings, (2) continue evaluating short messaging service interventions that have not been adequately assessed, and (3) improve collaboration between various healthcare entities to develop studies targeted at specific populations to evaluate the long-term impact of short messaging service on healthcare outcomes. © The Author(s) 2014.

  3. Benchmarking strategies for measuring the quality of healthcare: problems and prospects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lovaglio, Pietro Giorgio

    2012-01-01

    Over the last few years, increasing attention has been directed toward the problems inherent to measuring the quality of healthcare and implementing benchmarking strategies. Besides offering accreditation and certification processes, recent approaches measure the performance of healthcare institutions in order to evaluate their effectiveness, defined as the capacity to provide treatment that modifies and improves the patient's state of health. This paper, dealing with hospital effectiveness, focuses on research methods for effectiveness analyses within a strategy comparing different healthcare institutions. The paper, after having introduced readers to the principle debates on benchmarking strategies, which depend on the perspective and type of indicators used, focuses on the methodological problems related to performing consistent benchmarking analyses. Particularly, statistical methods suitable for controlling case-mix, analyzing aggregate data, rare events, and continuous outcomes measured with error are examined. Specific challenges of benchmarking strategies, such as the risk of risk adjustment (case-mix fallacy, underreporting, risk of comparing noncomparable hospitals), selection bias, and possible strategies for the development of consistent benchmarking analyses, are discussed. Finally, to demonstrate the feasibility of the illustrated benchmarking strategies, an application focused on determining regional benchmarks for patient satisfaction (using 2009 Lombardy Region Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire) is proposed.

  4. Shortness of Breath

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... filled with air (called pneumotho- rax), it will hinder expansion of the lung, resulting in shortness of ... of Chest Physi- cians. Shortness of Breath: Patient Education. http: / / www. onebreath. org/ document. doc? id= 113. ...

  5. Structure of the strongly coupled classical plasma in the self-consistent mean spherical approximation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chaturvedi, D.K.; Senatore, G.; Tosi, M.P.

    1980-10-01

    An analytic theory is presented for the static structure factor of the one-component classical plasma at strong couplings. The theory combines the hard-core model of Gillan for short-range correlations in the Coulomb fluid with a semiempirical representation of intermediate-range correlations, through which the requirement of thermodynamic consistency on the ''compressibility'' and the known equation of state of the system are satisfied. Excellent agreement is found with the available computer simulation data on the structure of the fluid. The approach becomes inapplicable at intermediate and weak couplings where effects of penetration in the Coulomb hole of each particle become important. (author)

  6. Evaluation of registration strategies for multi-modality images of rat brain slices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Palm, Christoph; Vieten, Andrea; Salber, Dagmar; Pietrzyk, Uwe

    2009-01-01

    In neuroscience, small-animal studies frequently involve dealing with series of images from multiple modalities such as histology and autoradiography. The consistent and bias-free restacking of multi-modality image series is obligatory as a starting point for subsequent non-rigid registration procedures and for quantitative comparisons with positron emission tomography (PET) and other in vivo data. Up to now, consistency between 2D slices without cross validation using an inherent 3D modality is frequently presumed to be close to the true morphology due to the smooth appearance of the contours of anatomical structures. However, in multi-modality stacks consistency is difficult to assess. In this work, consistency is defined in terms of smoothness of neighboring slices within a single modality and between different modalities. Registration bias denotes the distortion of the registered stack in comparison to the true 3D morphology and shape. Based on these metrics, different restacking strategies of multi-modality rat brain slices are experimentally evaluated. Experiments based on MRI-simulated and real dual-tracer autoradiograms reveal a clear bias of the restacked volume despite quantitatively high consistency and qualitatively smooth brain structures. However, different registration strategies yield different inter-consistency metrics. If no genuine 3D modality is available, the use of the so-called SOP (slice-order preferred) or MOSOP (modality-and-slice-order preferred) strategy is recommended.

  7. Short-term and long-term effects of violent media on aggression in children and adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bushman, Brad J; Huesmann, L Rowell

    2006-04-01

    To test whether the results of the accumulated studies on media violence and aggressive behavior are consistent with the theories that have evolved to explain the effects. We tested for the existence of both short-term and long-term effects for aggressive behavior. We also tested the theory-driven hypothesis that short-term effects should be greater for adults and long-term effects should be greater for children. Meta-analysis. Children younger than 18 years and adults. Violent media, including TV, movies, video games, music, and comic books. Measures of aggressive behavior, aggressive thoughts, angry feelings, physiological arousal (eg, heart rate, blood pressure), and helping behavior. Effect size estimates were combined using meta-analytic procedures. As expected, the short-term effects of violent media were greater for adults than for children whereas the long-term effects were greater for children than for adults. The results also showed that there were overall modest but significant effect sizes for exposure to media violence on aggressive behaviors, aggressive thoughts, angry feelings, arousal levels, and helping behavior. The results are consistent with the theory that short-term effects are mostly due to the priming of existing well-encoded scripts, schemas, or beliefs, which adults have had more time to encode. In contrast, long-term effects require the learning (encoding) of scripts, schemas, or beliefs. Children can encode new scripts, schemas, and beliefs via observational learning with less interference and effort than adults.

  8. Cognitive predictors and risk factors of PTSD following stillbirth: a short-term longitudinal study.

    OpenAIRE

    Horsch, A.; Jacobs, I.; McKenzie-McHarg, K.

    2015-01-01

    This short-term longitudinal study investigated cognitive predictors and risk factors of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in mothers following stillbirth. After a stillbirth at ≥ 24 weeks gestational age, 65 women completed structured clinical interviews and questionnaires assessing PTSD symptoms, cognitive predictors (appraisals, dysfunctional strategies), and risk factors (perceived social support, trauma history, obstetric history) at 3 and 6 months. PTSD symptoms decreased between 3 a...

  9. Short sequence motifs, overrepresented in mammalian conservednon-coding sequences

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Minovitsky, Simon; Stegmaier, Philip; Kel, Alexander; Kondrashov,Alexey S.; Dubchak, Inna

    2007-02-21

    Background: A substantial fraction of non-coding DNAsequences of multicellular eukaryotes is under selective constraint. Inparticular, ~;5 percent of the human genome consists of conservednon-coding sequences (CNSs). CNSs differ from other genomic sequences intheir nucleotide composition and must play important functional roles,which mostly remain obscure.Results: We investigated relative abundancesof short sequence motifs in all human CNSs present in the human/mousewhole-genome alignments vs. three background sets of sequences: (i)weakly conserved or unconserved non-coding sequences (non-CNSs); (ii)near-promoter sequences (located between nucleotides -500 and -1500,relative to a start of transcription); and (iii) random sequences withthe same nucleotide composition as that of CNSs. When compared tonon-CNSs and near-promoter sequences, CNSs possess an excess of AT-richmotifs, often containing runs of identical nucleotides. In contrast, whencompared to random sequences, CNSs contain an excess of GC-rich motifswhich, however, lack CpG dinucleotides. Thus, abundance of short sequencemotifs in human CNSs, taken as a whole, is mostly determined by theiroverall compositional properties and not by overrepresentation of anyspecific short motifs. These properties are: (i) high AT-content of CNSs,(ii) a tendency, probably due to context-dependent mutation, of A's andT's to clump, (iii) presence of short GC-rich regions, and (iv) avoidanceof CpG contexts, due to their hypermutability. Only a small number ofshort motifs, overrepresented in all human CNSs are similar to bindingsites of transcription factors from the FOX family.Conclusion: Human CNSsas a whole appear to be too broad a class of sequences to possess strongfootprints of any short sequence-specific functions. Such footprintsshould be studied at the level of functional subclasses of CNSs, such asthose which flank genes with a particular pattern of expression. Overallproperties of CNSs are affected by

  10. Minimally invasive injectable short nanofibers of poly(glycerol sebacate) for cardiac tissue engineering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ravichandran, Rajeswari; Venugopal, Jayarama Reddy; Sundarrajan, Subramanian; Mukherjee, Shayanti; Sridhar, Radhakrishnan; Ramakrishna, Seeram

    2012-01-01

    Myocardial tissue lacks the ability to appreciably regenerate itself following myocardial infarction (MI) which ultimately results in heart failure. Current therapies can only retard the progression of disease and hence tissue engineering strategies are required to facilitate the engineering of a suitable biomaterial to repair MI. The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro properties of an injectable biomaterial for the regeneration of infarcted myocardium. Fabrication of core/shell fibers was by co-axial electrospinning, with poly(glycerol sebacate) (PGS) as core material and poly-l-lactic acid (PLLA) as shell material. The PLLA was removed by treatment of the PGS/PLLA core/shell fibers with DCM:hexane (2:1) to obtain PGS short fibers. These PGS short fibers offer the advantage of providing a minimally invasive injectable technique for the regeneration of infarcted myocardium. The scaffolds were characterized by SEM, FTIR and contact angle and cell–scaffold interactions using cardiomyocytes. The results showed that the cardiac marker proteins actinin, troponin, myosin heavy chain and connexin 43 were expressed more on short PGS fibers compared to PLLA nanofibers. We hypothesized that the injection of cells along with short PGS fibers would increase cell transplant retention and survival within the infarct, compared to the standard cell injection system. (paper)

  11. Bussines strategy or bussines policy management applied in modern firms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Enea, C.

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available In literature, the term widely used for all action levels of strategic management is that of strategy. For this reason, it is necessary to achieve a differentiation between corporate strategies (typical strategies, business strategies (with policies, operational strategies (business plans and operational strategies (programs and tactics.In the same context, strategies become the basis for the definition and implementation of policies, which differ by time horizon that is lower and their higher intake of detail. The latter are updated permanently, in order to remain set on, realistic, consistent with the changes that occur and detailing in concrete plans and programs as a logical scheme. So, strategic management is that management based on the application of strategies and policies with a view to setting and achieving goals.

  12. Short primary linear drive designed for synchronous and induction operation mode with on-board energy storage

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fernandes Neto, Tobias Rafael

    2012-06-28

    guide way (induction rail or stationary magnets), and the energy and information should be transmitted contactless to the active vehicle. Regarding the features of the material handling application, the short or long primary topology can be used. Short primary linear drives on passive track are advantageous in material handling applications, where high precision, moderate dynamic, very long track and closed paths are required. Nevertheless, depending on the requirements of the section, the costs can be reduced considerably by using a simple induction rail at the long transporting sections, instead of permanent magnets on the track. Therefore, in this thesis a combined operation of permanent magnet linear synchronous motor (PMLSM) and linear induction motor (LIM) is applied to operate the short primary as vehicle, avoiding adjustment or releasing of the material during the drive cycle. In summary, the passive track will consist of two section types: a high thrust force section (processing station) with PMLSM and a low thrust force section with LIM (transporting section). To the author's knowledge, using two operation modes (PMLSM / LIM) in the same drive is a new approach. A theoretical and experimental study was conducted to assess the feasibility of employing the short primary linear motor for a flexible manufacturing system, in which a contactless energy transmission provides the basic power and an ultracapacitor (UC) storage system provides the peak power. The system uses a bidirectional DC-DC converter between the ultracapacitor bank and the DC-link, to make sure that the ultracapacitor can store the braking energy and supply the peak power demanded by the active vehicle. A control strategy has been developed for controlling the ultracapacitor to deliver the peak of power, to charge, to protect against overvoltage and to recover the energy generated when the vehicle is braking. A control strategy for the transition between the two operation modes (PMLSM / LIM

  13. Structure and strategies in children's educational television: the roles of program type and learning strategies in children's learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linebarger, Deborah L; Piotrowski, Jessica Taylor

    2010-01-01

    Educational TV has been consistently linked to children's learning. In this research, educational TV characteristics were identified, coded, and tested for their influence on children's program-specific comprehension and vocabulary outcomes. Study 1 details a content analysis of TV features including a program's macrostructure (i.e., narrative or expository) and learning strategies embedded in the macrostructure that support learning in print-based contexts. In Study 2, regression analyses were used to predict outcomes involving 71 second and third graders (average age=7.63 years). Strategies were categorized as organizing, rehearsing, elaborating, or affective in function. Outcomes were uniformly higher for narrative macrostructures. Strategies used in narratives predicted relatively homogenous relations across outcomes, whereas strategies in expositories predicted quite heterogeneous relations across outcomes. © 2010 The Authors. Child Development © 2010 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

  14. Planck 2013 results. XXXI. Consistency of the Planck data

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ade, P. A. R.; Arnaud, M.; Ashdown, M.

    2014-01-01

    The Planck design and scanning strategy provide many levels of redundancy that can be exploited to provide tests of internal consistency. One of the most important is the comparison of the 70 GHz (amplifier) and 100 GHz (bolometer) channels. Based on dierent instrument technologies, with feeds...... in the HFI channels would result in shifts in the posterior distributions of parameters of less than 0.3σ except for As, the amplitude of the primordial curvature perturbations at 0.05 Mpc-1, which changes by about 1.We extend these comparisons to include the sky maps from the complete nine-year mission...... located dierently in the focal plane, analysed independently by dierent teams using dierent software, and near∫ the minimum of diuse foreground emission, these channels are in eect two dierent experiments. The 143 GHz channel has the lowest noise level on Planck, and is near the minimum of unresolved...

  15. Calibration of short rate term structure models from bid-ask coupon bond prices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gomes-Gonçalves, Erika; Gzyl, Henryk; Mayoral, Silvia

    2018-02-01

    In this work we use the method of maximum entropy in the mean to provide a model free, non-parametric methodology that uses only market data to provide the prices of the zero coupon bonds, and then, a term structure of the short rates. The data used consists of the prices of the bid-ask ranges of a few coupon bonds quoted in the market. The prices of the zero coupon bonds obtained in the first stage, are then used as input to solve a recursive set of equations to determine a binomial recombinant model of the short term structure of the interest rates.

  16. Meta-Heuristics in Short Scale Construction: Ant Colony Optimization and Genetic Algorithm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schroeders, Ulrich; Wilhelm, Oliver; Olaru, Gabriel

    2016-01-01

    The advent of large-scale assessment, but also the more frequent use of longitudinal and multivariate approaches to measurement in psychological, educational, and sociological research, caused an increased demand for psychometrically sound short scales. Shortening scales economizes on valuable administration time, but might result in inadequate measures because reducing an item set could: a) change the internal structure of the measure, b) result in poorer reliability and measurement precision, c) deliver measures that cannot effectively discriminate between persons on the intended ability spectrum, and d) reduce test-criterion relations. Different approaches to abbreviate measures fare differently with respect to the above-mentioned problems. Therefore, we compare the quality and efficiency of three item selection strategies to derive short scales from an existing long version: a Stepwise COnfirmatory Factor Analytical approach (SCOFA) that maximizes factor loadings and two metaheuristics, specifically an Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) with a tailored user-defined optimization function and a Genetic Algorithm (GA) with an unspecific cost-reduction function. SCOFA compiled short versions were highly reliable, but had poor validity. In contrast, both metaheuristics outperformed SCOFA and produced efficient and psychometrically sound short versions (unidimensional, reliable, sensitive, and valid). We discuss under which circumstances ACO and GA produce equivalent results and provide recommendations for conditions in which it is advisable to use a metaheuristic with an unspecific out-of-the-box optimization function.

  17. Automotive industry program and strategy for control of ozone depleting substances and greenhouse gases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pound, F.R.; Stirling, P.J.

    1990-01-01

    This paper outlines the program status and strategy for the short and long term periods for ozone depleting substances and greenhouse gases from both stationary sources in manufacturing plants and mobile sources in motor vehicles. 5 refs

  18. Human short-term spatial memory: precision predicts capacity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banta Lavenex, Pamela; Boujon, Valérie; Ndarugendamwo, Angélique; Lavenex, Pierre

    2015-03-01

    Here, we aimed to determine the capacity of human short-term memory for allocentric spatial information in a real-world setting. Young adults were tested on their ability to learn, on a trial-unique basis, and remember over a 1-min interval the location(s) of 1, 3, 5, or 7 illuminating pads, among 23 pads distributed in a 4m×4m arena surrounded by curtains on three sides. Participants had to walk to and touch the pads with their foot to illuminate the goal locations. In contrast to the predictions from classical slot models of working memory capacity limited to a fixed number of items, i.e., Miller's magical number 7 or Cowan's magical number 4, we found that the number of visited locations to find the goals was consistently about 1.6 times the number of goals, whereas the number of correct choices before erring and the number of errorless trials varied with memory load even when memory load was below the hypothetical memory capacity. In contrast to resource models of visual working memory, we found no evidence that memory resources were evenly distributed among unlimited numbers of items to be remembered. Instead, we found that memory for even one individual location was imprecise, and that memory performance for one location could be used to predict memory performance for multiple locations. Our findings are consistent with a theoretical model suggesting that the precision of the memory for individual locations might determine the capacity of human short-term memory for spatial information. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. French strategy for green finance. Executive summary

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lemmet, Sylvie; Ducret, Pierre; Berthaud, Cecilia; Evain, Julie; Scolan, Maria

    2017-12-01

    The authors present their report on the French Strategy for Green Finance. Green finance has expanded rapidly since 2015 but much remains to be done to make capital flows consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement. France can continue to play a pioneering role to promote the energy and ecological transition, and to support Paris's role as a financial centre. The task force is putting forward recommendations along four axes for a French strategy to foster green finance

  20. A waste package strategy for regulatory compliance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stahl, D.; Cloninger, M.O.

    1990-01-01

    This paper summarizes the strategy given in the Site Characterization Plan for demonstrating compliance with the post closure performance objectives for the waste package and the Engineered Barrier System contained in the Code of Federal Regulations. The strategy consists of the development of a conservative waste package design that will meet the regulatory requirements with sufficient margin for uncertainty using a multi-barrier approach that takes advantage of the unsaturated nature of the Yucca Mountain site. 7 refs., 1 fig