WorldWideScience

Sample records for single institutional pilot

  1. Single-Pilot Workload Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rogers, Jason; Williams, Kevin; Hackworth, Carla; Burian, Barbara; Pruchnicki, Shawn; Christopher, Bonny; Drechsler, Gena; Silverman, Evan; Runnels, Barry; Mead, Andy

    2013-01-01

    Integrated glass cockpit systems place a heavy cognitive load on pilots (Burian Dismukes, 2007). Researchers from the NASA Ames Flight Cognition Lab and the FAA Flight Deck Human Factors Lab examined task and workload management by single pilots. This poster describes pilot performance regarding programming a reroute while at cruise and meeting a waypoint crossing restriction on the initial descent.

  2. Pre-Study Walkthrough with a Commercial Pilot for a Preliminary Single Pilot Operations Experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Connor-Dreher, Ryan; Roberts, Z.; Ziccardi, J.; Vu, K-P. L.; Strybel, T.; Koteskey, Robert William; Lachter, Joel B.; Vi Dao, Quang; Johnson, Walter W.; Battiste, V.

    2013-01-01

    The number of crew members in commercial flights has decreased to two members, down from the five-member crew required 50 years ago. One question of interest is whether the crew should be reduced to one pilot. In order to determine the critical factors involved in safely transitioning to a single pilot, research must examine whether any performance deficits arise with the loss of a crew member. With a concrete understanding of the cognitive and behavioral role of a co-pilot, aeronautical technologies and procedures can be developed that make up for the removal of the second aircrew member. The current project describes a pre-study walkthrough process that can be used to help in the development of scenarios for testing future concepts and technologies for single pilot operations. Qualitative information regarding the tasks performed by the pilots can be extracted with this technique and adapted for future investigations of single pilot operations.

  3. 1988 Pilot Institute on Global Change on trace gases and the biosphere

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Eddy, J.A.; Moore, B. III

    1998-07-01

    This proposal seeks multi-agency funding to conduct an international, multidisciplinary 1988 Pilot Institute on Global Change to take place from August 7 through 21, 1988, on the topic: Trace Gases and the Biosphere. The institute, to be held in Snowmass, Colorado, is envisioned as a pilot version of a continuing series of institutes on Global Change (IGC). This proposal seeks support for the 1988 pilot institute only. The concept and structure for the continuing series, and the definition of the 1988 pilot institute, were developed at an intensive and multidisciplinary Summer Institute Planning Meeting in Boulder, Colorado, on August 24--25, 1987. The theme for the 1988 PIGC, Trace Gases and the Biosphere, will focus a concerted, high-level multidisciplinary effort on a scientific problem central to the Global Change Program. Dramatic year-to-year increases in the global concentrations of radiatively-active trace gases such as methane and carbon dioxide are now well documented. The predicted climatic effects of these changes lend special urgency to efforts to study the biospheric sources and sinks of these gases and to clarify their interactions and role in the geosphere-biosphere system.

  4. Pilot Institute on Global Change on Trace Gases and the Biosphere, 1988

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eddy, J. A.; Moore, B.

    1998-01-01

    Table of Contents: Summary; Background; General Framework for a Series of Institutes on Global Change; The 1988 Pilot Institute on Global Changes: Trace Gases and the Biosphere; Budget; List of Acronyms; and Attachments.

  5. Single Pilot Workload Management During Cruise in Entry Level Jets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burian, Barbara K.; Pruchnicki, Shawn; Christopher, Bonny; Silverman, Evan; Hackworth, Carla; Rogers, Jason; Williams, Kevin; Drechsler, Gena; Runnels, Barry; Mead, Andy

    2013-01-01

    Advanced technologies and automation are important facilitators of single pilot operations, but they also contribute to the workload management challenges faced by the pilot. We examined task completion, workload management, and automation use in an entry level jet (ELJ) flown by single pilots. Thirteen certificated Cessna Citation Mustang (C510-S) pilots flew an instrument flight rules (IFR) experimental flight in a Cessna Citation Mustang simulator. At one point participants had to descend to meet a crossing restriction prior to a waypoint and prepare for an instrument approach into an un-towered field while facilitating communication from a lost pilot who was flying too low for ATC to hear. Four participants experienced some sort of difficulty with regard to meeting the crossing restriction and almost half (n=6) had problems associated with the instrument approach. Additional errors were also observed including eight participants landing at the airport with an incorrect altimeter setting.

  6. The effects of display and autopilot functions on pilot workload for Single Pilot Instrument Flight Rule (SPIFR) operations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoh, Roger H.; Smith, James C.; Hinton, David A.

    1987-01-01

    An analytical and experimental research program was conducted to develop criteria for pilot interaction with advanced controls and displays in single pilot instrument flight rules (SPIFR) operations. The analytic phase reviewed fundamental considerations for pilot workload taking into account existing data, and using that data to develop a divided attention SPIFR pilot workload model. The pilot model was utilized to interpret the two experimental phases. The first experimental phase was a flight test program that evaluated pilot workload in the presence of current and near-term displays and autopilot functions. The second experiment was conducted on a King Air simulator, investigating the effects of co-pilot functions in the presence of very high SPIFR workload. The results indicate that the simplest displays tested were marginal for SPIFR operations. A moving map display aided the most in mental orientation, but had inherent deficiencies as a stand alone replacement for an HSI. Autopilot functions were highly effective for reducing pilot workload. The simulator tests showed that extremely high workload situations can be adequately handled when co-pilot functions are provided.

  7. Classification of response-types for single-pilot NOE helicopter combat tasks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitchell, David G.; Hoh, Roger H.; Atencio, Adolph, Jr.

    1987-01-01

    Two piloted simulations have recently been conducted to evaluate both workload and handling qualities requirements for operation of a helicopter by a single pilot in a nap-of-the-earth combat environment. An advanced cockpit, including a moving-map display and an interactive touchpad screen, provided aircraft mission, status, and position information to the pilot. The results of the simulations are reviewed, and the impact of these results on the development of a revised helicopter handling qualities specification is discussed. Rate command is preferred over attitude command in pitch and roll, and attitude hold over groundspeed hold, for low-speed precision pointing tasks. Position hold is necessary for Level 1 handling qualities in hover when the pilot is required to perform secondary tasks. Addition of a second crew member improves pilot ratings.

  8. A Validated Task Analysis of the Single Pilot Operations Concept

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolter, Cynthia A.; Gore, Brian F.

    2015-01-01

    The current day flight deck operational environment consists of a two-person Captain/First Officer crew. A concept of operations (ConOps) to reduce the commercial cockpit to a single pilot from the current two pilot crew is termed Single Pilot Operations (SPO). This concept has been under study by researchers in the Flight Deck Display Research Laboratory (FDDRL) at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Ames (Johnson, Comerford, Lachter, Battiste, Feary, and Mogford, 2012) and researchers from Langley Research Centers (Schutte et al., 2007). Transitioning from a two pilot crew to a single pilot crew will undoubtedly require changes in operational procedures, crew coordination, use of automation, and in how the roles and responsibilities of the flight deck and ATC are conceptualized in order to maintain the high levels of safety expected of the US National Airspace System. These modifications will affect the roles and the subsequent tasks that are required of the various operators in the NextGen environment. The current report outlines the process taken to identify and document the tasks required by the crew according to a number of operational scenarios studied by the FDDRL between the years 2012-2014. A baseline task decomposition has been refined to represent the tasks consistent with a new set of entities, tasks, roles, and responsibilities being explored by the FDDRL as the move is made towards SPO. Information from Subject Matter Expert interviews, participation in FDDRL experimental design meetings, and study observation was used to populate and refine task sets that were developed as part of the SPO task analyses. The task analysis is based upon the proposed ConOps for the third FDDRL SPO study. This experiment possessed nine different entities operating in six scenarios using a variety of SPO-related automation and procedural activities required to guide safe and efficient aircraft operations. The task analysis presents the roles and

  9. Management of radiation hazards in hospitals: plural rationalities in a single institution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rayner, S.

    1986-01-01

    This paper examines the perceptions of occupational radiological hazards in a small sample of American hospitals during an anthropological pilot study conducted in 1982. The results indicate that occupants of various occupational categories exhibit diverse behaviours toward medical radiation. These behaviours are consistent with grid/group classifications of each type of occupation. Various implications for risk management and institutional design are discussed in the context of different levels of trust in individual control and institutional procedures. (author)

  10. A Pilot Study on Single-dose Toxicity Testing of Scolopendrid Pharmacopuncture in Sprague-Dawley Rats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ilhong Son

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Objectives:This study was performed to analyze single dose toxicity and the lethal dose of Scolopendrid Pharmacopuncture in rats. Methods:All experiments were conducted at the Korea Testing & Research Institute (KTR, an institution authorized to perform non-clinical studies, under the regulations of Good Laboratory Practice (GLP. Sprague-Dawley rats were chosen for the pilot study. Doses of Scolopendrid pharmacopuncture, 0.1, 0.5, and 1.0 mL, were administered to the experimental group, and 1.0 mL doses of normal saline solution were administered to the control group. This study was conducted under the approval of the Institutional Animal Ethic Committee. Results:No deaths or abnormalities occurred in any of the groups. No significant changes in the weight, hematological parameters or clinical chemistry were noted between the control group and the experimental group. To check for abnormalities in organs and tissues, we used microscopy to examine representative histological sections of each specified organ; the results showed no significant differences in any of the organs or tissues. Conclusion:The above findings suggest Scolopendrid Pharmacopuncture is a relatively safe to use for treatment. Further studies on the subject should be conducted to yield more concrete evidence.

  11. Single-fraction vs. fractionated linac-based stereotactic radiosurgery for vestibular schwannoma: a single-institution study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Meijer, O. W. M.; Vandertop, W. P.; Baayen, J. C.; Slotman, B. J.

    2003-01-01

    PURPOSE: In this single-institution trial, we investigated whether fractionated stereotactic radiation therapy is superior to single-fraction linac-based radiosurgery with respect to treatment-related toxicity and local control in patients with vestibular schwannoma. METHODS AND MATERIALS: All 129

  12. Analysis of general aviation single-pilot IFR incident data obtained from the NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bergeron, H. P.

    1983-01-01

    An analysis of incident data obtained from the NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) has been made to determine the problem areas in general aviation single-pilot IFR (SPIFR) operations. The Aviation Safety Reporting System data base is a compilation of voluntary reports of incidents from any person who has observed or been involved in an occurrence which was believed to have posed a threat to flight safety. This paper examines only those reported incidents specifically related to general aviation single-pilot IFR operations. The frequency of occurrence of factors related to the incidents was the criterion used to define significant problem areas and, hence, to suggest where research is needed. The data was cataloged into one of five major problem areas: (1) controller judgment and response problems, (2) pilot judgment and response problems, (3) air traffic control (ATC) intrafacility and interfacility conflicts, (4) ATC and pilot communication problems, and (5) IFR-VFR conflicts. In addition, several points common to all or most of the problems were observed and reported. These included human error, communications, procedures and rules, and work load.

  13. A Pilot Model for the NASA Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue (SAFER) (Single-Axis Pitch Task)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Handley, Patrick Mark

    This thesis defines, tests, and validates a descriptive pilot model for a single-axis pitch control task of the Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue (SAFER). SAFER is a small propulsive jetpack used by astronauts for self-rescue. Pilot model research supports development of improved self-rescue strategies and technologies through insights into pilot behavior.This thesis defines a multi-loop pilot model. The innermost loop controls the hand controller, the middle loop controls pitch rate, and the outer loop controls pitch angle. A human-in-the-loop simulation was conducted to gather data from a human pilot. Quantitative and qualitative metrics both indicate that the model is an acceptable fit to the human data. Fuel consumption was nearly identical; time to task completion matched very well. There is some evidence that the model responds faster to initial pitch rates than the human, artificially decreasing the model's time to task completion. This pilot model is descriptive, not predictive, of the human pilot. Insights are made into pilot behavior from this research. Symmetry implies that the human responds to positive and negative initial conditions with the same strategy. The human pilot appears indifferent to pitch angles within 0.5 deg, coasts at a constant pitch rate 1.09 deg/s, and has a reaction delay of 0.1 s.

  14. Gender difference in utilization willingness of institutional care among the single seniors: evidence from rural Shandong, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qian, Yangyang; Chu, Jie; Ge, Dandan; Zhang, Li; Sun, Long; Zhou, Chengchao

    2017-05-12

    Institutional care has become an urgent issue in rural China. Rural single seniors, compared with their counterparts, have lower income and are more vulnerable. Gender is also a significant factor determining long-term institutional care. This study is designed to examine the gender difference towards utilization willingness of institutional care among rural single seniors. A total of 505 rural single seniors were included in the analysis. Binary logistic regression model was used to examine the gender difference towards utilization willingness for institutional care, and also to identify the determinants of the utilization willingness for institutional care among rural single male and female seniors. Our study found that about 5.7% rural single seniors had willingness for institutional care in Shandong, China. Single females were found to be less willing for institutional care than single males in rural areas (OR = 0.19; 95 CI 0.06-0.57). It's also found that psychological stress was associated with institutionalization willingness in both single males (P = 0.045) and single females (P = 0.013) in rural China. The rural single seniors who lived alone were found to be more willing for institutional care both in males (P = 0.032) and females (P = 0.002) compared with those who lived with children or others. This study found that there was a gender difference towards utilization willingness for institutional care among single seniors in rural China. Factors including psychological stress and living arrangements were determinants of institutionalization willingness both in single males and females. Targeted policies should be made for rural single seniors of different gender.

  15. Institutional Repositories: The Experience of Master's and Baccalaureate Institutions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Markey, Karen; St. Jean, Beth; Soo, Young Rieh; Yakel, Elizabeth; Kim, Jihyun

    2008-01-01

    In 2006, MIRACLE Project investigators censused library directors at all U.S. academic institutions about their activities planning, pilot testing, and implementing the institutional repositories on their campuses. Out of 446 respondents, 289 (64.8 percent) were from master's and baccalaureate institutions (M&BIs) where few operational…

  16. Development and Pilot Testing of a Food Safety Curriculum for Managers and Staff of Residential Childcare Institutions (RCCIs)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pivarnik, Lori F.; Patnoad, Martha S.; Nyachuba, David; McLandsborough, Lynne; Couto, Stephen; Hagan, Elsina E.; Breau, Marti

    2013-01-01

    Food safety training materials, targeted for residential childcare institution (RCCI) staff of facilities of 20 residents or less, were developed, piloted, and evaluated. The goal was to assist in the implementation of a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP)-based food safety plan as required by Food and Nutrition Service/United States…

  17. Pilot-model measurements of pilot responses in a lateral-directional control task

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adams, J. J.

    1976-01-01

    Pilot response during an aircraft bank-angle compensatory control task was measured by using an adaptive modeling technique. In the main control loop, which is the bank angle to aileron command loop, the pilot response was the same as that measured previously in single-input, single-output systems. The pilot used a rudder to aileron control coordination that canceled up to 80 percent of the vehicle yawing moment due to aileron deflection.

  18. Task Allocation for Single Pilot Operations: A Role for the Ground

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Walter; Lachter, Joel; Feary, Mike; Comerford, Doreen; Battiste, Vernol; Mogford, Richard

    2012-01-01

    Researchers at NASA Ames Research Center and NASA Langley Research Center are jointly investigating issues associated with potential configurations for an environment in which a single pilot, or reduced crew, might operate. The research summarized in this document represents several of the efforts being put forth at NASA Ames Research Center. Specifically, researchers at NASA Ames Research Center coordinated and hosted a technical interchange meeting in order to gain insight from members of the aviation community. A description of this meeting and the findings are presented first. Thereafter, plans for ensuing research are presented.

  19. Pilot study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hofmeester, G.H.; Swart, A.; Dijk, E. van

    1984-01-01

    In May 1980 it was decided to organize an intercomparison of personal dosimeters for photon radiations. The Commission of the European Communities initiated the intercomparison by starting a pilot study in which three laboratories NPL (United Kingdom), PTB (Germany) and RIV (The Netherlands) were asked to irradiate a series of personal dosemeters from institutes, GSF (Muenchen), CEA (Fontenay-aux-Roses), CNEN (Bologna) and CEGB (Berkeley). The latter institutes are secondary standard laboratories and have a radiation protection service as well. A new aspect of this pilot study is the fact that the irradiations also take place in front of a phantom. Irradiations took place in July and August 1980. The results of 4 institutes show that the personal dosemeters are quite capable of measuring the backscattered photon components

  20. Evolution of the pilot infrastructure of CMS towards a single glideinWMS pool

    CERN Document Server

    Gutsche, Oliver

    2013-01-01

    CMS production and analysis job submission is based largely on glideinWMS and pilot submissions. The transition from multiple different submission solutions like gLite WMS and HTCondor-based implementations was carried out over years and is coming now to a conclusion. The historically explained separate glideinWMS pools for different types of production jobs and analysis jobs are being unified into a single global pool. This enables CMS to benefit from global prioritization and scheduling possibilities. It also presents the sites with only one kind of pilots and eliminates the need of having to make scheduling decisions on the CE level. This paper provides an analysis of the benefits of a unified resource pool, as well as a description of the resulting global policy. It will explain the technical challenges moving forward and present solutions to some of them.

  1. Evolution of the pilot infrastructure of CMS: towards a single glideinWMS pool

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belforte, S.; Gutsche, O.; Letts, J.; Majewski, K.; McCrea, A.; Sfiligoi, I.

    2014-06-01

    CMS production and analysis job submission is based largely on glideinWMS and pilot submissions. The transition from multiple different submission solutions like gLite WMS and HTCondor-based implementations was carried out over years and is coming now to a conclusion. The historically explained separate glideinWMS pools for different types of production jobs and analysis jobs are being unified into a single global pool. This enables CMS to benefit from global prioritization and scheduling possibilities. It also presents the sites with only one kind of pilots and eliminates the need of having to make scheduling decisions on the CE level. This paper provides an analysis of the benefits of a unified resource pool, as well as a description of the resulting global policy. It will explain the technical challenges moving forward and present solutions to some of them.

  2. Evolution of the pilot infrastructure of CMS: towards a single glideinWMS pool

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Belforte, S; Gutsche, O; Majewski, K; Letts, J; McCrea, A; Sfiligoi, I

    2014-01-01

    CMS production and analysis job submission is based largely on glideinWMS and pilot submissions. The transition from multiple different submission solutions like gLite WMS and HTCondor-based implementations was carried out over years and is coming now to a conclusion. The historically explained separate glideinWMS pools for different types of production jobs and analysis jobs are being unified into a single global pool. This enables CMS to benefit from global prioritization and scheduling possibilities. It also presents the sites with only one kind of pilots and eliminates the need of having to make scheduling decisions on the CE level. This paper provides an analysis of the benefits of a unified resource pool, as well as a description of the resulting global policy. It will explain the technical challenges moving forward and present solutions to some of them.

  3. Gender difference in utilization willingness of institutional care among the single seniors: evidence from rural Shandong, China

    OpenAIRE

    Qian, Yangyang; Chu, Jie; Ge, Dandan; Zhang, Li; Sun, Long; Zhou, Chengchao

    2017-01-01

    Background Institutional care has become an urgent issue in rural China. Rural single seniors, compared with their counterparts, have lower income and are more vulnerable. Gender is also a significant factor determining long-term institutional care. This study is designed to examine the gender difference towards utilization willingness of institutional care among rural single seniors. Methods A total of 505 rural single seniors were included in the analysis. Binary logistic regression model w...

  4. Evolution of the pilot infrastructure of CMS towards a single glideinWMS pool

    OpenAIRE

    Gutsche, Oliver

    2013-01-01

    CMS production and analysis job submission is based largely on glideinWMS and pilot submissions. The transition from multiple different submission solutions like gLite WMS and HTCondor-based implementations was carried out over years and is coming now to a conclusion. The historically explained separate glideinWMS pools for different types of production jobs and analysis jobs are being unified into a single global pool. This enables CMS to benefit from global prioritization and scheduling pos...

  5. A pilot eduroam service at CERN

    CERN Multimedia

    2013-01-01

    Eduroam is a secure, worldwide roaming Wi-Fi access service developed for the international research and education community. It allows people from participating institutions to obtain an Internet connection when visiting other participating institutions by simply opening their laptop.   A pilot eduroam service has been available in IT for some months. Now this pilot service will be extended to most parts of the CERN site from early January. Introduction of this pilot service brings two advantages: CERN users who register with the eduroam service here at CERN will have easy and quick access to Wi-Fi services at many other academic institutions across Europe and beyond;   People visiting CERN from other eduroam institutes will be able to connect to the Wi-Fi network at CERN without waiting for a network connection request to be approved. Being a eduroam user obviously has advantages but, like many computing services, eduroam provides a way for malicious people to steal passwords...

  6. A pilot eduroam service at CERN

    CERN Multimedia

    2014-01-01

    Eduroam is a secure, worldwide roaming Wi-Fi access service developed for the international research and education community. It allows people from participating institutions to obtain an Internet connection when visiting other participating institutions by simply opening their laptop.   A pilot eduroam service has been available in IT for some months. Now this pilot service will be extended to most parts of the CERN site from early January. Introduction of this pilot service brings two advantages: CERN users who register with the eduroam service here at CERN will have easy and quick access to Wi-Fi services at many other academic institutions across Europe and beyond;   People visiting CERN from other eduroam institutes will be able to connect to the Wi-Fi network at CERN without waiting for a network connection request to be approved. Being a eduroam user obviously has advantages but, like many computing services, eduroam provides a way for malicious people to steal passwords...

  7. Scientific, institutional, regulatory, political, and public acceptance of the waste isolation pilot plant transuranic waste repository

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eriksson, L.G.

    2000-01-01

    The recent successful certification and opening of a first-of-a-kind, deep geological repository for safe disposal of long-lived, transuranic radioactive waste (TRUW) at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) site, New Mexico, United States of America (USA), embody both long-standing local and wide-spread, gradually achieved, scientific, institutional, regulatory, political, and public acceptance. The related historical background and development are outlined and the main contributors to the successful siting, certification, and acceptance of the WIPP TRUW repository, which may also serve as a model to success for other radioactive waste disposal programs, are described. (author)

  8. Implementation and flight-test of a multi-mode rotorcraft flight-control system for single-pilot use in poor visibility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hindson, William S.

    1987-01-01

    A flight investigation was conducted to evaluate a multi-mode flight control system designed according to the most recent recommendations for handling qualities criteria for new military helicopters. The modes and capabilities that were included in the system are those considered necessary to permit divided-attention (single-pilot) lowspeed and hover operations near the ground in poor visibility conditions. Design features included mode-selection and mode-blending logic, the use of an automatic position-hold mode that employed precision measurements of aircraft position, and a hover display which permitted manually-controlled hover flight tasks in simulated instrument conditions. Pilot evaluations of the system were conducted using a multi-segment evaluation task. Pilot comments concerning the use of the system are provided, and flight-test data are presented to show system performance.

  9. Pediatric colonic volvulus: A single-institution experience and review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tannouri, Sami; Hendi, Aditi; Gilje, Elizabeth; Grissom, Leslie; Katz, Douglas

    2017-06-01

    Pediatric colonic volvulus is both rare and underreported. Existing literature consists only of case reports and small series. We present an analysis of cases (n=11) over 15 years at a single institution, focusing on workup and diagnosis. This was an institutional review board approved single-institution retrospective chart review of 11 cases of large bowel volvulus occurring over 15 years (2000-2015). In our series, the most common presenting symptoms were abdominal pain and distention. Afflicted patients often had prior abdominal surgery, a neurodevelopmental disorder or chronic constipation. Of the imaging modalities utilized in the 11 patients studied, colonic volvulus was correctly diagnosed by barium enema in 100% of both cases, CT in 55.6% of cases and by plain radiography of the abdomen in only 22.2%of cases. Colonic volvulus was confirmed by laparotomy in all cases. The cecum (n=5) was the most often affected colonic segment, followed by the sigmoid (n=3). Operative treatment mainly consisted of resection (63.6%) and ostomy creation (36.4%). Colopexy was performed in 18.2% of cases. Plain abdominal radiography may be performed as an initial diagnostic study, however, it should be followed CT or air or contrast enema in children where there is high clinical suspicion and who do not have indications for immediate laparotomy. CT may be the most specific and useful test in diagnosis of colonic volvulus and has the added advantage of detection of complications including bowel ischemia. We demonstrate a range of diagnostic and therapeutic modalities for pediatric colonic volvulus. This underscores the need for further study to draft standard best practices for this life-threatening condition. Prognosis Study: Level IV. Study of a Diagnostic Test: Level III. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Six-year clinical outcome of single implant-retained mandibular overdentures--a pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Passia, Nicole; Wolfart, Stefan; Kern, Matthias

    2015-10-01

    The aim of this prospective pilot study was to evaluate the prosthodontic maintenance as well as the implant outcome of single implant-retained mandibular overdentures over an observation period of 6 years. Eleven edentulous patients received one single implant in the midline of the mandible. Denture bases were temporarily relined and 2 months later provided with a ball attachment for implant retention. Implant related parameters and prosthodontic maintenance interventions were assessed 4 weeks after implant loading and then once a year. Over a mean observation period of 75.9 months, no implant was lost. The most frequent prosthetic maintenance intervention was activation of the matrix due to loss of retention, followed by exchange of the female part. Eight denture bases had to be repaired after a fracture in the midline area. Within the limitations of this preliminary clinical study, the concept of a single midline implant to retain a mandibular complete denture was a successful treatment option for elderly edentulous patients. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  11. PULSE Pilot Certification Results

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pamela Pape-Lindstrom

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The pilot certification process is an ambitious, nationwide endeavor designed to motivate important changes in life sciences education that are in line with the recommendations of the 2011 Vision and Change Report: A Call to Action (American Association for the Advancement of Science [AAAS], 2011.  It is the goal of the certification process to acknowledge departments that have progressed towards full implementation of the tenets of Vision and Change and to motivate departments that have not begun to adopt the recommendations to consider doing so.  More than 70 life science departments applied to be part of the pilot certification process, funded by a National Science Foundation grant, and eight were selected based on initial evidence of transformed and innovative educational practices.  The programs chosen represent a wide variety of schools, including two-year colleges, liberal-arts institutions, regional comprehensive colleges, research universities and minority serving institutions.  Outcomes from this pilot were released June 1, 2015 (www.pulsecommunity.org, with all eight programs being recognized as having progressed along a continuum of change.  Five levels of achievement were defined as PULSE Pilot Progression Levels.  Of the eight departments in the pilot, one achieved “PULSE Progression Level III: Accomplished”.  Six departments achieved “PULSE Progression Level II: Developing” and one pilot department achieved “PULSE Progression Level I: Beginning”.  All of the schools have made significant movement towards the recommendations of Vision and Change relative to a traditional life sciences curriculum.  Overall, the response from the eight pilot schools has been positive. 

  12. Evaluation of homoeopathic treatment in polycystic ovary syndrome: A single-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled pilot study

    OpenAIRE

    Chetna Deep Lamba; Praveen Oberai; Raj K Manchanda; Padmalaya Rath; P Hima Bindu; Maya Padmanabhan

    2018-01-01

    Background and Objectives: This study was conducted with the primary objective of evaluating efficacy of Homoeopathy in establishing the menstrual regularity with improvement in either ultrasonological findings or hirsutism/acne. The quality of life was also assessed using polycystic ovary syndrome questionnaire (PCOSQ). Materials and Methods: A single-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled pilot study was conducted from February 2014 to May 2015 at two research centres. The cases fulfilling t...

  13. The effect of a cognitive-motor intervention on voluntary step execution under single and dual task conditions in older adults: a randomized controlled pilot study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pichierri G

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Giuseppe Pichierri,1 Amos Coppe,1 Silvio Lorenzetti,2 Kurt Murer,1 Eling D de Bruin11Institute of Human Movement Sciences and Sport, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, Switzerland; 2Institute for Biomechanics, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, SwitzerlandBackground: This randomized controlled pilot study aimed to explore whether a cognitive-motor exercise program that combines traditional physical exercise with dance video gaming can improve the voluntary stepping responses of older adults under attention demanding dual task conditions.Methods: Elderly subjects received twice weekly cognitive-motor exercise that included progressive strength and balance training supplemented by dance video gaming for 12 weeks (intervention group. The control group received no specific intervention. Voluntary step execution under single and dual task conditions was recorded at baseline and post intervention (Week 12.Results: After intervention between-group comparison revealed significant differences for initiation time of forward steps under dual task conditions (U = 9, P = 0.034, r = 0.55 and backward steps under dual task conditions (U = 10, P = 0.045, r = 0.52 in favor of the intervention group, showing altered stepping levels in the intervention group compared to the control group.Conclusion: A cognitive-motor intervention based on strength and balance exercises with additional dance video gaming is able to improve voluntary step execution under both single and dual task conditions in older adults.Keywords: fall prevention, exercise, dance, video game

  14. Expertise on the project for the decommissioning of the pilot incineration plant at the Paul Scherrer Institute

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2012-12-01

    This expertise report published by the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate ENSI takes a look at the proposed decommissioning of the pilot incineration plant at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI in Switzerland. Details concerning the operator PSI, the installation, the documentation and criteria used in the expertise are presented. Experience in the decommissioning of nuclear installations is reviewed. Decommissioning variants and the concept proposed are described and details concerning radiation sources and problematical materials such as asbestos are reviewed. The views of the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate ENSI are presented and proposals for the disposal of radioactive wastes are examined. Finally, the costs incurred are reviewed

  15. The Pilot Staffing Conundrum: A Delphi Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-06-01

    Project, AFIT/ GMO /LAL/98J-2. School of Logistics and Acquisition Management, Air Force Institute of Technology (AU), Wright Patterson AFB, OH, June...Kafer, John H. Relationship of Airline Pilot Demand and Air Force Pilot Retention. Graduate Research Project, AFIT/ GMO /LAL/98J-11. School of Logistics

  16. Postoperative urinary retention after inguinal hernia repair: a single institution experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blair, A B; Dwarakanath, A; Mehta, A; Liang, H; Hui, X; Wyman, C; Ouanes, J P P; Nguyen, H T

    2017-12-01

    Inguinal hernia repair is a common general surgery procedure with low morbidity. However, postoperative urinary retention (PUR) occurs in up to 22% of patients, resulting in further extraneous treatments.This single institution series investigates whether patient comorbidities, surgical approaches, and anesthesia methods are associated with developing PUR after inguinal hernia repairs. This is a single institution retrospective review of inguinal hernia from 2012 to 2015. PUR was defined as patients without a postoperative urinary catheter who subsequently required bladder decompression due to an inability to void. Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were performed to quantify the associations between patient, surgical, and anesthetic factors with PUR. Stratification analysis was conducted at age of 50 years. 445 patients were included (42.9% laparoscopic and 57.1% open). Overall rate of PUR was 11.2% (12% laparoscopic, 10.6% open, and p = 0.64). In univariate analysis, PUR was significantly associated with patient age >50 and history of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Risk stratification for age >50 revealed in this cohort a 2.49 times increased PUR risk with lack of intraoperative bladder decompression (p = 0.013). At our institution, we found that patient age, history of BPH, and bilateral repair were associated with PUR after inguinal hernia repair. No association was found with PUR and laparoscopic vs open approach. Older males may be at higher risk without intraoperative bladder decompression, and therefore, catheter placement should be considered in this population, regardless of surgical approach.

  17. Basic Pilot Code Development for Two-Fluid, Three-Field Model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jeong, Jae Jun; Bae, S. W.; Lee, Y. J.; Chung, B. D.; Hwang, M.; Ha, K. S.; Kang, D. H.

    2006-03-01

    A basic pilot code for one-dimensional, transient, two-fluid, three-field model has been developed. Using 9 conceptual problems, the basic pilot code has been verified. The results of the verification are summarized below: - It was confirmed that the basic pilot code can simulate various flow conditions (such as single-phase liquid flow, bubbly flow, slug/churn turbulent flow, annular-mist flow, and single-phase vapor flow) and transitions of the flow conditions. A mist flow was not simulated, but it seems that the basic pilot code can simulate mist flow conditions. - The pilot code was programmed so that the source terms of the governing equations and numerical solution schemes can be easily tested. - The mass and energy conservation was confirmed for single-phase liquid and single-phase vapor flows. - It was confirmed that the inlet pressure and velocity boundary conditions work properly. - It was confirmed that, for single- and two-phase flows, the velocity and temperature of non-existing phase are calculated as intended. - During the simulation of a two-phase flow, the calculation reaches a quasisteady state with small-amplitude oscillations. The oscillations seem to be induced by some numerical causes. The research items for the improvement of the basic pilot code are listed in the last section of this report

  18. Basic Pilot Code Development for Two-Fluid, Three-Field Model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jeong, Jae Jun; Bae, S. W.; Lee, Y. J.; Chung, B. D.; Hwang, M.; Ha, K. S.; Kang, D. H

    2006-03-15

    A basic pilot code for one-dimensional, transient, two-fluid, three-field model has been developed. Using 9 conceptual problems, the basic pilot code has been verified. The results of the verification are summarized below: - It was confirmed that the basic pilot code can simulate various flow conditions (such as single-phase liquid flow, bubbly flow, slug/churn turbulent flow, annular-mist flow, and single-phase vapor flow) and transitions of the flow conditions. A mist flow was not simulated, but it seems that the basic pilot code can simulate mist flow conditions. - The pilot code was programmed so that the source terms of the governing equations and numerical solution schemes can be easily tested. - The mass and energy conservation was confirmed for single-phase liquid and single-phase vapor flows. - It was confirmed that the inlet pressure and velocity boundary conditions work properly. - It was confirmed that, for single- and two-phase flows, the velocity and temperature of non-existing phase are calculated as intended. - During the simulation of a two-phase flow, the calculation reaches a quasisteady state with small-amplitude oscillations. The oscillations seem to be induced by some numerical causes. The research items for the improvement of the basic pilot code are listed in the last section of this report.

  19. Demographics of Head and Neck Cancer Patients: A Single Institution Experience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kitanova, Martina; Dzhenkov, Deyan L; Ghenev, Peter; Sapundzhiev, Nikolay

    2017-01-01

    Introduction Head and neck cancer (HNC) comprises a diverse group of oncological entities, originating from various tissue types and organ localizations, situated in the topographical regions of the head and neck (H&N). This single institution retrospective study was aimed at establishing the HNC patient demographics and categorizing the individual incidence of H&N malignancies, regarding their organ of origin and main histopathological type. Materials and methods All histologically verified cases of HNC from a single tertiary referral center were reviewed in a descriptive retrospective manner. Data sampling period was 47 months. Results Male to female ratio of the registered HNC cases was 3.24:1. The mean age of diagnosis was 63.84 ± 12.65 years, median 65 years. The most common HNC locations include the larynx 30.37% (n = 188), lips and oral cavity 29.08% (n = 180), pharynx 20.03% (n = 124) and salivary glands 10.94% (n = 68), with other locations such as the external nose, nasal cavity and sinuses and auricle and external ear canal harboring a minority of the cases. The main histopathological groups include squamous cell carcinoma 76.74% (n = 475) and adenocarcinoma 6.14% (n = 38), with other malignant entries such as other epithelial malignancies, primary tonsillar, mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue or parenchymal lymphomas, connective tissue neoplasias, neuroendocrine and vascular malignancies diagnosed in a minority of cases. Conclusion Considered to be relatively rare, HNC represents a diverse group of oncological entities with individual and specific demographic characteristics. The reported single institution results appear representative of the national incidence and characteristics of HNC. PMID:28875091

  20. Pilot Evaluation of the Feasibility and Acceptability of StressOFF Strategies: A Single-Session School-Based Stress Management Program for Adolescents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shapiro, Amy J.; Heath, Nancy L.; Carsley, Dana

    2016-01-01

    The present study reports the pilot evaluation of the feasibility and acceptability of StressOFF Strategies, a "single-session" (45 min) adolescent-targeted, school-based psychoeducational program, which introduces cognitive behavioral techniques and mindfulness-based techniques. Five hundred and sixty-five Grade 9 students (57% female;…

  1. Varenicline for opioid withdrawal in patients with chronic pain: a randomized, single-blinded, placebo controlled pilot trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hooten, W Michael; Warner, David O

    2015-03-01

    The objectives of this randomized, single-blinded, placebo-controlled pilot trial were to investigate the effects of varenicline on opioid withdrawal among chronic pain patients undergoing opioid detoxification in an interdisciplinary pain program and the feasibility of varenicline use in this population. Twenty-one patients were recruited (varenicline=10, placebo=11), and 7 patients in the varenicline and 11 in the placebo group completed the study. Opioid withdrawal was quantified using the Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale, and varenicline-related adverse effects were assessed. Opioid withdrawal scores tended to decrease over the course of opioid tapering in those receiving varenicline and increase in those receiving placebo. Varenicline was well-tolerated in this population, with no adverse drug effects (including nausea) observed and no effect on improvements in pain severity and depression. This randomized pilot study provides preliminary data for future trials of varenicline in opioid-dependent adults with chronic pain undergoing medically directed opioid detoxification. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. How To Make the Most of Your Human: Design Considerations for Single Pilot Operations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schutte, Paul C.

    2015-01-01

    Reconsidering the function allocation between automation and the pilot in the flight deck is the next step in improving aviation safety. The current allocation, based on who does what best, makes poor use of the pilot's resources and abilities. In some cases it may actually handicap pilots from performing their role. Improving pilot performance first lies in defining the role of the pilot - why a human is needed in the first place. The next step is allocating functions based on the needs of that role (rather than fitness), then using automation to target specific human weaknesses in performing that role. Examples are provided (some of which could be implemented in conventional cockpits now). Along the way, the definition of human error and the idea that eliminating/automating the pilot will reduce instances of human error will be challenged.

  3. Observing Literacy Practices in Neighbor Institutions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Reusch, Charlotte

    ’procedures on language and literacy. Based on this material, we developed an observation scheme and a guide for preschool teachers to follow, inspired by an action learning concept.During fall 2015, a pilot project is carried out. Preschool teachers from one institution visit a neighbor institution one by one during...... work hours, in order to observe and register how language and literacy events look like there. Afterwards, they share their registrations at a team meeting, and discuss and decide which procedures to test in their own institution. Thus, they form a professional learning network. In the pilot project......The Danish National Centre for Reading and a municipality in southern Denmark cooperate to develop a program to improve preschool children’s early literacy skills. The project aims to support preschool teachers’ ability to create a rich literacy environment for children age 3‒6. Recent research...

  4. How institutions matter for international business : Institutional distance effects vs institutional profile effects

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Hoorn, Andre; Maseland, Robbert

    Extant institutional research has failed to make a distinction between the effects of institutional profile and institutional distance on MNEs. The problem stems from the fact that, due to the use of a single reference country, variation in institutional distance between the reference country and

  5. ORIGINAL ARTICLE ORIG ORIGI A pilot study evaluating erect chest ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2009-11-19

    Nov 19, 2009 ... South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative, Institute of Infectious Diseases ... After obtaining consent from departmental and institutional ethics com- mittees, a pilot study ... informed consent from parents or legal guardians.

  6. Effects of single moor baths on physiological stress response and psychological state: a pilot study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stier-Jarmer, M.; Frisch, D.; Oberhauser, C.; Immich, G.; Kirschneck, M.; Schuh, A.

    2017-11-01

    Moor mud applications in the form of packs and baths are widely used therapeutically as part of balneotherapy. They are commonly given as therapy for musculoskeletal disorders, with their thermo-physical effects being furthest studied. Moor baths are one of the key therapeutic elements in our recently developed and evaluated 3-week prevention program for subjects with high stress level and increased risk of developing a burnout syndrome. An embedded pilot study add-on to this core project was carried out to assess the relaxing effect of a single moor bath. During the prevention program, 78 participants received a total of seven moor applications, each consisting of a moor bath (42 °C, 20 min, given between 02:30 and 05:20 p.m.) followed by resting period (20 min). Before and after the first moor application in week 1, and the penultimate moor application in week 3, salivary cortisol was collected, blood pressure and heart rate were measured, and mood state (Multidimensional Mood State Questionnaire) was assessed. A Friedman test of differences among repeated measures was conducted. Post hoc analyses were performed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. A significant decrease in salivary cortisol concentration was seen between pre- and post-moor bath in week 1 ( Z = -3.355, p = 0.0008). A non-significant decrease was seen between pre- and post-moor bath in week 3. Mood state improved significantly after both moor baths. This pilot study has provided initial evidence on the stress-relieving effects of single moor baths, which can be a sensible and recommendable therapeutic element of multimodal stress-reducing prevention programs. The full potential of moor baths still needs to be validated. A randomized controlled trial should be conducted comparing this balneo-therapeutic approach against other types of stress reduction interventions.

  7. Single-crystal and polycrystalline diamond erosion studies in Pilot-PSI

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kogut, D.; Aussems, D.; Ning, N.; Bystrov, K.; Gicquel, A.; Achard, J.; Brinza, O.; Addab, Y.; Martin, C.; Pardanaud, C.; Khrapak, S.; Cartry, G.

    2018-03-01

    Diamond is a promising candidate for enhancing the negative-ion surface production in the ion sources for neutral injection in fusion reactors; hence evaluation of its reactivity towards hydrogen plasma is of high importance. Single crystal and polycrystalline diamond samples were exposed in Pilot-PSI with the D+ flux of (4‒7)·1024 m-2s-1 and the impact energy of 7-9 eV per deuteron at different surface temperatures; under such conditions physical sputtering is negligible, however chemical sputtering is important. Net chemical sputtering yield Y = 9.7·10-3 at/ion at 800 °C was precisely measured ex-situ using a protective platinum mask (5 × 10 × 2 μm) deposited beforehand on a single crystal followed by the post-mortem analysis using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The structural properties of the exposed diamond surface were analyzed by Raman spectroscopy and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). Gross chemical sputtering yields were determined in-situ by means of optical emission spectroscopy of the molecular CH A-X band for several surface temperatures. A bell-shaped dependence of the erosion yield versus temperature between 400 °C and 1200 °C was observed, with a maximum yield of ∼1.5·10-2 at/ion attained at 900 °C. The yields obtained for diamond are relatively high (0.5-1.5)·10-2 at/ion, comparable with those of graphite. XPS analysis shows amorphization of diamond surface within 1 nm depth, in a good agreement with molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. MD was also applied to study the hydrogen impact energy threshold for erosion of [100] diamond surface at different temperatures.

  8. Piloting a deceased subject integrated data repository and protecting privacy of relatives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huser, Vojtech; Kayaalp, Mehmet; Dodd, Zeyno A; Cimino, James J

    2014-01-01

    Use of deceased subject Electronic Health Records can be an important piloting platform for informatics or biomedical research. Existing legal framework allows such research under less strict de-identification criteria; however, privacy of non-decedent must be protected. We report on creation of the decease subject Integrated Data Repository (dsIDR) at National Institutes of Health, Clinical Center and a pilot methodology to remove secondary protected health information or identifiable information (secondary PxI; information about persons other than the primary patient). We characterize available structured coded data in dsIDR and report the estimated frequencies of secondary PxI, ranging from 12.9% (sensitive token presence) to 1.1% (using stricter criteria). Federating decedent EHR data from multiple institutions can address sample size limitations and our pilot study provides lessons learned and methodology that can be adopted by other institutions.

  9. Humboldt SK pilot biodigester receives funding

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Anon.

    2005-09-30

    The Canada-Saskatchewan Western Economic Partnership Agreement (WEPA) will provide funding for Canada's first pilot-scale biodigester to be built in Humboldt, Saskatchewan. The $208,138 pilot facility will use household garbage as well as agricultural waste such as manure and livestock operations, abattoirs and food processing to create heat or power and fertilizer. Support for this bio-energy facility, which could also reduce greenhouse gases, will come from the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute which has received $186,138 from Canada and Saskatchewan in the form of cost-shared federal-provincial funding. The pilot plant will test different combinations of waste material feedstocks and the characteristics of the resulting gas end products. The pilot facility will also provide design information for full-scale biodigester manufacturers in Canada. It is expected that 25 full-scale biodigesters will be constructed in Canada in the near future.

  10. Single-Pilot Workload Management in Entry-Level Jets

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-09-01

    attention among them in an intricate dance commonly referred to as multitasking or concurrent task management (Chou, Madhaven, & Funk, 1996; Hoover & Russ...if they were interested in participating. One hundred one pilots responded and were sent, via email , a copy of the NASA Informed Consent form and...comfortable multitasking and dividing their attention between things such as talking to ATC and mak- ing power adjustments during the descent. All seven of

  11. Performance of water distribution systems in a pilot cooling tower

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tognotti, L.; Giacomelli, A.; Zanelli, S.; Bellagamba, B.; Lotti, G.; Mattachini, F.

    1990-01-01

    An experimental study has been carried out on the water distribution system of a Pilot cooling tower of 160 m 3 /hr The performances of different industrial water distributors have been evaluated by changing the operative conditions of the pilot tower. In particular, the efficiency and the uniformity of the water distribution have been investigated and compared with the results obtained in a small-scale loop, in which the single nozzles were tested. Measurements in both systems, pilot tower and small scale loop, included the geometric characteristics of the jet umbrella by ensemble photography, the wetted zone by measuring the specific flowrate, the drop-size distribution and liquid concentration by high-speed photography. The results show that correlations exist between the nozzle behaviour in single and pilot tower configuration. The uniformity of water distribution in the pilot tower is strongly related to the nozzle installation pattern and to the operative conditions. Coalescence plays an important role on the drop size distribution in the pilot-tower. Comments upon the influence of these parameters on tower behaviour are also included

  12. Effect of Facial Cosmetic Acupuncture on Facial Elasticity: An Open-Label, Single-Arm Pilot Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Younghee Yun

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. The use of acupuncture for cosmetic purposes has gained popularity worldwide. Facial cosmetic acupuncture (FCA is applied to the head, face, and neck. However, little evidence supports the efficacy and safety of FCA. We hypothesized that FCA affects facial elasticity by restoring resting mimetic muscle tone through the insertion of needles into the muscles of the head, face, and neck. Methods. This open-label, single-arm pilot study was implemented at Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong from August through September 2011. Participants were women aged 40 to 59 years with a Glogau photoaging scale III. Participants received five treatment sessions over three weeks. Participants were measured before and after FCA. The primary outcome was the Moire topography criteria. The secondary outcome was a patient-oriented self-assessment scale of facial elasticity. Results. Among 50 women screened, 28 were eligible and 27 completed the five FCA treatment sessions. A significant improvement after FCA treatment was evident according to mean change in Moire topography criteria (from 1.70 ± 0.724 to 2.26 ± 1.059, P<0.0001. The most common adverse event was mild bruising at the needle site. Conclusions. In this pilot study, FCA showed promising results as a therapy for facial elasticity. However, further large-scale trials with a controlled design and objective measurements are needed.

  13. Research ethics across the 49th parallel: the potential value of pilot testing "equivalent protections" in Canadian research institutions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lavery, James V; McDonald, Michael; Meslin, Eric M

    2005-01-01

    Canada and the United States share the world's largest trade partnership and an increasing concern about divergent regulatory approaches to common industries. Canadian research institutes receive more research funding from the U.S. National Institutes of Health than any other country, much of it to fund multi-centre and collaborative research between the two countries. Because of these close economic and research ties, and the extensive similarities between the two countries in the review and oversight of ethics in human subjects research, we propose that Canada would be an ideal country for a pilot-test of the feasibility of "equivalent protections," a U.S. regulation that permits comparison of protections for human subjects between institutions in the two countries. The "equivalent protections" has been advocated by various bodies in the United States as a potentially beneficial mechanism for improving oversight of foreign trials. As well, we argue that "equivalent protections" could prove to be valuable for Canada in five specific ways: (1) by potentially reducing administrative burden on Canadian research institutions administering U.S. federal research funding; (2) by creating symbolic value of an explicit recognition by the United States that procedures normally followed for the protection of human subjects in Canadian research institutions are at least equivalent to those provided by the U.S. regulations; (3) by lowering the opportunity cost of investing in research in Canada; (4) by affording Canada an opportunity to enhance its leadership role in international research by offering an alternative to the U.S. regulatory model for the protection of human subjects; and (5) by providing a model for how the idea of equivalent protections might be addressed for research funded by Canadian agencies but conducted in other countries.

  14. D22 Analysis of Pilot

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Boyle, Elizabeth; MacGregor, Sharon; Van Rosmalen, Peter; Manea, Madalina; Penanen, Tiina

    2015-01-01

    The evaluation of the CHERMUG games was carried out in 3 phases which contributed in different ways to the game development and evaluation. Different cohorts of staff and students were involved in each phase and a detailed account of the list of pilot institutions is shown in Deliverable 21. Phase 1

  15. Single-port laparoscopy in gynecologic oncology: seven years of experience at a single institution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moulton, Laura; Jernigan, Amelia M; Carr, Caitlin; Freeman, Lindsey; Escobar, Pedro F; Michener, Chad M

    2017-11-01

    Single-port laparoscopy has gained popularity within minimally invasive gynecologic surgery for its feasibility, cosmetic outcomes, and safety. However, within gynecologic oncology, there are limited data regarding short-term adverse outcomes and long-term hernia risk in patients undergoing single-port laparoscopic surgery. The objective of the study was to describe short-term outcomes and hernia rates in patients after single-port laparoscopy in a gynecologic oncology practice. A retrospective, single-institution study was performed for patients who underwent single-port laparoscopy from 2009 to 2015. A univariate analysis was performed with χ 2 tests and Student t tests; Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards determined time to hernia development. A total of 898 patients underwent 908 surgeries with a median follow-up of 37.2 months. The mean age and body mass index were 55.7 years and 29.6 kg/m 2 , respectively. The majority were white (87.9%) and American Society of Anesthesiologists class II/III (95.5%). The majority of patients underwent surgery for adnexal masses (36.9%) and endometrial hyperplasia/cancer (37.3%). Most women underwent hysterectomy (62.7%) and removal of 1 or both fallopian tubes and/or ovaries (86%). Rate of adverse outcomes within 30 days, including reoperation (0.1%), intraoperative injury (1.4%), intensive care unit admission (0.4%), venous thromboembolism (0.3%), and blood transfusion, were low (0.8%). The rate of urinary tract infection was 2.8%; higher body mass index (P = .02), longer operative time (P = .02), smoking (P = .01), hysterectomy (P = .01), and cystoscopy (P = .02) increased the risk. The rate of incisional cellulitis was 3.5%. Increased estimated blood loss (P = .03) and endometrial cancer (P = .02) were independent predictors of incisional cellulitis. The rate for surgical readmissions was 3.4%; higher estimated blood loss (P = .03), longer operative time (P = .02), chemotherapy alone (P = .03), and

  16. Operation of a pilot plant for the maize desinfestation by irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Piedad Beneitez, A. de la.

    1975-01-01

    The paper describes the components and the operation of a pilot plant for radiation disinfestation of maize that has been set up at the Van de Graaff Accelerator Laboratory of the Physics Institute (Mexican National Autonomous University). The Laboratory is operated jointly by the Physics Institute and Technology Programme (National Nuclear Energy Institute). A section is included on the fundamentals and terminology relating to the applications of radiation. The present status of radiation disinfestation of maize in other countries is described, together with what has been achieved at this Laboratory. Another section deals in detail with the main components of the plant and its operation. Finally, the authors describe the experiments carried out with the plant to establish optimum conditions of operation prior to the irradiation of maize on a major scale. One such experiment involved determining the uniformity of the beam over the irradiation zone, for which purpose polyvinyl chloride films were used as dosimeters. The dose received by the maize in a single run past the irradiation head was likewise determined from the thermoluminescent response of powdered lithium fluoride irradiated in capsules along with the maize kernels. (author)

  17. A dual-task home-based rehabilitation programme for improving balance control in patients with acquired brain injury: a single-blind, randomized controlled pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peirone, Eliana; Goria, Paolo Filiberto; Anselmino, Arianna

    2014-04-01

    To evaluate the safety, feasibility and effectiveness of a dual-task home-based rehabilitation programme on balance impairments among adult patients with acquired brain injury. Single-blind, randomized controlled pilot study. Single rehabilitation centre. Sixteen participants between 12 and 18 months post-acquired brain injury with balance impairments and a score task home-based programme six days a week for seven weeks. The primary outcome measure was the Balance Evaluation System Test; secondary measures were the Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale and Goal Attainment Scaling. At the end of the pilot study, the intervention group showed significantly greater improvement in Balance Evaluation System Test scores (17.87, SD 6.05) vs. the control group (5.5, SD 3.53; P = 0.008, r = 0.63). There was no significant difference in improvement in Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale scores between the intervention group (25.25, SD 25.51) and the control group (7.00, SD 14.73; P = 0.11, r = 0.63). There was no significant improvement in Goal Attainment Scaling scores in the intervention (19.37, SD 9.03) vs. the control group (16.28, SD 6.58; P = 0.093, r = 0.63). This pilot study shows the safety, feasibility and short-term benefit of a dual-task home-based rehabilitation programme to improve balance control in patients with acquired brain injury. A sample size of 26 participants is required for a definitive study.

  18. Private Pilot Practical Test Standards for Airplane (SEL, MEL, SES, MES)

    Science.gov (United States)

    1995-05-01

    The Private Pilot - Airplane Practical Test Standards book has been : published by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to establish the : standards for the private pilot certification practical tests for the airplane : category and the single-e...

  19. A pilot audit exercise based on the principles of total quality ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This article is based on a case study on the pilot audit experience of the Vaal University of Technology (VUT). The VUT was one of the three institutions of higher learning to take part in the pilot audit exercise of the Higher Education Quality Committee. The article reflects on the impact that the audit had on the enhancement ...

  20. Pediatric Critical Care Telemedicine Program: A Single Institution Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hernandez, Maria; Hojman, Nayla; Sadorra, Candace; Dharmar, Madan; Nesbitt, Thomas S; Litman, Rebecca; Marcin, James P

    2016-01-01

    Rural and community emergency departments (EDs) often receive and treat critically ill children despite limited access to pediatric expertise. Increasingly, pediatric critical care programs at children's hospitals are using telemedicine to provide consultations to these EDs with the goal of increasing the quality of care. We conducted a retrospective review of a pediatric critical care telemedicine program at a single university children's hospital. Between the years 2000 and 2014, we reviewed all telemedicine consultations provided to children in rural and community EDs, classified the visits using a comprehensive evidence-based set of chief complaints, and reported the consultations' impact on patient disposition. We also reviewed the total number of pediatric ED visits to calculate the relative frequency with which telemedicine consultations were provided. During the study period, there were 308 consultations provided to acutely ill and/or injured children for a variety of chief complaints, most commonly for respiratory illnesses, acute injury, and neurological conditions. Since inception, the number of consultations has been increasing, as has the number of participating EDs (n = 18). Telemedicine consultations were conducted on 8.6% of seriously ill children, the majority of which resulted in admission to the receiving hospital (n = 150, 49%), with a minority of patients requiring transport to the university children's hospital (n = 103, 33%). This single institutional, university children's hospital-based review demonstrates that a pediatric critical care telemedicine program used to provide consultations to seriously ill children in rural and community EDs is feasible, sustainable, and used relatively infrequently, most typically for the sickest pediatric patients.

  1. Evaluation of total workstation CT interpretation quality: a single-screen pilot study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beard, David V.; Perry, John R.; Muller, Keith E.; Misra, Ram B.; Brown, P.; Hemminger, Bradley M.; Johnston, Richard E.; Mauro, J. Matthew; Jaques, P. F.; Schiebler, M.

    1991-07-01

    An interpretation report, generated with an electronic viewbox, is affected by two factors: image quality, which encompasses what can be seen on the display, and computer human interaction (CHI), which accounts for the cognitive load effect of locating, moving, and manipulating images with the workstation controls. While a number of subject experiments have considered image quality, only recently has the affect of CHI on total interpretation quality been measured. This paper presents the results of a pilot study conducted to evaluate the total interpretation quality of the FilmPlane2.2 radiology workstation for patient folders containing single forty-slice CT studies. First, radiologists interpreted cases and dictated reports using FilmPlane2.2. Requisition forms were provided. Film interpretation was provided by the original clinical report and interpretation forms generated from a previous experiment. Second, an evaluator developed a list of findings for each case based on those listed in all the reports for each case and then evaluated each report for its response on each finding. Third, the reports were compared to determine how well they agreed with one another. Interpretation speed and observation data was also gathered.

  2. Prevalence of Chlorpheniramine in Aviation Accident Pilot Fatalities, 1991-1996

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Soper, John

    1999-01-01

    .... During fatal aircraft accident investigations, postmortem samples collected from the pilots at autopsy are submitted to the Civil Aeromedical Institute for toxicological evaluation, and the findings...

  3. Kvanefjeld refinery pilot plant operations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krebs, Damien; Furfaro, Domenic

    2016-01-01

    Greenland Minerals and Energy is a junior project development company which is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (asx:GGG). It is developing the Kvanefjeld rare earth and uranium project located in the southern tip of Greenland. The project has completed a Feasibility Study and is currently in the permitting phase. Last year was a busy time for the company as it completed a Feasibility Study, a mining licence application (draft submitted in December 2015) and pilot plant operations. Beneficiation pilot plant operations were completed at GTK in Finland in April 2015. This pilot plant treated approximately 30 tonnes of ore to producing almost 2 tonnes of rare earth mineral concentrate. Later in the year a hydrometallurgical pilot plant was performed which mimicked the Refinery process. This pilot plant was performed at Outotec’s Pori Research laboratories in Finland from September till October 2015. The pilot plant treated approximately 200 kilograms of concentrate over 4 split operating campaigns. Each campaign was performed to focus on the performance of a specific part of the refinery flowsheet. This allowed for full operating focus on a single unit operation to ensure that it was operating correctly. The pilot plant operations were quite successful with no major issues with the flowsheet identified through continuous operation. Some fine tuning of conditions was required to ensure adequate removal of impurities was performed with recycle streams incorporated. Overall the leach extractions observed in the pilot plant exceeded the design assumptions in the Feasibility Study. These programs were partially funded by the EURARE program. The EURARE program aims to encourage the sustainable development of European based rare earth projects. This has the goal of allowing Europe to become less reliant on importation of these key raw materials. The professionalism and performance of both GTK and Outotec contributed significantly to the success of the pilot plant

  4. 75 FR 78730 - Federal Housing Administration (FHA): Notice of FHA PowerSaver Home Energy Retrofit Loan Pilot...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-16

    ... Administration (FHA): Notice of FHA PowerSaver Home Energy Retrofit Loan Pilot Program: Extension of Period... proposal to conduct an FHA Home Energy Retrofit Loan Pilot Program (Retrofit Pilot Program or Pilot Program... Efficient Mortgage Innovation pilot program targeted to the single family housing market, and the Retrofit...

  5. Tourette's syndrome in a special education population: a pilot study involving a single school district.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurlan, R; Whitmore, D; Irvine, C; McDermott, M P; Como, P G

    1994-04-01

    To determine whether children requiring special education represent a high-risk group for identifying Tourette's syndrome (TS), we performed direct examinations for the presence of tics in 35 special education and 35 regular classroom students from a single school district. Of the special education students, nine (26%) had definite or probable tics as compared with only two (6%) of the regular classroom students. About one-third of the students with tics currently meet diagnostic criteria for TS and probably more will do so in the future. About one-half of the subjects with tics have evidence of obsessive-compulsive behavior (OCB) or an attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). For three randomly selected students with definite tics, direct examinations of first-degree relatives revealed the presence of tics in all families. Subjects to the limitations of this pilot study, we conclude that TS and related tic disorders are commonly associated with the need for special education in this single school district. TS might also be an important contributor to school problems in the childhood population at large and may be a highly prevalent condition. In addition, we conclude that childhood tics are associated with OCB and ADHD, are genetically determined, and are part of the TS clinical spectrum.

  6. A pilot study on the serum pharmacokinetics of nattokinase in humans following a single, oral, daily dose.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ero, Michael Penfield; Ng, Connie M; Mihailovski, Tamara; Harvey, Nathaniel R; Lewis, Brad Howard

    2013-01-01

    Nattokinase is a serine protease and is derived from natto, a traditional Japanese, fermented, soybean food meal. Multiple authors have described the significant fibrinolytic, antithrombotic, and antihypertensive effects of natto. Nattokinase has been growing in popularity for use as a dietary supplement for the benefit of cardiovascular health. Little is known regarding the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of this enzyme, and the bioavailability of nattokinase is currently unknown. This study intended to (1) detect nattokinase directly and immunologically, (2) show that nattokinase and/or its metabolites were detectable in human blood following ingestion of a commercial preparation, and (3) chart a pharmacokinetic dosing effect for nattokinase. The research team designed the pilot study as an in vivo, human clinical trial. Healthy human subjects responded to an advertisement and were screened. Subjects who satisfied both inclusion and exclusion criteria were enrolled into the study. Subjects were then instructed to orally ingest a single capsule containing a known concentration of nattokinase immediately following a baseline blood draw. Subsequent blood draws occurred over a 24-h period. This study was conducted in Oakland, California, at a clinical reference laboratory and was performed with the approval of an institutional review board (IRB) to ensure that appropriate ethical standards were met. Eleven healthy participants (five male, six female, ages 21-65), who met eligibility criteria, were enrolled. Administration of nattokinase occurred orally with the ingestion of a single daily dose (2000 FU) of nattokinase. Capsules, each containing approximately 100 mg of nattokinase, in softgel form (NSK-SD, Japan Bio Science Laboratory, Osaka, Japan), were used in the study. Baseline blood samples were collected, and participants were observed swallowing a single capsule of the nattokinase supplement before returning at 2, 4, 8, 12, 24, and 48 h post

  7. [Definitive contraception with Essure device: Single institutional experience on 517 procedures].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aparicio-Rodríguez-Miñón, Pablo; de la Fuente-Valero, Jesús; Martínez-Laral, Ana; Alonso-García, Ana; Sobrino-Mota, Verónica; Zapardiel-Gutiérrez, Ignacio; Hernández-Aguado, Juan J

    2015-01-01

    To analyse the outcomes of patients undergoing Essure sterilization in a single institution, interns of complications and technique failure. Retrospective descriptive study of 517 patients underwent definitive contraception with Essure device in outpatient hysteroscopy office without anesthesia and controlled at 3 months with abdominal radiography, ultrasonography and hysterosalpingography in selected cases. The success rates of the insertion of Essure was 96.8%, similar to data reported in the literature with 3.7% of vagal reactions, as most prevalent complication. 7 (1.35%) unintended pregnancies were observed. Essure is a permanent birth control device, with high rate of successful insertion and a low rate of complications. Unintended pregnancies in our study are high and we must change the protocols of placement and monitoring, considering hysterosalpingography as a routine control test.

  8. Implications of the single supervisory mechanism on ECB's functions and on credit institutions' activity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Teodora Cristina BARBU

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available The European Commission's proposal launched on September 12, 2012 for conferring the European Central Bank extended powers in the field of Euro zone banking supervision has become a hotly debated topic across EU member states. Until now, there is still strong resilience of the EU countries outside the single currency area.The prospects for its practical implementation raised, however, a series of questions related to its technical feasibility. Our paper intends to shed light on some issues concerning the implications of the single monitoring mechanism on the traditional functions of the ECB, on the coexistence between supranational supervision and the national one, and on various facets of the impact that the new architecture of European banking supervision will have on the business of credit institutions, in terms of performance indicators, efficiency, risk and competition.

  9. LHCb: Pilot Framework and the DIRAC WMS

    CERN Multimedia

    Graciani, R; Casajus, A

    2009-01-01

    DIRAC, the LHCb community Grid solution, has pioneered the use of pilot jobs in the Grid. Pilot jobs provide a homogeneous interface to an heterogeneous set of computing resources. At the same time, pilot jobs allow to delay the scheduling decision to the last moment, thus taking into account the precise running conditions at the resource and last moment requests to the system. The DIRAC Workload Management System provides one single scheduling mechanism for jobs with very different profiles. To achieve an overall optimisation, it organizes pending jobs in task queues, both for individual users and production activities. Task queues are created with jobs having similar requirements. Following the VO policy a priority is assigned to each task queue. Pilot submission and subsequent job matching are based on these priorities following a statistical approach. Details of the implementation and the security aspects of this framework will be discussed.

  10. Pain as an indication for rib fixation: a bi-institutional pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Moya, Marc; Bramos, Thanos; Agarwal, Suresh; Fikry, Karim; Janjua, Sumbal; King, David R; Alam, Hasan B; Velmahos, George C; Burke, Peter; Tobler, William

    2011-12-01

    In trauma patients, open reduction and internal fixation of rib fractures remain controversial. We hypothesized that patients who have open reduction and internal fixation of rib fractures would experience less pain compared with controls and thus require fewer opiates. Further, we hypothesized that improved pain control would result in fewer pulmonary complications and decreased length of stay. This is a retrospective bi-institutional matched case-control study. Cases were matched 1:2 by age, injury severity Score, chest abbreviated injury severity score, head abbreviated injury severity score, pulmonary contusion score, and number of fractured ribs. The daily total doses of analgesic drugs were converted to equianalgesic intravenous morphine doses, and the primary outcome was inpatient narcotic administration. Sixteen patients between July 2005 and June 2009 underwent rib fixation in 5 ± 3 days after injury using an average of 3 (1-5) metallic plates. Morphine requirements decreased from 110 mg ± 98 mg preoperatively to 63 ± 57 mg postoperatively (p = 0.01). There were no significant differences between cases and controls in the mean morphine dose (79 ± 63 vs. 76 ± 55 mg, p = 0.65), hospital stay (18 ± 12 vs. 16 ± 11 days, p = 0.67), intensive care unit stay (9 ± 8 vs. 7 ± 10 days, p = 0.75), ventilation days (7 ± 8 vs. 6 ± 10, p = 0.44), and pneumonia rates (31% vs. 38%, p = 0.76). The need for analgesia was significantly reduced after rib fixation in patients with multiple rib fractures. However, no difference in outcomes was observed when these patients were compared with matched controls in this pilot study. Further study is required to investigate these preliminary findings.

  11. Minimizing draining waste through extending the lifetime of pilot jobs in Grid environments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sfiligoi, I; Martin, T; Würthwein, F; Bockelman, B P; Bradley, D C

    2014-01-01

    The computing landscape is moving at an accelerated pace to many-core computing. Nowadays, it is not unusual to get 32 cores on a single physical node. As a consequence, there is increased pressure in the pilot systems domain to move from purely single-core scheduling and allow multi-core jobs as well. In order to allow for a gradual transition from single-core to multi-core user jobs, it is envisioned that pilot jobs will have to handle both kinds of user jobs at the same time, by requesting several cores at a time from Grid providers and then partitioning them between the user jobs at runtime. Unfortunately, the current Grid ecosystem only allows for relatively short lifetime of pilot jobs, requiring frequent draining, with the relative waste of compute resources due to varying lifetimes of the user jobs. Significantly extending the lifetime of pilot jobs is thus highly desirable, but must come without any adverse effects for the Grid resource providers. In this paper we present a mechanism, based on communication between the pilot jobs and the Grid provider, that allows for pilot jobs to run for extended periods of time when there are available resources, but also allows the Grid provider to reclaim the resources in a short amount of time when needed. We also present the experience of running a prototype system using the above mechanism on a few US-based Grid sites.

  12. Effect of Pilot Injection Timings on the Combustion Temperature Distribution in a Single-Cylinder CI Engine Fueled with DME and ULSD

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeon Joonho

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Many studies of DiMethyl Ether (DME as an alternative fuel in Compression-Ignition (CI engines have been performed. Although diverse DME engine research has been conducted, the investigation of combustion behavior and temperature distribution in the combustion engine has not progressed due to the fact that there is no sooting flame in DME combustion. In order to investigate the combustion characteristics in this study, the KIVA-3 V code was implemented to research various pilot injection strategies on a single-cylinder CI engines with DME and Ultra-Low-Sulfur Diesel (ULSD fuels. The combustion distribution results obtained from the numerical investigation were validated when compared with the measurement of flame temperature behaviors in the experimental approach. This study showed that long intervals between two injection timings enhanced pilot combustion by increasing the ambient pressure and temperature before the start of the main combustion. Different atomization properties between DME and ULSD fuels contributed to the formation of a fuel-air mixture at the nozzle tip and piston lip regions, separately, which strongly affected the temperature distribution of the two fuels. In addition, the pilot injection timing played a vital role in regard to ignition delay and peak combustion temperatures. Exhaust emissions, such as NOx and soot, are related to the local equivalence ratio and temperature in the combustion chamber, also illustrated by the contrary result on a Φ (equivalence ratio – T (temperature map.

  13. Surveillance of health care workers exposed to ionising radiation: Rimed pilot study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2008-01-01

    The project so-called RIMED aimed to set up epidemiological surveillance of health care workers exposed to ionizing radiation. A pilot study was conducted in a sample of hospital personnel to examine the possibility of identifying exposed subjects in order to analyse mortality patterns according to occupational characteristics such as medical departments or occupations in a historical cohort. Seven hospitals participated in this pilot study. Health-care workers who had worn a dosimeter up to December 2003 were to be included in this cohort. The subjects' identification data were obtained from the SISERI (Systeme d'information de la surveillance de l'exposition aux rayonnements ionisants - Ionizing Radiation Exposure Monitoring Information System) database managed by the Institut de radioprotection et de surete nucleaire - Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Institute (IRSN). The SISERI system was in a 'pilot' phase in 2004. According to SISERI database, a total of 5126 subjects were found to have worn a dosimeter up to December 2003. The subjects' identification data were completed by the administrative services of the hospitals and occupational physicians searched for subjects' occupational data. Information required for the vital status search was satisfactorily completed only for 38% of the cohort subjects. This pilot study showed that obtaining data from SISERI database completed by hospital administrative data in 2004 led to a database of insufficient quality for epidemiological surveillance. The Institut de veille sanitaire (French Institute of Public Health Surveillance) recommends that transmission by the employers of some specific personal or occupational data of the exposed subjects should be made compulsory. In this way, SISERI system should be able to constitute any database with required quality for epidemiological surveillance of ionizing radiation exposed subjects. (authors)

  14. Report on 1979 result of Sunshine Project (detailed design). Part 1. Forty t/day solvolysis coal liquefaction pilot plant; 1979 nendo 40T/nichi solvolysis sekitan pilot plant shosai sekkei. 1

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1980-03-01

    The subject design documents are the compilation of the result of the design operation for the 'detailed design of 40 t/day class solvolysis coal liquefaction pilot plant'. The design of this pilot plant was conducted using, as the fundamental reference, the basic data provided by Kyushu National Industrial Research Institute and Kyushu University and the results of a contract research on '1 t/day class solvolysis coal liquefaction plant'. The subject detailed design was intended for Phase 1 centering on a single stage liquefaction - coal liquefaction (transformation into pitch) by solvolysis liquefaction reaction. The areas covered consists of the pre-treatment process, material mixing process, reaction process, reaction freezing process, coke separation process, SR recovery process, pitch refining process, utility facilities, and waste water treatment facilities. Incidentally, the processes for which the design operation has been completed this year, particularly the reaction process, coke separation process, SR recovery process, etc., are in the field untrodden technologically in the world; therefore, their design method is supposed to be established from the results of the R and D on coal liquefaction, '1 t/day class solvolysis coal liquefaction plant.' (NEDO)

  15. Report on 1979 result of Sunshine Project (detailed design). Part 1. Forty t/day solvolysis coal liquefaction pilot plant; 1979 nendo 40T/nichi solvolysis sekitan pilot plant shosai sekkei. 1

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1980-03-01

    The subject design documents are the compilation of the result of the design operation for the 'detailed design of 40 t/day class solvolysis coal liquefaction pilot plant'. The design of this pilot plant was conducted using, as the fundamental reference, the basic data provided by Kyushu National Industrial Research Institute and Kyushu University and the results of a contract research on '1 t/day class solvolysis coal liquefaction plant'. The subject detailed design was intended for Phase 1 centering on a single stage liquefaction - coal liquefaction (transformation into pitch) by solvolysis liquefaction reaction. The areas covered consists of the pre-treatment process, material mixing process, reaction process, reaction freezing process, coke separation process, SR recovery process, pitch refining process, utility facilities, and waste water treatment facilities. Incidentally, the processes for which the design operation has been completed this year, particularly the reaction process, coke separation process, SR recovery process, etc., are in the field untrodden technologically in the world; therefore, their design method is supposed to be established from the results of the R and D on coal liquefaction, '1 t/day class solvolysis coal liquefaction plant.' (NEDO)

  16. One- vs. Three-Fraction Pancreatic Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy for Pancreatic Carcinoma: Single Institution Retrospective Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Philip Anthony Sutera

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Background/introductionEarly reports of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC used single fraction, but eventually shifted to multifraction regimens. We conducted a single institution review of our patients treated with single- or multifraction SBRT to determine whether any outcome differences existed.Methods and materialsPatients treated with SBRT in any setting for PDAC at our facility were included, from 2004 to 2014. Overall survival (OS, local control (LC, regional control (RC, distant metastasis (DM, and late grade 3 or greater radiation toxicities from the time of SBRT were calculated using Kaplan–Meier estimation to either the date of last follow-up/death or local/regional/distant failure.ResultsWe identified 289 patients (291 lesions with pathologically confirmed PDAC. Median age was 69 (range, 33–90 years. Median gross tumor volume was 12.3 (8.6–21.3 cm3 and planning target volume 17.9 (12–27 cm3. Single fraction was used in 90 (30.9% and multifraction in 201 (69.1% lesions. At a median follow-up of 17.3 months (IQR 10.1–29.3 months, the median survival for the entire cohort 17.8 months with a 2-year OS of 35.3%. Univariate analysis showed multifraction schemes to have a higher 2-year OS 30.5% vs. 37.5% (p = 0.019, it did not hold significance on MVA. Multifractionation schemes were found to have a higher LC on MVA (HR = 0.53, 95% CI, 0.33–0.85, p = 0.009. At 2 years, late grade 3+ toxicity was 2.5%. Post-SBRT CA19-9 was found on MVA to be a prognostic factor for OS (HR = 1.01, 95% CI, 1.01–1.01, p = 0.009, RC (HR = 1.01, 95% CI 1.01–1.01, p = 0.02, and DM (HR = 1.01, 95% CI, 1.01–1.01, p = 0.001.ConclusionOur single institution retrospective review is the largest to date comparing single and multifraction SBRT and the first to show multifraction regimen SBRT to have a higher LC than single fractionation. Additionally, we

  17. Meeting the Challenge: The National Cancer Institute's Central Institutional Review Board for Multi-Site Research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Massett, Holly A; Hampp, Sharon L; Goldberg, Jacquelyn L; Mooney, Margaret; Parreco, Linda K; Minasian, Lori; Montello, Mike; Mishkin, Grace E; Davis, Catasha; Abrams, Jeffrey S

    2018-03-10

    The National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued a new policy that requires a single institutional review board (IRB) of record be used for all protocols funded by the NIH that are carried out at more than one site in the United States, effective January 2018. This policy affects several hundred clinical trials opened annually across the NIH. Limited data exist to compare the use of a single IRB to that of multiple local IRBs, so some institutions are resistant to or distrustful of single IRBs. Since 2001, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has funded a central IRB (CIRB) that provides human patient reviews for its extensive national cancer clinical trials program. This paper presents data to show the adoption, efficiencies gained, and satisfaction of the CIRB among NCI trial networks and reviews key lessons gleaned from 16 years of experience that may be informative for others charged with implementation of the new NIH single-IRB policy.

  18. Converting Simulated Sodium-bearing Waste into a Single Solid Waste Form by Evaporation: Laboratory- and Pilot-Scale Test Results on Recycling Evaporator Overheads

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Griffith, D.; D. L. Griffith; R. J. Kirkham; L. G. Olson; S. J. Losinski

    2004-01-01

    Conversion of Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory radioactive sodium-bearing waste into a single solid waste form by evaporation was demonstrated in both flask-scale and pilot-scale agitated thin film evaporator tests. A sodium-bearing waste simulant was adjusted to represent an evaporator feed in which the acid from the distillate is concentrated, neutralized, and recycled back through the evaporator. The advantage to this flowsheet is that a single remote-handled transuranic waste form is produced in the evaporator bottoms without the generation of any low-level mixed secondary waste. However, use of a recycle flowsheet in sodium-bearing waste evaporation results in a 50% increase in remote-handled transuranic volume in comparison to a non-recycle flowsheet.

  19. DIRAC pilot framework and the DIRAC Workload Management System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Casajus, Adrian; Graciani, Ricardo; Paterson, Stuart; Tsaregorodtsev, Andrei

    2010-01-01

    DIRAC, the LHCb community Grid solution, has pioneered the use of pilot jobs in the Grid. Pilot Jobs provide a homogeneous interface to an heterogeneous set of computing resources. At the same time, Pilot Jobs allow to delay the scheduling decision to the last moment, thus taking into account the precise running conditions at the resource and last moment requests to the system. The DIRAC Workload Management System provides one single scheduling mechanism for jobs with very different profiles. To achieve an overall optimisation, it organizes pending jobs in task queues, both for individual users and production activities. Task queues are created with jobs having similar requirements. Following the VO policy a priority is assigned to each task queue. Pilot submission and subsequent job matching are based on these priorities following a statistical approach.

  20. DIRAC pilot framework and the DIRAC Workload Management System

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Casajus, Adrian; Graciani, Ricardo [Universitat de Barcelona (Spain); Paterson, Stuart [CERN (Switzerland); Tsaregorodtsev, Andrei, E-mail: adria@ecm.ub.e, E-mail: graciani@ecm.ub.e, E-mail: stuart.paterson@cern.c, E-mail: atsareg@in2p3.f [CPPM Marseille (France)

    2010-04-01

    DIRAC, the LHCb community Grid solution, has pioneered the use of pilot jobs in the Grid. Pilot Jobs provide a homogeneous interface to an heterogeneous set of computing resources. At the same time, Pilot Jobs allow to delay the scheduling decision to the last moment, thus taking into account the precise running conditions at the resource and last moment requests to the system. The DIRAC Workload Management System provides one single scheduling mechanism for jobs with very different profiles. To achieve an overall optimisation, it organizes pending jobs in task queues, both for individual users and production activities. Task queues are created with jobs having similar requirements. Following the VO policy a priority is assigned to each task queue. Pilot submission and subsequent job matching are based on these priorities following a statistical approach.

  1. A pilot study of MD (psychiatry) theses-based research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Srivastava, Shrikant; Agarwal, Vivek; Subramanyam, Alka; Srivastava, Mona; Sathyanarayana Rao, T S; Rao, G Prasad; Khurana, Hitesh; Singh, Archana

    2018-01-01

    Undertaking a research project is mandatory for MD Psychiatry trainees. The present study was undertaken to assess the type of research activity being undertaken as part of MD Psychiatry dissertation, and its contribution to national and international literature. Three medical colleges supplied the data about the topic, names of the supervisor and the candidate, collaboration, funding accrued, and publication details of MD-based research carried out between years 2000 and 2010 inclusive; 95 records were collected for the final analysis. The details of the publications provided were cross-checked on the internet, which would have taken care of missed publications as well. Most studies were single-point assessment clinical studies. Only 2 studies had been funded, 11 had collaboration with other departments within the same institute, and 5 had inter-institute collaborations. Majority of the studies were not published. Only 30 were published as full paper and 9 as abstracts. Of these 30 full publications, only 3 were published in journals having JCI impact factor values (1.4, 1.3, and 1.4, respectively). The main finding of this pilot study was that MD-based research has low contribution to the national and international literature, and those articles which are published are in low impact journals. Suggestions for modifying this state of affairs are discussed.

  2. Single Fraction Versus Fractionated Linac-Based Stereotactic Radiotherapy for Vestibular Schwannoma: A Single-Institution Experience

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Collen, Christine, E-mail: ccollen@uzbrussel.be [Department of Radiation Oncology, UZ Brussel, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Laarbeeklaan 101, 1090 Brussels (Belgium); Ampe, Ben [Department of Neurosurgery, UZ Brussel, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Laarbeeklaan 101, 1090 Brussels (Belgium); Gevaert, Thierry [Department of Radiation Oncology, UZ Brussel, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Laarbeeklaan 101, 1090 Brussels (Belgium); Moens, Maarten [Department of Neurosurgery, UZ Brussel, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Laarbeeklaan 101, 1090 Brussels (Belgium); Linthout, Nadine; De Ridder, Mark; Verellen, Dirk [Department of Radiation Oncology, UZ Brussel, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Laarbeeklaan 101, 1090 Brussels (Belgium); D' Haens, Jean [Department of Neurosurgery, UZ Brussel, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Laarbeeklaan 101, 1090 Brussels (Belgium); Storme, Guy [Department of Radiation Oncology, UZ Brussel, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Laarbeeklaan 101, 1090 Brussels (Belgium)

    2011-11-15

    Purpose: To evaluate and compare outcomes for patients with vestibular schwannoma (VS) treated in a single institution with linac-based stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) or by fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT). Methods and Materials: One hundred and nineteen patients (SRS = 78, SRT = 41) were treated. For both SRS and SRT, beam shaping is performed by a mini-multileaf collimator. For SRS, a median single dose of 12.5 Gy (range, 11-14 Gy), prescribed to the 80% isodose line encompassing the target, was applied. Of the 42 SRT treatments, 32 treatments consisted of 10 fractions of 3-4 Gy, and 10 patients received 25 sessions of 2 Gy, prescribed to the 100% with the 95% isodose line encompassing the planning target volume. Mean largest tumor diameter was 16.6 mm in the SRS and 24.6 mm in the SRT group. Local tumor control, cranial nerve toxicity, and preservation of useful hearing were recorded. Any new treatment-induced cranial nerve neuropathy was scored as a complication. Results: Median follow-up was 62 months (range, 6-136 months), 5 patients progressed, resulting in an overall 5-year local tumor control of 95%. The overall 5-year facial nerve preservation probability was 88% and facial nerve neuropathy was statistically significantly higher after SRS, after prior surgery, for larger tumors, and in Koos Grade {>=}3. The overall 5-year trigeminal nerve preservation probability was 96%, not significantly influenced by any of the risk factors. The overall 4-year probability of preservation of useful hearing (Gardner-Robertson score 1 or 2) was 68%, not significantly different between SRS or SRT (59% vs. 82%, p = 0.089, log rank). Conclusion: Linac-based RT results in good local control and acceptable clinical outcome in small to medium-sized vestibular schwannomas (VSs). Radiosurgery for large VSs (Koos Grade {>=}3) remains a challenge because of increased facial nerve neuropathy.

  3. HUD PowerSaver Pilot Loan Program

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zimring, Mark [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Hoffman, Ian [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

    2010-12-10

    The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced the creation of a pilot loan program for home energy improvements. The PowerSaver loan program is a new, energy-focused variant of the Title I Property Improvement Loan Insurance Program (Title I Program) and is planned for introduction in early 2011. The PowerSaver pilot will provide lender insurance for secured and unsecured loans up to $25,000 to single family homeowners. These loans will specifically target residential energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements. HUD estimates the two-year pilot will fund approximately 24,000 loans worth up to $300 million; the program is not capped. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA), HUD's mortgage insurance unit, will provide up to $25 million in grants as incentives to participating lenders. FHA is seeking lenders in communities with existing programs for promoting residential energy upgrades.

  4. End-of-pipe single-sludge denitrification in pilot-scale recirculating aquaculture systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Suhr, Karin Isabel; Pedersen, Lars-Flemming; Nielsen, J.L.

    2014-01-01

    A step toward environmental sustainability of recirculat aquaculture systems (RAS) is implementation ofsingle-sludge denitrification, a process eliminating nitrate from the aqueous environment while reduc-ing the organic matter discharge simultaneously. Two 1700 L pilot-scale RAS systems each...

  5. Do chiropractic college faculty understand informed consent: a pilot study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hondras Maria A

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to survey full-time faculty at a single chiropractic college concerning their knowledge of Institutional Review Board (IRB policies in their institution as they pertain to educational research. Methods All full-time faculty were invited to participate in an anonymous survey. Four scenarios involving educational research were described and respondents were asked to select from three possible courses of action for each. In addition, respondents were queried about their knowledge of IRB policies, how they learned of these policies and about their years of service and departmental assignments. Results The response rate was 55%. In no scenario did the level of correct answers by all respondents score higher than 41% and in most, the scores were closer to just under 1 in 3. Sixty-five percent of respondents indicated they were unsure whether Palmer had any policies in place at all, while 4% felt that no such policies were in place. Just over one-quarter (27% were correct in noting that students can decline consent, while more than half (54% did not know whether there were any procedures governing student consent. Conclusion Palmer faculty have only modest understanding about institutional policies regarding the IRB and human subject research, especially pertaining to educational research. The institution needs to develop methods to provide knowledge and training to faculty. The results from this pilot study will be instrumental in developing better protocols for a study designed to survey the entire chiropractic academic community.

  6. Recurrence in Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo: A Large, Single-Institution Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luryi, Alexander L; Lawrence, Juliana; Bojrab, Dennis I; LaRouere, Michael; Babu, Seilesh; Zappia, John; Sargent, Eric W; Chan, Eleanor; Naumann, Ilka; Hong, Robert S; Schutt, Christopher A

    2018-04-11

    To report rates of recurrence in benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) and associated patient and disease factors. Retrospective chart review. Single high-volume otology practice. Patients diagnosed with BPPV from 2007 to 2016 with documented resolution of symptoms. Diagnostic and particle repositioning maneuvers for BPPV. BPPV recurrence, time to recurrence, and ear(s) affected at recurrence. A total of 1,105 patients meeting criteria were identified. Of this population, 37% had recurrence of BPPV in either ear or both ears. Overall same-ear recurrence rate was 28%; 76% of recurrences involved the same ear(s) as initial presentation. Recurrences that occurred after longer disease-free intervals were more likely to involve the opposite ear than early recurrences (p = 0.02). Female sex (40.4% versus 32.7%, p = 0.01) and history of previous BPPV (57.5% versus 32.4%, p diabetes mellitus, and traumatic etiology were not. Approximately, half (56%) of recurrences occurred within 1 year of resolution. A large single-institution study of recurrence in BPPV is presented along with Kaplan-Meier disease-free survival curves. Female sex and history of previous BPPV were associated with increased recurrence, while previously suspected risk factors for recurrence including history of Menière's disease, diabetes, and trauma were not. Remote recurrence is more likely to involve the contralateral ear than early recurrence. These data solidify the expected course of treated BPPV allowing for improved clinical care and patient counseling.

  7. Outcome of postoperative radiotherapy following radical prostatectomy: a single institutional experience

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Sea Won; Chung, Mi Joo; Jeong, Song Mi; Kim, Sung Hwan; Lee, Jong Hoon [Dept.of Radiation Oncology, St. Vincent' s Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Suwon (Korea, Republic of); Hwang, Tae Kon; Hong, Sung Hoo; Lee, Ji Youl; Jang, Hong Seok [Seoul St. Mary' s Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Yoon, Sei Chul [Dept.of Radiation Oncology, Bucheon St. Mary' s Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Bucheon (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-09-15

    This single institutional study is aimed to observe the outcome of patients who received postoperative radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy. A total of 59 men with histologically identified prostate adenocarcinoma who had received postoperative radiation after radical prostatectomy from August 2005 to July 2011 in Seoul St. Mary's Hospital of the Catholic University of Korea, was included. They received 45-50 Gy to the pelvis and boost on the prostate bed was given up to total dose of 63-72 Gy (median, 64.8 Gy) in conventional fractionation. The proportion of patients given hormonal therapy and the pattern in which it was given were analyzed. Primary endpoint was biochemical relapse-free survival (bRFS) after radiotherapy completion. Secondary endpoint was overall survival (OS). Biochemical relapse was defined as a prostate-specific antigen level above 0.2 ng/mL. After median follow-up of 53 months (range, 0 to 104 months), the 5-year bRFS of all patients was estimated 80.4%. The 5-year OS was estimated 96.6%. Patients who were given androgen deprivation therapy had a 5-year bRFS of 95.1% while the ones who were not given any had that of 40.0% (p < 0.01). However, the statistical significance in survival difference did not persist in multivariate analysis. The 3-year actuarial grade 3 chronic toxicity was 1.7% and no grade 3 acute toxicity was observed. The biochemical and toxicity outcome of post-radical prostatectomy radiotherapy in our institution is favorable and comparable to those of other studies.

  8. Exploratory pilot study assessing the risk of cognitive impairment or sedation in the elderly following single doses of solifenacin 10 mg.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wesnes, Keith A; Edgar, Chris; Tretter, Reiner N; Bolodeoku, John

    2009-11-01

    To assess the cognitive effects of single doses of solifenacin 10 mg compared with placebo (primary objective) and oxybutynin immediate release (IR) 10 mg (secondary objective) in elderly subjects. Single-centre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in 12 healthy elderly volunteers, with three crossover periods separated by two 14-day washout periods. Each sequence consisted of a single dose of solifenacin 10 mg in one period, oxybutynin IR 10 mg in another and placebo in another. Aspects of attention, information processing, working memory, episodic memory and self-rated mood and alertness were tested using the validated Cognitive Drug Research computerised assessment system. There was no evidence from absolute mean values or changes from baseline to suggest that solifenacin 10 mg impaired cognition or self-ratings of mood and alertness versus placebo. Post-hoc ANCOVA showed no statistically significant cognitive deterioration with solifenacin versus placebo, when measured at a time point closest to the probable C(max) of solifenacin. Oxybutynin was associated with statistically significant impairments in several measures of cognitive function at a time point corresponding with its probable C(max). In this pilot study, single 10 mg doses of solifenacin did not show any clear propensity to impair cognitive function in a healthy elderly population.

  9. Teaching the Healthcare Economics Milestones to Radiology Residents: Our Pilot Curriculum Experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prober, Allen S; Mehan, William A; Bedi, Harprit S

    2016-07-01

    Since July 2013, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) has required radiology residency programs to implement a set of educational milestones to track residents' educational advancement in six core competencies, including Systems-based Practice. The healthcare economics subcompetency of Systems-based Practice has traditionally been relatively neglected, and given the new increased ACGME oversight, will specifically require greater focused attention. A multi-institutional health-care economics pilot curriculum combining didactic and practical components was implemented across five residency programs. The didactic portion included a package of online recorded presentations, reading, and testing materials developed by the American College of Radiology (ACR's) Radiology Leadership Institute. The practical component involved a series of local meetings led by program faculty with the production of a deliverable based on research of local reimbursement for a noncontrast head computed tomography. The capstone entailed the presentation of each program's deliverable during a live teleconference webcast with a Radiology Leadership Institute content expert acting as moderator and discussion leader. The pilot curriculum was well received by residents and faculty moderators, with 100% of survey respondents agreeing that the pilot met its objective of introducing how reimbursement works in American radiology in 2015 and how business terminology applies to their particular institutions. A health-care economics curriculum in the style of a Massive Open Online Course has strong potential to serve as many residency programs' method of choice in meeting the health-care economics milestones. Copyright © 2016 The Association of University Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Partial Oxidation of High-Boiling Hydrocarbon Mixtures in the Pilot Unit

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Hanika, Jiří; Lederer, J.; Nečesaný, F.; Poslední, W.; Tukač, V.; Veselý, Václav

    2014-01-01

    Roč. 68, č. 12 (2014), s. 1701-1706 ISSN 0366-6352 Institutional support: RVO:67985858 Keywords : partial oxidation * high-boiling hydrocarbons * pilot plant Subject RIV: CI - Industrial Chemistry , Chemical Engineering Impact factor: 1.468, year: 2014

  11. US/Brazil joint pilot project objectives

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1997-12-01

    This paper describes a joint US/Brazil pilot project for rural electrification, whose major goals are: to establish technical, institutional, and economic confidence in using renewable energy (PV and wind) to meet the needs of the citizens of rural Brazil; to establish on-going institutional, individual and business relationships necessary to implement sustainable programs and commitments; to lay the groundwork for larger scale rural electrification through the use of distributed renewable technologies. The projects have supported low power home lighting systems, lighting and refrigeration for schools and medical centers, and water pumping systems. This is viewed as a long term project, where much of the equipment will come from the US, but Brazil will be responsible for program management, and sharing data gained from the program. The paper describes in detail the Brazilian program which was instituted to support this phased project.

  12. The OpenAIRE Guide for Research Institutions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gültekin Gürdal

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available This text is transcript of OpenAIRE Guide which is prepared in order to help research institutions was released on 13.04.2011and translated with the cooperation of ANKOS Open Access and Institutional Repositories Grup members and OpenAIREplus project team of Turkey which is coordinated from Izmir Institute of Technology Library. OpenAIRE Project aims to support researchers in complying with the European Commission Seventh Framework Programme Open Access Pilot through a European Helpdesk System; support researchers in depositing their research publications in an institutional or disciplinary repository; build up an OpenAIRE portal and e-infrastructure for repository networks. The project will work in tadem with OpeanAIREplus Project which has the principal goal of creating a robust, participatory service for the cross-linking of peer-reviewed scientific publications and associated datasets.

  13. Toxicological findings in fatally injured pilots of 979 amateur-built aircraft accidents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-01

    "Biological samples collected from fatally injured pilots in aviation accidents involving all types of aircraft, including : amateur-built aircraft, are submitted to the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) for accident investigation. : These sam...

  14. Linking the Pilot Structural Model and Pilot Workload

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bachelder, Edward; Hess, Ronald; Aponso, Bimal; Godfroy-Cooper, Martine

    2018-01-01

    Behavioral models are developed that closely reproduced pulsive control response of two pilots using markedly different control techniques while conducting a tracking task. An intriguing find was that the pilots appeared to: 1) produce a continuous, internally-generated stick signal that they integrated in time; 2) integrate the actual stick position; and 3) compare the two integrations to either issue or cease a pulse command. This suggests that the pilots utilized kinesthetic feedback in order to sense and integrate stick position, supporting the hypothesis that pilots can access and employ the proprioceptive inner feedback loop proposed by Hess's pilot Structural Model. A Pilot Cost Index was developed, whose elements include estimated workload, performance, and the degree to which the pilot employs kinesthetic feedback. Preliminary results suggest that a pilot's operating point (parameter values) may be based on control style and index minimization.

  15. Science, institutional archives and open access: an overview and a pilot survey on the Italian cancer research institutions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poltronieri, Elisabetta; Truccolo, Ivana; Di Benedetto, Corrado; Castelli, Mauro; Mazzocut, Mauro; Cognetti, Gaetana

    2010-12-20

    The Open Archive Initiative (OAI) refers to a movement started around the '90 s to guarantee free access to scientific information by removing the barriers to research results, especially those related to the ever increasing journal subscription prices. This new paradigm has reshaped the scholarly communication system and is closely connected to the build up of institutional repositories (IRs) conceived to the benefit of scientists and research bodies as a means to keep possession of their own literary production. The IRs are high-value tools which permit authors to gain visibility by enabling rapid access to scientific material (not only publications) thus increasing impact (citation rate) and permitting a multidimensional assessment of research findings. A survey was conducted in March 2010 to mainly explore the managing system in use for archiving the research finding adopted by the Italian Scientific Institutes for Research, Hospitalization and Health Care (IRCCS) of the oncology area within the Italian National Health Service (Servizio Sanitario Nazionale, SSN). They were asked to respond to a questionnaire intended to collect data about institutional archives, metadata formats and posting of full-text documents. The enquiry concerned also the perceived role of the institutional repository DSpace ISS, built up by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS) and based on a XML scheme for encoding metadata. Such a repository aims at acting as a unique reference point for the biomedical information produced by the Italian research institutions. An in-depth analysis has also been performed on the collection of information material addressed to patients produced by the institutions surveyed. The survey respondents were 6 out of 9. The results reveal the use of different practices and standard among the institutions concerning: the type of documentation collected, the software adopted, the use and format of metadata and the conditions of accessibility to the IRs. The

  16. Participatory forest management in Ethiopia: learning from pilot projects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ameha, Aklilu; Larsen, H O; Lemenih, Mulugeta

    2014-04-01

    Different arrangements of decentralized forest management have been promoted as alternatives to centralized and top down approaches to halt tropical deforestation and forest degradation. Ethiopia is one of the countries piloting one of these approaches. To inform future programs and projects it is essential to learn from existing pilots and experiences. This paper analyses five of the pilot participatory forest management (PFM) programs undertaken in Ethiopia. The study is based on the Forest User Group (FUG) members' analyses of the programs using selected outcome variables: forest income, change in forest conditions, forest ownership feelings and effectiveness of FUGs as forest managing institutions. These variables were assessed at three points in time-before the introduction of PFM, during the project implementation and after the projects ended. Data were collected using group discussions, key informant interviews and transect walks through the PFM forests. The results show that in all of the five cases the state of the forest is perceived to have improved with the introduction of PFM, and in four of the cases the improvement was maintained after projects ended. Regulated access to the forests following introduction of PFM was not perceived to have affected forest income negatively. There are, however, serious concerns about the institutional effectiveness of the FUGs after projects ended, and this may affect the success of the PFM approach in the longer term.

  17. Pilot Project: analysis, development and projection

    OpenAIRE

    Tapia Abril, Verónica Emilia; Chérrez Rodas, Karina; García Pesántez, Gabriela Rosana; Maldonado Marchán, María Elisa; Bustamante Montesdeoca, José Luis

    2014-01-01

    Since the introduction of ICT in architecture and teaching, pedagogies of education have faced their learning paradigms change. Institutes of higher education have folded to this motion and have undergone a process of change by implementing multimedia elements in their subjects. Through the pilot project educational videos that aim to meet the highest standards of educational videos described by Van Dam have been developed. The project expects to generate educational videos for different depa...

  18. 75 FR 56857 - Pilot, Flight Instructor, and Pilot School Certification

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-17

    ...-2006-26661; Amendment No., 141-14] RIN 2120-AI86 Pilot, Flight Instructor, and Pilot School..., certification, and operating requirements for pilots, flight instructors, ground instructors, and pilot schools...: Background On August 21, 2009, the FAA published the ``Pilot, Flight Instructor, and Pilot School...

  19. POOR HEMOPOIETIC STEM CELL MOBILIZERS IN MULTIPLE MYELOMA : A SINGLE INSTITUTION EXPERIENCE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guillermo Jose Ruiz-Delgado

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available In a single institution, in a group of 28 myeloma patients deemed eligible for autologous transplant, stem cell mobilization was attempted using filgrastim: 26 individuals were given 31 autografts employing 1-4 (median three apheresis sessions, to obtain a target stem cell dose of 1 x 106 CD34 viable cells / Kg of the recipient. The median number of grafted CD34 cells was 7.56 x 106  / Kg of the recipient; the range being 0.92 to 14.8.  By defining as poor mobilizers individuals in which a cell collection of 1 x 106 CD34 viable cells / Kg was better (80% at 80 months than those grafted with < 1 x 106 CD34 viable cells / Kg (67% at 76 months. Methods to improve stem cell mobilization are needed and may result in obtaining better results when autografting multiple myeloma patients.

  20. Historical review and future perspectives for Pilot Transonic Wind Tunnel of IAE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    João Batista P. Falcão Filho

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available The Pilot Transonic Wind Tunnel of Institute of Aeronautics and Space (PTT Pilot Transonic Wind Tunnel is an important result of a tremendous effort to install a high speed wind tunnel complex (TTS acronyms for Transonic and Supersonic Tunnels, in Portuguese at the IAE, to support Brazilian aerospace research. Its history is described below, starting from the moment the TTS project was first conceived, highlighting each successive phase, mentioning the main difficulties encountered, and the solutions chosen, up until the final installation of the Pilot facility. A brief description of the tunnel's shakedown and calibration phases is also given, together with the present campaigns and proposed activities for the near future.

  1. Pilot Implementations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Manikas, Maria Ie

    by conducting a literature review. The concept of pilot implementation, although commonly used in practice, is rather disregarded in research. In the literature, pilot implementations are mainly treated as secondary to the learning outcomes and are presented as merely a means to acquire knowledge about a given...... objective. The prevalent understanding is that pilot implementations are an ISD technique that extends prototyping from the lab and into test during real use. Another perception is that pilot implementations are a project multiple of co-existing enactments of the pilot implementation. From this perspective......This PhD dissertation engages in the study of pilot (system) implementation. In the field of information systems, pilot implementations are commissioned as a way to learn from real use of a pilot system with real data, by real users during an information systems development (ISD) project and before...

  2. Real-Time Monitoring and Prediction of the Pilot Vehicle System (PVS) Closed-Loop Stability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mandal, Tanmay Kumar

    Understanding human control behavior is an important step for improving the safety of future aircraft. Considerable resources are invested during the design phase of an aircraft to ensure that the aircraft has desirable handling qualities. However, human pilots exhibit a wide range of control behaviors that are a function of external stimulus, aircraft dynamics, and human psychological properties (such as workload, stress factor, confidence, and sense of urgency factor). This variability is difficult to address comprehensively during the design phase and may lead to undesirable pilot-aircraft interaction, such as pilot-induced oscillations (PIO). This creates the need to keep track of human pilot performance in real-time to monitor the pilot vehicle system (PVS) stability. This work focused on studying human pilot behavior for the longitudinal axis of a remotely controlled research aircraft and using human-in-the-loop (HuIL) simulations to obtain information about the human controlled system (HCS) stability. The work in this dissertation is divided into two main parts: PIO analysis and human control model parameters estimation. To replicate different flight conditions, this study included time delay and elevator rate limiting phenomena, typical of actuator dynamics during the experiments. To study human control behavior, this study employed the McRuer model for single-input single-output manual compensatory tasks. McRuer model is a lead-lag controller with time delay which has been shown to adequately model manual compensatory tasks. This dissertation presents a novel technique to estimate McRuer model parameters in real-time and associated validation using HuIL simulations to correctly predict HCS stability. The McRuer model parameters were estimated in real-time using a Kalman filter approach. The estimated parameters were then used to analyze the stability of the closed-loop HCS and verify them against the experimental data. Therefore, the main contribution of

  3. Acute spinal injury after centrifuge training in asymptomatic fighter pilots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, Kyung-Wook; Shin, Young Ho; Kang, Seungcheol

    2015-04-01

    Many countries have hypergravity training centers using centrifuges for pilots to cope with a high gravity (G) environment. The high G training carries potential risk for the development of spinal injury. However, no studies evaluated the influence of centrifuge training on the spines of asymptomatic fighter pilots on a large scale. Study subjects were 991 male fighter pilots with high G training at one institution. Subject variables included information about physical characteristics, flight hours of pilots prior to the training, and G force exposure related factors during training. The two dependent variables were whether the pilots developed acute spinal injury after training and the severity of the injury (major/minor). The incidence of acute spinal injury after high G training was 2.3% (23 of 991 subjects). There were 19 subjects who developed minor injury and 4 subjects who developed a herniated intervertebral disc, which is considered a major injury. In multivariate analysis, only the magnitude of G force during training was significantly related to the development of acute spinal injury. However, there was no significant factor related to the severity of the injury. These results suggest that high G training could cause negative effects on fighter pilots' spines. The magnitude of G force during training seemed to be the most significant factor affecting the occurrence of acute spinal injury.

  4. Radioactive Waste Disposal Pilot Plant concept for a New Mexico site

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weart, W.D.

    1976-01-01

    Twenty years of investigation have shown that disposal of nuclear wastes in deep salt formations is the surest means of isolating these wastes from the biosphere for the extremely long period of time required. A large scale demonstration of this capability will soon be provided by a Radioactive Waste Disposal Pilot Plant (RWDPP) to be developed in southeastern New Mexico. Initially, the pilot plant will accept only ERDA generated waste; high level waste from the commercial power reactor fuel cycle will eventually be accommodated in the pilot plant and the initial RWDPP design will be compatible with this waste form. Selection of a specific site and salt horizon will be completed in June 1976. Conceptual design of the RWDPP and assessment of its environmental impact will be completed by June 1977. Construction is expected to start in 1978 with first waste accepted in 1982. The present concept develops disposal areas for all nuclear waste types in a single salt horizon about 800 meters deep. This single level can accommodate all low level and high level waste generated in the United States through the year 2010. A major constraint on the RWDPP design is the ERDA requirement that all waste be ''readily'' retrievable during the duration of pilot plant operation

  5. 76 FR 54095 - Pilot in Command Proficiency Check and Other Changes to the Pilot and Pilot School Certification...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-31

    ... [Docket No.: FAA-2008-0938; Amendment Nos. 61-128, 91-324, 141-15, and 142-7] RIN 2120-AJ18 Pilot in Command Proficiency Check and Other Changes to the Pilot and Pilot School Certification Rules AGENCY... regulations concerning pilot, flight instructor, and pilot school certification. This rule will require pilot...

  6. Feasibility of a Humor Training to Promote Humor and Decrease Stress in a Subclinical Sample: A Single-Arm Pilot Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nektaria Tagalidou

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The present study investigates the feasibility of a humor training for a subclinical sample suffering from increased stress, depressiveness, or anxiety. Based on diagnostic interviews, 35 people were invited to participate in a 7-week humor training. Evaluation measures were filled in prior training, after training, and at a 1-month follow-up including humor related outcomes (coping humor and cheerfulness and mental health-related outcomes (perceived stress, depressiveness, anxiety, and well-being. Outcomes were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVAs. Within-group comparisons of intention-to-treat analysis showed main effects of time with large effect sizes on all outcomes. Post hoc tests showed medium to large effect sizes on all outcomes from pre to post and results remained stable until follow-up. Satisfaction with the training was high, attrition rate low (17.1%, and participants would highly recommend the training. Summarizing the results, the pilot study showed promising effects for people suffering from subclinical symptoms. All outcomes were positively influenced and showed stability over time. Humor trainings could be integrated more into mental health care as an innovative program to reduce stress whilst promoting also positive emotions. However, as this study was a single-arm pilot study, further research (including also randomized controlled trials is still needed to evaluate the effects more profoundly.

  7. Merkel Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck: A Single Institutional Experience

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morand, G.; Vital, D.; Pezier, T.; Holzmann, D.; Huber, G.F.; Roessle, M.; Cozzio, A.

    2013-01-01

    Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare cutaneous malignancy occurring mostly in older immunocompromised Caucasian males. A growing incidence of MCC has been reported in epidemiological studies. Treatment of MCC usually consists of surgical excision, pathological lymph node evaluation, and adjuvant radiotherapy. This paper reports the experience of a single tertiary center institution with 17 head and neck Merkel cell carcinoma patients. Median followup for the cohort was 37.5 months. After five years, recurrence-free survival, disease specific survival, and overall survival were 85%, 90%, and 83%, respectively. Our limited data support the use of adjuvant radiotherapy. We also report two cases of MCC located at the vestibule of the nose and two cases of spontaneous regression after diagnostic biopsy. About 40% of our patients were referred to our center for surgical revision and pathological lymph node evaluation. Increased awareness of MCC and an interdisciplinary approach are essential in the management of MCC.

  8. Portable Weather Applications for General Aviation Pilots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahlstrom, Ulf; Ohneiser, Oliver; Caddigan, Eamon

    2016-09-01

    The objective of this study was to examine the potential benefits and impact on pilot behavior from the use of portable weather applications. Seventy general aviation (GA) pilots participated in the study. Each pilot was randomly assigned to an experimental or a control group and flew a simulated single-engine GA aircraft, initially under visual meteorological conditions (VMC). The experimental group was equipped with a portable weather application during flight. We recorded measures for weather situation awareness (WSA), decision making, cognitive engagement, and distance from the aircraft to hazardous weather. We found positive effects from the use of the portable weather application, with an increased WSA for the experimental group, which resulted in credibly larger route deviations and credibly greater distances to hazardous weather (≥30 dBZ cells) compared with the control group. Nevertheless, both groups flew less than 20 statute miles from hazardous weather cells, thus failing to follow current weather-avoidance guidelines. We also found a credibly higher cognitive engagement (prefrontal oxygenation levels) for the experimental group, possibly reflecting increased flight planning and decision making on the part of the pilots. Overall, the study outcome supports our hypothesis that portable weather displays can be used without degrading pilot performance on safety-related flight tasks, actions, and decisions as measured within the constraints of the present study. However, it also shows that an increased WSA does not automatically translate to enhanced flight behavior. The study outcome contributes to our knowledge of the effect of portable weather applications on pilot behavior and decision making. © 2016, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

  9. Development and Verification of a Pilot Code based on Two-fluid Three-field Model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hwang, Moon Kyu; Bae, S. W.; Lee, Y. J.; Chung, B. D.; Jeong, J. J.; Ha, K. S.; Kang, D. H

    2006-09-15

    In this study, a semi-implicit pilot code is developed for a one-dimensional channel flow as three-fields. The three fields are comprised of a gas, continuous liquid and entrained liquid fields. All the three fields are allowed to have their own velocities. The temperatures of the continuous liquid and the entrained liquid are, however, assumed to be equilibrium. The interphase phenomena include heat and mass transfer, as well as momentum transfer. The fluid/structure interaction, generally, include both heat and momentum transfer. Assuming adiabatic system, only momentum transfer is considered in this study, leaving the wall heat transfer for the future study. Using 10 conceptual problems, the basic pilot code has been verified. The results of the verification are summarized below: It was confirmed that the basic pilot code can simulate various flow conditions (such as single-phase liquid flow, bubbly flow, slug/churn turbulent flow, annular-mist flow, and single-phase vapor flow) and transitions of the flow conditions. The pilot code was programmed so that the source terms of the governing equations and numerical solution schemes can be easily tested. The mass and energy conservation was confirmed for single-phase liquid and single-phase vapor flows. It was confirmed that the inlet pressure and velocity boundary conditions work properly. It was confirmed that, for single- and two-phase flows, the velocity and temperature of non-existing phase are calculated as intended. Complete phase depletion which might occur during a phase change was found to adversely affect the code stability. A further study would be required to enhance code capability in this regard.

  10. Effects of a multidisciplinary group rehabilitation programme on participation of the visually impaired elderly : a pilot study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Alma, Manna A.; Groothoff, Johan W.; Melis-Dankers, Bart J. M.; Post, Marcel W. M.; Suurmeijer, Theo P. B. M.; van der Mei, Sijrike F.

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: To pilot test the newly developed multidisciplinary group rehabilitation programme Visually Impaired elderly Persons Participating (VIPP). Method: A single group pretest-posttest design pilot study included 29 visually impaired persons (>= 55 years). The intervention (20 weekly meetings)

  11. The TIME-Pilot intensity mapping experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crites, A. T.; Bock, J. J.; Bradford, C. M.; Chang, T. C.; Cooray, A. R.; Duband, L.; Gong, Y.; Hailey-Dunsheath, S.; Hunacek, J.; Koch, P. M.; Li, C. T.; O'Brient, R. C.; Prouve, T.; Shirokoff, E.; Silva, M. B.; Staniszewski, Z.; Uzgil, B.; Zemcov, M.

    2014-08-01

    TIME-Pilot is designed to make measurements from the Epoch of Reionization (EoR), when the first stars and galaxies formed and ionized the intergalactic medium. This will be done via measurements of the redshifted 157.7 um line of singly ionized carbon ([CII]). In particular, TIME-Pilot will produce the first detection of [CII] clustering fluctuations, a signal proportional to the integrated [CII] intensity, summed over all EoR galaxies. TIME-Pilot is thus sensitive to the emission from dwarf galaxies, thought to be responsible for the balance of ionizing UV photons, that will be difficult to detect individually with JWST and ALMA. A detection of [CII] clustering fluctuations would validate current theoretical estimates of the [CII] line as a new cosmological observable, opening the door for a new generation of instruments with advanced technology spectroscopic array focal planes that will map [CII] fluctuations to probe the EoR history of star formation, bubble size, and ionization state. Additionally, TIME-Pilot will produce high signal-to-noise measurements of CO clustering fluctuations, which trace the role of molecular gas in star-forming galaxies at redshifts 0 z < 2. With its unique atmospheric noise mitigation, TIME-Pilot also significantly improves sensitivity for measuring the kinetic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (kSZ) effect in galaxy clusters. TIME-Pilot will employ a linear array of spectrometers, each consisting of a parallel-plate diffraction grating. The spectrometer bandwidth covers 185-323 GHz to both probe the entire redshift range of interest and to include channels at the edges of the band for atmospheric noise mitigation. We illuminate the telescope with f/3 horns, which balances the desire to both couple to the sky with the best efficiency per beam, and to pack a large number of horns into the fixed field of view. Feedhorns couple radiation to the waveguide spectrometer gratings. Each spectrometer grating has 190 facets and provides resolving power

  12. The Constraints of Ghanaian Polytechnics in Adopting Competency Based Training (CBT): The Case of a Pilot-Tested Programme

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alhassan, Munkaila; Habib, Abdallah Mohammed

    2016-01-01

    Polytechnics in Ghana view Competency Based Training (CBT) as a major intervention to the perennial constraints confronting its education and training. On the basis of this, and by government policy, a pilot programme of CBT was instituted in all the 10 polytechnics of Ghana, and was pilot tested in, at least, one department. Agricultural…

  13. Pilot signal design via constrained optimization with application to delay-Doppler shift estimation in OFDM systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jing, Lishuai; Pedersen, Troels; Fleury, Bernard Henri

    2013-01-01

    for which we propose a genetic algorithm that computes close-to-optimal solutions. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm can efficiently find pilot signals that outperform the state-of-the-art pilot signals in both single-path and multipath propagation scenarios. In addition, we...

  14. Teaching Evaluation of Higher Education Institutions: Retrospect and Prospect

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siping, Gao

    2009-01-01

    China started up pilot projects for the evaluation of teaching work at regular higher education institutions (HEIs) in 1994, and, beginning in 2003, the Ministry of Education (MOE) formally set up a system of cyclical teaching evaluation. Among the 592 undergraduate colleges and universities that were listed in the plan for the first round of…

  15. The pilot plant for electron beam food processing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Migdal, W.; Walis, L.; Chmielewski, A. G.

    1993-07-01

    In the frames of the national programme on the application of irradiation for food preservation and hygienization an experimental plant for electron beam processing has been established in INCT. The pilot plant has been constructed inside an old fort what decreases significantly the cost of the investment. The pilot plant is equipped with a small research accelerator Pilot (10 MeV, 1 kW) and an industrial unit Elektronika (10 MeV, 10 kW). This allows both laboratory and full technological scale testing of the elaborated process to be conducted. The industrial unit is being equipped with e-/X conversion target, for high density products irradiation. On the basis of the research there were performed at different scientific institutions in Poland, health authorities have issued permissions for permanent treatment of spices, garlic, onions and temporary permissions for mushrooms, and potatoes. Dosimetric methods have been elaborated for the routine use at the plant. In the INCT laboratory methods for the control of e-/X treated food have been established.

  16. The pilot plant for electron beam food processing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Migdal, W.; Kosmal, W.; Malec-Czechowska, K.; Maciszewski, W.

    1992-01-01

    In the frames of the national programme on the application of irradiation for food preservation and hygienization an experimental plant for electron beam processing has been established in INCT. The pilot plant has been constructed inside an old fort what decreases significantly the cost of the investment. The pilot plants is equipped with a small research accelerator Pilot (10 MeV, 1 kW) and an industrial unit Elektronika (10 MeV, 10 kW). This allows both laboratory and full technological scale testing of the elaborated process to be conducted. The industrial unit is being equipped with e-/X conversion target, for high density products irradiation. On the basis of the research there were performed at different scientific institutions in Poland, health authorities have issued permissions for permanent treatment of spices, garlic, onions and temporary permissions for mushrooms, and potatoes. Dosimetric methods have been elaborated for the routine use at the plant. In the INCT laboratory methods for the control of e-/X treated food have been established. (author). 9 refs, 5 figs, 1 tab

  17. Design considerations for a steam-injection pilot with in-situ foaming

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Siddiqui, M.H.; Sanyal, S.K.; Horn, A.J.

    1982-08-01

    This report reviews the necessary aspects of the planning, operation, evaluation, environmental impact and cost to implement a field pilot of steam injection with in-situ foaming. The Stanford University Petroleum Research Institute (SUPRI) is planning to implement such a pilot in Kern County, California. The cost of the pilot will be shared by the US Department of Energy and an oil company. Some important aspects of drilling and completion programs and their specifications, permits from regulatory bodies, and downhole tools to improve steam stimulation are discussed. The essential surface facilities which include water treatment plant, steam generator, demulsifier and dehydrator are considered. The necessary laboratory research in support of the pilot has been recommended. The formation evaluation and reservoir engineering effort for the pilot has been divided into three phases: reservoir definition, reservoir monitoring and post-pilot study. Appropriate techniques applicable to each phase of the test have been discussed. The environmental impact regulations as related to the steam injection process have been considered. In particular, the environmental problems associated with the burning of crude oil and desulfurization of flue gas have been discussed. Other environmental considerations such as solid and liquid waste disposal, health and safety are also discussed. An estimate of the cost of this field test is presented. Three scenarii (for pilots with high, medium, and low investment potentials, respectively) are presented. Since this report was prepared, a specific site for the supri pilot has been chosen. Appendices G and H present the details on this site.

  18. 76 FR 63183 - Pilot in Command Proficiency Check and Other Changes to the Pilot and Pilot School Certification...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-10-12

    ...-0938; Amendment Nos. 61-128, 91-324, 141-15, and 142-7] RIN 2120-AJ18 Pilot in Command Proficiency Check and Other Changes to the Pilot and Pilot School Certification Rules; Correction AGENCY: Federal... regulations to revise the pilot, flight instructor, and pilot school certification requirements. In particular...

  19. 14 CFR 61.73 - Military pilots or former military pilots: Special rules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Military pilots or former military pilots... Ratings and Pilot Authorizations § 61.73 Military pilots or former military pilots: Special rules. (a... a disciplinary action involving aircraft operations, a U.S. military pilot or former military pilot...

  20. Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES Exploratory Data & Analytic Services Private Sector Pilot Project

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael Schull

    2017-04-01

    ICES was able to work with private sector organizations without compromising the three principles. Based on the evaluation of the private sector pilot, and the findings from the focus groups, ICES will begin offering limited analytic services to private sector researchers beginning June 2016 under ICES’ existing corporate structure, and bring recommendations regarding ongoing operations to the ICES Board in June 2017.

  1. USDOT guidance for connected vehicle deployments : institutional and business models and financial sustainability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-07-01

    This document provides guidance material in regards to Institutional and Business issues as well as Financial Sustainability for the CV Pilots Deployment Concept Development Phase. This material also provides part of the foundation for the Performanc...

  2. PILOT DECONTAMINATION THROUGH PILOT SEQUENCE HOPPING IN MASSIVE MIMO SYSTEMS

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2015-01-01

    path between one of the users and one of the base stations define one of the channels. The system comprises a pilot generation unit configured to assign pilot sequences randomly among the users and a pilot processing unit configured to filter the pilot sequences received from a user of interest so...... that the channel coefficient of the channel of the user of interest is determined. The pilot sequences received from the user of interest are contaminated by other non-orthogonal or identical pilot sequences from other users of the cell of interest or other cells. The filter is configured so that the contamination...... caused by the other non-orthogonal or identical pilot sequences from the other users is reduced....

  3. Relationship between Recent Flight Experience and Pilot Error General Aviation Accidents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nilsson, Sarah J.

    Aviation insurance agents and fixed-base operation (FBO) owners use recent flight experience, as implied by the 90-day rule, to measure pilot proficiency in physical airplane skills, and to assess the likelihood of a pilot error accident. The generally accepted premise is that more experience in a recent timeframe predicts less of a propensity for an accident, all other factors excluded. Some of these aviation industry stakeholders measure pilot proficiency solely by using time flown within the past 90, 60, or even 30 days, not accounting for extensive research showing aeronautical decision-making and situational awareness training decrease the likelihood of a pilot error accident. In an effort to reduce the pilot error accident rate, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has seen the need to shift pilot training emphasis from proficiency in physical airplane skills to aeronautical decision-making and situational awareness skills. However, current pilot training standards still focus more on the former than on the latter. The relationship between pilot error accidents and recent flight experience implied by the FAA's 90-day rule has not been rigorously assessed using empirical data. The intent of this research was to relate recent flight experience, in terms of time flown in the past 90 days, to pilot error accidents. A quantitative ex post facto approach, focusing on private pilots of single-engine general aviation (GA) fixed-wing aircraft, was used to analyze National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) accident investigation archival data. The data were analyzed using t-tests and binary logistic regression. T-tests between the mean number of hours of recent flight experience of tricycle gear pilots involved in pilot error accidents (TPE) and non-pilot error accidents (TNPE), t(202) = -.200, p = .842, and conventional gear pilots involved in pilot error accidents (CPE) and non-pilot error accidents (CNPE), t(111) = -.271, p = .787, indicate there is no

  4. Pilot Domain Task Experience in Night Fatal Helicopter Emergency Medical Service Accidents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aherne, Bryan B; Zhang, Chrystal; Newman, David G

    2016-06-01

    In the United States, accident and fatality rates in helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) operations increase significantly under nighttime environmentally hazardous operational conditions. Other studies have found pilots' total flight hours unrelated to HEMS accident outcomes. Many factors affect pilots' decision making, including their experience. This study seeks to investigate whether pilot domain task experience (DTE) in HEMS plays a role against likelihood of accidents at night when hazardous operational conditions are entered. There were 32 flights with single pilot nighttime fatal HEMS accidents between 1995 and 2013 with findings of controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) and loss of control (LCTRL) due to spatial disorientation (SD) identified. The HEMS DTE of the pilots were compared with industry survey data. Of the pilots, 56% had ≤2 yr of HEMS experience and 9% had >10 yr of HEMS experience. There were 21 (66%) accidents that occurred in non-visual flight rules (VFR) conditions despite all flights being required to be conducted under VFR. There was a statistically significant increase in accident rates in pilots with pilots with >10 yr HEMS DTE. HEMS DTE plays a preventive role against the likelihood of a night operational accident. Pilots with limited HEMS DTE are more likely to make a poor assessment of hazardous conditions at night, and this will place HEMS flight crew at high risk in the VFR night domain.

  5. 76 FR 19267 - Pilot, Flight Instructor, and Pilot School Certification; Technical Amendment

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-04-07

    .... No. 61-127] RIN 2120-AI86 Pilot, Flight Instructor, and Pilot School Certification; Technical... for pilots, flight instructors, ground instructors, and pilot schools. This document reinstates two... entitled, ``Pilot, Flight Instructor, and Pilot School Certification; Final Rule'' (74 FR 42500). That...

  6. AutoPyFactory: A Scalable Flexible Pilot Factory Implementation

    CERN Document Server

    Caballero, J; The ATLAS collaboration; Love, P; Stewart, G

    2012-01-01

    The ATLAS experiment at the CERN LHC is one of the largest users of grid computing infrastructure, which is a central part of the experiment’s computing operations. Considerable efforts have been made to use grid technology in the most efficient and effective way, including the use of a pilot job based workload management framework. In this model the experiment submits ’pilot’ jobs to sites without payload. When these jobs begin to run they contact a central service to retrieve a real payload to execute. The first generation of pilot factories were usually specific to a single VO, and were bound to the particular architecture of that VO’s distributed processing. A second generation provides factories which are more flexible, not tied to any particular VO, and provide new or improved features such as monitoring, logging, profiling, etc. In this paper we describe this key part of the ATLAS pilot architecture, a second generation pilot factory, AutoPyFactory. AutoPyFactory has a modular design and is hig...

  7. Pilot-scale Biogas Plant for the Research and Development of New Technologies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivan Simeonov

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Тhe paper describes a new pilot-scale biogas plant of the Institute of Microbiology - Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. The equipment includes: a 100 L pilot bioreactor, a 200 L metal gasholder, sensors, actuators, a two-level automatic process monitoring and control system, a fire and explosion protection system and two web cameras. The monitoring and control system is composed on the lower level of a controller Beckhoff, and on the higher level - of a PC with specialized software (under development. The pilot biogas plant is designed to work out and scale up various anaerobic digestion (AD technologies based on different types of feedstock. All the data will be stored on the PC for quick reference and possibly data mining, parameter identification and verification of different AD mathematical models.

  8. Acceptability of a reflective e-portfolio instituted in an orthodontic specialist programme: a pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tonni, I; Oliver, R G

    2013-08-01

    The purpose of the study was to highlight students' and mentors' acceptability of a reflective e-portfolio instituted in a postgraduate orthodontic programme in the UK. A reflective e-portfolio was developed on the basis of principles provided by a literature search and was piloted for 2 months with six students and seven mentors. At the end of the experience, mentors' and students' acceptability of the e-portfolio with a reflective component was studied using questionnaires. The data were analysed using basic quantitative and qualitative methods. Students' response highlighted acceptability issues related to each aspect of the e-portfolio derived from the literature: relevance of the e-portfolio reflective part; time required for the process; support and mentoring; the implementation method; and the electronic medium. Mentors showed a more positive attitude towards the e-portfolio, expressing only some concerns about the time involved in using it. Furthermore, the analysis of the data highlighted some other acceptability matters: the specificity of the e-portfolio, the communication amongst students and the relationship between students and mentors. The future successful implementation of the reflective e-portfolio will depend on the productive management of the acceptability issues identified by students and mentors, in particular:(i)the specificity of the e-portfolio that would avoid its overlapping with other part of the programme;(ii)the increasing communication amongst students to improve their knowledge of the reflective writing process; and (iii)the development of a relationship between students and mentors helping to create the appropriate environment for reflection. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  9. Reliability of 3-Dimensional Measures of Single-Leg Cross Drop Landing Across 3 Different Institutions: Implications for Multicenter Biomechanical and Epidemiological Research on ACL Injury Prevention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DiCesare, Christopher A; Bates, Nathaniel A; Barber Foss, Kim D; Thomas, Staci M; Wordeman, Samuel C; Sugimoto, Dai; Roewer, Benjamin D; Medina McKeon, Jennifer M; Di Stasi, Stephanie; Noehren, Brian W; Ford, Kevin R; Kiefer, Adam W; Hewett, Timothy E; Myer, Gregory D

    2015-12-01

    Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are physically and financially devastating but affect a relatively small percentage of the population. Prospective identification of risk factors for ACL injury necessitates a large sample size; therefore, study of this injury would benefit from a multicenter approach. To determine the reliability of kinematic and kinetic measures of a single-leg cross drop task across 3 institutions. Controlled laboratory study. Twenty-five female high school volleyball players participated in this study. Three-dimensional motion data of each participant performing the single-leg cross drop were collected at 3 institutions over a period of 4 weeks. Coefficients of multiple correlation were calculated to assess the reliability of kinematic and kinetic measures during the landing phase of the movement. Between-centers reliability for kinematic waveforms in the frontal and sagittal planes was good, but moderate in the transverse plane. Between-centers reliability for kinetic waveforms was good in the sagittal, frontal, and transverse planes. Based on these findings, the single-leg cross drop task has moderate to good reliability of kinematic and kinetic measures across institutions after implementation of a standardized testing protocol. Multicenter collaborations can increase study numbers and generalize results, which is beneficial for studies of relatively rare phenomena, such as ACL injury. An important step is to determine the reliability of risk assessments across institutions before a multicenter collaboration can be initiated.

  10. Study on designing a complete pilot plant for processing sandstone ores in Palua-Parong area

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Le Quang Thai; Tran Van Son; Tran The Dinh; Trinh Nguyen Quynh; Vu Khac Tuan

    2015-01-01

    Design work is the first step of the construction and operation of pilot plant. Thus, the project Study on designing a complete pilot plant for processing sandstone ores in Palua - Parong area was conducted to design a pilot plant for testing entire technological process to obtain yellowcake. Based on a literature review of uranium ore processing technology in the world, information of ore and previous research results of uranium ore in PaLua - PaRong area at the Institute for Technology of Radioactive and Rare Elements, a suitable technological flowsheet for processing this ore has been selected. The size, location of the pilot plant and planed experiments has been selected during the implementation of this project, in which basic parameters, designed system of equipment, buildings, ect. were also calculated. (author)

  11. Pilots 2.0: DIRAC pilots for all the skies

    CERN Document Server

    Stagni, F; McNab, A; Luzzi, C

    2015-01-01

    In the last few years, new types of computing infrastructures, such as IAAS (Infrastructure as a Service) and IAAC (Infrastructure as a Client), gained popularity. New resources may come as part of pledged resources, while others are opportunistic. Most of these new infrastructures are based on virtualization techniques. Meanwhile, some concepts, such as distributed queues, lost appeal, while still supporting a vast amount of resources. Virtual Organizations are therefore facing heterogeneity of the available resources and the use of an Interware software like DIRAC to hide the diversity of underlying resources has become essential. The DIRAC WMS is based on the concept of pilot jobs that was introduced back in 2004. A pilot is what creates the possibility to run jobs on a worker node. Within DIRAC, we developed a new generation of pilot jobs, that we dubbed Pilots 2.0. Pilots 2.0 are not tied to a specific infrastructure; rather they are generic, fully configurable and extendible pilots. A Pilot 2.0 can be s...

  12. Effects of malicious ocular laser exposure in commercial airline pilots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palakkamanil, Mathew M; Fielden, Michael P

    2015-12-01

    Intentional malicious laser strikes on commercial pilots are committed by individuals who target a laser into airplane cockpits during takeoff and landing. Because laser exposure to pilots is a relatively new but growing occurrence, our study investigates the ocular effect of this laser exposure in pilots. Retrospective chart review by a single ophthalmologist. All commercial airline pilots (58 male, 3 female) who experienced a laser strike while flying between April 2012 and November 2014 who presented to our clinic were included. A retrospective chart review was performed in a retinal specialist's practice. Ocular assessment was performed within 3 days of laser exposure. A complete ophthalmic evaluation was conducted, including Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study visual acuity, colour vision, visual fields, intraocular pressure, slit-lamp examination, dilated fundus examination, colour fundus photographs, and ocular coherence tomography. Sixty-four laser strike incidents involving commercial pilots were included. All pilots in the study experienced some degree of immediate ocular irritation or light sensitivity. No definite cases of ocular damage were attributed to laser strikes. No pilot had any functional ocular deficits. Our study revealed that laser strikes on aircraft did not result in permanent visual functional or structural deficits. However, laser strikes cause immediate visual effects, including glare, flash blindness, and ocular irritation that can interfere with a pilot's visual function. Given the widespread accessibility of high-power lasers and the rapid increase in incidents, laser strikes threaten to jeopardize aviation safety unless effective preventative measures are put in place. Copyright © 2015 Canadian Ophthalmological Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. The 3D cadastre prototype and pilot in the Russian Federation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vandysheva, N.; Sapelnikov, S.; Van Oosterom, P.J.M.; De Vries, M.E.; Spiering, B.; Wouters, R.; Hoogeveen, A.; Penkov, V.

    2012-01-01

    This paper presents the developed prototype and the planned pilot of the on-going project on 3D cadastre modelling in the Russian Federation. The aim of this project is to provide guidance in the development of 3D Cadastral registration and to create favourable legal and institutional conditions for

  14. A Single-Center Pilot Prospective Study of Topical Application of Platelet-Derived Eye Drops for Patients with Ocular Chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zallio, Francesco; Mazzucco, Laura; Monaco, Federico; Astori, Maria Rosa; Passera, Roberto; Drago, Giovanna; Tamiazzo, Stefania; Rapetti, Manuela; Dolcino, Daniela; Guaschino, Roberto; Pini, Massimo; Ladetto, Marco

    2016-09-01

    Ocular involvement of chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) is a complication that occurs in up to 60% of patients after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Conventional therapeutic options include medical and surgical procedures that are administered depending on the severity of the condition, but most of them have provided unsatisfactory results and, to date, there is no consensus about treatment. We considered that topical application of a platelet lysate, administered as eye drops, might be considered an alternative worthwhile of investigation to treat ocular surface disorders in patients suffering from cGVHD. Therefore, we conducted a single-center prospective pilot study to assess the efficacy and safety of using eye drops made from reconstituted lysed platelet concentrate. Twenty-six patients with ocular cGVHD were eligible for the study; all but 2 completed their scheduled 1-year treatment and complied with the hematologic and ophthalmic regimen. At their first assessment interviews, after 30 days of treatment, 91% of patients reported an improvement in their symptoms and for 32%, substantive objective differences were measured. Remission of corneal damage was seen for 86% of our cohort, and improved National Institutes of Health scores for 73%, of whom 8% achieved the best score of 0 (ie, non-dry eye). Similar results were seen at later time points. Comparing outcomes for our patient cohort to those determined retrospectively for patients in our institutional database revealed a 5-year overall survival (OS) of 65%. This OS is comparable to patients with limited cGVHD (75%) and is superior to that of patients with nonocular extensive cGVHD or without cGVHD (30% and 59%, respectively) (P = .013). Our results suggest that platelet-derived eye drops are a safe, practical, and well-tolerated therapeutic option that offers substantial benefits for most patients affected by ocular cGVHD at onset. The favorable OS of our patient cohort

  15. Brachytherapy or Conformal External Radiotherapy for Prostate Cancer: A Single-Institution Matched-Pair Analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pickles, Tom; Keyes, Mira; Morris, W. James

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: In the absence of randomized study data, institutional case series have shown brachytherapy (BT) to produce excellent biochemical control (bNED) in patients with localized prostate cancer compared with alternative curative treatments. This study was designed to overcome some of the limitations of case series studies by using a matched-pair design in patients treated contemporaneously with BT and external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) at a single institution. Methods and Materials: Six hundred one eligible patients treated between 1998 and 2001 were prospectively followed up in our institutional databases and matched on a 1:1 basis for the following known prognostic variables: prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level, Gleason score, T stage, the use and duration of neoadjuvant androgen deprivation therapy, and the percentage of positive tissue core samples. Two hundred seventy-eight perfect matches of patients (139 in each group) with low- and intermediate-risk cancer were further analyzed. bNED (Phoenix definition) was the primary endpoint. Other endpoints were toxicity, PSA kinetics, and the secondary use of androgen deprivation therapy. Results: The 5-year bNED rates were 95% (BT) and 85% (EBRT) (p < 0.001). After 7 years, the BT bNED result was unchanged, but the rate in EBRT patients had fallen to 75%. The median posttreatment PSA nadirs were 0.04 ng/mL (BT) and 0.62 ng/mL (EBRT, p < 0.001), which predicted a higher ongoing treatment failure rate in association with EBRT use than with BT use. Late urinary toxicity and rectal/bowel toxicity were worse in patients treated with BT and EBRT, respectively. Conclusions: BT for both low-risk and selected intermediate-risk cancers achieves exceptional cure rates. Even with dose escalation, it will be difficult for EBRT to match the proven track record of BT seen over the past decade.

  16. Stories from early-career women physicians who have left academic medicine: a qualitative study at a single institution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levine, Rachel B; Lin, Fenny; Kern, David E; Wright, Scott M; Carrese, Joseph

    2011-06-01

    The number of women in academic medicine has steadily increased, although gender parity still does not exist and women leave academics at somewhat higher rates than men. The authors investigated the reasons why women leave careers in academic medicine. Semistructured, one-on-one interviews were conducted in 2007-2008 with 20 women physicians who had left a single academic institution to explore their reasons for opting out of academic careers. Data analysis was iterative, and an editing analysis style was used to derive themes. A lack of role models for combining career and family responsibilities, frustrations with research (funding difficulties, poor mentorship, competition), work-life balance, and the institutional environment (described as noncollaborative and biased in favor of male faculty) emerged as key factors associated with a decision to leave academic medicine for respondents. Faced with these challenges, respondents reevaluated their priorities and concluded that a discrepancy existed between their own and institutional priorities. Many respondents expressed divergent views with the institutional norms on how to measure success and, as a consequence, felt that they were undervalued at work. Participants report a disconnection between their own priorities and those of the dominant culture in academic medicine. Efforts to retain women faculty in academic medicine may include exploring the aspects of an academic career that they value most and providing support and recognition accordingly.

  17. Causes of Mortality among American College Students: A Pilot Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turner, James C.; Leno, E. Victor; Keller, Adrienne

    2013-01-01

    This pilot study from self-selected institutions of higher education provides an estimate of the causes and rates of mortality among college students between the ages of 18 and 24 years old. One hundred fifty-seven 4-year colleges participated in an online survey of student deaths during one academic year. A total of 254 deaths were reported. The…

  18. HANFORD MEDIUM-LOW CURIE WASTE PRETREATMENT ALTERNATIVES PROJECT FRACTIONAL CRYSTALLIZATION PILOT SCALE TESTING FINAL REPORT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    HERTING DL

    2008-09-16

    The Fractional Crystallization Pilot Plant was designed and constructed to demonstrate that fractional crystallization is a viable way to separate the high-level and low-activity radioactive waste streams from retrieved Hanford single-shell tank saltcake. The focus of this report is to review the design, construction, and testing details of the fractional crystallization pilot plant not previously disseminated.

  19. HANFORD MEDIUM-LOW CURIE WASTE PRETREATMENT ALTERNATIVES PROJECT-FRACTIONAL CRYSTALLIZATION PILOT SCALE TESTING FINAL REPORT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    HERTING DL

    2008-01-01

    The Fractional Crystallization Pilot Plant was designed and constructed to demonstrate that fractional crystallization is a viable way to separate the high-level and low-activity radioactive waste streams from retrieved Hanford single-shell tank saltcake. The focus of this report is to review the design, construction, and testing details of the fractional crystallization pilot plant not previously disseminated

  20. Muscle energy technique compared to eccentric loading exercise in the management of achilles tendinitis: A pilot randomized controlled trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hariharasudhan Ravichandran

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Achilles tendinitis is a common overuse injury among both elite and recreational athletes involved in activities such as repetitive jumping and running. Aim: The aim of this single-blinded randomized study was to compare the efficacy of muscle energy technique (MET and eccentric loading exercise (ELE interventions on improving functional ability and pain reduction among athletes with Achilles tendinitis. Methods: A single-blinded, pilot, randomized study was conducted in the Department of Physical Therapy, Global Hospitals and Health City, India, with 6-week follow-up. A total of 30 patients with Achilles tendinitis were randomly allocated to receive either MET (n = 15 or ELE (n = 15 treatment. Treatment effects were evaluated by pre- and post-treatment assessment of visual analog scale (VAS and Victorian Institute of Sports Assessment-Achilles (VISA-A questionnaire. Measures were performed by single-blinded evaluators at baseline and at 2, 4, and after 6 weeks of treatment. Results: Both groups showed a significant difference in VAS after 6 weeks' ELE group showed a significant improvement during treatment at 2 and 4 weeks in comparison with MET group. The VISA-A scale score significantly improved in both groups. Yet, comparison of VISA scores between groups showed marginally significant difference (P = 0.012. Conclusion: This pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT showed the efficacy of ELE in reducing pain and improving functional ability among patients with Achilles tendinitis. The findings of this study provide the rationale for undertaking a large-scale RCT. A large sized trial is needed to establish evidence for clinical practice of ELE in Achilles tendinitis cases.

  1. Electric Power Research Institute Environmental Control Technology Center Report to the Steering Committee

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    None, None

    1998-01-12

    Operations and maintenance continued this month at the Electric Power Research Institute's (EPRI's) Environmental Control Technology Center (ECTC). Testing for the month involved the Dry Sorbent Injection (DSI) test block with the Carbon Injection System. The 1.0 MW Cold-Side Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) unit, the 0.4 MW Mini-Pilot Wet Scrubber, and the 4.0 MW Pilot Wet Scrubber remained idle this month in a cold-standby mode and were inspected regularly. These units remain available for testing as future project work is identified.

  2. A self-efficacy education programme on foot self-care behaviour among older patients with diabetes in a public long-term care institution, Malaysia: a Quasi-experimental Pilot Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharoni, Siti Khuzaimah Ahmad; Abdul Rahman, Hejar; Minhat, Halimatus Sakdiah; Shariff Ghazali, Sazlina; Azman Ong, Mohd Hanafi

    2017-06-08

    A pilot self-efficacy education programme was conducted to assess the feasibility, acceptability and potential impact of the self-efficacy education programme on improving foot self-care behaviour among older patients with diabetes in a public long-term care institution. A prequasi-experimental and postquasi-experimental study was conducted in a public long-term care institution in Selangor, Malaysia. Patients with diabetes aged 60 years and above who fulfilled the selection criteria were invited to participate in this programme. Four self-efficacy information sources; performance accomplishments, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion and physiological information were translated into programme interventions. The programme consisted of four visits over a 12-week period. The first visit included screening and baseline assessment and the second visit involved 30 min of group seminar presentation. The third and fourth visits entailed a 20-min one-to-one follow-up discussion and evaluation. A series of visits to the respondents was conducted throughout the programme. The primary outcome was foot self-care behaviour. Foot self-efficacy (efficacy-expectation), foot care outcome expectation, knowledge of foot care, quality of life, fasting blood glucose and foot condition were secondary outcomes. Data were analysed with descriptive and inferential statistics (McNemar's test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test) using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences V.20.0. Fifty-two residents were recruited but only 31 met the inclusion criteria and were included in the analysis at baseline and at 12 weeks postintervention. The acceptability rate was moderately high. At postintervention, foot self-care behaviour (p<0.001), foot self-efficacy (efficacy-expectation), (p<0.001), foot care outcome expectation (p<0.001), knowledge of foot care (p<0.001), quality of life (physical symptoms) (p=0.003), fasting blood glucose (p=0.010), foot hygiene (p=0.030) and anhydrosis (p=0

  3. Surgical Excision with Forehead Flap as Single Modality Treatment for Basal Cell Cancer of Central Face: Single Institutional Experience of 50 Cases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jagdeep Rao

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Basal cell carcinoma (BCC is the most common skin cancer worldwide. The WHO has defined it as “a locally invasive, slowly spreading tumor which rarely metastasizes, arising in the epidermis or hair follicles and in which the peripheral cells usually simulate the basal cells of the epidermis.” Here we discuss the management of BCCs of central face with surgical excision and reconstruction with forehead flap as single modality treatment. Material and Methods. This is a retrospective review of 50 patients who underwent surgical excision of BCC involving the facial region followed by primary reconstruction using forehead flaps at a single institution. There were 20 males and 30 females, mean age of 59 years. Results. No recurrence at primary site was observed during the follow-up of 1–4 yrs. There was no ectropion or exposure sequela. However, epiphora was evident. Size of lesions ranged from 2 to 6 cm. Keloid formation was seen in 2 (4% patients. Functional and cosmetic outcomes were satisfactory. Conclusion. For the face, the best reconstructive effort eventually fails in the face of tumor recurrence. The forehead flap represents one of the best methods for repair of extensive facial defects. Complete tumor extirpation, the primary event, is the key.

  4. Control/display trade-off study for single-pilot instrument flight rule operations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoh, R.

    1983-01-01

    The objectives were to determine minimum autopilot functions and displays required to keep pilot workload at an acceptable level; to determine what constitutes an acceptable level of workload; to identify critical tasks; and to suggest specific experiments required to refine conclusions. It was determined that workload relief is derived from basic stability augmentation; that complex autopilots can lead to serious blunders; and that displays need to enhance positional awareness and minimize the likelihood of false hypothesis.

  5. Pilot dynamics for instrument approach tasks: Full panel multiloop and flight director operations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weir, D. H.; Mcruer, D. T.

    1972-01-01

    Measurements and interpretations of single and mutiloop pilot response properties during simulated instrument approach are presented. Pilot subjects flew Category 2-like ILS approaches in a fixed base DC-8 simulaton. A conventional instrument panel and controls were used, with simulated vertical gust and glide slope beam bend forcing functions. Reduced and interpreted pilot describing functions and remmant are given for pitch attitude, flight director, and multiloop (longitudinal) control tasks. The response data are correlated with simultaneously recorded eye scanning statistics, previously reported in NASA CR-1535. The resulting combined response and scanning data and their interpretations provide a basis for validating and extending the theory of manual control displays.

  6. 76 FR 78141 - Pilot, Flight Instructor, and Pilot School Certification; Technical Amendment

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-16

    ...-26661; Amdt. No. 61-129] RIN 2120-AI86 Pilot, Flight Instructor, and Pilot School Certification... requirements for pilots, flight instructors, ground instructors, and pilot schools. This document corrects an... a practical test for the issuance of a sport pilot certificate in a light-sport aircraft other than...

  7. 76 FR 60960 - Gulf Opportunity Pilot Loan Program (GO Loan Pilot)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-30

    ... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Gulf Opportunity Pilot Loan Program (GO Loan Pilot) AGENCY: U.S.... SUMMARY: This notice announces the extension of SBA's GO Loan Pilot, with modifications, until December 31... processing available through the GO Loan Pilot to small businesses in the eligible parishes/counties through...

  8. Effects of propranolol on conversational reciprocity in autism spectrum disorder: a pilot, double-blind, single-dose psychopharmacological challenge study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zamzow, Rachel M; Ferguson, Bradley J; Stichter, Janine P; Porges, Eric C; Ragsdale, Alexandra S; Lewis, Morgan L; Beversdorf, David Q

    2016-04-01

    Pharmacological intervention for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is an important addition to treatment, yet currently available agents target co-morbid psychiatric concerns, such as aggression and irritability. Propranolol, a beta-adrenergic antagonist with anxiolytic effects, has been shown to improve verbal fluency and working memory in adults and adolescents with ASD in single-dose challenges. The present pilot study explores the acute effects of propranolol on a measure of conversational reciprocity in this population. We also examined whether autonomic activity and anxiety moderate or mediate response to the drug, given relationships between these variables and ASD, as well as the drug's effects. In a within-subject crossover design, 20 individuals with ASD received a single dose of propranolol or placebo during two sessions in a double-blinded, counterbalanced manner. After drug administration, participants performed a conversational reciprocity task by engaging in a short conversation with the researcher. Measurements of autonomic activity and anxiety were obtained before and after drug administration. Propranolol significantly improved performance on the conversational reciprocity task total [d = 0.40] and nonverbal communication domain scores when compared to the placebo condition. However, neither autonomic activity nor anxiety was significantly associated with drug response. Acute propranolol administration improved conversational reciprocity in ASD. Further exploration of these preliminary findings, as well as other potential treatment response predictors, with serial doses is warranted.

  9. Pilot implementation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hertzum, Morten; Bansler, Jørgen P.; Havn, Erling C.

    2012-01-01

    A recurrent problem in information-systems development (ISD) is that many design shortcomings are not detected during development, but first after the system has been delivered and implemented in its intended environment. Pilot implementations appear to promise a way to extend prototyping from...... the laboratory to the field, thereby allowing users to experience a system design under realistic conditions and developers to get feedback from realistic use while the design is still malleable. We characterize pilot implementation, contrast it with prototyping, propose a iveelement model of pilot...... implementation and provide three empirical illustrations of our model. We conclude that pilot implementation has much merit as an ISD technique when system performance is contingent on context. But we also warn developers that, despite their seductive conceptual simplicity, pilot implementations can be difficult...

  10. 75 FR 53007 - Gulf Opportunity Pilot Loan Program (GO Loan Pilot)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-08-30

    ... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Gulf Opportunity Pilot Loan Program (GO Loan Pilot) AGENCY: U.S...'s GO Loan Pilot until September 30, 2011. Due to the scope and magnitude of the devastation to... streamlined and centralized loan processing available through the GO Loan Pilot to small businesses in the...

  11. Single Carrier Cyclic Prefix-Assisted CDMA System with Frequency Domain Equalization for High Data Rate Transmission

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Madhukumar A. S.

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available Multiple-access interference and interfinger interference limit the capacity of conventional single-carrier DS-CDMA systems. Even though multicarrier CDMA posses the advantages of conventional CDMA and OFDM, it suffers from two major implementation difficulties such as peak-to-average power ratio and high sensitivity to frequency offset and RF phase noise. A novel approach based on single-carrier cyclic prefix-assisted CDMA has been proposed to overcome the disadvantages of single-carrier CDMA and multicarrier modulation. The usefulness of the proposed approach for high-speed packet access with simplified channel estimation procedures are investigated in this paper. The paper also proposes a data-dependent pilot structure for the downlink transmission of the proposed system for enhancing pilot-assisted channel estimation in frequency domain. The performance of the proposed pilot structure is compared against the data-independent common pilot structure. The proposed system is extensively simulated for different channel parameters with different channel estimation and equalization methods and the results are compared against conventional multicarrier CDMA systems with identical system specifications.

  12. Effect of pilot fuel quantity on the performance of a dual fuel engine

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abd Alla, G.H.; Soliman, H.A.; Badr, O.A.; Abd Rabbo, M.F. [Zagazig University, Cairo (Egypt). Shoubra Faculty of Engineering

    2000-04-01

    It is well known that the operation of dual fuel engines at lower loads suffers from lower thermal efficiency and higher unburned percentages of fuel. To rectify this problem, tests have been conducted on a special single cylinder compression ignition research engine (Ricardo E6) to investigate the effect of pilot fuel quantity on the performance of an indirect injection diesel engine fuelled with gaseous fuel. Diesel fuel was used as the pilot fuel and methane or propane was used as the main fuel which was inducted into the intake manifold to mix with the intake air. Through experimental investigations, it is shown that, the low efficiency and excess emissions at light loads can be improved significantly by increasing the amount of pilot fuel, while increasing the amount of pilot fuel at high loads led to early knocking. (author)

  13. Performance and specific emissions contours throughout the operating range of hydrogen-fueled compression ignition engine with diesel and RME pilot fuels

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shahid Imran

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the performance and emissions contours of a hydrogen dual fueled compression ignition (CI engine with two pilot fuels (diesel and rapeseed methyl ester, and compares the performance and emissions iso-contours of diesel and rapeseed methyl ester (RME single fueling with diesel and RME piloted hydrogen dual fueling throughout the engines operating speed and power range. The collected data have been used to produce iso-contours of thermal efficiency, volumetric efficiency, specific oxides of nitrogen (NOX, specific hydrocarbons (HC and specific carbon dioxide (CO2 on a power-speed plane. The performance and emission maps are experimentally investigated, compared, and critically discussed. Apart from medium loads at lower and medium speeds with diesel piloted hydrogen combustion, dual fueling produced lower thermal efficiency everywhere across the map. For diesel and RME single fueling the maximum specific NOX emissions are centered at the mid speed, mid power region. Hydrogen dual fueling produced higher specific NOX with both pilot fuels as compared to their respective single fueling operations. The range, location and trends of specific NOX varied significantly when compared to single fueling cases. The volumetric efficiency is discussed in detail with the implications of manifold injection of hydrogen analyzed with the conclusions drawn.

  14. AutoPyFactory: A Scalable Flexible Pilot Factory Implementation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Caballero, J; Hover, J; Love, P; Stewart, G A

    2012-01-01

    The ATLAS experiment at the CERN LHC is one of the largest users of grid computing infrastructure, which is a central part of the experiment's computing operations. Considerable efforts have been made to use grid technology in the most efficient and effective way, including the use of a pilot job based workload management framework. In this model the experiment submits ‘pilot’ jobs to sites without payload. When these jobs begin to run they contact a central service to pick-up a real payload to execute. The first generation of pilot factories were usually specific to a single Virtual Organization (VO), and were bound to the particular architecture of that VO's distributed processing. A second generation provides factories which are more flexible, not tied to any particular VO, and provide new and improved features such as monitoring, logging, profiling, etc. In this paper we describe this key part of the ATLAS pilot architecture, a second generation pilot factory, AutoPyFactory. AutoPyFactory has a modular design and is highly configurable. It is able to send different types of pilots to sites and exploit different submission mechanisms and queue characteristics. It is tightly integrated with the PanDA job submission framework, coupling pilot flow to the amount of work the site has to run. It gathers information from many sources in order to correctly configure itself for a site and its decision logic can easily be updated. Integrated into AutoPyFactory is a flexible system for delivering both generic and specific job wrappers which can perform many useful actions before starting to run end-user scientific applications, e.g., validation of the middleware, node profiling and diagnostics, and monitoring. AutoPyFactory also has a robust monitoring system that has been invaluable in establishing a reliable pilot factory service for ATLAS.

  15. Security scheme in IMDD-OFDM-PON system with the chaotic pilot interval and scrambling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Qianghua; Bi, Meihua; Fu, Xiaosong; Lu, Yang; Zeng, Ran; Yang, Guowei; Yang, Xuelin; Xiao, Shilin

    2018-01-01

    In this paper, a random chaotic pilot interval and permutations scheme without any requirement of redundant sideband information is firstly proposed for the physical layer security-enhanced intensity modulation direct detection orthogonal frequency division multiplexing passive optical network (IMDD-OFDM-PON) system. With the help of the position feature of inserting the pilot, a simple logistic chaos map is used to generate the random pilot interval and scramble the chaotic subcarrier allocation of each column pilot data for improving the physical layer confidentiality. Due to the dynamic chaotic permutations of pilot data, the enhanced key space of ∼103303 is achieved in OFDM-PON. Moreover, the transmission experiment of 10-Gb/s 16-QAM encrypted OFDM data is successfully demonstrated over 20-km single-mode fiber, which indicates that the proposed scheme not only improves the system security, but also can achieve the same performance as in the common IMDD-OFDM-PON system without encryption scheme.

  16. Disseminating relevant health information to underserved audiences: implications of the Digital Divide Pilot Projects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kreps, Gary L

    2005-10-01

    This paper examines the influence of the digital divide on disparities in health outcomes for vulnerable populations, identifying implications for medical and public libraries. The paper describes the results of the Digital Divide Pilot Projects demonstration research programs funded by the National Cancer Institute to test new strategies for disseminating relevant health information to underserved and at-risk audiences. The Digital Divide Pilot Projects field-tested innovative systemic strategies for helping underserved populations access and utilize relevant health information to make informed health-related decisions about seeking appropriate health care and support, resisting avoidable and significant health risks, and promoting their own health. The paper builds on the Digital Divide Pilot Projects by identifying implications for developing health communication strategies that libraries can adopt to provide digital health information to vulnerable populations.

  17. Dual Task of Fine Motor Skill and Problem Solving in Individuals With Multiple Sclerosis: A Pilot Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goverover, Y; Sandroff, B M; DeLuca, J

    2018-04-01

    To (1) examine and compare dual-task performance in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and healthy controls (HCs) using mathematical problem-solving questions that included an everyday competence component while performing an upper extremity fine motor task; and (2) examine whether difficulties in dual-task performance are associated with problems in performing an everyday internet task. Pilot study, mixed-design with both a within and between subjects' factor. A nonprofit rehabilitation research institution and the community. Participants (N=38) included persons with MS (n=19) and HCs (n=19) who were recruited from a nonprofit rehabilitation research institution and from the community. Not applicable. Participant were presented with 2 testing conditions: (1) solving mathematical everyday problems or placing bolts into divots (single-task condition); and (2) solving problems while putting bolts into divots (dual-task condition). Additionally, participants were required to perform a test of everyday internet competence. As expected, dual-task performance was significantly worse than either of the single-task tasks (ie, number of bolts into divots or correct answers, and time to answer the questions). Cognitive but not motor dual-task cost was associated with worse performance in activities of everyday internet tasks. Cognitive dual-task cost is significantly associated with worse performance of everyday technology. This was not observed in the motor dual-task cost. The implications of dual-task costs on everyday activity are discussed. Copyright © 2017 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. 77 FR 61721 - Pilot, Flight Instructor, and Pilot School Certification; Technical Amendment

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-10-11

    ...-26661; Amdt. No. 61-129A] RIN 2120-AI86 Pilot, Flight Instructor, and Pilot School Certification... revise the training, qualification, certification, and operating requirements for pilots, flight instructors, ground instructors, and pilot schools. A portion of the codified text was inadvertently deleted...

  19. Electron beam facilities and technologies developed in the Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chmielewski, A.G.; Walis, L.; Zimek, Z.

    1992-01-01

    The operation of the first electron accelerator has been started at Institute /former Institute for Nuclear Research/ in 1971. This LAE-13/9 accelerator is a two-section lineac with adjustable energy of electrons: 5 to 13 MeV and the beam power up to 9 kW. The main technologies developed on the basis of LAE-13/9 are: sterilization, manufacturing of thermoshrinkable materials and modification of semiconductors. The accelerator is operated 4000 hours per year and used for small scale production and services in these fields. The other problems investigated in laboratory scale are: food preservation and hygenization, hygenization of municipal sewage sludge, and bio-conversion of pig-farm wastes into animal fodder. The laboratory experiments are basis for pilot construction and other industrial applications. The mentioned technology of thermoshrinkable tube production was implemented in industrial scale at ZWUT Czluchow which factory is equipped in the accelerator ILU-6 /20 kW, 2 MeV/. On the basis of similar unit a technological installation was built at Institute. The plant is furnished with a conveyer and the rewinding machines for tubes and tapes manufacturing. This allows continuous production of these materials. The plant will start operation next year and linear accelerator /10 MeV, 15 kW/ for this purpose is already delivered. The pilot plant for food preservation and hygenization has been built. It is equipped in small pilot accelerator 10 MeV, 1 kW and will be furnished with 10 MeV, 10 kW lineac this year. Beside of this technological lines Institute is furnished in Van de Graff accelerator /2, MeV, 100 μA/ and another laboratory unit LAE-10 /10 MeV, 10-100 ns 2 us/ is under construction. (J.P.N.)

  20. Why Public Comments Matter: The Case of the National Institutes of Health Policy on Single Institutional Review Board Review of Multicenter Studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ervin, Ann-Margret; Taylor, Holly A; Ehrhardt, Stephan; Meinert, Curtis L

    2018-03-06

    In 2014, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) requested public comments on a draft policy requiring NIH-funded, U.S.-based investigators to use a single institutional review board (sIRB) for ethical review of multicenter studies. The authors conducted a directed content analysis and qualitative summary of the comments and discuss how they shaped the final policy. Two reviewers independently assessed support for the policy from a review of comments responding to the draft policy in 2016. A reviewer conducted an open text review to identify prespecified and additional comment themes. A second researcher reviewed 20% of the comments; discrepancies were resolved through discussion. The NIH received 167 comments: 65% (108/167) supportive of the policy, 23% (38/167) not supportive, and 12% (21/167) not indicating support. Clarifications or changes to the policy were suggested in 102/167 comments (61%). Criteria for selecting sIRBs were addressed in 32/102 comments (31%). Also addressed were IRB responsibilities (39/102; 38%), cost (27/102; 26%), the role of local IRBs (14/102; 14%), and allowable policy exceptions (19/102; 19%). The NIH further clarified or provided additional guidance for selection criteria, IRB responsibilities, and cost in the final policy (June 2016). Local IRB reviews and exemptions guidance were unchanged. In this case study, public comments were effective in shaping policy as the NIH modified provisions or planned supplemental guidance in response to comments. Yet critical knowledge gaps remain and empirical data are necessary. The NIH is considering mechanisms to support the establishment of best practices for sIRB implementation.

  1. Single-particle behaviour in circulating fluidized beds

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Erik Weinell, Claus; Dam-Johansen, Kim; Johnsson, Jan Erik

    1997-01-01

    This paper describes an experimental investigation of single-particle behaviour in a cold pilot-scale model of a circulating fluidized bed combustor (CFBC). In the system, sand is recirculated by means of air. Pressure measurements along the riser are used to determine the suspension density...

  2. Human Papillomavirus-mediated cervical cancer awareness and Gardasil vaccination: a pilot survey among North Indian women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pandey, Saumya; Chandravati

    2013-10-01

    Human Papillomavirus (HPV)-mediated cervical cancer is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in women worldwide, including Indian women. Cervical cancer control and prevention strategies are being adopted in developing nations to reduce the increasing burden of HPV infection in the vaccine era. The present study, therefore, aimed to evaluate cervical cancer awareness and knowledge of Gardasil vaccination in North Indian women. A pilot survey was conducted among 103 women of North Indian ethnicity residing in Lucknow/adjoining areas in state of Uttar Pradesh, during routine screening/clinic visits from June 2012 to December 2012. The study subjects were interviewed in either Hindi or English; subsequently the awareness of HPV-mediated cervical cancer and knowledge of Gardasil vaccination was assessed in terms of "yes", "no" and "no response". The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board. Written informed consent was taken from the participants. Overall, the response of participants (n = 103) in our single-centre survey-based pilot study was well-defined. The response regarding HPV-mediated cervical cancer awareness in terms of "yes", "no" and "no response" among the study subjects was 43.7, 44.7 and 11.6 %, respectively. Furthermore, in response to knowledge of HPV vaccine Gardasil, out of 103 subjects, 28.1 % answered "yes" while 37.9 and 34.0 % stated "no" and "no response", respectively. Our pilot survey may help in assessing knowledge of HPV-mediated cervical cancer and Gardasil vaccination awareness in women, and accordingly develop cost-effective cervical cancer control and prevention/public health counseling sessions in a clinical setting.

  3. A Pilot-Pattern Based Algorithm for MIMO-OFDM Channel Estimation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guomin Li

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available An improved pilot pattern algorithm for facilitating the channel estimation in multiple input multiple output-orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (MIMO-OFDM systems is proposed in this paper. The presented algorithm reconfigures the parameter in the least square (LS algorithm, which belongs to the space-time block-coded (STBC category for channel estimation in pilot-based MIMO-OFDM system. Simulation results show that the algorithm has better performance in contrast to the classical single symbol scheme. In contrast to the double symbols scheme, the proposed algorithm can achieve nearly the same performance with only half of the complexity of the double symbols scheme.

  4. A review on pilot plant development models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosli Darmawan

    2005-01-01

    After more than 30 years, MINT has been able to produce many new findings, products and processes. Some of these have been able to penetrate local and international markets. This was achieved through a systematic commercialisation program practiced in MINT with its technological chain and MINT Technology Park program. This paper will review the development process of MINT pilot plants and compare them with a few other models from other institutions in Malaysia and abroad. The advantages and disadvantages of each model are reviewed and a discussion against MINT's model is presented. (Author)

  5. Roll paper pilot. [mathematical model for predicting pilot rating of aircraft in roll task

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naylor, F. R.; Dillow, J. D.; Hannen, R. A.

    1973-01-01

    A mathematical model for predicting the pilot rating of an aircraft in a roll task is described. The model includes: (1) the lateral-directional aircraft equations of motion; (2) a stochastic gust model; (3) a pilot model with two free parameters; and (4) a pilot rating expression that is a function of rms roll angle and the pilot lead time constant. The pilot gain and lead time constant are selected to minimize the pilot rating expression. The pilot parameters are then adjusted to provide a 20% stability margin and the adjusted pilot parameters are used to compute a roll paper pilot rating of the aircraft/gust configuration. The roll paper pilot rating was computed for 25 aircraft/gust configurations. A range of actual ratings from 2 to 9 were encountered and the roll paper pilot ratings agree quite well with the actual ratings. In addition there is good correlation between predicted and measured rms roll angle.

  6. The Efficacy of Dog Assisted Therapy in Detained Drug Users: A Pilot Study in an Italian Attenuated Custody Institute.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Contalbrigo, Laura; De Santis, Marta; Toson, Marica; Montanaro, Maria; Farina, Luca; Costa, Aldo; Nava, Felice Alfonso

    2017-06-24

    Drug addiction is a major care and safety challenge in prison context. Nowadays, rehabilitation and specific therapeutic programs are suggested to improve health and well-being of inmates during their detention time and to reduce substance abuse relapse after release from prison. Among these programs, several studies reported the benefits for inmates coming from animal assisted interventions. In this pilot controlled study, we investigated the efficacy of a dog assisted therapy program addressed to 22 drug addicted male inmates housed in an attenuated custody institute in Italy. The study lasted six months, the treated group (12 inmates) was involved once a week for one hour in 20 dog assisted therapy sessions, whereas the control group (10 inmates) followed the standard rehabilitation program. One week before the beginning and one week after the end of the sessions, all inmates involved were submitted to symptom checklist-90-revised and Kennedy axis V. Inmates involved in the dog assisted therapy sessions significantly improved their social skills, reducing craving, anxiety and depression symptoms compared to the control group. Despite the limitation due to the small number of inmates enrolled and to the absence of follow up, we found these results encouraging to the use of dog assisted therapy as co-therapy in drug addicted inmates rehabilitation programs, and we claim the need of more extensive study on this subject.

  7. Single-dose Toxicity of ShinYangHur Herbal Acupuncture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eunhye Cha

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: This study was carried out to analyze the single-dose toxicity of ShinYangHur (SYH herbal acupuncture injected into the muscles of Sprague-Dawley (SD rats. Methods: The SYH herbal acupuncture was made in a clean room at the Korean Pharmacopuncture Institute (KPI, Korea-Good Manufacturing Practice, K-GMP. After the mixing process with sterile distilled water, the pH was controlled to between 7.0 and 7.5. Then, NaCl was added to make a 0.9% isotonic solution by using sterilized equipment. All experiments were conducted at Biotoxtech, an institution authorized to perform non clinical studies under the regulations of Good Laboratory Practice (GLP. SD rats were chosen for the pilot study. Doses of SYH herbal acupuncture, 0.25, 0.5, and 1.0 mL, were administered to the experimental groups, and a dose of normal saline solution, 1.0 mL, was administered to the control group. This study was conducted under the approval of the Institutional Animal Ethics Committee. Results: No deaths or abnormalities occurred in any of the four groups. No significant changes in weight, hematological parameters or clinical chemistry between the control group and the experimental groups were observed. To check for abnormalities in organs and tissues, we used microscopy was used to examine representative histological sections of each specified organ; the results showed no significant differences in any of the organs or tissues. Conclusion: The above outcomes suggest that treatment with SYH herbal acupuncture is relatively safe. Further studies on this subject are needed to yield more concrete evidence.

  8. Using CALMERSS to Enhance Teacher Well-Being: A Pilot Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Mark J.

    2018-01-01

    Prior research has shown that cognitive behavioural therapy, relaxation, mindfulness, exercise and positive psychology interventions, when conducted as single interventions, have a useful effect on depression and also increasing well-being. The purpose of this study was to conduct a pilot programme to determine the efficacy of a multi-modal…

  9. Effect of the Probiotic Saccharomyces boulardii on Cholesterol and Lipoprotein Particles in Hypercholesterolemic Adults: A Single-Arm, Open-Label Pilot Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryan, Jennifer Joan; Hanes, Douglas Allen; Schafer, Morgan Beth; Mikolai, Jeremy; Zwickey, Heather

    2015-05-01

    Elevated blood cholesterol levels are a major risk factor for coronary artery disease, the leading cause of death worldwide. Probiotics have been investigated as potential cholesterol-lowering therapies, but no previous studies have assessed the effect of the probiotic yeast Saccharomyces boulardii on cholesterol levels in human volunteers. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of S. boulardii on serum cholesterol and lipoprotein particles in hypercholesterolemic adults. This study was a single-arm, open-label pilot study. Twelve hypercholesterolemic participants were recruited into the study; one dropped out. Participants took 5.6×10(10) colony forming unit (CFU) encapsulated S. boulardii (Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii CNCM I-1079) twice daily for an 8-week period. Fasting concentrations of cholesterol (total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol [LDL-C], high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol [HDL-C], and triglycerides), lipoprotein particles (very-low-density lipoprotein-particle [VLDL-P], remnant lipoprotein particle [RLP-P], total LDL-P, LDL III-P, LDL IV-P, total HDL-P, and HDL 2b-P), and additional cardiovascular biomarkers (apo B-100, lipoprotein [a], high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, homocysteine, fibrinogen, and insulin) were measured at baseline, after 4 weeks, and after 8 weeks. Remnant lipoprotein particles decreased by 15.5% (p=0.03) over the 8-week period. The remaining outcome measures were not significantly altered. In this pilot study, 8 weeks of daily supplementation with S. boulardii lowered remnant lipoprotein, a predictive biomarker and potential therapeutic target in the treatment and prevention of coronary artery disease.

  10. Patterns of use of medical cannabis among Israeli cancer patients: a single institution experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waissengrin, Barliz; Urban, Damien; Leshem, Yasmin; Garty, Meital; Wolf, Ido

    2015-02-01

    The use of the cannabis plant (Cannabis sativa L.) for the palliative treatment of cancer patients has been legalized in multiple jurisdictions including Israel. Yet, not much is currently known regarding the efficacy and patterns of use of cannabis in this setting. To analyze the indications for the administration of cannabis among adult Israeli cancer patients and evaluate its efficacy. Efficacy and patterns of use of cannabis were evaluated using physician-completed application forms, medical files, and a detailed questionnaire in adult cancer patients treated at a single institution. Of approximately 17,000 cancer patients seen, 279 (cannabis from an authorized institutional oncologist. The median age of cannabis users was 60 years (range 19-93 years), 160 (57%) were female, and 234 (84%) had metastatic disease. Of 151 (54%) patients alive at six months, 70 (46%) renewed their cannabis permit. Renewal was more common among younger patients and those with metastatic disease. Of 113 patients alive and using cannabis at one month, 69 (61%) responded to the detailed questionnaire. Improvement in pain, general well-being, appetite, and nausea were reported by 70%, 70%, 60%, and 50%, respectively. Side effects were mild and consisted mostly of fatigue and dizziness. Cannabis use is perceived as highly effective by some patients with advanced cancer and its administration can be regulated, even by local authorities. Additional studies are required to evaluate the efficacy of cannabis as part of the palliative treatment of cancer patients. Copyright © 2015 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Rationalizing Neglect: An Institutional Response to Transfer Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tobolowsky, Barbara F.; Cox, Bradley E.

    2012-01-01

    This qualitative study focuses on institutional efforts affecting the transfer student experience at a single research institution. Findings based on interviews with institutional representatives, both faculty and staff, using the rational, natural, and open system perspectives of organizational theory, provide insights into the institutional…

  12. Home Cervical Traction to Reduce Neck Pain in Fighter Pilots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chumbley, Eric M; O'Hair, Nicole; Stolfi, Adrienne; Lienesch, Christopher; McEachen, James C; Wright, Bruce A

    2016-12-01

    Most fighter pilots report cervical pain during their careers. Recommendations for remediation lack evidence. We sought to determine whether regular use of a home cervical traction device could decrease reported cervical pain in F-15C pilots. An institutional review board-approved, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act-compliant, controlled crossover study was undertaken with 21 male F-15C fighter pilots between February and June 2015. Of the 21 subjects, 12 completed 6 wk each of traction and control, while logging morning, postflying, and post-traction pain. Pain was compared with paired t-tests between the periods, from initial pain scores to postflying, and postflying to post-traction. In the traction phase, initial pain levels increased postflight, from 1.2 (0.7) to 1.6 (1.0) Subsequent post-traction pain levels decreased to 1.3 (0.9), with a corresponding linear decrease in pain relative to pain reported postflight. The difference in pain levels after traction compared to initial levels was not significant, indicating that cervical traction was effective in alleviating flying-related pain. Control pain increased postflight from 1.4 (0.9) to 1.9 (1.3). Daily traction phase pain was lower than the control, but insignificant. To our knowledge, this is the first study of home cervical traction to address fighter pilots' cervical pain. We found a small but meaningful improvement in daily pain rating when using cervical traction after flying. These results help inform countermeasure development for pilots flying high-performance aircraft. Further study should clarify the optimal traction dose and timing in relation to flying.Chumbley EM, O'Hair N, Stolfi A, Lienesch C, McEachen JC, Wright BA. Home cervical traction to reduce neck pain in fighter pilots. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2016; 87(12):1010-1015.

  13. Celiac Artery Compression Syndrome: An Experience in a Single Institution in Taiwan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jen-Wei Chou

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Celiac artery compression syndrome (CACS or median arcuate ligament (MAL syndrome is a rare vascular disease. The clinical manifestations of CACS include the triad of postprandial pain, vomiting, and weight loss. The pathogenesis of CACS is the external compression of celiac artery by the MAL or celiac ganglion. Moreover, some authors also reported the compression with different etiologies, such as neoplasms of pancreatic head, adjacent duodenal carcinoma, vascular aneurysms, aortic dissection, or sarcoidosis. In the literature, most cases of CACS were reported from Western countries. In contrast, this disease was seldom reported in Oriental countries or regions, including Taiwan. Superior mesenteric artery syndrome (SMAS is also a rare disease characterized by compression of the third portion of the duodenum by the SMA. The clinical features of SMAS are postprandial pain, vomiting, and weight loss. To date, there are no guidelines to ensure the proper treatment of patients with CACS because of its low incidence. Thus, tailored therapy for patients with CACS remains a challenge as well as the prediction of clinical response and prognosis. The aim of our present study was to investigate the clinical features, the association with SMAS, treatments, and outcomes of patients with CACS in a single institution in Taiwan.

  14. Institutional Capacity of Innovation Activity Development in theRegion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aleksei Aleksandrovich Rumyantsev

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The article presents the results of the study under the theme of development of institutions of innovation sphere, transfer of scientific results to the real sector of the economy. The purpose of the study is to reveal institutional capacities of strengthening the implementation of research findings, drawing on the functional properties of institutions with regard to innovation activities. The methodology is to apply well-known methodological principles to the solution of emerging challenges (software-based method for fundamental scientific result implementation, sectoral research organizations in the new management environment and statistical records of process innovations by analogy with product innovations. The article puts forward and justifies the proposal for strategic innovation as the institution of communicating the results of fundamental research to social practice by integrating into a single process the results of oriented fundamental research, applied research, engineering development, development and other works, which are realized in the form of a material object or service of a high technology level. The distinguishing feature of strategic innovation is a future-oriented outlook and the solution of long-term objectives. Russian scientific achievements can become the basis for strategic innovation development. The article gives examples of possible research field where strategic innovation can be developed and demonstrates an innovative implementation mechanism in the format of specialized research-and-production program which combines government and business participation. The paper gives arguments and development ways of the institution of sectoral research organizations as providers of state technological policy in sectors and regions; coordination of import substitution; centers of communication establishment with engineering companies; analytical and predictive research. The study justifies the expediency of developing an

  15. FRACTIONAL CRYSTALLIZATION OF HANFORD SINGLE-SHELL TANK WASTES FROM CONCEPT TO PILOT PLANT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    GENIESSE, D.J.; NELSON, E.A.; HAMILTON, D.W.; MAJORS, J.H.; NORDAHL, T.K.

    2006-01-01

    The Hanford site has 149 underground single-shell tanks (SST) storing mostly soluble, multi-salt mixed wastes resulting from Cold War era weapons material production. These wastes must be retrieved and the salts immobilized before the tanks can be closed to comply with an overall site-closure consent order entered into by the US Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the State of Washington. Water will be used to retrieve the wastes and the resulting solution will be pumped to a proposed pretreatment process where a high-curie (primarily 137 Cs) waste fraction will be separated from the other waste constituents. The separated waste streams will then be vitrified to allow for safe storage as an immobilized high-level waste, or low-level waste, borosilicate glass. Fractional crystallization, a common unit operation for production of industrial chemicals and pharmaceuticals, was proposed as the method to separate the salt wastes; it works by evaporating excess water until the solubilities of various species in the solution are exceeded (the solubility of a particular species depends on its concentration, temperature of the solution, and the presence of other ionic species in the solution). By establishing the proper conditions, selected pure salts can be crystallized and separated from the radioactive liquid phase. The aforementioned parameters, along with evaporation rate, proper agitation, and residence time, determine nucleation and growth kinetics and the resulting habit and size distribution of the product crystals. These crystals properties are important considerations for designing the crystallizer and solid/liquid separation equipment. A structured program was developed to (a) demonstrate that fractional crystallization could be used to pre-treat Hanford tank wastes and (b) provide data to develop a pilot plant design

  16. The Language of Engagement: "Aha!" Moments from Engaging Patients and Community Partners in Two Pilot Projects of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tai-Seale, Ming; Sullivan, Greer; Cheney, Ann; Thomas, Kathleen; Frosch, Dominick

    2016-01-01

    Compared with people living in the community, researchers often have different frameworks or paradigms for thinking about health and wellness. These differing frameworks are often accompanied by differences in terminology or language. The purpose of this commentary is to describe some of our "Aha!" moments from conducting two pilot studies funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. Over time, we came to understand how our language and word choices may have been acting as a wedge between ourselves and our community research partners. We learned that fruitful collaborative work must attend to the creation of a common language, which we refer to as the language of engagement. Such patient-centered language can effectively build a bridge between researchers and community partners. We encourage other researchers to think critically about their cultural competency, to be mindful of the social power dynamics between patient and physician, to reflect on how their understanding might differ from those of their patient partners, and to find ways to use a common language that engages patients and other community partners.

  17. Disseminating relevant health information to underserved audiences: implications of the Digital Divide Pilot Projects*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kreps, Gary L.

    2005-01-01

    Objective: This paper examines the influence of the digital divide on disparities in health outcomes for vulnerable populations, identifying implications for medical and public libraries. Method: The paper describes the results of the Digital Divide Pilot Projects demonstration research programs funded by the National Cancer Institute to test new strategies for disseminating relevant health information to underserved and at-risk audiences. Results: The Digital Divide Pilot Projects field-tested innovative systemic strategies for helping underserved populations access and utilize relevant health information to make informed health-related decisions about seeking appropriate health care and support, resisting avoidable and significant health risks, and promoting their own health. Implications: The paper builds on the Digital Divide Pilot Projects by identifying implications for developing health communication strategies that libraries can adopt to provide digital health information to vulnerable populations. PMID:16239960

  18. Multi-Institution Research Centers: Planning and Management Challenges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spooner, Catherine; Lavey, Lisa; Mukuka, Chilandu; Eames-Brown, Rosslyn

    2016-01-01

    Funding multi-institution centers of research excellence (CREs) has become a common means of supporting collaborative partnerships to address specific research topics. However, there is little guidance for those planning or managing a multi-institution CRE, which faces specific challenges not faced by single-institution research centers. We…

  19. Pilot Certification, Age of Pilot, and Drug Use in Fatal Civil Aviation Accidents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akparibo, Issaka Y; Stolfi, Adrienne

    2017-10-01

    This study examined the association between mean age of pilot, pilot license, pilot medical certificate and drug use trends in pilots fatally injured in aircraft accidents. The prevalence of prescription drugs, OTC drugs, controlled drugs and drugs that may be potentially impairing was also examined. This study was a descriptive observational study in which the NTSB Aviation Accident Database was searched from the period beginning January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2014. During the study period a total of 706 accidents involving 711 fatalities were investigated by the NTSB. This study included 633 of these accidents, involving 646 fatalities. Of these pilots, 42.1% had drugs in their biological samples. The prevalence of prescription drugs, controlled drugs, OTC drugs, opioids, and potentially impairing drugs in the fatally injured pilot population over the study period was 28.9%, 15.0%, 20.1%, 5.1%, and 25.5%, respectively. Pilots with any drugs in their samples were significantly older than those without drugs. Medical certificate held was associated with drug use; pilots who held third class certificates had the highest prevalence at 54.1%. Pilot license was not associated with drug use. In 3.8% of the accidents, drugs were a contributing factor in the cause. Despite current FAA medical regulations, potentially impairing drugs are frequently found in biological samples of fatally injured pilots in the U.S. More education of airmen by aviation medical examiners is needed on the safety of drug use.Akparibo IY, Stolfi A. Pilot certification, age of pilot, and drug use in fatal civil aviation accidents. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2017; 88(10):931-936.

  20. PRODt;CTION OF SINGLE CELL PROTEIN FROM BREWERY ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    BSN

    origin is unicellular or simple multicellular organism such as bacteria, yeasts, fungi, ... Pilot plant produe1io11 of single cell proteins now take place in several centre.ii in ... animal feed but little or no information has been documented as per its ...

  1. Using singing to nurture children's hearing? A pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Welch, Graham F; Saunders, Jo; Edwards, Sian; Palmer, Zoe; Himonides, Evangelos; Knight, Julian; Mahon, Merle; Griffin, Susanna; Vickers, Deborah A

    2015-09-01

    This article reports a pilot study of the potential benefits of a sustained programme of singing activities on the musical behaviours and hearing acuity of young children with hearing impairment (HI). Twenty-nine children (n=12 HI and n=17 NH) aged between 5 and 7 years from an inner-city primary school in London participated, following appropriate ethical approval. The predominantly classroom-based programme was designed by colleagues from the UCL Institute of Education and UCL Ear Institute in collaboration with a multi-arts charity Creative Futures and delivered by an experienced early years music specialist weekly across two school terms. There was a particular emphasis on building a repertoire of simple songs with actions and allied vocal exploration. Musical learning was also supported by activities that drew on visual imagery for sound and that included simple notation and physical gesture. An overall impact assessment of the pilot programme embraced pre- and post-intervention measures of pitch discrimination, speech perception in noise and singing competency. Subsequent statistical data analyses suggest that the programme had a positive impact on participant children's singing range, particularly (but not only) for HI children with hearing aids, and also in their singing skills. HI children's pitch perception also improved measurably over time. Findings imply that all children, including those with HI, can benefit from regular and sustained access to age-appropriate musical activities.

  2. Retrograde Ureteroscopic Management of Large Renal Calculi: A Single Institutional Experience and Concise Literature Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scotland, Kymora B; Rudnick, Benjamin; Healy, Kelly A; Hubosky, Scott G; Bagley, Demetrius H

    2018-06-06

    Advances in flexible ureteroscope design and accessory instrumentation have allowed for more challenging cases to be treated ureteroscopically. Here, we evaluate our experience with ureteroscopy (URS) for the management of large renal calculi (≥2 cm) and provide a concise review of recent reports. A retrospective review was undertaken of all URS cases between 2004 and 2014 performed by the endourologic team at a single academic tertiary care institution. We identified patients with at least one stone ≥2 cm managed with retrograde URS. Stone size was defined as the largest linear diameter of the index stone. Small diameter flexible ureteroscopes were used primarily with holmium laser. Patient demographics, intraoperative data, and postoperative outcomes were evaluated. We evaluated 167 consecutive patients who underwent URS for large renal stones ≥2 cm. The initial reason for choosing URS included patient preference (29.5%), failure of other therapies (8.2%), anatomic considerations/body habitus (30.3%), and comorbidities (28.8%). Mean patient age was 55.5 years (22-84). The mean stone size was 2.75 cm with mean number of procedures per patient of 1.65 (1-6). The single session stone-free rate was 57.1%, two-stage procedure stone-free rate was 90.2% and three-stage stone-free rate was 94.0%. Access sheaths were used in 47% of patients. An association was identified between stone size and patient outcomes; smaller stones correlated with decreased number of procedures. Postoperative complications were minor. Single or multi-stage retrograde ureteroscopic lithotripsy is a safe and effective mode of surgical management of large renal calculi. Total stone burden is a reliable predictor of the need for a staged procedure and of stone-free rate.

  3. Perceptions of safety culture vary across the intensive care units of a single institution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, David T; Clermont, Gilles; Sexton, J Bryan; Karlo, Crystal A; Miller, Rachel G; Weissfeld, Lisa A; Rowan, Kathy M; Angus, Derek C

    2007-01-01

    To determine whether safety culture factors varied across the intensive care units (ICUs) of a single hospital, between nurses and physicians, and to explore ICU nursing directors' perceptions of their personnel's attitudes. Cross-sectional surveys using the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire-ICU version, a validated, aviation industry-based safety culture survey instrument. It assesses culture across six factors: teamwork climate, perceptions of management, safety climate, stress recognition, job satisfaction, and work environment. Four ICUs in one tertiary care hospital. All ICU personnel. We conducted the survey from January 1 to April 1, 2003, and achieved a 70.2% response rate (318 of 453). We calculated safety culture factor mean and percent-positive scores (percentage of respondents with a mean score of > or =75 on a 0-100 scale for which 100 is best) for each ICU. We compared mean ICU scores by ANOVA and percent-positive scores by chi-square. Mean and percent-positive scores by job category were modeled using a generalized estimating equations approach and compared using Wald statistics. We asked ICU nursing directors to estimate their personnel's mean scores and generated ratios of their estimates to the actual scores.Overall, factor scores were low to moderate across all factors (range across ICUs: 43.4-74.9 mean scores, 8.6-69.4 percent positive). Mean and percent-positive scores differed significantly (p safety culture variation exists across ICUs of a single hospital. ICU nursing directors tend to overestimate their personnel's attitudes, particularly for teamwork. Culture assessments based on institutional level analysis or director opinion may be flawed.

  4. Patient participation in cancer clinical trials: A pilot test of lay navigation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kathleen B. Cartmell

    2016-08-01

    Conclusions: In this formative single-arm pilot project, initial evidence was found for the potential effect of a lay navigation intervention on CT understanding and enrollment. A randomized controlled trial is needed to examine the efficacy of the intervention for improving CT education and enrollment.

  5. Effects of pilot injection pressure on the combustion and emissions characteristics in a diesel engine using biodiesel–CNG dual fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ryu, Kyunghyun

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • Injection pressure of pilot fuel in dual fuel combustion (DFC) affects the engine power and exhaust emissions. • In the biodiesel–CNG DFC mode, the combustion begins and ends earlier as the pilot-fuel injection pressure increases. • The ignition delay in the DFC mode is about 1.2–2.6 °CA longer than that in the diesel single fuel combustion (SFC) mode. • The smoke and NOx emissions are significantly reduced in the DFC mode. - Abstract: Biodiesel–compressed natural gas (CNG) dual fuel combustion (DFC) system is studied for the simultaneous reduction of particulate matters (PM) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) from diesel engine. In this study, biodiesel is used as a pilot injection fuel to ignite the main fuel, CNG of DFC system. In particular, the pilot injection pressure is controlled to investigate the characteristics of engine performance and exhaust emissions in a single cylinder diesel engine. The results show that the indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP) of biodiesel–CNG DFC mode is lower than that of diesel single fuel combustion (SFC) mode at higher injection pressure. However, the combustion stability of biodiesel–CNG DFC mode is increased with the increase of pilot injection pressure. At the same injection pressure, the start of combustion of biodiesel–CNG DFC is delayed compared to diesel SFC due to the increase of ignition delay of pilot fuel. On the contrary, it is observed that as the pilot injection pressure increase, the combustion process begins and ends a little earlier for biodiesel–CNG DFC. The ignition delay in the DFC is about 1.2–2.6 °CA longer compared to diesel SFC, but decreases with increases of pilot injection pressure. Smoke and NOx emissions are decreased and increased, respectively, as the pilot injection pressure increases in the biodiesel–CNG DFC. In comparison to diesel SFC, smoke emissions are significantly reduced over all the operating conditions and NOx emissions also exhibited similar

  6. Investigation of piloting aids for manual control of hypersonic maneuvers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raney, David L.; Phillips, Michael R.; Person, Lee H., Jr.

    1995-01-01

    An investigation of piloting aids designed to provide precise maneuver control for an air-breathing hypersonic vehicle is described. Stringent constraints and nonintuitive high-speed flight effects associated with maneuvering in the hypersonic regime raise the question of whether manual control of such a vehicle should even be considered. The objectives of this research were to determine the extent of manual control that is desirable for a vehicle maneuvering in this regime and to identify the form of aids that must be supplied to the pilot to make such control feasible. A piloted real-time motion-based simulation of a hypersonic vehicle concept was used for this study, and the investigation focused on a single representative cruise turn maneuver. Piloting aids, which consisted of an auto throttle, throttle director, autopilot, flight director, and two head-up display configurations, were developed and evaluated. Two longitudinal control response types consisting of a rate-command/attitude-hold system and a load factor-rate/load-factor-hold system were also compared. The complete set of piloting aids, which consisted of the autothrottle, throttle director, and flight director, improved the average Cooper-Harper flying qualities ratings from 8 to 2.6, even though identical inner-loop stability and control augmentation was provided in all cases. The flight director was determined to be the most critical of these aids, and the cruise turn maneuver was unachievable to adequate performance specifications in the absence of this flight director.

  7. Efficacy of a radiation absorbing shield in reducing dose to the interventionalist during peripheral endovascular procedures: a single centre pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Power, S; Mirza, M; Thakorlal, A; Ganai, B; Gavagan, L D; Given, M F; Lee, M J

    2015-06-01

    This prospective pilot study was undertaken to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of using a radiation absorbing shield to reduce operator dose from scatter during lower limb endovascular procedures. A commercially available bismuth shield system (RADPAD) was used. Sixty consecutive patients undergoing lower limb angioplasty were included. Thirty procedures were performed without the RADPAD (control group) and thirty with the RADPAD (study group). Two separate methods were used to measure dose to a single operator. Thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD) badges were used to measure hand, eye, and unshielded body dose. A direct dosimeter with digital readout was also used to measure eye and unshielded body dose. To allow for variation between control and study groups, dose per unit time was calculated. TLD results demonstrated a significant reduction in median body dose per unit time for the study group compared with controls (p = 0.001), corresponding to a mean dose reduction rate of 65 %. Median eye and hand dose per unit time were also reduced in the study group compared with control group, however, this was not statistically significant (p = 0.081 for eye, p = 0.628 for hand). Direct dosimeter readings also showed statistically significant reduction in median unshielded body dose rate for the study group compared with controls (p = 0.037). Eye dose rate was reduced for the study group but this was not statistically significant (p = 0.142). Initial results are encouraging. Use of the shield resulted in a statistically significant reduction in unshielded dose to the operator's body. Measured dose to the eye and hand of operator were also reduced but did not reach statistical significance in this pilot study.

  8. Healthy Efficient New Gas Homes (HENGH) Pilot Test Results

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chan, Wanyu R. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Maddalena, Randy L [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Stratton, Chris [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Hotchi, Toshifumi [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Singer, Brett C. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Walker, Iain S. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Sherman, Max H. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

    2016-05-01

    The Healthy Efficient New Gas Homes (HENGH) is a field study that will collect data on ventilation systems and indoor air quality (IAQ) in new California homes that were built to 2008 Title 24 standards. A pilot test was performed to help inform the most time and cost effective approaches to measuring IAQ in the 100 test homes that will be recruited for this study. Two occupied, single-family detached homes built to 2008 Title 24 participated in the pilot test. One of the test homes uses exhaust-only ventilation provided by a continuous exhaust fan in the laundry room. The other home uses supply air for ventilation. Measurements of IAQ were collected for two weeks. Time-resolved concentrations of particulate matter (PM), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and formaldehyde were measured. Measurements of IAQ also included time-integrated concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), volatile aldehydes, and NO2. Three perfluorocarbon tracers (PFTs) were used to estimate the dilution rate of an indoor emitted air contaminant in the two pilot test homes. Diagnostic tests were performed to measure envelope air leakage, duct leakage, and airflow of range hood, exhaust fans, and clothes dryer vent when accessible. Occupant activities, such as cooking, use of range hood and exhaust fans, were monitored using various data loggers. This document describes results of the pilot test.

  9. The Rise and Fall of the ERPUM pilot

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lemberg-Pedersen, Martin

    the need to find “durable solutions” for unaccompanied minors as providing justification for institutionalizing their mass deportations. This paper is a follow-up to a workshop hosted by the RSC in 2013 on 'The Deportation of Unaccompanied Minors from the EU: Family Tracing and Government Accountability......This working paper traces the institutional dynamics surrounding the European Return Platform for Unaccompanied Minors (ERPUM), the first ever EU pilot attempting to organize the administrative deportation of unaccompanied minors. The first phase of ERPUM was initiated in January 2011, and its...

  10. Bile Gastritis Following Laparoscopic Single Anastomosis Gastric Bypass: Pilot Study to Assess Significance of Bilirubin Level in Gastric Aspirate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shenouda, Michael M; Harb, Shady ElGhazaly; Mikhail, Sameh A A; Mokhtar, Sherif M; Osman, Ayman M A; Wassef, Arsany T S; Rizkallah, Nayer N H; Milad, Nader M; Anis, Shady E; Nabil, Tamer Mohamed; Zaki, Nader Sh; Halepian, Antoine

    2018-02-01

    Laparoscopic single anastomosis gastric bypass (SAGB) is increasingly performed for morbidly obese patients. This pilot study aims primarily at evaluating the incidence of bile gastritis after SAGB. The occurrence of reflux oesophagitis and reflux symptoms were also assessed. This study included 20 patients having no reflux symptoms. All patients underwent a SAGB as a primary bariatric procedure by a single surgeon. Patients included consented to have an upper GI endoscopy done at 6 months postoperatively. Gastric aspirate was sent for bilirubin level assessment. Gastric and esophageal biopsies were submitted for histopathology and campylobacter-like organism (CLO) test. In our study, the rate of bile gastritis was 30%. In 18 patients, the level of bilirubin in gastric aspirate seems to be related to the degree of mucosal inflammation. The remaining two patients had microscopic moderate to severe gastritis with normal aspirate bilirubin level. Two patients with bilirubin level in aspirate more than 20 mg/dl had severe oesophagitis, gastritis with erosions, and metaplasia. Relationship between bilirubin level and histopathological findings of gastric biopsy examination was statistically significant with a P value of 0.001. The incidence of bile gastritis in this cohort is higher than reported in the literature, and this may be worrying. The correlation between endoscopic findings and patients' symptoms is poor. Bilirubin level and pH in aspirate might be useful tools to confirm alkaline reflux. Its level might help to choose candidates for revision surgery after SAGB. This needs further validation with larger sample size.

  11. Evaluating the financial impact of clinical trials in oncology: results from a pilot study from the Association of American Cancer Institutes/Northwestern University clinical trials costs and charges project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bennett, C L; Stinson, T J; Vogel, V; Robertson, L; Leedy, D; O'Brien, P; Hobbs, J; Sutton, T; Ruckdeschel, J C; Chirikos, T N; Weiner, R S; Ramsey, M M; Wicha, M S

    2000-08-01

    Medical care for clinical trials is often not reimbursed by insurers, primarily because of concern that medical care as part of clinical trials is expensive and not part of standard medical practice. In June 2000, President Clinton ordered Medicare to reimburse for medical care expenses incurred as part of cancer clinical trials, although many private insurers are concerned about the expense of this effort. To inform this policy debate, the costs and charges of care for patients on clinical trials are being evaluated. In this Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI) Clinical Trials Costs and Charges pilot study, we describe the results and operational considerations of one of the first completed multisite economic analyses of clinical trials. Our pilot effort included assessment of total direct medical charges for 6 months of care for 35 case patients who received care on phase II clinical trials and for 35 matched controls (based on age, sex, disease, stage, and treatment period) at five AACI member cancer centers. Charge data were obtained for hospital and ancillary services from automated claims files at individual study institutions. The analyses were based on the perspective of a third-party payer. The mean age of the phase II clinical trial patients was 58.3 years versus 57.3 years for control patients. The study population included persons with cancer of the breast (n = 24), lung (n = 18), colon (n = 16), prostate (n = 4), and lymphoma (n = 8). The ratio of male-to-female patients was 3:4, with greater than 75% of patients having stage III to IV disease. Total mean charges for treatment from the time of study enrollment through 6 months were similar: $57,542 for clinical trial patients and $63,721 for control patients (1998 US$; P =.4) Multisite economic analyses of oncology clinical trials are in progress. Strategies that are not likely to overburden data managers and clinicians are possible to devise. However, these studies require careful planning

  12. Adriamycin continuous i.v. infusion for the treatment of childhood hepatic malignancies, toxicity and efficacy: a pilot study childrens cancer study group

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ortega, J.A.; Feusner, J.; Reaman, G.; Woods, W.

    1986-01-01

    In an effort to increase the number of patients with hepatoblastoma and hepatocellular carcinoma receiving the benefits of complete surgical excision, a pilot study was undertaken at a few Childrens Cancer Study Group institutions. For this purpose, repeated courses of adriamycin administered as a continuous I.V. infusion either singly or in combination with c-platinum and radiation therapy treatment was selected. The patient population consisted of a total of eleven children with primary hepatic malignancies: six children had hepatoblastoma; all six were under two years of age at diagnosis. Five patients with hepatocellular carcinoma were entered to the study. Of the eleven patients, four had previously received adriamycin as an I.V. bolus. A table summarizes the patient's characteristics, the adriamycin dose they received and their responses to therapy

  13. 14 CFR 61.113 - Private pilot privileges and limitations: Pilot in command.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Private pilot privileges and limitations: Pilot in command. 61.113 Section 61.113 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRMEN CERTIFICATION: PILOTS, FLIGHT INSTRUCTORS, AND GROUND...

  14. 14 CFR 91.1089 - Qualifications: Check pilots (aircraft) and check pilots (simulator).

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Qualifications: Check pilots (aircraft) and check pilots (simulator). 91.1089 Section 91.1089 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... RULES Fractional Ownership Operations Program Management § 91.1089 Qualifications: Check pilots...

  15. Outcome and treatment strategy in female lung cancer: a single institution experience

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cicenas, S.; Kurtinaitis, J.; Smailyte, G.

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: To assess the survival rate of female lung cancer treated at the Institute of Oncology of the Vilnius University, Lithuania during the period between 1996-2005. Materials and Methods: During the period between 1996-2005, 471 women diagnosed with lung cancer were treated at the Department of Thoracic Surgery and Oncology of the Institute of Oncology, Vilnius University. Data on morphology, stage and treatment was collected from the medical records. All lung cancer cases by histology were classified in two groups: non-small cell lung cancer (includes squamous cell carcinoma, large cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma and other less common types) and small cell lung cancer. The vital status of the study group was assessed as of December 31, 2007, by passive follow-up, using data from the population registry. It was found that 411 (87.3%) of the patients had died. Survival was estimated according to the Kaplan-Meier method. Results: The median survival of female lung cancer diagnosed during 1996-2005 in Lithuania show to be 8.7 months (8.4 (95% CI 7.2-10.8) months with non-small cell lung cancer and 9.3 (95% CI 6.3-13.0) months with small-cell lung cancer). Survival was more than 20 months in resectable non-small cell lung cancer (stages I, II, IIIA). Non-small cell lung cancer survival in advanced stages was less than 7 months. Small-cell lung cancer patients median survival at limited and extended stages of the disease were 9.5 (95% CI 2.9-18.4) compared to 9.2 (95% CI 6.2-13.7) months. Non-small cell lung cancer patients most frequently were treated by surgery (27.0%), surgery and chemotherapy or radiotherapy (19.6%). Small cell lung cancer patient treatment included chemo and radiotherapy (27.0%), chemotherapy (19.0%), radiotherapy (17.5%), surgery (27.9%). Conclusions: The single center study of female lung cancer diagnosed during 1996-2005 in Lithuania show a significantly better chance of survival in resectable non-small cell lung cancer. Advanced stages of

  16. Family-Centered Care in Juvenile Justice Institutions: A Mixed Methods Study Protocol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simons, Inge; Mulder, Eva; Rigter, Henk; Breuk, René; van der Vaart, Wander; Vermeiren, Robert

    2016-09-12

    Treatment and rehabilitation interventions in juvenile justice institutions aim to prevent criminal reoffending by adolescents and to enhance their prospects of successful social reintegration. There is evidence that these goals are best achieved when the institution adopts a family-centered approach, involving the parents of the adolescents. The Academic Workplace Forensic Care for Youth has developed two programs for family-centered care for youth detained in groups for short-term and long-term stay, respectively. The overall aim of our study is to evaluate the family-centered care program in the first two years after the first steps of its implementation in short-term stay groups of two juvenile justice institutions in the Netherlands. The current paper discusses our study design. Based on a quantitative pilot study, we opted for a study with an explanatory sequential mixed methods design. This pilot is considered the first stage of our study. The second stage of our study includes concurrent quantitative and qualitative approaches. The quantitative part of our study is a pre-post quasi-experimental comparison of family-centered care with usual care in short-term stay groups. The qualitative part of our study involves in-depth interviews with adolescents, parents, and group workers to elaborate on the preceding quantitative pilot study and to help interpret the outcomes of the quasi-experimental quantitative part of the study. We believe that our study will result in the following findings. In the quantitative comparison of usual care with family-centered care, we assume that in the latter group, parents will be more involved with their child and with the institution, and that parents and adolescents will be more motivated to take part in therapy. In addition, we expect family-centered care to improve family interactions, to decrease parenting stress, and to reduce problem behavior among the adolescents. Finally, we assume that adolescents, parents, and the

  17. Cigarette smoking in military pilots and intima-media thickness of the carotid arteries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jovelić Stojan

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. It is well known that smoking is associated with an increase in arterial wall thickness. However, most studies of this problem have been undertaken in age and sex heterogeneous groups, as well as in patients with already present other conventional risk factors. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of cigarette smoking on arterial wall thickness of the common carotid artery in asymptomatic pilots. Methods. The imaging of intima−media thickness of the posterior wall of the distal 1 cm of both common carotid arteries was performed using a B mode ultrasound device, in 39 pilots (37.05 ± 6.66 years, for whom smoking was the single cardiovascular risk factor. Comparisons were made with 49 non-smokers (35.12 ± 7.39 years. Results. The posterior walls of both common carotid arteries were thicker in smokers (left, p < 0.05; right, p > 0,05. Intima-media thickness was significantly lower on the right side than on the left side in both smokers and nonsmokers (p < 0.01. Conclusion. Cigarette smoking as the single cardiovascular risk factor was associated with the wall thickness of the carotid arteries in our study. This finding indicated that early atherosclerosis was already present in pilots - smokers entering middle age.

  18. Electric Power Research Institute, Environmental Control Technology Center report to the steering committee. Final technical report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1995-12-01

    Operations and maintenance continued this month at the Electric Power Research Institute`s Environmental Control Technology Center. Testing on the 4.0 MW Pilot Wet FGD unit continued with the Pilot High Velocity FGD (PHV) and the Trace Element Removal (TER) test blocks. In the High Velocity test block, SO{sub 2} removal and mist eliminator carryover rates were investigated while operating the absorber unit with various spray nozzle types and vertical mist eliminator sections. During the Trace Element Removal test block, the mercury measurements and control studies involving the EPA Method 29 continued with testing of several impinger capture solutions, and the use of activated carbon injection across the Pulse-Jet Fabric Filter (PJFF) unit. The 4.0 MW Spray Dryer Absorber System was utilized this month in the TER test configuration to inject and transfer activated carbon to the PJFF bags for downstream mercury capture. Work also began in December to prepare the 0.4 MW Mini-Pilot Absorber system for receipt of the B and W Condensing Heat Exchanger (CHX) unit to be used in the 1996 DOE/PRDA testing. The 1.0 MW Cold-Side Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) unit remained in cold-standby this month.

  19. Cosmic radiation and airline pilots. Exposure patterns of Norwegian SAS-pilots 1960 to 1994. Revised Version

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tveten, U.

    1999-02-01

    The present report is a revised version of an earlier report (IFE/KR/E-96/008). The revision has been carried out since a completely new version of the computational tool has recently been released. All calculations have been redone. The work which is presented in this report is part of a Norwegian epidemiological project, carried out in cooperation between Institute for Energy Technology (IFE), the Norwegian Cancer Registry (NCR) and the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority (NRPA). Originating from the Norwegian project, a number of similar projects have been started in a number of European countries. The present report lays the ground for estimation of individual exposure histories to cosmic radiation of pilots employed by the the Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS). The result presented in this report (radiation dose rates for the different types of aircraft in the different years) were calculated with the most recent computer program for this purpose, the CARI-5E from the United States Civil Aviation Authority. The other major sources of information used as basis for this work is the collection of old SAS time tables found the the SAS Museum at Fornebu Airport in Oslo, and information provided by members of the Pilots Association in Norway

  20. Cosmic radiation and airline pilots. Exposure patterns of Norwegian SAS-pilots 1960 to 1994. Revised Version

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tveten, U

    1999-02-01

    The present report is a revised version of an earlier report (IFE/KR/E-96/008). The revision has been carried out since a completely new version of the computational tool has recently been released. All calculations have been redone. The work which is presented in this report is part of a Norwegian epidemiological project, carried out in cooperation between Institute for Energy Technology (IFE), the Norwegian Cancer Registry (NCR) and the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority (NRPA). Originating from the Norwegian project, a number of similar projects have been started in a number of European countries. The present report lays the ground for estimation of individual exposure histories to cosmic radiation of pilots employed by the the Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS). The result presented in this report (radiation dose rates for the different types of aircraft in the different years) were calculated with the most recent computer program for this purpose, the CARI-5E from the United States Civil Aviation Authority. The other major sources of information used as basis for this work is the collection of old SAS time tables found the the SAS Museum at Fornebu Airport in Oslo, and information provided by members of the Pilots Association in Norway.

  1. User Participation in Pilot Implementation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Torkilsheyggi, Arnvør Martinsdóttir á; Hertzum, Morten

    2014-01-01

    Pilot implementations provide users with real-work experiences of how a system will affect their daily work before the design of the system is finalized. On the basis of a pilot implementation of a system for coordinating the transport of patients by hospital porters, we investigate pilot...... implementation as a method for participatory design. We find that to foster participation and learning about user needs a pilot implementation must create a space for reflecting on use, in addition to the space for using the pilot system. The space for reflection must also exist during the activities preparing...... the use of the pilot system because the porters and nurses learned about their needs throughout the pilot implementation, not just during use. Finally, we discuss how the scope and duration of a pilot implementation influence the conditions for participation....

  2. Decommissioning of an uranium hexafluoride pilot plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santos, Ivan; Abrao, Alcidio; Carvalho, Fatima M.S.; Ayoub, Jamil M.S.

    2009-01-01

    The Institute of Nuclear and Energetic Researches has completed fifty years of operation, belongs to the National Commission for Nuclear Energy, it is situated inside the city of Sao Paulo. The IPEN-CNEN/SP is a Brazilian reference in the nuclear fuel cycle, researches in this field began in 1970, having dominance in the cycle steps from Yellow Cake to Uranium Hexafluoride technology. The plant of Uranium Hexafluoride produced 35 metric tonnes of this gas by year, had been closed in 1992, due to domain and total transference of know-how for industrial scale, demand of new facilities for the improvement of recent researches projects. The Institute initiates decommissioning in 2002. Then, the Uranium Hexafluoride pilot plant, no doubt the most important unit of the fuel cycle installed at IPEN-CNEN/SP, beginning decommissioning and dismantlement (D and D) in 2005. Such D and D strategies, planning, assessment and execution are described, presented and evaluated in this paper. (author)

  3. Electric Power Research Institute: Environmental Control Technology Center. Report to the Steering Committee, November 1995. Final technical report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1995-11-01

    Operations and maintenance continued this month at the Electric Power Research Institute`s Environmental Control Technology Center. Testing on the 4.0 MW Pilot Wet FGD unit continued this month with the Pilot High Velocity (PHV) and the Trace Element Removal (TER) test blocks. In the High Velocity test block, SO{sub 2} removal and mist eliminator carryover rates were investigated while operating the absorber unit with various spray nozzle types and vertical mist eliminator sections. During the Trace Element Removal test block, the mercury measurement studies involving the EPA Draft Method 29 continued with testing of several impinger solutions. The 4.0 MW Spray Dryer Absorber system was utilized in the TER test configuration this month while the 1.0 MW Cold-Side Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) unit and the 0.4 MW Mini-Pilot Absorber unit remained in a state of cold-standby. A monthly inspection was conducted for all equipment in cold-standby, as well as for the fire safety systems in the SCR building. These inspections will continue to be conducted by the ECTC Operations and Maintenance staff each month.

  4. Universality of Citation Distributions for Academic Institutions and Journals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chatterjee, Arnab; Ghosh, Asim; Chakrabarti, Bikas K.

    2016-01-01

    Citations measure the importance of a publication, and may serve as a proxy for its popularity and quality of its contents. Here we study the distributions of citations to publications from individual academic institutions for a single year. The average number of citations have large variations between different institutions across the world, but the probability distributions of citations for individual institutions can be rescaled to a common form by scaling the citations by the average number of citations for that institution. We find this feature seems to be universal for a broad selection of institutions irrespective of the average number of citations per article. A similar analysis for citations to publications in a particular journal in a single year reveals similar results. We find high absolute inequality for both these sets, Gini coefficients being around 0.66 and 0.58 for institutions and journals respectively. We also find that the top 25% of the articles hold about 75% of the total citations for institutions and the top 29% of the articles hold about 71% of the total citations for journals. PMID:26751563

  5. Community-Based Vocational Rehabilitation (CBVR) for People with Disabilities: Experiences from a Pilot Project in Nigeria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alade, Eunice B.

    2004-01-01

    This article discusses the community-based vocational rehabilitation (CBVR) of persons with disabilities. In 1991, a pilot project was instituted by the International Labour Organisation and the United Nations Development Programme in conjunction with Oyo State Government in Nigeria. The aim was to facilitate the reintegration of persons with…

  6. Prospects for pilot plants based on the tokamak, spherical tokamak and stellarator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Menard, J.E.; Bromberg, L.; Brown, T.; Burgess, Thomas W.; Dix, D.; Gerrity, T.; Goldston, R.J.; Hawryluk, R.; Kastner, R.; Kessel, C.; Malang, S.; Minervini, J.; Neilson, G.H.; Neumeyer, C.L.; Prager, S.; Sawan, M.; Sheffield, J.; Sternlieb, A.; Waganer, L.; Whyte, D.G.; Zarnstorff, M.C.

    2011-01-01

    A potentially attractive next-step towards fusion commercialization is a pilot plant, i.e. a device ultimately capable of small net electricity production in as compact a facility as possible and in a configuration scalable to a full-size power plant. A key capability for a pilot-plant programme is the production of high neutron fluence enabling fusion nuclear science and technology (FNST) research. It is found that for physics and technology assumptions between those assumed for ITER and nth-of-a-kind fusion power plant, it is possible to provide FNST-relevant neutron wall loading in pilot devices. Thus, it may be possible to utilize a single facility to perform FNST research utilizing reactor-relevant plasma, blanket, coil and auxiliary systems and maintenance schemes while also targeting net electricity production. In this paper three configurations for a pilot plant are considered: the advanced tokamak, spherical tokamak and compact stellarator. A range of configuration issues is considered including: radial build and blanket design, magnet systems, maintenance schemes, tritium consumption and self-sufficiency, physics scenarios and a brief assessment of research needs for the configurations.

  7. Leisure pilot license proposed for Europe: do you want such pilots crossing your flight path?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simons, Ries; Maher, Declan; Stüben, Uwe; Herbert, Kevin C

    2009-07-01

    In a Notice of Proposed Amendment, the European Aviation Safety Agency proposes to introduce a Leisure Pilot License (LPL). Holders of a LPL for airplanes will be allowed to fly single-engine piston airplanes with a maximum takeoff mass of 2000 kg or less, carrying a maximum of three passengers. In this commentary paper, we express significant concern about the flight safety consequences of the proposed aeromedical requirements of the LPL. We argue that the proposed minimum age, validity period of the medical certificate, and issuance of certificates by general practitioners may increase the flight safety risk. Major revision of the proposed LPL regulation is recommended.

  8. Efficacy of a Radiation Absorbing Shield in Reducing Dose to the Interventionalist During Peripheral Endovascular Procedures: A Single Centre Pilot Study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Power, S.; Mirza, M.; Thakorlal, A.; Ganai, B.; Gavagan, L. D.; Given, M. F.; Lee, M. J.

    2015-01-01

    PurposeThis prospective pilot study was undertaken to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of using a radiation absorbing shield to reduce operator dose from scatter during lower limb endovascular procedures.Materials and MethodsA commercially available bismuth shield system (RADPAD) was used. Sixty consecutive patients undergoing lower limb angioplasty were included. Thirty procedures were performed without the RADPAD (control group) and thirty with the RADPAD (study group). Two separate methods were used to measure dose to a single operator. Thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD) badges were used to measure hand, eye, and unshielded body dose. A direct dosimeter with digital readout was also used to measure eye and unshielded body dose. To allow for variation between control and study groups, dose per unit time was calculated.ResultsTLD results demonstrated a significant reduction in median body dose per unit time for the study group compared with controls (p = 0.001), corresponding to a mean dose reduction rate of 65 %. Median eye and hand dose per unit time were also reduced in the study group compared with control group, however, this was not statistically significant (p = 0.081 for eye, p = 0.628 for hand). Direct dosimeter readings also showed statistically significant reduction in median unshielded body dose rate for the study group compared with controls (p = 0.037). Eye dose rate was reduced for the study group but this was not statistically significant (p = 0.142).ConclusionInitial results are encouraging. Use of the shield resulted in a statistically significant reduction in unshielded dose to the operator’s body. Measured dose to the eye and hand of operator were also reduced but did not reach statistical significance in this pilot study

  9. Efficacy of a Radiation Absorbing Shield in Reducing Dose to the Interventionalist During Peripheral Endovascular Procedures: A Single Centre Pilot Study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Power, S.; Mirza, M.; Thakorlal, A.; Ganai, B.; Gavagan, L. D.; Given, M. F.; Lee, M. J., E-mail: mlee@rcsi.ie [Beaumont Hospital, Imaging and Interventional Radiology Department (Ireland)

    2015-06-15

    PurposeThis prospective pilot study was undertaken to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of using a radiation absorbing shield to reduce operator dose from scatter during lower limb endovascular procedures.Materials and MethodsA commercially available bismuth shield system (RADPAD) was used. Sixty consecutive patients undergoing lower limb angioplasty were included. Thirty procedures were performed without the RADPAD (control group) and thirty with the RADPAD (study group). Two separate methods were used to measure dose to a single operator. Thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD) badges were used to measure hand, eye, and unshielded body dose. A direct dosimeter with digital readout was also used to measure eye and unshielded body dose. To allow for variation between control and study groups, dose per unit time was calculated.ResultsTLD results demonstrated a significant reduction in median body dose per unit time for the study group compared with controls (p = 0.001), corresponding to a mean dose reduction rate of 65 %. Median eye and hand dose per unit time were also reduced in the study group compared with control group, however, this was not statistically significant (p = 0.081 for eye, p = 0.628 for hand). Direct dosimeter readings also showed statistically significant reduction in median unshielded body dose rate for the study group compared with controls (p = 0.037). Eye dose rate was reduced for the study group but this was not statistically significant (p = 0.142).ConclusionInitial results are encouraging. Use of the shield resulted in a statistically significant reduction in unshielded dose to the operator’s body. Measured dose to the eye and hand of operator were also reduced but did not reach statistical significance in this pilot study.

  10. Action Research’s Potential to Foster Institutional Change for Urban Water Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dimitrios Zikos

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available The paper discusses the potential of action research to meet the challenges entailed in institutional design for urban water management. Our overall aim is to briefly present action research and discuss its methodological merits with regard to the challenges posed by the different conceptual bases for extrapolating the effects of institutional design on institutional change. Thus, our aim is to explore how Action Research meets the challenge of scoping the field in an open fashion for determining the appropriate mechanisms of institutional change and supporting the emerging of new water institutions. To accomplish this aim, we select the Water Framework Directive (WFD as an illustrative driving force requiring changes in water management practices and implying the need for the emergence of new institutions. We employ a case of urban water management in the Volos Metropolitan Area, part of the Thessaly region in Greece, where a Pilot River Basin Plan was implemented. By applying action research and being involved in a long process of interaction between stakeholders, we examine the emergence of new institutions dealing with urban water management under the general principles of the major driving force for change: the WFD.

  11. Chronological changes in lung cancer surgery in a single Japanese institution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakamura, Haruhiko; Sakai, Hiroki; Kimura, Hiroyuki; Miyazawa, Tomoyuki; Marushima, Hideki; Saji, Hisashi

    2017-01-01

    Background The aim of this study was to evaluate the chronological changes in epidemiological factors and surgical outcomes in patients with lung cancer who underwent surgery in a single Japanese institution. Patients and methods A clinicopathological database of patients with lung cancer who underwent surgery with curative intent from January 1974 to December 2014 was reviewed. The chronological changes in various factors, including patient’s age, sex, histological type, tumor size, pathological stage (p-stage), surgical method, operative time, intraoperative blood loss, 30-day mortality, and postoperative overall survival (OS), were evaluated. Results A total of 1,616 patients were included. The numbers of resected patients, females, adenocarcinomas, p-stage IA patients, and age at the time of surgery increased with time, but tumor size decreased (all P<0.0001). Concerning surgical methods, the number of sublobar resections increased, but that of pneumonectomies decreased (P<0.0001). The mean operative time, intraoperative blood loss, and the postoperative 30-day mortality rate decreased (all P<0.0001). When the patients were divided into two groups (1974–2004 and 2005–2014), the 5-year OS rates for all patients and for p-stage IA patients improved from 44% to 79% and from 73% to 89%, respectively (all P<0.0001). The best 5-year OS rate was obtained for sublobar resection (73%), followed by lobectomy (60%), combined resection (22%), and pneumonectomy (21%; P<0.0001). Conclusion Changes in epidemiological factors, a trend toward less invasive surgery, and a remarkably improved postoperative OS were confirmed, which demonstrated the increasingly important role of surgery in therapeutic strategies for lung cancer. PMID:28331339

  12. A contemporary, single-institutional experience of surgical versus expectant management of congenital heart disease in trisomy 13 and 18 patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Costello, John P; Weiderhold, Allison; Louis, Clauden; Shaughnessy, Conner; Peer, Syed M; Zurakowski, David; Jonas, Richard A; Nath, Dilip S

    2015-06-01

    The objective of this study was to examine a large institutional experience of patients with trisomy 13 and trisomy 18 in the setting of comorbid congenital heart disease and present the outcomes of surgical versus expectant management. It is a retrospective single-institution cohort study. Institutional review board approved this study. Thirteen consecutive trisomy 18 patients and three consecutive trisomy 13 patients (sixteen patients in total) with comorbid congenital heart disease who were evaluated by our institution's Division of Cardiovascular Surgery between January 2008 and December 2013 were included in the study. The primary outcome measures evaluated were operative mortality (for patients who received surgical management), overall mortality (for patients who received expectant management), and total length of survival during follow-up. Of the thirteen trisomy 18 patients, seven underwent surgical management and six received expectant management. With surgical management, operative mortality was 29 %, and 80 % of patients were alive after a median follow-up of 116 days. With expectant management, 50 % of patients died before hospital discharge. Of the three patients with trisomy 13, one patient underwent surgical management and two received expectant management. The patient who received surgical management with complete repair was alive at last follow-up over 2 years after surgery; both patients managed expectantly died before hospital discharge. Trisomy 13 and trisomy 18 patients with comorbid congenital heart disease can undergo successful cardiac surgical intervention. In this population, we advocate that nearly all patients with cardiovascular indications for operative congenital heart disease intervention should be offered complete surgical repair over palliative approaches for moderately complex congenital cardiac anomalies.

  13. Preoperative therapeutic exercise in frail elderly scheduled for total hip replacement: A randomized pilot trial

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoogeboom, T.J.; Dronkers, J.J.; Ende, C.H.M. van den; Oosting, E.; Meeteren, N.L.U. van

    2010-01-01

    Objective: To evaluate the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of therapeutic exercise before total hip replacement in frail elderly. Design: A single-blind, randomized clinical pilot trial. Setting: Outpatient physiotherapy department. Subjects: Frail elderly with hip osteoarthritis awaiting

  14. 49 CFR 230.110 - Pilots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Pilots. 230.110 Section 230.110 Transportation... and Equalizing System § 230.110 Pilots. (a) General provisions. Pilots shall be securely attached... clearance. The minimum clearance of pilot above the rail shall be 3 inches and the maximum clearance shall...

  15. Connected Vehicle Pilot Deployment Program Independent Evaluation: Mobility, Environmental, and Public Agency Efficiency Refined Evaluation Plan - New York City

    Science.gov (United States)

    2018-03-01

    The purpose of this report is to provide a refined evaluation plan detailing the approach to be used by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute Connected Vehicle Pilot Deployment Evaluation Team for evaluating the mobility, environmental, and public a...

  16. Initial experience with robotic pancreatic surgery in Singapore: single institution experience with 30 consecutive cases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goh, Brian K P; Low, Tze-Yi; Lee, Ser-Yee; Chan, Chung-Yip; Chung, Alexander Y F; Ooi, London L P J

    2018-05-24

    Presently, the worldwide experience with robotic pancreatic surgery (RPS) is increasing although widespread adoption remains limited. In this study, we report our initial experience with RPS. This is a retrospective review of a single institution prospective database of 72 consecutive robotic hepatopancreatobiliary surgeries performed between 2013 and 2017. Of these, 30 patients who underwent RPS were included in this study of which 25 were performed by a single surgeon. The most common procedure was robotic distal pancreatectomy (RDP) which was performed in 20 patients. This included eight subtotal pancreatectomies, two extended pancreatecto-splenectomies (en bloc gastric resection) and 10 spleen-saving-RDP. Splenic preservation was successful in 10/11 attempted spleen-saving-RDP. Eight patients underwent pancreaticoduodenectomies (five hybrid with open reconstruction), one patient underwent a modified Puestow procedure and one enucleation of uncinate tumour. Four patients had extended resections including two RDP with gastric resection and two pancreaticoduodenectomies with vascular resection. There was one (3.3%) open conversion and seven (23.3%) major (>Grade II) morbidities. Overall, there were four (13.3%) clinically significant (Grade B) pancreatic fistulas of which three required percutaneous drainage. These occurred after three RDP and one robotic enucleation. There was one reoperation for port-site hernia and no 30-day/in-hospital mortalities. The median post-operative stay was 6.5 (range: 3-36) days and there were six (20%) 30-day readmissions. Our initial experience showed that RPS can be adopted safely with a low open conversion rate for a wide variety of procedures including pancreaticoduodenectomy. © 2018 Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.

  17. National priorities for the assessment of clinical conditions and medical technologies: report of a pilot study

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Lara, María Elena; Goodman, Clifford

    1990-01-01

    ... and Medical Technologies Report of a Pilot Study Maria Elena Lara and Clifford Goodman, editors Priority-Setting Group Council on Health Care Technology Institute of Medicine NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS WASHINGTON, D.C. 1990 i Copyrightoriginal retained, the be not from cannot book, paper original however, for version formatting, authoritative the typese...

  18. Amygdala, Hippocampal and Corpus Callosum Size Following Severe Early Institutional Deprivation: The English and Romanian Adoptees Study Pilot

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mehta, Mitul A.; Golembo, Nicole I.; Nosarti, Chiara; Colvert, Emma; Mota, Ashley; Williams, Steven C. R.; Rutter, Michael; Sonuga-Barke, Edmund J. S.

    2009-01-01

    The adoption into the UK of children who have been reared in severely deprived conditions provides an opportunity to study possible association between very early negative experiences and subsequent brain development. This cross-sectional study was a pilot for a planned larger study quantifying the effects of early deprivation on later brain…

  19. The use of fund accounting and the need for single fund reporting by institutional healthcare providers. Principles and Practices Board Statement No. 8. Healthcare Financial Management Association.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1986-06-01

    For many years, hospitals and other institutional healthcare providers used fund accounting as a basis for presenting their financial statements. Recently, authoritative literature has placed less emphasis on separate fund reporting. This is evidenced by the reduction of fund classifications specified in the literature. This trend seems to follow the recognition that institutional healthcare activities should be reported in a manner comparable to other businesses. The Principles and Practices Board (P&P Board) of the Healthcare Financial management Association believes that general purpose financial statements of institutional healthcare providers should be comparable to reporting by other businesses. That is, all assets, liabilities, and equity are presented in a single aggregated balance sheet without differentiation by fund. This form of presentation, referred to in this statement as single fund reporting, should be used by all institutional healthcare providers including those that are part of HMOs, universities, municipalities, and other larger entities when separate reports of the provider are issued. The P&P Board is studying other significant issues concerning the reporting of revenues and components of equity and changes therein. The conclusion in this statement can be implemented even though conclusions on these related subjects are not yet complete. The P&P Board recognizes that certain circumstances may require detailed records and reports for special purposes. This statement deals only with those general purpose financial statements on which an independent accountant's opinion is expressed.

  20. Mentoring as a transformative process of gendered academic structutes. The pilot Programme by GENOVATE@UNINA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Carmela Agodi

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Intervening in current debates about the effectiveness of mentoring as gender equality interventions in the academia, the paper argues for the need to move beyond an individual-structural dichotomy of such interventions. Drawing on previous literature and on the action-research case-study of the Mentoring Pilot Programme GENOVATE@UNINA, the idea that individual/single-actor interventions serve only to reinforce underlying inequalities is challenged. Only-women schemes have the potential to achieve a degree of transformation at individual, cultural and structural levels when such actions are designed with an understanding of how individuals embody the gendered and gendering social structures and values that are constantly being produced and reproduced within society. The case study highlights the benefits of supporting individuals as “gendered actors in gendering institutions” - following a bi-focal perspective already implied in the project Through the Glass Ceiling of the University College of Cork – while facilitating the development of critical gender awareness. It suggests that interventions are most effective when properly tailored as part of an integrated and institutional equality agenda.

  1. Communication training as a part of medical education: a pilot project

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Petersen, Corinna

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Within the last years, the importance of communication skills regarding the doctor-patient-relationship received more attention. Medical school curricula for future physicians must include teaching of communication skills as well. A pilot project for training communicative basic skills at the University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf will be presented. The content of teaching was generated by employees of the Institute and Policlinics of Medical Psychology. Contents of the course will be described and experiences discussed.

  2. Polyethylene glycol intestinal lavage in addition to usual antibiotic treatment for severe Clostridium difficile colitis: a randomised controlled pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCreery, Greig; Jones, Philip M; Kidane, Biniam; DeMelo, Vanessa; Mele, Tina

    2017-07-31

    Clostridium difficile infections (CDI) are common, costly and potentially life threatening. Most CDI will respond to antibiotic therapy, but 3%-10% of all patients with CDI will progress to a severe, life-threatening course. Complete removal of the large bowel is indicated for severe CDI. However, the 30-day mortality following surgical intervention for severe CDI ranges from 20% to 70%. A less invasive approach using surgical faecal diversion and direct colonic lavage with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and vancomycin has demonstrated a relative mortality reduction of approximately 50%. As an alternative to these operative approaches, we propose to treat patients with bedside intestinal lavage with PEG and vancomycin instillation via nasojejunal tube, in addition to usual antibiotic management. Preliminary data collected by our research group are encouraging. We will conduct a 1-year, single-centre, pilot randomised controlled trial to study this new treatment strategy for patients with severe CDI and additional risk factors for fulminant or complicated infection. After informed consent, patients with severe-complicated CDI without immediate indication for surgery will be randomised to either usual antibiotic treatment or usual antibiotic treatment with the addition of 8 L of PEG lavage via nasojejunal tube. This pilot trial will evaluate our eligibility and enrolment rate, protocol compliance and adverse event rates and provide further data to inform a more robust sample size calculation and protocol modifications for a definitive multicentre trial design. Based on historical data, we anticipate enrolling approximately 24 patients during the 1-year pilot study period.As a pilot study, data will be reported in aggregate. Between-group differences will be assessed in a blinded fashion for evidence of harm, and to further refine our sample size calculation. This study protocol has been reviewed and approved by our local institutional review board. Results of the pilot

  3. Data Mining in Institutional Economics Tasks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirilyuk, Igor; Kuznetsova, Anna; Senko, Oleg

    2018-02-01

    The paper discusses problems associated with the use of data mining tools to study discrepancies between countries with different types of institutional matrices by variety of potential explanatory variables: climate, economic or infrastructure indicators. An approach is presented which is based on the search of statistically valid regularities describing the dependence of the institutional type on a single variable or a pair of variables. Examples of regularities are given.

  4. Pilot Boarding Areas

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Pilot boarding areas are locations at sea where pilots familiar with local waters board incoming vessels to navigate their passage to a destination port. Pilotage is...

  5. Analysis of Pilot-Induced-Oscillation and Pilot Vehicle System Stability Using UAS Flight Experiments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tanmay K. Mandal

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper reports the results of a Pilot-Induced Oscillation (PIO and human pilot control characterization study performed using flight data collected with a Remotely Controlled (R/C unmanned research aircraft. The study was carried out on the longitudinal axis of the aircraft. Several existing Category 1 and Category 2 PIO criteria developed for manned aircraft are first surveyed and their effectiveness for predicting the PIO susceptibility for the R/C unmanned aircraft is evaluated using several flight experiments. It was found that the Bandwidth/Pitch rate overshoot and open loop onset point (OLOP criteria prediction results matched flight test observations. However, other criteria failed to provide accurate prediction results. To further characterize the human pilot control behavior during these experiments, a quasi-linear pilot model is used. The parameters of the pilot model estimated using data obtained from flight tests are then used to obtain information about the stability of the Pilot Vehicle System (PVS for Category 1 PIOs occurred during straight and level flights. The batch estimation technique used to estimate the parameters of the quasi-linear pilot model failed to completely capture the compatibility nature of the human pilot. The estimation results however provided valuable insights into the frequency characteristics of the human pilot commands. Additionally, stability analysis of the Category 2 PIOs for elevator actuator rate limiting is carried out using simulations and the results are compared with actual flight results.

  6. Centrifuge Study of Pilot Tolerance to Acceleration and the Effects of Acceleration on Pilot Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Creer, Brent Y.; Smedal, Harald A.; Wingrove, Rodney C.

    1960-01-01

    A research program the general objective of which was to measure the effects of various sustained accelerations on the control performance of pilots, was carried out on the Aviation Medical Acceleration Laboratory centrifuge, U.S. Naval Air Development Center, Johnsville, PA. The experimental setup consisted of a flight simulator with the centrifuge in the control loop. The pilot performed his control tasks while being subjected to acceleration fields such as might be encountered by a forward-facing pilot flying an atmosphere entry vehicle. The study was divided into three phases. In one phase of the program, the pilots were subjected to a variety of sustained linear acceleration forces while controlling vehicles with several different sets of longitudinal dynamics. Here, a randomly moving target was displayed to the pilot on a cathode-ray tube. For each combination of acceleration field and vehicle dynamics, pilot tracking accuracy was measured and pilot opinion of the stability and control characteristics was recorded. Thus, information was obtained on the combined effects of complexity of control task and magnitude and direction of acceleration forces on pilot performance. These tests showed that the pilot's tracking performance deteriorated markedly at accelerations greater than about 4g when controlling a lightly damped vehicle. The tentative conclusion was also reached that regardless of the airframe dynamics involved, the pilot feels that in order to have the same level of control over the vehicle, an increase in the vehicle dynamic stability was required with increases in the magnitudes of the acceleration impressed upon the pilot. In another phase, boundaries of human tolerance of acceleration were established for acceleration fields such as might be encountered by a pilot flying an orbital vehicle. A special pilot restraint system was developed to increase human tolerance to longitudinal decelerations. The results of the tests showed that human tolerance

  7. Development of some operations in technological flowsheet for spent VVER fuel reprocessing at a pilot plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lazarev, L.N.; Galkin, B.Ya; Lyubtsev, R.I.; Romanovskii, V.N.; Velikhov, E.P.

    1981-01-01

    The fuel reprocessing pilot plants for high active materials would permit the study and development or particular processing steps and flowsheet variations; in some cases, these experimental installations realize on a small scale practically all technological chains of large reprocessing plants. Such a fuel reprocessing pilot plant with capacity of 3 kg U/d has been built at V. G. Khlopin Radium Institute. The pilot plant is installed in the hot cell of radiochemical compartment, and is composed of the equipments for fuel element cutting and dissolving, the preparation of feed solution (clarification, correction), extraction reprocessing and the production of uranium, plutonium and neptunium concentrates, the complex processing of liquid and solid wastes and a special unit for gas purification and analysis. In the last few years, a series of experiments have been carried out on the reprocessing of spent VVER fuel. (J.P.N.)

  8. Determination of Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) management and institutional requirements documents for contact-handled (CH) critical systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1990-01-01

    This document lists the critical requirements documents applicable to the receipt of contact-handled waste at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. It also describes the processes used to determine the applicability of each document. This analysis is based on the applicable documents that were in effect in the February 1988 time frame. 2 refs

  9. Beliefs of Applied Studio Faculty on Desirable Traits of Prospective Music Education Majors: A Pilot Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Royston, Natalie Steele; Springer, D. Gregory

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the beliefs of applied music faculty on desirable traits of prospective music education majors. Researcher-designed surveys were sent electronically to applied music faculty at 12 National Association of Schools of Music-accredited institutions randomly selected from each of the four major divisions…

  10. DIRAC universal pilots

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stagni, F.; McNab, A.; Luzzi, C.; Krzemien, W.; Consortium, DIRAC

    2017-10-01

    In the last few years, new types of computing models, such as IAAS (Infrastructure as a Service) and IAAC (Infrastructure as a Client), gained popularity. New resources may come as part of pledged resources, while others are in the form of opportunistic ones. Most but not all of these new infrastructures are based on virtualization techniques. In addition, some of them, present opportunities for multi-processor computing slots to the users. Virtual Organizations are therefore facing heterogeneity of the available resources and the use of an Interware software like DIRAC to provide the transparent, uniform interface has become essential. The transparent access to the underlying resources is realized by implementing the pilot model. DIRAC’s newest generation of generic pilots (the so-called Pilots 2.0) are the “pilots for all the skies”, and have been successfully released in production more than a year ago. They use a plugin mechanism that makes them easily adaptable. Pilots 2.0 have been used for fetching and running jobs on every type of resource, being it a Worker Node (WN) behind a CREAM/ARC/HTCondor/DIRAC Computing element, a Virtual Machine running on IaaC infrastructures like Vac or BOINC, on IaaS cloud resources managed by Vcycle, the LHCb High Level Trigger farm nodes, and any type of opportunistic computing resource. Make a machine a “Pilot Machine”, and all diversities between them will disappear. This contribution describes how pilots are made suitable for different resources, and the recent steps taken towards a fully unified framework, including monitoring. Also, the cases of multi-processor computing slots either on real or virtual machines, with the whole node or a partition of it, is discussed.

  11. Evaluation of homoeopathic treatment in polycystic ovary syndrome: A single-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled pilot study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chetna Deep Lamba

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Background and Objectives: This study was conducted with the primary objective of evaluating efficacy of Homoeopathy in establishing the menstrual regularity with improvement in either ultrasonological findings or hirsutism/acne. The quality of life was also assessed using polycystic ovary syndrome questionnaire (PCOSQ. Materials and Methods: A single-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled pilot study was conducted from February 2014 to May 2015 at two research centres. The cases fulfilling the eligibility criteria were enrolled (n = 60 and randomised to either the homoeopathic intervention (HI (n = 30 or identical placebo (P (n = 30 with uniform lifestyle modification (LSM for 6 months. Results: The menstrual regularity with improvement in other signs/symptoms was observed in 60% of the cases (n = 18 in HI + LSM group and none (n = 0 in control group (P = 0.001. Statistically significant difference (P = 0.016 was observed in reduction of intermenstrual duration (from 76.1 ± 37.7 to 46.6 ± 38.7 days in HI + LSM in comparison to placebo + LSM group (from 93.0 ± 65.2 to 93.9 ± 96.2 days. In PCOSQ, also, significant improvement was observed in HI group in domains of weight, fertility, emotions and menstrual problems (P < 0.05 with no difference in body hair (P = 0.708. No change was observed in respect of improvement in the ultrasound findings. Pulsatilla was the most frequently indicated medicine (n = 12, 40%. Conclusion: HI along with LSM has shown promising outcome; further comparative study with standard conventional treatment on adequate sample size is desirable.

  12. Retaining U.S. Air Force Pilots When the Civilian Demand for Pilots Is Growing

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-01-01

    compensation, so a 1-percent increase in basic pay is like a 0.6-percent increase in total pay, other things being equal . If so, the retention change...at other major airlines.3 The collective bargaining agreement called for American/US Airways pilots to reach pay parity with Delta and United pilots...non-veterans in non- pilot occupations after controlling for age, education, and gender . But the results show that pilots who are veterans earn 10 to

  13. Chronological changes in lung cancer surgery in a single Japanese institution

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nakamura H

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Haruhiko Nakamura, Hiroki Sakai, Hiroyuki Kimura, Tomoyuki Miyazawa, Hideki Marushima, Hisashi Saji Department of Chest Surgery, St Marianna University School of Medicine, Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the chronological changes in epidemiological factors and surgical outcomes in patients with lung cancer who underwent surgery in a single Japanese institution.Patients and methods: A clinicopathological database of patients with lung cancer who underwent surgery with curative intent from January 1974 to December 2014 was reviewed. The chronological changes in various factors, including patient’s age, sex, histological type, tumor size, pathological stage (p-stage, surgical method, operative time, intraoperative blood loss, 30-day mortality, and postoperative overall survival (OS, were evaluated.Results: A total of 1,616 patients were included. The numbers of resected patients, females, adenocarcinomas, p-stage IA patients, and age at the time of surgery increased with time, but tumor size decreased (all P<0.0001. Concerning surgical methods, the number of sublobar resections increased, but that of pneumonectomies decreased (P<0.0001. The mean operative time, intraoperative blood loss, and the postoperative 30-day mortality rate decreased (all P<0.0001. When the patients were divided into two groups (1974–2004 and 2005–2014, the 5-year OS rates for all patients and for p-stage IA patients improved from 44% to 79% and from 73% to 89%, respectively (all P<0.0001. The best 5-year OS rate was obtained for sublobar resection (73%, followed by lobectomy (60%, combined resection (22%, and pneumonectomy (21%; P<0.0001.Conclusion: Changes in epidemiological factors, a trend toward less invasive surgery, and a remarkably improved postoperative OS were confirmed, which demonstrated the increasingly important role of surgery in therapeutic strategies for lung cancer. Keywords: lung cancer, surgery, sublobar

  14. Leiomyosarcoma of the head and neck: A 17-year single institution experience and review of the National Cancer Data Base.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Workman, Alan D; Farquhar, Douglas R; Brody, Robert M; Parasher, Arjun K; Carey, Ryan M; Purkey, Michael T; Nagda, Danish A; Brooks, John S; Hartner, Lee P; Brant, Jason A; Newman, Jason G

    2018-04-01

    Leiomyosarcoma is a rare neoplasm of the head and neck. The purpose of this study was to present our single-institution case series of head and neck leiomyosarcoma and a review of cases in the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB). Patients with head and neck leiomyosarcoma at the University of Pennsylvania and in the NCDB were identified. Demographic characteristics, tumor factors, treatment paradigms, and outcomes were evaluated for prognostic significance. Nine patients with head and neck leiomyosarcoma from the institution were identified; a majority had high-grade disease and cutaneous leiomyosarcoma, with a 5-year survival rate of 50%. Two hundred fifty-nine patients with leiomyosarcoma were found in the NCDB; macroscopic positive margins and high-grade disease were associated with poor prognosis (P < .01), and positive surgical margins were related to adjuvant radiation (P < .001). Head and neck leiomyosarcoma presents at a high grade and is preferentially treated with surgery. Several demographic and tumor-specific factors are associated with outcomes and prognosis. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  15. Developing Collections With Get It Now: A Pilot Project for a Hybrid Collection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hendler, Gail Y; Gudenas, Jean

    2016-01-01

    As health sciences libraries transition from print to online journal collections that require significant institutional funding, librarians are investigating the use of on demand services in order to meet customer need and contain costs. In 2014 a three-year pilot project to determine if unmediated access to the Copyright Clearance Center's Get It Now service would expand access to needed content and provide usage data to inform collections decision making. The service provides rapid, automated delivery of unsubscribed, high-quality journal articles directly to the customer. The three-year pilot project aims to compare the cost of Get It Now to the traditional subscription model to learn if the service is a cost-effective and sustainable alternative that improves customer satisfaction and that can transform collection development with a hybrid model for journal acquisitions.

  16. Effects of a tele-prehabilitation program or an in-person prehabilitation program in surgical candidates awaiting total hip or knee arthroplasty: Protocol of a pilot single blind randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doiron-Cadrin, Patrick; Kairy, Dahlia; Vendittoli, Pascal-André; Lowry, Véronique; Poitras, Stéphane; Desmeules, François

    2016-12-15

    The accessibility for total joint arthroplasty often comes up against long wait lists, and may lead to deleterious effects for the awaiting patients. This pilot single blind randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the impact of a telerehabilitation prehabilitation program before a hip or knee arthroplasty compared to in-person prehabilitation or to usual wait for surgery. Thirty-six patients on a wait list for a total hip or knee arthroplasty will be recruited and randomly assigned to one of three groups. The in-person prehabilitation group (n = 12) will receive a 12-week rehabilitation program (2 sessions/week) including education, exercises of the lower limb and cardiovascular training. Patients in the tele-prehabilitation group (n = 12) will receive the same intervention using a telecommunication software. The control group (n = 12) will be provided with the hospital's usual documentation before surgery. The Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS) will be the primary outcome measure taken at baseline and at 12 weeks. Secondary measures will include self-reported function and quality of life as well as performance tests. A mixed-model, 2-way repeated-measure ANOVA will be used to analyse the effects of the rehabilitation programs. This pilot study is the first to evaluate the feasibility and the impact of a telerehabilitation prehabilitation program for patients awaiting a total joint arthroplasty. The results of this pilot-RCT will set the foundations for further research in the fields of rehabilitation and tele-medicine for patients suffering from lower limb osteoarthritis. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02636751.

  17. Developing a health and human rights training program for french speaking Africa: lessons learned, from needs assessment to a pilot program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chastonay, Philippe; Klohn, Axel Max; Zesiger, Véronique; Freigburghaus, Franziska; Mpinga, Emmanuel Kabengele

    2009-08-24

    The importance of human rights education has widely been recognized as one of the strategies for their protection and promotion of health. Yet training programs have not always taken into account neither local needs, nor public health relevance, nor pedagogical efficacy.The objectives of our study were to assess, in a participative way, educational needs in the field of health and human rights among potential trainees in six French-speaking African countries and to test the feasibility of a training program through a pilot test. Ultimately the project aims to implement a health and human rights training program most appropriate to the African context. Needs assessment was done according to four approaches: Revue of available data on health and human rights in the targeted countries; Country visits by one of the authors meeting key institutions; Focus group discussions with key-informants in each country; A questionnaire-based study targeting health professionals and human rights activists.Pilot training program: an interactive e-learning pilot program was developed integrating training needs expressed by partner institutions and potential trainees. Needs assessment showed high public health and human rights challenges that the target countries have to face. It also showed precise demands of partner institutions in regard to a health and human rights training program. It further allowed defining training objectives and core competencies useful to potential employers and future students as well as specific training contents.A pilot program allowed testing the motivation of students, the feasibility of an interactive educational approach and identifying potential difficulties. In combining various approaches our study was able to show that training needs concentrate around tools allowing the identification of basic human rights violations in the health system, the analysis of their causes and coordinated responses through specific intervention projects.

  18. Developing a health and human rights training program for french speaking Africa: lessons learned, from needs assessment to a pilot program

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Freigburghaus Franziska

    2009-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The importance of human rights education has widely been recognized as one of the strategies for their protection and promotion of health. Yet training programs have not always taken into account neither local needs, nor public health relevance, nor pedagogical efficacy. The objectives of our study were to assess, in a participative way, educational needs in the field of health and human rights among potential trainees in six French-speaking African countries and to test the feasibility of a training program through a pilot test. Ultimately the project aims to implement a health and human rights training program most appropriate to the African context. Methods Needs assessment was done according to four approaches: Revue of available data on health and human rights in the targeted countries; Country visits by one of the authors meeting key institutions; Focus group discussions with key-informants in each country; A questionnaire-based study targeting health professionals and human rights activists. Pilot training program: an interactive e-learning pilot program was developed integrating training needs expressed by partner institutions and potential trainees. Results Needs assessment showed high public health and human rights challenges that the target countries have to face. It also showed precise demands of partner institutions in regard to a health and human rights training program. It further allowed defining training objectives and core competencies useful to potential employers and future students as well as specific training contents. A pilot program allowed testing the motivation of students, the feasibility of an interactive educational approach and identifying potential difficulties. Conclusion In combining various approaches our study was able to show that training needs concentrate around tools allowing the identification of basic human rights violations in the health system, the analysis of their causes and

  19. Shared Governance and Regional Accreditation: Institutional Processes and Perceptions

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGrane, Wendy L.

    2013-01-01

    This qualitative single-case research study was conducted to gain deeper understanding of the institutional processes to address shared governance accreditation criteria and to determine whether institutional processes altered stakeholder perceptions of shared governance. The data collection strategies were archival records and personal…

  20. COOMET pilot comparison 473/RU-a/09: Comparison of hydrophone calibrations in the frequency range 250 Hz to 200 kHz

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yi, Chen; Isaev, A. E.; Yuebing, Wang; Enyakov, A. M.; Teng, Fei; Matveev, A. N.

    2011-01-01

    A description is given of the COOMET project 473/RU-a/09: a pilot comparison of hydrophone calibrations at frequencies from 250 Hz to 200 kHz between Hangzhou Applied Acoustics Research Institute (HAARI, China)—pilot laboratory—and Russian National Research Institute for Physicotechnical and Radio Engineering Measurements (VNIIFTRI, Designated Institute of Russia of the CIPM MRA). Two standard hydrophones, B&K 8104 and TC 4033, were calibrated and compared to assess the current state of hydrophone calibration of HAARI (China) and Russia. Three different calibration methods were applied: a vibrating column method, a free-field reciprocity method and a comparison method. The standard facilities of each laboratory were used, and three different sound fields were applied: pressure field, free-field and reverberant field. The maximum deviation of the sensitivities of two hydrophones between the participants' results was 0.36 dB. Main text. To reach the main text of this paper, click on Final Report. The final report has been peer-reviewed and approved for publication by the CCAUV-KCWG.

  1. Single-dose safety and pharmacokinetic evaluation of fluorocoxib A: pilot study of novel cyclooxygenase-2-targeted optical imaging agent in a canine model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cekanova, Maria; Uddin, Md. Jashim; Legendre, Alfred M.; Galyon, Gina; Bartges, Joseph W.; Callens, Amanda; Martin-Jimenez, Tomas; Marnett, Lawrence J.

    2012-11-01

    We evaluated preclinical single-dose safety, pharmacokinetic properties, and specific uptake of the new optical imaging agent fluorocoxib A in dogs. Fluorocoxib A, N-[(5-carboxy-X-rhodaminyl)but-4-yl]-2-[1-(4-chlorobenzoyl)-5-methoxy-2-methyl-1H-indol-3-yl]acetamide, selectively binds and inhibits the cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) enzyme, which is overexpressed in many cancers. Safety pilot studies were performed in research dogs following intravenous (i.v.) administration of 0.1 and 1 mg/kg fluorocoxib A. Blood and urine samples collected three days after administration of each dose of fluorocoxib A revealed no evidence of toxicity, and no clinically relevant adverse events were noted on physical examination of exposed dogs over that time period. Pharmacokinetic parameters were assessed in additional research dogs from plasma collected at several time points after i.v. administration of fluorocoxib A using high-performance liquid chromatography analysis. The pharmacokinetic studies using 1 mg/kg showed a peak of fluorocoxib A (92±28 ng/ml) in plasma collected at 0.5 h. Tumor specific uptake of fluorocoxib A was demonstrated using a dog diagnosed with colorectal cancer expressing COX-2. Our data support the safe single-dose administration and in vivo efficacy of fluorocoxib A, suggesting a high potential for successful translation to clinical use as an imaging agent for improved tumor detection in humans.

  2. Road Assessment Model and Pilot Application in China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tiejun Zhang

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Risk assessment of roads is an effective approach for road agencies to determine safety improvement investments. It can increases the cost-effective returns in crash and injury reductions. To get a powerful Chinese risk assessment model, Research Institute of Highway (RIOH is developing China Road Assessment Programme (ChinaRAP model to show the traffic crashes in China in partnership with International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP. The ChinaRAP model is based upon RIOH’s achievements and iRAP models. This paper documents part of ChinaRAP’s research work, mainly including the RIOH model and its pilot application in a province in China.

  3. The Behavior of Pilot Trickle-Bed Reactor under Periodic Operation

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Tukač, V.; Šimíčková, M.; Chyba, V.; Lederer, J.; Kolena, J.; Hanika, Jiří; Jiřičný, Vladimír; Staněk, Vladimír; Stavárek, Petr

    2007-01-01

    Roč. 62, 18-20 (2007), s. 4891-4895 ISSN 0009-2509. [International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering - From Science to Innovative Engineering /19./. Potsdam/Berlin, 03.09.2006-06.09.2006] R&D Projects: GA MPO(CZ) FT-TA/039 Grant - others:CYCLOP(XE) G1RD/CT2000/00225 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40720504 Source of funding: R - rámcový projekt EK Keywords : olefine hydrogenation * pilot-scale * trickle-bed reactor Subject RIV: CI - Industrial Chemistry, Chemical Engineering Impact factor: 1.775, year: 2007

  4. EURObservational Research Programme: the Heart Failure Pilot Survey (ESC-HF Pilot)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Maggioni, Aldo P; Dahlström, Ulf; Filippatos, Gerasimos

    2010-01-01

    The primary objective of the new ESC-HF Pilot Survey was to describe the clinical epidemiology of outpatients and inpatients with heart failure (HF) and the diagnostic/therapeutic processes applied across 12 participating European countries. This pilot study was specifically aimed at validating...

  5. A pilot study on the randomization of inferior vena cava filter placement for venous thromboembolism prophylaxis in high-risk trauma patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rajasekhar, Anita; Lottenberg, Lawrence; Lottenberg, Richard; Feezor, Robert J; Armen, Scott B; Liu, Huazhi; Efron, Philip A; Crowther, Mark; Ang, Darwin

    2011-08-01

    Placement of prophylactic inferior vena cava filters (pIVCFs) for the prevention of pulmonary embolism (PE) in high-risk trauma patients (HRTPs) are widely practiced despite the lack of Level I data supporting this use. We report the 2-year interim analysis of the Filters in Trauma pilot study. This is a single institution, prospective randomized controlled pilot feasibility study in a Level I trauma center. HRTPs were identified for pIVCF placement by the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma guidelines. From November 2008 to November 2010, HRTPs were enrolled and randomized to either pIVCF or no pIVCF. All patients received pharmacologic prophylaxis when safe. Primary outcomes included feasibility objectives and secondary outcomes were incidence of PE, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), and death. Thirty-four of 38 enrolled patients were eligible for analysis. The baseline sociodemographic characteristics were balanced between the both groups. Results of the feasibility objectives included: time from admission to enrollment (mean, 47.4 hours ± 22.0 hours), time from enrollment to randomization (mean, 4.8 hours ± 9.1 hours), time from randomization to IVCF placement (mean, 16.9 hours ± 9.2 hours), adherence to weekly compression ultrasound within first month (IVCF group = 44.4%; non-IVCF group = 62.5%), and 1-month clinical follow-up (IVCF group = 83.3%; non-IVCF group = 100%). At 6-month follow-up, one PE in the nonfilter group and one DVT in the filter group had occurred. One non-PE-related death occurred in the filter group. Barriers to enrollment included inability to obtain informed consent due to patient refusal or no next of kin identified and delayed notification of eligibility status. Our pilot study demonstrates for the first time that a randomized controlled trial evaluating the efficacy of pIVCFs in trauma patients is feasible. This pilot data will be used to inform the design of a multicenter randomized controlled trial to determine the incidence

  6. Analysis of empty ATLAS pilot jobs

    CERN Document Server

    Love, Peter; The ATLAS collaboration

    2016-01-01

    The pilot model used by the ATLAS production system has been in use for many years. The model has proven to be a success with many advantages over push models. However one of the negative side-effects of using a pilot model is the presence of 'empty pilots' running on sites which consume a small amount of walltime and not running a useful payload job. The impact on a site can be significant with previous studies showing a total 0.5% walltime usage with no benefit to either the site or to ATLAS. Another impact is the number of empty pilots being processed by a site's Compute Element and batch system which can be 5% of the total number of pilots being handled. In this paper we review the latest statistics using both ATLAS and site data and highlight edge cases where the number of empty pilots dominate. We also study the effect of tuning the pilot factories to reduce the number of empty pilots.

  7. Electric Power Research Institute: Environmental Control Technology Center: Report to the Steering Committee, March 1996. Final technical report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1996-03-01

    Operations and maintenance continued this month at the Electric Power Research Institute`s Environmental Control Technology Center. Testing on the 4.0 MW Pilot Wet FGD unit continued this month with the Carbon Injection System for the Hazardous Air Pollutant (HAP) test block. With this testing, the mercury measurement (Method 29) studies also continued with various impinger capture solutions. Also, the installation of the B&W/CHX Heat Exchanger unit was completed in March. The 4.0 MW Spray Dryer Absorber System (Carbon Injection System) and the 4.0 MW Pilot Wet FGD Unit and were utilized in the HAP test configuration this month. The 1.0 MW Cold-Side Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) unit remained idle this month in a cold- standby mode. Monthly inspections were conducted for all equipment in cold-standby, as well as for the fire safety systems, and will continue to be conducted by the ECTC Operations and Maintenance staff.

  8. EURObservational Research Programme : The Heart Failure Pilot Survey (ESC-HF Pilot)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Maggioni, Aldo P.; Dahlstrom, Ulf; Filippatos, Gerasimos; Chioncel, Ovidiu; Crespo Leiro, Marisa; Drozdz, Jaroslaw; Fruhwald, Friedrich; Gullestad, Lars; Logeart, Damien; Metra, Marco; Parissis, John; Persson, Hans; Ponikowski, Piotr; Rauchhaus, Mathias; Voors, Adriaan A.; Nielsen, Olav Wendelboe; Zannad, Faiez; Tavazzi, Luigi

    2010-01-01

    The primary objective of the new ESC-HF Pilot Survey was to describe the clinical epidemiology of outpatients and inpatients with heart failure (HF) and the diagnostic/therapeutic processes applied across 12 participating European countries. This pilot study was specifically aimed at validating the

  9. 76 FR 22412 - Fellowship Placement Pilot Program Requests for Expressions of Interests To Administer Pilot...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-04-21

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT [Docket No. FR-5514-C-02] Fellowship Placement Pilot Program Requests for Expressions of Interests To Administer Pilot Contact Information Correction AGENCY... published a notice announcing HUD's proposal to conduct a Fellowship Placement Pilot (fellowship program...

  10. Performance analysis of Cognitive Pilot Channel in wireless Heterogeneous networks

    OpenAIRE

    Hussein, Tahseen Ali

    2009-01-01

    This thesis aims to investigate and analyze the performance of the Cognitive Pilot Channel (CPC) in heterogeneous network. The thesis uses simulation to simulate the environment and the scenarios and by using this simulation, the analysis is done. First task this thesis carrying is the validation the simulation results with the numerical results. This is done by introducing a single cell scenario and validates the results out of this scenario with the numerical calculation. Ana...

  11. The Importance of Pilot Studies

    OpenAIRE

    Van Teijlingen, Edwin; Hundley, Vanora

    2001-01-01

    The term 'pilot studies' refers to mini versions of a full-scale study (also called 'feasibility' studies), as well as the specific pre-testing of a particular research instrument such as a questionnaire or interview schedule. \\ud Pilot studies are a crucial element of a good study design. Conducting a pilot study does not guarantee success in the main study, but it does increase the likelihood. \\ud Pilot studies fulfil a range of important functions and can provide valuable insights for othe...

  12. Prediction of pilot opinion ratings using an optimal pilot model. [of aircraft handling qualities in multiaxis tasks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hess, R. A.

    1977-01-01

    A brief review of some of the more pertinent applications of analytical pilot models to the prediction of aircraft handling qualities is undertaken. The relative ease with which multiloop piloting tasks can be modeled via the optimal control formulation makes the use of optimal pilot models particularly attractive for handling qualities research. To this end, a rating hypothesis is introduced which relates the numerical pilot opinion rating assigned to a particular vehicle and task to the numerical value of the index of performance resulting from an optimal pilot modeling procedure as applied to that vehicle and task. This hypothesis is tested using data from piloted simulations and is shown to be reasonable. An example concerning a helicopter landing approach is introduced to outline the predictive capability of the rating hypothesis in multiaxis piloting tasks.

  13. ORTHO-LBNP: A new apparatus for assessing autocontrol mechanisms of the heart-vessel system in pilots undergoing training in conditions of ischemic hypoxia and orthostatic stress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Truszczynski, Olaf; Skibniewski, Franciszek; Dziuda, Lukasz; Gacek, Adam; Krej, Mariusz; Sobotnicki, Aleksander; Rajchel, Jan; Bylinka, Marek; Burek, Michal

    The authors present a new system for examining the behaviour of the human body and cerebral circulation in conditions of ischemic hypoxia and orthostatic stress that can cause orthostatic hypotension. Ischemic hypoxia affects mainly pilots of highly manoeuvrable aircraft, where long-lasting G forces not seldom reach 6-8 +Gz and can exceed the gravitational acceleration by ten times or more. Additionally, pilots are subjected to orthostatic hypotension in which abnormally low blood pressure is caused by pressure adjustment disorder and decreased stroke volume when changing body position rapidly. For several decades, these effects have been deeply investigated using human centrifuges or lower body negative pressure (LBNP) chambers. The latter method involves significantly less financial resources to carry out experiments and training, whereas the effects exerted on pilots, and the results of the training can be comparable. A group of researchers from the Military Institute of Aviation Medicine, Warszawa, Poland, and the Institute of Medical Technology and Equipment ITAM, Zabrze, Poland, are developing the innovative ORTHO-LBNP device based on the cradle principle and the LBNP method. The system will be implemented in a modern programme for training cadets of the Polish Air Force Academy, Dęblin, Poland. Together with other equipment such as a high-G centrifuge, pressure chambers, flight and spatial disorientation simulators as well as gymnastic training equipment for pilots (GTEP), the ORTHO-LBNP apparatus will be an element of the selection system of candidates for aviation. It is expected that the experimental studies will result in developing new indicators providing an objective assessment, whether examined persons possess the traits necessary for performing tasks related to the job of a pilot. It is highly probable that those indicators can be incorporated into routine checks for pilots, which in turn, can lead to improving the safety of flight operations and

  14. Adapting and Pilot Testing a Parenting Intervention for Homeless Families in Transitional Housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holtrop, Kendal; Holcomb, Jamila E

    2018-01-24

    Intervention adaptation is a promising approach for extending the reach of evidence-based interventions to underserved families. One highly relevant population in need of services are homeless families. In particular, homeless families with children constitute more than one third of the total homeless population in the United States and face several unique challenges to parenting. The purpose of this study was to adapt and pilot test a parenting intervention for homeless families in transitional housing. An established adaptation model was used to guide this process. The systematic adaptation efforts included: (a) examining the theory of change in the original intervention, (b) identifying population differences relevant to homeless families in transitional housing, (c) adapting the content of the intervention, and (d) adapting the evaluation strategy. Next, a pilot test of the adapted intervention was conducted to examine implementation feasibility and acceptability. Feasibility data indicate an intervention spanning several weeks may be difficult to implement in the context of transitional housing. Yet, acceptability of the adapted intervention among participants was consistently high. The findings of this pilot work suggest several implications for informing continued parenting intervention research and practice with homeless families in transitional housing. © 2018 Family Process Institute.

  15. Comparison of children versus adults undergoing mini-percutaneous nephrolithotomy: large-scale analysis of a single institution.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guohua Zeng

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: As almost any version of percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL was safely and efficiently applied for adults as well as children without age being a limiting risk factor, the aim of the study was to compare the different characteristics as well as the efficacy, outcome, and safety of the pediatric and adult patients who had undergone mini-PCNL (MPCNL in a single institution. METHODS: We retrospective reviewed 331 renal units in children and 8537 renal units in adults that had undergone MPCNL for upper urinary tract stones between the years of 2000-2012. The safety, efficacy, and outcome were analyzed and compared. RESULTS: The children had a smaller stone size (2.3 vs. 3.1 cm but had smilar stone distribution (number and locations. The children required fewer percutaneous accesses, smaller nephrostomy tract, shorter operative time and less hemoglobin drop. The children also had higher initial stone free rate (SFR (80.4% vs. 78.6% after single session of MPCNL (p0.05. Both groups had low rate of high grade Clavien complications. There was no grade III, IV, V complications and no angiographic embolization required in pediatric group. One important caveat, children who required multiple percutaneous nephrostomy tracts had significant higher transfusion rate than in adults (18.8% vs. 4.5%, p = 0.007. CONCLUSIONS: This contemporary largest-scale analysis confirms that the stone-free rate in pediatric patients is at least as good as in adults without an increase of complication rates. However, multiple percutaneous nephrostomy tracts should be practiced with caution in children.

  16. Single Policy Study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kronsell, Annica; Manners, Ian James

    2015-01-01

    Single policy studies are the most common form of European Union (EU) research. Single policy studies are widely used to understand the role of the EU in a wide variety of sectors, together with their development over time, and often offer public policy prescriptions. This chapter discusses...... the relevance of single policy studies in EU research and give examples of how such research can be designed and carried out. The chapter reviews three examples of single policy studies using different methods based on EU environmental policy, the EU biofuels directive, and the EU Common Security and Defence...... Policy (CSDP). The examples are illustrative of how single policy studies can be designed to use different approaches in the analysis: multiple streams approach to policy-making; a comparative hypothesis testing; and feminist institutional theory....

  17. institutional and resource constraints that inhibit contractor ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    p2333147

    Keywords: Institutions; small-scale contractor performance; sugar industry. ABSTRACT ..... diverse cultural settings, women, specifically widowed or single women, have a .... constraints on business growth, such as the work limitations placed.

  18. Effects of DME pilot quantity on the performance of a DME PCCI-DI engine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Ying; He Li; Zhou Longbao; Li Wei

    2010-01-01

    The combination of premixed charge compression ignition and conventional direct-injection compression ignition combustion is studied in a DME engine. This combustion mode is referred to as PCCI-DI combustion. The pilot quantity is found to be one of main variables affecting the PCCI-DI combustion. So, the main objectives of this paper are to examine the effect of different DME pilot quantities on combustion and emission characteristics in a single-cylinder direct-injection DME engine and to determine whether PCCI-DI is a viable in-cylinder NO x emissions reduction technology. In order to evaluate the characteristics of PCCI-DI combustion, the conventional direct-injection compression-ignition engine performance is supplied to make a comparison with their results. Furthermore, special emphasis is put upon the combined combustion process analysis. Results show that DME engine can operate at a wide range of speeds and loads at PCCI-DI mode. In comparison to the conventional DME CI combustion, the brake thermal efficiency slightly increases for DME PCCI-DI operation. PCCI-DI is capable to decrease NO x effectively for all loads. NO x emission shows an obviously descending tendency with an increase in DME pilot quantity at low loads, while it shows a mildly elevating tendency with an increase in DME pilot quantity at high loads. HC and CO emissions increase for DME PCCI-DI operation under various DME pilot quantities.

  19. Pilot pulsar surveys with LOFAR

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Coenen, T.

    2013-01-01

    We are performing two complementary pilot pulsar surveys as part of LOFAR commissioning. The LOFAR Pilot Pulsar Survey (LPPS) is a shallow all-sky survey using an incoherent combination of LOFAR stations. The LOFAR Tied-Array Survey (LOTAS) is a deeper pilot survey using 19 simultaneous tied-array

  20. Development and pilot testing of full-scale membrane distillation modules for deployment of waste heat

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jansen, A.E.; Assink, J.W.; Hanemaaijer, J.H.; Medevoort, J. van; Sonsbeek, E. van

    2013-01-01

    Membrane distillation is an attractive technology for extracting fresh water from seawater. Newly developed modules have been used in pilot tests and bench scale tests to demonstrate the potential of producing excellent product water quality in a single step, little need for water pretreatment and a

  1. American College of Surgeons NSQIP: quality in-training initiative pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sellers, Morgan M; Reinke, Caroline E; Kreider, Susan; Meise, Chelsey; Nelis, Kara; Volpe, Anita; Anzlovar, Nancy; Ko, Clifford; Kelz, Rachel R

    2013-11-01

    Clinical outcomes data are playing an increasingly important role in medical decision-making, reimbursement, and provider evaluation, but there are no documented programs that provide outcomes data to surgical residents as part of a structured curriculum. Our objectives were to develop a national collaborative of training programs to unify the efforts between quality and education personnel and demonstrate the feasibility of generating customized reports of patient outcomes for use in surgical education. The pool of potential hospitals was evaluated by comparing ACS NSQIP participants with the roster of clinical sites for general surgery residency programs maintained by FREIDA Online. A program and user guide was developed to generate custom reports based on institutional data, and a voluntary pilot was conducted, consisting of initial development, implementation, and feedback stages. Programs that successfully completed installation and report generation were queried for feedback on time and resources used. Of 245 general surgery residency programs, 47% had a NSQIP-affiliated sponsor institution, and an additional 31% had at least 1 NSQIP-affiliated participant institution. Sixty general surgery residency programs have expressed interest in collaboration. Seventeen pilot sites completed training and installation, and were able to independently generate custom reports. The response rate for the post-report survey was 50%. Participants reported that training and installation typically required one 2-hour phone call, and that total time devoted to the project was less than 8 hours. Collaboration between educators and quality improvement personnel from a diverse group of organizations to integrate outcomes data into surgical education is feasible. Obtaining resident and team reports from ACS NSQIP can be done with minimal effort. Future efforts will be aimed at developing a national data-centered curriculum for general surgery programs. Copyright © 2013 American

  2. 46 CFR 402.220 - Registration of pilots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 8 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Registration of pilots. 402.220 Section 402.220 Shipping... ORDERS Registration of Pilots § 402.220 Registration of pilots. (a) Each applicant pilot must complete the number of round trips specified in this section prior to registration as a U.S. registered pilot...

  3. 46 CFR 401.220 - Registration of pilots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 8 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Registration of pilots. 401.220 Section 401.220 Shipping... Registration of Pilots § 401.220 Registration of pilots. (a) The Director shall determine the number of pilots... waters of the Great Lakes and to provide for equitable participation of United States Registered Pilots...

  4. Safety and efficacy of dual-lead thalamic deep brain stimulation for patients with treatment-refractory multiple sclerosis tremor: a single-centre, randomised, single-blind, pilot trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oliveria, Seth F; Rodriguez, Ramon L; Bowers, Dawn; Kantor, Daniel; Hilliard, Justin D; Monari, Erin H; Scott, Bonnie M; Okun, Michael S; Foote, Kelly D

    2017-09-01

    Efficacy in previous studies of surgical treatments of refractory multiple sclerosis tremor using lesioning or deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been variable. The aim of this study was to investigate the safety and efficacy of dual-lead thalamic DBS (one targeting the ventralis intermedius-ventralis oralis posterior nucleus border [the VIM lead] and one targeting the ventralis oralis anterior-ventralis oralis posterior border [the VO lead]) for the treatment of multiple sclerosis tremor. We did a single centre, single-blind, prospective, randomised pilot trial at the University of Florida Center for Movement Disorders and Neurorestoration clinic (Gainesville, FL, USA). We recruited adult patients with a clinical diagnosis of multiple sclerosis tremor refractory to previous medical therapy. Before surgery to implant both leads, we randomly assigned patients (1:1) to receive 3 months of optimised single-lead DBS-either VIM or VO. We did the randomisation with a computer-generated sequence, using three blocks of four patients, and independent members of the Center did the assignment. Patients and all clinicians other than the DBS programming nurse were masked to the choice of lead. Patients underwent surgery 1 month after their baseline visit for implantation of the dual lead DBS system. A pulse generator and two extension cables were implanted in a second surgery 3-4 weeks later. Patients then received an initial 3-month period of continuous stimulation of either the VIM or VO lead followed by blinded safety assessment of their tremor with the Tolosa-Fahn-Marin Tremor Rating Scale (TRS) during optimised VIM or VO lead stimulation at the end of the 3 months. After this visit, both leads were activated in all patients for an additional 3 months, and optimally programmed during serial visits as dictated by a prespecified programming algorithm. At the 6-month follow-up visit, TRS score was measured, and mood and psychological batteries were administered under four

  5. 14 CFR 29.1329 - Automatic pilot system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Automatic pilot system. 29.1329 Section 29... pilot system. (a) Each automatic pilot system must be designed so that the automatic pilot can— (1) Be sufficiently overpowered by one pilot to allow control of the rotorcraft; and (2) Be readily and positively...

  6. 14 CFR 27.1329 - Automatic pilot system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Automatic pilot system. 27.1329 Section 27... pilot system. (a) Each automatic pilot system must be designed so that the automatic pilot can— (1) Be sufficiently overpowered by one pilot to allow control of the rotorcraft; and (2) Be readily and positively...

  7. 46 CFR 15.812 - Pilots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Pilots. 15.812 Section 15.812 Shipping COAST GUARD....812 Pilots. (a) Except as specified in paragraph (f) of this section, the following vessels, not... direction and control of an individual qualified to serve as pilot under paragraph (b) or (c) of this...

  8. Prediction of pilot induced oscillations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valentin PANĂ

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available An important problem in the design of flight-control systems for aircraft under pilotedcontrol is the determination of handling qualities and pilot-induced oscillations (PIO tendencieswhen significant nonlinearities exist in the vehicle description. The paper presents a method to detectpossible pilot-induced oscillations of Category II (with rate and position limiting, a phenomenonusually due to a misadaptation between the pilot and the aircraft response during some tasks in whichtight closed loop control of the aircraft is required from the pilot. For the analysis of Pilot in the LoopOscillations an approach, based on robust stability analysis of a system subject to uncertainparameters, is proposed. In this analysis the nonlinear elements are substituted by linear uncertainparameters. This approach assumes that PIO are characterized by a limit cycle behavior.

  9. Peer Mentoring for Male Parolees: A CBPR Pilot Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marlow, Elizabeth; Grajeda, William; Lee, Yema; Young, Earthy; Williams, Malcolm; Hill, Karen

    2015-01-01

    Formerly incarcerated adults are impoverished, have high rates of substance use disorders, and have long histories of imprisonment. This article describes the development of a peer mentoring program for formerly incarcerated adults and the pilot study designed to evaluate it. The research team, which included formerly incarcerated adults and academic researchers, developed the peer mentoring program to support formerly incarcerated adults' transition to the community after prison. The purposes of the pilot evaluation study were to (1) assess the feasibility of implementing a peer-based intervention for recently released men developed using a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach; (2) establish preliminary data on the program's impact on coping, self-esteem, abstinence self-efficacy, social support, and participation in 12-step meetings; and (3) establish a CBPR team of formerly incarcerated adults and academic researchers to develop, implement, and test interventions for this population. This pilot evaluation study employed a mixed-methods approach with a single group pretest/posttest design with 20 men on parole released from prison within the last 30 days. Quantitative findings showed significant improvement on two abstinence self-efficacy subscales, negative affect and habitual craving. Qualitative findings revealed the relevance and acceptance of peer mentoring for this population. This study demonstrated the feasibility and import of involving formerly incarcerated adults in the design, implementation, and testing of interventions intended to support their reintegration efforts.

  10. Postpartum tubal ligation: A retrospective review of anesthetic management at a single institution and a practice survey of academic institutions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKenzie, Christine; Akdagli, Seden; Abir, Gillian; Carvalho, Brendan

    2017-12-01

    The primary aim was to evaluate institutional anesthetic techniques utilized for postpartum tubal ligation (PPTL). Secondarily, academic institutions were surveyed on their clinical practice for PPTL. An institutional-specific retrospective review of patients with ICD-9 procedure codes for PPTL over a 2-year period was conducted. Obstetric anesthesia fellowship directors were surveyed on anesthetic management of PPTL. Labor and delivery unit. Internet survey. 202 PPTL procedures were reviewed. 47 institutions were surveyed; 26 responses were received. Timing of PPTL, anesthetic management, postoperative pain and length of stay. There was an epidural catheter reactivation failure rate of 26% (18/69 epidural catheter reactivation attempts). Time from epidural catheter insertion to PPTL was a significant factor associated with failure: median [IQR; range] time for successful versus failed epidural catheter reactivation was 17h [10-25; 3-55] and 28h [14-33; 5-42], respectively (P=0.028). Epidural catheter reactivation failure led to significantly longer times to provide surgical anesthesia than successful epidural catheter reactivation or primary spinal technique: median [IQR] 41min [33-54] versus 15min [12-21] and 19min [15-24], respectively (P8h and >24h post-delivery, respectively. Epidural catheter reactivation failure increases with longer intervals between catheter placement and PPTL. Failed epidural catheter reactivation increases anesthetic and operating room times. Our results and the significant variability in practice from our survey suggest recommendations on the timing and anesthetic management are needed to reduce unfulfilled PPTL procedures. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. The effect of non-weight bearing group-exercising on females with non-specific chronic low back pain: a randomized single blind controlled pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masharawi, Youssef; Nadaf, Nedal

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of active non-weight-bearing (NWB) group exercising on women with non specific chronic low back pain (NSCLBP). Forty females with NSCLBP were assigned in a randomized control longitudinal single blinded pilot study. 20 of them were assigned to a NWB bi-weekly group exercise class and 20 females were included in the control group. The exercises involved the entire lumbo-pelvic spine aimed at improving lumbar mobility/flexibility and stability. Pain intensity (VAS), back specific disability (Rolland Morris questionnaire-RMQ), and lumbar flexion and extension ranges of motion measurements were taken prior to intervention (t(0)), immediately following 4 weeks of intervention (t(1)) and 8 weeks later (t(fu)). Reliability trials were conducted on 10 females. Non-parametric tests were used for statistical significance (p exercising improves functional, painful status, lumbar flexion and extension ranges of motion in women suffering from NSCLBP.

  12. 14 CFR 121.437 - Pilot qualification: Certificates required.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Pilot qualification: Certificates required... Pilot qualification: Certificates required. (a) No pilot may act as pilot in command of an aircraft (or... pilots) unless he holds an airline transport pilot certificate and an appropriate type rating for that...

  13. Discourse segmentation and the management of multiple tasks in single episodes of air traffic controller-pilot spoken radio communication

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul A. Falzon

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Episodes of VHF radio-mediated pilot-controller spoken communication in which multiple tasks are conducted are engendered in and through the skilful deployment and combination, by the parties to the talk, of multiple orders of discourse segmentation. These orders of segmentation are manifest at the levels of transmission design and sequential organisation. Both of these features are analysed from a Conversation Analytic standpoint in order to track their segment by segment genesis, development and completion. From the analysis it emerges that in addition to the serial type of sequential organisations described by Schegloff (1986, there exists an alternative form of organisation that enables tasks to be managed in a quasi-parallel manner, and which affords controllers and pilots a number of practical advantages in the conduct of their radio-mediated service encounters.Cet article présente des extraits d’échanges oraux entre pilots et contrôleurs du ciel via la radio VHF. On peut y voir comment le déploiement et la combinaison habile de plusieurs ordres de segmentation discursive, engageant les deux coénonciateurs de la conversation, leur permet d’accomplir des tâches multiples. Ces ordres de segmentation se manifestent aux niveaux du plan de la transmission et de l’organisation séquentielle. Ces deux niveaux sont envisagées du point de vue de l’analyse conversationnelle dans le but d’examiner, segment après segment, comment ils se mettent en place, se développent puis prennent fin. Notre étude montre que, outre le type sériel d’organisations séquentielles décrit par Schegloff (1986, il existe une forme alternative d’organisation qui permet de gérer les tâches de manière quasi parallèle, et qui fournit aux contrôleurs aériens ainsi qu’aux pilotes de nombreux avantages pratiques dans la conduite de leurs radio.

  14. Rand Symposium on Pilot Training and the Pilot Career. (Santa Monica, Calif., Feb. 23-27, 1970).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stewart, W. A.; Wainstein, E. S.

    This document contains discussions of the following: The pilot career; Career and education; The pilot skill--definition, measurement, and retention; Relevance of training to combat; Selection; Motivation; Training innovations and the role of research; Simulators; The instructor pilot; Topics for research. (Author/CK)

  15. Pilot and pilot-commercial plants for reprocessing spent fuels of FBR type reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shaldaev, V.S.; Sokolova, I.D.

    1988-01-01

    A review of modern state of investigations on the FBR mixed oxide uranium-plutonium fuel reprocessing abroad is given. Great Britain and France occupy the leading place in this field, operating pilot plants of 5 tons a year capacity. Technology of spent fuel reprocessing and specific features of certain stages of the technological process are considered. Projects of pilot and pilot-commercial plants of Great Britain, France, Japan, USA are described. Economic problems of the FBR fuel reprocessing are touched upon

  16. Single dose of fluoxetine increases muscle activation in chronic stroke patients.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Genderen, Hanneke Irene; Nijlant, Juliette M.M.; van Putten, Michel Johannes Antonius Maria; Movig, Kris L.L.; IJzerman, Maarten Joost

    2009-01-01

    Objectives: This pilot study explores the influence of a single dose of fluoxetine (20 mg) on the muscle activation patterns and functional ability of the muscles in the lower part of the arm in chronic stroke patients. Methods: A crossover, placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted in 10

  17. Pilot Implementation of Health Information Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bansler, Jørgen P.; Havn, Erling C.

    2009-01-01

    Pilot implementation is a powerful and widely used approach in identifying design flaws and implementation issues before the full-scale deployment of new health information systems. However, pilot implementations often fail in the sense that they say little about the usability and usefulness...... of the proposed system designs. This calls for studies that seek to uncover and analyze the reasons for failure, so that guidelines for conducting such pilots can be developed. In this paper, we present a qualitative field study of an ambitious, but unsuccessful pilot implementation of a Danish healthcare...... information system. Based on the findings from this study, we identify three main challenges: (1) defining an appropriate scope for pilot implementation, (2) managing the implementation process, and (3) ensuring commitment to the pilot. Finally, recommendations for future research and implications...

  18. Simplified pilot module development and testing within the ATLAS PanDA Pilot 2.0 Project

    CERN Document Server

    Drizhuk, Daniil; The ATLAS collaboration; Nilsson, Paul

    2016-01-01

    The Production and Distributed Analysis (PanDA) system has been developed to meet ATLAS production and analysis requirements for a data-driven workload management system capable of operating at the LHC data processing scale. The PanDA pilot is one of the major components in the PanDA system. It runs on a worker node and takes care of setting up the environment, fetching and pushing data to storage, getting jobs from the PanDA server and executing them. The original PanDA Pilot was designed over 10 years ago and has since then grown organically. Large parts of the original pilot code base are now getting old and are difficult to maintain. Incremental changes and refactoring have been pushed to the limit, and the time is now right for a fresh start, informed by a decade of experience, with the PanDA Pilot 2.0 Project. To create a testing environment for module development and automated unit and functional testing for next generation pilot tasks, a simple pilot version was developed. It resembles the basic workf...

  19. Training Pediatric Fellows in Palliative Care: A Pilot Comparison of Simulation Training and Didactic Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brock, Katharine E; Cohen, Harvey J; Sourkes, Barbara M; Good, Julie J; Halamek, Louis P

    2017-10-01

    Pediatric fellows receive little palliative care (PC) education and have few opportunities to practice communication skills. In this pilot study, we assessed (1) the relative effectiveness of simulation-based versus didactic education, (2) communication skill retention, and (3) effect on PC consultation rates. Thirty-five pediatric fellows in cardiology, critical care, hematology/oncology, and neonatology at two institutions enrolled: 17 in the intervention (simulation-based) group (single institution) and 18 in the control (didactic education) group (second institution). Intervention group participants participated in a two-day program over three months (three simulations and videotaped PC panel). Control group participants received written education designed to be similar in content and time. (1) Self-assessment questionnaires were completed at baseline, post-intervention and three months; mean between-group differences for each outcome measure were assessed. (2) External reviewers rated simulation-group encounters on nine communication domains. Within-group changes over time were assessed. (3) The simulation-based site's PC consultations were compared in the six months pre- and post-intervention. Compared to the control group, participants in the intervention group improved in self-efficacy (p = 0.003) and perceived adequacy of medical education (p < 0.001), but not knowledge (p = 0.20). Reviewers noted nonsustained improvement in four domains: relationship building (p = 0.01), opening discussion (p = 0.03), gathering information (p = 0.01), and communicating accurate information (p = 0.04). PC consultation rate increased 64%, an improvement when normalized to average daily census (p = 0.04). This simulation-based curriculum is an effective method for improving PC comfort, education, and consults. More frequent practice is likely needed to lead to sustained improvements in communication competence.

  20. The NCI Digital Divide Pilot Projects: implications for cancer education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kreps, Gary L; Gustafson, David; Salovey, Peter; Perocchia, Rosemarie Slevin; Wilbright, Wayne; Bright, Mary Anne; Muha, Cathy

    2007-01-01

    The National Cancer Institute (NCI) supported four innovative demonstration research projects, "The Digital Divide Pilot Projects," to test new strategies for disseminating health information via computer to vulnerable consumers. These projects involved active research collaborations between the NCI's Cancer Information Service (CIS) and regional cancer control researchers to field test new approaches for enhancing cancer communication in vulnerable communities. The projects were able to use computers to successfully disseminate relevant cancer information to vulnerable populations. These demonstration research projects suggested effective new strategies for using communication technologies to educate underserved populations about cancer prevention, control, and care.

  1. Developing an institutional strategy for transporting defense transuranic waste materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guerrero, J.V.; Kresny, H.S.

    1986-01-01

    In late 1988, the US Department of Energy (DOE) expects to begin emplacing transuranic waste materials in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), an R and D facility to demonstrate the safe disposal of radioactive wastes resulting from defense program activities. Transuranic wastes are production-related materials, e.g., clothes, rags, tools, and similar items. These materials are contaminated with alpha-emitting transuranium radionuclides with half-lives of > 20 yr and concentrations > 100 nCi/g. Much of the institutional groundwork has been done with local communities and the State of New Mexico on the siting and construction of the facility. A key to the success of the emplacement demonstration, however, will be a qualified transportation system together with institutional acceptance of the proposed shipments. The DOE's Defense Transuranic Waste Program, and its contractors, has lead responsibility for achieving this goal. The Joint Integration Office (JIO) of the DOE, located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is taking the lead in implementing an integrated strategy for assessing nationwide institutional concerns over transportation of defense transuranic wastes and in developing ways to resolve or mitigate these concerns. Parallel prototype programs are under way to introduce both the new packaging systems and the institutional strategy to interested publics and organizations

  2. Single Dose Toxicity of Chukyu (spine-healing Pharmacopuncture Injection in the Muscle of Rats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeong Hohyun

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: This study was performed to analyze the single dose toxicity of Chukyu (spine-healing pharmacopuncture. Methods: All experiments were conducted at the Biotoxtech, an institution authorized to perform non-clinical studies under the regulations of Good Laboratory Practice (GLP regulations. Sprague-Dawley rats were chosen for the pilot study. Doses of Chukyu (spine-healing pharmacopuncture, 0.1, 0.5 and 1.0 mL, were administered to the experimental groups, and a dose of normal saline solution, 1.0 mL, was administered to the control group. This study was conducted under the approval of the Institutional Animal Ethic Committee. Results: No deaths or abnormalities occurred in any of the four groups. No significant changes in weight, hematological parameters or clinical chemistry between the control group and the experimental groups were observed. To check for abnormalities in organs and tissues, we used microscopy to examine representative histological sections of each specified organ; the results showed no significant differences in any of the organs or tissues except in one case, where interstitial infiltrating macrophages were found in one female rat in the 0.5-mL/animal experimental group. Conclusion: The above findings suggest that treatment with Chukyu (spine-healing pharmacopuncture is relatively safe. Further studies on this subject are needed to yield more concrete evidence.

  3. Clinician–Investigator Training and the Need to Pilot New Approaches to Recruiting and Retaining This Workforce

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hall, Alison K.; Lund, P. Kay

    2017-01-01

    Clinician–investigators, also called physician–scientists, offer critical knowledge and perspectives that benefit research on basic science mechanisms, improved diagnostic and therapeutic approaches, population and outcomes medicine, health policy, and health services, yet few clinically trained health professionals pursue a research career. Sustaining this workforce requires attention to the unique challenges faced by investigators who must achieve clinical and research competence during training and their careers. These challenges include the duration of required clinical training, limited or discontinuous research opportunities, high levels of educational debt, balancing the dual obligations and rewards of clinical care and research, competition for research funding, and the need for leadership development after training. Women and individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups comprise a small percentage of this workforce. The authors summarize the recent literature on training for clinician–investigators, emphasizing approaches with encouraging outcomes that warrant broader implementation. Using this overview as background, they convened three workshops at the National Institutes of Health in 2016 to identify and refine key priorities for potential new pilot programs to recruit and retain the clinician–investigator workforce. From these workshops emerged three priorities for future pilot programs: (1) support for research in residency, (2) new research on-ramps for health professionals at multiple career stages, and (3) national networks to diversify and sustain clinician–investigator faculty. Implementation of any pilot program will require coordinated commitment from academic health centers, medical licensing/certification boards, professional societies, and clinician–investigators themselves, in addition to support from the National Institutes of Health. PMID:28767499

  4. Clinician-Investigator Training and the Need to Pilot New Approaches to Recruiting and Retaining This Workforce.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hall, Alison K; Mills, Sherry L; Lund, P Kay

    2017-10-01

    Clinician-investigators, also called physician-scientists, offer critical knowledge and perspectives that benefit research on basic science mechanisms, improved diagnostic and therapeutic approaches, population and outcomes medicine, health policy, and health services, yet few clinically trained health professionals pursue a research career. Sustaining this workforce requires attention to the unique challenges faced by investigators who must achieve clinical and research competence during training and their careers. These challenges include the duration of required clinical training, limited or discontinuous research opportunities, high levels of educational debt, balancing the dual obligations and rewards of clinical care and research, competition for research funding, and the need for leadership development after training. Women and individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups comprise a small percentage of this workforce.The authors summarize the recent literature on training for clinician-investigators, emphasizing approaches with encouraging outcomes that warrant broader implementation. Using this overview as background, they convened three workshops at the National Institutes of Health in 2016 to identify and refine key priorities for potential new pilot programs to recruit and retain the clinician-investigator workforce. From these workshops emerged three priorities for future pilot programs: (1) support for research in residency, (2) new research on-ramps for health professionals at multiple career stages, and (3) national networks to diversify and sustain clinician-investigator faculty. Implementation of any pilot program will require coordinated commitment from academic health centers, medical licensing/certification boards, professional societies, and clinician-investigators themselves, in addition to support from the National Institutes of Health.

  5. Pilot-scale test for electron beam purification of flue gas from coal-combustion boiler

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Namba, Hideki; Tokunaga, Okihiro; Hashimoto, Shoji; Doi, Yoshitaka; Aoki, Shinji; Izutsu, Masahiro

    1995-01-01

    A pilot-scale test for electron beam treatment of flue gas (12,000m 3 N/hr) from coal-fired boiler was conducted by Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, Chubu Electric Power Company and Ebara Corporation, in the site of Shin-Nagoya Thermal Power Plant in Nagoya, Japan. During 14 months operation, it was proved that the method is possible to remove SO 2 and NO x simultaneously in wide concentration range of SO 2 (250-2,000ppm) and NO x (140-240ppm) with higher efficiency than the conventional methods, with appropriate operation conditions (dose, temperature etc.). The pilot plant was easily operated with well controllability and durability, and was operated for long period of time without serious problems. The byproduct, ammonium sulfate and ammonium nitrate, produced by the treatment was proved to be a nitrogenous fertilizer with excellent quality. (author)

  6. The incidence of venous thromboembolism in commercial airline pilots: a cohort study of 2630 pilots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuipers, S; Venemans-Jellema, A; Cannegieter, S C; van Haften, M; Middeldorp, S; Büller, H R; Rosendaal, F R

    2014-08-01

    Airline pilots may be at increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) because air travel has recently been established as a risk factor for VTE. The aim of this study was to assess the risk of VTE in a cohort of Dutch airline pilots. Airline pilots who had been active members of the Dutch aviation society (VNV) were questioned for the occurrence of VTE, presence of risk factors for VTE and number of flight hours per year and rank. Incidence rates among pilots were compared with those of the general Dutch population and with a population of frequently flying employees of multinational organizations. A total of 2630 male pilots were followed-up for a total of 20420 person-years (py). Six venous thromboses were reported, yielding an incidence rate of 0.3 per 1000 py. The standardized morbidity ratio, comparing these pilots with the general Dutch population adjusted for age, was 0.8. Compared with the international employee cohort, the standardized morbidity ratio was 0.7 when all employees were included and 0.6 when only the frequently travelling employees were included. The incidence rate did not increase with number of flight hours per year and did not clearly vary by rank. We conclude that the risk of VTE is not increased amongst airline pilots. © 2014 International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis.

  7. Radiation treatment for medulloblastoma. A review of 64 cases at a single institute

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Yueping; Gao Li; Xu Guozhen; Yi Junhin; Liu Xinfan; Li Yexiong

    2005-01-01

    Although the optimal treatment mode for medulloblastoma is frequently discussed, results based on large series of cases, especially those treated in Asia, have rarely been reported. Our purpose was to evaluate the efficacy of postoperative radiation therapy, and to identify prognostic factors, in a relatively large cohort of patients with limited-stage medulloblastoma treated at a single institute in China. Between January 1996 and April 2001, 69 patients with Chang stage M0/M1 medulloblastoma were referred to our hospital for radiation therapy after total or subtotal resection of the primary tumor. All patients received 30 Gy to the craniospinal axis followed by a 20-25 Gy boost to the posterior fossa (median fraction, 1.8 Gy). Sixty-four patients were followed for a median period of 38.5 months. The rates of 3-year and 5-year overall survival were 68.8% and 55.7%, respectively; corresponding disease-free survival were 57.8% and 51.4%, respectively. Patients who had received radiation treatment within 25 days after resection had a greater probability of 3-year survival (81.5% versus 59.5%; P=0.11) and 3-year disease-free survival (74.1% versus 46.0%; P=0.03) than patients who began radiation treatment later. No relationship was found between survival and age, sex or tumor size. This regimen was comparatively ineffective in preventing recurrence of postoperative medulloblastoma; however, we found that the interval between surgery and radiation is a significant prognostic factor for disease-free survival. (author)

  8. Rate of information processing and reaction time of aircraft pilots and non-pilots

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Werner Barkhuizen

    2002-09-01

    Full Text Available Reaction time and rate of information processing are cited as critical components in the make-up of pilots. A need was identified to establish the validity of various chronometric measures in the selection of pilots. Fifty-eight military and commercial pilots and twenty non-pilots were subjected to Schepers’ Computerised Information Processing Test Battery, which measures reaction time, form discrimination time, colour discrimination time, rate of information processing (perceptual and rate of information processing (conceptual. Five hypotheses and one postulate were formulated and tested. The results indicate that pilots could be differentiated from non-pilots with 92,3% accuracy. However, the results need to be cross-validated before they are used for selection. Opsomming Reaksietyd en tempo van inligtingverwerking word as kritieke komponente in die samestelling van vlieëniers beskou. ‘n Behoefte is geïdentifiseer om die geldigheid van verskeie chronometriese metinge in vlieënierskeuring te bepaal. Agt en vyftig militêre en kommersiële vlieëniers en twintig nie-vlieëniers is onderwerp aan Schepers se Gerekenariseerde Inligtingverwerkingstoets-battery wat reaksietyd, vormdiskriminasietyd, kleurdiskriminasietyd, tempo van inligtingverwerking (perseptueel en tempo van inligtingverwerking (konseptueel meet. Vyf hipoteses en een postulaat is gestel en getoets. Die resultate dui daarop dat vlieëniers met 92,3% akkuraatheid van nievlieëniers onderskei kan word. Die resultate behoort egter eers gekruisvalideer te word voordat dit finaal vir keuring gebruik kan word.

  9. Synthetic Vision Systems in GA Cockpit-Evaluation of Basic Maneuvers Performed by Low Time GA Pilots During Transition from VMC to IMC

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takallu, M. A.; Wong, D. T.; Uenking, M. D.

    2002-01-01

    An experimental investigation was conducted to study the effectiveness of modern flight displays in general aviation cockpits for mitigating Low Visibility Loss of Control and the Controlled Flight Into Terrain accidents. A total of 18 General Aviation (GA) pilots with private pilot, single engine land rating, with no additional instrument training beyond private pilot license requirements, were recruited to evaluate three different display concepts in a fixed-based flight simulator at the NASA Langley Research Center's General Aviation Work Station. Evaluation pilots were asked to continue flight from Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC) into Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) while performing a series of 4 basic precision maneuvers. During the experiment, relevant pilot/vehicle performance variables, pilot control inputs and physiological data were recorded. Human factors questionnaires and interviews were administered after each scenario. Qualitative and quantitative data have been analyzed and the results are presented here. Pilot performance deviations from the established target values (errors) were computed and compared with the FAA Practical Test Standards. Results of the quantitative data indicate that evaluation pilots committed substantially fewer errors when using the Synthetic Vision Systems (SVS) displays than when they were using conventional instruments. Results of the qualitative data indicate that evaluation pilots perceived themselves to have a much higher level of situation awareness while using the SVS display concept.

  10. Institutional games played by confined juveniles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartollas, C; Sieverdes, C M

    1983-01-01

    This study examined the games played by 561 juvenile offenders confined in six coeducational correctional facilities in one state. The types of games these residents used against staff and peers within the confines of the institution varied considerably. The study documented nineteen games used by males and females, twelve to deal with staff and seven to deal with peers. The games were defined as therapeutic games, material games, psychological games, and physical games. Peer-oriented games included attention-seeking activities and a variety of dominance games. Additionally, these games were described and tabulated according to the sex and race of the residents. The conclusion was that game-playing behavior was no less frequent in coeducational institutions than it was in single-sex institutions.

  11. The Treatment of Maladaptive Shame in Borderline Personality Disorder: A Pilot Study of "Opposite Action"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rizvi, Shireen L.; Linehan, Marsha M.

    2005-01-01

    This study sought to pilot test a short-term intervention for maladaptive shame in borderline personality disorder (BPD) based on the skill of "opposite action" from dialectical behavior therapy. Five women with BPD were treated with the intervention using a single-subject, multiple-baseline design. Results indicate that, although state ratings of…

  12. 48 CFR 212.7002 - Pilot program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Pilot program. 212.7002... OF DEFENSE ACQUISITION PLANNING ACQUISITION OF COMMERCIAL ITEMS Pilot Program for Transition to Follow-On Contracting After Use of Other Transaction Authority 212.7002 Pilot program. ...

  13. Evaluation of a pilot fish handling system at Bruce NGS 'A'

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Griffiths, J.S.

    1985-10-01

    A pilot fish recovery system using a Hidrostal fish pump was tested in the Bruce NGS 'A' forebay during June, 1984. Despite low forebay fish concentrations, the system was capable of capturing 97,000 alewife/day (3900 kg) if operated continuously. Post-pumping survival averaged 97%. It is estimated that a single pump could handle alewife runs in the 40,000 to 70,000 kg range, but multiple pumps or a single larger pump would be required to assure station protection from the largest runs (>100,000 kg). Results indicate that tank/trailer return of pumped fish is feasible, but other alternatives for returning fish to Lake Huron are also being considered

  14. Benefits of Peer Mentoring to Mentors, Female Mentees and Higher Education Institutions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kalpazidou Schmidt, Evanthia; Faber, Stine Thidemann

    2016-01-01

    In this article, we discuss a study of a pilot mentoring program for early career female researchers at a university that addressed the under-representation of female researchers in senior academic positions. Embracing a grounded theory approach, we draw on a design comprising an ex-ante and an ex......-post evaluation. We disclose that development mentoring was at play. Benefits for the mentees consisted of guidance to career planning, competence awareness, establishment of networks, navigating in the research environment, and moral support. In our study we also show that the mentor–mentee relationship...... was reciprocal, as also mentors benefited. Benefits for the mentors comprised professional development, institutional recognition, and personal satisfaction. We conclude with an inventory of benefits, including for the institution in terms of a strengthened research environment....

  15. NSTAR Smart Grid Pilot

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rabari, Anil [NSTAR Electric, Manchester, NH (United States); Fadipe, Oloruntomi [NSTAR Electric, Manchester, NH (United States)

    2014-03-31

    NSTAR Electric & Gas Corporation (“the Company”, or “NSTAR”) developed and implemented a Smart Grid pilot program beginning in 2010 to demonstrate the viability of leveraging existing automated meter reading (“AMR”) deployments to provide much of the Smart Grid functionality of advanced metering infrastructure (“AMI”), but without the large capital investment that AMI rollouts typically entail. In particular, a central objective of the Smart Energy Pilot was to enable residential dynamic pricing (time-of-use “TOU” and critical peak rates and rebates) and two-way direct load control (“DLC”) by continually capturing AMR meter data transmissions and communicating through customer-sited broadband connections in conjunction with a standardsbased home area network (“HAN”). The pilot was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (“DOE”) through the Smart Grid Demonstration program. NSTAR was very pleased to not only receive the funding support from DOE, but the guidance and support of the DOE throughout the pilot. NSTAR is also pleased to report to the DOE that it was able to execute and deliver a successful pilot on time and on budget. NSTAR looks for future opportunities to work with the DOE and others in future smart grid projects.

  16. 17 CFR 249.821 - Form PILOT, information required of self-regulatory organizations operating pilot trading systems...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... required of self-regulatory organizations operating pilot trading systems pursuant to § 240.19b-5 of this... Associations § 249.821 Form PILOT, information required of self-regulatory organizations operating pilot trading systems pursuant to § 240.19b-5 of this chapter. This form shall be used by all self-regulatory...

  17. From Catastrophizing to Recovery: a pilot study of a single-session treatment for pain catastrophizing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Darnall BD

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Beth D Darnall, John A Sturgeon, Ming-Chih Kao, Jennifer M Hah, Sean C MackeyDivision of Pain Medicine, Stanford Systems Neuroscience and Pain Laboratory, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USABackground: Pain catastrophizing (PC – a pattern of negative cognitive-emotional responses to real or anticipated pain – maintains chronic pain and undermines medical treatments. Standard PC treatment involves multiple sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy. To provide efficient treatment, we developed a single-session, 2-hour class that solely treats PC entitled “From Catastrophizing to Recovery”[FCR].Objectives: To determine 1 feasibility of FCR; 2 participant ratings for acceptability, understandability, satisfaction, and likelihood to use the information learned; and 3 preliminary efficacy of FCR for reducing PC.Design and methods: Uncontrolled prospective pilot trial with a retrospective chart and database review component. Seventy-six patients receiving care at an outpatient pain clinic (the Stanford Pain Management Center attended the class as free treatment and 70 attendees completed and returned an anonymous survey immediately post-class. The Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS was administered at class check-in (baseline and at 2, and 4 weeks post-treatment. Within subjects repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA with Student's t-test contrasts were used to compare scores across time points.Results: All attendees who completed a baseline PCS were included as study participants (N=57; F=82%; mean age =50.2 years; PCS was completed by 46 participants at week 2 and 35 participants at week 4. Participants had significantly reduced PC at both time points (P<0001 and large effect sizes were found (Cohen's d=0.85 and d=1.15.Conclusion: Preliminary data suggest that FCR is an acceptable and effective treatment for PC. Larger, controlled studies of longer duration are needed to determine durability of response, factors

  18. Evolving Management of Symptomatic Chronic Subdural Hematoma: Experience of a Single Institution and Review of the Literature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balser, David; Rodgers, Shaun D.; Johnson, Blair; Shi, Chen; Tabak, Esteban; Samadani, Uzma

    2015-01-01

    Objective Chronic subdural hematoma has an increasing incidence and results in high morbidity and mortality. We review here the ten-year experience of a single institution and the literature regarding the treatment and major associations of chronic subdural hematoma (cSDH). Methods We retrospectively reviewed all cSDHs surgically treated from 2000 to 2010 at our institution to evaluate duration from admission to treatment, type of treatment, length of stay in critical care, length of stay in the hospital and recurrence. The literature was reviewed with regards to incidence, associations and treatment of cSDH. Results From 2000–2008, 44 patients were treated with burr holes. From 2008 to 2010, 29 patients were treated with twist drill evacuation (SEPS). 4 patients from each group were readmitted for reoperation (9% vs. 14%; p=.53). The average time to intervention for SEPS (11.2±15.3 hrs) was faster than for burr holes (40.3±69.1 hrs) (p=.02). The total hospital LOS was shorter for SEPS (9.3±6.8 days) versus burr holes (13.4±10.2 days) (p=.04); both were significantly longer than for a brain tumor patient undergoing craniotomy (7.0±0.5 days, n=94, P<.01). Conclusion Despite decreasing lengths of stay over time as treatment for cSDH evolved from burr holes to SEPS, the length of stay for a cSDH is still greater than that of a patient undergoing craniotomy for brain tumor. We noted 11% recurrence in our series of patients, which included individuals who recurred as late as 3 years after initial diagnosis. PMID:23485050

  19. 28 CFR 11.2 - Pilot program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 28 Judicial Administration 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Pilot program. 11.2 Section 11.2 Judicial... Pilot program. The Assistant Attorney General for Administration, in consultation with the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, shall designate the districts that will participate in the pilot...

  20. Demonstration of a 100-kWth high-temperature solar thermochemical reactor pilot plant for ZnO dissociation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koepf, E.; Villasmil, W.; Meier, A.

    2016-05-01

    Solar thermochemical H2O and CO2 splitting is a viable pathway towards sustainable and large-scale production of synthetic fuels. A reactor pilot plant for the solar-driven thermal dissociation of ZnO into metallic Zn has been successfully developed at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI). Promising experimental results from the 100-kWth ZnO pilot plant were obtained in 2014 during two prolonged experimental campaigns in a high flux solar simulator at PSI and a 1-MW solar furnace in Odeillo, France. Between March and June the pilot plant was mounted in the solar simulator and in-situ flow-visualization experiments were conducted in order to prevent particle-laden fluid flows near the window from attenuating transparency by blocking incoming radiation. Window flow patterns were successfully characterized, and it was demonstrated that particle transport could be controlled and suppressed completely. These results enabled the successful operation of the reactor between August and October when on-sun experiments were conducted in the solar furnace in order to demonstrate the pilot plant technology and characterize its performance. The reactor was operated for over 97 hours at temperatures as high as 2064 K; over 28 kg of ZnO was dissociated at reaction rates as high as 28 g/min.

  1. Evaluation of Partial Breast Reirradiation with Intraoperative Radiotherapy after Prior Thoracic Radiation: A Single-Institution Report of Outcomes and Toxicity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christine Chin

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available IntroductionMastectomy is the current standard of care for ipsilateral breast tumor recurrences after prior whole breast irradiation (WBI. We report our single-institution experience with breast-conserving surgery (BCS followed by intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT as an alternative to salvage mastectomy for new or recurrent breast cancers that develop in the setting of prior thoracic radiation.MethodsWe performed an IRB-approved retrospective review of patients treated with breast IORT between September 2013 and November 2016. We identified 12 patients who declined salvage mastectomy for their breast cancer after prior thoracic radiation. IORT was delivered using the Intrabeam™ device (Carl Zeiss, Germany. A dose of 20 Gy was prescribed to the lumpectomy cavity surface using 50 kV X-rays. We graded both acute and late treatment-related breast toxicities using the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 4.0. Local control, mastectomy-free survival, distant metastasis, and overall survival were determined.ResultsOur study included nine patients who developed a new or recurrent ipsilateral breast cancer after prior WBI for early-stage breast cancer, two patients with primary breast cancer after mantle-field radiation for Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and one patient with a synchronous stage III non-small cell lung cancer treated with definitive radiation to the ipsilateral lung and mediastinum. The median time from prior radiation to presentation was 18 years (range: 2 months to 46 years. All patients successfully underwent partial breast reirradiation with IORT and were able to preserve their breast. At a median follow-up of 14 months (4–25 months, there were no local or distant recurrences. There was a single non-cancer-related death. In the acute setting, we observed grade 1 toxicity in 58% (n = 7, grade 2 toxicity in 17% (n = 2, and no grade 3 or higher toxicity. In the late setting, at

  2. 14 CFR 23.1329 - Automatic pilot system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Automatic pilot system. 23.1329 Section 23...: Installation § 23.1329 Automatic pilot system. If an automatic pilot system is installed, it must meet the following: (a) Each system must be designed so that the automatic pilot can— (1) Be quickly and positively...

  3. The evolution of REDD+: An analysis of discursive-institutional dynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Besten, Jan Willem den; Arts, Bas; Verkooijen, Patrick

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • A Discursive Institutional Analysis was conducted of the development of REDD+ from 2004 to 2011. • Rapid progress on REDD+ at the UNFCCC led to early agreement and preparatory arrangements. • This institutionalisation triggered responses from more actors generating new ideas. • Early implementation led to overlap of actors involved in piloting and in ongoing negotiations. • This helped introduce social, environment and governance safeguards in new agreements. -- Abstract: Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) is a policy that developed under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and is based on the idea that climate funds and carbon markets can be used to incentivise developing countries to reduce tropical deforestation. This paper analyses the development of REDD+ from 2004 to 2011 through Discursive Institutional Analysis (DIA). DIA seeks to analyse how new discourses become institutionalised in plans, regulations and guidelines, while including and excluding issues, (re)defining topics, and (re)shaping human interactions. The analysis of policy documents and 32 in depth interviews with actors involved in the climate negotiations illustrates how discursive and institutional dynamics influenced each other. Competing discourse coalitions struggled over the definition and scope of REDD+, the use of markets and funds, and the issue of social and environmental safeguards. The rapid development of the REDD+ discourse has nonetheless culminated in new institutional arrangements. The working of a ‘discursive-institutional spiral’ is revealed where discourse coalitions respond to the inclusion and exclusion of ideas in institutions and practices. The institutional contexts at the same time shape the boundaries within which actors can bring in new ideas and concepts

  4. Conflict Resolution Automation and Pilot Situation Awareness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dao, Arik-Quang V.; Brandt, Summer L.; Bacon, Paige; Kraut, Josh; Nguyen, Jimmy; Minakata, Katsumi; Raza, Hamzah; Rozovski, David; Johnson, Walter W.

    2010-01-01

    This study compared pilot situation awareness across three traffic management concepts. The Concepts varied in terms of the allocation of traffic avoidance responsibility between the pilot on the flight deck, the air traffic controllers, and a conflict resolution automation system. In Concept 1, the flight deck was equipped with conflict resolution tools that enable them to fully handle the responsibility of weather avoidance and maintaining separation between ownship and surrounding traffic. In Concept 2, pilots were not responsible for traffic separation, but were provided tools for weather and traffic avoidance. In Concept 3, flight deck tools allowed pilots to deviate for weather, but conflict detection tools were disabled. In this concept pilots were dependent on ground based automation for conflict detection and resolution. Situation awareness of the pilots was measured using online probes. Results showed that individual situation awareness was highest in Concept 1, where the pilots were most engaged, and lowest in Concept 3, where automation was heavily used. These findings suggest that for conflict resolution tasks, situation awareness is improved when pilots remain in the decision-making loop.

  5. Restoring effective sleep tranquility (REST): A feasibility and pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eakman, Aaron M; Schmid, Arlene A; Henry, Kimberly L; Rolle, Natalie R; Schelly, Catherine; Pott, Christine E; Burns, Joshua E

    2017-06-01

    The purpose of this pilot study was to establish the feasibility of completing a future controlled trial of a multi-component cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia program for military veterans with sleep disturbance. This was a single-arm feasibility and pilot study. Participants were United States post-9/11 veterans with service-connected injuries, university students, and had self-reported sleep disturbances. Restoring Effective Sleep Tranquility was a multi-component cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia intervention consisting of seven sessions of group therapy and eight 1:1 sessions delivered by occupational therapists. Feasibility and pilot indicators were process, resources, management, and scientific, including pre-post-assessments of sleep difficulties, dysfunctional sleep beliefs, participation, and pain interference. Indicators were supportive of feasibility, including reduced sleep difficulties (for example Medical Outcomes Study Sleep Measure [ t  = 3.29, p  = .02]), reduced nightmares: t  = 2.79, p  = .03; fewer dysfunctional sleep beliefs: t  = 3.63, p  = .01, and greater ability to participate in social roles: t  = -2.86, p  = .03, along with trends towards improved satisfaction with participation and reduced pain interference. The Restoring Effective Sleep Tranquility program may reduce sleep difficulties and improve participation in US veterans with service-connected injuries, and evidence indicates a controlled trial would be feasible to deliver.

  6. Concordance between local, institutional, and central pathology review in glioblastoma: implications for research and practice: a pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gupta, Tejpal; Nair, Vimoj; Epari, Sridhar; Pietsch, Torsten; Jalali, Rakesh

    2012-01-01

    There is significant inter-observer variation amongst the neuro-pathologists in the typing, subtyping, and grading of glial neoplasms for diagnosis. Centralized pathology review has been proposed to minimize this inter-observer variation and is now almost mandatory for accrual into multicentric trials. We sought to assess the concordance between neuro-pathologists on histopathological diagnosis of glioblastoma. Comparison of local, institutional, and central neuro-oncopathology reporting in a cohort of 34 patients with newly diagnosed supratentorial glioblastoma accrued consecutively at a tertiary-care institution on a prospective trial testing the addition of a new agent to standard chemo-radiation regimen. Concordance was sub-optimal between local histological diagnosis and central review, fair between local diagnosis and institutional review, and good between institutional and central review, with respect to histological typing/subtyping. Twelve (39%) of 31 patients with local histological diagnosis had identical tumor type, subtype and grade on central review. Overall agreement was modestly better (52%) between local diagnosis and institutional review. In contrast, 28 (83%) of 34 patients had completely concordant histopathologic diagnosis between institutional and central review. The inter-observer reliability test showed poor agreement between local and central review (kappa statistic=0.12, 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.03-0.32, P=0.043), but moderate agreement between institutional and central review (kappa statistic=0.51, 95%CI: 0.17-0.84, P=0.00003). Agreement between local diagnosis and institutional review was fair. There exists significant inter-observer variation regarding histopathological diagnosis of glioblastoma with significant implications for clinical research and practice. There is a need for more objective, quantitative, robust, and reproducible criteria for better subtyping for accurate diagnosis.

  7. Realizing Sustainability in Facilities Management: a pilot study at the Technical University of Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Susanne Balslev; Møller, Jacob Steen; Jäschke, Stefan

    2012-01-01

    , qualitative research and the preliminary analysis of a single, pilot case study of The Technical University of Denmark. Progress with the other complementary cases will be included in the presentation. The cases should be supplemented by more research on sustainable facilities management. Originality......, stakeholder interviews, focus groups, usability evaluations and practice-research workshops. The Technical University of Denmark (DTU) is the pilot case of an international collaboration, and more studies are planned to follow. Findings: The paper presents a framework for qualitative research on Sustainable...... Facilities Management (SFM), which can guide future research on Sustainability in FM and increase comparability between case studies. The research identifies the challenges and opportunities for integrating ecological, social and economical sustainability in university FM. The paper presents the analysis...

  8. The psychophysiological assessment method for pilot's professional reliability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, L M; Yu, L S; Wang, K N; Jing, B S; Fang, C

    1997-05-01

    Previous research has shown that a pilot's professional reliability depends on two relative factors: the pilot's functional state and the demands of task workload. The Psychophysiological Reserve Capacity (PRC) is defined as a pilot's ability to accomplish additive tasks without reducing the performance of the primary task (flight task). We hypothesized that the PRC was a mirror of the pilot's functional state. The purpose of this study was to probe the psychophysiological method for evaluating a pilot's professional reliability on a simulator. The PRC Comprehensive Evaluating System (PRCCES) which was used in the experiment included four subsystems: a) quantitative evaluation system for pilot's performance on simulator; b) secondary task display and quantitative estimating system; c) multiphysiological data monitoring and statistical system; and d) comprehensive evaluation system for pilot PRC. Two studies were performed. In study one, 63 healthy and 13 hospitalized pilots participated. Each pilot performed a double 180 degrees circuit flight program with and without secondary task (three digit operation). The operator performance, score of secondary task and cost of physiological effort were measured and compared by PRCCES in the two conditions. Then, each pilot's flight skill in training was subjectively scored by instructor pilot ratings. In study two, 7 healthy pilots volunteered to take part in the experiment on the effects of sleep deprivation on pilot's PRC. Each participant had PRC tested pre- and post-8 h sleep deprivation. The results show that the PRC values of a healthy pilot was positively correlated with abilities of flexibility, operating and correcting deviation, attention distribution, and accuracy of instrument flight in the air (r = 0.27-0.40, p < 0.05), and negatively correlated with emotional anxiety in flight (r = -0.40, p < 0.05). The values of PRC in healthy pilots (0.61 +/- 0.17) were significantly higher than that of hospitalized pilots

  9. Geothermal pilot study final report: creating an international geothermal energy community

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bresee, J.C.; Yen, W.W.S.; Metzler, J.E. (eds.)

    1978-06-01

    The Geothermal Pilot Study under the auspices of the Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society (CCMS) was established in 1973 to apply an action-oriented approach to international geothermal research and development, taking advantage of the established channels of governmental communication provided by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The Pilot Study was composed of five substudies. They included: computer-based information systems; direct application of geothermal energy; reservoir assessment; small geothermal power plants; and hot dry rock concepts. The most significant overall result of the CCMS Geothermal Pilot Study, which is now complete, is the establishment of an identifiable community of geothermal experts in a dozen or more countries active in development programs. Specific accomplishments include the creation of an international computer file of technical information on geothermal wells and fields, the development of studies and reports on direct applications, geothermal fluid injection and small power plants, and the operation of the visiting scientist program. In the United States, the computer file has aready proven useful in the development of reservoir models and of chemical geothermometers. The state-of-the-art report on direct uses of geothermal energy is proving to be a valuable resource document for laypersons and experts in an area of increasing interest to many countries. Geothermal fluid injection studies in El Salvador, New Zealand, and the United States have been assisted by the Reservoir Assessment Substudy and have led to long-range reservoir engineering studies in Mexico. At least seven small geothermal power plants are in use or have been planned for construction around the world since the Small Power Plant Substudy was instituted--at least partial credit for this increased application can be assigned to the CCMS Geothermal Pilot Study. (JGB)

  10. 7 CFR 1955.132 - Pilot projects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 14 2010-01-01 2009-01-01 true Pilot projects. 1955.132 Section 1955.132 Agriculture... REGULATIONS (CONTINUED) PROPERTY MANAGEMENT Disposal of Inventory Property General § 1955.132 Pilot projects. FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103-354 may conduct pilot projects to test policies and...

  11. The CVSA pilot study of highway vehicle inspection procedures for the transportation of radioactive materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Holm, J.; Curtis, G.E.; Branch, K.M.; Coburn, N.L.; Hauth, J.T.

    1991-01-01

    To further the goal of enhancing the safe and efficient transportation of radioactive materials, the US DOE and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance have entered into a cooperative agreement to conduct a pilot study to test draft procedures for state inspections of highway route controlled quantity radioactive shipments. To succeed, this five-year study requires close collaboration between federal and state agencies and non-government organizations. Significant institutional relationships have been established for this study

  12. End-of-life care of women with gynecologic malignancies: a pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nevadunsky, Nicole S; Spoozak, Lori; Gordon, Sharon; Rivera, Enid; Harris, Kimala; Goldberg, Gary L

    2013-03-01

    There are limited data regarding the end-of-life care for women with gynecologic malignancies. We set out to generate pilot data describing the care that women with gynecologic malignancies received in the last 6 months of life. Patient demographics, patterns of care, and utilization of palliative medicine consultation services were evaluated. One hundred patients who died of gynecologic malignancies were identified in our institutional database. Only patients who had received treatment with a gynecologic oncologist within 1 year of death were included. Medical records were reviewed for relevant information. Data were abstracted from the electronic medical record, and analyses were made using Student t test and Mann-Whitney U test with SPSS software. The mean age of patients was 60 years (range, 30-94 years). Racial/ethnic distribution was as follows: 38%, white; 34%, black; and 15%, Hispanic. Seventy-five percent of patients received chemotherapy within the last 6 months of life, and 30% received chemotherapy within the last 6 weeks of life. The median number of days hospitalized during the last 6 months of life was 24 (range, 0-183 days). During the last 6 months of life, 19% were admitted to the intensive care unit, 17% were intubated, 5% had terminal extubation, and 13% had cardiopulmonary resuscitative efforts. Sixty-four percent had a family meeting, 50% utilized hospice care, and 49% had palliative medicine consultations. There was a significant difference in hospice utilization when comparison was made between patients who had 14 days or more from consultation until death versus patients who had 14 days or less or no consultation, 21 (72%) versus 29 (41%), P = 0.004. Patients who were single were less likely to have a palliative medicine consultation, P = 0.005. End-of-life care for patients with gynecologic malignancies often includes futile, aggressive treatments and invasive procedures. It is unknown whether these measures contribute to longevity or

  13. 90% Compliance Pilot Studies Final Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    None

    2013-06-01

    In early 2010, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced an opportunity for states to participate in energy code compliance evaluation pilot studies. DOE worked with five Regional Energy Efficiency Organizations (REEOs, formerly referred to as Energy Efficiency Partnerships, or EEPs) to fund pilot studies covering nine states. This report details conclusions stated in individual state reports, as well as conclusions drawn by DOE based on their oversight of the pilot studies, and based on discussions held with the REEOs and representatives from the pilot study states and their contractors.

  14. Research at the Paul Scherrer Institut

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Walter, H.K.

    1996-01-01

    The Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI) is a multidisciplinary research institute for natural sciences and technology. In national and international collaboration with universities, other research institutes and industry, PSI is active in elementary particle physics, life sciences, solid-state physics, material sciences, nuclear and non-nuclear energy research, and energy-related ecology. PSI's priorities lie in research fields which are relevant to sustainable development, serve educational needs and are beyond the possibilities of a single university department. PSI develops and operates complex research installations open of the world's most powerful cyclotron, allowing to operate high intensity secondary pion and muon beams, a neutron spallation source and various applications in medicine and materials research. A short review on research at PSI is presented, with special concentration on particle physics experiments. (author)

  15. A multi-institutional outcome and prognostic factor analysis of radiosurgery (RS) for resectable single brain metastasis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Auchter, RM; Lamond, JP; Alexander, E; Buatti, JM; Chappell, RJ; Friedman, W; Kinsella, TJ; Levin, AB; Noyes, WR; Schultz, C; Loeffler, JS; Mehta, MP

    1995-07-01

    PURPOSE: Recent randomized trials comparing resection of single brain metastasis (BM) in selected patients (pts) followed by whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT) to WBRT alone demonstrated statistically significant survival advantage for surgery (Patchell, 1990 and Noordijk, 1994). This multi-institutional retrospective study was performed in similar pts who were treated with RS and WBRT to provide a baseline for comparison for a future randomized trial. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The RS databases of four institutions were reviewed to identify all pts who met the following criteria: single BM; age > 18; surgically resectable lesion; independently functional (KPS {>=} 70); non-radiosensitive histology (small cell, lymphoma, myeloma, germ cell excluded); no prior cranial surgery or WBRT. 122 of 533 pts with BM treated with RS met these criteria. Pts were categorized by: (a) status of the primary: 'absent' = complete resection, 26 pts; 'controlled' locally controlled with radiotherapy or chemotherapy, 70 pts; 'under treatment' = undergoing radiotherapy, 15 pts; 'active' = no definitive or successful treatment of the primary, 11 pts; (b) status of non-CNS metastasis: present=64 pts, absent=58 pts; (c) age: median=61, range 23-83; (d) KPS : KPS 70/80/90/100=20/26/44/32 pts; (e) histology: lung=58, melanoma=16, breast=13, renal=12,colon=9, other=10, unknown primary=4; (f) time from primary to BM: median=12 months, range=1-252 months; (g) gender: male=64, female=58; (h) tumor volume: median=2.68 cc, range=0.13-27.2 cc. RS was performed with a linear accelerator based technique (peripheral dose 10-27 Gy, median 17 Gy). WBRT was performed in all but 5 pts who refused it (range 25 - 40 Gy, median 37.5 Gy). RESULTS: The potential median follow-up for all pts is 123 weeks (wks). The overall local response rate is 59% (complete response = 25%, partial response = 34%). In field progression occurred in 17 patients (14%), with overall local control of 86%. Local control was highest for

  16. LANCELOT pilot report, June 2007

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Levinsen, Karin; Meyer, Bente

    The aim of the Lancelot pilot evaluation process was to understand how teachers learn to teach and to relate to the online environment through the specific context of the Lancelot live online course. Following the Action Research in the autumn of 2006 the LANCELOT live online language course...... was revised for the piloting in the spring of 2007. A second aim of the pilot evaluation has therefore been to assess the revision of the course following the Action Research....

  17. Mentoring advanced practice nurses in research: recommendations from a pilot program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leung, Doris; Widger, Kimberley; Howell, Doris; Nelson, Sioban; Molassiotis, Alex

    2012-01-01

    Advanced Practice Nurses (APNs) need research skills to develop and advance their practice and, yet, many have limited access to research training and support following completion of their advanced degree. In this paper we report on the development, delivery, and evaluation of an innovative pilot program that combined research training and one-to-one mentorship for nine APNs in conducting research relevant to their practice. The program was organized within an academic institution and its affiliated hospitals in Toronto, Canada. Our experience with this program may assist those in other organizations to plan and deliver a similar program for APN research mentorship.

  18. Laser exposure incidents: pilot ocular health and aviation safety issues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakagawara, Van B; Wood, Kathryn J; Montgomery, Ron W

    2008-09-01

    A database of aviation reports involving laser illumination of flight crewmembers has been established and maintained at the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute. A review of recent laser illumination reports was initiated to investigate the significance of these events. Reports that involved laser exposures of civilian aircraft in the United States were analyzed for the 13-month period (January 1, 2004, through January 31, 2005). There were 90 reported instances of laser illumination during the study period. A total of 53 reports involved laser exposure of commercial aircraft. Lasers illuminated the cockpit in 41 (46%) of the incidents. Of those, 13 (32%) incidents resulted in a visual impairment or distraction to a pilot, including 1 incident that reportedly resulted in an ocular injury. Nearly 96% of these reports occurred in the last 3 months of the study period. There were no aviation accidents in which laser light illumination was found to be a contributing factor. Operational problems have resulted from laser illumination incidents in the national airspace system. Eye care practitioners, to provide effective consultations to their pilot patients, should be familiar with the problems that can occur with laser exposure.

  19. Pleural space infections after image-guided percutaneous drainage of infected intraabdominal fluid collections: a retrospective single institution analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avella, Diego M; Toth, Jennifer W; Reed, Michael F; Gusani, Niraj J; Kimchi, Eric T; Mahraj, Rickeshvar P; Staveley-O'Carroll, Kevin F; Kaifi, Jussuf T

    2015-04-11

    Percutaneous drainage of infected intraabdominal fluid collections is preferred over surgical drainage due to lower morbidity and costs. However, it can be a challenging procedure and catheter insertion carries the potential to contaminate the pleural space from the abdomen. This retrospective analysis demonstrates the clinical and radiographic correlation between percutaneous drainage of infected intraabdominal collections and the development of iatrogenic pleural space infections. A retrospective single institution analysis of 550 consecutive percutaneous drainage procedures for intraabdominal fluid collections was performed over 24 months. Patient charts and imaging were reviewed with regard to pleural space infections that were attributed to percutaneous drain placements. Institutional review board approval was obtained for conduct of the study. 6/550 (1.1%) patients developed iatrogenic pleural space infections after percutaneous drainage of intraabdominal fluid collections. All 6 patients presented with respiratory symptoms and required pleural space drainage (either by needle aspiration or chest tube placement), 2 received intrapleural fibrinolytic therapy and 1 patient had to undergo surgical drainage. Pleural effusion cultures revealed same bacteria in both intraabdominal and pleural fluid in 3 (50%) cases. A video with a dynamic radiographic sequence demonstrating the contamination of the pleural space from percutaneous drainage of an infected intraabdominal collection is included. Iatrogenic pleural space infections after percutaneous drainage of intraabdominal fluid collections occur at a low incidence, but the pleural empyema can be progressive requiring prompt chest tube drainage, intrapleural fibrinolytic therapy or even surgery. Expertise in intraabdominal drain placements, awareness and early recognition of this complication is critical to minimize incidence, morbidity and mortality in these patients.

  20. RT-qPCR work-flow for single-cell data analysis

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Stahlberg, A.; Rusňáková, Vendula; Forootan, A.; Anděrová, Miroslava; Kubista, Mikael

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 59, č. 1 (2013), s. 80-88 ISSN 1046-2023 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) ME10052; GA ČR GAP303/10/1338 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50520701 Institutional support: RVO:68378041 Keywords : RT-qPCR * Single-cell biology * Single-cell data analysis Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology; FH - Neurology (UEM-P) Impact factor: 3.221, year: 2013

  1. Iodine-125 seed brachytherapy for early stage prostate cancer: a single-institution review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zuber, Simon; Weiß, Susan; Baaske, Dieter; Schöpe, Michael; Stevens, Simon; Bodis, Stephan; Zwahlen, Daniel R

    2015-01-01

    We are reporting the five-year biochemical control, toxicity profile and dosimetric parameters using iodine-125 low dose rate brachytherapy (BT) as monotherapy for early stage prostate cancer at a single institution. Between April 2006 and December 2010, 169 men with early stage prostate cancer were treated with BT. Biochemical failure was defined using the Phoenix definition (nadir + 2 ng/mL). Treatment-related morbidities, including urinary, rectal and sexual function, were measured, applying the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), the 7-grade Quality of Life Scale (QoL) and medical status, the International Consultation on Incontinence Modular Questionnaire (ICIQ), the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) and the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE v4.03). Seed migration and loss, dosimetric parameters and learning effects were also analyzed. Medium follow-up time was 50 months (range, 1–85 months). The five-year biochemical failure rate was 7%. Acute proctitis rates were 19% (grade 1) and 1% (grade 2), respectively. The overall incidence of incontinence was 19% (mild), 16% (moderate) and < 1% (severe). An increase in IPSS ≥ 5 points was detected in 59% of patients, with 38% regaining their baseline. Seed dislocation was found in 24% of patients and correlated with D90 and V100. A learning curve was found for seed migration, D90 and V100. QoL correlated with the general health condition of patient, incontinence symptoms and IPSS. BT for early stage prostate cancer offers excellent five-year biochemical control with low toxicities. QoL aspects are favorable. A learning curve was detected for procedural aspects but its impact on patient relevant endpoints remains inconclusive

  2. Pilot-plant cultivation of Streptomyces griseus producing homologues of nonactin by precursor-directed biosynthesis and their identification by LC/MS-ESI

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Řezanka, Tomáš; Prell, Aleš; Spížek, Jaroslav; Sigler, Karel

    2010-01-01

    Roč. 63, č. 8 (2010), s. 524-529 ISSN 0021-8820 R&D Projects: GA MŠk 1M06011 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50200510 Keywords : liquid chromatography/MS-ESI * pilot-plant cultivation * precursor-directed biosynthesis Subject RIV: EE - Microbiology, Virology Impact factor: 1.628, year: 2010

  3. The impact of transition training on adapting to Technically Advanced Aircraft at regional airlines: Perceptions of pilots and instructor pilots

    Science.gov (United States)

    di Renzo, John Carl, Jr.

    Scope and method of study. The purpose of this study was to test a hypothesis about pilot and instructor pilot perceptions of how effectively pilots learn and use new technology, found in Technically Advanced Aircraft (TAA), given initial type of instrumentation training. New aviation technologies such as Glass Cockpits in technically advanced aircraft are complex and can be difficult to learn and use. The research questions focused on the type of initial instrumentation training to determine the differences among pilots trained using various types of instrumentation ranging from aircraft equipped with traditional analog instrumentation to aircraft equipped with glass cockpits. A convenience sample of Pilots in Training (PT) and Instructor Pilots (IP) was selected from a regional airline. The research design used a mixed methodology. Pilots in training completed a thirty-two question quantitative questionnaire and instructor pilots completed a five question qualitative questionnaire. Findings and conclusions. This investigation failed to disprove the null hypothesis. The type of instrumentation training has no significant effect on newly trained regional airline pilot perceived ability to adapt to advanced technology cockpits. Therefore, no evidence exists from this investigation to support the early introduction and training of TAA. While the results of this investigation were surprising, they are nonetheless, instructive. Even though it would seem that there would be a relationship between exposure to and use of technically advanced instrumentation, apparently there was no perceived relationship for this group of airline transport pilots. However, a point of interest is that these pilots were almost evenly divided in their opinion of whether or not their previous training had prepared them for transition to TAA. The majority also believed that the type of initial instrumentation training received does make a difference when transitioning to TAA. Pilots believed

  4. Single-dose radiosurgical treatment for hepatic metastases - therapeutic outcome of 138 treated lesions from a single institution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Habermehl, Daniel; Herfarth, Klaus K; Bermejo, Justo Lorenzo; Hof, Holger; Rieken, Stefan; Kuhn, Sabine; Welzel, Thomas; Debus, Jürgen; Combs, Stephanie E

    2013-01-01

    Local ablative therapies such as stereotactically guided single-dose radiotherapy or helical intensity-modulated radiotherapy (tomotherapy) with high single-doses are successfully applied in many centers in patients with liver metastasis not suitable for surgical resection. This study presents results from more than 10 years of clinical experience and evaluates long-term outcome and efficacy of this therapeutic approach. From 1997 to 2009 a total of 138 intrahepatic tumors of 90 patients were irradiated with single doses of 17 to 30 Gy (median dose 24 Gy). Median age of the patients was 64 years (range 31–89 years). Most frequent underlying tumor histologies were colorectal adenocarcinoma (70 lesions) and breast cancer (27 lesions). In 35 treatment sessions multiple targets were simultaneously irradiated (up to four lesions at once). Local progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) after treatment were investigated using uni- and multiple survival regression models. Median overall survival of all patients was 24.3 months. Local PFS was 87%, 70% and 59% after 6, 12 and 18 months, respectively. Median time to local progression was 25.5 months. Patients with a single lesion and no further metastases at time of RT had a favorable median PFS of 43.1 months according to the Kaplan-Meier estimator. The type of tumor showed a statistical significant influence on local PFS, with a better prognosis for breast cancer histology than for colorectal carcinoma in uni- and multiple regression analysis (p = 0.05). Multiple regression analysis revealed no influence of planning target volume (PTV), patient age and radiation dose on local PFS. Treatment was well tolerated with no severe adverse events. This study confirms safety of SBRT in liver lesions, with 6- and 12 months local control of 87% and 70%. The dataset represents the clinical situation in a large oncology setting, with many competing treatment options and heterogeneous patient characteristics

  5. Institutional Linkage Support for Quality Development of Educational Physical Planning and Building in Nepal

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vagnby, Bo Hellisen

    Terms of Reference for an institutional linkage support project to further develop the education sector?s capacity to improve the physical learning and teaching environment. The TORs calls, inter alia, for the undertaking of relevant studies regarding utilisation of school facilities; user......-reaction studies (e.g. multi-purpose school blocks vs. specialised buildings); studies of girl?s and boy?s special requirements etc.. The project includes a pilot school improvement scheme based on improved designs developed under the project....

  6. 49 CFR 381.400 - What is a pilot program?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false What is a pilot program? 381.400 Section 381.400... PILOT PROGRAMS Initiation of Pilot Programs § 381.400 What is a pilot program? (a) A pilot program is a... that would be subject to the regulations. (b) During a pilot program, the participants would be given...

  7. Teachers’ Perceptions of Inclusion in a Pilot Inclusive Education Program: Implications for Instructional Leadership

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zachary Y. Mngo

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The opinions of general education secondary school teachers in seven select schools involved in a pilot inclusive education program in the Northwest Region of Cameroon were sought. The findings reveal that most teachers in Cameroon still prefer separate special education institutions to inclusive ones. These conclusions contradict earlier research which showed that resistance to integrated classrooms was emanating from beliefs and customs. Teachers with some training on teaching students with disabilities and more experienced and highly educated teachers were more supportive of inclusive education indicating that resistance to the practice is linked to inadequate or complete lack of teachers’ preparedness. Younger, less experienced teachers with no training in special education indicated less enthusiasm regarding the benefits of inclusion, their ability to manage integrated classrooms, and teach students with disabilities. The implication of these findings for future research, institutional support systems, institutional policies, and overall instructional leadership is discussed in this article.

  8. A pilot randomized control trial investigating the effect of mindfulness practice on pain tolerance, psychological well-being, and physiological activity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kingston, Jessica; Chadwick, Paul; Meron, Daniel

    2007-01-01

    Objective: To investigate the effect of mindfulness training on pain tolerance, psychological well-being, physiological activity, and the acquisition of mindfulness skills. Methods: Forty-two asymptomatic University students participated in a randomized, single-blind, active control pilot study. ...

  9. Burnout in Nurses Working With Youth With Chronic Pain: A Pilot Intervention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodrigues, Nikita P; Cohen, Lindsey L; McQuarrie, Susanna Crowell; Reed-Knight, Bonney

    2018-05-01

    Nurse burnout is a significant issue, with repercussions for the nurse, patients, and health-care system. Our prior mixed-methods analyses helped inform a model of burnout in nurses working with youth with chronic pain. Our aims were to (a) detail the development of an intervention to decrease burnout; (b) evaluate the intervention's feasibility and acceptability; and (c) provide preliminary outcomes on the intervention. In total, 33 nurses working on a pediatric inpatient care unit that admits patients with chronic pain conditions participated in the single-session 90-min groups (eight to nine nurses per group). The intervention consisted of four modules including (1) helping patients view pain as multifaceted and shift attention to functioning; (2) teaching problem-solving and reflective listening skills; (3) highlighting positives about patients when venting with coworkers; and (4) improving nurses own self-care practices. Measures provided assessment of feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness at baseline and 3 months postintervention in a single group, repeated measures design. Data support the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention. Pilot outcome results demonstrated improvements in the target behaviors of education on psychosocial influences, self-care, and venting to coworkers as well as self-compassion, general health, and burnout. There were no changes in pain beliefs or the target behaviors of focus on functioning, empathizing with patient, or highlighting positives. Our single-session tailored group treatment was feasible and acceptable, and pilot data suggest that it is beneficial, but a more comprehensive approach is encouraged to reduce burnout that might be related to multiple individual, unit, and system factors.

  10. An experimental study of the effect of a pilot flame on technically pre-mixed, self-excited combustion instabilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Meara, Bridget C.

    Combustion instabilities are a problem facing the gas turbine industry in the operation of lean, pre-mixed combustors. Secondary flames known as "pilot flames" are a common passive control strategy for eliminating combustion instabilities in industrial gas turbines, but the underlying mechanisms responsible for the pilot flame's stabilizing effect are not well understood. This dissertation presents an experimental study of a pilot flame in a single-nozzle, swirl-stabilized, variable length atmospheric combustion test facility and the effect of the pilot on combustion instabilities. A variable length combustor tuned the acoustics of the system to excite instabilities over a range of operating conditions without a pilot flame. The inlet velocity was varied from 25 -- 50 m/s and the equivalence ratio was varied from 0.525 -- 0.65. This range of operating conditions was determined by the operating range of the combustion test facility. Stability at each operating condition and combustor length was characterized by measurements of pressure oscillations in the combustor. The effect of the pilot flame on the magnitude and frequency of combustor stability was then investigated. The mechanisms responsible for the pilot flame effect were studied using chemiluminescence flame images of both stable and unstable flames. Stable flame structure was investigated using stable flame images of CH* chemiluminescence emission. The effect of the pilot on stable flame metrics such as flame length, flame angle, and flame width was investigated. In addition, a new flame metric, flame base distance, was defined to characterize the effect of the pilot flame on stable flame anchoring of the flame base to the centerbody. The effect of the pilot flame on flame base anchoring was investigated because the improved stability with a pilot flame is usually attributed to improved flame anchoring through the recirculation of hot products from the pilot to the main flame base. Chemiluminescence images

  11. [Social media: forum webcare as a proactive information strategy in health promotion: Results of a pilot project by the BZgA].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quast, T; Nöcker, Guido

    2015-09-01

    Over several weeks in 2013, the BZgA pilot project "SoMe" (August 2012 to February 2014) tested and investigated various social media interventions in the fields of family planning and sex education. The interventions included the tool "forum webcare," which was used in four forums for pregnant women and three for young people. The term webcare originally described a customer-oriented communication strategy of the web economy. The term includes elements of reputation management, customer care, and online marketing. In the present pilot project, forum webcare has been understood and applied in the sense of "virtual street work," which means that issues on health topics in non-self-operated forums were identified and answered. The design was based on the Precede-Proceed Model. In the phases of analysis, implementation, and evaluation the project used chronologically and methodologically interlaced and mutually controlling methods such as online test groups, intensive interviews, and the evaluation of data on web use. The analysis indicated that the target groups of the project used the forums quite often; that they had a positive attitude toward the idea of webcare providing contributions from experts working for public institutions; and that the risk of reactance was low. Forum webcare allows important supplementary and well-founded information to be brought into the discussions. At the same time the results of the project show that users, when keeping to certain rules, mostly see webcare as a welcome addition to incomplete information and the improvement of faulty information, and appreciate it as quality enhancement for the forum. From the view of the information provider, forum webcare is more a chance to address numerous passive recipients rather than communicating with single users. At the same time the instrument provides the chance to learn from users of the forums, and to become familiar with and be able to respond to their needs and the way in which they

  12. Conceptual design of SO3 decomposer for thermo-chemical iodine-sulfur process pilot plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akihiro Kanagawa; Seiji Kasahara; Atsuhiko Terada; Shinji Kubo; Ryutaro Hino; Yoshiyuki Kawahara; Masaharu Watabe; Hiroshi Fukui; Kazuo Ishino; Toshio Takahashi

    2005-01-01

    Thermo-chemical water-splitting cycle is a method to make an effective use of the high temperature nuclear heat for hydrogen production. Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) has been conducting R and D on HTGR and also on thermo-chemical hydrogen production by using a thermo-chemical iodine-sulfur cycle (IS process). Based on the test results and know-how obtained through a bench-scale tests of hydrogen production of about 30 NL/hr, JAERI has a plan to construct a pilot test plant heated by high temperature helium gas, which has a hydrogen production performance of 30 Nm 3 /hr and will be operated under the high pressure up to 2 MPa. One of the key components of the pilot test plant is a SO 3 decomposer under high temperature conditions up to 850 degree C and high pressure up to 2 MPa. In this paper, a concept of the SO 3 decomposer for the pilot test plant fabricated with SiC ceramics, a corrosion-resistant material is investigated. Preliminary analyses on temperature and flow-rate distributions in the SO 3 decomposer and on thermal stress were carried out. A SO 3 decomposer model was experimentally manufactured. (authors)

  13. Analysis of empty ATLAS pilot jobs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Love, P. A.; Alef, M.; Dal Pra, S.; Di Girolamo, A.; Forti, A.; Templon, J.; Vamvakopoulos, E.; ATLAS Collaboration

    2017-10-01

    In this analysis we quantify the wallclock time used by short empty pilot jobs on a number of WLCG compute resources. Pilot factory logs and site batch logs are used to provide independent accounts of the usage. Results show a wide variation of wallclock time used by short jobs depending on the site and queue, and changing with time. For a reference dataset of all jobs in August 2016, the fraction of wallclock time used by empty jobs per studied site ranged from 0.1% to 0.8%. Aside from the wall time used by empty pilots, we also looked at how many pilots were empty as a fraction of all pilots sent. Binning the August dataset into days, empty fractions between 2% and 90% were observed. The higher fractions correlate well with periods of few actual payloads being sent to the site.

  14. 38 CFR 21.5290 - Educational Assistance Pilot Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... Pilot Program. 21.5290 Section 21.5290 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS... Assistance Under 38 U.S.C. Chapter 32 Educational Assistance Pilot Program § 21.5290 Educational Assistance Pilot Program. (a) Purpose. The Educational Assistance Pilot Program is designed to encourage...

  15. 14 CFR 61.83 - Eligibility requirements for student pilots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Eligibility requirements for student pilots... TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRMEN CERTIFICATION: PILOTS, FLIGHT INSTRUCTORS, AND GROUND INSTRUCTORS Student Pilots § 61.83 Eligibility requirements for student pilots. To be eligible for a student pilot...

  16. Separation of packaging plastics by froth flotation in a continuous pilot plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carvalho, Teresa; Durao, Fernando; Ferreira, Celia

    2010-01-01

    The objective of the research was to apply froth flotation to separate post-consumer PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) from other packaging plastics with similar density, in a continuously operated pilot plant. A representative sample composed of 85% PET, 2.5% PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) and 11.9% PS (Polystyrene) was subjected to a combination of alkaline treatment and surfactant adsorption followed by froth flotation. A mineral processing pilot plant, owned by a Portuguese mining company, was adapted for this purpose. The experimentation showed that it is possible to produce an almost pure concentrate of PET, containing 83% of the PET in feed, in a single bank of mechanical flotation cells. The concentrate grade attained was 97.2% PET, 1.1% PVC and 1.1% PS. By simulation it was shown that the Portuguese recycling industry specifications can be attained if one cleaning and one scavenger stages are added to the circuit.

  17. Imaging characteristics of supratentorial ependymomas: Study on a large single institutional cohort with histopathological correlation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mangalore, Sandhya; Aryan, Saritha; Prasad, Chandrajit; Santosh, Vani

    2015-01-01

    Supratentorial ependymoma (STE) is a tumor whose unique clinical and imaging characteristics have not been studied. Histopathologically, they resemble ependymoma elsewhere. We retrospectively reviewed the imaging findings with clinicopathological correlation in a large number of patients with STE to identify these characteristics. Computed tomography (CT) magnetic resonance images (MRI), pathology reports, and clinical information from 41 patients with pathology-confirmed STE from a single institution were retrospectively reviewed. CT and MRI findings including location, size, signal intensity, hemorrhage, and enhancement pattern were tabulated and described separately in intraventricular and intraparenchymal forms. STE was more common in pediatric age group and intraparenchymal was more common than intraventricular form. The most common presentation was features of raised intracranial tension. There were equal numbers of Grade II and Grade III tumors. The imaging characteristics in adult and pediatric age group were similar. The tumor was large and had both solid and cystic components. Advanced imaging such as diffusion, perfusion, and spectroscopy were suggestive of high-grade tumor. Only differentiating factor between Grade II and Grade III was the presence of calcification. 1234 rule and periwinkle sign which we have described in this article may help characterize this tumor on imaging. This series expands the clinical and imaging spectrum of STE and identifies characteristics that should suggest consideration of this uncommon diagnosis.

  18. RadioImmunotherapy for adenoid cystic carcinoma: a single-institution series of combined treatment with cetuximab

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    Background Local control in adjuvant/definitive RT of adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) is largely dose-dependent. However, some clinical situations do not allow application of tumouricidal doses (i.e. re-irradiation) hence radiation sensitization by exploitation of high endothelial growth factor receptor (EGFR)-expression in ACC seems beneficial. This is a single-institution experience of combined radioimmunotherapy (RIT) with the EGFR-inhibitor cetuximab. Methods Between 2006 and 2010, 9 pts received RIT for advanced/recurrent ACC, 5/9 pts as re-irradiation. Baseline characteristics as well as treatment parameters were retrieved to evaluate efficacy and toxicity of the combination regimen were evaluated. Control rates (local/distant) and overall survival were calculated using Kaplan-Meier estimation. Results Median dose was 65 Gy, pts received a median of 6 cycles cetuximab. RIT was tolerated well with only one °III mucositis/dysphagia. Overall response/remission rates were high (77,8%); 2-year estimate of local control was 80% hence reaching local control levels comparable to high-dose RT. Progression-free survival (PFS) at 2 years and median overall survival were only 62,5% and 22,2 mo respectively. Conclusion While local control and treatment response in RIT seems promising, PFS and overall survival are still hampered by distant failure. The potential benefit of RIT with cetuximab warrants exploration in a prospective controlled clinical trial. PMID:21047402

  19. RadioImmunotherapy for adenoid cystic carcinoma: a single-institution series of combined treatment with cetuximab

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Weichert Wilko

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Local control in adjuvant/definitive RT of adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC is largely dose-dependent. However, some clinical situations do not allow application of tumouricidal doses (i.e. re-irradiation hence radiation sensitization by exploitation of high endothelial growth factor receptor (EGFR-expression in ACC seems beneficial. This is a single-institution experience of combined radioimmunotherapy (RIT with the EGFR-inhibitor cetuximab. Methods Between 2006 and 2010, 9 pts received RIT for advanced/recurrent ACC, 5/9 pts as re-irradiation. Baseline characteristics as well as treatment parameters were retrieved to evaluate efficacy and toxicity of the combination regimen were evaluated. Control rates (local/distant and overall survival were calculated using Kaplan-Meier estimation. Results Median dose was 65 Gy, pts received a median of 6 cycles cetuximab. RIT was tolerated well with only one °III mucositis/dysphagia. Overall response/remission rates were high (77,8%; 2-year estimate of local control was 80% hence reaching local control levels comparable to high-dose RT. Progression-free survival (PFS at 2 years and median overall survival were only 62,5% and 22,2 mo respectively. Conclusion While local control and treatment response in RIT seems promising, PFS and overall survival are still hampered by distant failure. The potential benefit of RIT with cetuximab warrants exploration in a prospective controlled clinical trial.

  20. Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Airline Pilots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lord, Dana; Conlon, Helen Acree

    2018-02-01

    The health of an airline pilot is imperative to the safe travels of millions of people worldwide. Medical providers evaluate the cardiovascular risks for airline pilots and the medical requirements to obtain and maintain licensure as an airline pilot. It is the role of the occupational health nurse practitioner to evaluate and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in this population.

  1. Developing the digital literacies of academic staff: an institutional approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barbara Newland

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Institutional engagement with digital literacies at the University of Brighton has been promoted through the creation of a Digital Literacies Framework (DLF aimed at academic staff. The DLF consists of 38 literacies divided into four categories that align to the following key areas of academic work:• Learning and teaching• Research• Communication and collaboration• AdministrationFor each literacy, there is an explanation of what the literacy is, why it is important and how to gain it, with links to resources and training opportunities. After an initial pilot, the DLF website was launched in the summer of 2014. This paper discusses the strategic context and policy development of the DLF, its initial conception and subsequent development based on a pilot phase, feedback and evaluation. It critically analyses two of the ways that engagement with the DLF have been promoted: (1 formal professional development schemes and (2 the use of a ‘School-based’ approach. It examines the successes and challenges of the University of Brighton's scheme and makes some suggestions for subsequent steps including taking a course-level approach.

  2. Pilot program to assess proposed basic quality assurance requirements in the medical use of byproduct materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kaplan, E.; Nelson, K.; Meinhold, C.B. (Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (United States))

    1991-10-01

    In January 1990, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) proposed amendments to 10 CFR Part 35 that would require medical licensees using byproduct material to establish and implement a basic quality assurance program. A 60-day real-world trial of the proposed rules was initiated to obtain information beyond that generally found through standard public comment procedures. Volunteers from randomly selected institutions had opportunities to review the details of the proposed regulations and to implement these rules on a daily basis during the trial. The participating institutions were then asked to evaluate the proposed regulations based on their personal experiences. The pilot project sought to determine whether medical institutions could develop written quality assurance programs that would meet the eight performance-based objectives of proposed Section 35.35. In addition, the NRC wanted to learn from these volunteers if they had any recommendations on how the rule could be revised to minimized its cost and to clarify its objectives without decreasing its effectiveness. It was found that licensees could develop acceptable QA programs under a performance-based approach, that most licensee programs did meet the proposed objectives, and that most written QA plans would require consultations with NRC or Agreement State personnel before they would fully meet all objectives of proposed Section 35.35. This report describes the overall pilot program. The methodology used to select and assemble the group of participating licensees is presented. The various workshops and evaluation questionnaires are discussed, and detailed findings are presented. 7 refs.

  3. Pilot program to assess proposed basic quality assurance requirements in the medical use of byproduct materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaplan, E.; Nelson, K.; Meinhold, C.B.

    1991-10-01

    In January 1990, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) proposed amendments to 10 CFR Part 35 that would require medical licensees using byproduct material to establish and implement a basic quality assurance program. A 60-day real-world trial of the proposed rules was initiated to obtain information beyond that generally found through standard public comment procedures. Volunteers from randomly selected institutions had opportunities to review the details of the proposed regulations and to implement these rules on a daily basis during the trial. The participating institutions were then asked to evaluate the proposed regulations based on their personal experiences. The pilot project sought to determine whether medical institutions could develop written quality assurance programs that would meet the eight performance-based objectives of proposed Section 35.35. In addition, the NRC wanted to learn from these volunteers if they had any recommendations on how the rule could be revised to minimized its cost and to clarify its objectives without decreasing its effectiveness. It was found that licensees could develop acceptable QA programs under a performance-based approach, that most licensee programs did meet the proposed objectives, and that most written QA plans would require consultations with NRC or Agreement State personnel before they would fully meet all objectives of proposed Section 35.35. This report describes the overall pilot program. The methodology used to select and assemble the group of participating licensees is presented. The various workshops and evaluation questionnaires are discussed, and detailed findings are presented. 7 refs

  4. Lessons from interprofessional e-learning: piloting a care of the elderly module.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Juntunen, Anitta; Heikkinen, Eija

    2004-08-01

    Educating health care professionals is a key issue in the provision of quality healthcare services. Interprofessional education has been suggested as a means of meeting this challenge. Four Finnish polytechnics providing education for nurses, social workers and physiotherapists wished to develop the content and methods of teaching the care of the elderly by collaboratively creating and implementing an interprofessional module of 15 European Credit Transfer units, using e-learning. This paper examines the planning and assessment of the impact of the pilot module. The web-based environment eminently suited teaching interprofessional care of the elderly. It supported content and methodological development and renewal of the module. It enabled discussion and collaboration between nursing, social work and rehabilitation teachers and students from the Polytechnics which are located in different parts of Finland. However, it became evident during the pilot that the most crucial challenges of the web-based pedagogy were in the ability of the teacher to supervise, support and motivate students and the organisation of interprofessional learning offered by collaborating institutions.

  5. ISO 50001 for Commercial Buildings: Lessons Learned From U.S. DOE Pilot Project: Preprint

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Deru, M.; Field, K.; Punjabi, S.

    2014-08-01

    In the U.S., the ISO 50001 Standard, which establishes energy management systems (EnMSs) and processes, has shown uptake primarily in the industrial sector. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) undertook a pilot program to explore ISO 50001 implementation in commercial buildings. Eight organizations participated as pilots, with technical assistance provided by DOE, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), and the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). This paper shares important lessons learned from the pilot. Staff time was the most critical resource required to establish effective EnMSs in commercial buildings. The pilot also revealed that technical support and template/example materials were essential inputs. Crucial activities included evaluating performance, identifying goals, making connections, communicating operational controls, and tracking/reviewing progress. Benefits realized included enhanced intra-organizational connections, greater energy awareness, increased process efficiencies, and improved ability to make business cases. Incremental benefits for ISO 50001 certification were greater accountability, assurance of best practices, public relations opportunities, and potential to unlock verified savings credits or incentive money. Incremental certification costs included more staff/consultant time, money for certification, and a tendency to limit EnMS scope in order to ensure favorable audit results. Five best practices were identified - utilizing expert technical assistance, training, and other resources; focusing on implementation over documentation; keeping top management involved; considering organizational structure when selecting EnMS scope; and matching the implementation level to an EnMS's scope and scale. The last two practices are particularly relevant to the commercial buildings sector.

  6. A Pilot Study to Examine the Effects of a Nutrition Intervention on Nutrition Knowledge, Behaviors, and Efficacy Expectations in Middle School Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fahlman, Mariane M.; Dake, Joseph A.; McCaughtry, Nate; Martin, Jeffrey

    2008-01-01

    Background: This was a pilot study to determine the impact of the Michigan Model (MM) Nutrition Curriculum on nutrition knowledge, efficacy expectations, and eating behaviors in middle school students. Methods: The study was conducted in a large metropolitan setting and approved by the Institutional Review Board. The participants for this study…

  7. Drilling and associated drillhole measurements of the pilot hole ONK-PH12

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Toropainen, V.; Tarvainen, A.-M.; Poellaenen, J.; Pekkanen, J.; Pere, T.; Kaepyaho, E.; Lahti, M.

    2011-01-01

    The construction of the ONKALO access tunnel started in September 2004 at Olkiluoto. Most of the investigations related to the construction of the access tunnel aim to ensure successful excavations, reinforcement and sealing. Pilot holes are drillholes, which are core drilled along the tunnel profile. The length of the pilot holes typically varies from several tens of metres to a couple of hundred metres. The pilot holes are aimed to confirm the quality of the rock mass for tunnel construction, and in particular to identify water conductive fractured zones and to provide information that could result in modifications of the existing construction plans. The pilot hole ONK-PH12 was drilled from ONKALO chainage 4092 to chainage 4215 in January 2010. The length of the hole is 123.96 metres. The drilling method was orientated core drilling. The deviation of the drillhole was measured during and after the drilling phase. Electric conductivity was measured from the collected returning water samples. Logging of the core samples included the following parameters: lithology, foliation, fracturing, fracture frequency, RQD, fractured zones, core loss, and weathering. The rock mechanical logging was based on Q-classification. The test to determine rock strength and deformation were made with Rock Tester -equipment. Water conductivity of the fractures or fractured zones was measured by Posiva Flow Log equipment. The measurements were done in two phases. During flow measurements also grounding resistance electric conductivity and temperature were measured. In flow logging test, sections of 0.5 m with increments of 0.1 m were used. Water loss measurements were conducted in the drillhole section 5.0-123.85 m dhd. Geophysical logging as well as optical and acoustic imaging of the pilot hole included the fieldwork of all surveys, the integration of the data as well as interpretation of the acoustic and drillhole radar data. Groundwater sampling was not applicable because no

  8. Enhancing Comparative Effectiveness Research With Automated Pediatric Pneumonia Detection in a Multi-Institutional Clinical Repository: A PHIS+ Pilot Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meystre, Stephane; Gouripeddi, Ramkiran; Tieder, Joel; Simmons, Jeffrey; Srivastava, Rajendu; Shah, Samir

    2017-05-15

    Community-acquired pneumonia is a leading cause of pediatric morbidity. Administrative data are often used to conduct comparative effectiveness research (CER) with sufficient sample sizes to enhance detection of important outcomes. However, such studies are prone to misclassification errors because of the variable accuracy of discharge diagnosis codes. The aim of this study was to develop an automated, scalable, and accurate method to determine the presence or absence of pneumonia in children using chest imaging reports. The multi-institutional PHIS+ clinical repository was developed to support pediatric CER by expanding an administrative database of children's hospitals with detailed clinical data. To develop a scalable approach to find patients with bacterial pneumonia more accurately, we developed a Natural Language Processing (NLP) application to extract relevant information from chest diagnostic imaging reports. Domain experts established a reference standard by manually annotating 282 reports to train and then test the NLP application. Findings of pleural effusion, pulmonary infiltrate, and pneumonia were automatically extracted from the reports and then used to automatically classify whether a report was consistent with bacterial pneumonia. Compared with the annotated diagnostic imaging reports reference standard, the most accurate implementation of machine learning algorithms in our NLP application allowed extracting relevant findings with a sensitivity of .939 and a positive predictive value of .925. It allowed classifying reports with a sensitivity of .71, a positive predictive value of .86, and a specificity of .962. When compared with each of the domain experts manually annotating these reports, the NLP application allowed for significantly higher sensitivity (.71 vs .527) and similar positive predictive value and specificity . NLP-based pneumonia information extraction of pediatric diagnostic imaging reports performed better than domain experts in this

  9. Modelling decision-making by pilots

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patrick, Nicholas J. M.

    1993-01-01

    Our scientific goal is to understand the process of human decision-making. Specifically, a model of human decision-making in piloting modern commercial aircraft which prescribes optimal behavior, and against which we can measure human sub-optimality is sought. This model should help us understand such diverse aspects of piloting as strategic decision-making, and the implicit decisions involved in attention allocation. Our engineering goal is to provide design specifications for (1) better computer-based decision-aids, and (2) better training programs for the human pilot (or human decision-maker, DM).

  10. Liverpool Telecare Pilot: case studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nigel Barnes

    2006-09-01

    Full Text Available Telecare services use information and communications technology (ICT to support the provision of care to people in their own homes. This paper describes a pilot telecare service employed by Liverpool (UK City Council to support a sample of their frail and elderly social services users. The pilot has been running for over two years and has been deployed for 21 individuals in Liverpool. In this paper we present the pilot system and provide real example cases which help to illustrate the benefits of such a system.

  11. 76 FR 56262 - Community Advantage Pilot Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-12

    ... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION [Docket No. SBA 2011-0003] Community Advantage Pilot Program AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). ACTION: Notice of change to Community Advantage Pilot... Community Advantage Pilot Program. In that notice, SBA modified or waived as appropriate certain regulations...

  12. 75 FR 80561 - Community Express Pilot Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-22

    ... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Community Express Pilot Program AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). ACTION: Notice of short-term extension and termination of the Community Express Pilot Program. SUMMARY: This notice announces the termination of the Community Express Pilot Program following a...

  13. A Prospective Trial of Ayurveda for Coronary Heart Disease: A Pilot Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DuBroff, Robert; Lad, Vasant; Murray-Krezan, Cristina

    2015-01-01

    Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, and its incidence is rapidly accelerating in developing nations. Patients often search for therapies that are alternatives to traditional treatments, such as heart medicines, coronary bypass surgery, or coronary stenting. Ayurveda is an ancient, East Indian, holistic approach to health care, and its use has never been formally evaluated for patients with coronary heart disease. The study intended to examine the feasibility and effectiveness of comprehensive ayurvedic therapy-incorporating diet, meditation, breathing exercises, yoga, and herbs-for patients with established coronary heart disease. The study was a prospective, single-group, pilot study. The study took place at the University of New Mexico Cardiology Clinic and at the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, NM, USA. The participants were adults with a history of a prior heart attack, coronary bypass surgery, or a coronary intervention (ie, a coronary angioplasty and/or stent). All enrolled patients were evaluated by a single ayurvedic physician with >40 y of experience, and each received therapy consisting of a calorically unrestricted ayurvedic diet; instruction in yoga, meditation, and breathing; and use of ayurvedic herbs. The primary endpoint was arterial pulse wave velocity, a marker of arterial function and vascular health. Secondary endpoints included the following measurements: (1) body mass index (BMI); (2) blood pressure (BP) and amount of reduction in BP medications; and (3) levels of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and triglycerides. All parameters were measured at baseline and after 90 d of therapy. Twenty-two patients were enrolled in the study, and 19 patients completed it. The research team observed significant improvements in arterial pulse wave velocity (P = .015), and favorable reductions in BMI (P ayurveda on arterial function and multiple risk

  14. Development and pilot of an international survey: 'Radiation Therapists and Psychosocial Support'.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elsner, Kelly L; Naehrig, Diana; Halkett, Georgia K B; Dhillon, Haryana M

    2018-06-07

    Up to one third of radiation therapy patients are reported to have unmet psychosocial needs. Radiation therapists (RTs) have daily contact with patients and can provide daily psychosocial support to reduce patient anxiety, fear and loneliness. However, RTs vary in their values, skills, training, knowledge and involvement in providing psychosocial support. The aims of this study were to: (1) develop an online survey instrument to explore RT values, skills, training and knowledge regarding patient anxiety and psychosocial support, and (2) pilot the instrument with RT professionals to assess content validity, functionality and length. An online cross-sectional survey, titled 'Radiation therapists and psychosocial support' was developed. Items included patient vignettes, embedded items from RT research, and the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL5). Four radiation oncology departments volunteered to pilot the survey; each nominated four RT staff to participate. Survey data were analysed descriptively and qualitative feedback grouped and coded to determine whether the survey needed to be refined. Thirteen of sixteen RTs completed the pilot survey and feedback form. Median time to completion was 35 mins, with 54% of respondents stating this was too long. Respondents reported content, questions and response options were relevant and appropriate. Feedback was used to: refine the survey instrument, minimise responder burden and drop out and improve functionality and quality of data collection. This pilot of the 'Radiation therapists and psychosocial support' survey instrument demonstrated content validity and usability. The main survey will be circulated to a representative sample of RTs for completion. © 2018 The Authors. Journal of Medical Radiation Sciences published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australian Society of Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy and New Zealand Institute of Medical Radiation Technology.

  15. 46 CFR 401.510 - Operation without Registered Pilots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 8 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Operation without Registered Pilots. 401.510 Section 401... REGULATIONS Penalties; Operations Without Registered Pilots § 401.510 Operation without Registered Pilots. (a... Registered Pilot when the vessel or its cargo is in distress or jeopardy. (b) A vessel may be navigated in...

  16. 46 CFR 78.90-1 - Pilot boarding operation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Pilot boarding operation. 78.90-1 Section 78.90-1... Boarding Operations § 78.90-1 Pilot boarding operation. (a) The master shall ensure that pilot boarding... instructions. (b) The master shall ensure compliance with the following during pilot boarding operations: (1...

  17. 46 CFR 96.40-1 - Pilot boarding equipment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Pilot boarding equipment. 96.40-1 Section 96.40-1... CONTROL AND MISCELLANEOUS SYSTEMS AND EQUIPMENT Pilot Boarding Equipment § 96.40-1 Pilot boarding... boat or other vessel. (b) Each vessel must have suitable pilot boarding equipment available for use on...

  18. 46 CFR 195.40-1 - Pilot boarding equipment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Pilot boarding equipment. 195.40-1 Section 195.40-1... CONTROL AND MISCELLANEOUS SYSTEMS AND EQUIPMENT Pilot Boarding Equipment § 195.40-1 Pilot boarding... boat or other vessel. (b) Each vessel must have suitable pilot boarding equipment available for use on...

  19. 46 CFR 35.01-55 - Pilot boarding operation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Pilot boarding operation. 35.01-55 Section 35.01-55... Requirements § 35.01-55 Pilot boarding operation. (a) The master shall ensure that pilot boarding equipment is... instructions. (b) The master shall ensure compliance with the following during pilot boarding operations: (1...

  20. Video Modeling for Teaching Daily Living Skills to Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Pilot Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meister, Christine; Salls, Joyce

    2015-01-01

    This pilot study investigated the efficacy of point-of-view video modeling as an intervention strategy to improve self-help skills in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A single-subject A-B design was implemented with eight school-aged children ages 7.5 years to 13.5 years. Six of the students participated in general education classes…

  1. Preparing Pilots for Takeoff

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ravage, Barbara

    2012-01-01

    Why would schools consider partnering with a vendor to operate a pilot? Why not just wait until the final product is released? For starters, pilots provide schools with a golden opportunity to get an early look at the software, take it for a test flight, and ask for changes tailored to their operating environment and business needs. In some cases,…

  2. Berkeley Lab Pilot on External Regulation of DOE National Laboratories by the U.S. NRC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zeman, Gary H.

    1999-01-01

    The US Department of Energy and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission entered into an agreement in November 1997 to pursue external regulation of radiation safety at DOE national laboratories through a Pilot Program of simulated regulation at 6-10 sites over a 2 year period. The Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), the oldest of the DOE national laboratories, volunteered and was selected as the first Pilot site. Based on the similarities and linkages between Berkeley Lab and nearby university research laboratories, Berkeley Lab seemed a good candidate for external regulation and a good first step in familiarizing NRC with the technical and institutional issues involved in regulating laboratories in the DOE complex. NRC and DOE team members visited Berkeley Lab on four occasions between October 1997 and January 1998 to carry out the Pilot. The first step was to develop a detailed Work Plan, then to carry out both a technical review of the radiation safety program and an examination of policy and regulatory issues. The Pilot included a public meeting held in Oakland, CA in December 1997. The Pilot concluded with NRC's assessment that Berkeley Lab has a radiation protection program adequate to protect workers, the public and the environment, and that it is ready to be licensed by the NRC with minor programmatic exceptions. A draft final report of the Pilot was prepared and circulated for comment as a NUREG document (dated May 7, 1998). The report's recommendations include extending NRC regulatory authority to cover all ionizing radiation sources (including accelerators, x-ray units, NARM) at Berkeley Lab. Questions remaining to be resolved include: who should be the licensee (DOE, the Lab, or both)?; dealing with legacy issues and NRC D and D requirements; minimizing dual oversight; quantifying value added in terms of cost savings, enhanced safety, and improved public perception; extrapolating results to other national laboratories; and

  3. GBEP pilot Ghana. Very valuable and successful - a follow-up is suggested. Conclusions and recommendations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hanekamp, E.; Vissers, P.; De Lint, S. [Partners for Innovation, Amsterdam (Netherlands)

    2013-02-15

    The Global Bio-Energy Partnership (GBEP) has developed a set of 24 sustainability indicators applicable to all forms of bio-energy and aimed at voluntary use by national governments. The GBEP indicators enable governments to assess the bio-energy sector and to develop new policies related to sustainable bio-energy production and use. These indicators have been piloted in Ghana. Modern bio-energy is a big opportunity for the region, which is why NL Agency adopted and supported the pilot, together with the Global Bio-Energy Partnership (GBEP). The pilot project also was supported by the ECOWAS Regional Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) and has been coordinated by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). The Ghana Energy Commission took the responsibility to involve policymakers. Partners for Innovation was commissioned by NL Agency to provide technical assistance for the pilot. The main aims of the project are: (a) Enhancing the capacity of the host country Ghana (and ECOWAS) to use the GBEP indicators as a tool for assessing the sustainability of its bio-energy sector and/or developing sustainable bio-energy policies; (b) Learning lessons on how to apply the indicators and how to enhance their practicality as a tool for policymakers and giving this as feedback to the GBEP community. Three Ghanaian research institutes (CSIR-FORIG, CSIR-IIR and UG-ISSER) have studied 11 out of the 24 GBEP indicators in the pilot. The pilot has been a success: the 24 sustainability criteria appear to be very valuable for Ghana. As such the indicators provide, also for other governments, a practical tool to assess sustainability of biomass sectors and policies. The report also shows important insights on data availability and quality, and on the applicability of the GBEP indicators in Ghana. The final report provides concrete recommendations on: (1) How Ghana can proceed with the GBEP sustainability indicators; and (2) The lessons learned for

  4. 77 FR 58208 - Airport Privatization Pilot Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-09-19

    ... Privatization Pilot Program AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT. ACTION: Notice of receipt of... International Airport, San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU) in the Airport Privatization Pilot Program and has determined....S.C. Section 47134 establishes an airport privatization pilot program and authorizes the Department...

  5. 75 FR 473 - Community Express Pilot Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-05

    ... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Community Express Pilot Program AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). ACTION: Notice of extension of the Community Express Pilot Program. SUMMARY: This notice extends the Community Express Pilot Program in its current form through December 31, 2010. Based upon the...

  6. 75 FR 1591 - Green Technology Pilot Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-12

    ... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Patent and Trademark Office Green Technology Pilot Program ACTION: Proposed... methods: E-mail: [email protected] . Include A0651-0062 Green Technology Pilot Program [email protected] in... (USPTO) is implementing a streamlined examination pilot program for patent applications pertaining to...

  7. Pilot aerial infrared roof top survey. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1979-10-15

    A summary is presented of a pilot aerial infrared roof top study conducted by the Minnesota Energy Agency. Infrared surveys of 27 Minnesota cities were conducted during the fall and winter of the 1976-1977 heating season. In addition, conventional daytime color photographs were taken of several cities. Film processing was done by the Environmental Protection Agency. The University of Minnesota conducted ground tests to verify the aerial infrared imagery. Thermograph dissemination centers were established in each city and training seminars and materials were prepared and delivered to dissemination center staff. A survey of homeowners who viewed their thermograph at a dissemination center were used to determine the energy savings resulting from the program. An Aerial Infrared Program Users Manual was prepared by the Energy Agency and the Remote Sensing Institute of Brookings, South Dakota.

  8. Decreasing Hospital Readmission in Ileostomy Patients: Results of Novel Pilot Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaffer, Virginia O; Owi, Tari; Kumarusamy, Mathu A; Sullivan, Patrick S; Srinivasan, Jahnavi K; Maithel, Shishir K; Staley, Charles A; Sweeney, John F; Esper, Greg

    2017-04-01

    Nearly 30% of patients with newly formed ileostomies require hospital readmission from severe dehydration or associated complications. This contributes to significant morbidity and rising healthcare costs associated with this procedure. Our aim was to design and pilot a novel program to decrease readmissions in this patient population. An agreement was established with Visiting Nurse Health System (VNHS) in March 2015 that incorporated regular home visits with clinical triggers to institute surgeon-supervised corrective measures aimed at preventing patient decompensation associated with hospital readmissions. Thirty-day readmission data for patients managed with and without VNHS support for 10.5 months before and after implementation of this new program were collected. Of 833 patients with small bowel procedures, 162 were ileostomies with 47 in the VNHS and 115 in the non-VNHS group. Before program implementation, VNHS (n = 24) and non-VNHS patients (n = 54) had similar readmission rates (20.8% vs 16.7%). After implementation, VNHS patients (n = 23) had a 58% reduction in hospital readmission (8.7%) and non-VNHS patient hospital readmissions (n = 61) increased slightly (24.5%). Total cost of readmissions per patient in the cohort decreased by >80% in the pilot VNHS group. Implementation of a novel program reduced the 30-day readmission rate by 58% and cost of readmissions per patient by >80% in a high risk for readmission patient population with newly created ileostomies. Future efforts will expand this program to a greater number of patients, both institutionally and systemically, to reduce the readmission-rate and healthcare costs for this high-risk patient population. Copyright © 2017 American College of Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. 46 CFR 32.90-1 - Pilot boarding equipment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Pilot boarding equipment. 32.90-1 Section 32.90-1... REQUIREMENTS Pilot Boarding Equipment § 32.90-1 Pilot boarding equipment. (a) This section applies to each... must have suitable pilot boarding equipment available for use on each side of the vessel. If a vessel...

  10. 46 CFR 196.95-1 - Pilot boarding operations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Pilot boarding operations. 196.95-1 Section 196.95-1... Pilot Boarding Operations § 196.95-1 Pilot boarding operations. (a) The master shall ensure that pilot boarding equipment is maintained as follows: (1) The equipment must be kept clean and in good working order...

  11. 46 CFR 77.40-1 - Pilot boarding equipment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Pilot boarding equipment. 77.40-1 Section 77.40-1... MISCELLANEOUS SYSTEMS AND EQUIPMENT Pilot Boarding Equipment § 77.40-1 Pilot boarding equipment. (a) This... vessel. (b) Each vessel must have suitable pilot boarding equipment available for use on each side of the...

  12. 46 CFR 97.90-1 - Pilot boarding operation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Pilot boarding operation. 97.90-1 Section 97.90-1... OPERATIONS Pilot Boarding Operations § 97.90-1 Pilot boarding operation. (a) The master shall ensure that pilot boarding equipment is maintained as follows: (1) The equipment must be kept clean and in good...

  13. Predicting Active Duty Air Force Pilot Attrition Given an Anticipated Increase in Major Airline Pilot Hiring

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-01-01

    the Air Force in addressing some quality-of-life issues, such as updating 3,800 family housing units, 21 dormitories, and building three child ...of pilots into the airlines (Air Force Personnel Center, FY 07). By allowing this crop of pilots to leave on the Air Force’s terms, the service felt...attrition rates compared with pilots with more general skills (flying mobility aircraft) (Stephen P. Barrows, 1993). This may be due to the phenomenon in

  14. Double stage dry-wet-fermentation - start-up of a pilot biogas plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Buschmann, Jeannette; Busch, Gunter; Burkhardt, Marko

    2009-01-01

    The Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU) has developed a double stage dry-wet fermentation process for fast and safe anaerobic degradation. Originally designed for treatment of organic wastes, this process allows using a wide variety of solid biodegradable materials. The dividing of hydrolysis and methanation in this process, allows an optimization of the different steps of biogas generation separately. The main advantages of the process are the optimum process control, an extremely stable process operation and a high gas productivity and quality. Compared to conventional processes, the retention times within the percolation stage (hydrolysis) are reduced considerably. In cooperation with the engineering and consulting company GICON, the technology was qualified further to an industrial scale. In 2007 a pilot plant, and, simultaneously, an industrial plant were built by GICON based on this double stage technology. Based on practical experience from the operation of laboratory fermentation plants, the commissioning of the pilot plant was planned, controlled and monitored by our institution. The start-up of a biogas plant of this type focuses mainly on the inoculation the of methane reactor. The growth of microbial populations and generation of a stable biocenosis within the methane reactor is essential and affects the duration of starting period as well as the methanation efficiency a long time afterwards. This paper concerns with start-up of a pilot biogas plant and discusses particular occurrences and effects during this period. (author)

  15. Analysis of empty ATLAS pilot jobs

    CERN Document Server

    AUTHOR|(INSPIRE)INSPIRE-00006364; The ATLAS collaboration; Dal Pra, S.; Di Girolamo, A.; Forti, A.; Templon, J.; Vamvakopoulos, E.

    2017-01-01

    In this analysis we quantify the wallclock time used by short empty pilot jobs on a number of WLCG compute resources. Pilot factory logs and site batch logs are used to provide independent accounts of the usage. Results show a wide variation of wallclock time used by short jobs depending on the site and queue, and changing with time. For a reference dataset of all jobs in August 2016, the fraction of wallclock time used by empty jobs per studied site ranged from 0.1% to 0.8%. The variation in wallclock usage may be explained by different workloads for each resource with a greater fraction when the workload is low. Aside from the wall time used by empty pilots, we also looked at how many pilots were empty as a fraction of all pilots sent. Binning the August dataset into days, empty fractions between 2% and 90% were observed.  The higher fractions correlate well with periods of few actual payloads being sent to the site.

  16. Prevalence of fatigue in a group of airline pilots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reis, Cátia; Mestre, Catarina; Canhão, Helena

    2013-08-01

    Fatigue is a common phenomenon in airline pilots that can impair alertness and ability of crewmembers to safely operate an aircraft and perform safety related tasks. Fatigue can increase the risk of an incident or even an accident. This study provides the first prevalence values for clinically significant fatigue in Portuguese airline pilots. The hypothesis that medium/short-haul pilots may currently present different levels of fatigue than long-haul pilots was also tested. A survey was conducted by requesting Portuguese airline pilots to complete questionnaires placed in the pilots' personal lockers from 1 April until 15 May 2012. The questionnaire included the self-response Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) to measure subjective fatigue and some additional questions concerning perception of fatigue by pilots. The prevalence values for total and mental fatigue achieved in the Portuguese airline pilots were: 89.3% (FSS > or = 4) and 94.1% (FSS > or = 4) when splitting the sample in two subsamples, long- and medium/short-haul pilots. Levels of total and mental fatigue were higher for medium/short-haul pilots. The analysis of fatigue levels in each type of aviator showed that medium/short-haul pilots presented the highest levels of total and mental fatigue. This study produced the first prevalence values of total and mental fatigue among Portuguese airline pilots, which represents a great step to understanding and addressing this critical phenomenon.

  17. Hospital branding in Italy: A pilot study based on the case method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Esposito, Annamaria

    2017-01-01

    The article investigates if, and in affirmative case how, Italian hospitals are managing corporate brand communication. Thanks to results of qualitative research, this article offers insights on Italian hospital branding. The pilot study based in the case method is to be considered a starting point for wider investigations on this topic, and it is useful for managers and practitioners who want to understand the role of corporate brand in hospital communication management and to connect health care professionals with the audience in a meaningful way in those countries in which the health care system is a mix of both public and private institutions.

  18. 78 FR 50399 - Spectrum Monitoring Pilot Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-19

    ... 130809703-3703-01] RIN 0660-XC007 Spectrum Monitoring Pilot Program AGENCY: National Telecommunications and... National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to design and conduct a pilot program to... investment for a two-year pilot program to determine the benefits of an automated spectrum measurement and...

  19. 75 FR 64692 - Green Technology Pilot Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-20

    ... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Patent and Trademark Office Green Technology Pilot Program ACTION: Proposed...- 0062 Green Technology Pilot Program comment'' in the subject line of the message. Fax: 571-273-0112... United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) implemented a pilot program on December 8, 2009, that...

  20. Reducing Air Force Fighter Pilot Shortages

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-12-31

    units). Pilot positions can be divided into two categories: absorbing and nonabsorbing. Absorbing positions are in operational units to which...Continued Attention to Aircrew Management Dynamics The primary source of stress in fighter- pilot management has been reductions in aircraft inventories...Fighter Pilot Shortages C O R P O R A T I O N Limited Print and Electronic Distribution Rights This document and trademark(s) contained herein are

  1. Simulator Investigation of Pilot Aids for Helicopter Terminal Area Operations with One Engine Inoperative

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iseler, Laura; Chen, Robert; Dearing, Munro; Decker, William; Aiken, Edwin W. (Technical Monitor)

    1995-01-01

    Two recent piloted simulation experiments have investigated advanced display concepts applied to civil transport helicopter terminal area operations. Civil Category A helicopter operations apply to multi-engine helicopters wherein a safe recovery (land or fly out) is required in the event of a single engine failure. The investigation used the NASA Ames Research Center Vertical Motion Simulator, which has a full six degrees of freedom, to simulate the flight task as closely as possible. The goal of these experiments was to use advanced cockpit displays to improve flight safety and enhance the mission performance of Category A terminal area operations in confined areas. The first experiment investigated the use of military display formats to assist civil rotorcraft in performing a Category A takeoff in confined terminal areas. Specifically, it addressed how well a difficult hovering backup path could be followed using conventional instruments in comparison to panel mounted integrated displays. The hovering backup takeoff, which enables pilots to land back to the confined area pad in the event of an engine failure, was chosen since it is a difficult task to perform. Seven NASA and Army test pilots participated in the experiment. Evaluations, based on task performance and pilot workload, showed that an integrated display enabled the pilot to consistently achieve adequate or desired performance with reasonable pilot workload. Use of conventional instruments, however, frequently resulted in unacceptable performance (poor flight path tracking), higher pilot workload, and poor situational awareness. Although OEI landbacks were considered a visual task, the improved performance on the backup portion, in conjunction with increased situational awareness resulting from use of integrated displays, enabled the pilots to handle an engine failure and land back safely. In contrast, use of conventional instruments frequently led to excessive rates of sink at touchdown. A second

  2. Evaluating priority setting success in healthcare: a pilot study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Upshur Ross

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background In healthcare today, decisions are made in the face of serious resource constraints. Healthcare managers are struggling to provide high quality care, manage resources effectively, and meet changing patient needs. Healthcare managers who are constantly making difficult resource decisions desire a way to improve their priority setting processes. Despite the wealth of existing priority setting literature (for example, program budgeting and marginal analysis, accountability for reasonableness, the 'describe-evaluate-improve' strategy there are still no tools to evaluate how healthcare resources are prioritised. This paper describes the development and piloting of a process to evaluate priority setting in health institutions. The evaluation process was designed to examine the procedural and substantive dimensions of priority setting using a multi-methods approach, including a staff survey, decision-maker interviews, and document analysis. Methods The evaluation process was piloted in a mid-size community hospital in Ontario, Canada while its leaders worked through their annual budgeting process. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to analyze the data. Results The evaluation process was both applicable to the context and it captured the budgeting process. In general, the pilot test provided support for our evaluation process and our definition of success, (i.e., our conceptual framework. Conclusions The purpose of the evaluation process is to provide a simple, practical way for an organization to better understand what it means to achieve success in its priority setting activities and identify areas for improvement. In order for the process to be used by healthcare managers today, modification and contextualization of the process are anticipated. As the evaluation process is applied in more health care organizations or applied repeatedly in an organization, it may become more streamlined.

  3. Long-term Outcome of Chondrosarcoma: A Single Institutional Experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bindiganavile, Srimanth; Han, Ilkyu; Yun, Ji Yeon; Kim, Han-Soo

    2015-10-01

    The prognostic factors of chondrosarcoma remain uncertain as only a few large studies with long-term follow-up have been reported. The aim of this study was to analyze oncological outcomes and prognostic factors. A retrospective review of oncological outcomes and prognostic factors was performed on 125 consecutive chondrosarcoma patients who underwent surgery at our institution. Overall survival was 91.6%±2.5%, 84.1%±3.8%, and 84.1%±3.8% at 5, 10, and 15 years respectively. Among the histological types, dedifferentiated type showed the worst survival (p chondrosarcoma, histologic grade and anatomical location predicted outcome, with high-grade with axial location having the worst outcome (p chondrosarcoma of appendicular skeleton could be treated safely by intralesional curettage. Histological type was significantly associated with the outcome of chondrosarcoma. For the conventional type, histologic grade and anatomical location predicted outcome, with high-grade with axial location having the worst outcome.

  4. Active Job Monitoring in Pilots

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuehn, Eileen; Fischer, Max; Giffels, Manuel; Jung, Christopher; Petzold, Andreas

    2015-12-01

    Recent developments in high energy physics (HEP) including multi-core jobs and multi-core pilots require data centres to gain a deep understanding of the system to monitor, design, and upgrade computing clusters. Networking is a critical component. Especially the increased usage of data federations, for example in diskless computing centres or as a fallback solution, relies on WAN connectivity and availability. The specific demands of different experiments and communities, but also the need for identification of misbehaving batch jobs, requires an active monitoring. Existing monitoring tools are not capable of measuring fine-grained information at batch job level. This complicates network-aware scheduling and optimisations. In addition, pilots add another layer of abstraction. They behave like batch systems themselves by managing and executing payloads of jobs internally. The number of real jobs being executed is unknown, as the original batch system has no access to internal information about the scheduling process inside the pilots. Therefore, the comparability of jobs and pilots for predicting run-time behaviour or network performance cannot be ensured. Hence, identifying the actual payload is important. At the GridKa Tier 1 centre a specific tool is in use that allows the monitoring of network traffic information at batch job level. This contribution presents the current monitoring approach and discusses recent efforts and importance to identify pilots and their substructures inside the batch system. It will also show how to determine monitoring data of specific jobs from identified pilots. Finally, the approach is evaluated.

  5. 75 FR 68018 - Airport Privatization Pilot Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-11-04

    ... Privatization Pilot Program AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT. ACTION: Notice of Receipt and... preliminary application for participation in the airport privatization pilot program received under 49 U.S.C... final application to the FAA for exemption under the pilot program. 49 U.S.C. Section 47134 establishes...

  6. 75 FR 39091 - Airport Privatization Pilot Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-07

    ... Privatization Pilot Program AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT. ACTION: Notice of Receipt and... application for participation in the airport privatization pilot program received under 49 U.S.C. 47134. The... application to the FAA for exemption under the pilot program. 49 U.S.C. 47134 establishes an airport...

  7. 75 FR 39090 - Airport Privatization Pilot Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-07

    ... Privatization Pilot Program AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT. ACTION: Notice of Receipt and... pilot program received under 49 U.S.C. Section 47134. The preliminary application is accepted for review... operator, negotiate an agreement and submit a final application to the FAA for exemption under the pilot...

  8. 77 FR 67433 - Community Advantage Pilot Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-09

    ... comments. SUMMARY: The Community Advantage (``CA'') Pilot Program is a pilot program to increase SBA... small businesses and entrepreneurs in underserved markets, SBA is issuing this Notice to extend the term... Pilot Program was introduced to increase the number of SBA-guaranteed loans made to small businesses in...

  9. PILOT STUDY: Report on the CCPR Pilot Comparison: Spectral Responsivity 10 nm to 20 nm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scholze, Frank; Vest, Robert; Saito, Terubumi

    2010-01-01

    The CCPR Pilot Comparison on spectral responsivity in the 10 nm to 20 nm spectral range was carried out within the framework of the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement by three laboratories: PTB (Germany), NIST (USA), and NMIJ/AIST (Japan) with PTB acting as the central and reporting laboratory. All participating laboratories used monochromatized synchrotron radiation. PTB and NIST used a cryogenic radiometer as the primary standard detector and NMIJ, an ionization chamber with extrapolation by a wavelength-independent detector. The aim of the pilot comparison was to check the accuracy of the radiometric scale of spectral responsivity in the short wavelength EUV spectral range which has recently gained in technological importance. The wavelengths of measurement were from 11.5 nm to 20 nm in 0.5 nm steps and additionally 12.2 nm. The comparison was carried out through the calibration of a group of transfer standard detectors. Two sets of three diodes of types AXUV and SXUV from International Radiation Detectors, Inc. were used for the comparison. The comparison had the form of a star comparison: Pilot-lab A-pilot-lab B-pilot, PTB acting as the pilot laboratory. All results were communicated directly to the pilot laboratory. The report describes in detail the measurements made at PTB and summarizes the reports submitted by the participants. Measurements carried out by the pilot laboratory before and after the circulation of the detectors proved that the stability of the detectors was sufficient for the comparison. For the type AXUV detectors, however, changes in their responsivity contributed to the uncertainty of the comparison. Measurement results from participants and their associated uncertainties were analyzed in this report according to the Guidelines for CCPR Comparison Report Preparation. The uncertainty contributions were separated, as to whether they are wavelength dependent or not. All bilateral DoE are well within the respective k = 2 expanded uncertainty

  10. Pilot test of ANSI draft standard N13.29 environmental dosimetry -- Performance criteria for testing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klemic, G.; Shebell, P.; Monetti, M.; Raccah, F.; Sengupta, S.

    1998-09-01

    American National Standards Institute Draft N13.29 describes performance tests for environmental radiation dosimetry providers. If approved it would be the first step toward applying the types of performance testing now required in personnel dosimetry to environmental radiation monitoring. The objective of this study was to pilot test the draft standard, before it undergoes final balloting, on a small group of dosimetry providers that were selected to provide a mix of facility types, thermoluminescent dosimeter designs and monitoring program applications. The first phase of the pilot test involved exposing dosimeters to laboratory photon, beta, and x-ray sources at routine and accident dose levels. In the second phase, dosimeters were subjected to ninety days of simulated environmental conditions in an environmental chamber that cycled through extremes of temperature and humidity. Two out of seven participants passed all categories of the laboratory testing phase, and all seven passed the environmental test phase. While some relatively minor deficiencies were uncovered in the course of the pilot test, the results show that draft N13.29 describes useful tests that could be appropriate for environmental dosimetry providers. An appendix to this report contains recommendations that should be addressed by the N13.29 working group before draft N13.29 is submitted for balloting

  11. Temperature Profile Measurements in a Newly Constructed 30-Stage 5 cm Centrifugal Contactor Pilot Plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garn, Troy G.; Meikrantz, Dave H.; Greenhalgh, Mitchell R.; Law, Jack D.

    2008-01-01

    An annular centrifugal contactor pilot plant incorporating 30 stages of commercial 5 cm CINC V-02 units has been built and operated at INL during the past year. The pilot plant includes an automated process control and data acquisitioning system. The primary purpose of the pilot plant is to evaluate the performance of a large number of inter-connected centrifugal contactors and obtain temperature profile measurements within a 30-stage cascade. Additional solvent extraction flowsheet testing using stable surrogates is also being considered. Preliminary hydraulic testing was conducted with all 30 contactors interconnected for continuous counter-current flow. Hydraulic performance and system operational tests were conducted successfully but with higher single-stage rotor speeds found necessary to maintain steady interstage flow at flowrates of 1 L/min and higher. Initial temperature profile measurements were also completed in this configuration studying the performance during single aqueous and two-phase counter-current flow at ambient and elevated inlet solution temperatures. Temperature profile testing of two discreet sections of the cascade required additional feed and discharge connections. Lamp oil, a commercially available alkane mixture of C14 to C18 chains, and tap water adjusted to pH 2 were the solution feeds for all the testing described in this report. Numerous temperature profiles were completed using a newly constructed 30-stage centrifugal contactor pilot plant. The automated process control and data acquisition system worked very well throughout testing. Temperature data profiles for an array of total flowrates (FT) and contactor rpm values for both single-phase and two-phase systems have been collected with selected profiles and comparisons reported. Total flowrates (FT) ranged from 0.5-1.4 L/min with rotor speeds from 3500-4000 rpm. Solution inlet temperatures ranging from ambient up to 50 C were tested. Ambient temperature testing shows that a small

  12. Preliminary Hydrogeologic Characterization Results from the Wallula Basalt Pilot Study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    B.P. McGrail; E. C. Sullivan; F. A. Spane; D. H. Bacon; G. Hund; P. D. Thorne; C. J. Thompson; S. P. Reidel; F. S. Colwell

    2009-12-01

    The DOE's Big Sky Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership has completed drilling the first continental flood basalt sequestration pilot borehole to a total depth (TD) of 4,110 feet on the Boise White Paper Mill property at Wallula, Washington. Site suitability was assessed prior to drilling by the 2007-2008 acquisition, processing and analysis of a four-mile, five-line three component seismic swath, which was processed as a single data-dense line. Analysis of the seismic survey data indicated a composite basalt formation thickness of {approx}8,000 feet and absence of major geologic structures (i.e., faults) along the line imaged by the seismic swath. Drilling of Wallula pilot borehole was initiated on January 13, 2009 and reached TD on April 6, 2009. Based on characterization results obtained during drilling, three basalt breccia zones were identified between the depth interval of 2,716 and 2,910 feet, as being suitable injection reservoir for a subsequent CO2 injection pilot study. The targeted injection reservoir lies stratigraphically below the massive Umtanum Member of the Grande Ronde Basalt, whose flow-interior section possesses regionally recognized low-permeability characteristics. The identified composite injection zone reservoir provides a unique and attractive opportunity to scientifically study the reservoir behavior of three inter-connected reservoir intervals below primary and secondary caprock confining zones. Drill cuttings, wireline geophysical logs, and 31one-inch diameter rotary sidewall cores provided geologic data for characterization of rock properties. XRF analyses of selected rock samples provided geochemical characterizations of the rocks and stratigraphic control for the basalt flows encountered by the Wallula pilot borehole. Based on the geochemical results, the pilot borehole was terminated in the Wapshilla Ridge 1 flow of the Grande Ronde Basalt Formation. Detailed hydrologic test characterizations of 12 basalt interflow

  13. 46 CFR 108.719 - Pilot boarding equipment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Pilot boarding equipment. 108.719 Section 108.719... AND EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous Equipment § 108.719 Pilot boarding equipment. (a) This section applies to... vessel must have suitable pilot boarding equipment available for use on each side of the vessel. If a...

  14. 46 CFR 109.347 - Pilot boarding equipment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Pilot boarding equipment. 109.347 Section 109.347... OPERATIONS Operation and Stowage of Safety Equipment § 109.347 Pilot boarding equipment. (a) The master or person in charge shall ensure that pilot boarding equipment is maintained as follows: (1) The equipment...

  15. Ergonomic evaluation of pilot oxygen mask designs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lee, W.; Yang, Xiaopeng; Jung, Daehan; Park, Seikwon; Kim, Heeeun; You, Heecheon

    2018-01-01

    A revised pilot oxygen mask design was developed for better fit to the Korean Air Force pilots’ faces. The present study compared an existing pilot oxygen mask and a prototype of the revised mask design with 88 Korean Air Force pilots in terms of subjective discomfort, facial contact pressure,

  16. The National Map - Missouri Pilot Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    ,

    2001-01-01

    Governments depend on a common set of geographic base information as a tool for economic and community development, land and natural resource management, and health and safety services. Emergency management and defense operations rely on this information. Private industry, nongovernmental organizations, and individual citizens use the same geographic data. Geographic information underpins an increasingly large part of the Nation's economy. Available geographic data often have the following problems: * They do not align with each other because layers are frequently created or revised separately, * They do not match across administrative boundaries because each producing organization uses different methods and standards, and * They are not up to date because of the complexity and cost of revision. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is developing The National Map to be a seamless, continuously maintained, and nationally consistent set of online, public domain, geographic base information to address these issues. The National Map will serve as a foundation for integrating, sharing, and using other data easily and consistently. In collaboration with other government agencies, the private sector, academia, and volunteer groups, the USGS will coordinate, integrate, and, where needed, produce and maintain base geographic data. The National Map will include digital orthorectified imagery; elevation data; vector data for hydrography, transportation, boundary, and structure features; geographic names; and land cover information. The data will be the source of revised paper topographic maps. Many technical and institutional issues must be resolved as The National Map is implemented. To begin the refinement of this new paradigm, pilot projects are being designed to identify and investigate these issues. The pilots are the foundation upon which future partnerships for data sharing and maintenance will be built.

  17. The National Map - Delaware Pilot Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    ,

    2001-01-01

    Governments depend on a common set of geographic base information as a tool for economic and community development, land and natural resource management, and health and safety services. Emergency management and defense operations rely on this information. Private industry, nongovernmental organizations, and individual citizens use the same geographic data. Geographic information underpins an increasingly large part of the Nation's economy. Available geographic data often have the following problems: * They do not align with each other because layers are frequently created or revised separately, * They do not match across administrative boundaries because each producing organization uses different methods and standards, and * They are not up to date because of the complexity and cost of revision. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is developing The National Map to be a seamless, continuously maintained, and nationally consistent set of online, public domain, geographic base information to address these issues. The National Map will serve as a foundation for integrating, sharing, and using other data easily and consistently. In collaboration with other government agencies, the private sector, academia, and volunteer groups, the USGS will coordinate, integrate, and, where needed, produce and maintain base geographic data. The National Map will include digital orthorectified imagery; elevation data; vector data for hydrography, transportation, boundary, and structure features; geographic names; and land cover information. The data will be the source of revised paper topographic maps. Many technical and institutional issues must be resolved as The National Map is implemented. To begin the refinement of this new paradigm, pilot projects are being designed to identify and investigate these issues. The pilots are the foundation upon which future partnerships for data sharing and maintenance will be built.

  18. The National Map - Pennsylvania Pilot Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    ,

    2001-01-01

    Governments depend on a common set of geographic base information as a tool for economic and community development, land and natural resource management, and health and safety services. Emergency management and defense operations rely on this information. Private industry, nongovernmental organizations, and individual citizens use the same geographic data. Geographic information underpins an increasingly large part of the Nation's economy. Available geographic data often have the following problems: * They do not align with each other because layers are frequently created or revised separately, * They do not match across administrative boundaries because each producing organization uses different methods and standards, and * They are not up to date because of the complexity and cost of revision. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is developing The National Map to be a seamless, continuously maintained, and nationally consistent set of online, public domain, geographic base information to address these issues. The National Map will serve as a foundation for integrating, sharing, and using other data easily and consistently. In collaboration with other government agencies, the private sector, academia, and volunteer groups, the USGS will coordinate, integrate, and, where needed, produce and maintain base geographic data. The National Map will include digital orthorectified imagery; elevation data; vector data for hydrography, transportation, boundary, and structure features; geographic names; and land cover information. The data will be the source of revised paper topographic maps. Many technical and institutional issues must be resolved as The National Map is implemented. To begin the refinement of this new paradigm, pilot projects are being designed to identify and investigate these issues. The pilots are the foundation upon which future partnerships for data sharing and maintenance will be built.

  19. The National Map - Texas Pilot Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    ,

    2001-01-01

    Governments depend on a common set of geographic base information as a tool for economic and community development, land and natural resource management, and health and safety services. Emergency management and defense operations rely on this information. Private industry, nongovernmental organizations, and individual citizens use the same geographic data. Geographic information underpins an increasingly large part of the Nation's economy. Available geographic data often have the following problems: * They do not align with each other because layers are frequently created or revised separately, * They do not match across administrative boundaries because each producing organization uses different methods and standards, and * They are not up to date because of the complexity and cost of revision. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is developing The National Map to be a seamless, continuously maintained, and nationally consistent set of online, public domain, geographic base information to address these issues. The National Map will serve as a foundation for integrating, sharing, and using other data easily and consistently. In collaboration with other government agencies, the private sector, academia, and volunteer groups, the USGS will coordinate, integrate, and, where needed, produce and maintain base geographic data. The National Map will include digital orthorectified imagery; elevation data; vector data for hydrography, transportation, boundary, and structure features; geographic names; and land cover information. The data will be the source of revised paper topographic maps. Many technical and institutional issues must be resolved as The National Map is implemented. To begin the refinement of this new paradigm, pilot projects are being designed to identify and investigate these issues. The pilots are the foundation upon which future partnerships for data sharing and maintenance will be built.

  20. The National Map - Florida Pilot Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    ,

    2001-01-01

    Governments depend on a common set of geographic base information as a tool for economic and community development, land and natural resource management, and health and safety services. Emergency management and defense operations rely on this information. Private industry, nongovernmental organizations, and individual citizens use the same geographic data. Geographic information underpins an increasingly large part of the Nation's economy. Available geographic data often have the following problems: * They do not align with each other because layers are frequently created or revised separately, * They do not match across administrative boundaries because each producing organization uses different methods and standards, and * They are not up to date because of the complexity and cost of revision. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is developing The National Map to be a seamless, continuously maintained, and nationally consistent set of online, public domain, geographic base information to address these issues. The National Map will serve as a foundation for integrating, sharing, and using other data easily and consistently. In collaboration with other government agencies, the private sector, academia, and volunteer groups, the USGS will coordinate, integrate, and, where needed, produce and maintain base geographic data. The National Map will include digital orthorectified imagery; elevation data; vector data for hydrography, transportation, boundary, and structure features; geographic names; and land cover information. The data will be the source of revised paper topographic maps. Many technical and institutional issues must be resolved as The National Map is implemented. To begin the refinement of this new paradigm, pilot projects are being designed to identify and investigate these issues. The pilots are the foundation upon which future partnerships for data sharing and maintenance will be built.

  1. A Social Media Peer Group Intervention for Mothers to Prevent Obesity and Promote Healthy Growth from Infancy: Development and Pilot Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gruver, Rachel S; Bishop-Gilyard, Chanelle T; Lieberman, Alexandra; Gerdes, Marsha; Virudachalam, Senbagam; Suh, Andrew W; Kalra, Gurpreet K; Magge, Sheela N; Shults, Justine; Schreiner, Mark S; Power, Thomas J; Berkowitz, Robert I; Fiks, Alexander G

    2016-08-02

    of participants as well as the requirements of the local institutional review board (IRB), which included use of a "secret" group and frequent screening of participant posts. Clinicians, 97% (29/30) women and 87% (26/30) pediatricians, preferred no direct involvement in the intervention, but were supportive of their patients' participation. In our 8-week, single group pilot trial, all participants (mean BMI 35 kg/m(2), all Medicaid-insured, mean age 28, all Black) viewed every weekly video post, and interacted frequently, with a weekly average of 4.4 posts/comments from each participant. All participant posts were related to parenting topics. Participants initiated conversations about behaviors related to healthy infant growth including solid food introduction, feeding volume, and managing stress. All 8 pilot group participants reported that they found the group helpful and would recommend it to others. Our methodology was feasible and acceptable to low-income mothers of infants at high risk of obesity, and could be adapted to implement peer groups through social media for underserved populations in varied settings. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01977105; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01977105 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6iMFfOBat).

  2. Institute for Safety Research. Annual report 1992

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weiss, F.P.; Boehmert, J.

    1993-11-01

    The Institute is concerned with evaluating the design based safety and increasing the operational safety of technical systems which include serious sources of danger. It is further occupied with methods of mitigating the effects of incidents and accidents. For all these goals the institute does research work in the following fields: modelling and simulation of thermofluid dynamics and neutron kinetics in cases of accidents; two-phase measuring techniques; safety-related analyses and characterizing of mechanical behaviours of material; measurements and calculations of radiation fields; process and plant diagnostics; development and application of methods of decision analysis. This annual report gives a survey of projects and scientific contributions (e.g. Single rod burst tests with ZrNb1 cladding), lists publications, institute seminars and workshops, names the personal staff and describes the organizational structure. (orig./HP)

  3. Helical Tomotherapy Versus Single-Arc Intensity-Modulated Arc Therapy: A Collaborative Dosimetric Comparison Between Two Institutions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rong Yi; Tang, Grace; Welsh, James S.; Mohiuddin, Majid M.; Paliwal, Bhudatt; Yu, Cedric X.

    2011-01-01

    Purpose: Both helical tomotherapy (HT) and single-arc intensity-modulated arc therapy (IMAT) deliver radiation using rotational beams with multileaf collimators. We report a dual-institution study comparing dosimetric aspects of these two modalities. Methods and Materials: Eight patients each were selected from the University of Maryland (UMM) and the University of Wisconsin Cancer Center Riverview (UWR), for a total of 16 cases. Four cancer sites including brain, head and neck (HN), lung, and prostate were selected. Single-arc IMAT plans were generated at UMM using Varian RapidArc (RA), and HT plans were generated at UWR using Hi-Art II TomoTherapy. All 16 cases were planned based on the identical anatomic contours, prescriptions, and planning objectives. All plans were swapped for analysis at the same time after final approval. Dose indices for targets and critical organs were compared based on dose-volume histograms, the beam-on time, monitor units, and estimated leakage dose. After the disclosure of comparison results, replanning was done for both techniques to minimize diversity in optimization focus from different operators. Results: For the 16 cases compared, the average beam-on time was 1.4 minutes for RA and 4.8 minutes for HT plans. HT provided better target dose homogeneity (7.6% for RA and 4.2% for HT) with a lower maximum dose (110% for RA and 105% for HT). Dose conformation numbers were comparable, with RA being superior to HT (0.67 vs. 0.60). The doses to normal tissues using these two techniques were comparable, with HT showing lower doses for more critical structures. After planning comparison results were exchanged, both techniques demonstrated improvements in dose distributions or treatment delivery times. Conclusions: Both techniques created highly conformal plans that met or exceeded the planning goals. The delivery time and total monitor units were lower in RA than in HT plans, whereas HT provided higher target dose uniformity.

  4. Evaluation report. Pilot - Trondheim and Elverum : Energy labeling of houses; Evalueringsrapport. Pilot - Trondheim og Elverum : Energimerking av boliger

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    2009-05-15

    This report is an evaluation of the pilot project related to energy labeling of buildings. The document provides reviews of communication initiatives that have been implemented in the pilot. In addition, comments on the usability of the Online Energy Label system. Last in the document the recommendations for national roll-out of energy labeling of buildings, based on experiences from the pilot. (AG)

  5. SILC for SILC: Single Institution Learning Curve for Single-Incision Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chee Wei Tay

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Objectives. We report the single-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy (SILC learning experience of 2 hepatobiliary surgeons and the factors that could influence the learning curve of SILC. Methods. Patients who underwent SILC by Surgeons A and B were studied retrospectively. Operating time, conversion rate, reason for conversion, identity of first assistants, and their experience with previous laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC were analysed. CUSUM analysis is used to identify learning curve. Results. Hundred and nineteen SILC cases were performed by Surgeons A and B, respectively. Eight cases required additional port. In CUSUM analysis, most conversion occurred during the first 19 cases. Operating time was significantly lower (62.5 versus 90.6 min, P = 0.04 after the learning curve has been overcome. Operating time decreases as the experience increases, especially Surgeon B. Most conversions are due to adhesion at Calot’s triangle. Acute cholecystitis, patients’ BMI, and previous surgery do not seem to influence conversion rate. Mean operating times of cases assisted by first assistant with and without LC experience were 48 and 74 minutes, respectively (P = 0.004. Conclusion. Nineteen cases are needed to overcome the learning curve of SILC. Team work, assistant with CLC experience, and appropriate equipment and technique are the important factors in performing SILC.

  6. Inhaled PGE1 in neonates with hypoxemic respiratory failure: two pilot feasibility randomized clinical trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sood, Beena G; Keszler, Martin; Garg, Meena; Klein, Jonathan M; Ohls, Robin; Ambalavanan, Namasivayam; Cotten, C Michael; Malian, Monica; Sanchez, Pablo J; Lakshminrusimha, Satyan; Nelin, Leif D; Van Meurs, Krisa P; Bara, Rebecca; Saha, Shampa; Das, Abhik; Wallace, Dennis; Higgins, Rosemary D; Shankaran, Seetha

    2014-12-12

    Inhaled nitric oxide (INO), a selective pulmonary vasodilator, has revolutionized the treatment of neonatal hypoxemic respiratory failure (NHRF). However, there is lack of sustained improvement in 30 to 46% of infants. Aerosolized prostaglandins I2 (PGI2) and E1 (PGE1) have been reported to be effective selective pulmonary vasodilators. The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of inhaled PGE1 (IPGE1) in NHRF. Two pilot multicenter phase II RCTs are included in this report. In the first pilot, late preterm and term neonates with NHRF, who had an oxygenation index (OI) of ≥15 and <25 on two arterial blood gases and had not previously received INO, were randomly assigned to receive two doses of IPGE1 (300 and 150 ng/kg/min) or placebo. The primary outcome was the enrollment of 50 infants in six to nine months at 10 sites. The first pilot was halted after four months for failure to enroll a single infant. The most common cause for non-enrollment was prior initiation of INO. In a re-designed second pilot, co-administration of IPGE1 and INO was permitted. Infants with suboptimal response to INO received either aerosolized saline or IPGE1 at a low (150 ng/kg/min) or high dose (300 ng/kg/min) for a maximum duration of 72 hours. The primary outcome was the recruitment of an adequate number of patients (n = 50) in a nine-month-period, with fewer than 20% protocol violations. No infants were enrolled in the first pilot. Seven patients were enrolled in the second pilot; three in the control, two in the low-dose IPGE1, and two in the high-dose IPGE1 groups. The study was halted for recruitment futility after approximately six months as enrollment targets were not met. No serious adverse events, one minor protocol deviation and one pharmacy protocol violation were reported. These two pilot RCTs failed to recruit adequate eligible newborns with NHRF. Complex management RCTs of novel therapies for persistent pulmonary

  7. High intensity interior aircraft noise increases the risk of high diastolic blood pressure in Indonesian Air Force pilots

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Minarma Siagian

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Aim: To analyze the effects of aircraft noise, resting pulse rate, and other factors on the risk of high diastolic blood pressure (DBP in Indonesian Air Force pilots.Methods: A nested case-control study was conducted using data extracted from annual medical check-ups indoctrination aerophysiologic training records at the Saryanto Aviation and Aerospace Health Institute (LAKESPRA in Jakarta from January 2003 – September 2008. For analysis of DBP: the case group with DBP ≥ 90 mmHg were compared with contral group with DBP < 79 mmHG. One case matched to 12 controls.Results: Out of 567 pilots, 544 (95.9% had complete medical records. For this analysis there were 40 cases of high DBP and 480 controls for DBP. Pilots exposed to aircraft noise 90-95 dB rather than 70-80 dB had a 2.7-fold increase for high DBP [adjusted odds ratio (ORa = 2.70; 95% confi dence interval (CI = 1.05-6.97]. Pilots with resting pulse rates of ≥ 81/minute rather than ≤ 80/minute had a 2.7-fold increase for high DBP (ORa = 2.66; 95% CI = 1.26-5.61. In terms of total fl ight hours, pilots who had 1401-11125 hours rather than 147-1400 hours had a 3.2-fold increase for high DBP (ORa = 3.18; 95% CI = 1.01-10.03.Conclusion: High interior aircraft noise, high total flight hours,  and high resting pulse rate, increased risk for high DBP. Self assessment of resting pulse rate can be used to control the risk of high DBP. (Med J Indones 2009; 276: 276-82Keywords: diastolic blood pressure, aircraft noise, resting pulse rate, military pilots

  8. Medulloblastoma in adults. A retrospective single institution analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hadi, Indrawati; Roengvoraphoj, Olarn; Niyazi, Maximilian; Nachbichler, Silke Birgit [LMU Munich, Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital, Munich (Germany); Roeder, Falk [LMU Munich, Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital, Munich (Germany); German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Molecular Radiation Oncology, Heidelberg (Germany); Schueller, Ulrich [University Medical Center, Institute of Neuropathology, Hamburg-Eppendorf (Germany); Research Institute Children' s Cancer Center, Hamburg (Germany); University Medical Center, Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Hamburg-Eppendorf (Germany); Belka, Claus [LMU Munich, Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital, Munich (Germany); German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Munich (Germany)

    2018-03-15

    Adult medulloblastoma is a rare disease treated according to the current pediatric treatment guidelines. This retrospective analysis investigated the clinical outcomes and prognostic factors of adult medulloblastoma patients, who received multimodal therapy at our institution. Treatment charts of all patients over the age of 15 years of age with de novo medulloblastoma, who had been treated at our institution between 2001 and 2014, were retrospectively analyzed. Patients' demographic parameters, initial symptoms, treatment modalities, toxicities, and survival outcomes were investigated. In all, 21 patients with a median age of 30.2 years were identified. The most frequent histologies were desmoplastic and classic, and the most common molecular subtype was sonic hedgehog (SHH). After tumor resection, all patients received craniospinal irradiation (median dose 35.2 Gy) and a boost to the posterior fossa (median dose 19.8 Gy). Simultaneous chemotherapy with vincristine was given to 20 patients and sequential chemotherapy to 15 patients. The most common side effects were hematological toxicities. Median overall survival (OS) has not been reached after a median follow-up of 92 months. Estimated 5- and 10-year OS was 89 and 80%, respectively. Estimated 5- and 10-year progression-free survival (PFS) was 89 and 81%, respectively. In univariate analysis, a shorter interval between tumor resection and end of irradiation was significantly associated with improved OS and PFS, anaplastic histology with worse OS and PFS. The combined modality treatment showed a good outcome in adults with medulloblastoma. Treatment time was revealed to be prognostic and should be kept as short as possible. (orig.) [German] Das Medulloblastom des Erwachsenen ist eine seltene Erkrankung, die analog paediatrischer Behandlungsprotokolle therapiert wird. Diese retrospektive Analyse untersuchte die klinischen Ergebnisse und prognostischen Faktoren von erwachsenen Medulloblastompatienten, die eine

  9. 75 FR 51058 - Web-Distributed Labeling User Acceptance Pilot

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-08-18

    ... Acceptance Pilot AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: EPA's Office of...- distributed labeling ``User Acceptance Pilot'' and is soliciting interest from entities potentially willing to participate in this pilot program. Through the User Acceptance Pilot, EPA intends to demonstrate how users...

  10. 14 CFR 21.37 - Flight test pilot.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Flight test pilot. 21.37 Section 21.37... PROCEDURES FOR PRODUCTS AND PARTS Type Certificates § 21.37 Flight test pilot. Each applicant for a normal... holding an appropriate pilot certificate to make the flight tests required by this part. [Doc. No. 5085...

  11. Improvements of diesel combustion with pilot and main injections at different piston positions; Piston iso wo koryoshita pilot funsha ni yoru diesel nenshono kaizen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, C.; Ogawa, H.; Miyamoto, N. [Hokkaido University, Sapporo (Japan); Sakai, A. [Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., Tokyo (Japan)

    2000-06-25

    The fuel spray distribution in a DI diesel engine with a pilot injection was actively controlled by pilot and main fuel injections at different piston positions to avoid the main fuel injection from hitting the pilot flame. A CFD analysis demonstrated that the movement of the piston with a cavity divided by a central lip along the center of the sidewall effectively separated the cores of the pilot and main fuel sprays. The experiments showed that more smoke was emitted with pilot injection in an ordinary cavity without the central lip while smokeless and low NO{sub x} operation was realized with pilot injection in a cavity divided by a central lip even at heavy loads where ordinary operation without pilot injection emitted smoke so much. The indicated specific energy consumption ISEC was a little bit higher with the pilot injection, mainly because of the reduction in the degree of constant volume combustion. With the advanced pilot injection, ISEC was improved more than that with the retarded pilot injection while the NO{sub x} is a little higher than the retarded pilot injection maintaining still much lower than in ordinary operation. (author)

  12. Elementary education in the correctional institution in Valjevo

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Milak Siniša

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Education of the residents in correctional institutions for juveniles has not a long tradition in our country. That is the reason why many questions linked to the organization and forms of their education, especially elementary education, remain open. The scope of this article is to present the process of acquiring elementary education of the residents in the correctional institution for juveniles. Since the Correctional Institute in Valjevo is the only institution for juveniles in our country at the moment, in which juvenile offenders spend their time penalties, the question of their education in the institution is worth our attention. The paper presents the results of a qualitative research conducted in this institution. The exeminees were the teachers who teach the residents in the school which is within the Correctional Institute in Valjevo. The teachers evaluated the existing organization and education of residents mainly positively, and singled out only some financial, space, and technical problems. The research pointed out the importance and value of this form of education for the residents, especially for their subsequent resocialization and integration in the society after leaving the Institute, as well as the importance of pedagogy for solving the problems of educating residents of correctional instutions for juveniles.

  13. Cardiovascular investigations of airline pilots with excessive cardiovascular risk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wirawan, I Made Ady; Aldington, Sarah; Griffiths, Robin F; Ellis, Chris J; Larsen, Peter D

    2013-06-01

    This study examined the prevalence of airline pilots who have an excessive cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk score according to the New Zealand Guideline Group (NZGG) Framingham-based Risk Chart and describes their cardiovascular risk assessment and investigations. A cross-sectional study was performed among 856 pilots employed in an Oceania based airline. Pilots with elevated CVD risk that had been previously evaluated at various times over the previous 19 yr were reviewed retrospectively from the airline's medical records, and the subsequent cardiovascular investigations were then described. There were 30 (3.5%) pilots who were found to have 5-yr CVD risk score of 10-15% or higher. Of the 29 pilots who had complete cardiac investigations data, 26 pilots underwent exercise electrocardiography (ECG), 2 pilots progressed directly to coronary angiograms and 1 pilot with abnormal echocardiogram was not examined further. Of the 26 pilots, 7 had positive or borderline exercise tests, all of whom subsequently had angiograms. One patient with a negative exercise test also had a coronary angiogram. Of the 9 patients who had coronary angiograms as a consequence of screening, 5 had significant disease that required treatment and 4 had either trivial disease or normal coronary arteries. The current approach to investigate excessive cardiovascular risk in pilots relies heavily on exercise electrocardiograms as a diagnostic test, and may not be optimal either to detect disease or to protect pilots from unnecessary invasive procedures. A more comprehensive and accurate cardiac investigation algorithm to assess excessive CVD risk in pilots is required.

  14. Pilot factory - a Condor-based system for scalable Pilot Job generation in the Panda WMS framework

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chiu, Po-Hsiang; Potekhin, Maxim

    2010-01-01

    The Panda Workload Management System is designed around the concept of the Pilot Job - a 'smart wrapper' for the payload executable that can probe the environment on the remote worker node before pulling down the payload from the server and executing it. Such design allows for improved logging and monitoring capabilities as well as flexibility in Workload Management. In the Grid environment (such as the Open Science Grid), Panda Pilot Jobs are submitted to remote sites via mechanisms that ultimately rely on Condor-G. As our experience has shown, in cases where a large number of Panda jobs are simultaneously routed to a particular remote site, the increased load on the head node of the cluster, which is caused by the Pilot Job submission, may lead to overall lack of scalability. We have developed a Condor-inspired solution to this problem, which is using the schedd-based glidein, whose mission is to redirect pilots to the native batch system. Once a glidein schedd is installed and running, it can be utilized exactly the same way as local schedds and therefore, from the user's perspective, Pilots thus submitted are quite similar to jobs submitted to the local Condor pool.

  15. Enlisted or Officer Drone Pilots

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    the property of the United States government. AU/ACSC/Rafnson, Gary B/AY10 3 Abstract This paper compares remotely piloted aircraft— drones ...operations in both the US Army and US Air Force. It argues that officers should continue to pilot Air Force drones because of the increased risks and

  16. Patterns of care and treatment outcomes for primary thyroid lymphoma: A single institution study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cha, Hye Jung; Kim, Jun Won; Suh, Chang Ok; Kim, Jin Seok; Cheong, June Won; Lee, Jeong Shim; Keum, Ki Chang; Lee, Chang Geol; Cho, Jae Ho [Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2013-12-15

    The aim of this study was to analyze the patterns of care and treatment outcomes in patients with primary thyroid lymphoma (PTL) in a single institution. Medical records of 29 patients with PTL treated between April 1994 and February 2012 were retrospectively reviewed. Diagnosis was confirmed by biopsy (n = 17) or thyroidectomy (n = 12). Treatment modality and outcome were analyzed according to lymphoma grade. The median follow-up was 43.2 months (range, 3.8 to 220.8 months). The median age at diagnosis was 57 years (range, 21 to 83 years) and 24 (82.8%) patients were female. Twenty-five (86.2%) patients had PTL with stage IEA and IIEA. There were 8 (27.6%) patients with mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma and the remaining patients had high-grade lymphoma. Patients were treated with surgery (n = 2), chemotherapy (n = 7), radiotherapy (n = 3) alone, or a combination of these methods (n = 17). Treatment modalities evolved over time and a combination of modalities was preferred, especially for the treatment of high-grade lymphoma in recent years. There was no death or relapse among MALT lymphoma patients. Among high-grade lymphoma patients, 5-year overall survival (OS) and 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) were 75.6% and 73.9%, respectively. Complete remission after initial treatment was the only significant prognostic factor for OS (p = 0.037) and PFS (p = 0.003). Patients with PTL showed a favorable outcome, especially with MALT lymphoma. Radiotherapy alone for MALT lymphoma and chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy for high-grade lymphoma can be effective treatment options for PTL.

  17. A clinical analysis of hypopharyngeal carcinoma. Single institution outcomes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Furukawa, Tatsuya; Iwae, Shigemichi; Hirayama, Yuji; Teshima, Masanori; Soejima, Toshinori; Tsujino, Kayoko; Ota, Yosuke

    2013-01-01

    We report the treatment outcomes of 195 patients with hypopharyngeal carcinoma treated at our institute during the nine-year period between 2001 and 2009. The five-year overall survival rate and cause-specific survival rate of all patients except for M1 cases were 47.7% and 56.8%. The five-year cause-specific survival rates of patients with Stage I, II, III, IV A and IV B were 80.2%, 86.9%, 66.8%, 45.5 and 0.0%, respectively. We consider that TPLE and concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) are standard treatments. We select CCRT for patients of complete response (CR) or partial response (PR) after induction chemotherapy. The five-year cause-specific survival rate of the induction chemotherapy (ICT) good response (CCRT) group, good response (TPLE) group, poor response (CCRT) group, and poor response (TPLE) group were 68.7%, 65.6%, 53.6%, and 32.9%, respectively. Patients of the good response (CCRT) group had a good prognosis, but patients of the poor response (TPLE) group had a poor prognosis. (author)

  18. The effectiveness of airline pilot training for abnormal events.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casner, Stephen M; Geven, Richard W; Williams, Kent T

    2013-06-01

    To evaluate the effectiveness of airline pilot training for abnormal in-flight events. Numerous accident reports describe situations in which pilots responded to abnormal events in ways that were different from what they had practiced many times before. One explanation for these missteps is that training and testing for these skills have become a highly predictable routine for pilots who arrive to the training environment well aware of what to expect. Under these circumstances, pilots get plentiful practice in responding to abnormal events but may get little practice in recognizing them and deciding which responses to offer. We presented 18 airline pilots with three abnormal events that are required during periodic training and testing. Pilots were presented with each event under the familiar circumstances used during training and also under less predictable circumstances as they might occur during flight. When presented in the routine ways seen during training, pilots gave appropriate responses and showed little variability. However, when the abnormal events were presented unexpectedly, pilots' responses were less appropriate and showed great variability from pilot to pilot. The results suggest that the training and testing practices used in airline training may result in rote-memorized skills that are specific to the training situation and that offer modest generalizability to other situations. We recommend a more complete treatment of abnormal events that allows pilots to practice recognizing the event and choosing and recalling the appropriate response. The results will aid the improvement of existing airline training practices.

  19. Patients come from populations and populations contain patients. A two-stage scientific and ethics review: The next adaptation for single institutional review boards.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knopman, David; Alford, Eli; Tate, Kaitlin; Long, Mark; Khachaturian, Ara S

    2017-08-01

    For nearly 50 years, institutional review boards (IRB) and independent ethics committees have featured local oversight as a core function of research ethics reviews. However growing complexity in Alzheimer's clinical research suggests current approaches to research volunteer safety is hampering development of new therapeutics. As a partial response to this challenge, the NIH has mandated that all NIH-funded multi-site studies will use a single Institutional Review Board. The perspective describes a joint program to provide a single IRB of record (sIRB) for phases of multi-site studies. The approach follows two steps. One, an expert Scientific Review Committee (SRC) of senior researchers in the field will conduct the review principally of scientific merit, significance, feasibility, and the likelihood of meaningful results. The second step will be the IRB's regulatory and ethics review. The IRB will apply appropriate regulatory criteria for approval including minimization of risks to subjects and risks reasonable in relation to anticipated benefits, equitable subject selection, informed consent, protections for vulnerable populations, and application of local context considerations, among others. There is a steady demand for scientific, ethical and regulatory review of planned Alzheimer's studies. As of January 15, 2017, there are nearly 400 open studies, Phase II and III, industry and NIH sponsored trials on disease indications affecting memory, movement and mood in the US. The effort will initially accept protocols for studies of Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and related disorders effecting memory, movement and mood. Future aims will be to provide scientific review and, where applicable, regulatory and ethical review in an international context outside North America with sites possibly in Asia, Europe and Australia. Copyright © 2017 the Alzheimer's Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Pilot Implementations as an Approach to Infrastructure

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Manikas, Maria Ie; Torkilsheyggi, Arnvør Martinsdóttir á

    In this paper we introduce pilot implementation, a supplement to information systems development, as an approach to study and design work infrastructures. We report from two pilot implementations in the Danish healthcare, which showed signs of grappling with aligning the past, present...... and the future while using a pilot system in real use situations and with real users. Based on our initial findings we believe that pilot implementations can address some of the challenges of studying infrastructures, because they make the infrastructure visible and because they can integrate the long......-term with the short-term aspects. The paper is based on work-in-progress and the purpose is not as much to make conclusions as to spark discussion about whether pilot implementations could offer a way to study and design work infrastructures during information system development....

  1. 14 CFR 91.1055 - Pilot operating limitations and pairing requirement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Pilot operating limitations and pairing... Ownership Operations Program Management § 91.1055 Pilot operating limitations and pairing requirement. (a... aircraft being flown, and the pilot in command is not an appropriately qualified check pilot, the pilot in...

  2. Physiological Indices of Pilots' Abilities Under Varying Task Demands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zhen; Zheng, Lingxiao; Lu, Yanyu; Fu, Shan

    2016-04-01

    This study investigated pilots' ability by examining the effects of flight experience and task demand on physiological reactions, and analyzing the diagnostic meanings underlying correlated parameters. A total of 12 experienced pilots and 12 less experienced pilots performed 4 simulated flight tasks, including normal and emergency situations. Fixation duration (FD), saccade rate (SR), blink rate (BR), heart rate (HR), respiration rate (RR), and respiration amplitude (RA) were measured during the tasks. More experienced pilots adapted their SR flexibly to changing task demands and had significantly lower SR than less experienced pilots during emergency tasks (29.6 ± 20.0 vs. 70.1 ± 67.1 saccades/min). BR, HR, and RR were affected by pilot experience but not by task demand. More experienced pilots had lower BR, HR, and RR than less experienced pilots during both normal tasks (BR: 14.3 ± 13.0 vs. 32.9 ± 25.8 blinks/min; HR: 72.7 ± 7.9 vs. 83.2 ± 7.2 bpm; RR: 15.4 ± 2.1 vs. 19.5 ± 5.2 breaths/min) and emergency tasks (BR: 10.2 ± 5.0 vs. 32.3 ± 20.8 blinks/min; HR: 73.3 ± 7.3 vs. 82.2 ± 11.6 bpm; RR: 15.6 ± 1.9 vs. 18.0 ± 3.2 breaths/min). FD and RA were not sensitive to either flight experience or task demand. Physiological reactions have the potential to reflect pilots' ability from different aspects. SR and BR could indicate pilots' differences in information access strategy. HR and RR could reflect a pilot's physical fitness. These findings are useful for understanding a pilot's ability.

  3. Referral to a Commercial Weight Management Program in Patients With Coronary Heart Disease: A PILOT STUDY IN THE NETHERLANDS

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Minneboo, Madelon; Peters, Ron J. G.; Miller-Kovach, Karen; Lemmens, Jeanine; Bucx, Jeroen J. J.

    2015-01-01

    To quantify the impact of a commercial weight management program on weight change in obese patients with coronary heart disease. An observational, single-center pilot study in the Netherlands. Forty-five patients diagnosed with a recent acute coronary syndrome and a body mass index of >30 kg/m2 were

  4. Air transport pilot involvement in general aviation accidents

    Science.gov (United States)

    1986-01-01

    General aviation (GA) fatal accident records of airport transport pilots (ATPs) : were : compared to those of private pilots (PVTs). : ATPs are safer GA pilots than the PVTs. : They have comparable exposure in GA airplanes and account for 7.5% of all...

  5. Pilot cultivation of the green alga Monoraphidium sp producing a high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids in a low-temperature environment

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Řezanka, Tomáš; Nedbalová, Linda; Lukavský, Jaromír; Střížek, A.; Sigler, Karel

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 22, MAR 2017 (2017), s. 160-165 ISSN 2211-9264 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA14-00227S; GA TA ČR TE01020080 Institutional support: RVO:61388971 ; RVO:67985939 Keywords : Monoraphidium sp. * Microalgae * Pilot cultivation Subject RIV: EE - Microbiology, Virology; EF - Botanics (BU-J) OBOR OECD: Microbiology; Plant sciences, botany (BU-J) Impact factor: 3.994, year: 2016

  6. [Implementation of the EndoCert system for certification of arthroplasty centers. Experiences from the pilot phase].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haas, H; Mittelmeier, W

    2014-06-01

    EndoCert is an initiative of the Deutschen Gesellschaft für Orthopädie und Orthopädische Chirurgie (DGOOC, German Society for Orthopedics and Orthopedic Surgery) which has been available since October 2012 and is the first system worldwide for certification of specialized arthroplasty centers. Before implementation of this certification concept two sequential pilot phases were carried out with representative treatment institutions. The results from these pilot clinics are presented with respect to quality improvement effects. Early effects on the quality of treatment have been achieved by rectification of nonconformities determined in the audit with respect to structural and process quality. A total of 172 nonconformities found in the 23 participating pilot clinics could be rectified. Long-term effects on the quality of results will in future be analyzed in cooperation with the German endoprosthesis register (EPRD) and by accompanying evaluations. A close feedback of the collated experiences and results to the certification committee, which is responsible for the procedure together with the DGOOC, allows continuous further development of the system EndoCert represents a substantial step towards a nationwide safety and improvement of the quality in arthroplasty treatment within the preoperative, perioperative and postoperative framework and can in future represent a decisive tool together with the EPRD in quality management.

  7. The effects of motion and g-seat cues on pilot simulator performance of three piloting tasks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Showalter, T. W.; Parris, B. L.

    1980-01-01

    Data are presented that show the effects of motion system cues, g-seat cues, and pilot experience on pilot performance during takeoffs with engine failures, during in-flight precision turns, and during landings with wind shear. Eight groups of USAF pilots flew a simulated KC-135 using four different cueing systems. The basic cueing system was a fixed-base type (no-motion cueing) with visual cueing. The other three systems were produced by the presence of either a motion system or a g-seat, or both. Extensive statistical analysis of the data was performed and representative performance means were examined. These data show that the addition of motion system cueing results in significant improvement in pilot performance for all three tasks; however, the use of g-seat cueing, either alone or in conjunction with the motion system, provides little if any performance improvement for these tasks and for this aircraft type.

  8. Barriers to physical activity in chronic hemodialysis patients: a single-center pilot study in an Italian dialysis facility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fiaccadori, Enrico; Sabatino, Alice; Schito, Franco; Angella, Francesca; Malagoli, Martina; Tucci, Marco; Cupisti, Adamasco; Capitanini, Alessandro; Regolisti, Giuseppe

    2014-01-01

    In patients on chronic dialysis a sedentary lifestyle is a strong, yet potentially modifiable, predictor of mortality. The present single-center pilot study evaluated social, psychological and clinical barriers that may hinder physical activity in this population. We explored the association between barriers to physical activity and sedentarism in adult patients at a chronic dialysis facility in Parma, Italy. We used different questionnaries exploring participation in physical activity, physical functioning, patient attitudes and preferences, and barriers to physical activity perceived by either patients or dialysis doctors and nurses. We enrolled 104 patients, (67 males, 65%), mean age 69 years (79% of patients older than 60 years); median dialysis vintage 60 months (range 8-440); mean Charlson score 5.55, ADL (Activities of Daily Living) score 5.5. Ninety-two participants (88.5%) reported at least one barrier to physical activity. At multivariable analysis, after adjusting for age and sex, feeling to have too many medical problems (OR 2.99, 95% CI 1.27 to 7.07; P=0.012), chest pain (OR 10.78, 95% CI 1.28 to 90.28; P=0.029) and sadness (OR 2.59, 95% CI 1.10 to 6.09; P=0.030) were independently associated with physical inactivity. Lack of time for exercise counseling and the firm belief about low compliance/interest by the patients toward exercise were the most frequent barriers reported by doctors and nurses. We identified a number of patient-related and health personnel-related barriers to physical activity in patients on chronic dialysis. Solutions for these barriers should be addressed in future studies aimed at increasing the level of physical activity in this population. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  9. 14 CFR 135.89 - Pilot requirements: Use of oxygen.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Pilot requirements: Use of oxygen. 135.89... Operations § 135.89 Pilot requirements: Use of oxygen. (a) Unpressurized aircraft. Each pilot of an... operated with the cabin pressure altitude more than 10,000 feet MSL, each pilot shall comply with paragraph...

  10. 78 FR 43263 - Paperless Hazard Communications Pilot Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-07-19

    .... PHMSA-2013-0124, Notice No. 13-7] Paperless Hazard Communications Pilot Program AGENCY: Pipeline and...: PHMSA invites volunteers for a pilot program to evaluate the effectiveness of paperless hazard communications systems and comments on an information collection activity associated with the pilot program...

  11. Lessons learned from a single institution's retrospective analysis of emergent cesarean delivery following external cephalic version with and without neuraxial anesthesia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ainsworth, A; Sviggum, H P; Tolcher, M C; Weaver, A L; Holman, M A; Arendt, K W

    2017-05-01

    To evaluate the risk of emergent cesarean delivery with the use of neuraxial anesthesia for external cephalic version in a single practice. Randomized trials have shown increased external cephalic version success when neuraxial anesthesia is used, without additional risk. We hypothesized that in our actual clinical practice, outside the confines of randomized trials, neuraxial anesthesia could be associated with an increased risk of emergent cesarean delivery. This retrospective cohort study included all women who underwent external cephalic version at a single institution with and without neuraxial anesthesia. The primary outcome was the incidence of emergent cesarean delivery (defined as delivery within 4hours of version). Secondary outcomes were version success and ultimate mode of delivery. A total of 135 women underwent external cephalic version procedures; 58 with neuraxial anesthesia (43.0%) and 77 without (57.0%). Location of the procedure, tocolytic therapy, and gestational age were different between groups. An increased rate of emergent cesarean delivery was found in procedures with neuraxial anesthesia compared to procedures without (5/58 (8.6%) compared to 0/77 (0.0%); 95% CI for difference, 1.4 to 15.8%; P=0.013). In this single hospital's practice, patients who may be at higher risk of complications and have a lesser likelihood of success were provided NA for ECV. As a result, the use of neuraxial anesthesia for external cephalic version was associated with a higher rate of emergent cesarean delivery. Obstetric and anesthetic practices should evaluate their patient selection and procedure protocol for external cephalic version under neuraxial anesthesia. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Institutional Communication and Organizational Culture In Romanian Public Administration. A Case Study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luminița Rosca

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The present study aims to emphasize the extent to which modern management principles are known and applied in the Romanian public institutions. We also aim to identify a system of values that set a pattern of the organizational culture in the system of public institutions. The investigation technique we used is the questionnaire and the method we chose is the sociological survey. According to the standards of research methodology and in order to obtain accurate results, we have pre-tested the research tools in conditions similar to those of the study itself. In this respect, the present study will test the validity of the questionnaire on a group of 41 subjects, master’s students in a specialized program at the University of Bucharest, with the purpose of undertaking the sociological survey. The pilot study conclusions will allow the methodological framework of the sociological survey to refine and adapt the models of international analysis to the actual Romanian context.

  13. Adaptive Controller Effects on Pilot Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trujillo, Anna C.; Gregory, Irene M.; Hempley, Lucas E.

    2014-01-01

    Adaptive control provides robustness and resilience for highly uncertain, and potentially unpredictable, flight dynamics characteristic. Some of the recent flight experiences of pilot-in-the-loop with an adaptive controller have exhibited unpredicted interactions. In retrospect, this is not surprising once it is realized that there are now two adaptive controllers interacting, the software adaptive control system and the pilot. An experiment was conducted to categorize these interactions on the pilot with an adaptive controller during control surface failures. One of the objectives of this experiment was to determine how the adaptation time of the controller affects pilots. The pitch and roll errors, and stick input increased for increasing adaptation time and during the segment when the adaptive controller was adapting. Not surprisingly, altitude, cross track and angle deviations, and vertical velocity also increase during the failure and then slowly return to pre-failure levels. Subjects may change their behavior even as an adaptive controller is adapting with additional stick inputs. Therefore, the adaptive controller should adapt as fast as possible to minimize flight track errors. This will minimize undesirable interactions between the pilot and the adaptive controller and maintain maneuvering precision.

  14. Piloted Aircraft Environment Simulation Techniques

    Science.gov (United States)

    1978-04-01

    raS’I.Al. lIIf~iiI~.1 labL. lot. Rolmotion -oft. skylicav - ow d Roll rMotion -oft Skylicape - Off Fig 6 a A Effect of roll motion and akyscape, an msatwntn...greater realism and pilot involvement than ground based simu- lation, it still lacks some of the pilot motivating factors of actual combat. Flight

  15. 75 FR 77935 - Patriot Express Pilot Loan Initiative

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-14

    ... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Patriot Express Pilot Loan Initiative AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). ACTION: Notice of extension of the Patriot Express Pilot Loan Initiative. SUMMARY: This notice extends the Patriot Express Pilot Loan Initiative in its current form through December 31, 2013...

  16. BURNOUT SYNDROME AMONG EDUCATORS IN PRE-SCHOOL INSTITUTIONS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hozo, Endica Radic; Sucic, Goran; Zaja, Ivan

    2015-12-01

    The occurrence of burnout syndrome (BS) has been recognized in many professions (pilots, firefighters, police officers, doctors…) that during their work are subjected to high levels of stress. For educators in preschool institutions stress level is very high thus creating the possibility of developing BS. For this research is selected preschool institution - kindergarten "Radost" (Joy) in Split, in which by use of questionnaires (modified scale by Freudenberger and modified scales by Girdin, Everly and Dusek) during 2014 among educators (100 respondents) is conducted a survey regarding the frequency of burnout syndrome. According to questionnaires by Girdin, Everly and Dusek there is no statistically significant difference between the number of educators who feel good and those that are under significant stress (χ2=1.04; p=0.307). According to questionnaire by Freudenberg educators are classified into 3 categories and distribution of educators by the groups is almost uniform (χ2=2.76; p=0.250), which means that one third of a teacher is in good condition, a third is in the risk area for burn-out syndrome, while one third are candidates for development of this syndrome. Comparing a teacher in good condition compared to other (at risk and those who are candidates for the burn-out syndrome) is up to 1.5 times higher in those who are at risk and the candidates for development of this syndrome than in others (χ2=4.5; p=0.033). The occurrence of burnout syndrome is very high for the group of educators (half of the educators!) in pre-school institutions which should be taken into account by the institutions management. For this purpose, it is necessary to organize regular medical check-ups with particular reference to burnout syndrome with signs of the syndrome to prevent its further development.

  17. BURNOUT SYNDROME AMONG EDUCATORS IN PRE-SCHOOL INSTITUTIONS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hozo, Endica Radic; Sucic, Goran; Zaja, Ivan

    2015-01-01

    Introduction: The occurrence of burnout syndrome (BS) has been recognized in many professions (pilots, firefighters, police officers, doctors…) that during their work are subjected to high levels of stress. For educators in preschool institutions stress level is very high thus creating the possibility of developing BS. Material and methods: For this research is selected preschool institution – kindergarten „Radost” (Joy) in Split, in which by use of questionnaires (modified scale by Freudenberger and modified scales by Girdin, Everly and Dusek) during 2014 among educators (100 respondents) is conducted a survey regarding the frequency of burnout syndrome. Research results: According to questionnaires by Girdin, Everly and Dusek there is no statistically significant difference between the number of educators who feel good and those that are under significant stress (χ2=1.04; p=0.307). According to questionnaire by Freudenberg educators are classified into 3 categories and distribution of educators by the groups is almost uniform (χ2=2.76; p=0.250), which means that one third of a teacher is in good condition, a third is in the risk area for burn-out syndrome, while one third are candidates for development of this syndrome. Comparing a teacher in good condition compared to other (at risk and those who are candidates for the burn-out syndrome) is up to 1.5 times higher in those who are at risk and the candidates for development of this syndrome than in others (χ2=4.5; p=0.033). Conclusion: The occurrence of burnout syndrome is very high for the group of educators (half of the educators!) in pre-school institutions which should be taken into account by the institutions management. For this purpose, it is necessary to organize regular medical check-ups with particular reference to burnout syndrome with signs of the syndrome to prevent its further development. PMID:26889099

  18. Pilot study for natural radiation survey

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brown, L.; Driscoll, C.M.H.; Green, B.M.R.; Miles, J.C.H.

    1983-01-01

    NRPB's national survey of natural radiation exposure in homes commenced in 1982 and will run until 1984. A pilot survey was undertaken in over 100 homes for one year, using passive thermoluminescent dosemeters to measure external radiation from terrestrial and cosmic sources and passive radon dosemeters to measure the radon-222 gas concentration. A preliminary analysis of the results obtained from the pilot survey is given. The main value of the pilot survey was in providing experience and various administrative and scientific procedures have been simplified or automated for the national survey. (U.K.)

  19. 36 CFR 223.275 - Establishment of a pilot program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Establishment of a pilot... Establishment of a pilot program. This subpart governs the Forest Service's pilot program for the disposal of... of Title III of H.R. 3423)), as amended in 2004 by Section 335 of Public Law 108-108. The pilot...

  20. 46 CFR 78.19-1 - Use of auto pilot.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Use of auto pilot. 78.19-1 Section 78.19-1 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) PASSENGER VESSELS OPERATIONS Auto Pilot § 78.19-1 Use of auto pilot. Except as provided in 33 CFR 164.15, when the automatic pilot is used in— (a...

  1. 46 CFR 97.16-1 - Use of auto pilot.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Use of auto pilot. 97.16-1 Section 97.16-1 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) CARGO AND MISCELLANEOUS VESSELS OPERATIONS Auto Pilot § 97.16-1 Use of auto pilot. Except as provided in 33 CFR 164.15, when the automatic pilot is used...

  2. Distributed deep learning networks among institutions for medical imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Ken; Balachandar, Niranjan; Lam, Carson; Yi, Darvin; Brown, James; Beers, Andrew; Rosen, Bruce; Rubin, Daniel L; Kalpathy-Cramer, Jayashree

    2018-03-29

    Deep learning has become a promising approach for automated support for clinical diagnosis. When medical data samples are limited, collaboration among multiple institutions is necessary to achieve high algorithm performance. However, sharing patient data often has limitations due to technical, legal, or ethical concerns. In this study, we propose methods of distributing deep learning models as an attractive alternative to sharing patient data. We simulate the distribution of deep learning models across 4 institutions using various training heuristics and compare the results with a deep learning model trained on centrally hosted patient data. The training heuristics investigated include ensembling single institution models, single weight transfer, and cyclical weight transfer. We evaluated these approaches for image classification in 3 independent image collections (retinal fundus photos, mammography, and ImageNet). We find that cyclical weight transfer resulted in a performance that was comparable to that of centrally hosted patient data. We also found that there is an improvement in the performance of cyclical weight transfer heuristic with a high frequency of weight transfer. We show that distributing deep learning models is an effective alternative to sharing patient data. This finding has implications for any collaborative deep learning study.

  3. Energy extension service pilot program evaluation report: the first year. Volume II: pilot state reports

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1979-09-01

    Volume II of the Energy Extension Service Evaluation presents a discussion of the operations of the ten EES pilot-state programs during the period from October 1, 1977 through September 30, 1978. Each of the ten pilot states - Alabama, Connecticut, Michigan, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming - received a grant of approximately $1.1 million to develop and implement a 19-month program beginning on October 1, 1977. Volume II provides a case-study description of the operations of the pilot program in each state, with special attention given to the two programs selected in each state for more detailed study and survey research. Some survey data and analysis are presented for the emphasis programs.

  4. Intelligent Pilot Aids for Flight Re-Planning in Emergencies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pritchett, Amy R.; Ockerman, Jennifer

    2005-01-01

    Effective and safe control of an aircraft may be difficult or nearly impossible for a pilot following an unexpected system failure. Without prior training, the pilot must ascertain on the fly those changes in both manual control technique and procedures that will lead to a safe landing of the aircraft. Sophisticated techniques for determining the required control techniques are now available. Likewise, a body of literature on pilot decision making provides formalisms for examining how pilots approach discrete decisions framed as the selection between options. However, other aspects of behavior, such as the task of route planning and guidance, are not as well studied. Not only is the pilot faced with possible performance changes to the aircraft dynamics, but he or she is also tasked to create a plan of actions that will effectively take the aircraft down to a safe landing. In this plan, the many actions that the pilot can perform are closely intertwined with the trajectory of the aircraft, making it difficult to accurately predict the final outcome. Coupled with the vast number of potential actions to be taken, this problem may seem intractable. This is reflected in the lack of a pre-specified procedure capable of giving pilots the ability to find a resolution for this task. This report summarizes a multi-year effort to examine methods to aid pilots in planning an approach and arrival to an airport following an aircraft systems failure. Ultimately, we hypothesize that automatic assistance to pilots can be provided in real-time in the form of improving pilot control of a damaged aircraft and providing pilots with procedural directives suitable for critical flight conditions; such systems may also benefit pilot training and procedure design. To achieve this result, a systematic, comprehensive research program was followed, building on prior research. This approach included a pencil-and-paper study with airline pilots examining methods of representing a flight route in

  5. Imaging-Guided Percutaneous Radiofrequency Ablation of Adrenal Metastases: Preliminary Results at a Single Institution with a Single Device

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carrafiello, G.; Lagana, D.; Recaldini, C.; Giorgianni, A.; Ianniello, A.; Lumia, D.; D'Ambrosio, A.; Petulla, M.; Dionigi, G.; Fugazzola, C.

    2008-01-01

    The aim of this study was to show the feasibility, safety, imaging appearance, and short-term efficacy of image-guided percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of adrenal metastases (AM). Seven imaging-guided percutaneous RFA treatments were performed in six patients (two men and four women; mean age, 67.2 years; range, 55-74 years) with six AM who were referred to our institution from 2003 to 2006. One patient was treated twice for recurrence after first treatment. The average diameter of the treated AM was 29 mm (range, 15-40 mm). In all patients, the diagnosis was obtained with CT current protocols in use at our institution and confirmed by pathology with an image-guided biopsy. No major complications occurred. In one patient shortly after initiation of the procedure, severe hypertension was noted; another patient developed post-RFA syndrome. In five of six lesions, there was no residual enhancement of the treated tumor. In one patient CT examination showed areas of residual enhancement of the tumor after treatment. Our preliminary results suggest that imaging-guided percutaneous RFA is effective for local control of AM, without major complications and with a low morbidity rate related to the procedure. Long-term follow-up will need to be performed and appropriate patient selection criteria will need to be determined in future randomized trials.

  6. 7 CFR 1412.48 - Planting Transferability Pilot Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Planting Transferability Pilot Project. 1412.48... and Peanuts 2008 through 2012 § 1412.48 Planting Transferability Pilot Project. (a) Notwithstanding § 1412.47, for each of the 2009 and subsequent crop years, the Planting Transferability Pilot Project...

  7. 14 CFR 135.247 - Pilot qualifications: Recent experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Pilot qualifications: Recent experience... Flight Crewmember Requirements § 135.247 Pilot qualifications: Recent experience. (a) No certificate holder may use any person, nor may any person serve, as pilot in command of an aircraft carrying...

  8. Development of pilot model of virtual nuclear power plant and its application to radiation management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kang, K. D.; Sin, S. W.

    2002-01-01

    Using Virtual Reality (VR) technique, a real model for radiation controlled area in nuclear power plant was developed and a feasibility study to develop a computational program to estimate radiation dose was performed. For this purpose a pilot model with an dynamic function and bi-directional communication was developed. This model was enhanced from the existing 3-D single-directional communication. In this pilot model, a plant visitor needs a series of security checking process initially. If he(she) enters the controlled area and approaches radiation hazard area, the alarms with warning lamp will be initiated automatically. Throughout the test to connect this model from both domestic and international sites in various time zones it has proven that it showed a sufficient performance. Therefore this model can be applied to broad fields as radiation protection procedures photographic data, on-line dose program

  9. Definitive and adjuvant radiotherapy for sinonasal squamous cell carcinomas: a single institutional experience

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duru Birgi, Sumerya; Teo, Mark; Dyker, Karen E.; Sen, Mehmet; Prestwich, Robin J D

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the disease outcomes of patients treated with definitive and adjuvant radiotherapy for squamous cell carcinomas of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses in a single institution. Between 2007–2012 patients were retrospectively identified from electronic databases who had undergone surgery and adjuvant radiotherapy or definitive radiotherapy for sinonasal squamous cell carcinomas with curative intent. Fourty three patients with sinonasal squamous cell carcinoma were identified (22 nasal cavity, 21 paranasal sinuses). 31/43 (72 %) had T3 or T4 disease; nodal stage was N0 in 38, N1 in 4, Na/b in 0 and N2c in 1 patient. Median age was 67 years (range 41–86). 18 (42 %) received definitive and 25 (58 %) adjuvant radiotherapy. Radiotherapy was delivered using either conventional radiotherapy (n = 39) or intensity modulated radiotherapy (n = 4). Elective neck radiotherapy was delivered to two patients. Chemotherapy was delivered to 6/43 (14 %) of patients. Two-year local control, regional control, distant metastases free survival, progression free survival, cause specific survival and overall survival were 81 %, 90 %, 95 %, 71 %, 84 % and 80 % respectively. There was no significant difference in outcome comparing patients who underwent surgery and adjuvant radiotherapy with patients receiving definitive radiotherapy (2 year locoregional disease free survival 75 % and 70 % respectively, p = 0.98). Pooly differentiated tumours were significantly associated with inferior disease outcomes. Local, regional, combined local and regional, and distant failure occurred in 7 (16 %), 3 (7 %), 1 (2 %) and 2 (5 %) of patients; all 3 regional recurrences were in patients with nasal cavity squamous cell carcinomas who had not undergone elective neck treatment. Definitive or adjuvant radiotherapy provides an effective treatment for sinonasal malignancies. The main pattern of failure remains local, suggesting the need for investigation of

  10. The ATLAS PanDA Pilot in Operation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nilsson, P; De, K; Stradling, A; Caballero, J; Maeno, T; Wenaus, T

    2011-01-01

    The Production and Distributed Analysis system (PanDA) was designed to meet ATLAS requirements for a data-driven workload management system capable of operating at LHC data processing scale. Submitted jobs are executed on worker nodes by pilot jobs sent to the grid sites by pilot factories. This paper provides an overview of the PanDA pilot system and presents major features added in light of recent operational experience, including multi-job processing, advanced job recovery for jobs with output storage failures, gLExec based identity switching from the generic pilot to the actual user, and other security measures. The PanDA system serves all ATLAS distributed processing and is the primary system for distributed analysis; it is currently used at over 100 sites worldwide. We analyze the performance of the pilot system in processing real LHC data on the OSG, EGI and Nordugrid infrastructures used by ATLAS, and describe plans for its evolution.

  11. Recruitment and accrual of women in a placebo-controlled clinical pilot study on manual therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cambron, Jerrilyn A; Hawk, Cheryl; Evans, Roni; Long, Cynthia R

    2004-06-01

    To investigate the accrual rates and recruitment processes among 3 Midwestern sites during a pilot study on manual therapy for chronic pelvic pain. Multisite pilot study for a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Three chiropractic institutions in or near major metropolitan cities in the Midwestern United States. Thirty-nine women aged 18 to 45 with chronic pelvic pain of at least 6 months duration, diagnosed by a board certified gynecologist. The method of recruitment was collected for each individual who responded to an advertisement and completed an interviewer-administered telephone screen. Participants who were willing and eligible after 3 baseline visits were entered into a randomized clinical trial. The number of responses and accrual rates were determined for the overall study, each of the 3 treatment sites, and each of the 5 recruitment efforts. In this study, 355 women were screened over the telephone and 39 were randomized, making the rate of randomization approximately 10%. The most effective recruitment methods leading to randomization were direct mail (38%) and radio advertisements (34%). However, success of the recruitment process differed by site. Based on the accrual of this multisite pilot study, a full-scale trial would not be feasible using this study's parameters. However, useful information was gained on recruitment effectiveness, eligibility criteria, and screening protocols among the 3 metropolitan sites.

  12. A single-arm pilot study of guided self-help treatment based cognitive behavioral therapy for bulimia nervosa in Japanese clinical settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Setsu, R; Asano, K; Numata, N; Tanaka, M; Ibuki, H; Yamamoto, T; Uragami, R; Matsumoto, J; Hirano, Y; Iyo, M; Shimizu, E; Nakazato, M

    2018-04-25

    Guided self-help treatments based on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT-GSH) are regarded as a first-line effective treatment for bulimia nervosa (BN). With limited application for CBT-GSH in Japanese clinical settings, we conducted a single arm pilot study in order to confirm the acceptability and availability of CBT-GSH in Japan. 25 women with BN received 16-20 sessions of face-to-face CBT-GSH. Primary outcomes were the completion rate of intervention and abstinence rates from objective bingeing and purging as assessed by the Eating Disorder Examination. Secondary outcomes were other self-report measurements of the frequency of bingeing and purging, and characteristic psychopathologies of eating disorders. Assessments were conducted before CBT as baseline as well as after CBT. 92% (23/25) of the participants completed the CBT sessions. After CBT-GSH, 40% (10/25) of the participants (intention-to-treat) achieved symptom abstinence. The mean binge and purge episodes during the previous 28 days improved from 21.88 to 10.96 (50% reduction) and from 22.44 to 10.88 (52% reduction), each (before CBT-GSH to after CBT-GSH), and the within-group effect sizes were medium (Cohen's d = 0.67, 0.65, each). Our study provided a preliminary evidence about the feasibility of CBT-GSH in Japanese clinical settings for the future. Trial registration This study was registered retrospectively in the national UMIN Clinical Trials Registry on July 10, 2013 (registration ID: UMIN000011120).

  13. 76 FR 7098 - Dealer Floor Plan Pilot Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-02-09

    ... Plan Pilot Program AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). ACTION: Program implementation with request for comments. SUMMARY: SBA is introducing a new Dealer Floor Plan Pilot Program to make... Plan Pilot Program was created in the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010. Under the new Dealer Floor Plan...

  14. 14 CFR 125.285 - Pilot qualifications: Recent experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Pilot qualifications: Recent experience... Requirements § 125.285 Pilot qualifications: Recent experience. (a) No certificate holder may use any person, nor may any person serve, as a required pilot flight crewmember unless within the preceding 90...

  15. Intermittent Renewable Management Pilot Phase 2

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kiliccote, Sila [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Homan, Gregory [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Anderson, Robert [Olivine, Inc., San Ramon, CA (United States); Hernandez, John [Pacific Gas & Electric Company, San Francisco, CA (United States)

    2015-04-01

    The Intermittent Renewable Management Pilot - Phase 2 (IRM2) was designed to study the feasibility of demand-side resources to participate into the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) wholesale market as proxy demand resources (PDR). The pilot study focused on understanding the issues related with direct participation of third-parties and customers including customer acceptance; market transformation challenges (wholesale market, technology); technical and operational feasibility; and value to the rate payers, DR resource owners and the utility on providing an enabling mechanism for DR resources into the wholesale markets. The customer had the option of committing to either three contiguous hour blocks for 24 days or six contiguous hours for 12 days a month with day-ahead notification that aligned with the CAISO integrated forward market. As a result of their being available, the customer was paid $10/ kilowatt (kW)-month for capacity in addition to CAISO energy settlements. The participants were limited to no more than a 2 megawatt (MW) capacity with a six-month commitment. Four participants successfully engaged in the pilot. In this report, we provide the description of the pilot, participant performance results, costs and value to participants as well as outline some of the issues encountered through the pilot. Results show that participants chose to participate with storage and the value of CAISO settlements were significantly lower than the capacity payments provided by the utility as incentive payments. In addition, this pilot revealed issues both on the participant side and system operations side. These issues are summarized in the report.The Intermittent Renewable Management Pilot - Phase 2 (IRM2) was designed to study the feasibility of demand-side resources to participate into the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) wholesale market as proxy demand resources (PDR). The pilot study focused on understanding the issues related with

  16. Controlled pilot oxidizer for a gas turbine combustor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laster, Walter R.; Bandaru, Ramarao V.

    2010-07-13

    A combustor (22) for a gas turbine (10) includes a main burner oxidizer flow path (34) delivering a first portion (32) of an oxidizer flow (e.g., 16) to a main burner (28) of the combustor and a pilot oxidizer flow path (38) delivering a second portion (36) of the oxidizer flow to a pilot (30) of the combustor. The combustor also includes a flow controller (42) disposed in the pilot oxidizer flow path for controlling an amount of the second portion delivered to the pilot.

  17. A pilot marine monitoring program in Cook Inlet, Alaska 1993--1994

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brown, J.S.; Boehm, P.D.; Hyland, J.L.; Prest, H.F.

    1995-01-01

    Under the mandate of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA'90) the Cook Inlet Regional Citizens Advisory Council (CIRCAC) sponsored the initiation of a pilot monitoring program in Cook Inlet, Alaska, The objectives of the pilot monitoring program were to provide baseline data on petroleum hydrocarbon concentrations in sediments and biota of Cook Inlet, and to evaluate the effectiveness of selected monitoring techniques in detecting petroleum hydrocarbon inputs from industry based sources. A sampling program was initiated in 1993 that included petroleum industry, specific sites and reference sites. Sample measurements included polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in sediments, caged mussels, and semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs), sediment toxicity using the amphipod, Ampelisca abdita, and estimates of population size and physiological condition of indigenous bivalves. Results of the 1993 sampling program indicated that (1) background levels of petrogenic, pyrogenic, and diagenetic hydrocarbons were present in sediments and indigenous bivalves, and (2) that limited amphipod toxicity and variations in bivalve measurements did not correlate with the hydrocarbons in the sediments. Modifications to the 1993 program were instituted for the 1994 sampling and included, the selection of new industry specific sites, discontinued use of caged bivalves, and design changes to SPMDs to enhance sensitivity. The results of the 1994 sampling program, and comparisons with the 1993 data are presented

  18. Future energy research in the EU under EIT conditions-pilot projects

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Puehringer-Oppermann, Franziska; Bele, Petra; Bussar, Rainer; Stimming, Ulrich [TUM, Dept. of Physics, E19, James-Franck Str. 1, D-85748 Garching (Germany)

    2009-07-01

    The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) has been established in April 2008. It is an independent organisation with the administrative head in Budapest, a governing board, an executive committee and a chairman. The EIT budget until 2012 is 308 MEUR. EIT will operate through the formation of Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs). The first three KICs are foreseen in the areas sustainable energy, ICT and climate mitigation. The European Commission has sponsored four pilot projects (conducted 2008-2009) to help develop a suitable governance structure for cooperations on European scale such as the future KICs. They are Bridge, ComplexEIT, SUCCESS and Gast, dealing with different topics like nanomedicine (Bridge), integration of hardware and software (ComplexEIT), sustainable energy (SUCCESS) and green and safe road transportation (Gast). The strategic objective of these pilot projects is to design, implement and test new models of cooperation in the knowledge triangle. We are involved in SUCCESS and after benchmarking of 66 collaborations in the field sustainable energy, the state of the art of selected representative topics was asessed and shortcomings in governance evaluated by SWOT analysis. In parallel further existing collaborations were used to extract and establish a management structure for such collaborations on the European scale.

  19. The Institute for Cryogenics and Isotope Separation - History, Present and Prospective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stefanescu, Ioan

    1998-01-01

    The foundation of plant 'G' at Rm. Valcea on March 1, 1970 has opened a technological prospect within the Romania Program of Nuclear Energy Development and led to formation of a school of experts under supervision of professor Marius Peculea, the Secretary general of Romanian Academy. The fruitful scientific activity of the plant's staff in approaching advanced technologies of heavy water separation resulted in numerous valuable technical solutions, patents and know-hows of national interest as well as a great number of scientific works which today constitutes a useful information basis for all the personnel engaged in the organization and growth of industrial production of heavy water. The research work continued by approaching new methods of hydrogen isotope separation, by initiation of selective physical adsorption of gases in porous materials, in the high vacuum techniques as well as in the technologies of low and very low temperatures. Following this scientific progress and based on the results of scientific research and technological developments, in 1996 the National Institute of Research-Development for Cryogenics and Isotopic Technologies, ICSI, at Rm. Valcea was founded. Research - development activity of ICSI is undertaken within the frames of several research programs at the science-technology interface. A special attention was paid to developing cryogenics, technologies and equipment specific for tritium and deuterium separation as well as the production and turning to account the gases and gas mixtures for industrial or laboratory applications. In ICSI two facilities of national interest operate, one in a stage of maintenance - the heavy water pilot and the other in current operation - the experimental pilot for tritium and deuterium separation. The outstanding target of ICSI is to become an internationally competitive institute in the field of cryogenic equipment and technologies specific to isotope separation, boosting the technological transfer to

  20. Pharmacotherapy in Patients after Acute Myocardial Infarction - the Basis for Effective Secondary Prevention. Data from a Pilot Registry in the Czech Republic

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Grünfeldová, H.; Tomečková, Marie; Monhart, Z.; Faltus, Václav; Peleška, Jan

    2007-01-01

    Roč. 30 (2007), s. 372-372 ISSN 1420-4096. [Central European Meeting on Hypertension and Cardiovascular Disease Prevention. 11.10.2007-13.10.2007, Kraków] R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) 1M06014 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10300504 Keywords : acute myocardial ifraction * pilot registry * secondary prevention Subject RIV: FA - Cardiovascular Disease s incl. Cardiotharic Surgery

  1. Evaluation of intratumoral HER-2 heterogeneity by fluorescence in situ hybridization in invasive breast cancer: a single institution study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Sarah; Jung, Woohee; Hong, Soon-Won; Koo, Ja Seung

    2011-08-01

    This study aimed to determine the incidence and characteristics of HER-2 gene heterogeneity in invasive breast cancer in a single institution. Included were 971 cases of primary invasive breast cancer diagnosed between 2008 and 2010. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) image files were retrospectively reviewed and HER-2 gene heterogeneity was defined as more than 5% but less than 50% of analyzed invasive tumor cells with a HER-2/Chr17 ratio higher than 2.2, according to the College of American Pathologists guidelines. HER-2 gene heterogeneity was identified in 24 (2.5%) cases. The mean proportion of invasive tumor cells with a HER-2/chromosome 17 ratio higher than 2.2 was 11.6% (range: 5%-25%). Of 24 cases, HER-2 gene status was not amplified in 8, showed borderline amplification in 2, and amplification in 14. All HER-2 amplification cases were low-grade. In conclusion, HER-2 gene heterogeneity of invasive breast cancer is identified in routine FISH examination. This may affect the results of HER-2 gene amplification status in FISH studies.

  2. Paresev in flight with pilot Milt Thompson

    Science.gov (United States)

    1964-01-01

    Gary Layton becoming Project Manager later on in the program. Mr. Paul Bikle, Director of the Center, gave instructions that were short and to the point: build a single-seat Paraglider and 'do it quick and cheap.' The Paresev was unpowered, the 'fuselage,' an open framework fabricated of welded 4130 steel tubing, was referred to as a `space frame.' The keel and leading edges of the wings were constructed of 2 1/2-inch diameter aluminum tubing. The leading edge sweep angle was held constant at 50 degrees by a rigid spreader bar. Additional wing structure fabricated of steel tubing ensured structural integrity. Seven weeks after the project was initiated the team rolled out the Paresev 1. It resembled a grown-up tricycle, with a rudimentary seat, an angled tripod mast, and, perched on top of the mast, a Rogallo-type parawing. The pilot sat out in the open, strapped in the seat, with no enclosure of any kind. He controlled the descent rate by tilting the wing fore and aft, and turned by tilting the wing from side to side with a control stick that came from overhead. NASA registered the Paresev, the first NASA research airplane to be constructed totally 'in-house,' with the Federal Aviation Administration on February 12, 1962. Flight testing started immediately. There was one space frame built called the Paresev that used four different wing types. Paresev 1 had a linen membrane, with the control stick coming from overhead in front of the pilots seat. Paresev 1A had a regulation control stick and a Dacron membrane. Paresev 1B had a smaller Dacron membrane with the space frame remaining the same. Paresev 1C used a half-scale version of the inflatable Gemini parawing with a small change to the space frame. All 'space frames,' regardless of the parawing configuration, had a shield with 'Paresev 1-A' and the NASA meatball on the front of the vehicle. After the space frame was completed a sailmaker was asked to sew the wing membrane according to the planform developed by NASA

  3. 14 CFR 121.439 - Pilot qualification: Recent experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Pilot qualification: Recent experience. 121... Pilot qualification: Recent experience. (a) No certificate holder may use any person nor may any person serve as a required pilot flight crewmember, unless within the preceding 90 days, that person has made...

  4. 46 CFR 131.960 - Use of auto-pilot.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Use of auto-pilot. 131.960 Section 131.960 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) OFFSHORE SUPPLY VESSELS OPERATIONS Miscellaneous § 131.960 Use of auto-pilot. When the automatic pilot is used in areas of high traffic density...

  5. 46 CFR 185.360 - Use of auto pilot.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Use of auto pilot. 185.360 Section 185.360 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) SMALL PASSENGER VESSELS (UNDER 100 GROSS TONS) OPERATIONS Miscellaneous Operating Requirements § 185.360 Use of auto pilot. Whenever an automatic pilot is...

  6. 75 FR 70871 - Photo Requirements for Pilot Certificates

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-11-19

    ... upgrading a pilot certificate (such as going from a student to a sport, recreational, or private pilot... interaction with the FAA (for example, change of name, citizenship, date of birth, or gender) would be a... final rule. Finally, a private, recreational, or sport pilot certificate holder would have 5 years after...

  7. Development of clinical pharmacy in Belgian hospitals through pilot projects funded by the government.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Somers, A; Spinewine, A; Spriet, I; Steurbaut, S; Tulkens, P; Hecq, J D; Willems, L; Robays, H; Dhoore, M; Yaras, H; Vanden Bremt, I; Haelterman, M

    2018-04-30

    Objectives The goal is to develop clinical pharmacy in the Belgian hospitals to improve drug efficacy and to reduce drug-related problems. Methods From 2007 to 2014, financial support was provided by the Belgian federal government for the development of clinical pharmacy in Belgian hospitals. This project was guided by a national Advisory Working Group. Each funded hospital was obliged to describe yearly its clinical pharmacy activities. Results In 2007, 20 pharmacists were funded in 28 pilot hospitals; this number was doubled in 2009 to 40 pharmacists over 54 institutions, representing more than half of all acute Belgian hospitals. Most projects (72%) considered patient-related activities, whereas some projects (28%) had a hospital-wide approach. The projects targeted patients at admission (30%), during hospital stay (52%) or at discharge (18%). During hospital stay, actions were mainly focused on geriatric patients (20%), surgical patients (15%), and oncology patients (9%). Experiences, methods, and tools were shared during meetings and workshops. Structure, process, and outcome indicators were reported and strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats were described. The yearly reports revealed that the hospital board was engaged in the project in 87% of the cases, and developed a vision on clinical pharmacy in 75% of the hospitals. In 2014, the pilot phase was replaced by structural financing for clinical pharmacy in all acute Belgian hospitals. Conclusion The pilot projects in clinical pharmacy funded by the federal government provided a unique opportunity to launch clinical pharmacy activities on a broad scale in Belgium. The results of the pilot projects showed clear implementation through case reports, time registrations, and indicators. Tools for clinical pharmacy activities were developed to overcome identified barriers. The engagement of hospital boards and the results of clinical pharmacy activities persuaded the government to start structural

  8. Development and pilot testing of daily Interactive Voice Response (IVR) calls to support antiretroviral adherence in India: A mixed-methods pilot study

    OpenAIRE

    Swendeman, Dallas; Jana, Smarajit; Ray, Protim; Mindry, Deborah; Das, Madhushree; Bhakta, Bhumi

    2015-01-01

    This two-phase pilot study aimed to design, pilot, and refine an automated Interactive Voice Response (IVR) intervention to support antiretroviral adherence for people living with HIV (PLH), in Kolkata, India. Mixed-methods formative research included a community advisory board (CAB) for IVR message development, one-month pre-post pilot, post-pilot focus groups, and further message development. Two IVR calls are made daily, timed to patients’ dosing schedules, with brief messages (

  9. Problems pilots face involving wind shear

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melvin, W. W.

    1977-01-01

    Educating pilots and the aviation industry about wind shears presents a major problem associated with this meteorological phenomenon. The pilot's second most pressing problem is the need for a language to discuss wind shear encounters with other pilots so that the reaction of the aircraft to the wind shear encounter can be accurately described. Another problem is the flight director which gives a centered pitch command for a given angular displacement from the glide slope. It was suggested that they should instead be called flight path command and should not center unless the aircraft is actually correcting to the flight path.

  10. Investigations into the operating behavior of separation nozzle cascades for uranium-235 enrichment in a 10-stage pilot plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bley, P.; Hein, H.; Linder, G.

    1984-03-01

    The separation nozzle method developed by the Karlsruhe Nuclear Research Center is based on the centrifugal force in a curved jet consisting of uranium hexafluoride and a light auxiliary gas. To determine in experiments the operating and controlling behavior of separation nozzle cascades a 10-stage pilot plant was erected some year ago. This plant was transferred to the Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear (CDTN) in Belo Horizonte as a donation made within the framework of the German-Brazilian Agreement on scientific cooperation in the field of uranium enrichment. The plant previously equipped with single deflection systems was modified to operate with the double deflection system envisaged for commercial plants. A controlling concept meanwhile developed and improved for separation nozzle cascades equipped with single and double deflection systems was verified experimentally and optimized at the pilot plant of the CDTN. A comparison of the experimental operating behavior with the operating behavior calculated by simulation programs has confirmed the faithfulness of simulation of the computer codes developed to apply to cascades with double deflection systems as well. (orig.) [de

  11. Drilling and the associated drillhole measurements of the pilot hole ONK-PH7

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oehberg, A.; Kemppainen, K.; Lampinen, H.; Niemonen, J.; Poelloenen, J.; Rouhiainen, P.; Rautio, T.; Tarvainen, A.-M.

    2007-12-01

    The construction of the ONKALO access tunnel started in September 2004 at Olkiluoto. Most of the investigations related to the construction of the access tunnel aim to ensure successful excavations, reinforcement and sealing. Pilot holes are drillholes, which are core drilled along the tunnel profile. The length of the pilot holes typically varies from several tens of metres to a couple of hundred metres. The pilot holes are aimed to confirm the quality of the rock mass for tunnel construction, and in particular to identify water conductive fractured zones and to provide information that could result in modifications of the existing construction plans. The pilot hole ONK-PH7 was drilled from chainage 1880 to chainage 1980.31 in February 2007. The length of the hole is 100.31 m. The aim during the drilling work was to orient core samples as much as possible. The deviation of the drillhole was measured during and after the drilling phase. Electric conductivity was measured from the collected returning water samples. Logging of the core samples included the following parameters: lithology, foliation, fracturing, fracture frequency, RQD, fractured zones, core loss and weathering. The rock mechanical logging was based on Q-classification. The tests to determine rock strength and deformation properties were made with a Rock Tester-equipment. Difference Flow method was used for the determination of hydraulic conductivity in fractures and fractured zones in the drillhole. The overlapping i.e. the detailed flow logging mode was used. Besides flow logging Single Point Resistance (SPR), Electric Conductivity (EC) and temperature of the drillhole water were also measured. The flow logging was performed with 0.5 m section length and with 0.1 m depth increment. Water loss measurements were conducted between the hole depth of 1.18 m and the hole bottom. Geophysical logging and optical imaging of the pilot hole included the fieldwork of all surveys, the integration of the data as

  12. A Systems Approach to Reducing Institutional GHG Emissions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williamson, Sean R.

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to establish necessity and methods for considering greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation policies at a system-level. The research emphasizes connecting narrowly focused GHG mitigation objectives (e.g. reduce single occupancy vehicle travel) with broader institutional objectives (e.g. growth in student population) to…

  13. One year outcomes of a mentoring scheme for female academics: a pilot study at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London

    OpenAIRE

    Dutta, Rina; Hawkes, Sarah L; Kuipers, Elizabeth; Guest, David; Fear, Nicola T; Iversen, Amy C

    2011-01-01

    Abstract Background The professional development of under-represented faculty may be enhanced by mentorship, but we understand very little about the mechanisms by which mentoring brings about change. Our study posed the research question, what are the mechanisms by which mentoring may support professional development in under-represented groups? The study aims to: (i) to pilot a mentoring scheme for female academics; (ii) to compare various health-related and attitudinal measures in mentees a...

  14. Monitoring and toxicity evaluation of phytoplankton on lithium manganese oxide adsorbents at lithium recovery pilot plant field.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoon, H. O.; Kim, J. A.; Kim, J. C.; Chung, K. S.; Ryu, J. H.

    2015-12-01

    For recovery of rare mineral resources such as lithium or boron from seawater, the lithium adsorbent material have been made by Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) and pilot plant was conducted in Okgye Harbor, Gangneung, Korea. The application of lithium adsorbent in pilot plant, it is important to consider the impact on the marine environment. Especially phytoplankton communities are important marine microorganism to represent marine primary product. At the same time, phytoplankton is possible to induce the decrease of lithium recovery rate due to cause of biofouling to surfaces of lithium adsorbents. Therefore long-term and periodic monitoring of phytoplankton is necessary to understand the environmental impact and biofouling problems near the lithium pilot plant. The abundance and biomass of phytoplankton have been evaluated through monthly interval sampling from February 2013 to May 2015. Abundance and species diversity of phytoplankton went up to summer from winter. When lithium adsorbents were immersing to seawater, eco-toxicities of released substances were determined using Microtox with bioluminescence bacteria Vibrio fischeri. The adsorbents were soaked in sterilized seawater and aeration for 1, 3, 5, 7, 10 and 14 days intervals under controlled temperature. Maximum EC50 concentration was 61.4% and this toxicity was showed in more than 10 days exposure.

  15. Severe neutropenia in children: a single institutional experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yilmaz, Deniz; Ritchey, Arthur Kim

    2007-08-01

    Severe neutropenia (SN) is a rare disorder in childhood. This study aimed to document the approach to diagnosis and treatment of children with SN in a single university-based children's hospital, determine the types of SN seen in a 4-year period, and determine outcomes of the subtypes of SN. Forty-five children with SN were identified between 2000 and 2004. Two patients had autoimmune, 3 congenital, 3 familial, 6 cyclic, and 31 idiopathic SN. The median age of the patients with idiopathic SN was 15 months (3 mo to 17 y). Thirteen patients with idiopathic SN received filgrastim and 18 were observed. The history of severe infection and hospitalization at presentation was significantly more common among the patients who received filgrastim than those observed, but was not different between the 2 groups during the follow-up period. SN resolved in 16 patients and persisted in 14 patients. One patient with idiopathic SN did not respond to filgrastim and died of sepsis while she was still neutropenic. In summary, the majority of patients with SN had idiopathic SN, the infection risk was variable, treatment was based on clinical judgment rather than absolute neutrophil count, and approximately half of the patients had complete recovery.

  16. Advanced MRI increases the diagnostic accuracy of recurrent glioblastoma: Single institution thresholds and validation of MR spectroscopy and diffusion weighted MR imaging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tomas Kazda

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The accurate identification of glioblastoma progression remains an unmet clinical need. The aim of this prospective single-institutional study is to determine and validate thresholds for the main metabolite concentrations obtained by MR spectroscopy (MRS and the values of the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC to enable distinguishing tumor recurrence from pseudoprogression. Thirty-nine patients after the standard treatment of a glioblastoma underwent advanced imaging by MRS and ADC at the time of suspected recurrence — median time to progression was 6.7 months. The highest significant sensitivity and specificity to call the glioblastoma recurrence was observed for the total choline (tCho to total N-acetylaspartate (tNAA concentration ratio with the threshold ≥1.3 (sensitivity 100.0% and specificity 94.7%. The ADCmean value higher than 1313 × 10−6 mm2/s was associated with the pseudoprogression (sensitivity 98.3%, specificity 100.0%. The combination of MRS focused on the tCho/tNAA concentration ratio and the ADCmean value represents imaging methods applicable to early non-invasive differentiation between a glioblastoma recurrence and a pseudoprogression. However, the institutional definition and validation of thresholds for differential diagnostics is needed for the elimination of setup errors before implementation of these multimodal imaging techniques into clinical practice, as well as into clinical trials.

  17. An Investigation of Sensory Information, Levels of Automation, and Piloting Experience on Unmanned Aircraft Pilot Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-01

    Development.of. NASA - TLX .(Task.Load.Index):.Results.of.empiri- cal.and.theoretical.research ..In.P .A ..Hancock.&.N .. Meshkati.(Eds .),.Human...8 Automated Manual Level of Automation Hi gh Z oo m M an ip ul at io n Pilot Non-pilot Figure 4. Number of participants with high levels of zoom

  18. Stereotactic radiosurgery for the treatment of brain metastases; results from a single institution experience.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Burke, D

    2013-09-01

    Stereotactic radiosurgery is frequently used for the treatment of brain metastases. This study provides a retrospective evaluation of patients with secondary lesions of the brain treated with stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) at our institution.

  19. 48 CFR 1819.7208 - Award Fee Pilot Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 true Award Fee Pilot Program... Pilot Program. (a) Mentors will be eligible to earn a separate award fee associated with the provision... related to the mentor-protégé relationship. (d) The Award Fee Pilot Program is an addition to the credit...

  20. 46 CFR 401.425 - Provision for additional pilot.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 8 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Provision for additional pilot. 401.425 Section 401.425... REGULATIONS Rates, Charges, and Conditions for Pilotage Services § 401.425 Provision for additional pilot. The... Authority, Ltd., Canada, may require the assignment of two pilots to a ship upon request of the ship or when...

  1. 46 CFR 109.585 - Use of auto pilot.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Use of auto pilot. 109.585 Section 109.585 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) A-MOBILE OFFSHORE DRILLING UNITS OPERATIONS Miscellaneous § 109.585 Use of auto pilot. Except as provided in 33 CFR 164.15, when the automatic pilot is used...

  2. 46 CFR 122.360 - Use of auto pilot.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Use of auto pilot. 122.360 Section 122.360 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) SMALL PASSENGER VESSELS CARRYING MORE THAN 150... Requirements § 122.360 Use of auto pilot. Whenever an automatic pilot is used the master shall ensure that: (a...

  3. The Necessity of ASEAN Community in Producing Pilots

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saowaros, Thanoo; Puncreobutr, Vichian

    2016-01-01

    The main objectives of this study are to identify the reasons for the shortage of pilots; the necessity of producing Pilots and the obstacles and problems faced by ASEAN Community in producing pilots. The study is conducted by official documents, observations, in-depth interview from personnel who are working for Airports Authority of Thailand,…

  4. Pilot beverage cartons : extended technical report

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Thoden van Velzen, E.U.; Brouwer, M.T.; Keijsers, E.R.P.; Pretz, Th.; Feil, A.; Jansen, M.

    2014-01-01

    This report gives a technological description of the four common collection and recycling schemes that have been tested in the Netherlands as part of the pilot beverage cartons in 2013. During this pilot the collection and recycling of beverage cartons was tested in 37 different municipalities, with

  5. Drilling and associated Drillhole measurements of the Pilot Hole ONK-PH14

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aalto, P.; Toropainen, V.; Tarvainen, A.-M.; Pekkanen, J.; Poellaenen, J.; Lamminmaeki, T.

    2011-09-01

    The construction of ONKALO access tunnel started in September 2004 at Olkiluoto. During the construction, investigations serving both research and construction purposes need to be done. Investigations can be done for example in so called pilot holes. Pilot holes are cored drillholes to be drilled to the tunnel profile. The length of the holes varies from some tens of metres to some hundreds of metres. The purpose of the holes is to confirm the quality of the rock mass for tunnel construction, especially to identify water conductive fractures/fractured zones and to provide information that could result in modifications of the existing construction plans. The pilot hole ONK-PH14 was drilled in June 2010. Drilling was started in chainage 4313.6. The length of the hole was 150.80 metres. The deviation of the drillhole was measured during and after the drilling. Additionally, oriented core samples were collected from the drill core and the electric conductivity of returning water was measured. Logging of the core samples included following parameters: lithology, foliation, fracturing, fracture frequency, RQD, fractured zones, core loss and weathering. The rock mechanical logging was based on Q-classification. The strength and deformation properties of the rock were defined by using Rock-Tester equipment. Hydraulic measurements were made by using the PFL DIFF (Posiva Flow log, Difference Flow Method). PFL DIFF measurements were performed with a 0.5 m section length and with 0.1 m length increments. With PFL DIFF tool the locations of transmissive fractures were detected. Simultaneously, the electric conductivity (EC) of the drillhole water and fracture specific water, temperature of the drillhole water, single point resistance (SPR) of the drillhole wall and the prevailing water pressure were measured. Water loss measurements were done after the drilling by the tool developed by Posiva. The tool was in test use during the measurements. The groundwater sample was

  6. Drilling and associated Drillhole measurements of the Pilot Hole ONK-PH14

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aalto, P. (ed.); Lahti, M.; Kosunen, P.; Pere, T. [Posiva Oy, Helsinki (Finland); Toropainen, V.; Tarvainen, A.-M. [Suomen Malmi Oy, Espoo (Finland); Pekkanen, J.; Poellaenen, J. [Poeyry Finland Oy, Espoo (Finland); Lamminmaeki, T. [Teollisuuden Voima Oyj, Helsinki (Finland)

    2011-08-15

    The construction of ONKALO access tunnel started in September 2004 at Olkiluoto. During the construction, investigations serving both research and construction purposes need to be done. Investigations can be done for example in so called pilot holes. Pilot holes are cored drillholes to be drilled to the tunnel profile. The length of the holes varies from some tens of metres to some hundreds of metres. The purpose of the holes is to confirm the quality of the rock mass for tunnel construction, especially to identify water conductive fractures/fractured zones and to provide information that could result in modifications of the existing construction plans. The pilot hole ONK-PH14 was drilled in June 2010. Drilling was started in chainage 4313.6. The length of the hole was 150.80 metres. The deviation of the drillhole was measured during and after the drilling. Additionally, oriented core samples were collected from the drill core and the electric conductivity of returning water was measured. Logging of the core samples included following parameters: lithology, foliation, fracturing, fracture frequency, RQD, fractured zones, core loss and weathering. The rock mechanical logging was based on Q-classification. The strength and deformation properties of the rock were defined by using Rock-Tester equipment. Hydraulic measurements were made by using the PFL DIFF (Posiva Flow log, Difference Flow Method). PFL DIFF measurements were performed with a 0.5 m section length and with 0.1 m length increments. With PFL DIFF tool the locations of transmissive fractures were detected. Simultaneously, the electric conductivity (EC) of the drillhole water and fracture specific water, temperature of the drillhole water, single point resistance (SPR) of the drillhole wall and the prevailing water pressure were measured. Water loss measurements were done after the drilling by the tool developed by Posiva. The tool was in test use during the measurements. The groundwater sample was

  7. Drilling and associated drillhole measurements of the pilot hole ONK-PH13

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tarvainen, A.-M.; Toropainen, V.; Pekkanen, J.; Poellaenen, J.; Kosunen, P.; Lahti, M.; Pere, T.; Aalto, P.

    2011-04-01

    The construction of ONKALO access tunnel started in September 2004 at Olkiluoto. During the construction, investigations serving both research and construction purposes need to be done. Investigations can be done for example in so called pilot holes. Pilot holes are cored drillholes to be drilled to the tunnel profile. The length of the holes varies from some tens of meters to some hundreds of meters. The purpose of the holes is to confirm the quality of the rock mass for tunnel construction, especially to identify water conductive fractures/fracture zones and provide information that could result in modifications of the existing construction plans. The pilot hole ONK-KR13 was drilled in March 2010. Drilling was started from chainage 4201. The final length of the hole was 140.05 meters. The deviation of the drillhole was measured during and after the drilling. Additionally, oriented core samples were collected and electric conductivity of returning water from the drill hole was measured. Logging of the core samples included following parameters: lithology, foliation, fracturing, fracture frequency, RQD, fractured zones, core loss and weathering. The rock mechanical logging was based on Q-classification. The strength and deformation properties of the rock were defined by using Rock-Tester equipment. Hydraulic measurements were made by using the PFL DIFF (Posiva Flow Log, Difference Flow method). PFL DIFF measurements were performed with a 0.5 m section length and with 0.1 m length increments. With PFL DIFF tool the locations of flowing fractures and their transmissivities were detected. Simultaneously, the electric conductivity (EC) of the drillhole water and fracture-specific water, temperature of the drillhole water, single point resistance (SPR) of the drillhole wall and the prevailing water pressure profile were measured. Water loss measurements were done after the drilling by the tool developed by Posiva. The equipment was in test use during the measurements

  8. Lean Six Sigma applied to a process innovation in a mexican health institute's imaging department.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia-Porres, J; Ortiz-Posadas, M R; Pimentel-Aguilar, A B

    2008-01-01

    Delivery of services to a patient has to be given with an acceptable measure of quality that can be monitored through the patient's satisfaction. The objective of this work was to innovate processes eliminating waste and non value-added work in processes done at the Imaging Department in the National Institute of Respiratory Diseases (INER for its Spanish acronym) in Mexico City, to decrease the time a patient spends in a study and increase satisfaction. This innovation will be done using Lean Six Sigma tools and applied in a pilot program.

  9. A pilot, family-based randomised controlled trial to reduce screen time and unhealthy snacking in children and their parents: Kids FIRST

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natalie Pearson

    2015-10-01

    To our knowledge, Kids FIRST is the first pilot RCT to examine the effectiveness of behaviour change strategies for reducing children’s screen-time and unhealthy snacking. The integration of consistent, evidence-based and theory informed strategies and messages to children and their parents in the family and school settings are critical components of this pilot study. The results of this study will provide evidence on the feasibility and effectiveness of single versus multiple behaviour intervention strategies. If shown to be feasible and effective, the Kids FIRST study may have a significant impact on the home environment and parenting practices relating to screen time and unhealthy snacking.

  10. Annual Report and Accounts 2000 Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2002-01-01

    under way with pilot programmes in Ennis and Tralee. The Institute reports eleven instances during 2000 of abnormal occurrences or deviations from good practice in applications of ionising radiation in industry, medicine and education

  11. Age Learning Factors Affecting Pilot Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torbert, Brison

    This document, intended for pilot education and flight safety specialists, consists chiefly of a review of the literature on physiological factors that affect pilot education and an examination of environmental factors that should be scrutinized in order to improve the effectiveness of aviation learning facilities. The physiological factors…

  12. Pilot project as enabler?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Neisig, Margit; Glimø, Helle; Holm, Catrine Granzow

    This article deals with a systemic perspective on transition. The field of study addressed is a pilot project as enabler of transition in a highly complex polycentric context. From a Luhmannian systemic approach, a framework is created to understand and address barriers of change occurred using...... pilot projects as enabler of transition. Aspects of how to create trust and deal with distrust during a transition are addressed. The transition in focus is the concept of New Public Management and how it is applied in the management of the Employment Service in Denmark. The transition regards...

  13. Autogenic-feedback training improves pilot performance during emergency flying conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kellar, Michael A.; Folen, Raymond A.; Cowings, Patricia S.; Toscano, William B.; Hisert, Glen L.

    1994-01-01

    Studies have shown that autonomous mode behavior is one cause of aircraft fatalities due to pilot error. In such cases, the pilot is in a high state of psychological and physiological arousal and tends to focus on one problem, while ignoring more critical information. This study examined the effect of training in physiological self-recognition and regulation, as a means of improving crew cockpit performance. Seventeen pilots were assigned to the treatment and control groups matched for accumulated flight hours. The treatment group comprised three pilots of HC-130 Hercules aircraft and four HH-65 Dolphin helicopter pilots; the control group comprised three pilots of HC-130's and six Dolphin helicopter pilots. During an initial flight, physiological data were recorded for each crew member and individual crew performance was rated by an instructor pilot. Eight crewmembers were then taught to regulate their own physiological response levels using Autogenic-Feedback Training (AFT). The remaining subjects received no training. During a second flight, treatment subjects showed significant improvement in performance, while controls did not improve. The results indicate that AFT management of high states of physiological arousal may improve pilot performance during emergency flying conditions.

  14. Tenure Issues in REDD+ Pilot Project Sites in Tanzania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Therese Dokken

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available REDD+ has been proposed as a viable option for addressing climate change in the near term, and at relatively low cost. There is a broad consensus that clearly defined tenure rights are important for the implementation and success of REDD+, both to manage forests effectively and to protect local communities’ livelihoods. We use primary data from 23 villages in six REDD+ pilot sites in Tanzania to identify causes of deforestation and forest degradation, and tenure rights issues, at the village level prior to project implementation. Further, interviews with project proponents and examination of project documents yields insights into how the proponents plan to address tenure issues. Most villages perceive their tenure as secure and have exclusion rights, while collective action challenges are prevalent in villages experiencing deforestation and forest degradation. These findings suggest that the main tenure issues are related to internal institutional arrangements. While we find that tenure is high on the agenda for all the project proponents, they are mainly focusing on formalization and securing tenure rights from state to community level. Though we do find this to be a precondition for reducing deforestation and degradation, some of their focus should be shifted to strengthening village institutions and enhancing internal compliance.

  15. Implementing Electronic Health Record Default Settings to Reduce Opioid Overprescribing: A Pilot Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zivin, Kara; White, Jessica O; Chao, Sandra; Christensen, Anna L; Horner, Luke; Petersen, Dana M; Hobbs, Morgan R; Capreol, Grace; Halbritter, Kevin A; Jones, Christopher M

    2018-01-09

    To pilot test the effectiveness, feasibility, and acceptability of instituting a 15-pill quantity default in the electronic health record for new Schedule II opioid prescriptions. A mixed-methods pilot study in two health systems, including pre-post analysis of prescribed opioid quantity and focus groups or interviews with prescribers and health system administrators. We implemented a 15-pill electronic health record default for new Schedule II opioids and assessed opioid quantity before and after implementation using electronic health record data on 6,390 opioid prescriptions from 448 prescribers. We then analyzed themes from focus groups and interviews with four staff members and six prescribers. The proportion of opioid prescriptions for 15 pills increased at both sites after adding an electronic health record default, with one reaching statistical significance (from 4.1% to 7.2% at CHC, P = 0.280, and 15.9% to 37.2% at WVU, P default, although ease of implementation varied by electronic health record vendor. Most prescribers were not aware of the default change and stated that they made prescribing decisions based on patient clinical characteristics rather than defaults. This pilot provides initial evidence that changing default settings can increase the number of prescriptions at the default level. This low-cost and relatively simple intervention could have an impact on opioid overprescribing. However, default settings should be selected carefully to avoid unintended consequences. © 2018 American Academy of Pain Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

  16. CellPilot: Seamless communication within Cell BE and heterogeneous clusters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Girard, N; Carter, J; Gardner, W B; Grewal, G

    2010-01-01

    The Pilot library is targeted to novice scientific programmers within High Performance Computing. The CellPilot library extends the Pilot library to the Cell Broadband Engine processor and heterogeneous clusters. Using Pilot's process and channel abstractions, the CellPilot library can create a process on any of the processor types, both PPEs and SPEs, across the cluster. Communication is achieved by creating a channel between any two processes, and using the write/read channel functions in the participating processes. The CellPilot library uses MPI for the inter-node communication and the Cell SDK within a Cell node. All the architecture specific details of Cell communications are hidden from the user.

  17. Inorganic nitrate as a treatment for acute heart failure: a protocol for a single center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot and feasibility study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Falls, Roman; Seman, Michael; Braat, Sabine; Sortino, Joshua; Allen, Jason D; Neil, Christopher J

    2017-08-08

    Acute heart failure (AHF) is a frequent reason for hospitalization worldwide and effective treatment options are limited. It is known that AHF is a condition characterized by impaired vasorelaxation, together with reduced nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability, an endogenous vasodilatory compound. Supplementation of inorganic sodium nitrate (NaNO 3 ) is an indirect dietary source of NO, through bioconversion. It is proposed that oral sodium nitrate will favorably affect levels of circulating NO precursors (nitrate and nitrite) in AHF patients, resulting in reduced systemic vascular resistance, without significant hypotension. We propose a single center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot trial, evaluating the feasibility of sodium nitrate as a treatment for AHF. The primary hypothesis that sodium nitrate treatment will result in increased systemic levels of nitric oxide pre-cursors (nitrate and nitrite) in plasma, in parallel with improved vasorelaxation, as assessed by non-invasively derived systemic vascular resistance index. Additional surrogate measures relevant to the known pathophysiology of AHF will be obtained in order to assess clinical effect on dyspnea and renal function. The results of this study will provide evidence of the feasibility of this novel approach and will be of interest to the heart failure community. This trial may inform a larger study.

  18. Pilot Critical Incident Reports as a Means to Identify Human Factors of Remotely Piloted Aircraft

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hobbs, Alan; Cardoza, Colleen; Null, Cynthia

    2016-01-01

    It has been estimated that aviation accidents are typically preceded by numerous minor incidents arising from the same causal factors that ultimately produced the accident. Accident databases provide in-depth information on a relatively small number of occurrences, however incident databases have the potential to provide insights into the human factors of Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) operations based on a larger volume of less-detailed reports. Currently, there is a lack of incident data dealing with the human factors of unmanned aircraft systems. An exploratory study is being conducted to examine the feasibility of collecting voluntary critical incident reports from RPAS pilots. Twenty-three experienced RPAS pilots volunteered to participate in focus groups in which they described critical incidents from their own experience. Participants were asked to recall (1) incidents that revealed a system flaw, or (2) highlighted a case where the human operator contributed to system resilience or mission success. Participants were asked to only report incidents that could be included in a public document. During each focus group session, a note taker produced a de-identified written record of the incident narratives. At the end of the session, participants reviewed each written incident report, and made edits and corrections as necessary. The incidents were later analyzed to identify contributing factors, with a focus on design issues that either hindered or assisted the pilot during the events. A total of 90 incidents were reported. Human factor issues included the impact of reduced sensory cues, traffic separation in the absence of an out-the-window view, control latencies, vigilance during monotonous and ultra-long endurance flights, control station design considerations, transfer of control between control stations, the management of lost link procedures, and decision-making during emergencies. Pilots participated willingly and enthusiastically in the study

  19. Personality Test Scores that Distinguish U.S. Air Force Remotely Piloted Aircraft Drone Pilot Training Candidates

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-02-18

    advancement of aviation drone technology has led to significant developments and improvements in the capabilities of military remotely piloted aircraft...stress; less excitement seeking and action oriented; less assertive; more socially introverted and withdrawn; more socially compliant and...to age and educational differences. Fifth, evaluations that involve selection and assessment of pilot applicants should include collateral sources of

  20. Service Matters: Single Service Point as a Collaborative and Professional Learning Initiative for Service Excellence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chauvet, Marianne; Bourbous, Vicki; Liston, Frances

    2016-01-01

    Changes and innovations in higher education learning and teaching acted as a catalyst for rethinking the way in which service was delivered to library clients at Australian Catholic University. The Single Service Point was piloted at one campus library in 2014 to develop a best practice approach to service delivery. The merging of cultures within…