Development and implementation of the Good Neighbor Agreement (GNA) practice in the USA sustainable mining development.

Science.gov (United States)

Masaitis, Alexandra

2014-05-01

New economic, environmental and social challenges for the mining industry in the USA show the need to implement "responsible" mining practices that include improved community involvement. Conflicts which occur in the US territory and with US mining companies around the world are now common between the mining proponents, NGO's and communities. These conflicts can sometimes be alleviated by early development of modes of communication, and a formal discussion format that allows airing of concerns and potential resolution of problems. One of the methods that can formalize this process is to establish a Good Neighbor Agreement (GNA), which deals specifically with challenges in relationships between mining operations and the local communities. It is a new practice related to mining operations that are oriented toward social needs and concerns of local communities that arise during the normal life of a mine, which can achieve sustainable mining practices. The GNA project being currently developed at the University of Nevada, USA in cooperation with the Newmont Mining Corporation has a goal of creating an open company/community dialog that will help identify and address sociological and environmental concerns associated with mining. Discussion: The Good Neighbor Agreement currently evolving will address the following: 1. Identify spheres of possible cooperation between mining companies, government organizations, and NGO's. 2. Provide an economically viable mechanism for developing a partnership between mining operations and the local communities that will increase mining industry's accountability and provide higher levels of confidence for the community that a mine is operated in a safe and sustainable manner. Implementation of the GNA can help identify and evaluate conflict criteria in mining/community relationships; determine the status of concerns; determine the role and responsibilities of stakeholders; analyze problem resolution feasibility; maintain the community

The role of surprise in satisfaction judgements

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vanhamme, J.; Snelders, H.M.J.J.

2001-01-01

Empirical findings suggest that surprise plays an important role in consumer satisfaction, but there is a lack of theory to explain why this is so. The present paper provides explanations for the process through which positive (negative) surprise might enhance (reduce) consumer satisfaction. First,

The natural gas guideline... Finally a good agreement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beltrame-Devoti, M.C.

1998-01-01

After 18 months of intense negotiations, the European Energy Council came on December 8, 1997 to an agreement about the internal gas market. The essential point of this guideline is the possibility for some customers to deal with the supplier of their choice. This opening of national gas markets will lead to the disappearance of gas importation monopolies. This paper summarizes the final option retained for the opening of the European gas market, its schedule, the protection of take or pay contracts, and the future perspectives for industrialists (new operators for the storage, transport, terminals management, distribution and trade, diversification of services, competition..). (J.S.)

Application of good practices as described by the NEPSI agreement coincides with a strong decline in the exposure to respiratory crystalline silica in Finnish workplaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Tuomi, Tapani; Linnainmaa, Markku; Väänänen, Virpi; Reijula, Kari

2014-08-01

To protect the health of those occupationally exposed to respirable crystalline silica, the main industries in European Union associated with exposure to respirable silica, agreed on appropriate measures for the improvement of working conditions through the application of good practices, as part of 'The Agreement on Workers Health Protection through the Good Handling and Use of Crystalline Silica and Products Containing it' (NEPSI agreement), signed in April 2006. The present paper examines trends in exposure to respirable crystalline silica in Finland prior to and following the implementation of the NEPSI agreement and includes a working example of the NEPSI approach in the concrete industry. Data derived from workplace exposure assessments during the years 1994-2013 are presented, including 2556 air samples collected mostly indoors, from either the breathing zone of workers or from stationary points usually at a height of 1.5 m above the floor, with the aim to estimate average exposure of workers to respiratory crystalline silica during an 8-h working day. The aim was, to find out how effective this unique approach has been in the management of one of the major occupational hazards in the concerned industries. Application of good practices as described by the NEPSI agreement coincides with a strong decline in the exposure to respirable crystalline silica in Finnish workplaces, as represented by the clientele of Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. During the years followed in the present study, we see a >10-fold decrease in the average and median exposures to respirable silica. Prior to the implementation of the NEPSI agreement, >50% of the workplace measurements yielded results above the OEL8 h (0.2mg m(-3)). As of present (2013), circa 10% of the measurements are above of or identical to the OEL8 h (0.05mg m(-3)). © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Occupational Hygiene Society.

A Dichotomic Analysis of the Surprise Examination Paradox

OpenAIRE

Franceschi, Paul

2002-01-01

This paper presents a dichotomic analysis of the surprise examination paradox. In section 1, I analyse the surprise notion in detail. I introduce then in section 2, the distinction between a monist and dichotomic analysis of the paradox. I also present there a dichotomy leading to distinguish two basically and structurally different versions of the paradox, respectively based on a conjoint and a disjoint definition of the surprise. In section 3, I describe the solution to SEP corresponding to...

Exploration, Novelty, Surprise and Free Energy Minimisation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Philipp eSchwartenbeck

2013-10-01

Full Text Available This paper reviews recent developments under the free energy principle that introduce a normative perspective on classical economic (utilitarian decision-making based on (active Bayesian inference. It has been suggested that the free energy principle precludes novelty and complexity, because it assumes that biological systems – like ourselves - try to minimise the long-term average of surprise to maintain their homeostasis. However, recent formulations show that minimising surprise leads naturally to concepts such as exploration and novelty bonuses. In this approach, agents infer a policy that minimises surprise by minimising the difference (or relative entropy between likely and desired outcomes, which involves both pursuing the goal-state that has the highest expected utility (often termed ‘exploitation’ and visiting a number of different goal-states (‘exploration’. Crucially, the opportunity to visit new states increases the value of the current state. Casting decision-making problems within a variational framework, therefore, predicts that our behaviour is governed by both the entropy and expected utility of future states. This dissolves any dialectic between minimising surprise and exploration or novelty seeking.

One of the Good Guys

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wiley, H. S.

2010-10-01

I was talking with some younger colleagues at a meeting last month when the subject of career goals came up. These colleagues were successful in that they had recently received tenure at top research universities and had some grants and good students. Thus, the early career pressure to simply survive was gone. So now what motivated them? Solving challenging and significant scientific problems was at the top of their lists. Interestingly, they were also motivated by a desire to become one of the “good guys” in science. The fact that being an important contributor to the scientific community can be fulfilling should not come as a surprise to anyone. However, what I do consider surprising is how rarely this seems to be discussed with students and postdocs. What we do discuss are either those issues that are fundamental aspects of the job (get a grant, get tenure, do research in an important field) or those that are important to our institutions. Knowing how to do our jobs well is indeed essential for any kind of professional success. However, achieving the right balance in our ambitions is also important for our happiness.

REAL ESTATE PURCHASE AGREEMENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bujorel FLOREA

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The study presented herein represents a field with good present and future perspectives, especially because real estate property is not under the incidence of a single normative act regarding the sale-purchase agreement of such goods, and given the fact that there are specific legal provisions with respect to various real estate categories and the localization of such property. The article deals with the sale-purchase agreement of various real estate categories, such as fields, buildings, the correspondent lots, urban area, farm, and forests fields, focusing on some particularities. A special care is attributed to examining the applicable laws with regard to the purchase agreements of field lands, the special conditions to be taken into account, the persons that may act as buyers, including foreigners, those without citizenship, and legal persons of a nationality other than Romanian. Finally, a special concern is given to the formalities required for legally exerting the pre-emptive right and the applicable sanctions in that respect.

A Contrast-Based Computational Model of Surprise and Its Applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Macedo, Luis; Cardoso, Amílcar

2017-11-19

We review our work on a contrast-based computational model of surprise and its applications. The review is contextualized within related research from psychology, philosophy, and particularly artificial intelligence. Influenced by psychological theories of surprise, the model assumes that surprise-eliciting events initiate a series of cognitive processes that begin with the appraisal of the event as unexpected, continue with the interruption of ongoing activity and the focusing of attention on the unexpected event, and culminate in the analysis and evaluation of the event and the revision of beliefs. It is assumed that the intensity of surprise elicited by an event is a nonlinear function of the difference or contrast between the subjective probability of the event and that of the most probable alternative event (which is usually the expected event); and that the agent's behavior is partly controlled by actual and anticipated surprise. We describe applications of artificial agents that incorporate the proposed surprise model in three domains: the exploration of unknown environments, creativity, and intelligent transportation systems. These applications demonstrate the importance of surprise for decision making, active learning, creative reasoning, and selective attention. Copyright © 2017 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

The Role of Surprise in Game-Based Learning for Mathematics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wouters, Pieter; van Oostendorp, Herre; ter Vrugte, Judith; Vandercruysse, Sylke; de Jong, Anthonius J.M.; Elen, Jan; De Gloria, Alessandro; Veltkamp, Remco

2016-01-01

In this paper we investigate the potential of surprise on learning with prevocational students in the domain of proportional reasoning. Surprise involves an emotional reaction, but it also serves a cognitive goal as it directs attention to explain why the surprising event occurred and to learn for

The duty to negotiate in good faith and the enforceability of short-term natural gas clauses in production sharing agreements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bishop, R.D.

1997-01-01

The exploitation of natural gas resources not associated with oil production, poses legal and ethical problems for some countries. This document examines various international oil contracts, especially Production Sharing Agreements (PSA), to establish how short-term gas provisions can be exploited. In particular the issue of breaching a PSA by failing to negotiate in good faith on such a project is debated, showing how clearly this duty falls on the government party. International oil companies are urged to create contracts which allow them to enforce short-term PSA gas clauses. (UK)

19 CFR 10.594 - Originating goods.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... States Free Trade Agreement Rules of Origin § 10.594 Originating goods. Except as otherwise provided in... good otherwise satisfies any applicable regional value content or other requirements specified in...

Metaproteomics of cellulose methanisation under thermophilic conditions reveals a surprisingly high proteolytic activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Lü, Fan; Bize, Ariane; Guillot, Alain; Monnet, Véronique; Madigou, Céline; Chapleur, Olivier; Mazéas, Laurent; He, Pinjing; Bouchez, Théodore

2014-01-01

Cellulose is the most abundant biopolymer on Earth. Optimising energy recovery from this renewable but recalcitrant material is a key issue. The metaproteome expressed by thermophilic communities during cellulose anaerobic digestion was investigated in microcosms. By multiplying the analytical replicates (65 protein fractions analysed by MS/MS) and relying solely on public protein databases, more than 500 non-redundant protein functions were identified. The taxonomic community structure as inferred from the metaproteomic data set was in good overall agreement with 16S rRNA gene tag pyrosequencing and fluorescent in situ hybridisation analyses. Numerous functions related to cellulose and hemicellulose hydrolysis and fermentation catalysed by bacteria related to Caldicellulosiruptor spp. and Clostridium thermocellum were retrieved, indicating their key role in the cellulose-degradation process and also suggesting their complementary action. Despite the abundance of acetate as a major fermentation product, key methanogenesis enzymes from the acetoclastic pathway were not detected. In contrast, enzymes from the hydrogenotrophic pathway affiliated to Methanothermobacter were almost exclusively identified for methanogenesis, suggesting a syntrophic acetate oxidation process coupled to hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis. Isotopic analyses confirmed the high dominance of the hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis. Very surprising was the identification of an abundant proteolytic activity from Coprothermobacter proteolyticus strains, probably acting as scavenger and/or predator performing proteolysis and fermentation. Metaproteomics thus appeared as an efficient tool to unravel and characterise metabolic networks as well as ecological interactions during methanisation bioprocesses. More generally, metaproteomics provides direct functional insights at a limited cost, and its attractiveness should increase in the future as sequence databases are growing exponentially.

A Neural Mechanism for Surprise-related Interruptions of Visuospatial Working Memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Wessel, Jan R

2018-01-01

Surprising perceptual events recruit a fronto-basal ganglia mechanism for inhibition, which suppresses motor activity following surprise. A recent study found that this inhibitory mechanism also disrupts the maintenance of verbal working memory (WM) after surprising tones. However, it is unclear whether this same mechanism also relates to surprise-related interruptions of non-verbal WM. We tested this hypothesis using a change-detection task, in which surprising tones impaired visuospatial WM. Participants also performed a stop-signal task (SST). We used independent component analysis and single-trial scalp-electroencephalogram to test whether the same inhibitory mechanism that reflects motor inhibition in the SST relates to surprise-related visuospatial WM decrements, as was the case for verbal WM. As expected, surprising tones elicited activity of the inhibitory mechanism, and this activity correlated strongly with the trial-by-trial level of surprise. However, unlike for verbal WM, the activity of this mechanism was unrelated to visuospatial WM accuracy. Instead, inhibition-independent activity that immediately succeeded the inhibitory mechanism was increased when visuospatial WM was disrupted. This shows that surprise-related interruptions of visuospatial WM are not effected by the same inhibitory mechanism that interrupts verbal WM, and instead provides evidence for a 2-stage model of distraction. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Prospective assessment of interobserver agreement for defecography in fecal incontinence.

Science.gov (United States)

Dobben, Annette C; Wiersma, Tjeerd G; Janssen, Lucas W M; de Vos, Rien; Terra, Maaike P; Baeten, Cor G; Stoker, Jaap

2005-11-01

The primary aim of our study was to determine the interobserver agreement of defecography in diagnosing enterocele, anterior rectocele, intussusception, and anismus in fecal-incontinent patients. The subsidiary aim was to evaluate the influence of level of experience on interpreting defecography. Defecography was performed in 105 consecutive fecal-incontinent patients. Observers were classified by level of experience and their findings were compared with the findings of an expert radiologist. The quality of the expert radiologist's findings was evaluated by an intraobserver agreement procedure. Intraobserver agreement was good to very good except for anismus: incomplete evacuation after 30 sec (kappa, 0.55) and puborectalis impression (kappa, 0.54). Interobserver agreement for enterocele and rectocele was good (kappa, 0.66 for both) and for intussusception, fair (kappa, 0.29). Interobserver agreement for anismus: incomplete evacuation after 30 sec was moderate (kappa, 0.47), and for anismus: puborectalis impression was fair (kappa, 0.24). Agreement in grading of enterocele and rectocele was good (kappa, 0.64 and 0.72, respectively) and for intussusception, fair (kappa, 0.39). Agreement separated by experience level was very good for rectocele (kappa, 0.83) and grading of rectoceles (kappa, 0.83) and moderate for intussusception (kappa, 0.44) at the most experienced level. For enterocele and grading, experience level did not influence the reproducibility. Reproducibility for enterocele, anterior rectocele, and severity grading is good, but for intussusception is fair to moderate. For anismus, the diagnosis of incomplete evacuation after 30 sec is more reproducible than puborectalis impression. The level of experience seems to play a role in diagnosing anterior rectocele and its grading and in diagnosing intussusception.

Human amygdala response to dynamic facial expressions of positive and negative surprise.

Science.gov (United States)

Vrticka, Pascal; Lordier, Lara; Bediou, Benoît; Sander, David

2014-02-01

Although brain imaging evidence accumulates to suggest that the amygdala plays a key role in the processing of novel stimuli, only little is known about its role in processing expressed novelty conveyed by surprised faces, and even less about possible interactive encoding of novelty and valence. Those investigations that have already probed human amygdala involvement in the processing of surprised facial expressions either used static pictures displaying negative surprise (as contained in fear) or "neutral" surprise, and manipulated valence by contextually priming or subjectively associating static surprise with either negative or positive information. Therefore, it still remains unresolved how the human amygdala differentially processes dynamic surprised facial expressions displaying either positive or negative surprise. Here, we created new artificial dynamic 3-dimensional facial expressions conveying surprise with an intrinsic positive (wonderment) or negative (fear) connotation, but also intrinsic positive (joy) or negative (anxiety) emotions not containing any surprise, in addition to neutral facial displays either containing ("typical surprise" expression) or not containing ("neutral") surprise. Results showed heightened amygdala activity to faces containing positive (vs. negative) surprise, which may either correspond to a specific wonderment effect as such, or to the computation of a negative expected value prediction error. Findings are discussed in the light of data obtained from a closely matched nonsocial lottery task, which revealed overlapping activity within the left amygdala to unexpected positive outcomes. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Good Practice and Recommendations for Research Team Leadership

Science.gov (United States)

2017-05-01

which makes the junior researcher receptive to branching out. Again, one avenue that facilitates expanding their skill set is the assignment detail...bit of “flavor” can be added by sharing with the audience any surprises, difficulties, or lessons learned along the way. A good team leader should

Good families of Drinfeld modular curves

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bassa, Alp; Beelen, Peter; Nguyen, Nhut

2015-01-01

In this paper, we investigate examples of good and optimal Drinfeld modular towers of function fields. Surprisingly, the optimality of these towers has not been investigated in full detail in the literature. We also give an algorithmic approach for obtaining explicit defining equations for some...... of these towers and, in particular, give a new explicit example of an optimal tower over a quadratic finite field....

The Value of Surprising Findings for Research on Marketing

OpenAIRE

JS Armstrong

2004-01-01

In the work of Armstrong (Journal of Business Research, 2002), I examined empirical research on the scientific process and related these to marketing science. The findings of some studies were surprising. In this reply, I address surprising findings and other issues raised by commentators.

An efficient community detection algorithm using greedy surprise maximization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang, Yawen; Jia, Caiyan; Yu, Jian

2014-01-01

Community detection is an important and crucial problem in complex network analysis. Although classical modularity function optimization approaches are widely used for identifying communities, the modularity function (Q) suffers from its resolution limit. Recently, the surprise function (S) was experimentally proved to be better than the Q function. However, up until now, there has been no algorithm available to perform searches to directly determine the maximal surprise values. In this paper, considering the superiority of the S function over the Q function, we propose an efficient community detection algorithm called AGSO (algorithm based on greedy surprise optimization) and its improved version FAGSO (fast-AGSO), which are based on greedy surprise optimization and do not suffer from the resolution limit. In addition, (F)AGSO does not need the number of communities K to be specified in advance. Tests on experimental networks show that (F)AGSO is able to detect optimal partitions in both simple and even more complex networks. Moreover, algorithms based on surprise maximization perform better than those algorithms based on modularity maximization, including Blondel–Guillaume–Lambiotte–Lefebvre (BGLL), Clauset–Newman–Moore (CNM) and the other state-of-the-art algorithms such as Infomap, order statistics local optimization method (OSLOM) and label propagation algorithm (LPA). (paper)

Good agreements between self and clinician-collected specimens for the detection of human papillomavirus in Brazilian patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karla Lopes Mandu de Campos

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Women infected with human papillomavirus (HPV are at a higher risk of developing cervical lesions. In the current study, self and clinician-collected vaginal and cervical samples from women were processed to detect HPV DNA using polymerase chain reaction (PCR with PGMY09/11 primers. HPV genotypes were determined using type-specific PCR. HPV DNA detection showed good concordance between self and clinician-collected samples (84.6%; kappa = 0.72. HPV infection was found in 30% women and genotyping was more concordant among high-risk HPV (HR-HPV than low-risk HPV (HR-HPV. HPV16 was the most frequently detected among the HR-HPV types. LR-HPV was detected at a higher frequency in self-collected; however, HR-HPV types were more frequently identified in clinician-collected samples than in self-collected samples. HPV infections of multiple types were detected in 20.5% of clinician-collected samples and 15.5% of self-collected samples. In this study, we demonstrated that the HPV DNA detection rate in self-collected samples has good agreement with that of clinician-collected samples. Self-collected sampling, as a primary prevention strategy in countries with few resources, could be effective for identifying cases of HR-HPV, being more acceptable. The use of this method would enhance the coverage of screening programs for cervical cancer.

Radar Design to Protect Against Surprise

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Doerry, Armin W. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2015-02-01

Technological and doctrinal surprise is about rendering preparations for conflict as irrelevant or ineffective . For a sensor, this means essentially rendering the sensor as irrelevant or ineffective in its ability to help determine truth. Recovery from this sort of surprise is facilitated by flexibility in our own technology and doctrine. For a sensor, this mean s flexibility in its architecture, design, tactics, and the designing organizations ' processes. - 4 - Acknowledgements This report is the result of a n unfunded research and development activity . Sandia National Laboratories is a multi - program laboratory manage d and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE - AC04 - 94AL85000.

Software licenses: Good fences make good neighbors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McCreary, J.G.; Woodyard, A.

1995-01-01

The basis for a good contract is that it is beneficial to both parties. A good foundation will cement the responsibilities and obligations of the parties after areas of agreement have been negotiated. Unfortunately, software licenses do not always reflect what is best for all. Some clauses are definitely for the benefit of the vendor, while others are required by a prudent client. The resulting contract is then a matter of reasonable compromise to achieve a good business relationship. Major issues of warranty, liability, training, support, and payment may be in conflict. Such topics as maintenance, testing, patents, extent of use, and return of software are often overlooked or addressed unevenly. This paper addresses these subjects and provides guidelines for software licenses. An understanding of legal phrases is of value. A better understanding of the viewpoints of both the vendor and the client results in a better working relationship

Surprise as a design strategy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ludden, G.D.S.; Schifferstein, H.N.J.; Hekkert, P.P.M.

2008-01-01

Imagine yourself queuing for the cashier’s desk in a supermarket. Naturally, you have picked the wrong line, the one that does not seem to move at all. Soon, you get tired of waiting. Now, how would you feel if the cashier suddenly started to sing? Many of us would be surprised and, regardless of

Surprisal analysis and probability matrices for rotational energy transfer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Levine, R.D.; Bernstein, R.B.; Kahana, P.; Procaccia, I.; Upchurch, E.T.

1976-01-01

The information-theoretic approach is applied to the analysis of state-to-state rotational energy transfer cross sections. The rotational surprisal is evaluated in the usual way, in terms of the deviance of the cross sections from their reference (''prior'') values. The surprisal is found to be an essentially linear function of the energy transferred. This behavior accounts for the experimentally observed exponential gap law for the hydrogen halide systems. The data base here analyzed (taken from the literature) is largely computational in origin: quantal calculations for the hydrogenic systems H 2 +H, He, Li + ; HD+He; D 2 +H and for the N 2 +Ar system; and classical trajectory results for H 2 +Li + ; D 2 +Li + and N 2 +Ar. The surprisal analysis not only serves to compact a large body of data but also aids in the interpretation of the results. A single surprisal parameter theta/subR/ suffices to account for the (relative) magnitude of all state-to-state inelastic cross sections at a given energy

Surprising Incentive: An Instrument for Promoting Safety Performance of Construction Employees

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fakhradin Ghasemi

2015-09-01

Conclusion: The results of this study proved that the surprising incentive would improve the employees' safety performance just in the short term because the surprising value of the incentives dwindle over time. For this reason and to maintain the surprising value of the incentive system, the amount and types of incentives need to be evaluated and modified annually or biannually.

THE ROLE OF REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

IRINA GABRIELA RADULESCU

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Regional and sub-regional groups having an integrative character appeared after the war and they aimed at harmonizing their economic policies, and, at the same time, they ensured, in accordance with the agreed degree of integration, free turnover of goods, products, services, capitals and labor force. By setting up these international economic organizations, the states of the world and especially developing countries wanted to improve their efforts for a sustained economic growth, to counteract the effects of the unequal external affairs and to eliminate underdevelopment. Some of the regional agreements that represent the new regionalism have been motivated politically and they were stimulated by the conviction that good agreements do not necessarily stand for good neighbors. Such agreements consolidate good diplomatic practices and their objective is to reduce the inevitable confrontation that may appear as a result of com

Dividend announcements reconsidered: Dividend changes versus dividend surprises

OpenAIRE

Andres, Christian; Betzer, André; van den Bongard, Inga; Haesner, Christian; Theissen, Erik

2012-01-01

This paper reconsiders the issue of share price reactions to dividend announcements. Previous papers rely almost exclusively on a naive dividend model in which the dividend change is used as a proxy for the dividend surprise. We use the difference between the actual dividend and the analyst consensus forecast as obtained from I/B/E/S as a proxy for the dividend surprise. Using data from Germany, we find significant share price reactions after dividend announcements. Once we control for analys...

Inter-observer agreement for Crohn's disease sub-phenotypes using the Montreal Classification: How good are we? A multi-centre Australasian study.

Science.gov (United States)

Krishnaprasad, Krupa; Andrews, Jane M; Lawrance, Ian C; Florin, Timothy; Gearry, Richard B; Leong, Rupert W L; Mahy, Gillian; Bampton, Peter; Prosser, Ruth; Leach, Peta; Chitti, Laurie; Cock, Charles; Grafton, Rachel; Croft, Anthony R; Cooke, Sharon; Doecke, James D; Radford-Smith, Graham L

2012-04-01

Crohn's disease (CD) exhibits significant clinical heterogeneity. Classification systems attempt to describe this; however, their utility and reliability depends on inter-observer agreement (IOA). We therefore sought to evaluate IOA using the Montreal Classification (MC). De-identified clinical records of 35 CD patients from 6 Australian IBD centres were presented to 13 expert practitioners from 8 Australia and New Zealand Inflammatory Bowel Disease Consortium (ANZIBDC) centres. Practitioners classified the cases using MC and forwarded data for central blinded analysis. IOA on smoking and medications was also tested. Kappa statistics, with pre-specified outcomes of κ>0.8 excellent; 0.61-0.8 good; 0.41-0.6 moderate and ≤0.4 poor, were used. 97% of study cases had colonoscopy reports, however, only 31% had undergone a complete set of diagnostic investigations (colonoscopy, histology, SB imaging). At diagnosis, IOA was excellent for age, κ=0.84; good for disease location, κ=0.73; only moderate for upper GI disease (κ=0.57) and disease behaviour, κ=0.54; and good for the presence of perianal disease, κ=0.6. At last follow-up, IOA was good for location, κ=0.68; only moderate for upper GI disease (κ=0.43) and disease behaviour, κ=0.46; but excellent for the presence/absence of perianal disease, κ=0.88. IOA for immunosuppressant use ever and presence of stricture were both good (κ=0.79 and 0.64 respectively). IOA using MC is generally good; however some areas are less consistent than others. Omissions and inaccuracies reduce the value of clinical data when comparing cohorts across different centres, and may impair the ability to translate genetic discoveries into clinical practice. Crown Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Charming surprise

CERN Multimedia

Antonella Del Rosso

2011-01-01

The CP violation in charm quarks has always been thought to be extremely small. So, looking at particle decays involving matter and antimatter, the LHCb experiment has recently been surprised to observe that things might be different. Theorists are on the case.   The study of the physics of the charm quark was not in the initial plans of the LHCb experiment, whose letter “b” stands for “beauty quark”. However, already one year ago, the Collaboration decided to look into a wider spectrum of processes that involve charm quarks among other things. The LHCb trigger allows a lot of these processes to be selected, and, among them, one has recently shown interesting features. Other experiments at b-factories have already performed the same measurement but this is the first time that it has been possible to achieve such high precision, thanks to the huge amount of data provided by the very high luminosity of the LHC. “We have observed the decay modes of t...

Salience and attention in surprisal-based accounts of language processing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alessandra eZarcone

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The notion of salience has been singled out as the explanatory factor for a diverse range oflinguistic phenomena. In particular, perceptual salience (e.g. visual salience of objects in the world,acoustic prominence of linguistic sounds and semantic-pragmatic salience (e.g. prominence ofrecently mentioned or topical referents have been shown to influence language comprehensionand production. A different line of research has sought to account for behavioral correlates ofcognitive load during comprehension as well as for certain patterns in language usage usinginformation-theoretic notions, such as surprisal. Surprisal and salience both affect languageprocessing at different levels, but the relationship between the two has not been adequatelyelucidated, and the question of whether salience can be reduced to surprisal / predictability isstill open. Our review identifies two main challenges in addressing this question: terminologicalinconsistency and lack of integration between high and low levels of representations in salience-based accounts and surprisal-based accounts. We capitalise upon work in visual cognition inorder to orient ourselves in surveying the different facets of the notion of salience in linguisticsand their relation with models of surprisal. We find that work on salience highlights aspects oflinguistic communication that models of surprisal tend to overlook, namely the role of attentionand relevance to current goals, and we argue that the Predictive Coding framework provides aunified view which can account for the role played by attention and predictability at different levelsof processing and which can clarify the interplay between low and high levels of processes andbetween predictability-driven expectation and attention-driven focus.

Viral marketing: the use of surprise

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lindgreen, A.; Vanhamme, J.; Clarke, I.; Flaherty, T.B.

2005-01-01

Viral marketing involves consumers passing along a company's marketing message to their friends, family, and colleagues. This chapter reviews viral marketing campaigns and argues that the emotion of surprise often is at work and that this mechanism resembles that of word-of-mouth marketing.

Distinct medial temporal networks encode surprise during motivation by reward versus punishment

Science.gov (United States)

Murty, Vishnu P.; LaBar, Kevin S.; Adcock, R. Alison

2016-01-01

Adaptive motivated behavior requires predictive internal representations of the environment, and surprising events are indications for encoding new representations of the environment. The medial temporal lobe memory system, including the hippocampus and surrounding cortex, encodes surprising events and is influenced by motivational state. Because behavior reflects the goals of an individual, we investigated whether motivational valence (i.e., pursuing rewards versus avoiding punishments) also impacts neural and mnemonic encoding of surprising events. During functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), participants encountered perceptually unexpected events either during the pursuit of rewards or avoidance of punishments. Despite similar levels of motivation across groups, reward and punishment facilitated the processing of surprising events in different medial temporal lobe regions. Whereas during reward motivation, perceptual surprises enhanced activation in the hippocampus, during punishment motivation surprises instead enhanced activation in parahippocampal cortex. Further, we found that reward motivation facilitated hippocampal coupling with ventromedial PFC, whereas punishment motivation facilitated parahippocampal cortical coupling with orbitofrontal cortex. Behaviorally, post-scan testing revealed that reward, but not punishment, motivation resulted in greater memory selectivity for surprising events encountered during goal pursuit. Together these findings demonstrate that neuromodulatory systems engaged by anticipation of reward and punishment target separate components of the medial temporal lobe, modulating medial temporal lobe sensitivity and connectivity. Thus, reward and punishment motivation yield distinct neural contexts for learning, with distinct consequences for how surprises are incorporated into predictive mnemonic models of the environment. PMID:26854903

Distinct medial temporal networks encode surprise during motivation by reward versus punishment.

Science.gov (United States)

Murty, Vishnu P; LaBar, Kevin S; Adcock, R Alison

2016-10-01

Adaptive motivated behavior requires predictive internal representations of the environment, and surprising events are indications for encoding new representations of the environment. The medial temporal lobe memory system, including the hippocampus and surrounding cortex, encodes surprising events and is influenced by motivational state. Because behavior reflects the goals of an individual, we investigated whether motivational valence (i.e., pursuing rewards versus avoiding punishments) also impacts neural and mnemonic encoding of surprising events. During functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), participants encountered perceptually unexpected events either during the pursuit of rewards or avoidance of punishments. Despite similar levels of motivation across groups, reward and punishment facilitated the processing of surprising events in different medial temporal lobe regions. Whereas during reward motivation, perceptual surprises enhanced activation in the hippocampus, during punishment motivation surprises instead enhanced activation in parahippocampal cortex. Further, we found that reward motivation facilitated hippocampal coupling with ventromedial PFC, whereas punishment motivation facilitated parahippocampal cortical coupling with orbitofrontal cortex. Behaviorally, post-scan testing revealed that reward, but not punishment, motivation resulted in greater memory selectivity for surprising events encountered during goal pursuit. Together these findings demonstrate that neuromodulatory systems engaged by anticipation of reward and punishment target separate components of the medial temporal lobe, modulating medial temporal lobe sensitivity and connectivity. Thus, reward and punishment motivation yield distinct neural contexts for learning, with distinct consequences for how surprises are incorporated into predictive mnemonic models of the environment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Inter-observer and intra-observer agreement on interpretation of uroflowmetry curves of kindergarten children.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Shang-Jen; Yang, Stephen S D

2008-12-01

To evaluate the inter-observer and intra-observer agreement on the interpretation of uroflowmetry curves of children. Healthy kindergarten children were enrolled for evaluation of uroflowmetry. Uroflowmetry curves were classified as bell-shaped, tower, plateau, staccato and interrupted. Only the bell-shaped curves were regarded as normal. Two urodynamists evaluated the curves independently after reviewing the definitions of the different types of uroflowmetry curve. The senior urodynamist evaluated the curves twice 3 months apart. The final conclusion was made when consensus was reached. Agreement among observers was analyzed using kappa statistics. Of 190 uroflowmetry curves eligible for analysis, the intra-observer agreement in interpreting each type of curve and interpreting normalcy vs abnormality was good (kappa=0.71 and 0.68, respectively). Very good inter-observer agreement (kappa=0.81) on normalcy and good inter-observer agreement (kappa=0.73) on types of uroflowmetry were observed. Poor inter-observer agreement existed on the classification of specific types of abnormal uroflowmetry curves (kappa=0.07). Uroflowmetry is a good screening tool for normalcy of kindergarten children, while not a good tool to define the specific types of abnormal uroflowmetry.

Salience and Attention in Surprisal-Based Accounts of Language Processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Zarcone, Alessandra; van Schijndel, Marten; Vogels, Jorrig; Demberg, Vera

2016-01-01

The notion of salience has been singled out as the explanatory factor for a diverse range of linguistic phenomena. In particular, perceptual salience (e.g., visual salience of objects in the world, acoustic prominence of linguistic sounds) and semantic-pragmatic salience (e.g., prominence of recently mentioned or topical referents) have been shown to influence language comprehension and production. A different line of research has sought to account for behavioral correlates of cognitive load during comprehension as well as for certain patterns in language usage using information-theoretic notions, such as surprisal. Surprisal and salience both affect language processing at different levels, but the relationship between the two has not been adequately elucidated, and the question of whether salience can be reduced to surprisal / predictability is still open. Our review identifies two main challenges in addressing this question: terminological inconsistency and lack of integration between high and low levels of representations in salience-based accounts and surprisal-based accounts. We capitalize upon work in visual cognition in order to orient ourselves in surveying the different facets of the notion of salience in linguistics and their relation with models of surprisal. We find that work on salience highlights aspects of linguistic communication that models of surprisal tend to overlook, namely the role of attention and relevance to current goals, and we argue that the Predictive Coding framework provides a unified view which can account for the role played by attention and predictability at different levels of processing and which can clarify the interplay between low and high levels of processes and between predictability-driven expectation and attention-driven focus.

Salience and Attention in Surprisal-Based Accounts of Language Processing

Science.gov (United States)

Zarcone, Alessandra; van Schijndel, Marten; Vogels, Jorrig; Demberg, Vera

2016-01-01

The notion of salience has been singled out as the explanatory factor for a diverse range of linguistic phenomena. In particular, perceptual salience (e.g., visual salience of objects in the world, acoustic prominence of linguistic sounds) and semantic-pragmatic salience (e.g., prominence of recently mentioned or topical referents) have been shown to influence language comprehension and production. A different line of research has sought to account for behavioral correlates of cognitive load during comprehension as well as for certain patterns in language usage using information-theoretic notions, such as surprisal. Surprisal and salience both affect language processing at different levels, but the relationship between the two has not been adequately elucidated, and the question of whether salience can be reduced to surprisal / predictability is still open. Our review identifies two main challenges in addressing this question: terminological inconsistency and lack of integration between high and low levels of representations in salience-based accounts and surprisal-based accounts. We capitalize upon work in visual cognition in order to orient ourselves in surveying the different facets of the notion of salience in linguistics and their relation with models of surprisal. We find that work on salience highlights aspects of linguistic communication that models of surprisal tend to overlook, namely the role of attention and relevance to current goals, and we argue that the Predictive Coding framework provides a unified view which can account for the role played by attention and predictability at different levels of processing and which can clarify the interplay between low and high levels of processes and between predictability-driven expectation and attention-driven focus. PMID:27375525

Summer Student takes ISOLDE by surprise

CERN Multimedia

Katarina Anthony

2012-01-01

Two weeks ago, the Collinear Resonant Ionization Spectroscopy (CRIS) experiment at ISOLDE performed some of the world’s most sensitive measurements of the nuclear structure of francium, one of the rarest and least-understood elements. Gathered in record time and with excellent background resolution, the results are in good agreement with model predictions. The developer of their model? 2012 Summer Student, Ruben de Groote.   When student Ruben de Groote arrived at CERN this June, he joined one of CERN’s smallest experiments: CRIS. With a team of just 8 people at CERN, the CRIS experiment has become the world’s best facility to study the nuclear structure of light francium isotopes. By using a combination of resonant ionization spectroscopy and collinear laser spectroscopy, the experiment can select francium beams in a specific nuclear state with little background noise. As part of his thesis, Ruben has been developing a model – based on work by his Univers...

Charming surprise

CERN Multimedia

Antonella Del Rosso

2011-01-01

The CP violation in charm quarks has always been thought to be extremely small. So, looking at particle decays involving matter and antimatter, the LHCb experiment has recently been surprised to observe that things might be different. Theorists are on the case. The study of the physics of the charm quark was not in the initial plans of the LHCb experiment, whose letter “b” stands for “beauty quark”. However, already one year ago, the Collaboration decided to look into a wider spectrum of processes that involve charm quarks among other things. The LHCb trigger allows a lot of these processes to be selected, and, among them, one has recently shown interesting features. Other experiments at b-factories have already performed the same measurement but this is the first time that it has been possible to achieve such high precision, thanks to the huge amount of data provided by the very high luminosity of the LHC. “We have observed the decay modes of the D0, a pa...

The Surprise Examination Paradox and the Second Incompleteness Theorem

OpenAIRE

Kritchman, Shira; Raz, Ran

2010-01-01

We give a new proof for Godel's second incompleteness theorem, based on Kolmogorov complexity, Chaitin's incompleteness theorem, and an argument that resembles the surprise examination paradox. We then go the other way around and suggest that the second incompleteness theorem gives a possible resolution of the surprise examination paradox. Roughly speaking, we argue that the flaw in the derivation of the paradox is that it contains a hidden assumption that one can prove the consistency of the...

Regional trade agreements & procurement rules : facilitators or hindrances?

OpenAIRE

ANDERSON, Robert D.; MÜLLER, Anna Caroline; PELLETIER, Philippe

2015-01-01

This Working Paper considers the significance of government procurement chapters in regional trade agreements (RTAs), both in their own right and vis-à-vis the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). The paper finds, inter alia, that: (i) a strong complementarity exists between government procurement trade commitments and general goods and services trade commitments, making integration of procurement commitments in a more general system such as the WTO Agreements desirable; (ii) govern...

19 CFR 10.531 - Originating goods.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... ARTICLES CONDITIONALLY FREE, SUBJECT TO A REDUCED RATE, ETC. United States-Singapore Free Trade Agreement... (2) The good otherwise satisfies any applicable regional value content or other requirements...

Interobserver agreement of radiologists assessing the response of rectal cancers to preoperative chemoradiation using the MRI tumour regression grading (mrTRG)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Siddiqui, M.R.S.; Gormly, K.L.; Bhoday, J.; Balyansikova, S.; Battersby, N.J.; Chand, M.; Rao, S.; Tekkis, P.; Abulafi, A.M.; Brown, G.

2016-01-01

Aim: To investigate whether the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tumour regression grading (mrTRG) scale can be taught effectively resulting in a clinically reasonable interobserver agreement (>0.4; moderate to near perfect agreement). Materials and methods: This study examines the interobserver agreement of mrTRG, between 35 radiologists and a central reviewer. Two workshops were organised for radiologists to assess regression of rectal cancers on MRI staging scans. A range of mrTRGs on 12 patient scans were used for assessment. Results: Kappa agreement ranged from 0.14–0.82 with a median value of 0.57 (95% CI: 0.37–0.77) indicating good overall agreement. Eight (26%) radiologists had very good/near perfect agreement (κ>0.8). Six (19%) radiologists had good agreement (0.8≥κ>0.6) and a further 12 (39%) had moderate agreement (0.6≥κ>0.4). Five (16%) radiologists had a fair agreement (0.4≥κ>0.2) and two had poor agreement (0.2>κ). There was a tendency towards good agreement (skewness: 0.92). In 65.9% and 90% of cases the radiologists were able to correctly highlight good and poor responders, respectively. Conclusions: The assessment of the response of rectal cancers to chemoradiation therapy may be performed effectively using mrTRG. Radiologists can be taught the mrTRG scale. Even with minimal training, good agreement with the central reviewer along with effective differentiation between good and intermediate/poor responders can be achieved. Focus should be on facilitating the identification of good responders. It is predicted that with more intensive interactive case-based learning a κ>0.8 is likely to be achieved. Testing and retesting is recommended. - Highlights: • Inter-observer agreement of radiologists was assessed using MRI rectal tumour regression scale. • Kappa agreement had a median value of 0.57 (95% CI: 0.37–0.77) indicating an overall good agreement. • In 65.9% and 90% of cases the radiologists were able to correctly highlight

19 CFR 10.451 - Originating goods.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... ARTICLES CONDITIONALLY FREE, SUBJECT TO A REDUCED RATE, ETC. United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement Rules... good otherwise satisfies any applicable regional value content or other requirements specified in...

Evaluation of interobserver agreement in Albertoni's classification for mallet finger

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vinícius Alexandre de Souza Almeida

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objective: To measure the reliability of Albertoni's classification for mallet finger. Methods: Agreement study. Forty-three radiographs of patients with mallet finger were assessed by 19 responders (12 hand surgeons and seven residents. Injuries were classified by Albertoni's classification. For agreement comparison, lesions were grouped as: (A tendon avulsion; (B avulsion fracture; (C fracture of the dorsal lip; and (D physis injury-and subgroups (each group divided into two subgroups. Agreement was assessed by Fleiss's modification for kappa statistics. Results: Agreement was excellent for Group A (k = 0.95 (0.93-0.97 and remained good when separated into A1 and A2. Group B was moderate (k = 0.42 (0.39-0.44 and poor when separated into B1 and B2. In the Group C, agreement was good (k = 0.72 (0.70-0.74, but when separated into C1 and C2, it became moderate. Group D was always poor (k = 0.16 (0.14-0.19. The general agreement was moderate, with (k = 0.57 (0.56-0.58. Conclusion: Albertoni's classification evaluated for interobserver agreement is considered a reproducible classification by the method used in the research.

Effective construction of environmental protection agreements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

French, H.F.

1995-01-01

By now 170 international agreements are designed to protect air, ground, water and organisms from man-made hazards. Nevertheless are innovative approaches required for global conventions to make the Earth a sanctuary of life for good. (orig.) [de

Intramodality and intermodality agreement in radiography and computed tomography of equine distal limb fractures.

Science.gov (United States)

Crijns, C P; Martens, A; Bergman, H-J; van der Veen, H; Duchateau, L; van Bree, H J J; Gielen, I M V L

2014-01-01

Computed tomography (CT) is increasingly accessible in equine referral hospitals. To document the level of agreement within and between radiography and CT in characterising equine distal limb fractures. Retrospective descriptive study. Images from horses that underwent radiographic and CT evaluation for suspected distal limb fractures were reviewed, including 27 horses and 3 negative controls. Using Cohen's kappa and weighted kappa analysis, the level of agreement among 4 observers for a predefined set of diagnostic characteristics for radiography and CT separately and for the level of agreement between the 2 imaging modalities were documented. Both CT and radiography had very good intramodality agreement in identifying fractures, but intermodality agreement was lower. There was good intermodality and intramodality agreement for anatomical localisation and the identification of fracture displacement. Agreement for articular involvement, fracture comminution and fracture fragment number was towards the lower limit of good agreement. There was poor to fair intermodality agreement regarding fracture orientation, fracture width and coalescing cracks; intramodality agreement was higher for CT than for radiography for these features. Further studies, including comparisons with surgical and/or post mortem findings, are required to determine the sensitivity and specificity of CT and radiography in the diagnosis and characterisation of equine distal limb fractures. © 2013 EVJ Ltd.

Pupil size tracks perceptual content and surprise.

Science.gov (United States)

Kloosterman, Niels A; Meindertsma, Thomas; van Loon, Anouk M; Lamme, Victor A F; Bonneh, Yoram S; Donner, Tobias H

2015-04-01

Changes in pupil size at constant light levels reflect the activity of neuromodulatory brainstem centers that control global brain state. These endogenously driven pupil dynamics can be synchronized with cognitive acts. For example, the pupil dilates during the spontaneous switches of perception of a constant sensory input in bistable perceptual illusions. It is unknown whether this pupil dilation only indicates the occurrence of perceptual switches, or also their content. Here, we measured pupil diameter in human subjects reporting the subjective disappearance and re-appearance of a physically constant visual target surrounded by a moving pattern ('motion-induced blindness' illusion). We show that the pupil dilates during the perceptual switches in the illusion and a stimulus-evoked 'replay' of that illusion. Critically, the switch-related pupil dilation encodes perceptual content, with larger amplitude for disappearance than re-appearance. This difference in pupil response amplitude enables prediction of the type of report (disappearance vs. re-appearance) on individual switches (receiver-operating characteristic: 61%). The amplitude difference is independent of the relative durations of target-visible and target-invisible intervals and subjects' overt behavioral report of the perceptual switches. Further, we show that pupil dilation during the replay also scales with the level of surprise about the timing of switches, but there is no evidence for an interaction between the effects of surprise and perceptual content on the pupil response. Taken together, our results suggest that pupil-linked brain systems track both the content of, and surprise about, perceptual events. © 2015 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Describing Peripancreatic Collections According to the Revised Atlanta Classification of Acute Pancreatitis: An International Interobserver Agreement Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bouwense, Stefan A; van Brunschot, Sandra; van Santvoort, Hjalmar C; Besselink, Marc G; Bollen, Thomas L; Bakker, Olaf J; Banks, Peter A; Boermeester, Marja A; Cappendijk, Vincent C; Carter, Ross; Charnley, Richard; van Eijck, Casper H; Freeny, Patrick C; Hermans, John J; Hough, David M; Johnson, Colin D; Laméris, Johan S; Lerch, Markus M; Mayerle, Julia; Mortele, Koenraad J; Sarr, Michael G; Stedman, Brian; Vege, Santhi Swaroop; Werner, Jens; Dijkgraaf, Marcel G; Gooszen, Hein G; Horvath, Karen D

2017-08-01

Severe acute pancreatitis is associated with peripancreatic morphologic changes as seen on imaging. Uniform communication regarding these morphologic findings is crucial for accurate diagnosis and treatment. For the original 1992 Atlanta classification, interobserver agreement is poor. We hypothesized that for the revised Atlanta classification, interobserver agreement will be better. An international, interobserver agreement study was performed among expert and nonexpert radiologists (n = 14), surgeons (n = 15), and gastroenterologists (n = 8). Representative computed tomographies of all stages of acute pancreatitis were selected from 55 patients and were assessed according to the revised Atlanta classification. The interobserver agreement was calculated among all reviewers and subgroups, that is, expert and nonexpert reviewers; interobserver agreement was defined as poor (≤0.20), fair (0.21-0.40), moderate (0.41-0.60), good (0.61-0.80), or very good (0.81-1.00). Interobserver agreement among all reviewers was good (0.75 [standard deviation, 0.21]) for describing the type of acute pancreatitis and good (0.62 [standard deviation, 0.19]) for the type of peripancreatic collection. Expert radiologists showed the best and nonexpert clinicians the lowest interobserver agreement. Interobserver agreement was good for the revised Atlanta classification, supporting the importance for widespread adaption of this revised classification for clinical and research communications.

Good things come to those who wait: late first offers facilitate creative agreements in negotiation.

Science.gov (United States)

Sinaceur, Marwan; Maddux, William W; Vasiljevic, Dimitri; Perez Nückel, Ricardo; Galinsky, Adam D

2013-06-01

Although previous research has shown that making the first offer leads to a distributive advantage in negotiations, the current research explored how the timing of first offers affects the creativity of negotiation agreements. We hypothesized that making the first offer later rather than earlier in the negotiation would facilitate the discovery of creative agreements that better meet the parties' underlying interests. Experiment 1 demonstrated that compared with early first offers, late first offers facilitated creative agreements that better met the parties' underlying interests. Experiments 2a and 2b controlled for the duration of the negotiation and conceptually replicated this effect. The last two studies also demonstrated that the beneficial effect of late first offers was mediated by greater information exchange. Thus, negotiators need to consider the timing of first offers to fully capitalize on the first offer advantage. Implications for our understanding of creativity, motivated information exchange, and timing in negotiations are discussed.

The conceptualization model problem—surprise

Science.gov (United States)

Bredehoeft, John

2005-03-01

The foundation of model analysis is the conceptual model. Surprise is defined as new data that renders the prevailing conceptual model invalid; as defined here it represents a paradigm shift. Limited empirical data indicate that surprises occur in 20-30% of model analyses. These data suggest that groundwater analysts have difficulty selecting the appropriate conceptual model. There is no ready remedy to the conceptual model problem other than (1) to collect as much data as is feasible, using all applicable methods—a complementary data collection methodology can lead to new information that changes the prevailing conceptual model, and (2) for the analyst to remain open to the fact that the conceptual model can change dramatically as more information is collected. In the final analysis, the hydrogeologist makes a subjective decision on the appropriate conceptual model. The conceptualization problem does not render models unusable. The problem introduces an uncertainty that often is not widely recognized. Conceptual model uncertainty is exacerbated in making long-term predictions of system performance. C'est le modèle conceptuel qui se trouve à base d'une analyse sur un modèle. On considère comme une surprise lorsque le modèle est invalidé par des données nouvelles; dans les termes définis ici la surprise est équivalente à un change de paradigme. Des données empiriques limitées indiquent que les surprises apparaissent dans 20 à 30% des analyses effectuées sur les modèles. Ces données suggèrent que l'analyse des eaux souterraines présente des difficultés lorsqu'il s'agit de choisir le modèle conceptuel approprié. Il n'existe pas un autre remède au problème du modèle conceptuel que: (1) rassembler autant des données que possible en utilisant toutes les méthodes applicables—la méthode des données complémentaires peut conduire aux nouvelles informations qui vont changer le modèle conceptuel, et (2) l'analyste doit rester ouvert au fait

The political economy of services trade agreements

OpenAIRE

FIORINI, Matteo; LEBRAND, Mathilde

2016-01-01

Why do governments sign services trade agreements? This paper focuses on the role of international agreements in the context of trade in services when services are used as intermediate inputs in downstream industries. Compared to goods, services inputs are mostly non-tradable and complementary to other factors of production. We build a theoretical trade policy framework in which firms use foreign investment to contest foreign markets in services sectors and governments can restrict the entry ...

Glial heterotopia of maxilla: A clinical surprise

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Santosh Kumar Mahalik

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Glial heterotopia is a rare congenital mass lesion which often presents as a clinical surprise. We report a case of extranasal glial heterotopia in a neonate with unusual features. The presentation, management strategy, etiopathogenesis and histopathology of the mass lesion has been reviewed.

Beyond surprise : A longitudinal study on the experience of visual-tactual incongruities in products

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ludden, G.D.S.; Schifferstein, H.N.J.; Hekkert, P.

2012-01-01

When people encounter products with visual-tactual incongruities, they are likely to be surprised because the product feels different than expected. In this paper, we investigate (1) the relationship between surprise and the overall liking of the products, (2) the emotions associated with surprise,

A Statistical Analysis of the Relationship between Harmonic Surprise and Preference in Popular Music.

Science.gov (United States)

Miles, Scott A; Rosen, David S; Grzywacz, Norberto M

2017-01-01

Studies have shown that some musical pieces may preferentially activate reward centers in the brain. Less is known, however, about the structural aspects of music that are associated with this activation. Based on the music cognition literature, we propose two hypotheses for why some musical pieces are preferred over others. The first, the Absolute-Surprise Hypothesis, states that unexpected events in music directly lead to pleasure. The second, the Contrastive-Surprise Hypothesis, proposes that the juxtaposition of unexpected events and subsequent expected events leads to an overall rewarding response. We tested these hypotheses within the framework of information theory, using the measure of "surprise." This information-theoretic variable mathematically describes how improbable an event is given a known distribution. We performed a statistical investigation of surprise in the harmonic structure of songs within a representative corpus of Western popular music, namely, the McGill Billboard Project corpus. We found that chords of songs in the top quartile of the Billboard chart showed greater average surprise than those in the bottom quartile. We also found that the different sections within top-quartile songs varied more in their average surprise than the sections within bottom-quartile songs. The results of this study are consistent with both the Absolute- and Contrastive-Surprise Hypotheses. Although these hypotheses seem contradictory to one another, we cannot yet discard the possibility that both absolute and contrastive types of surprise play roles in the enjoyment of popular music. We call this possibility the Hybrid-Surprise Hypothesis. The results of this statistical investigation have implications for both music cognition and the human neural mechanisms of esthetic judgments.

Ignorance, Vulnerability and the Occurrence of "Radical Surprises": Theoretical Reflections and Empirical Findings

Science.gov (United States)

Kuhlicke, C.

2009-04-01

By definition natural disasters always contain a moment of surprise. Their occurrence is mostly unforeseen and unexpected. They hit people unprepared, overwhelm them and expose their helplessness. Yet, there is surprisingly little known on the reasons for their being surprised. Aren't natural disasters expectable and foreseeable after all? Aren't the return rates of most hazards well known and shouldn't people be better prepared? The central question of this presentation is hence: Why do natural disasters so often radically surprise people at all (and how can we explain this being surprised)? In the first part of the presentation, it is argued that most approaches to vulnerability are not able to grasp this moment of surprise. On the contrary, they have their strength in unravelling the expectable: A person who is marginalized or even oppressed in everyday life is also vulnerable during times of crisis and stress, at least this is the central assumption of most vulnerability studies. In the second part, an understanding of vulnerability is developed, which allows taking into account such radical surprises. First, two forms of the unknown are differentiated: An area of the unknown an actor is more or less aware of (ignorance), and an area, which is not even known to be not known (nescience). The discovery of the latter is mostly associated with a "radical surprise", since it is per definition impossible to prepare for it. Second, a definition of vulnerability is proposed, which allows capturing the dynamics of surprises: People are vulnerable when they discover their nescience exceeding by definition previously established routines, stocks of knowledge and resources—in a general sense their capacities—to deal with their physical and/or social environment. This definition explicitly takes the view of different actors serious and departs from their being surprised. In the third part findings of a case study are presented, the 2002 flood in Germany. It is shown

Decision-making under surprise and uncertainty: Arsenic contamination of water supplies

Science.gov (United States)

Randhir, Timothy O.; Mozumder, Pallab; Halim, Nafisa

2018-05-01

With ignorance and potential surprise dominating decision making in water resources, a framework for dealing with such uncertainty is a critical need in hydrology. We operationalize the 'potential surprise' criterion proposed by Shackle, Vickers, and Katzner (SVK) to derive decision rules to manage water resources under uncertainty and ignorance. We apply this framework to managing water supply systems in Bangladesh that face severe, naturally occurring arsenic contamination. The uncertainty involved with arsenic in water supplies makes the application of conventional analysis of decision-making ineffective. Given the uncertainty and surprise involved in such cases, we find that optimal decisions tend to favor actions that avoid irreversible outcomes instead of conventional cost-effective actions. We observe that a diversification of the water supply system also emerges as a robust strategy to avert unintended outcomes of water contamination. Shallow wells had a slight higher optimal level (36%) compare to deep wells and surface treatment which had allocation levels of roughly 32% under each. The approach can be applied in a variety of other cases that involve decision making under uncertainty and surprise, a frequent situation in natural resources management.

49 CFR 375.409 - May household goods brokers provide estimates?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false May household goods brokers provide estimates? 375... Estimating Charges § 375.409 May household goods brokers provide estimates? A household goods broker must not... there is a written agreement between the broker and you, the carrier, adopting the broker's estimate as...

Sleeping beauties in theoretical physics 26 surprising insights

CERN Document Server

Padmanabhan, Thanu

2015-01-01

This book addresses a fascinating set of questions in theoretical physics which will both entertain and enlighten all students, teachers and researchers and other physics aficionados. These range from Newtonian mechanics to quantum field theory and cover several puzzling issues that do not appear in standard textbooks. Some topics cover conceptual conundrums, the solutions to which lead to surprising insights; some correct popular misconceptions in the textbook discussion of certain topics; others illustrate deep connections between apparently unconnected domains of theoretical physics; and a few provide remarkably simple derivations of results which are not often appreciated. The connoisseur of theoretical physics will enjoy a feast of pleasant surprises skilfully prepared by an internationally acclaimed theoretical physicist. Each topic is introduced with proper background discussion and special effort is taken to make the discussion self-contained, clear and comprehensible to anyone with an undergraduate e...

The June surprises: balls, strikes, and the fog of war.

Science.gov (United States)

Fried, Charles

2013-04-01

At first, few constitutional experts took seriously the argument that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act exceeded Congress's power under the commerce clause. The highly political opinions of two federal district judges - carefully chosen by challenging plaintiffs - of no particular distinction did not shake that confidence that the act was constitutional. This disdain for the challengers' arguments was only confirmed when the act was upheld by two highly respected conservative court of appeals judges in two separate circuits. But after the hostile, even mocking questioning of the government's advocate in the Supreme Court by the five Republican-appointed justices, the expectation was that the act would indeed be struck down on that ground. So it came as no surprise when the five opined the act did indeed exceed Congress's commerce clause power. But it came as a great surprise when Chief Justice John Roberts, joined by the four Democrat-appointed justices, ruled that the act could be sustained as an exercise of Congress's taxing power - a ground urged by the government almost as an afterthought. It was further surprising, even shocking, that Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito not only wrote a joint opinion on the commerce clause virtually identical to that of their chief, but that in writing it they did not refer to or even acknowledge his opinion. Finally surprising was the fact that Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer joined the chief in holding that aspects of the act's Medicaid expansion were unconstitutional. This essay ponders and tries to unravel some of these puzzles.

The prospects for the World Trade Organisation Agreement on Government Procurement

OpenAIRE

Davies, Arwel

2000-01-01

This thesis questions the prospects for the World Trade Organisation, Agreement on Government Procurement. This is the most important international agreement seeking to promote cross-border trade in hitherto closed national procurement markets. For the above threshold goods, services and construction services contracts which it covers, the Agreement's principal objective is to require the non-discriminatory treatment of foreign suppliers. It is because of this general insistence on non-discri...

Trade agreements, domestic environmental regulation, and transboundary pollution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lai, Yu-Bong; Hu, Chia-Hsien [Department of Public Finance, National Taipei University (China)

2008-05-15

This paper investigates a second-best trade agreement between two countries that takes the distortion arising from their non-coordinated environmental policies into consideration. In a reciprocal-markets model with bidirectional transboundary pollution, we find that if the transboundary pollution is sufficiently strong, the second-best trade agreement requires that both countries subsidize the imported goods whose consumption gives rise to pollution. We also find that a bilateral tariff reduction is beneficial to the global environment. (author)

Trade agreements, domestic environmental regulation, and transboundary pollution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lai, Yu-Bong; Hu, Chia-Hsien

2008-01-01

This paper investigates a second-best trade agreement between two countries that takes the distortion arising from their non-coordinated environmental policies into consideration. In a reciprocal-markets model with bidirectional transboundary pollution, we find that if the transboundary pollution is sufficiently strong, the second-best trade agreement requires that both countries subsidize the imported goods whose consumption gives rise to pollution. We also find that a bilateral tariff reduction is beneficial to the global environment. (author)

Liability in maritime transport of dangerous goods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feldhaus, H.

1985-01-01

The first part contains a description of national liability standards for maritime transport in the French, English, US-American and West German legislation. This is followed up by a detailed review of the existing international agreements. The book is rounded off by a critical evaluation of the presently held discussion and suggested solutions on the problems of liability in the maritime transport of dangerous goods other than mineral oil. The author takes a close look at the 'Entwurf eines Internationalen Uebereinkommens ueber die Haftung und den Schadenersatz bei der Befoerderung schaedlicher und gefaehrlicher Stoffe auf See' ('draft of an international agreement on liability and compensation for damage in maritime transport of noxious and dangerous goods') in the version of May 23, 1983, which was discussed on an international diplomat's conference in London without however, yielding any concrete results. (orig./HP) [de

Agreement between Gonioscopic Examination and Swept Source Fourier Domain Anterior Segment Optical Coherence Tomography Imaging

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammed Rigi

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose. To evaluate interobserver, intervisit, and interinstrument agreements for gonioscopy and Fourier domain anterior segment optical coherence tomography (FD ASOCT for classifying open and narrow angle eyes. Methods. Eighty-six eyes with open or narrow anterior chamber angles were included. The superior angle was classified open or narrow by 2 of 5 glaucoma specialists using gonioscopy and imaged by FD ASOCT in the dark. The superior angle of each FD ASOCT image was graded as open or narrow by 2 masked readers. The same procedures were repeated within 6 months. Kappas for interobserver and intervisit agreements for each instrument and interinstrument agreements were calculated. Results. The mean age was 50.9 (±18.4 years. Interobserver agreements were moderate to good for both gonioscopy (0.57 and 0.69 and FD ASOCT (0.58 and 0.75. Intervisit agreements were moderate to excellent for both gonioscopy (0.53 to 0.86 and FD ASOCT (0.57 and 0.85. Interinstrument agreements were fair to good (0.34 to 0.63, with FD ASOCT classifying more angles as narrow than gonioscopy. Conclusions. Both gonioscopy and FD ASOCT examiners were internally consistent with similar interobserver and intervisit agreements for angle classification. Agreement between instruments was fair to good, with FD ASOCT classifying more angles as narrow than gonioscopy.

Agreement between Gonioscopic Examination and Swept Source Fourier Domain Anterior Segment Optical Coherence Tomography Imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Donna; Minnal, Vandana R.

2016-01-01

Purpose. To evaluate interobserver, intervisit, and interinstrument agreements for gonioscopy and Fourier domain anterior segment optical coherence tomography (FD ASOCT) for classifying open and narrow angle eyes. Methods. Eighty-six eyes with open or narrow anterior chamber angles were included. The superior angle was classified open or narrow by 2 of 5 glaucoma specialists using gonioscopy and imaged by FD ASOCT in the dark. The superior angle of each FD ASOCT image was graded as open or narrow by 2 masked readers. The same procedures were repeated within 6 months. Kappas for interobserver and intervisit agreements for each instrument and interinstrument agreements were calculated. Results. The mean age was 50.9 (±18.4) years. Interobserver agreements were moderate to good for both gonioscopy (0.57 and 0.69) and FD ASOCT (0.58 and 0.75). Intervisit agreements were moderate to excellent for both gonioscopy (0.53 to 0.86) and FD ASOCT (0.57 and 0.85). Interinstrument agreements were fair to good (0.34 to 0.63), with FD ASOCT classifying more angles as narrow than gonioscopy. Conclusions. Both gonioscopy and FD ASOCT examiners were internally consistent with similar interobserver and intervisit agreements for angle classification. Agreement between instruments was fair to good, with FD ASOCT classifying more angles as narrow than gonioscopy. PMID:27990300

Distinct medial temporal networks encode surprise during motivation by reward versus punishment

OpenAIRE

Murty, Vishnu P.; LaBar, Kevin S.; Adcock, R. Alison

2016-01-01

Adaptive motivated behavior requires predictive internal representations of the environment, and surprising events are indications for encoding new representations of the environment. The medial temporal lobe memory system, including the hippocampus and surrounding cortex, encodes surprising events and is influenced by motivational state. Because behavior reflects the goals of an individual, we investigated whether motivational valence (i.e., pursuing rewards versus avoiding punishments) also...

Agreement in the Interpretation of Magnetic Resonance Images of the Lumbar Spine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kovacs, F.M.; Royuela, A.; Jensen, T.S.

2009-01-01

Background: Correlation between clinical features and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings is essential in low-back-pain patients. Most previous studies have analyzed concordance in the interpretation of lumbar MRI among a few radiologists who worked together. This may have overestimated concordance. Purpose: To evaluate intra- and interobserver agreement in the interpretation of lumbar MRI performed in an open 0.2T system. Material and Methods: Seven radiologists from two different geographic settings in Spain interpreted the lumbar MRIs of 50 subjects representative of the general Danish population aged 40 years. The radiologists interpreted the images in routine clinical practice, having no knowledge of the clinical and demographic characteristics of the subjects and blinded to their colleagues' assessments. Six of the radiologists evaluated the same MRIs 14 days later, having no knowledge of the previous results. Data on the existence of disc degeneration, high-intensity zones, disc contour, Schmorl nodes, Modic changes, osteophytes, spondylolisthesis, and spinal stenosis were collected in the Nordic Modic Consensus Group Classification form. Intra- and interobserver agreement was analyzed for variables with a prevalence =10% and =90% by means of the kappa statistic. Results: Intra- and interobserver agreement was excellent for variables related to Modic changes, and fair to good for disc contour, high-intensity zones, and Schmorl nodes. The evaluations for disc degeneration and osteophytes were found to have fair to good intraobserver agreement and poor interobserver agreement. The agreement for the evaluations of spondylolisthesis and spinal stenosis was not analyzed because they were observed in <10% of reports. Conclusion: Images from 0.2T MRIs appear to lead to good agreement in the reporting of disc contour, high-intensity zones, Schmorl nodes, and, in particular, Modic changes, suggesting that they can possibly be reliably used for clinical research

Agreement in the Interpretation of Magnetic Resonance Images of the Lumbar Spine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kovacs, F.M. (Dept. Cientfico, Fundacin Kovacs, Palma de Majorca (Spain)); Royuela, A. (Spanish Back Pain Research Network, Fundacin Kovacs, Palma de Majorca (Spain)); Jensen, T.S. (Back Research Center, Backcenter Funen, Ringe (Denmark)) (and others)

2009-06-15

Background: Correlation between clinical features and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings is essential in low-back-pain patients. Most previous studies have analyzed concordance in the interpretation of lumbar MRI among a few radiologists who worked together. This may have overestimated concordance. Purpose: To evaluate intra- and interobserver agreement in the interpretation of lumbar MRI performed in an open 0.2T system. Material and Methods: Seven radiologists from two different geographic settings in Spain interpreted the lumbar MRIs of 50 subjects representative of the general Danish population aged 40 years. The radiologists interpreted the images in routine clinical practice, having no knowledge of the clinical and demographic characteristics of the subjects and blinded to their colleagues' assessments. Six of the radiologists evaluated the same MRIs 14 days later, having no knowledge of the previous results. Data on the existence of disc degeneration, high-intensity zones, disc contour, Schmorl nodes, Modic changes, osteophytes, spondylolisthesis, and spinal stenosis were collected in the Nordic Modic Consensus Group Classification form. Intra- and interobserver agreement was analyzed for variables with a prevalence =10% and =90% by means of the kappa statistic. Results: Intra- and interobserver agreement was excellent for variables related to Modic changes, and fair to good for disc contour, high-intensity zones, and Schmorl nodes. The evaluations for disc degeneration and osteophytes were found to have fair to good intraobserver agreement and poor interobserver agreement. The agreement for the evaluations of spondylolisthesis and spinal stenosis was not analyzed because they were observed in <10% of reports. Conclusion: Images from 0.2T MRIs appear to lead to good agreement in the reporting of disc contour, high-intensity zones, Schmorl nodes, and, in particular, Modic changes, suggesting that they can possibly be reliably used for clinical

The bilateral trade agreements and export performance of South Asian nations with special reference to India Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suhail P

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The regional trade agreements (RTA have been one of the important developments in the world trading system in 1990s. There are number of studies on the effects trade agreements in different contexts. This study is an attempt to analyse the effects of bilateral trade agreements in the intraregional trade in the SAARC region with special reference to the Free Trade Agreements (FTA between India Sri Lanka. The study uses a panel regression analysis by using balance panel data. The study concludes that the FTA between India and Sri Lanka has brought positive results in the trade between these two nations by improving the bilateral trade in goods. The results of the study are important in the context of looking for the prospects of a free trade area in the region by member nations.

Managing Uncertainity: Soviet Views on Deception, Surprise, and Control

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Hull, Andrew

1989-01-01

.... In the first two cases (deception and surprise), the emphasis is on how the Soviets seek to sow uncertainty in the minds of the enemy and how the Soviets then plan to use that uncertainty to gain military advantage...

Interobserver agreement in ultrasound examination of the biliary tract

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grantcharov, Teodor P; Rasti, Z; Rossen, B

2002-01-01

bile duct (CBD), and presence of CBD stones. RESULTS: None of the radiologists observed CBD stones or fluid around the gallbladder. The CBD was clearly distinguished by both observers in all patients. There was good agreement in the conclusions of the two radiologists regarding the presence...... of gallbladder stones and substantial agreement regarding the filling of the gallbladder and splitting of the gallbladder wall. Significant difference existed in the measurements by the two radiologists regarding the thickness of the gallbladder wall and the diameter of the CBD. CONCLUSION: The novice...... radiologist's expertise in the primary diagnosis of uncomplicated gallstone disease was as good as the one provided by the experienced colleague. The significant interobserver difference in the measurements of the thickness of the gallbladder wall and the CBD diameter might indicate that assessment...

Good interobserver agreement was attainable on outcome adjudication in patients with stable coronary heart disease

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjoller, Erik; Hilden, Jorgen; Winkel, Per

2012-01-01

, unstable angina pectoris, and acute myocardial infarction were treated as one, agreement increased minimally. For fatal outcomes, the pairwise kappa values ranged from 0.65 to 0.90. The three adjudicators had 12%, 9%, and 10% of their death classifications overruled. CONCLUSION: Specialists in cardiology...

Effects of surprisal and locality on Danish sentence processing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Balling, Laura Winther; Kizach, Johannes

2017-01-01

An eye-tracking experiment in Danish investigates two dominant accounts of sentence processing: locality-based theories that predict a processing advantage for sentences where the distance between the major syntactic heads is minimized, and the surprisal theory which predicts that processing time...

Good agreement of conventional and gel-based direct agglutination test in immune-mediated haemolytic anaemia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Piek Christine J

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The aim of this study was to compare a gel-based test with the traditional direct agglutination test (DAT for the diagnosis of immune-mediated haemolytic anaemia (IMHA. Methods Canine (n = 247 and feline (n = 74 blood samples were submitted for DAT testing to two laboratories. A subset of canine samples was categorized as having idiopathic IMHA, secondary IMHA, or no IMHA. Results The kappa values for agreement between the tests were in one laboratory 0.86 for canine and 0.58 for feline samples, and in the other 0.48 for canine samples. The lower agreement in the second laboratory was caused by a high number of positive canine DATs for which the gel test was negative. This group included significantly more dogs with secondary IMHA. Conclusions The gel test might be used as a screening test for idiopathic IMHA and is less often positive in secondary IMHA than the DAT.

The Intra-Daily Exchange Rate Dynamics and Monetary Policies After the G5 Agreement

OpenAIRE

Takatoshi Ito

1986-01-01

This paper investigates determinants of yen appreciation from the G5 agreement of September 1985 to the end of May, 1986. During that period, four waves of appreciation separated by calm periods are identified. For each wave and calm period, the changes in the yen/dollar exchange rate are decomposed in those taken place in the Tokyo, Europe and New York markets. In addition, correlations among the yen, mark, and pound for each market for each wave are studied. The surprisingly strong effect o...

Inter-observer agreement for abdominal CT in unselected patients with acute abdominal pain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Randen, Adrienne van; Lameris, Wytze; Nio, C.Y.; Spijkerboer, Anje M.; Meier, Mark A.; Tutein Nolthenius, Charlotte; Smithuis, Frank; Stoker, Jaap; Bossuyt, Patrick M.; Boermeester, Marja A.

2009-01-01

The level of inter-observer agreement of abdominal computed tomography (CT) in unselected patients presenting with acute abdominal pain at the Emergency Department (ED) was evaluated. Two hundred consecutive patients with acute abdominal pain were prospectively included. Multi-slice CT was performed in all patients with intravenous contrast medium only. Three radiologists independently read all CT examinations. They recorded specific radiological features and a final diagnosis on a case record form. We calculated the proportion of agreement and kappa values, for overall, urgent and frequently occurring diagnoses. The mean age of the evaluated patients was 46 years (range 19-94), of which 54% were women. Overall agreement on diagnoses was good, with a median kappa of 0.66. Kappa values for specific urgent diagnoses were excellent, with median kappa values of 0.84, 0.90 and 0.81, for appendicitis, diverticulitis and bowel obstruction, respectively. Abdominal CT has good inter-observer agreement in unselected patients with acute abdominal pain at the ED, with excellent agreement for specific urgent diagnoses as diverticulitis and appendicitis. (orig.)

Inter-observer agreement for abdominal CT in unselected patients with acute abdominal pain

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Randen, Adrienne van [University of Amsterdam, Department of Radiology, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam (Netherlands); University of Amsterdam, Department of Surgery, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Lameris, Wytze [University of Amsterdam, Department of Radiology, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam (Netherlands); University of Amsterdam, Department of Surgery, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Nio, C.Y.; Spijkerboer, Anje M.; Meier, Mark A.; Tutein Nolthenius, Charlotte; Smithuis, Frank; Stoker, Jaap [University of Amsterdam, Department of Radiology, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Bossuyt, Patrick M. [University of Amsterdam, Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Bioinformatics, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Boermeester, Marja A. [University of Amsterdam, Department of Surgery, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam (Netherlands)

2009-06-15

The level of inter-observer agreement of abdominal computed tomography (CT) in unselected patients presenting with acute abdominal pain at the Emergency Department (ED) was evaluated. Two hundred consecutive patients with acute abdominal pain were prospectively included. Multi-slice CT was performed in all patients with intravenous contrast medium only. Three radiologists independently read all CT examinations. They recorded specific radiological features and a final diagnosis on a case record form. We calculated the proportion of agreement and kappa values, for overall, urgent and frequently occurring diagnoses. The mean age of the evaluated patients was 46 years (range 19-94), of which 54% were women. Overall agreement on diagnoses was good, with a median kappa of 0.66. Kappa values for specific urgent diagnoses were excellent, with median kappa values of 0.84, 0.90 and 0.81, for appendicitis, diverticulitis and bowel obstruction, respectively. Abdominal CT has good inter-observer agreement in unselected patients with acute abdominal pain at the ED, with excellent agreement for specific urgent diagnoses as diverticulitis and appendicitis. (orig.)

Agreement between questionnaire and medical records on some health and socioeconomic problems among poisoning cases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fathelrahman Ahmed I

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The main objective of the present study was to evaluate the agreement between questionnaire and medical records on some health and socioeconomic problems among poisoning cases. Methods Cross-sectional sample of 100 poisoning cases consecutively admitted to the Hospital Pulau Pinang, Malaysia during the period from September 2003 to February 2004 were studied. Data on health and socioeconomic problems were collected both by self-administered questionnaire and from medical records. Agreement between the two sets of data was assessed by calculating the concordance rate, Kappa (k and PABAK. McNemar statistic was used to test differences between categories. Results Data collected by questionnaire and medical records showed excellent agreement on the "marital status"; good agreements on "chronic illness", "psychiatric illness", and "previous history of poisoning"; and fair agreements on "at least one health problem", and "boy-girl friends problem". PABAK values suggest better agreements' measures. Conclusion There were excellent to good agreements between questionnaire and medical records on the marital status and most of the health problems and fair to poor agreements on the majority of socioeconomic problems. The implications of those findings were discussed.

Towards a ‘Journalism of Opposition’: BBC Northern Ireland, Hearts and Minds and the Good Friday Agreement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julia Paul

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The signing of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement (GFA is regarded as the gateway to Northern Ireland’s path to a re-integrated society. However, it also presented a sizable challenge to the region’s journalists. Newspaper journalism was still divided along sectarian lines, while covering the conflict had led to re-active rather than pro-active reporting. The promise of devolution meant there would eventually be constitutional politics to cover at Stormont. BBC Northern Ireland had recognised this in 1996 with the launch of 'Hearts and Minds', the first television programme devoted to politics produced for a local audience. However, by the end of the first decade of the 21st century, the consociational system of government at Stormont meant the Assembly was beginning to stagnate. I argue that BBC 'Hearts and Minds' paved the way for a change in reporting on politics, which led to some sections of the Northern Ireland media developing a ‘journalism of opposition’. This research offers a departure from much of the previous literature examining the coverage of Northern Ireland focussing as it does on the local media after the GFA. In addition, it offers a unique perspective: I was the assistant producer of 'Hearts and Minds' between 2006 and 2012 when the programme ended. My involvement in the production process means I am uniquely placed to explore its significance. This research draws together my experience with a more analytical framing to draw on the work of, in particular, David Butler (1995 and situates the analysis within this context.

Agreements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

These columns summarize the different bilateral and multilateral agreements concluded recently between the different OECD countries and concerning the nuclear energy domain: Argentina - Australia: Agreement concerning Co-operation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy (2001). Argentina - Brazil: Joint Declaration regarding the Creation of the Argentinean-Brazilian Agency for Nuclear Energy Applications (2001). Australia - Czech Republic / Australia - Hungary: Agreements on Co-operation in Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy and the Transfer of Nuclear Material (2001). Australia - Indonesia: Arrangement Concerning Co-operation on Nuclear Safeguards and Related Matters (2001). Austria - Switzerland: Agreement on the Early Exchange of Information in the Field of Nuclear Safety and Radiation. Brazil - United States: Extension of the Agreement concerning Research and Development in Nuclear Material Control, Accountancy, Verification, Physical Protection, and Advanced Containment and Surveillance Technologies for International Safeguards Applications (2001). Czech Republic - Republic of Korea: Agreement for Co-operation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy (2001). European Union- Russian Federation: Agreements on Nuclear Safety and Controlled Nuclear Fusion (2001). France - United States: Agreement for Co-operation in Advanced Nuclear Reactor Science and Technology (2001). Japan - United Kingdom: Co-operation Agreement on Advanced Nuclear Fuel Cycle, Fast Breeder Reactor and Other Related Technologies (2001). Republic OF Korea - United States: Annex IV Joint Project on Cintichem Technology (2000). Morocco - United States: Protocol amending the Co-operation Agreement on the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy (2001). Multilateral Agreements: Agreement for Information Exchange on Radiological Surveillance in Northern Europe (2001). Status of Conventions in the Field of Nuclear Energy. (author)

Agreement between the Swiss Federal Council and the Government of Canada for cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-12-01

This Agreement replaces an Agreement concluded in 1958 and revised several times. It contains no obligations regarding purchase or sale, but establishes non-proliferation safeguards respecting co-operation between private or public undertakings in both States. In particular, the Parties undertake to use the goods exchanged solely for peaceful and non-explosive purposes and entrust the IAEA with verifying this use. Retransfer of such goods to a third country is also subject to very specific conditions. Finally, the Parties undertake to apply adequate security measures to the nuclear goods subject to the Agreement. (NEA) [fr

Modified Chrispin-Norman chest radiography score for cystic fibrosis: observer agreement and correlation with lung function

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jong, P.A. de; Achterberg, J.A.; Kessels, O.A.M.; Beek, F.J.; Ginneken, B. van; Hogeweg, L.; Terheggen-Lagro, S.W.J.

2011-01-01

To test observer agreement and two strategies for possible improvement (consensus meeting and reference images) for the modified Chrispin-Norman score for children with cystic fibrosis (CF). Before and after a consensus meeting and after developing reference images three observers scored sets of 25 chest radiographs from children with CF. Observer agreement was tested for line, ring, mottled and large soft shadows, for overinflation and for the composite modified Chrispin-Norman score. Correlation with lung function was assessed. Before the consensus meeting agreement between observers 1 and 2 was moderate-good, but with observer 3 agreement was poor-fair. Scores correlated significantly with spirometry for observers 1 and 2 (-0.72< R<-0.42, P < 0.05), but not for observer 3. Agreement with observer 3 improved after the consensus meeting. Reference images improved agreement for overinflation and mottled and large shadows and correlation with lung function, but agreement for the modified Chrispin-Norman score did not improve further. Consensus meetings and reference images improve among-observer agreement for the modified Chrispin-Norman score, but good agreement was not achieved among all observers for the modified Chrispin-Norman score and for bronchial line and ring shadows. (orig.)

Modified Chrispin-Norman chest radiography score for cystic fibrosis: observer agreement and correlation with lung function

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jong, P.A. de; Achterberg, J.A.; Kessels, O.A.M.; Beek, F.J. [Department of Radiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Wilhelmina Children' s Hospital, Utrecht (Netherlands); Ginneken, B. van; Hogeweg, L. [Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Department of Radiology, Nijmegen (Netherlands); Image Sciences Institute, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht (Netherlands); Terheggen-Lagro, S.W.J. [University Medical Center Utrecht, Wilhelmina Children' s Hospital, Department of Pediatric Pulmonology, Utrecht (Netherlands)

2011-04-15

To test observer agreement and two strategies for possible improvement (consensus meeting and reference images) for the modified Chrispin-Norman score for children with cystic fibrosis (CF). Before and after a consensus meeting and after developing reference images three observers scored sets of 25 chest radiographs from children with CF. Observer agreement was tested for line, ring, mottled and large soft shadows, for overinflation and for the composite modified Chrispin-Norman score. Correlation with lung function was assessed. Before the consensus meeting agreement between observers 1 and 2 was moderate-good, but with observer 3 agreement was poor-fair. Scores correlated significantly with spirometry for observers 1 and 2 (-0.72Agreement with observer 3 improved after the consensus meeting. Reference images improved agreement for overinflation and mottled and large shadows and correlation with lung function, but agreement for the modified Chrispin-Norman score did not improve further. Consensus meetings and reference images improve among-observer agreement for the modified Chrispin-Norman score, but good agreement was not achieved among all observers for the modified Chrispin-Norman score and for bronchial line and ring shadows. (orig.)

Surprise and Memory as Indices of Concrete Operational Development

Science.gov (United States)

Achenbach, Thomas M.

1973-01-01

Normal and retarded children's use of color, number, length and continuous quantity as attributes of identification was assessed by presenting them with contrived changes in three properties. Surprise and correct memory responses for color preceded those to number, which preceded logical verbal responses to a conventional number-conservation task.…

A surprising palmar nevus: A case report

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rana Rafiei

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Raised palmar or plantar nevus especially in white people is an unusual feature. We present an uncommon palmar compound nevus in a 26-year-old woman with a large diameter (6 mm which had a collaret-shaped margin. In histopathologic evaluation intralymphatic protrusions of nevic nests were noted. This case was surprising to us for these reasons: size, shape, location and histopathology of the lesion. Palmar nevi are usually junctional (flat and below 3 mm diameter and intra lymphatic protrusion or invasion in nevi is an extremely rare phenomenon.

Things may not be as expected: Surprising findings when updating ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2015-05-14

May 14, 2015 ... Things may not be as expected: Surprising findings when updating .... (done at the end of three months after the first review month) ..... Allen G. Getting beyond form filling: The role of institutional governance in human research ...

Estimations of expectedness and potential surprise in possibility theory

Science.gov (United States)

Prade, Henri; Yager, Ronald R.

1992-01-01

This note investigates how various ideas of 'expectedness' can be captured in the framework of possibility theory. Particularly, we are interested in trying to introduce estimates of the kind of lack of surprise expressed by people when saying 'I would not be surprised that...' before an event takes place, or by saying 'I knew it' after its realization. In possibility theory, a possibility distribution is supposed to model the relative levels of mutually exclusive alternatives in a set, or equivalently, the alternatives are assumed to be rank-ordered according to their level of possibility to take place. Four basic set-functions associated with a possibility distribution, including standard possibility and necessity measures, are discussed from the point of view of what they estimate when applied to potential events. Extensions of these estimates based on the notions of Q-projection or OWA operators are proposed when only significant parts of the possibility distribution are retained in the evaluation. The case of partially-known possibility distributions is also considered. Some potential applications are outlined.

A good week for global collaboration in particle physics

CERN Multimedia

2015-01-01

This has been a good week for global collaboration in particle physics. On Wednesday, the CERN family grew by one Associate Member when we received official confirmation that the accession agreement signed last year had been ratified by the Turkish parliament, and on Thursday, we signed a new cooperation agreement with the US.   The signature of a new cooperation agreement between CERN and the US at the White House on Thursday, 7 May marks both a renewal of a long-standing friendship and a commitment to take the partnership further. Signed between CERN, the US Department of Energy and the US National Science Foundation, it is a framework agreement that paves the way for detailed accords on continued US participation in CERN’s scientific programme, and on European collaboration in projects hosted in the US, including prospective neutrino facilities. It is an agreement that is tacitly renewed every five years, unless one of the signatories signals a need to end or amend it. I am part...

Multilateral aspects of advanced regulatory cooperation: considerations for a Canada-EU Comprehensive Trade Agreement (CETA)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mathis, J.

2012-01-01

This article considers equivalency recognition for goods and for services in the context of the applicable WTO agreements and provisions. The discussion of equivalency arises from certain elements presented by the Canada-EU Comprehensive Trade Agreement (CETA), in which economically developed

Diagnostic sensitivity and interobserver agreement of radiography and ultrasonography for detecting trochlear ridge osteochondrosis lesions in the equine stifle.

Science.gov (United States)

Beccati, Francesca; Chalmers, Heather J; Dante, Sara; Lotto, Eleonora; Pepe, Marco

2013-01-01

Osteochondrosis lesions commonly occur on the femoral trochlear ridges in horses and radiography and ultrasonography are routinely used to diagnose these lesions. However, poor correlation has been found between radiographic and arthroscopic findings of affected trochlear ridges. Interobserver agreement for ultrasonographic diagnoses and correlation between ultrasonographic and arthroscopic findings have not been previously described. Objectives of this study were to describe diagnostic sensitivity and interobserver agreement of radiography and ultrasonography for detecting and grading osteochondrosis lesions of the equine trochlear ridges, using arthroscopy as the reference standard. Twenty-two horses were sampled. Two observers independently recorded radiographic and ultrasonographic findings without knowledge of arthroscopic findings. Imaging findings were compared between observers and with arthroscopic findings. Agreement between observers was moderate to excellent (κ 0.48-0.86) for detecting lesions using radiography and good to excellent (κ 0.74-0.87) for grading lesions using radiography. Agreement between observers was good to excellent (κ 0.78-0.94) for detecting lesions using ultrasonography and very good to excellent (κ 0.86-0.93) for grading lesions using ultrasonography. Diagnostic sensitivity was 84-88% for radiography and 100% for ultrasonography. Diagnostic specificity was 89-100% for radiography and 60-82% for ultrasonography. Agreement between radiography and arthroscopy was good (κ 0.64-0.78). Agreement between ultrasonography and arthroscopy was very good to excellent (κ 0.81-0.87). Findings from this study support ultrasound as a preferred method for predicting presence and severity of osteochondrosis lesions involving the femoral trochlear ridges in horses. © 2012 Veterinary Radiology & Ultrasound.

Vaginal vault suspension during hysterectomy for benign indications: a prospective register study of agreement on terminology and surgical procedure.

Science.gov (United States)

Bonde, Lisbeth; Noer, Mette Calundann; Møller, Lars Alling; Ottesen, Bent; Gimbel, Helga

2017-07-01

Several suspension methods are used to try to prevent pelvic organ prolapse (POP) after hysterectomy. We aimed to evaluate agreement on terminology and surgical procedure of these methods. We randomly chose 532 medical records of women with a history of hysterectomy from the Danish Hysterectomy and Hysteroscopy Database (DHHD). Additionally, we video-recorded 36 randomly chosen hysterectomies. The hysterectomies were registered in the DHHD. The material was categorized according to predefined suspension methods. Agreement compared suspension codes in DHHD (gynecologists' registrations) with medical records (gynecologists' descriptions) and with videos (reviewers' categorizations) respectively. Whether the vaginal vault was suspended (pooled suspension) or not (no suspension method + not described) was analyzed, in addition to each suspension method. Regarding medical records, agreement on terminology was good among patients undergoing pooled suspension in cases of hysterectomy via the abdominal and vaginal route (agreement 78.7, 92.3%). Regarding videos, agreement on surgical procedure was good among pooled suspension patients in cases of hysterectomy via the abdominal, laparoscopic, and vaginal routes (agreement 88.9, 97.8, 100%). Agreement on individual suspension methods differed regarding both medical records (agreement 0-90.1%) and videos (agreement 0-100%). Agreement on terminology and surgical procedure regarding suspension method was good in respect of pooled suspension. However, disagreement was observed when individual suspension methods and operative details were scrutinized. Better consensus of terminology and surgical procedure is warranted to enable further research aimed at preventing POP among women undergoing hysterectomy.

The essential elements and the legal structure of master franchise agreement: How to draft a good contract?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kerković-Milenković Tamara

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The creation of the draft and other legal documents in franchising transaction emanates the one of the most stressful challenge for the civil law lawyer. There are many reasons which create big obstacles in process of successfully drafting master franchise agreement. One of the main difficulties faced by the parties engaged in international trade is the lack of uniformed rules for the franchising agreement as well as franchising being anonymous contract in the most of legal systems of the world. Besides that, the franchise (emanating goodwill as the legal object of the franchising agreement is sui generis and fluid derives from the various numbers of rights and licence simmilar to right, such as trade names, trade marks and the shop signs, logos, utility models, designs, copyrights, know-how, etc. The legal structure of the mutual rights and obligations of the parties is extremely sophisticated not only because of the big number of obligations but because of their varieties and complexity. In most of the legal systems of common law as well as in the civil law countries the master franchise contract is not regulated neither with mandatory nor through dispositive norms of relationship laws but at the same time the franchise arrangements are subjected to a considerable number of laws and regulations from different areas of law, majority of which are regulated domestically and at the same time also at international legal context. Those areas of law are general contract law, agency law, leasing and security interests, intelectual property and competiton law, corporate law, insurance and labore law, consumer protection and product liability legislation and always important industry specific laws. In interantional legal practice there are many so-called template franchise agreement which are prepared from the franchisor in advance regulating all possible predictable legal solution and legislation. But, it is advisable for the civil law lawyer to treat

Automation surprise : results of a field survey of Dutch pilots

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Boer, R.J.; Hurts, Karel

2017-01-01

Automation surprise (AS) has often been associated with aviation safety incidents. Although numerous laboratory studies have been conducted, few data are available from routine flight operations. A survey among a representative sample of 200 Dutch airline pilots was used to determine the prevalence

Diagnosis of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis with chest computed tomography: inter-observer agreement

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oudkerk, S.F.; Jong, Pim A. de; Attrach, M.; Luijkx, T.; Buckens, C.F.; Mali, W.P.T.M. [University Medical Center Utrecht, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Utrecht (Netherlands); Oner, F.C.; Verlaan, J.J. [University Medical Center Utrecht, Department of Orthopedics, Utrecht (Netherlands); Resnick, D.L. [University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, Division of Musculoskeletal Radiology, Department of Radiology, San Diego, CA (United States); Vliegenthart, R. [University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Center for Medical Imaging - North East Netherlands, Groningen (Netherlands); University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Radiology, Groningen (Netherlands)

2017-01-15

To evaluate and improve the interobserver agreement for the CT-based diagnosis of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH). Six hundred participants of the CT arm of a lung cancer screening trial were randomly divided into two groups. The first 300 CTs were scored by five observers for the presence of DISH based on the original Resnick criteria for radiographs. After analysis of the data a consensus meeting was organised and the criteria were slightly modified regarding the definition of 'contiguous', the definition of 'flowing ossifications' and the viewing plane and window level. Subsequently, the second set of 300 CTs was scored by the same observers. κ ≥ 0.61 was considered good agreement. The 600 male participants were on average 63.5 (SD 5.3) years old and had smoked on average 38.0 pack-years. In the first round κ values ranged from 0.32 to 0.74 and 7 out of 10 values were below 0.61. After the consensus meeting the interobserver agreement ranged from 0.51 to 0.86 and 3 out of 10 values were below 0.61. The agreement improved significantly. This is the first study that reports interobserver agreement for the diagnosis of DISH on chest CT, showing mostly good agreement for modified Resnick criteria. (orig.)

Agreement between PRE2DUP register data modeling method and comprehensive drug use interview among older persons

Science.gov (United States)

Taipale, Heidi; Tanskanen, Antti; Koponen, Marjaana; Tolppanen, Anna-Maija; Tiihonen, Jari; Hartikainen, Sirpa

2016-01-01

Background PRE2DUP is a modeling method that generates drug use periods (ie, when drug use started and ended) from drug purchases recorded in dispensing-based register data. It is based on the evaluation of personal drug purchasing patterns and considers hospital stays, possible stockpiling of drugs, and package information. Objective The objective of this study was to investigate person-level agreement between self-reported drug use in the interview and drug use modeled from dispensing data with PRE2DUP method for various drug classes used by older persons. Methods Self-reported drug use was assessed from the GeMS Study including a random sample of persons aged ≥75 years from the city of Kuopio, Finland, in 2006. Drug purchases recorded in the Prescription register data of these persons were modeled to determine drug use periods with PRE2DUP modeling method. Agreement between self-reported drug use on the interview date and drug use calculated from register-based data was compared in order to find the frequently used drugs and drug classes, which was evaluated by Cohen’s kappa. Kappa values 0.61–0.80 were considered to represent good and 0.81–1.00 as very good agreement. Results Among 569 participants with mean age of 82 years, the agreement between interview and register data was very good for 75% and very good or good for 93% of the studied drugs or drug classes. Good or very good agreement was observed for drugs that are typically used on regular bases, whereas “as needed” drugs represented poorer results. Conclusion PRE2DUP modeling method validly describes regular drug use among older persons. For most of drug classes investigated, PRE2DUP-modeled register data described drug use as well as interview-based data which are more time-consuming to collect. Further studies should be conducted by comparing it with other methods and in different drug user populations. PMID:27785101

How does innovation work within the developmental network state? New data on public-private agreements in a U.S. Department of Energy laboratory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew R. Keller

Full Text Available Abstract The value of the Department of Energy (DOE-owned national laboratories to the U.S. national innovation system has long been a subject of debate. Advocates have drawn attention to the central role of the labs in the development of technologies including advanced batteries, solar energy breakthroughs, imaging technologies, and various IT endeavors, among others. Critics have recurrently suggested that the labs’ innovative capacities have been undermined by a lack of engagement with commercial firms and managerial tactics. Perhaps surprisingly, what has often been missing from the debate is a thorough review of data on the public-private partnerships in which the labs engage with private firms. This paper draws on heretofore non-public data on one type of contractual arrangement - Work-For-Others (WFO agreements - in which the labs perform contract work for private firms. We review 10 years of WFO data for a single DOE laboratory. Our analysis provides an initial picture of the surprisingly diverse geography and array of firms that employed the labs as contract R&D providers, as well as of key characteristics of these agreements. Although our data capture only a single laboratory’s agreements, the findings reinforce the importance of looking at the complex, overlapping network of programs within the U.S. federal system that support private sector innovation.

Grading system for migrated lumbar disc herniation on sagittal magnetic resonance imaging. An agreement study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ahn, Y.; Jeong, T.S. [Gachon University Gil Medical Center, Department of Neurosurgery, Incheon (Korea, Republic of); Lim, T.; Jeon, J.Y. [Gachon University Gil Medical Center, Department of Radiology, Incheon (Korea, Republic of)

2018-01-15

Migrated lumbar disc herniations (LDHs) in the sagittal plane are common. Disc migration grading can be applied as a useful measurement tool in the diagnosis, treatment, and outcome evaluation of migrated LDH. No study has evaluated the reliability of migrated LDH grading. We evaluated the reliability and functionality of the current magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) grading system for migrated LDH. We assessed a six-level grading system developed based on sagittal MRI and graded according to the direction (rostral and caudal) and degree (low, high, and very high) of disc migration. One-hundred and one migrated LDHs treated with minimally invasive endoscopic discectomy were analyzed independently by two experienced radiologists. Intraobserver and interobserver agreements were assessed by kappa statistics. The most common migrated LDH grade was grade 4 (30.94%; caudal, low-grade migration). Rostral and caudal migrations were more common in the upper and lower lumbar levels, respectively. Interobserver agreement in the grading of migrated LDH was good at both the first (kappa = 0.737) and second assessment (kappa = 0.657). The intraobserver agreement for reader 1 was very good (kappa = 0.827) and for reader 2 was good (kappa = 0.620). The current grading system for migrated LDH was found to be reliable and functional with good interobserver and intraobserver agreement. It may be useful in the interpretation of disc migration patterns and outcomes of various minimally invasive surgical procedures. (orig.)

With a little help from our friends?: Independent commissions and the mediation of issues in post-Good Friday Agreement Northern Ireland

OpenAIRE

Walsh, Dawn

2014-01-01

This dissertation uses mediation theory to examine the implementation stage of the Northern Ireland peace process. This highlights the fact that mediation does not end when a peace agreement is signed. The implementation of agreements is also a difficult challenge and an examination of how mediation theory can explain the role of third parties at this significant stage will fill a gap in our understanding of post agreement mediation. It examines how the Independent Commission on Policing, the...

ORMS IN SURPRISING PLACES: CLINICAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL FEATURES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Myroshnychenko MS

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Helminthes are the most common human diseases, which are characterized by involvement in the pathological process of all organs and systems. In this article, the authors discuss a few cases of typical and atypical localizations for parasitic worms such as filarial and pinworms which were recovered from surprising places in the bodies of patients in Kharkiv region. This article will allow the doctors of practical health care to pay special attention to the timely prevention and diagnostics of this pathology.

Primary Care Practice: Uncertainty and Surprise

Science.gov (United States)

Crabtree, Benjamin F.

I will focus my comments on uncertainty and surprise in primary care practices. I am a medical anthropologist by training, and have been a full-time researcher in family medicine for close to twenty years. In this talk I want to look at primary care practices as complex systems, particularly taking the perspective of translating evidence into practice. I am going to discuss briefly the challenges we have in primary care, and in medicine in general, of translating new evidence into the everyday care of patients. To do this, I will look at two studies that we have conducted on family practices, then think about how practices can be best characterized as complex adaptive systems. Finally, I will focus on the implications of this portrayal for disseminating new knowledge into practice.

The mechanisms of constitutional reform in and the legitimation of the peace agreements

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José Luis Sañudo Ospina

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The Colombian state is about to close one of the worst chapters in its history: the war against FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that has lasted for more than five decades. After more than three years of discussions, the parties have settled on important agreements such as the de-escalation of the armed conflict and transitional justice mechanisms. It is thus time for the State to use constitutional and legal means to incorporate the agreements into the national legal system. President Juan Manuel Santos has called for a plebiscite as the means to legitimate the peace agreements. As a surprise to many, the plebiscite did not obtain the votes needed for its implementation, leaving it’s future in uncertainty. The government is now considering other alternatives, such as pass it through congress, call for an open council meeting and even call for a new plebiscite. The main aim of this article is to analyze the mechanisms of constitutional reform existing in the Colombian legal system to validate the Havana Talks. Some concepts, and constitutional and legal regulations will be studied and various mechanisms of citizen participation and constitutional reform will be contrasted that may help to achieve the government expectations with the peace process.

What is a surprise earthquake? The example of the 2002, San Giuliano (Italy event

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Mucciarelli

2005-06-01

Full Text Available Both in scientific literature and in the mass media, some earthquakes are defined as «surprise earthquakes». Based on his own judgment, probably any geologist, seismologist or engineer may have his own list of past «surprise earthquakes». This paper tries to quantify the underlying individual perception that may lead a scientist to apply such a definition to a seismic event. The meaning is different, depending on the disciplinary approach. For geologists, the Italian database of seismogenic sources is still too incomplete to allow for a quantitative estimate of the subjective degree of belief. For seismologists, quantification is possible defining the distance between an earthquake and its closest previous neighbor. Finally, for engineers, the San Giuliano quake could not be considered a surprise, since probabilistic site hazard estimates reveal that the change before and after the earthquake is just 4%.

Analysis of physiological signals for recognition of boredom, pain, and surprise emotions.

Science.gov (United States)

Jang, Eun-Hye; Park, Byoung-Jun; Park, Mi-Sook; Kim, Sang-Hyeob; Sohn, Jin-Hun

2015-06-18

The aim of the study was to examine the differences of boredom, pain, and surprise. In addition to that, it was conducted to propose approaches for emotion recognition based on physiological signals. Three emotions, boredom, pain, and surprise, are induced through the presentation of emotional stimuli and electrocardiography (ECG), electrodermal activity (EDA), skin temperature (SKT), and photoplethysmography (PPG) as physiological signals are measured to collect a dataset from 217 participants when experiencing the emotions. Twenty-seven physiological features are extracted from the signals to classify the three emotions. The discriminant function analysis (DFA) as a statistical method, and five machine learning algorithms (linear discriminant analysis (LDA), classification and regression trees (CART), self-organizing map (SOM), Naïve Bayes algorithm, and support vector machine (SVM)) are used for classifying the emotions. The result shows that the difference of physiological responses among emotions is significant in heart rate (HR), skin conductance level (SCL), skin conductance response (SCR), mean skin temperature (meanSKT), blood volume pulse (BVP), and pulse transit time (PTT), and the highest recognition accuracy of 84.7% is obtained by using DFA. This study demonstrates the differences of boredom, pain, and surprise and the best emotion recognizer for the classification of the three emotions by using physiological signals.

Do People Prefer to Pass Along Good or Bad News? Valence and Relevance of News as Predictors of Transmission Propensity

Science.gov (United States)

Heath

1996-11-01

Anecdotal evidence seems to indicate that exaggeratedly bad news may propagate in the marketplace of ideas. Three studies investigate whether people prefer to pass along pieces of bad news or good news that are equated for "surprisingness." People typically prefer to pass along central rather than extreme information (i.e., news that is less surprising rather than more surprising). However, when confronted with extreme information, the results support a preference for congruence, that is, people prefer to pass along news that is congruent with the emotional valence of the domain in question. This means that in emotionally negative domains, contrary to some theoretical predictions, people are willing to pass along bad news even when it is exaggeratedly bad. At the same time, however, people transmit exaggeratedly good news in emotionally positive domains. The general discussion indicates how these results may inform research on word of mouth for consumer products and social relations in organizations.

19 CFR 10.787 - Goods re-entered after repair or alteration in Morocco.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... Morocco. 10.787 Section 10.787 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND... States-Morocco Free Trade Agreement Goods Returned After Repair Or Alteration § 10.787 Goods re-entered after repair or alteration in Morocco. (a) General. This section sets forth the rules that apply for...

19 CFR 10.570 - Goods re-entered after repair or alteration in Singapore.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... Singapore. 10.570 Section 10.570 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND... States-Singapore Free Trade Agreement Goods Returned After Repair Or Alteration § 10.570 Goods re-entered after repair or alteration in Singapore. (a) General. This section sets forth the rules which apply for...

Teacher Supply and Demand: Surprises from Primary Research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew J. Wayne

2000-09-01

Full Text Available An investigation of primary research studies on public school teacher supply and demand revealed four surprises. Projections show that enrollments are leveling off. Relatedly, annual hiring increases should be only about two or three percent over the next few years. Results from studies of teacher attrition also yield unexpected results. Excluding retirements, only about one in 20 teachers leaves each year, and the novice teachers who quit mainly cite personal and family reasons, not job dissatisfaction. Each of these findings broadens policy makers' options for teacher supply.

Exploring rater agreement: configurations of agreement and disagreement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ALEXANDER VON EYE

2006-03-01

Full Text Available At the level of manifest categorical variables, a large number of coefficients and models for the examination of rater agreement has been proposed and used for descriptive and explanatory purposes. This article focuses on exploring rater agreement. Configural Frequency Analysis (CFA is proposed as a method of exploration of cross-classifications of raters’ judgements. CFA allows researchers to (1 examine individual cells and sets of cells in agreement tables; (2 examine cells that indicate disagreement; and (3 explore agreement and disagreement among three or more raters. Four CFA base models are discussed. The first is the model of rater agreement that is also used for Cohen’s (1960  (kappa. This model proposes independence of raters’ judgements. Deviations from this model suggest agreement or disagreement beyond chance. The second CFA model is based on a log-linear null model. This model is also used for Brennan and Prediger’s (1981 n. It proposes a uniform distribution of ratings. The third model is that of Tanner and Young (1985. This model proposes equal weights for agreement cases and independence otherwise. The fourth model is the quasi-independence model. This model allows one to blank out agreement cells and thus to focus solely on patterns of disagreement. Examples use data from applicant selection.

Conference of “Uncertainty and Surprise: Questions on Working with the Unexpected and Unknowable”

CERN Document Server

McDaniel, Reuben R; Uncertainty and Surprise in Complex Systems : Questions on Working with the Unexpected

2005-01-01

Complexity science has been a source of new insight in physical and social systems and has demonstrated that unpredictability and surprise are fundamental aspects of the world around us. This book is the outcome of a discussion meeting of leading scholars and critical thinkers with expertise in complex systems sciences and leaders from a variety of organizations sponsored by the Prigogine Center at The University of Texas at Austin and the Plexus Institute to explore strategies for understanding uncertainty and surprise. Besides distributions to the conference it includes a key digest by the editors as well as a commentary by the late nobel laureat Ilya Prigogine, "Surprises in half of a century". The book is intended for researchers and scientists in complexity science as well as for a broad interdisciplinary audience of both practitioners and scholars. It will well serve those interested in the research issues and in the application of complexity science to physical and social systems.

Intra- and interobserver agreement of computed tomography in assessment of the mandibular condyle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cho, Bong Hae; Jung, Yun Hoa [Pusan National Univ. College of Dentistry, Pusan (Korea, Republic of)

2007-12-15

To study the intra- and interobserver agreement of multidetector row computed tomography (MDCT) in interpretation of degenerative changes of the mandibular condyle. Five observers independently evaluated one hundred temporomandibular joint MDCT images for signs of osteophytes, erosion, sclerosis and flattening. The intra- and interobserve agreements were calculated by using Kappa statistics. The intraobserver agreement was substantial for erosion (k=0.75), flattening (k=0.74) and sclerosis (k=0.72) and almost perfect for osteophytes (k=0.84). The interobserver agreement was fair for flattening (k=0.39), moderate for erosion (k=0.58) and sclerosis (k=0.48) and substantial for osteophytes (k=0.75). This study shows that we can expert good agreement for the presence of osteophytes, but not for flattening in the interpretation of MDCT images of the condyle.

Response by the energy industry to the Kyoto agreement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lynch, M.C.

2000-01-01

The Kyoto agreement has called for an appropriate response by the energy industry to the perceived problem of global warming. However, while governments are justify in researching low-probability energy technologies to solve uncertain problems, the private sector has non such luxury. The experience of oil crises in the '70s should be a good lesson [it

Models of Automation surprise : results of a field survey in aviation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

De Boer, Robert; Dekker, Sidney

2017-01-01

Automation surprises in aviation continue to be a significant safety concern and the community’s search for effective strategies to mitigate them are ongoing. The literature has offered two fundamentally divergent directions, based on different ideas about the nature of cognition and collaboration

Evaluating e-Government and Good Governance Correlation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suhardi Suhardi

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Assessing the achievement of Indonesian government institutions in implementing e-government has been conducted since around a decade ago. Several national assessments are available with almost the same ranking results. There is an agreement that the ultimate goal of e-government implementation is to achieve good government governance (GGG, while success stories of e-government require good governance practices. This study explored the correlation between e-government achievement and GGG achievement in Indonesia. Spearman’s rank correlation was used to characterize the relationship strength between e-government assessment results and good governance assessment results. The data were collected from institutions that participated in e-government and good governance assessments. The results showed that the correlation between these two entities is not very strong. Most cases showed that e-government implementation and the achievement of good governance have only a moderate positive correlation and none of the studied cases indicated a significant connection. This result can be attributed to the lack of emphasis on goals achievement in the assessments. Thus, it is recommended that future Indonesian e-government assessments should involve impact indicators.

Agreement between self-reported data on medicine use and prescription records vary according to method of analysis and therapeutic group

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Merete Willemoes; Søndergaard, Birthe; Kjøller, Mette

2008-01-01

OBJECTIVE: This study compared national self-reported data on medicine use and national prescription records at the individual level. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: Data from the nationally representative Danish health survey conducted in 2000 (n=16,688) were linked at the individual level to national...... prescription records covering 1999-2000. Kappa statistics and 95% confidence intervals were calculated. RESULTS: Applying the legend time method to medicine groups used mainly on a chronic basis revealed good to very good agreement between the two data sources, whereas medicines used as needed showed fair...... to moderate agreement. When a fixed-time window was applied for analysis, agreement was unchanged for medicines used mainly on a chronic basis, whereas agreement increased somewhat compared to the legend time method when analyzing medicines used as needed. CONCLUSION: Agreement between national self...

Bilateral agreements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-01-01

Ten bilateral agreements are presented. These are: 1) Co-operation agreement relating to the peaceful uses of nuclear energy between Argentina and EURATOM (1996); 2) Agreement on co-operation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy between Argentina and Greece (1997); 3) Implementing arrangement for technical exchange and co-operation in the area of peaceful uses of nuclear energy between Argentina and the United States (1997); 4) Agreement concerning co-operation in nuclear science and technology between Australia and Indonesia (1997); 5) Implementation of the 1985 Agreement for co-operation concerning the peaceful uses of nuclear energy between the People's Republic of China and the United States (1998); 6) Protocol of co-operation between France and Lithuania (1997); 7) Agreement on co-operation in energy research, science and technology, and development between Germany and the United States (1998); 8) Agreement on early notification of a nuclear accident and exchange of information on nuclear facilities between Greece and Romania (1997); 9) Agreement on early notification of nuclear accidents and co-operation in the field of nuclear safety between Hungary and the Ukraine (1997); 10) Agreement in the field of radioactive waste management between Switzerland and the United States (1997). (K.A.)

“Surprise Gift” Purchases of Small Electric Appliances: A Pilot Study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

J. Vanhamme (Joëlle); C.J.P.M. de Bont (Cees)

2005-01-01

textabstractUnderstanding decision-making processes for gifts is of strategic importance for companies selling small electrical appliances as gifts account for a large part of their sales. Among all gifts, the ones that are surprising are the most valued by recipients. However, research about

International trade agreements: a threat to tobacco control policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Shaffer, E R; Brenner, J E; Houston, T P

2005-08-01

International covenants establish a role for governments in ensuring the conditions for human health and wellbeing, which has been recognised as a central human right. International trade agreements, conversely, prioritize the rights of corporations over health and human rights. International trade agreements are threatening existing tobacco control policies and restrict the possibility of implementing new controls. This situation is unrecognised by many tobacco control advocates in signatory nations, especially those in developing countries. Recent agreements on eliminating various trade restrictions, including those on tobacco, have expanded far beyond simply international movement of goods to include internal tobacco distribution regulations and intellectual property rules regulating advertising and labelling. Our analysis shows that to the extent trade agreements protect the tobacco industry, in itself a deadly enterprise, they erode human rights principles and contribute to ill health. The tobacco industry has used trade policy to undermine effective barriers to tobacco importation. Trade negotiations provide an unwarranted opportunity for the tobacco industry to assert its interests without public scrutiny. Trade agreements provide the industry with additional tools to obstruct control policies in both developed and developing countries and at every level. The health community should become involved in reversing these trends, and help promote additional measures to protect public health.

Surprising results: HIV testing and changes in contraceptive practices among young women in Malawi

Science.gov (United States)

Sennott, Christie; Yeatman, Sara

2015-01-01

This study uses eight waves of data from the population-based Tsogolo la Thanzi study (2009–2011) in rural Malawi to examine changes in young women’s contraceptive practices, including the use of condoms, non-barrier contraceptive methods, and abstinence, following positive and negative HIV tests. The analysis factors in women’s prior perceptions of their HIV status that may already be shaping their behaviour and separates surprise HIV test results from those that merely confirm what was already believed. Fixed effects logistic regression models show that HIV testing frequently affects the contraceptive practices of young Malawian women, particularly when the test yields an unexpected result. Specifically, women who are surprised to test HIV positive increase their condom use and are more likely to use condoms consistently. Following an HIV negative test (whether a surprise or expected), women increase their use of condoms and decrease their use of non-barrier contraceptives; the latter may be due to an increase in abstinence following a surprise negative result. Changes in condom use following HIV testing are robust to the inclusion of potential explanatory mechanisms including fertility preferences, relationship status, and the perception that a partner is HIV positive. The results demonstrate that both positive and negative tests can influence women’s sexual and reproductive behaviours, and emphasise the importance of conceptualizing of HIV testing as offering new information only insofar as results deviate from prior perceptions of HIV status. PMID:26160156

Intra- and interobserver agreement in the diagnosis of malocclusion in sleep-disordered breathing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fernando Rodrigues Carvalho

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB is often related to malocclusion, and dentists should be able to recognize occlusal changes that may be associated with the development, onset, or persistence of SDB. Although clinical examination is routinely used by specialists in orthodontics and functional jaw orthopedics, differences in diagnosis are very common. Method : Two observers, both dentists specializing in functional jaw orthopedics, examined 56 children aged 7 to 9 years. Intra- and interobserver agreement in identification of functional orthopedic and orthodontic conditions were assessed. Results : Intraobserver agreement was strong for all variables. Interobserver agreement was also strong, except for the variable overbite, which showed good agreement. Conclusion : Diagnostic criteria provide an opportunity for dentists to recognize dental malocclusions that may be associated with sleep-disordered breathing.

The impact of the CEFTA trade agreement on economic development in Kosovo

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MA. Leonora Vranja

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Given the fact that Kosovo was in a difficult economic situation, it became a member of CEFTA, so that domestic producers could export their goods, benefit from free trade, attract foreign investors, and also it was seen as an opportunity for integration into the European Union (EU. After the signing of this agreement, eventhough expectations were optimistic about economic development, the agreement was not fully implemented. Kosovo, compared to other SouthEast European countries that are also members of this agreement, has been discriminated against in terms of export of domestic products and the number of foreign investors has decreased. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of this agreement on Kosovo's economic development. For analyzing the macroeconomic indicators affected by this agreement, analytical methods were used, and interviews were conducted with a local producer as well as with an economic expert. The results of this research show that the CEFTA 2006 agreement did not have the expected positive impact on the development of the economy in Kosovo.

Decree no 77-698 of 23 June 1977 publishing the amendments to Annexes A and B of the European Agreement on International Transport of Dangerous Goods by Road of 30 September 1957 which came into force on 17 February 1977

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1977-01-01

Annexes A and B of the European Agreement on the Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR) of 30th September 1957 were modified by amendments which were published in the French Official Gazette of 3rd July 1977. These amendments refer in particular to the applicable regulations on fissile materials. (NEA) [fr

Cooperation among cancer cells as public goods games on Voronoi networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Archetti, Marco

2016-05-07

Cancer cells produce growth factors that diffuse and sustain tumour proliferation, a form of cooperation that can be studied using mathematical models of public goods in the framework of evolutionary game theory. Cell populations, however, form heterogeneous networks that cannot be described by regular lattices or scale-free networks, the types of graphs generally used in the study of cooperation. To describe the dynamics of growth factor production in populations of cancer cells, I study public goods games on Voronoi networks, using a range of non-linear benefits that account for the known properties of growth factors, and different types of diffusion gradients. The results are surprisingly similar to those obtained on regular graphs and different from results on scale-free networks, revealing that network heterogeneity per se does not promote cooperation when public goods diffuse beyond one-step neighbours. The exact shape of the diffusion gradient is not crucial, however, whereas the type of non-linear benefit is an essential determinant of the dynamics. Public goods games on Voronoi networks can shed light on intra-tumour heterogeneity, the evolution of resistance to therapies that target growth factors, and new types of cell therapy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The effect of emotionally valenced eye region images on visuocortical processing of surprised faces.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Shuaixia; Li, Ping; Wang, Wei; Zhu, Xiangru; Luo, Wenbo

2018-05-01

In this study, we presented pictorial representations of happy, neutral, and fearful expressions projected in the eye regions to determine whether the eye region alone is sufficient to produce a context effect. Participants were asked to judge the valence of surprised faces that had been preceded by a picture of an eye region. Behavioral results showed that affective ratings of surprised faces were context dependent. Prime-related ERPs with presentation of happy eyes elicited a larger P1 than those for neutral and fearful eyes, likely due to the recognition advantage provided by a happy expression. Target-related ERPs showed that surprised faces in the context of fearful and happy eyes elicited dramatically larger C1 than those in the neutral context, which reflected the modulation by predictions during the earliest stages of face processing. There were larger N170 with neutral and fearful eye contexts compared to the happy context, suggesting faces were being integrated with contextual threat information. The P3 component exhibited enhanced brain activity in response to faces preceded by happy and fearful eyes compared with neutral eyes, indicating motivated attention processing may be involved at this stage. Altogether, these results indicate for the first time that the influence of isolated eye regions on the perception of surprised faces involves preferential processing at the early stages and elaborate processing at the late stages. Moreover, higher cognitive processes such as predictions and attention can modulate face processing from the earliest stages in a top-down manner. © 2017 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

On the surprising rigidity of the Pauli exclusion principle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greenberg, O.W.

1989-01-01

I review recent attempts to construct a local quantum field theory of small violations of the Pauli exclusion principle and suggest a qualitative reason for the surprising rigidity of the Pauli principle. I suggest that small violations can occur in our four-dimensional world as a consequence of the compactification of a higher-dimensional theory in which the exclusion principle is exactly valid. I briefly mention a recent experiment which places a severe limit on possible violations of the exclusion principle. (orig.)

Global Water Cycle Agreement in the Climate Models Assessed in the IPCC AR4

Science.gov (United States)

Waliser, D.; Seo, K. -W.; Schubert, S.; Njoku, E.

2007-01-01

This study examines the fidelity of the global water cycle in the climate model simulations assessed in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report. The results demonstrate good model agreement in quantities that have had a robust global observational basis and that are physically unambiguous. The worst agreement occurs for quantities that have both poor observational constraints and whose model representations can be physically ambiguous. In addition, components involving water vapor (frozen water) typically exhibit the best (worst) agreement, and fluxes typically exhibit better agreement than reservoirs. These results are discussed in relation to the importance of obtaining accurate model representation of the water cycle and its role in climate change. Recommendations are also given for facilitating the needed model improvements.

26 CFR 1.1241-1 - Cancellation of lease or distributor's agreement.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... marketing or marketing and servicing of goods. It does not apply to agreements for selling intangible... his State. The marketing is accomplished by using the warehouse and trucks acquired before he entered... distributes to frozen-food freezer and locker customers. The terms of his distributorship do not make it...

Students' and teachers' cognitions about good teachers.

Science.gov (United States)

Beishuizen, J J; Hof, E; van Putten, C M; Bouwmeester, S; Asscher, J J

2001-06-01

Good teachers have been studied ever since Plato described how Socrates taught by asking questions of his audience. Recent findings shed light on two characteristics of good teachers: their personality and their ability. However, more attention has been paid to teachers' practices and opinions than to students' views. The study reported here attempted to deepen our understanding of what students think about good teachers. Students of four age groups (7, 10, 13, and 16 years of age) and teachers from primary and secondary schools were asked to write an essay on the good teacher. The correspondence between conceptual items in the essays was investigated by determining the extent to which they were used in the same essays to describe good teachers. Correspondence analysis revealed two dimensions. The first dimension reflected the preference of students and teachers for describing the good teacher in terms of either personality or ability characteristics. The second dimension was interpreted as an orientation in the essays towards either attachment to, detachment from or commitment to school and teachers. Students and teachers were compared to establish the amount of (dis)agreement about what makes a good teacher. Primary school students described good teachers primarily as competent instructors, focusing on transfer of knowledge and skills, whereas secondary school students emphasised relational aspects of good teachers. Teachers, however, considered good teachers in the first place a matter of establishing personal relationships with their students. Consequently, primary school students and teachers disagreed about the characteristics of good teachers. In secondary education, disagreements between teachers and students were relatively small. The research method of collecting free essays and utilising correspondence analysis to represent conceptual items and groups of participants seems promising as long as a theoretical framework is available to interpret the

Evaluation of Agreement between HRT III and iVue OCT in Glaucoma and Ocular Hypertension Patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Perdicchi

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose. To determine the agreement between Moorfields Regression Analysis (MRA, Glaucoma Probability Score (GPS of Heidelberg retinal tomograph (HRT III, and peripapillary nerve fibers thickness by iVue Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT. Methods. 72 eyes with ocular hypertension or primary open angle glaucoma (POAG were included in the study: 54 eyes had normal visual fields (VF and 18 had VF damage. All subjects performed achromatic 30° VF by Octopus Program G1X dynamic strategy and were imaged with HRT III and iVue OCT. Sectorial and global MRA, GPS, and OCT parameters were used for the analysis. Kappa statistic was used to assess the agreement between methods. Results. A significant agreement between iVue OCT and GPS for the inferotemporal quadrant (κ: 0.555 was found in patients with abnormal VF. A good overall agreement between GPS and MRA was found in all the eyes tested (κ: 0.511. A good agreement between iVue OCT and MRA was shown in the superonasal (κ: 0.656 and nasal (κ: 0.627 quadrants followed by the superotemporal (κ: 0.602 and inferotemporal (κ: 0.586 sectors in all the studied eyes. Conclusion. The highest percentages of agreement were found per quadrant of the MRA and the iVue OCT confirming that in glaucoma damage starts from the temporal hemiretina.

Inter-operator and inter-device agreement and reliability of the SEM Scanner.

Science.gov (United States)

Clendenin, Marta; Jaradeh, Kindah; Shamirian, Anasheh; Rhodes, Shannon L

2015-02-01

The SEM Scanner is a medical device designed for use by healthcare providers as part of pressure ulcer prevention programs. The objective of this study was to evaluate the inter-rater and inter-device agreement and reliability of the SEM Scanner. Thirty-one (31) volunteers free of pressure ulcers or broken skin at the sternum, sacrum, and heels were assessed with the SEM Scanner. Each of three operators utilized each of three devices to collect readings from four anatomical sites (sternum, sacrum, left and right heels) on each subject for a total of 108 readings per subject collected over approximately 30 min. For each combination of operator-device-anatomical site, three SEM readings were collected. Inter-operator and inter-device agreement and reliability were estimated. Over the course of this study, more than 3000 SEM Scanner readings were collected. Agreement between operators was good with mean differences ranging from -0.01 to 0.11. Inter-operator and inter-device reliability exceeded 0.80 at all anatomical sites assessed. The results of this study demonstrate the high reliability and good agreement of the SEM Scanner across different operators and different devices. Given the limitations of current methods to prevent and detect pressure ulcers, the SEM Scanner shows promise as an objective, reliable tool for assessing the presence or absence of pressure-induced tissue damage such as pressure ulcers. Copyright © 2015 Bruin Biometrics, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Achieving high value care for all and the perverse incentives of 340B price agreements.

Science.gov (United States)

Whittington, Melanie D; Campbell, Jonathan D; McQueen, R Brett

2018-04-01

Section 340B of the Public Health Service Act requires drug manufacturers to enter into price agreements with the Department of Health and Human Services. These agreements result in variation in the price paid to acquire a drug by sector, which complicates the price used in cost-effectiveness analyses. We describe the transactions and sectors in a 340B agreement using a multiple sclerosis drug. Cost-effectiveness estimates were calculated for the drug using drug prices from the manufacturer and payer perspective. We found the amount paid to the manufacturer (340B price) was a good value ($118,256 per quality-adjusted life-year); however, from the payer drug cost perspective, good value ($196,683 per quality-adjusted life-year) was not achieved. Given that emerging value frameworks incorporate cost-effectiveness, these price variations may have downstream negative consequences, including inaccurate coverage and reimbursement policy recommendations. Upcoming policy changes to the 340B program should incentivize pricing schemes hinged on transparency and value.

Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Swiss Federal Council for co-operation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy (with annexes)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-12-01

This Agreement replaces an Agreement concluded in 1958 and revised several times. The new Agreement which entered into force on 13 June 1989, takes into account the non-proliferation rules agreed between exporting countries these past years. This outline Agreement contains no obligations regarding purchase or sale, but establishes non-proliferation safeguards respecting co-operation between private or public undertakings in both States. In particular, the Parties undertake to use the goods exchanged solely for peaceful and non-explosive purposes and entrust the International Atomic Energy Agency with verifying this use. Retransfer of such goods to a third country is also subject to very specific conditions [fr

Mutual punishment promotes cooperation in the spatial public goods game

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Han-Xin; Rong, Zhihai

2015-01-01

Punishment has been proved to be an effective mechanism to sustain cooperation among selfish individuals. In previous studies, punishment is unidirectional: an individual i can punish j but j cannot punish i. In this paper, we propose a mechanism of mutual punishment, in which the two individuals will punish each other if their strategies are different. Because of the symmetry in imposing the punishment, one might expect intuitively the strategy to have little effect on cooperation. Surprisingly, we find that the mutual punishment can promote cooperation in the spatial public goods game. Other pertinent quantities such as the time evolution of cooperator density and the spatial distribution of cooperators and defectors are also investigated

Benefits of tolerance in public goods games.

Science.gov (United States)

Szolnoki, Attila; Chen, Xiaojie

2015-10-01

Leaving the joint enterprise when defection is unveiled is always a viable option to avoid being exploited. Although loner strategy helps the population not to be trapped into the tragedy of the commons state, it could offer only a modest income for nonparticipants. In this paper we demonstrate that showing some tolerance toward defectors could not only save cooperation in harsh environments but in fact results in a surprisingly high average payoff for group members in public goods games. Phase diagrams and the underlying spatial patterns reveal the high complexity of evolving states where cyclic dominant strategies or two-strategy alliances can characterize the final state of evolution. We identify microscopic mechanisms which are responsible for the superiority of global solutions containing tolerant players. This phenomenon is robust and can be observed both in well-mixed and in structured populations highlighting the importance of tolerance in our everyday life.

Cloud Surprises in Moving NASA EOSDIS Applications into Amazon Web Services

Science.gov (United States)

Mclaughlin, Brett

2017-01-01

NASA ESDIS has been moving a variety of data ingest, distribution, and science data processing applications into a cloud environment over the last 2 years. As expected, there have been a number of challenges in migrating primarily on-premises applications into a cloud-based environment, related to architecture and taking advantage of cloud-based services. What was not expected is a number of issues that were beyond purely technical application re-architectures. We ran into surprising network policy limitations, billing challenges in a government-based cost model, and difficulty in obtaining certificates in an NASA security-compliant manner. On the other hand, this approach has allowed us to move a number of applications from local hosting to the cloud in a matter of hours (yes, hours!!), and our CMR application now services 95% of granule searches and an astonishing 99% of all collection searches in under a second. And most surprising of all, well, you'll just have to wait and see the realization that caught our entire team off guard!

Risk, surprises and black swans fundamental ideas and concepts in risk assessment and risk management

CERN Document Server

Aven, Terje

2014-01-01

Risk, Surprises and Black Swans provides an in depth analysis of the risk concept with a focus on the critical link to knowledge; and the lack of knowledge, that risk and probability judgements are based on.Based on technical scientific research, this book presents a new perspective to help you understand how to assess and manage surprising, extreme events, known as 'Black Swans'. This approach looks beyond the traditional probability-based principles to offer a broader insight into the important aspects of uncertain events and in doing so explores the ways to manage them.

2 CFR 176.160 - Award term-Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods (covered under...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... award term and condition— Designated country—(1) A World Trade Organization Government Procurement..., Steel, and Manufactured Goods (covered under International Agreements)-Section 1605 of the American... Award term—Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods (covered under International...

Test-retest reliability and agreement of the SPI-Questionnaire to detect symptoms of digital ischemia in elite volleyball players.

Science.gov (United States)

van de Pol, Daan; Zacharian, Tigran; Maas, Mario; Kuijer, P Paul F M

2017-06-01

The Shoulder posterior circumflex humeral artery Pathology and digital Ischemia - questionnaire (SPI-Q) has been developed to enable periodic surveillance of elite volleyball players, who are at risk for digital ischemia. Prior to implementation, assessing reliability is mandatory. Therefore, the test-retest reliability and agreement of the SPI-Q were evaluated among the population at risk. A questionnaire survey was performed with a 2-week interval among 65 elite male volleyball players assessing symptoms of cold, pale and blue digits in the dominant hand during or after practice or competition using a 4-point Likert scale (never, sometimes, often and always). Kappa (κ) and percentage of agreement (POA) were calculated for individual symptoms, and to distinguish symptomatic and asymptomatic players. For the individual symptoms, κ ranged from "poor" (0.25) to "good" (0.63), and POA ranged from "moderate" (78%) to "good" (97%). To classify symptomatic players, the SPI-Q showed "good" reliability (κ = 0.83; 95%CI 0.69-0.97) and "good" agreement (POA = 92%). The current study has proven the SPI-Q to be reliable for detecting elite male indoor volleyball players with symptoms of digital ischemia.

Agreement and Anti-Agreement in Berber: A Multiple-Feature Inheritance Account

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saleem Abdelhady

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This study proposes understanding Agreement and Anti-Agreement in Berber from Multi-Feature Inheritance (MFI account following Branigan’s (2016 recent approach. The study aims to bridge a misunderstanding in the literature where it has been assumed that Feature Inheritance (FI can only account for Agreement relations while Anti-agreement relations can only be established by a direct Agree between C as a probe and its goal. Under MFI, it can be argued that FI can account for all aspects of Agreement/Anti-agreement. The study, therefore, presents a unification of the three mechanisms proposed by Ouali (2008. The new approach is tested on data from Berber.

Spatiotemporal neural characterization of prediction error valence and surprise during reward learning in humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Fouragnan, Elsa; Queirazza, Filippo; Retzler, Chris; Mullinger, Karen J; Philiastides, Marios G

2017-07-06

Reward learning depends on accurate reward associations with potential choices. These associations can be attained with reinforcement learning mechanisms using a reward prediction error (RPE) signal (the difference between actual and expected rewards) for updating future reward expectations. Despite an extensive body of literature on the influence of RPE on learning, little has been done to investigate the potentially separate contributions of RPE valence (positive or negative) and surprise (absolute degree of deviation from expectations). Here, we coupled single-trial electroencephalography with simultaneously acquired fMRI, during a probabilistic reversal-learning task, to offer evidence of temporally overlapping but largely distinct spatial representations of RPE valence and surprise. Electrophysiological variability in RPE valence correlated with activity in regions of the human reward network promoting approach or avoidance learning. Electrophysiological variability in RPE surprise correlated primarily with activity in regions of the human attentional network controlling the speed of learning. Crucially, despite the largely separate spatial extend of these representations our EEG-informed fMRI approach uniquely revealed a linear superposition of the two RPE components in a smaller network encompassing visuo-mnemonic and reward areas. Activity in this network was further predictive of stimulus value updating indicating a comparable contribution of both signals to reward learning.

Surprises and counterexamples in real function theory

CERN Document Server

Rajwade, A R

2007-01-01

This book presents a variety of intriguing, surprising and appealing topics and nonroutine theorems in real function theory. It is a reference book to which one can turn for finding that arise while studying or teaching analysis.Chapter 1 is an introduction to algebraic, irrational and transcendental numbers and contains the Cantor ternary set. Chapter 2 contains functions with extraordinary properties; functions that are continuous at each point but differentiable at no point. Chapters 4 and intermediate value property, periodic functions, Rolle's theorem, Taylor's theorem, points of tangents. Chapter 6 discusses sequences and series. It includes the restricted harmonic series, of alternating harmonic series and some number theoretic aspects. In Chapter 7, the infinite peculiar range of convergence is studied. Appendix I deal with some specialized topics. Exercises at the end of chapters and their solutions are provided in Appendix II.This book will be useful for students and teachers alike.

Inter-rater agreement of the PEWS tools used in Central Denmark Region

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Claus Sixtus; Aagaard, Hanne; Olesen, Hanne Vebert

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND: Paediatric early warning score (PEWS) assessment tools can assist healthcare providers in the timely detection and recognition of subtle patient condition changes signalling clinical deterioration. However, PEWS tools instrument data are only as reliable and accurate as the caregivers...... agreement. The nurses assigned the exact same aggregated score for both PEWS models in 76% of the cases. In 98% of the PEWS assessments, the aggregated PEWS scores assigned by the nurses were equal to or below 1 point in both models. CONCLUSION: The study showed good to very good inter-rater reliability...

The Outlier Sectors: Areas of Non-Free Trade in the North American Free Trade Agreement

OpenAIRE

Eric T. Miller

2002-01-01

Since its entry into force, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has been enormously influential as a model for trade liberalization. While trade in goods among Canada, the United States and Mexico has been liberalized to a significant degree, this most famous of agreements nonetheless contains areas of recalcitrant protectionism. The first part of this paper identifies these "outlier sectors" and classifies them by primary source advocating protectionism, i.e., producer interests ...

Services in Regioanl Trade Agreements: Implications for India

OpenAIRE

Nag, Biswajit; De, Debdeep

2008-01-01

Service sector has emerged as the largest and fastest-growing sector in the global economy in the last two decades, providing more than 60 per cent of global output and, in many countries, an even larger share of employment. The growth in services has also been accompanied by the rising share of services in world transactions. In fact trade in services has grown as fast as trade in goods in the period 1990- 2003 (6% per annum). In recent years the number of international agreements aiming to ...

Spinning superfluid 4He nanodroplets

Science.gov (United States)

Ancilotto, Francesco; Barranco, Manuel; Pi, Martí

2018-05-01

We have studied spinning superfluid 4He nanodroplets at zero temperature using density functional theory. Due to the irrotational character of the superfluid flow, the shapes of the spinning nanodroplets are very different from those of a viscous normal fluid drop in steady rotation. We show that when vortices are nucleated inside the superfluid droplets, their morphology, which evolves from axisymmetric oblate to triaxial prolate to two-lobed shapes, is in good agreement with experiments. The presence of vortex arrays confers to the superfluid droplets the rigid-body behavior of a normal fluid in steady rotation, and this is the ultimate reason for the surprising good agreement between recent experiments and the classical models used for their description.

Young Adult Literature and the Common Core: A Surprisingly Good Fit

Science.gov (United States)

Ostenson, Jonathan; Wadham, Rachel

2012-01-01

Advocates have long argued that an increased role for young adult literature in the classroom would help students' reading development. At first glance, the widely adopted Common Core State Standards might seem in opposition to an increased role for such literature. A closer examination of the common core documents suggests, however, that young…

12 CFR 533.5 - Related agreements considered a single agreement.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... DISCLOSURE AND REPORTING OF CRA-RELATED AGREEMENTS § 533.5 Related agreements considered a single agreement... entered into within the same 12-month period; and (3) Are each in fulfillment of the CRA. (b... in fulfillment of the CRA, if the contracts were negotiated in a coordinated fashion and a NGEP is a...

12 CFR 35.5 - Related agreements considered a single agreement.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... DISCLOSURE AND REPORTING OF CRA-RELATED AGREEMENTS § 35.5 Related agreements considered a single agreement... into within the same 12-month period; and (3) Are each in fulfillment of the CRA. (b) Substantively... the CRA, if the contracts were negotiated in a coordinated fashion and a NGEP is a party to each...

The Return of the Cultural Exception and its Impact on International Agreements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marlen Bartsch

2014-07-01

Full Text Available This essay examines the influence of the French concept of the “cultural exception” on European media policy and international agreements. After briefly reviewing the historical background of the cultural exception in France, the essay describes how demands for the cultural exception and those for diversity affect inter-/transnational agreements within the European Union and around the world. Special focus is placed on the current secret EU/US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Agreement (TTIP negotiations that nearly failed because of France’s insistence that media and culture be exempted. The author argues that the concept of the “cultural exception” has been revived in recent years. However, due to the dual character of media (which is both a cultural and economic good, and the lack of a global media policy, the culture and trade debate will continue.

Surprises in the suddenly-expanded infinite well

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aslangul, Claude

2008-01-01

I study the time evolution of a particle prepared in the ground state of an infinite well after the latter is suddenly expanded. It turns out that the probability density |Ψ(x, t)| 2 shows up quite a surprising behaviour: for definite times, plateaux appear for which |Ψ(x, t)| 2 is constant on finite intervals for x. Elements of theoretical explanation are given by analysing the singular component of the second derivative ∂ xx Ψ(x, t). Analytical closed expressions are obtained for some specific times, which easily allow us to show that, at these times, the density organizes itself into regular patterns provided the size of the box is large enough; more, above some critical size depending on the specific time, the density patterns are independent of the expansion parameter. It is seen how the density at these times simply results from a construction game with definite rules acting on the pieces of the initial density

Agreement on Agriculture in the Uruguay Round of GATT, The

OpenAIRE

Zuhair A. Hassan

1994-01-01

The Uruguay Round is the eighth round of multilateral trade negotiations (MTN) under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The previous seven rounds produced significant reductions in tariffs on manufactured goods, but little or no progress was made in opening international markets for agricultural trade (see Appendix A0. However, the distortions in international agricultural trade and domestic agricultural production and the increasing budgetary outlays prompted trade ministers ...

46 CFR 298.38 - Partnership agreements and limited liability company agreements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 8 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Partnership agreements and limited liability company... liability company agreements. Partnership and limited liability company agreements must be in form and...) Duration of the entity; (b) Adequate partnership or limited liability company funding requirements and...

Technology Partnership Agreements | NREL

Science.gov (United States)

Partnership Agreements Technology Partnership Agreements Looking for Funding? We do not fund any projects under a technology partnership agreement. The partner provides the necessary resources and, in using technology partnership agreements. See a summary of our Fiscal Year 2017 technology partnership

Analysis of agreement among definitions of metabolic syndrome in nondiabetic Turkish adults: a methodological study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bersot Thomas P

2007-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background We aimed to explore the agreement among World Health Organization (WHO, European Group for the Study of Insulin Resistance (EGIR, National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP, American College of Endocrinology (ACE, and International Diabetes Federation (IDF definitions of the metabolic syndrome. Methods 1568 subjects (532 men, 1036 women, mean age 45 and standard deviation (SD 13 years were evaluated in this cross-sectional, methodological study. Cardiometabolic risk factors were determined. Insulin sensitivity was calculated by HOMA-IR. Agreement among definitions was determined by the kappa statistic. ANOVA and post hoc Tukey's test were used to compare multiple groups. Results The agreement between WHO and EGIR definitions was very good (kappa: 0.83. The agreement between NCEP, ACE, and IDF definitions was substantial to very good (kappa: 0.77–0.84. The agreement between NCEP or ACE or IDF and WHO or EGIR definitions was fair (kappa: 0.32–0.37. The age and sex adjusted prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 38% by NCEP, 42% by ACE and IDF, 20% by EGIR and 19% by WHO definition. The evaluated definitions were dichotomized after analysis of design, agreement and prevalence: insulin measurement requiring definitions (WHO and EGIR and definitions not requiring insulin measurement (NCEP, ACE, IDF. One definition was selected from each set for comparison. WHO-defined subjects were more insulin resistant than subjects without the metabolic syndrome (mean and SD for log HOMA-IR, 0.53 ± 0.14 vs. 0.07 ± 0.23, respectively, p 0.05, but lower log HOMA-IR values (p Conclusion The metabolic syndrome definitions that do not require measurement of insulin levels (NCEP, ACE and IDF identify twice more patients with insulin resistance and increased Framingham risk scores and are more useful than the definitions that require measurement of insulin levels (WHO and EGIR.

Good leadership for good quality

OpenAIRE

Franzon, Vilma Maria

2016-01-01

Good leadership is important if you like to have high quality in the results. My experience in the production of the television industry is that conditions for good leadership is insufficient. Therefore, I have tried to get answers for those two questions in my exam report: What are the characteristics of good leadership? What are the prerequisites for good leadership out of production? The method I used is a literature study and observation. I have read a number of books and research studies...

Charlson comorbidity index derived from chart review or administrative data: agreement and prediction of mortality in intensive care patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stavem K

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Knut Stavem,1–3 Henrik Hoel,4 Stein Arve Skjaker,5 Rolf Haagensen6 1Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, 2Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Medical Division, 3Health Services Research Unit, Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, 4Department of Surgery, Sykehuset Innlandet Kongsvinger, Kongsvinger, 5Section of Orthopaedic Emergency, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, 6Department of Anaesthesiology, Surgical Division, Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Norway Purpose: This study compared the Charlson comorbidity index (CCI information derived from chart review and administrative systems to assess the completeness and agreement between scores, evaluate the capacity to predict 30-day and 1-year mortality in intensive care unit (ICU patients, and compare the predictive capacity with that of the Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS II model.Patients and methods: Using data from 959 patients admitted to a general ICU in a Norwegian university hospital from 2007 to 2009, we compared the CCI score derived from chart review and administrative systems. Agreement was assessed using % agreement, kappa, and weighted kappa. The capacity to predict 30-day and 1-year mortality was assessed using logistic regression, model discrimination with the c-statistic, and calibration with a goodness-of-fit statistic.Results: The CCI was complete (n=959 when calculated from chart than from administrative data (n=839. Agreement was good, with a weighted kappa of 0.667 (95% confidence interval: 0.596–0.714. The c-statistics for categorized CCI scores from charts and administrative data were similar in the model that included age, sex, and type of admission: 0.755 and 0.743 for 30-day mortality, respectively, and 0.783 and 0.775, respectively, for 1-year mortality. Goodness-of-fit statistics supported the model fit.Conclusion: The CCI scores from chart review and administrative data showed good agreement

Interobserver agreement on Poser's and the new McDonald's diagnostic criteria for multiple sclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Zipoli, V; Portaccio, E; Siracusa, G; Pracucci, G; Sorbi, S; Amato, M P

2003-10-01

We assessed the interobserver agreement on the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) in a study sample consisting of 41 MS (15 relapsing remitting, two secondary progressive, five primary progressive and 19 presenting their first clinical attack) and three non-MS cases. Clinical and paraclinical information was recorded in standardized forms. Four neurologists were asked to make a diagnosis using Poser's and McDonald's criteria and to assess MRI scans according to the McDonald's guidelines. In terms of the kappa statistic (kappa), we found a moderate agreement on the overall diagnosis using both Poser's and McDonald's criteria (kappa, respectively 0.57 and 0.52). As for distinct diagnostic categories, we observed a moderate to substantial agreement for the three McDonald categories (range of kappa values 0.49-0.64) and a fair to substantial agreement for the nine Poser categories (range of kappa values 0.37-0.67). Taking into account clinical information, the agreement on dissemination over time was substantially higher (kappa = 0.69) than that found on dissemination over space (kappa = 0.46). In contrast, for MRI assessment, the agreement for spatial dissemination was substantial (kappa = 0.74) compared with the fair agreement (kappa = 0.25) yielded by dissemination over time. The new McDonald's criteria yield a good overall diagnostic reliability, and compare favourably with Poser's classification in terms of agreement on distinct diagnostic categories.

Agreement between children and parents demonstrated that illness-related absenteeism was validly reported by children

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Denbæk, Anne Maj; Bonnesen, Camilla Thørring; Andersen, Anette

2016-01-01

OBJECTIVES: To examine the agreement between children's and parents' reporting of illness-related absenteeism from school and to examine predictors for disagreement between children and parents. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: A total of 8,438 schoolchildren aged from 5 to 15 years (grade 0-8) and one...... of 22 weeks. Text messages and questionnaire data were linked at the individual level, leaving 2,269 child-parent pairs in the analysis, corresponding to 27% of the eligible sample. RESULTS: The agreement between children's and parents' reports of illness-related absenteeism was good, with high absolute...... agreement and slight to moderate Ƙ values. Agreement was lowest for 6- to 8-year-olds and highest for 11- to 12-year-olds. Children's reports of illness symptoms and parents' reports of their children's illnesses in the preceding week were strong predictors for children reporting illness-related absenteeism...

48 CFR 225.403 - World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement and Free Trade Agreements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... Government Procurement Agreement and Free Trade Agreements. 225.403 Section 225.403 Federal Acquisition... FOREIGN ACQUISITION Trade Agreements 225.403 World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement and... Government Procurement Agreement, acquire only U.S.-made, qualifying country, or designated country end...

X-rays from comets - a surprising discovery

CERN Document Server

CERN. Geneva

2000-01-01

Comets are kilometre-size aggregates of ice and dust, which remained from the formation of the solar system. It was not obvious to expect X-ray emission from such objects. Nevertheless, when comet Hyakutake (C/1996 B2) was observed with the ROSAT X-ray satellite during its close approach to Earth in March 1996, bright X-ray emission from this comet was discovered. This finding triggered a search in archival ROSAT data for comets, which might have accidentally crossed the field of view during observations of unrelated targets. To increase the surprise even more, X-ray emission was detected from four additional comets, which were optically 300 to 30 000 times fainter than Hyakutake. For one of them, comet Arai (C/1991 A2), X-ray emission was even found in data which were taken six weeks before the comet was optically discovered. These findings showed that comets represent a new class of celestial X-ray sources. The subsequent detection of X-ray emission from several other comets in dedicated observations confir...

The Relaunching of Negotiations on Green Goods and Services: Any breakthrough in Sight?

OpenAIRE

De Melo, Jaime; Vijil, Mariana

2014-01-01

The Bali a minima agreement last December has given new hopes that the WTO is not dead. The recent announcement that negotiations on the reductions of tariffs on environmental goods are to resume starting from a list of goods identified by APEC members in September 2012 gives hope that the triple win outcome of the Doha round for trade, for development and for the environment-might materialize, at least partly. Or does it? This brève argues that unless the field of negotiations is widened, th...

Effective construction of environmental protection agreements; Wirksame Gestaltung von Umweltschutzabkommen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

French, H.F. [Worldwatch Inst., Washington, DC (United States)

1995-02-01

By now 170 international agreements are designed to protect air, ground, water and organisms from man-made hazards. Nevertheless are innovative approaches required for global conventions to make the Earth a sanctuary of life for good. (orig.) [Deutsch] Schon mehr als 170 internationale Vertraege sollen Luft, Boden, Wasser und die Organismen vor Gefaehrdungen durch den Menschen bewahren. Gleichwohl sind innovative Ansaetze fuer globale Vereinbarungen erforderlich, damit die Erde auf Dauer ein sicherer Hort des Lebens ist. (orig.)

Interobserver agreement on the interpretation of automated whole breast ultrasonography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Eun Jeong; KIm, Sung Hun; Kang, Bong Joo; Kim, Yun Ju

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to prospectively evaluate the interobserver agreement on lesion characterization and the final assessment of automated whole breast ultrasonography (ABUS) images. Between March and August 2012, 172 women underwent bilateral ABUS before biopsy guided by handheld ultrasonography (HHUS) and mammography. A total of 206 breast lesions were confirmed histopathologically by biopsy. Three-dimensional volume data from ABUS scans were analyzed by two radiologists without the knowledge of HHUS results or patient clinical information. The two readers described the type, shape, orientation, margin, echogenicity, posterior acoustic features, and categorization of the final assessment of detected breast lesions. Kappa statistics were used to analyze the described characteristics of the breast lesions detected by both of the two readers. Of the 206 histopathologically confirmed lesions, reader 1 detected 166 lesions and reader 2 detected 150 lesions. A total of 145 lesions were detected by both readers using ABUS images. There was substantial agreement on shape (k=0.707), and moderate agreement on type, margin, mass orientation, echogenicity, and posterior acoustic features (k=0.592, 0.438, 0.472, 0.524, and 0.541, respectively). Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System final assessment values yielded a kappa value of 0.3971 when category subdivisions 4A, 4B, and 4C were included. With respect to the C2, C3, C4, and C5 categories, the interobserver agreement was moderate (k=0.505). ABUS is a promising diagnostic tool with a good interobserver agreement, comparable to that of HHUS.

Interobserver agreement on the interpretation of automated whole breast ultrasonography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Eun Jeong; KIm, Sung Hun; Kang, Bong Joo; Kim, Yun Ju [Dept. of Radiology, Seoul St. Mary' s Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2014-12-15

The purpose of this study was to prospectively evaluate the interobserver agreement on lesion characterization and the final assessment of automated whole breast ultrasonography (ABUS) images. Between March and August 2012, 172 women underwent bilateral ABUS before biopsy guided by handheld ultrasonography (HHUS) and mammography. A total of 206 breast lesions were confirmed histopathologically by biopsy. Three-dimensional volume data from ABUS scans were analyzed by two radiologists without the knowledge of HHUS results or patient clinical information. The two readers described the type, shape, orientation, margin, echogenicity, posterior acoustic features, and categorization of the final assessment of detected breast lesions. Kappa statistics were used to analyze the described characteristics of the breast lesions detected by both of the two readers. Of the 206 histopathologically confirmed lesions, reader 1 detected 166 lesions and reader 2 detected 150 lesions. A total of 145 lesions were detected by both readers using ABUS images. There was substantial agreement on shape (k=0.707), and moderate agreement on type, margin, mass orientation, echogenicity, and posterior acoustic features (k=0.592, 0.438, 0.472, 0.524, and 0.541, respectively). Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System final assessment values yielded a kappa value of 0.3971 when category subdivisions 4A, 4B, and 4C were included. With respect to the C2, C3, C4, and C5 categories, the interobserver agreement was moderate (k=0.505). ABUS is a promising diagnostic tool with a good interobserver agreement, comparable to that of HHUS.

Shareholders' agreements in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Werlauff, Erik

2010-01-01

’ agreements”) cannot bind the company within the sense of company law under the new state of law, and voting rights agreements, agreements on right of pre-emption etc. will therefore only apply at the level of contract law between the parties to the agreement. This article for European Business Law Review......The article warns that with effect from 1 March 2010, the new Danish Companies Act (on public and private limited companies) has seriously weakened the effect of shareholders’ agreements which have been entered into on Danish companies. These agreements (in the act’s new terminology: “owners...... analyses the consequences of this. Rights and duties in the owners’ agreements must now be reiterated to the greatest possible extent in the company’s articles of association so that the precepts become binding on the company and its management. Whether the parties to the owners’ agreement can be required...

Energy and the NAFTA [North American Free Trade Agreement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Plourde, A.

1993-01-01

A review is presented of the implications of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) for the energy industry. This agreement expands the coverage accorded to energy in the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA), and is of limited significance with respect to Canada-US relations, but is quite important to these two countries' energy trade with Mexico. With respect to Canada-US trade, the most important departure from the FTA is that NAFTA tends to ensure a greater degree of respect for the terms of negotiated contracts, in particular by requiring the parties to make efforts to secure compliance with the national treatment provisions of the NAFTA by subfederal regulatory entities. Mexico's constitution severely restricts foreign participation in the activities of its energy industries, including basic petrochemicals. While NAFTA accomodates these restrictions, Canadian and US companies will have opportunities to bid on contracts for goods and services and construction in the Mexican energy sector on an equal footing with their Mexican counterparts. NAFTA also provides expanded opportunities for foreign investment and control in electricity generation for own-use, cogeneration and public service purposes. The parties are explicitly allowed to extend activity incentives to their respective oil and gas industries. 9 refs

Policy space for health and trade and investment agreements.

Science.gov (United States)

Koivusalo, Meri

2014-06-01

New trade agreements affect how governments can regulate for health both within health systems and in addressing health protection, promotion and social determinants of health in other policies. It is essential that those responsible for health understand the impacts of these trade negotiations and agreements on policy space for health at a national and local level. While we know more about implications from negotiations concerning intellectual property rights and trade in goods, this paper provides a screening checklist for less-discussed areas of domestic regulation, services, investment and government procurement. As implications are likely to differ on the basis of the organization and structures of national health systems and policy priorities, the emphasis is on finding out key provisions as well as on how exemptions and exclusions can be used to ensure policy space for health. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Human Amygdala Tracks a Feature-Based Valence Signal Embedded within the Facial Expression of Surprise.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, M Justin; Mattek, Alison M; Bennett, Randi H; Solomon, Kimberly M; Shin, Jin; Whalen, Paul J

2017-09-27

Human amygdala function has been traditionally associated with processing the affective valence (negative vs positive) of an emotionally charged event, especially those that signal fear or threat. However, this account of human amygdala function can be explained by alternative views, which posit that the amygdala might be tuned to either (1) general emotional arousal (activation vs deactivation) or (2) specific emotion categories (fear vs happy). Delineating the pure effects of valence independent of arousal or emotion category is a challenging task, given that these variables naturally covary under many circumstances. To circumvent this issue and test the sensitivity of the human amygdala to valence values specifically, we measured the dimension of valence within the single facial expression category of surprise. Given the inherent valence ambiguity of this category, we show that surprised expression exemplars are attributed valence and arousal values that are uniquely and naturally uncorrelated. We then present fMRI data from both sexes, showing that the amygdala tracks these consensus valence values. Finally, we provide evidence that these valence values are linked to specific visual features of the mouth region, isolating the signal by which the amygdala detects this valence information. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT There is an open question as to whether human amygdala function tracks the valence value of cues in the environment, as opposed to either a more general emotional arousal value or a more specific emotion category distinction. Here, we demonstrate the utility of surprised facial expressions because exemplars within this emotion category take on valence values spanning the dimension of bipolar valence (positive to negative) at a consistent level of emotional arousal. Functional neuroimaging data showed that amygdala responses tracked the valence of surprised facial expressions, unconfounded by arousal. Furthermore, a machine learning classifier identified

Bagpipes and Artichokes: Surprise as a Stimulus to Learning in the Elementary Music Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobi, Bonnie Schaffhauser

2016-01-01

Incorporating surprise into music instruction can stimulate student attention, curiosity, and interest. Novelty focuses attention in the reticular activating system, increasing the potential for brain memory storage. Elementary ages are ideal for introducing novel instruments, pieces, composers, or styles of music. Young children have fewer…

Agreement between optical coherence tomography and fundus fluorescein angiography in post-cataract surgery cystoid macular edema

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mitne Somaia

2003-01-01

Full Text Available PURPOSE: To evaluate the agreement between optical coherence tomography (OCT and fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA regarding the detection of cystoid macular edema (CME following cataract surgery. METHODS: Retrospective comparative observational series of 25 eyes with suspected CME. Patients with low visual acuity and alterations in fundus biomicroscopy after cataract surgery underwent OCT scanning followed by FFA on the same visit. The diagnosis of CME was established considering fluorescein leakage on FFA and retinal thickness and/or cystoid spaces and/or subretinal fluid on OCT. RESULTS: Twenty-five eyes of 25 patients were enrolled. Twenty-two eyes had similar results on both OCT and FFA, of which 15 eyes had CME and 7 eyes had no CME. Two eyes had CME detected only by FFA and one eye only by OCT. The agreement between the two examinations was good (Kappa = 0.7331; p=0.0001 with no tendency to have neither more positive nor negative findings (p=1.0. CONCLUSION: According to these preliminary data, OCT seems to be as effective as FFA to detect CME with a good agreement between the two techniques.

Bilateral agreements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

2004-01-01

The bilateral agreements concern Brazil with United States relative to the co operation in nuclear energy, Germany with Russian Federation relative to the elimination and disposal of nuclear weapons; The multilateral agreements concerns the signature of the Protocols to amend the Paris and Brussels Conventions, the multilateral nuclear environmental programme in the Russian Federation, the status of Conventions in the field of nuclear energy. (N.C.)

Good Governance in Public Procurement: A South African Case Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R Roos

2008-08-01

Full Text Available In this article good governance in public procurement, with particular reference to accountability is discussed. The principle of providing adequate remedies in public procurement is put under the spotlight. This is done with reference to the decision in Steenkamp NO v Provincial Tender Board, Eastern Cape. In this case the Constitutional Court had to consider whether an initially successful tenderer could lodge a delictual claim for damages to compensate for expenses incurred after conclusion of a contract, which was subsequently rendered void on an application for review of the tender award. The applicable principles of good governance and the applicable provisions of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Public Procurement and the WTO plurilateral Government Procurement Agreement are analysed. This is done to enable an evaluation of the decision by the Constitutional Court in the above case. It is concluded that the South African public procurement system does in this instance comply with the basic principles of good governance with regard to accountability.

26 CFR 301.6323(c)-2 - Protection for real property construction or improvement financing agreements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... agreement described in subparagraph (3) of this paragraph (b), the furnishing of goods and services is... SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (CONTINUED) PROCEDURE AND ADMINISTRATION PROCEDURE AND ADMINISTRATION... into existence after the tax lien filing, (2) Is in qualified property covered by the terms of a real...

EPA perspective on federal facility agreements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grundler, C.

1988-01-01

Although DOE's image with Congress and the media concerning environmental compliance may be poor, EPA sees the Department's recent attitude toward the environment as good. DOE and EPA must continue to move forward. In particular, EPA would like to emphasize less study of a problem and more clean-up. Strong, enforceable agreements will allow this goal to be met by letting EPA take more risks in its decision making. Currently EPA is developing an enforcement strategy for Federal facilities. This strategy will address identifying Federal facilities of concern, increasing enforcement and compliance monitoring activities at those facilities, implementing the model agreements, resource planning, and the establishment of an Agency Management System for Federal facilities. There are over 1000 Federal facilities which are listed on the EPA compliance docket. Over 200 Federal facilities are expected to be included on the NPL. Increased EPA attention may increase the ability of the various Federal agencies to obtain the necessary funding. Another subject being addressed by EPA is the liability of government contractors under the environmental statutes. The Agency is developing a GoCo enforcement strategy. In the hazardous waste enforcement program, three criteria are being considered for determining when to proceed against a contractor: Degree of contractor control over the hazardous waste management activity. Who is actually performing the work, and Degree of Departmental cooperation

48 CFR 25.403 - World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement and Free Trade Agreements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... Government Procurement Agreement and Free Trade Agreements. 25.403 Section 25.403 Federal Acquisition... 25.403 World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement and Free Trade Agreements. (a... in 25.402(a)(1). The WTO GPA and FTAs specify procurement procedures designed to ensure fairness (see...

Nuclear cooperation agreements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nuclear cooperation agreements are reviewed in tabular form, especially agreements with developing countries. The reporting countries are the USA, the Federal Republic of Germany, Canada, Australia, Japan, and France. A separate EURATOM list is annexed

The Educational Philosophies of Mordecai Kaplan and Michael Rosenak: Surprising Similarities and Illuminating Differences

Science.gov (United States)

Schein, Jeffrey; Caplan, Eric

2014-01-01

The thoughts of Mordecai Kaplan and Michael Rosenak present surprising commonalities as well as illuminating differences. Similarities include the perception that Judaism and Jewish education are in crisis, the belief that Jewish peoplehood must include commitment to meaningful content, the need for teachers to teach from a position of…

International trade and investment law: a new framework for public health and the common good.

Science.gov (United States)

Delany, Louise; Signal, Louise; Thomson, George

2018-05-08

International trade and investment agreements can have positive outcomes, but also have negative consequences that affect global health and influence fundamental health determinants: poverty, inequality and the environment. This article proposes principles and strategies for designing future international law to attain health and common good objectives. Basic principles are needed for international trade and investment agreements that are consistent with the common good, public health, and human rights. These principles should reflect the importance of reducing inequalities, along with social and environmental sustainability. Economic growth should be recognised as a means to common good objectives, rather than an end in itself. Our favoured approach is both radical and comprehensive: we describe what this approach would include and outline the strategies for its implementation, the processes and capacity building necessary for its achievement, and related governance and corporate issues. The comprehensive approach includes significant changes to current models for trade and investment agreements, in particular (i) health, social and environmental objectives would be recognised as legitimate in their own right and implemented accordingly; (ii) changes to dispute-resolution processes, both state-to-state and investor-state; (iii) greater deference to international legal frameworks for health, environmental protection, and human rights; (iv) greater coherence across the international law framework; (v) limitations on investor privileges, and (vi) enforceable corporate responsibilities for contributing to health, environmental, human rights and other common good objectives. We also identify some limited changes that could be considered as an alternative to the proposed comprehensive approach. Future research is needed to develop a range of model treaties, and on the means by which such treaties and reforms might be achieved. Such research would focus also on

International Fisheries Agreements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pintassilgo, Pedro; Kronbak, Lone Grønbæk; Lindroos, Marko

2015-01-01

This paper surveys the application of game theory to the economic analysis of international fisheries agreements. The relevance of this study comes not only from the existence of a vast literature on the topic but especially from the specific features of these agreements. The emphasis of the survey...... is on coalition games, an approach that has become prominent in the fisheries economics literature over the last decade. It is shown that coalition games were first applied to international fisheries agreements in the late 1990s addressing cooperative issues under the framework of characteristic function games...... and stability of international fisheries agreements. A key message that emerges from this literature strand is that self-enforcing cooperative management of internationally shared fish stocks is generally difficult to achieve. Hence, the international legal framework and regulations play a decisive role...

Medicine use among 11- and 13-year-olds: agreement between parents' reports and children's self-reports

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Anette; Krølner, Rikke; Holstein, Bjørn E

2007-01-01

BACKGROUND: The validity of children's self-reports on medicine use has not been reported. OBJECTIVE: To determine the agreement between parents' and children's reports of medicine use for 5 common complaints and to analyze predictors for disagreement. METHODS: We used the child-parent validation......, difficulties in falling asleep, nervousness, and asthma. RESULTS: The percent agreement was lowest with medicine use for headache (64.6%), but was very high for the other 4 complaints (85.3-91.8%). The simple kappa coefficients were moderate to good for medicine use for headaches, stomachache, and asthma (0...

Determination of the Modulation Transfer Function of Screen-Film Combinations in X-ray photography by the grating method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoeschen, D.

1987-01-01

An intercomparison experiment concerning the determination of the Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) of Screen-Film Combinations in x-ray photography by the grating method was made. Six laboratories located in four countries participated. Each laboratory has used its own, individually developed measurement procedure. The results have shown a surprisingly good agreement, the standard deviation (1 σ value) of MTF values reported by the different laboratories was about ± 0.02

The Impact of a Surprise Dividend Increase on a Stocks Performance : the Analysis of Companies Listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomasz Słoński

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The reaction of marginal investors to the announcement of a surprise dividend increase has been measured. Although field research is performed on companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, the paper has important theoretical implications. Valuation theory gives many clues for the interpretation of changes in dividends. At the start of the literature review, the assumption of the irrelevance of dividends (to investment decisions is described. This assumption is the basis for up-to-date valuation procedures leading to fundamental and fair market valuation of equity (shares. The paper is designed to verify whether the market value of stock is immune to the surprise announcement of a dividend increase. This study of the effect of a surprise dividend increase gives the chance to partially isolate such an event from dividend changes based on long-term expectations. The result of the research explicitly shows that a surprise dividend increase is on average welcomed by investors (an average abnormal return of 2.24% with an associated p-value of 0.001. Abnormal returns are realized by investors when there is a surprise increase in a dividend payout. The subsample of relatively high increases in a dividend payout enables investors to gain a 3.2% return on average. The results show that valuation models should be revised to take into account a possible impact of dividend changes on investors behavior. (original abstract

12 CFR 346.5 - Related agreements considered a single agreement.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... STATEMENTS OF GENERAL POLICY DISCLOSURE AND REPORTING OF CRA-RELATED AGREEMENTS § 346.5 Related agreements...; (2) Were entered into within the same 12-month period; and (3) Are each in fulfillment of the CRA. (b... in fulfillment of the CRA, if the contracts were negotiated in a coordinated fashion and a NGEP is a...

Regulations of 20 December 1979 relating to domestic carriage of dangerous goods by road

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1979-01-01

By Royal Decree of 20 December 1979, the provisions of the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Roads (ADR) were adopted for domestic carriage of dangerous goods. The competent authority is the Public Road Administration which may under certain circumstances grant exemptions from the provisions of the Decree. It may also prepare regulations supplementing the Decree. Such Regulations came into force on 1 April 1980. The above mentioned Regulations were issued by the Ministry of Communications pursuant to Act No. 4 of 18th June 1965 concerning road traffic. (NEA) [fr

Interobserver agreement for sonograms of breast lesions obtained by an automated breast volume scanner

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Jing; Lai, Xing-Jian; Zhu, Qing-Li; Wang, Hong-Yan; Jiang, Yu-Xin; Liu, He; Dai, Qing; You, Shan-Shan; Xiao, Meng-Su

2012-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the interobserver agreement of radiologists in the description and final assessment of breast sonograms obtained using an automated breast volume scanner (ABVS) using a unique descriptor of three-dimensional ultrasound (3D US) and the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) US lexicon. Methods: From October to December 2010, 208 patients were subjected to an ABVS examination in the supine position, and data were automatically sent to the ABVS workstation. Two radiologists independently evaluated 234 breast masses (148 benign and 86 malignant masses) using a unique descriptor from the 3D US and the BI-RADS US lexicon. The reviewers were blinded to the patient's mammographic images, medical history, and pathologic findings. The interobserver agreement was measured using kappa statistics. Results: Substantial agreement was obtained for lesion shape, orientation, margin, echo pattern, posterior acoustic features, calcification and final assessment (κ = 0.79, 0.74, 0.76, 0.69, 0.68, 0.71 and 0.70, respectively). Fair agreement was obtained for retraction phenomenon and lesion boundary (κ = 0.54 and 0.42, respectively). Conclusions: The interobserver agreement for breast sonograms obtained by ABVS is good, especially for lesion shape and margin; however, the interobserver agreement for the retraction phenomenon, which is a unique descriptor of coronal-plane 3D US, needs to be improved

Dealing with unexpected events on the flight deck : A conceptual model of startle and surprise

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Landman, H.M.; Groen, E.L.; Paassen, M.M. van; Bronkhorst, A.W.; Mulder, M.

2017-01-01

Objective: A conceptual model is proposed in order to explain pilot performance in surprising and startling situations. Background: Today’s debate around loss of control following in-flight events and the implementation of upset prevention and recovery training has highlighted the importance of

A juridical review of partnership agreements that have the elements of work agreements in Indonesia

Science.gov (United States)

Nugroho, A.; Sulistyowati, E.; Hikmah, N.

2018-01-01

The Partnership Agreements place the parties in an equal position each party has something as the bargaining power. In some cases, employers prefer to use Partnership Agreements to some individuals to complete the work in their company than Work agreements. Practicality and the absence of obligations to fulfil workers’ rights such as the right to join a Union and to get social security are some of the reasons why employers use the Partnership Agreements. Sometimes Partnership Agreement contains jobs, wages and orders which is the characteristic of work agreement. Based on the fact above, the legal issues arise whether the Partnership Agreement can be considered as the Work Agreement or not and which court is authorized to hear in the event of a dispute. To analyze the above legal issues, this research uses normative legal research type with the statute approach. The technique of legal material analysis uses prescriptive techniques to assess the issue and make recommendations. Based on the analysis, it can be concluded that the Partnership Agreement, of which the elements are: wages and orders can be categorized as Work Agreement and therefore in the event of a dispute, the authorized court is Industrial Relations Court.

24 CFR Appendix II to Subpart B of... - Homebuyers Ownership Opportunity Agreement (Turnkey III)

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... reference to Book and Page No. in Recorder of Deeds Recorded]. A. Term of Agreement. The term of this... to exceed 30 days from the date of notice of intention to vacate, or if the Homebuyer failed to give notice of intention to vacate, 30 days from the date the Home is put in good condition for the next...

Revenue, welfare and trade effects of European Union Free Trade Agreement on South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kore M.A. Guei

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Background: Using the partial equilibrium WITS-SMART Simulation model to assess the impact of liberalisation under the Trade Development and Cooperation Agreement (TDCA of a free trade area between the European Union and South Africa. The identification of the impact of such agreement allows for trade policy negotiation adjustment that can be beneficial for South Africa. Aim: The aim of the study is to estimate and discuss the impact of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA with the European Union and South Africa. More specifically, the study intends to estimate the impact of revenue, welfare, imports, exports, trade creation and to come up with policies options for South Africa that can be used in negotiations and policy formulations. Setting: The study used international trade data (2012 available in the WITS-SMART model to assess bilateral trade agreement between the European Union and South Africa. Methods: To identify the impact on revenue, welfare, imports, exports and trade creation, the study simulated an FTA (0% tariff rate for all goods exchanged between the European Union and South Africa. Also, the elasticity of substitution used for the simulation model was 99%. Results: The findings of the study reveal that total trade effects in South Africa are likely to surge by US$ 1.036 billion with a total welfare valued at US$ 134 million. Dismantling tariffs on all European Union (EU goods would be beneficial to consumers through net trade creation. Total trade creation would be US$ 782 million. However, South African producers are likely to contribute a trade diversion of US$ 254 million which has a negative impact on consumer welfare. The country might also experience a revenue loss amounting to US$ 562 million because of the removal of tariffs. In trade, the country’s exports and imports to the EU are expected to increase by US$ 12.419 million and US$ 1.266 million, respectively. Conclusion: The European Union–South Africa FTA would

Agreement of Tracing and Direct Viewing Techniques for Cervical Vertebral Maturation Assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Wiwatworakul, Opas; Manosudprasit, Montian; Pisek, Poonsak; Chatrchaiwiwatana, Supaporn; Wangsrimongkol, Tasanee

2015-08-01

This study aimed to evaluate agreement among three methods for cervical vertebral maturation (CVM) assessment, comprising direct viewing, tracing only, and tracing with digitized points. Two examiners received training and tests of reliability with each CVM method before evaluation of agreement among methods. The subjects were 96 female-cleft lateral cephalometric radiographs (films of eight subjects for each age ranged from seven to 18 years). The examiners interpreted CVM stages of the subjects with four-week interval between uses of each method. The range of weighted kappa values for paired comparisons among the three methods were: 0.96-0.98 for direct viewing and tracing only comparison; 0.93-0.94 for direct viewing and tracing with digitized points comparison; and 0.96-0.97 for tracing only and tracing with digitized points comparison. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) value among the three methods was 0.95. These results indicated very good agreement among methods. Use of direct viewing is suitable for CVM assessment without spending more time for tracing. However, the three methods might be used interchangeably.

Resilience to Surprises through Communicative Planning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruce Evan. Goldstein

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Resilience thinkers share an interest in collaborative deliberation with communicative planners, who aim to accommodate different forms of knowledge and styles of reasoning to promote social learning and yield creative and equitable agreements. Members of both fields attended a symposium at Virginia Tech in late 2008, where communicative planners considered how social-ecological resilience informed new possibilities for planning practice beyond disaster mitigation and response. In turn, communicative planners offered resilience scholars ideas about how collaboration could accomplish more than enhance rational decision making of the commons. Through these exchanges, the symposium fostered ideas about collaborative governance and the critical role of expertise in fostering communicative resilience.

Semantic relation vs. surprise: the differential effects of related and unrelated co-verbal gestures on neural encoding and subsequent recognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Straube, Benjamin; Meyer, Lea; Green, Antonia; Kircher, Tilo

2014-06-03

Speech-associated gesturing leads to memory advantages for spoken sentences. However, unexpected or surprising events are also likely to be remembered. With this study we test the hypothesis that different neural mechanisms (semantic elaboration and surprise) lead to memory advantages for iconic and unrelated gestures. During fMRI-data acquisition participants were presented with video clips of an actor verbalising concrete sentences accompanied by iconic gestures (IG; e.g., circular gesture; sentence: "The man is sitting at the round table"), unrelated free gestures (FG; e.g., unrelated up down movements; same sentence) and no gestures (NG; same sentence). After scanning, recognition performance for the three conditions was tested. Videos were evaluated regarding semantic relation and surprise by a different group of participants. The semantic relationship between speech and gesture was rated higher for IG (IG>FG), whereas surprise was rated higher for FG (FG>IG). Activation of the hippocampus correlated with subsequent memory performance of both gesture conditions (IG+FG>NG). For the IG condition we found activation in the left temporal pole and middle cingulate cortex (MCC; IG>FG). In contrast, for the FG condition posterior thalamic structures (FG>IG) as well as anterior and posterior cingulate cortices were activated (FG>NG). Our behavioral and fMRI-data suggest different mechanisms for processing related and unrelated co-verbal gestures, both of them leading to enhanced memory performance. Whereas activation in MCC and left temporal pole for iconic co-verbal gestures may reflect semantic memory processes, memory enhancement for unrelated gestures relies on the surprise response, mediated by anterior/posterior cingulate cortex and thalamico-hippocampal structures. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hepatobiliary fascioliasis in non-endemic zones: a surprise diagnosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Jha, Ashish Kumar; Goenka, Mahesh Kumar; Goenka, Usha; Chakrabarti, Amrita

2013-03-01

Fascioliasis is a zoonotic infection caused by Fasciola hepatica. Because of population migration and international food trade, human fascioliasis is being an increasingly recognised entity in nonendemic zones. In most parts of Asia, hepatobiliary fascioliasis is sporadic. Human hepatobiliary infection by this trematode has two distinct phases: an acute hepatic phase and a chronic biliary phase. Hepatobiliary infection is mostly associated with intense peripheral eosinophilia. In addition to classically defined hepatic phase and biliary phase fascioliasis, some cases may have an overlap of these two phases. Chronic liver abscess formation is a rare presentation. We describe a surprise case of hepatobiliary fascioliasis who presented to us with liver abscess without intense peripheral eosinophilia, a rare presentation of human fascioliasis especially in non-endemic zones. Copyright © 2013 Arab Journal of Gastroenterology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome in Elderly and Agreement among Four Diagnostic Criteria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saad, Maria Auxiliadora Nogueira; Cardoso, Gilberto Perez; Martins, Wolney de Andrade; Velarde, Luis Guillermo Coca; Cruz, Rubens Antunes Filho da

2014-01-01

Metabolic syndrome (MS) is an aggregation of risk factors that increase the incidence of cardiovascular events and diabetes mellitus (DM). Population aging is accompanied by higher prevalence of MS, which varies depending on the population studied and the diagnostic criteria used. To determine prevalence of MS in the elderly using four diagnostic criteria and agreement between them. Cross-sectional study on 243 patients older than 60 years (180 women) in Niterói, RJ. They were evaluated by clinical examination, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, lipid profile and anthropometric measurements - weight, height, waist circumference and waist/hip ratio. Prevalence of MS was estimated by World Health Organization (WHO) modified, National Cholesterol Education Program - Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATP III), International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and Joint Interim Statement (JIS) criteria. Prevalence was high with the four criteria WHO (51.9%), NCEP-ATPIII (45.2%), IDF (64.1%) and JIS (69.1%), and agreement between criteria by kappa was moderate in almost all comparisons WHO vs. IDF (k = 0.47;95% confidence interval (CI), 0.35 to 0.58); WHO vs. NCEP-ATPIII (k = 0.51; 95% CI, 0.40 to 0.61); WHO vs. JIS (k = 0.45; 95% CI, 0.33 to 0.56); IDF vs. NCEP-ATPIII (k = 0.55; 95% CI, 0.45 to 0.65) and NCEP-ATPIII vs. JIS (k = 0.53; 95% CI, 0.43-0.64), except between IDF vs. JIS (K = 0.89;95% CI, 0.83 to 0.95), which was considered good. Prevalence of MS was high with the four diagnostic criteria, mainly by JIS. There was good agreement between JIS and IDF criteria and moderate among the others

Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome in Elderly and Agreement among Four Diagnostic Criteria

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saad, Maria Auxiliadora Nogueira, E-mail: auxiliadorasaad@yahoo.com.br [Fundação Municipal de Saúde de Niterói, Niterói, RJ (Brazil); Cardoso, Gilberto Perez; Martins, Wolney de Andrade; Velarde, Luis Guillermo Coca; Cruz, Rubens Antunes Filho da [Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, RJ (Brazil)

2014-03-15

Metabolic syndrome (MS) is an aggregation of risk factors that increase the incidence of cardiovascular events and diabetes mellitus (DM). Population aging is accompanied by higher prevalence of MS, which varies depending on the population studied and the diagnostic criteria used. To determine prevalence of MS in the elderly using four diagnostic criteria and agreement between them. Cross-sectional study on 243 patients older than 60 years (180 women) in Niterói, RJ. They were evaluated by clinical examination, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, lipid profile and anthropometric measurements - weight, height, waist circumference and waist/hip ratio. Prevalence of MS was estimated by World Health Organization (WHO) modified, National Cholesterol Education Program - Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATP III), International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and Joint Interim Statement (JIS) criteria. Prevalence was high with the four criteria WHO (51.9%), NCEP-ATPIII (45.2%), IDF (64.1%) and JIS (69.1%), and agreement between criteria by kappa was moderate in almost all comparisons WHO vs. IDF (k = 0.47;95% confidence interval (CI), 0.35 to 0.58); WHO vs. NCEP-ATPIII (k = 0.51; 95% CI, 0.40 to 0.61); WHO vs. JIS (k = 0.45; 95% CI, 0.33 to 0.56); IDF vs. NCEP-ATPIII (k = 0.55; 95% CI, 0.45 to 0.65) and NCEP-ATPIII vs. JIS (k = 0.53; 95% CI, 0.43-0.64), except between IDF vs. JIS (K = 0.89;95% CI, 0.83 to 0.95), which was considered good. Prevalence of MS was high with the four diagnostic criteria, mainly by JIS. There was good agreement between JIS and IDF criteria and moderate among the others.

Voluntary agreements in environmental policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Torvanger, Asbjoern

2001-01-01

A typically voluntary agreement is signed between the authorities and an industrial sector in order to reduce the emission of environmentally harmful substances. There are many different types of agreements. Voluntary agreements are not strictly voluntary, since in the background there is often some kind of ''threat'' about taxation or fees if the industry is unwilling to cooperate. This type of agreements has become popular in many OECD countries during the last decades. In Norway there are only a few agreements of this type. Experience with the use of voluntary agreements as well as research show that they are less cost-effective than market-based instruments such as taxes and quota systems. If there are great restrictions on the use of taxes and quota systems because of information- or measurement problems, or because these instruments are not politically acceptable, then voluntary agreements may be an interesting alternative. Thus, voluntary agreements are best used as a supplement to other instruments in some niche areas of the environmental policy. In some cases, voluntary agreements may be used between two countries or at a regional level, for example within the EU

Unwrapping Court-Connected Mediation Agreements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Adrian, Lin; Mykland, Solfrid

2018-01-01

Court-connected mediated agreements seem to both fulfil and fail the ideal of self-determination in mediation theory. In a study of 134 agreements from court-connected mediation, we found that the majority of agreements contain creative elements and display great variation in the provisions...... and understand them. The judicial language is well known for the drafters of the agreement but not the parties. Thus, court-connected mediation seems to fail aspects of self-determination when it comes to drafting agreements. We draw on new-institutional theory when we explore and explain this apparent...... they contain. These results indicate that the parties play an important role in crafting the substance of their agreements. However, we also found that the wording of the agreements is characterised by legal and bureaucratic language to the extent that people without legal training find it difficult to read...

Recommendations from the SoFRa (Societe francaise de radiopharmacie) for transporting radiopharmaceuticals: How to apply the decree on the transport of radioactive goods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barre, E.; Rizzo-Padoin, N.; Delolmo, S.; Debordeaux, F.; Beco, V. de; El Deeb, G.; Gupta, S.; Nguyen, M.L.; Sigrist, S.

2016-01-01

In France, road transport of dangerous goods is regulated by the May 29, 2009 'TMD decree', which enforces the European Agreement concerning the international carriage of dangerous goods by road, known as the 'ADR Agreement' or 'ADR'. This regulation allows packages containing radioactive material to be transported on the French territory, including packages that contain radiopharmaceutical products intended for medical use (radiopharmaceuticals, generators, precursors). However, this regulation is poorly known by radio-pharmacists and nuclear medicine personnel who have to either send or receive these goods on a daily basis. This article aims to set out a summary of the key provisions that apply to radiopharmacy and to make recommendations regarding the reception and shipment of radiopharmaceutical packages. (authors) [fr

Predicting word sense annotation agreement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Martinez Alonso, Hector; Johannsen, Anders Trærup; Lopez de Lacalle, Oier

2015-01-01

High agreement is a common objective when annotating data for word senses. However, a number of factors make perfect agreement impossible, e.g. the limitations of the sense inventories, the difficulty of the examples or the interpretation preferences of the annotations. Estimating potential...... agreement is thus a relevant task to supplement the evaluation of sense annotations. In this article we propose two methods to predict agreement on word-annotation instances. We experiment with a continuous representation and a three-way discretization of observed agreement. In spite of the difficulty...

Team play with a powerful and independent agent: operational experiences and automation surprises on the Airbus A-320

Science.gov (United States)

Sarter, N. B.; Woods, D. D.

1997-01-01

Research and operational experience have shown that one of the major problems with pilot-automation interaction is a lack of mode awareness (i.e., the current and future status and behavior of the automation). As a result, pilots sometimes experience so-called automation surprises when the automation takes an unexpected action or fails to behave as anticipated. A lack of mode awareness and automation surprises can he viewed as symptoms of a mismatch between human and machine properties and capabilities. Changes in automation design can therefore he expected to affect the likelihood and nature of problems encountered by pilots. Previous studies have focused exclusively on early generation "glass cockpit" aircraft that were designed based on a similar automation philosophy. To find out whether similar difficulties with maintaining mode awareness are encountered on more advanced aircraft, a corpus of automation surprises was gathered from pilots of the Airbus A-320, an aircraft characterized by high levels of autonomy, authority, and complexity. To understand the underlying reasons for reported breakdowns in human-automation coordination, we also asked pilots about their monitoring strategies and their experiences with and attitude toward the unique design of flight controls on this aircraft.

Surprisal analysis of Glioblastoma Multiform (GBM) microRNA dynamics unveils tumor specific phenotype.

Science.gov (United States)

Zadran, Sohila; Remacle, Francoise; Levine, Raphael

2014-01-01

Gliomablastoma multiform (GBM) is the most fatal form of all brain cancers in humans. Currently there are limited diagnostic tools for GBM detection. Here, we applied surprisal analysis, a theory grounded in thermodynamics, to unveil how biomolecule energetics, specifically a redistribution of free energy amongst microRNAs (miRNAs), results in a system deviating from a non-cancer state to the GBM cancer -specific phenotypic state. Utilizing global miRNA microarray expression data of normal and GBM patients tumors, surprisal analysis characterizes a miRNA system response capable of distinguishing GBM samples from normal tissue biopsy samples. We indicate that the miRNAs contributing to this system behavior is a disease phenotypic state specific to GBM and is therefore a unique GBM-specific thermodynamic signature. MiRNAs implicated in the regulation of stochastic signaling processes crucial in the hallmarks of human cancer, dominate this GBM-cancer phenotypic state. With this theory, we were able to distinguish with high fidelity GBM patients solely by monitoring the dynamics of miRNAs present in patients' biopsy samples. We anticipate that the GBM-specific thermodynamic signature will provide a critical translational tool in better characterizing cancer types and in the development of future therapeutics for GBM.

The International Treaty on Global Warming: Is it Good or Bad for the Economy?

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Xinyu; Bao, Wenbin

2018-06-01

Global warming is one of the hottest topics all over the world. International authorities have worked together to negotiate the Paris Agreement on global warming. This Agreement has its supporters and critics. The key question is whether on balance is the Paris Assignment good or bad for the United States economy. This paper begins with some background information leading up to the passage of the treaty. Next, I outline what is in treaty. I then critically analyze the arguments in support of and against the Assignment. Finally, I explain the basis for my opinion that in the long run the treaty will benefit the United States economy.

Surprise, Memory, and Retrospective Judgment Making: Testing Cognitive Reconstruction Theories of the Hindsight Bias Effect

Science.gov (United States)

Ash, Ivan K.

2009-01-01

Hindsight bias has been shown to be a pervasive and potentially harmful decision-making bias. A review of 4 competing cognitive reconstruction theories of hindsight bias revealed conflicting predictions about the role and effect of expectation or surprise in retrospective judgment formation. Two experiments tested these predictions examining the…

Financing petroleum agreements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robson, C.J.V.

1994-01-01

This chapter describes the typical type of financing agreements which are currently used to finance North Sea petroleum projects whether they are in the cause of development or have been developed and are producing. It deals with the agreements which are entered into to finance borrowings for petroleum projects on a non-resource or limited resource basis. (UK)

Agreement Workflow Tool (AWT)

Data.gov (United States)

Social Security Administration — The Agreement Workflow Tool (AWT) is a role-based Intranet application used for processing SSA's Reimbursable Agreements according to SSA's standards. AWT provides...

Agreement analysis comparing iPad LCVA and Sloan testing in multiple sclerosis patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Sattarnezhad, Neda; Farrow, Samantha; Kimbrough, Dorlan; Glanz, Bonnie; Healy, Brian; Chitnis, Tanuja

2017-06-01

Visual symptoms are common in multiple sclerosis (MS). Low-contrast visual acuity (LCVA) testing using Sloan charts has demonstrated increased sensitivity for visual deficits compared to high-contrast acuity testing. Computerized testing of visual acuity may facilitate use in the clinic setting. To evaluate the agreement between an iPad-based and Sloan testing of LCVA in a cohort of MS patients. A total of 38 patients with relapsing-remitting MS were enrolled after providing informed written consent at Partners MS Center, Brigham and Women's hospital. Monocular LCVA was measured using retroilluminated Sloan chart and iPad-based LogMAR chart. Number of correct letters and agreement between two measurements were assessed for each eye using Bland-Altman analysis and paired t-test. For both eyes, there was no significant difference in number correct between the two measurements using a paired t-test, and there was high correlation between two measurements (oculus dextrus (OD) r = 0.89, p iPad-based LCVA test shows good agreement with Sloan testing in MS patients.

Protocol to monitor trade agreement food-related aspects: the Fiji case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Ravuvu, Amerita; Friel, Sharon; Thow, Anne Marie; Snowdon, Wendy; Wate, Jillian

2017-04-26

Despite the growing rates of obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases, globally, public health attention has only relatively recently turned to the links between trade agreements and the nutritional risks associated with it. Specific trade agreements appear to have played an influential role in the volume and types of foods entering different countries, yet there is currently no systematic and objective monitoring of trade agreements for their impacts on food environments. Recently, INFORMAS was set up to monitor and benchmark food environments, government policies and private sector actions within countries and globally. One of its projects/modules focuses on trade policy and in particular the food-related aspects of trade agreements. This paper describes the INFORMAS trade protocol, an approach to collecting food-related information about four domains of trade: trade in goods; trade in services and foreign direct investment; domestic supports, and policy space. Specifically, the protocol is tested in Fiji. The development and testing of this protocol in Fiji represents the first effort to set out a framework and process for objectively monitoring trade agreements and their impacts on national food supply and the wider food environment. It has shown that entry into WTO trade agreements contributed to the nutrition transition in Fiji through the increased availability of imported foods with varying nutritional quality. We observed an increase in imports of both healthy and less healthy foods. The application of the monitoring protocol also highlights challenges for data collection associated with each trade domain that should be considered for future data collection and analysis in other low and middle income countries. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Why are Trade Agreements Regional?

OpenAIRE

Zissimos, Ben

2007-01-01

This paper shows how distance may be used to coordinate on a unique equilibrium in which trade agreements are regional. Trade agreement formation is modeled as coalition formation. In a standard trade model with no distance between countries, a familiar problem of coordination failure arises giving rise to multiple equilibria; any one of many possible trade agreements can form. With distance between countries, and through strategic interaction in tariff setting, regional trade agreements gene...

Surprisingly high specificity of the PPD skin test for M. tuberculosis infection from recent exposure in The Gambia.

Science.gov (United States)

Hill, Philip C; Brookes, Roger H; Fox, Annette; Jackson-Sillah, Dolly; Lugos, Moses D; Jeffries, David J; Donkor, Simon A; Adegbola, Richard A; McAdam, Keith P W J

2006-12-20

Options for intervention against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection are limited by the diagnostic tools available. The Purified Protein Derivative (PPD) skin test is thought to be non-specific, especially in tropical settings. We compared the PPD skin test with an ELISPOT test in The Gambia. Household contacts over six months of age of sputum smear positive TB cases and community controls were recruited. They underwent a PPD skin test and an ELISPOT test for the T cell response to PPD and ESAT-6/CFP10 antigens. Responsiveness to M. tuberculosis exposure was analysed according to sleeping proximity to an index case using logistic regression. 615 household contacts and 105 community controls were recruited. All three tests assessed increased significantly in positivity with increasing M. tuberculosis exposure, the PPD skin test most dramatically (OR 15.7; 95% CI 6.6-35.3). While the PPD skin test positivity continued to trend downwards in the community with increasing distance from a known case (61.9% to 14.3%), the PPD and ESAT-6/CFP-10 ELISPOT positivity did not. The PPD skin test was more in agreement with ESAT-6/CFP-10 ELISPOT (75%, p = 0.01) than the PPD ELISPOT (53%, pPPD skin test positive increased (pPPD skin test negative decreased (pPPD skin test has surprisingly high specificity for M. tuberculosis infection from recent exposure in The Gambia. In this setting, anti-tuberculous prophylaxis in PPD skin test positive individuals should be revisited.

Free Trade Agreements and Firm-Product Markups in Chilean Manufacturing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lamorgese, A.R.; Linarello, A.; Warzynski, Frederic Michel Patrick

In this paper, we use detailed information about firms' product portfolio to study how trade liberalization affects prices, markups and productivity. We document these effects using firm product level data in Chilean manufacturing following two major trade agreements with the EU and the US....... The dataset provides information about the value and quantity of each good produced by the firm, as well as the amount of exports. One additional and unique characteristic of our dataset is that it provides a firm-product level measure of the unit average cost. We use this information to compute a firm...

Validation of the Parental-Caregiver Perceptions Questionnaire: agreement between parental and child reports.

Science.gov (United States)

Barbosa, Taís de Souza; Gavião, Maria Beatriz Duarte

2015-01-01

To test the validity and reliability of Brazilian Portuguese version of the Parental-Caregiver Perceptions Questionnaire (P-CPQ) (Aim 1) and to assess the agreement between parents and children concerning the child's oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) (Aim 2). The P-CPQ and the Brazilian Portuguese versions of the Child Perceptions Questionnaires (CPQ8-10 and CPQ11-14 ) were used. Objective 1 addressed in the study that involved 210 (validity and internal reliability) and 20 (test-retest reliability) parents and Objective 2 in the study that involved 210 pairs of parents and children. Construct validity was calculated using the Spearman's correlation and the Mann-Whitney/Kruskal-Wallis tests. Reliability was determined using Cronbach's alpha and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Agreement between overall and subscale scores derived from the P-CPQ and CPQ was assessed in comparison and correlation analyses. The P-CPQ discriminated among the categories of malocclusion and dmft. The P-CPQ showed good construct validity, good internal consistency reliability, and excellent test-retest reliability. There was systematic under- and overreporting in parents' assessments for younger and older children, respectively. However, the magnitude of the directional differences was just small. At individual level, agreement between parents and children was excellent. However, it ranged from excellent to moderate or substantial in subscales for CPQ8-10 and CPQ11-14 groups, respectively. The Portuguese version of P-CPQ is valid and reliable. Some parents have limited knowledge about child OHRQoL. Given that parental and child reports measure different realities concerning the child's OHRQoL, information provided by parents can complement the child's evaluation. © 2015 American Association of Public Health Dentistry.

Physics Nobel prize 2004: Surprising theory wins physics Nobel

CERN Multimedia

2004-01-01

From left to right: David Politzer, David Gross and Frank Wilczek. For their understanding of counter-intuitive aspects of the strong force, which governs quarks inside protons and neutrons, on 5 October three American physicists were awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics. David J. Gross (Kavli Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara), H. David Politzer (California Institute of Technology), and Frank Wilczek (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) made a key theoretical discovery with a surprising result: the closer quarks are together, the weaker the force - opposite to what is seen with electromagnetism and gravity. Rather, the strong force is analogous to a rubber band stretching, where the force increases as the quarks get farther apart. These physicists discovered this property of quarks, known as asymptotic freedom, in 1976. It later became a key part of the theory of quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and the Standard Model, the current best theory to describe the interac...

Systems management of facilities agreements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blundell, A.

1998-01-01

The various types of facilities agreements, the historical obstacles to implementation of agreement management systems and the new opportunities emerging as industry is beginning to make an effort to overcome these obstacles, are reviewed. Barriers to computerized agreement management systems (lack of consistency, lack of standards, scarcity of appropriate computer software) are discussed. Characteristic features of a model facilities agreement management system and the forces driving the changing attitudes towards such systems (e.g. mergers) are also described

Agreement between patient self-assessment and physician assessment of shoulder range of motion.

Science.gov (United States)

Uribe, Bastian; El Bitar, Youssef; Wolf, Brian R; Bollier, Matthew; Kuhn, John E; Hettrich, Carolyn M

2016-10-01

Shoulder outcome scores that include range of motion (ROM) and apprehension signs are limited by the need for direct involvement of the physician. Patient-reported outcome measures are patient centered and self-administered, and they can help physicians track the patient's progress between office visits and for long-term follow-up once the patient has been discharged. Thirty consecutive patients completed a form before their 6-month follow-up after surgery on the labrum or capsule as a result of instability or pain related to instability. The form included bilateral ROM, apprehension, and instability episodes. The same parameters were measured by the physician during the visit. The patient's and physician's responses were compared. The primary outcome was the percentage agreement with exact and approximate agreement. Exact agreement was moderate for forward elevation at 56.6%; fair for abduction and external rotation at 90° at 24.5% and 34%, respectively; and poor for internal rotation at 90° and external rotation with the arm at the side at 2.6% and 12%, respectively. Approximate agreement within a range of positive or negative 20° range was very good for forward elevation (94%), abduction (92%), and external rotation at 90° (87%); moderate for external rotation with the arm at the side; and fair for internal rotation at 90°. There was 70% agreement regarding apprehension, 93% regarding subluxation events, and 100% regarding redislocation events. Some measures of shoulder ROM showed a moderate to high level of agreement between patient-reported measurements and the physician's measurements. This method for short- and long-term follow-up could potentially replace routine clinic visits. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

FFTF Authorization Agreement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DAUTEL, W.A.

2000-01-01

The purpose of the Authorization Agreement is to serve as a mechanism whereby the U.S. Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office (RL) and Fluor Hanford (FH) jointly clarify and agree to key conditions for conducting work safely and efficiently in the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF). Work must be accomplished in a manner that achieves high levels of quality while protecting the environment and the safety and health of workers and the public, and complying with applicable contractual and regulatory requirements. It is the intent of this Agreement to address those items of significant importance in establishing and supporting the FFTF Authorization Envelope, but this Agreement in no way alters the terms and conditions of the Project Hanford Management Contract (PHMC), Contract Number DE-AC06-96RL13200

Is cancer a good way to die? A population-based survey among middle-aged and older adults in the United Kingdom.

Science.gov (United States)

Vrinten, Charlotte; Wardle, Jane

2016-03-01

Despite improved outcomes, cancer remains widely feared, often because of its association with a long and protracted death as opposed to the quick death that people associate with that other common cause of adult mortality: heart disease. Former editor-in-chief of the BMJ Richard Smith's view that 'cancer is the best way to die' therefore attracted much criticism. We examined middle-aged and older adults' agreement with this view and compared their attitudes towards dying from cancer versus heart disease in terms of which was a good death. This study was part of an online survey (February 2015) in a United Kingdom (UK) population sample of 50- to 70-year olds (n = 391), with sampling quotas for gender and education. Five characteristics of 'a good death' were selected from the end-of-life literature. Respondents were asked to rate the importance of each characteristic for their own death to ensure their relevance to a population sample and the likelihood of each for death from cancer and heart disease. We also asked whether they agreed with Smith's view. At least 95% of respondents considered the selected five characteristics important for their own death. Death from cancer was rated as more likely to provide control over what happens (p ones (p  0.05). Almost half (40%) agreed that cancer is 'the best way to die', with no differences by age (p = 0.40), gender (p = 0.85), or education (p = 0.27). Despite the media commotion, a surprisingly high proportion of middle-aged and older adults viewed cancer as 'the best way to die' and rated cancer death as better than heart disease. Given that one in two of us are likely to be diagnosed with cancer, conversations about a good death from cancer may in a small way mitigate fear of cancer. Future research could explore variations by type of cancer or heart disease and by previous experience of these illnesses in others. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Signalling in international environmental agreements. Using pre-agreement emission level as a signalling device

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Steiner, U.

1997-12-31

This paper addresses the question about strategic incentives in international environmental agreements and tries to give a positive description of how the design of the agreement influences the strategic behaviour of potential participants before they enter the treaty. A common feature of the design of agreements is that the reduction obligations (RO) are made contingent on a pre-agreement or baseline emission. As it is assumed that countries posses better information about their reduction costs than does the international body in charge of deciding the RO, countries might have incentives to signal higher costs by increasing their baseline emission, and thereby reducing the costs of entering the agreement. The appropriate analytical framework is to use a signalling game approach, where the pre-agreement emission level conveys information about the privately informed country`s reduction cost. In this paper two types of agreement design are considered, one with uniform obligations, and one with differentiated obligations. This enables us to make a comparison between two different reduction regimes. The result is that the predicted outcomes vary with regard to both the environmental effectiveness and the associated expected costs for the participating countries. This means that when private information is considered, the anticipation of a given institutional framework has significant impact on the resulting distortion of the total emission level, highlighting the necessity of taking this into consideration when future designs are proposed. (au)

Signalling in international environmental agreements: Using pre-agreement emission level as a signalling device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steiner, U.

1997-01-01

This paper addresses the question about strategic incentives in international environmental agreements and tries to give a positive description of how the design of the agreement influences the strategic behaviour of potential participants before they enter the treaty. A common feature of the design of agreements is that the reduction obligations (RO) are made contingent on a pre-agreement or baseline emission. As it is assumed that countries posses better information about their reduction costs than does the international body in charge of deciding the RO, countries might have incentives to signal higher costs by increasing their baseline emission, and thereby reducing the costs of entering the agreement. The appropriate analytical framework is to use a signalling game approach, where the pre-agreement emission level conveys information about the privately informed country's reduction cost. In this paper two types of agreement design are considered, one with uniform obligations, and one with differentiated obligations. This enables us to make a comparison between two different reduction regimes. The result is that the predicted outcomes vary with regard to both the environmental effectiveness and the associated expected costs for the participating countries. This means that when private information is considered, the anticipation of a given institutional framework has significant impact on the resulting distortion of the total emission level, highlighting the necessity of taking this into consideration when future designs are proposed. (au)

Surprising judgments about robot drivers: Experiments on rising expectations and blaming humans

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Danielson

2015-05-01

Full Text Available N-Reasons is an experimental Internet survey platform designed to enhance public participation in applied ethics and policy. N-Reasons encourages individuals to generate reasons to support their judgments, and groups to converge on a common set of reasons pro and con various issues.  In the Robot Ethics Survey some of the reasons contributed surprising judgments about autonomous machines. Presented with a version of the trolley problem with an autonomous train as the agent, participants gave unexpected answers, revealing high expectations for the autonomous machine and shifting blame from the automated device to the humans in the scenario. Further experiments with a standard pair of human-only trolley problems refine these results. While showing the high expectations even when no autonomous machine is involved, human bystanders are only blamed in the machine case. A third experiment explicitly aimed at responsibility for driverless cars confirms our findings about shifting blame in the case of autonomous machine agents. We conclude methodologically that both results point to the power of an experimental survey based approach to public participation to explore surprising assumptions and judgments in applied ethics. However, both results also support using caution when interpreting survey results in ethics, demonstrating the importance of qualitative data to provide further context for evaluating judgments revealed by surveys. On the ethics side, the result about shifting blame to humans interacting with autonomous machines suggests caution about the unintended consequences of intuitive principles requiring human responsibility.http://dx.doi.org/10.5324/eip.v9i1.1727

Agreement among healthcare professionals in ten European countries in diagnosing case-vignettes of surgical-site infections.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriel Birgand

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: Although surgical-site infection (SSI rates are advocated as a major evaluation criterion, the reproducibility of SSI diagnosis is unknown. We assessed agreement in diagnosing SSI among specialists involved in SSI surveillance in Europe. METHODS: Twelve case-vignettes based on suspected SSI were submitted to 100 infection-control physicians (ICPs and 86 surgeons in 10 European countries. Each participant scored eight randomly-assigned case-vignettes on a secure online relational database. The intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC was used to assess agreement for SSI diagnosis on a 7-point Likert scale and the kappa coefficient to assess agreement for SSI depth on a three-point scale. RESULTS: Intra-specialty agreement for SSI diagnosis ranged across countries and specialties from 0.00 (95%CI, 0.00-0.35 to 0.65 (0.45-0.82. Inter-specialty agreement varied from 0.04 (0.00-0.62 in to 0.55 (0.37-0.74 in Germany. For all countries pooled, intra-specialty agreement was poor for surgeons (0.24, 0.14-0.42 and good for ICPs (0.41, 0.28-0.61. Reading SSI definitions improved agreement among ICPs (0.57 but not surgeons (0.09. Intra-specialty agreement for SSI depth ranged across countries and specialties from 0.05 (0.00-0.10 to 0.50 (0.45-0.55 and was not improved by reading SSI definition. CONCLUSION: Among ICPs and surgeons evaluating case-vignettes of suspected SSI, considerable disagreement occurred regarding the diagnosis, with variations across specialties and countries.

Multilateral and bilateral agreements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koponen, H.

1993-01-01

Finland has made both multilateral and bilateral agreements on the exchange of information related to radiation safety. The first arrangements for international agreements and exchange of information were made after the Chernobyl accident. In 1987, Finland joined the convention on early notification of a nuclear power accident coordinated by International Atomic Energy Agency. The convention is applied to accidents that cause of may cause emissions of radioactive substances that might affect the radiation safety of another country. Besides the convention on early notification, some other individual agreements have also been made. These include the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES) system and power companies own information exchange systems. Finland has conducted bilateral agreements with the Nordic countries and the Soviet Union on the notification of accidents and exchange of nuclear power plant information. Today, Russia answers for the Soviet Union's contractual obligations. (orig.)

48 CFR 1642.7001 - Management agreement.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... EMPLOYEES HEALTH BENEFITS ACQUISITION REGULATION CONTRACT MANAGEMENT CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION Management Agreement (in Lieu of Novation Agreement) 1642.7001 Management agreement. When it is in the best interest of... day-to-day performance of the contract. Examples of situations in which a Management Agreement may be...

Competition for Assistance Agreements

Science.gov (United States)

It is EPA policy to promote competition in the award of assistance agreements to the maximum extent practicable.When assistance agreements are awarded competitively, it is EPA policy that the competitive process be fair and open & that no applicant receive

29 CFR 1908.10 - Cooperative Agreements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... CONSULTATION AGREEMENTS § 1908.10 Cooperative Agreements. (a) Who may make Agreements. The Assistant Secretary... consultation services to private sector employers. (3) Renegotiation of existing Agreements funded under this part shall be initiated within 30 days of the effective date of these revisions. (c) Contents of...

Nuclear arbitration: Interpreting non-proliferation agreements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tzeng, Peter

2015-01-01

At the core of the nuclear non-proliferation regime lie international agreements. These agreements include, inter alia, the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, nuclear co-operation agreements and nuclear export control agreements.1 States, however, do not always comply with their obligations under these agreements. In response, commentators have proposed various enforcement mechanisms to promote compliance. The inconvenient truth, however, is that states are generally unwilling to consent to enforcement mechanisms concerning issues as critical to national security as nuclear non-proliferation.3 This article suggests an alternative solution to the non-compliance problem: interpretation mechanisms. Although an interpretation mechanism does not have the teeth of an enforcement mechanism, it can induce compliance by providing an authoritative interpretation of a legal obligation. Interpretation mechanisms would help solve the non-compliance problem because, as this article shows, in many cases of alleged non-compliance with a non-proliferation agreement, the fundamental problem has been the lack of an authoritative interpretation of the agreement, not the lack of an enforcement mechanism. Specifically, this article proposes arbitration as the proper interpretation mechanism for non-proliferation agreements. It advocates the establishment of a 'Nuclear Arbitration Centre' as an independent branch of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and recommends the gradual introduction of arbitration clauses into the texts of non-proliferation agreements. Section I begins with a discussion of international agreements in general and the importance of interpretation and enforcement mechanisms. Section II then discusses nuclear non-proliferation agreements and their lack of interpretation and enforcement mechanisms. Section III examines seven case studies of alleged non-compliance with non-proliferation agreements in order to show that the main problem in many cases

Cloud Surprises Discovered in Moving NASA EOSDIS Applications into Amazon Web Services… and #6 Will Shock You!

Science.gov (United States)

McLaughlin, B. D.; Pawloski, A. W.

2017-12-01

NASA ESDIS has been moving a variety of data ingest, distribution, and science data processing applications into a cloud environment over the last 2 years. As expected, there have been a number of challenges in migrating primarily on-premises applications into a cloud-based environment, related to architecture and taking advantage of cloud-based services. What was not expected is a number of issues that were beyond purely technical application re-architectures. From surprising network policy limitations, billing challenges in a government-based cost model, and obtaining certificates in an NASA security-compliant manner to working with multiple applications in a shared and resource-constrained AWS account, these have been the relevant challenges in taking advantage of a cloud model. And most surprising of all… well, you'll just have to wait and see the "gotcha" that caught our entire team off guard!

48 CFR 2831.109 - Advance agreements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... proposed agreement. The approved determination will be placed in the contract file. (c) All advance... the agreements. Advance agreements will be signed by both the contractor and the contracting officer, and made a part of the contract file. Copies of executed advance agreements will be distributed to the...

The Value of Change: Surprises and Insights in Stellar Evolution

Science.gov (United States)

Bildsten, Lars

2018-01-01

Astronomers with large-format cameras regularly scan the sky many times per night to detect what's changing, and telescopes in space such as Kepler and, soon, TESS obtain very accurate brightness measurements of nearly a million stars over time periods of years. These capabilities, in conjunction with theoretical and computational efforts, have yielded surprises and remarkable new insights into the internal properties of stars and how they end their lives. I will show how asteroseismology reveals the properties of the deep interiors of red giants, and highlight how astrophysical transients may be revealing unusual thermonuclear outcomes from exploding white dwarfs and the births of highly magnetic neutron stars. All the while, stellar science has been accelerated by the availability of open source tools, such as Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA), and the nearly immediate availability of observational results.

On predicting quantal cross sections by interpolation: Surprisal analysis of j/sub z/CCS and statistical j/sub z/ results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goldflam, R.; Kouri, D.J.

1976-01-01

New methods for predicting the full matrix of integral cross sections are developed by combining the surprisal analysis of Bernstein and Levine with the j/sub z/-conserving coupled states method (j/sub z/CCS) of McGuire, Kouri, and Pack and with the statistical j/sub z/ approximation (Sj/sub z/) of Kouri, Shimoni, and Heil. A variety of approaches is possible and only three are studied in the present work. These are (a) a surprisal fit of the j=0→j' column of the j/sub z/CCS cross section matrix (thereby requiring only a solution of the lambda=0 set of j/sub z/CCS equations), (b) a surprisal fit of the lambda-bar=0 Sj/sub z/ cross section matrix (again requiring solution of the lambda=0 set of j/sub z/CCS equations only), and (c) a surprisal fit of a lambda-bar not equal to 0 Sj/sub z/ submatrix (involving input cross sections for j,j'> or =lambda-bar transitions only). The last approach requires the solution of the lambda=lambda-bar set of j/sub z/CCS equations only, which requires less computation effort than the effective potential method. We explore three different choices for the prior and two-parameter (i.e., linear) and three-parameter (i.e., parabolic) fits as applied to Ar--N 2 collisions. The results are in general very encouraging and for one choice of prior give results which are within 20% of the exact j/sub z/CCS results

A critical analysis of debtor’s right to reinstate a credit agreement & resume possession of property

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hlako Choma

2018-03-01

Full Text Available In terms of section 129(3(a of the South African National Credit Act 34 of 2005 a consumer may reinstate a credit agreement that is in default by paying all the money that is overdue together with default charges incurred by the credit provider and also the costs of enforcing the agreement until the agreement is reinstated. A consumer should pay costs of reinstating agreement if the credit provider has not yet cancelled the agreement. A consumer who paid the required costs will also resume possession of goods that were repossessed by the credit provider pursuant to attachment order. However a consumer is prohibited from reinstating a credit agreement after the property is sold pursuant to attachment order or surrender of property in terms of section 127 (section 129(4. A consumer is also prohibited from reinstating a credit agreement after the execution of court order enforcing that agreement or after termination of agreement in terms of the NCA (section 129(4. Therefore a question arise as to whether a consumer who fell in arrears can reinstate a credit agreement by paying the arrears and preclude a credit provider from proceeding to sell the property. In other words whether a consumer who paid arrears on credit agreement can reinstate such credit agreement and disentitling the credit provider from selling the property. This was the crisp question put to the court in the recent decision in Nkata v Firstrand Bank Limited and Others (CCT73/15 [2016] ZACC 12; 2016 (6 BCLR 794 (CC; 2016 (4 SA 257 (CC (21 April 2016. The purpose this article is to critically analyse the decision in Nkata v Firstrand Bank Limited and Others (CCT73/15 [2016] ZACC 12; 2016 (6 BCLR 794 (CC; 2016 (4 SA 257 (CC (21 April 2016 in view of the application and interpretation of section 129(3 and (4 of the NCA.

Trajectories of goods in distributed allocation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chevaleyre, Y.; Endriss, U.; Maudet, N.; Padgham, L.; Parkes, D.; Müller, J.; Parsons, S.

2008-01-01

Distributed allocation mechanisms rely on the agents' autonomous (and supposedly rational) behaviour: states evolve as a result of agents contracting deals and exchanging resources. It is no surprise that restrictions on potential deals also restrict the reachability of some desirable states, for

Canadian seismic agreement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wetmiller, R.J.; Lyons, J.A.; Shannon, W.E.; Munro, P.S.; Thomas, J.T.; Andrew, M.D.; Lamontagne, M.; Wong, C.; Anglin, F.M.; Plouffe, M.; Lapointe, S.P.; Adams, J.; Drysdale, J.A.

1990-04-01

This is the twenty-first progress report under the agreement entitled Canadian Seismic Agreement between the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Canadian Commercial Corporation. Activities undertaken by the Geophysics Division of the Geological Survey of Canada (GD/GSC) during the period from July 01, 1988 to June 30, 1989 and supported in part by the NRC agreement are described below under four headings; Eastern Canada Telemetred Network and local network developments, Datalab developments, strong motion network developments and earthquake activity. In this time period eastern Canada experienced its largest earthquake in over 50 years. This earthquake, which has been christened the Saguenay earthquake, has provided a wealth of new data pertinent to earthquake engineering studies in eastern North America and is the subject of many continuing studies, which are presently being carried out at GD and elsewhere. 41 refs., 21 figs., 7 tabs

Agreement Execution Process Study: CRADAs and NF-WFO Agreements and the Speed of Business

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Harrer, Bruce J.; Cejka, Cheryl L.; Macklin, Richard; Miksovic, Ann

2011-02-01

This report summarizes the findings of a study on the execution of Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) and Non-Federal Work for Others (NF-WFO) agreements across the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) laboratory complex. The study provides quantitiative estimates of times required to negotiate and execute these agreements across the DOE complex. It identifies factors impacting on cycle times and describes best practicies used at various laboratories and site offices that reduce cycle times.

Agreement among graders on Heidelberg retina tomograph (HRT) topographic change analysis (TCA) glaucoma progression interpretation.

Science.gov (United States)

Iester, Michele M; Wollstein, Gadi; Bilonick, Richard A; Xu, Juan; Ishikawa, Hiroshi; Kagemann, Larry; Schuman, Joel S

2015-04-01

To evaluate agreement among experts of Heidelberg retina tomography's (HRT) topographic change analysis (TCA) printout interpretations of glaucoma progression and explore methods for improving agreement. 109 eyes of glaucoma, glaucoma suspect and healthy subjects with ≥5 visits and 2 good quality HRT scans acquired at each visit were enrolled. TCA printouts were graded as progression or non-progression. Each grader was presented with 2 sets of tests: a randomly selected single test from each visit and both tests from each visit. Furthermore, the TCA printouts were classified with grader's individual criteria and with predefined criteria (reproducible changes within the optic nerve head, disregarding changes along blood vessels or at steep rim locations and signs of image distortion). Agreement among graders was modelled using common latent factor measurement error structural equation models for ordinal data. Assessment of two scans per visit without using the predefined criteria reduced overall agreement, as indicated by a reduction in the slope, reflecting the correlation with the common factor, for all graders with no effect on reducing the range of the intercepts between the graders. Using the predefined criteria improved grader agreement, as indicated by the narrower range of intercepts among the graders compared with assessment using individual grader's criteria. A simple set of predefined common criteria improves agreement between graders in assessing TCA progression. The inclusion of additional scans from each visit does not improve the agreement. We, therefore, recommend setting standardised criteria for TCA progression evaluation. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Peer assessment of aviation performance: inconsistent for good reasons.

Science.gov (United States)

Roth, Wolff-Michael; Mavin, Timothy J

2015-03-01

Research into expertise is relatively common in cognitive science concerning expertise existing across many domains. However, much less research has examined how experts within the same domain assess the performance of their peer experts. We report the results of a modified think-aloud study conducted with 18 pilots (6 first officers, 6 captains, and 6 flight examiners). Pairs of same-ranked pilots were asked to rate the performance of a captain flying in a critical pre-recorded simulator scenario. Findings reveal (a) considerable variance within performance categories, (b) differences in the process used as evidence in support of a performance rating, (c) different numbers and types of facts (cues) identified, and (d) differences in how specific performance events affect choice of performance category and gravity of performance assessment. Such variance is consistent with low inter-rater reliability. Because raters exhibited good, albeit imprecise, reasons and facts, a fuzzy mathematical model of performance rating was developed. The model provides good agreement with observed variations. Copyright © 2014 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

HOW GOOD IS GOODS AND SERVICES TAX

OpenAIRE

Dr. Sreemoyee Guha Roy

2016-01-01

Goods and Services Tax is a broad based and a single comprehensive tax levied on goods and services consumed in an economy. GST is levied at every stage of the production-distribution chain with applicable set offs in respect of the tax remitted at previous stages. It is basically a tax on final consumption. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a value added tax to be implemented in India, the decision on which is pending. GST is the only indirect tax that directly affects all sectors and sect...

48 CFR 1642.1204 - Agreement to recognize a successor in interest (novation agreement).

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... that the corporate name of (insert old corporate name) was changed to (insert new corporate name) on... MANAGEMENT CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION Novation and Change-of-Name Agreements 1642.1204 Agreement to recognize a... corporate name) (Transferor), a corporation duly organized and existing under the laws of (insert State...

Inter-observer agreement for the evaluation of bone involvement on Whole Body Low Dose Computed Tomography (WBLDCT) in Multiple Myeloma (MM)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zacchino, M.; Minetti, V.; Dore, R.; Calliada, F. [University of Pavia, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Institute of Radiology, Pavia (Italy); Bonaffini, P.A.; Nasatti, A.; Sironi, S. [University of Milano Bicocca, San Gerardo Hospital, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Monza (Italy); Corso, A. [University of Pavia, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Division of Hematology, Pavia (Italy); Tinelli, C. [University of Pavia, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Service of Biometry and Statistics, Pavia (Italy)

2015-11-15

We aimed to assess inter-observer agreement in bone involvement evaluation and define accuracy and reproducibility of MDCT images analysis in Multiple Myeloma (MM), by comparing two acquisition protocols at two different institutions. A total of 100 MM patients underwent whole body low-dose computed tomography (WB-LDCT), with two protocols: Group I (50 patients), 80 kV and 200-230 mAs; Group II, 120 kV-40 mAs. Four readers (two experts) retrospectively reviewed 22 anatomical districts, reporting the following for each patient: 1) osteolytic lesions; 2) cortical bone integrity; 3) fractures; 4) risk of vertebral collapse; 5) hyperattenuating bone lesions; and 6) extraosseous extension. Inter-observer agreement (by all readers, expert and young observers and comparison of the two protocols) was then statistically analyzed. According to Cohen's criteria, inter-observer agreement among the four readers and between experts and residents was good for the detection of bone lesions and extra-medullary extension, and for the evaluation of risk of collapse and cortical integrity. There was good agreement when comparing the two protocols. A greater variability was found for the evaluation of hyperattenuating lesions and the presence of fractures. WB-LDCT represents a reproducible and reliable technique that is helpful for defining bone disease in MM patients, with partial influence of readers' experience. (orig.)

Inter-observer agreement for the evaluation of bone involvement on Whole Body Low Dose Computed Tomography (WBLDCT) in Multiple Myeloma (MM)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zacchino, M.; Minetti, V.; Dore, R.; Calliada, F.; Bonaffini, P.A.; Nasatti, A.; Sironi, S.; Corso, A.; Tinelli, C.

2015-01-01

We aimed to assess inter-observer agreement in bone involvement evaluation and define accuracy and reproducibility of MDCT images analysis in Multiple Myeloma (MM), by comparing two acquisition protocols at two different institutions. A total of 100 MM patients underwent whole body low-dose computed tomography (WB-LDCT), with two protocols: Group I (50 patients), 80 kV and 200-230 mAs; Group II, 120 kV-40 mAs. Four readers (two experts) retrospectively reviewed 22 anatomical districts, reporting the following for each patient: 1) osteolytic lesions; 2) cortical bone integrity; 3) fractures; 4) risk of vertebral collapse; 5) hyperattenuating bone lesions; and 6) extraosseous extension. Inter-observer agreement (by all readers, expert and young observers and comparison of the two protocols) was then statistically analyzed. According to Cohen's criteria, inter-observer agreement among the four readers and between experts and residents was good for the detection of bone lesions and extra-medullary extension, and for the evaluation of risk of collapse and cortical integrity. There was good agreement when comparing the two protocols. A greater variability was found for the evaluation of hyperattenuating lesions and the presence of fractures. WB-LDCT represents a reproducible and reliable technique that is helpful for defining bone disease in MM patients, with partial influence of readers' experience. (orig.)

Cooperative monitoring of regional security agreements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pregenzer, A.L.; Vannoni, M.; Biringer, K.L.

1995-08-01

This paper argues that cooperative monitoring plays a critical role in the implementation of regional security agreements and confidence building measures. A framework for developing cooperative monitoring options is proposed and several possibilities for relating bilateral and regional monitoring systems to international monitoring systems are discussed. Three bilateral or regional agreements are analyzed briefly to illustrate different possibilities: (1) the demilitarization of the Sinai region between Israel and Egypt in the 1970s; (2) the 1991 quadripartite agreement for monitoring nuclear facilities among Brazil, Argentina, The Argentine-Brazilian Agency for Accounting and Control of Nuclear Materials and the International Atomic Energy Agency; and (3) a bilateral Open Skies agreement between Hungary and Romania in 1991. These examples illustrate that the relationship of regional or bilateral arms control or security agreements to international agreements depends on a number of factors: the overlap of provisions between regional and international agreements; the degree of interest in a regional agreement among the international community; efficiency in implementing the agreement; and numerous political considerations.Given the importance of regional security to the international community, regions should be encouraged to develop their own infrastructure for implementing regional arms control and other security agreements. A regional infrastructure need not preclude participation in an international regime. On the contrary, establishing regional institutions for arms control and nonproliferation could result in more proactive participation of regional parties in developing solutions for regional and international problems, thereby strengthening existing and future international regimes. Possible first steps for strengthening regional infrastructures are identified and potential technical requirements are discussed.

The Texts of The Agency's Agreements with the Republic of Austria. I. Headquarters Agreement. Amendments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1970-09-04

The text of the Agreement between the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Republic of Austria Amending the Agreement of 11 December 1957 Regarding the Headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which was signed on 4 June 1970, is reproduced in this document for the information of all Members. Members will be informed of the entry into force of the Amendments to the Headquarters Agreement.

The Texts of The Agency's Agreements with the Republic of Austria. I. Headquarters Agreement. Amendments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1970-01-01

The text of the Agreement between the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Republic of Austria Amending the Agreement of 11 December 1957 Regarding the Headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which was signed on 4 June 1970, is reproduced in this document for the information of all Members. Members will be informed of the entry into force of the Amendments to the Headquarters Agreement

Achieving Agreement in Three Rounds with Bounded-Byzantine Faults

Science.gov (United States)

Malekpour, Mahyar, R.

2017-01-01

A three-round algorithm is presented that guarantees agreement in a system of K greater than or equal to 3F+1 nodes provided each faulty node induces no more than F faults and each good node experiences no more than F faults, where, F is the maximum number of simultaneous faults in the network. The algorithm is based on the Oral Message algorithm of Lamport, Shostak, and Pease and is scalable with respect to the number of nodes in the system and applies equally to traditional node-fault model as well as the link-fault model. We also present a mechanical verification of the algorithm focusing on verifying the correctness of a bounded model of the algorithm as well as confirming claims of determinism.

X rays and radioactivity: a complete surprise

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Radvanyi, P.; Bordry, M.

1995-01-01

The discoveries of X rays and of radioactivity came as complete experimental surprises; the physicists, at that time, had no previous hint of a possible structure of atoms. It is difficult now, knowing what we know, to replace ourselves in the spirit, astonishment and questioning of these years, between 1895 and 1903. The nature of X rays was soon hypothesized, but the nature of the rays emitted by uranium, polonium and radium was much more difficult to disentangle, as they were a mixture of different types of radiations. The origin of the energy continuously released in radioactivity remained a complete mystery for a few years. The multiplicity of the radioactive substances became soon a difficult matter: what was real and what was induced ? Isotopy was still far ahead. It appeared that some radioactive substances had ''half-lifes'': were they genuine radioactive elements or was it just a transitory phenomenon ? Henri Becquerel (in 1900) and Pierre and Marie Curie (in 1902) hesitated on the correct answer. Only after Ernest Rutherford and Frederick Soddy established that radioactivity was the transmutation of one element into another, could one understand that a solid element transformed into a gaseous element, which in turn transformed itself into a succession of solid radioactive elements. It was only in 1913 - after the discovery of the atomic nucleus -, through precise measurements of X ray spectra, that Henry Moseley showed that the number of electrons of a given atom - and the charge of its nucleus - was equal to its atomic number in the periodic table. (authors)

X rays and radioactivity: a complete surprise

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Radvanyi, P. [Laboratoire National Saturne, Centre d`Etudes de Saclay, 91 - Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Bordry, M. [Institut du Radium, 75 - Paris (France)

1995-12-31

The discoveries of X rays and of radioactivity came as complete experimental surprises; the physicists, at that time, had no previous hint of a possible structure of atoms. It is difficult now, knowing what we know, to replace ourselves in the spirit, astonishment and questioning of these years, between 1895 and 1903. The nature of X rays was soon hypothesized, but the nature of the rays emitted by uranium, polonium and radium was much more difficult to disentangle, as they were a mixture of different types of radiations. The origin of the energy continuously released in radioactivity remained a complete mystery for a few years. The multiplicity of the radioactive substances became soon a difficult matter: what was real and what was induced ? Isotopy was still far ahead. It appeared that some radioactive substances had ``half-lifes``: were they genuine radioactive elements or was it just a transitory phenomenon ? Henri Becquerel (in 1900) and Pierre and Marie Curie (in 1902) hesitated on the correct answer. Only after Ernest Rutherford and Frederick Soddy established that radioactivity was the transmutation of one element into another, could one understand that a solid element transformed into a gaseous element, which in turn transformed itself into a succession of solid radioactive elements. It was only in 1913 - after the discovery of the atomic nucleus -, through precise measurements of X ray spectra, that Henry Moseley showed that the number of electrons of a given atom - and the charge of its nucleus - was equal to its atomic number in the periodic table. (authors).

Agreements on emission of greenhouse gases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aulstad, Johan Greger

2001-01-01

Agreements on emission of greenhouse gases is one of the instruments used by Norwegian authorities to meet their obligations with respect to the Climate Convention and the Kyoto Protocol. This book discusses the legal issues raised by these agreements. A main topic is how the industrial emissions conform to the Pollution Act. Does the Pollution Act apply to these emissions? What is the impact of the sanction rules in this act on the emissions? The book also deals with the following general questions that arise in connection with the application of public authority: (1) Can the administration grant concessions and permits in the form of agreements? (2) What commitments can be imposed on a private party by the administration by agreement? (3) Should the procedures set down in the Pollution Act and in the Public Administration Act be followed fully when the pollution authorities make agreements? Is the opportunity of the administration to reverse more restricted when they make agreements than when they make one-sided decisions? Although this discussion primarily deals with the emission of greenhouse gases, the reasoning and conclusions are relevant in many other types of agreements in which the public administration is one of the parties. The agreement that regulates the emissions of greenhouse gases from the Norwegian aluminium industry is described in a special section. The book also gives a brief account of how agreements are used in the Danish climate policy

Cooperative monitoring of regional security agreements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pregenzer, A.L.; Vannoni, M.; Biringer, K.L. [Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States). Nonproliferation and Arms Control Analysis Dept.

1996-11-01

This paper argues that cooperative monitoring plays a critical role in the implementation of regional security agreements and confidence building measures. A framework for developing cooperative monitoring options is proposed and several possibilities for relating bilateral and regional monitoring systems to international monitoring systems are discussed. Three bilateral or regional agreements are analyzed briefly to illustrate different possibilities. These examples illustrate that the relationship of regional or bilateral arms control or security agreements to international agreements depends on a number of factors: the overlap of provisions between regional and international agreements; the degree of interest in a regional agreement among the international community; efficiency in implementing the agreement; and numerous political considerations. Given the importance of regional security to the international community, regions should be encouraged to develop their own infrastructure for implementing regional arms control and other security agreements. A regional infrastructure need not preclude participation in an international regime. On the contrary, establishing regional institutions for arms control and nonproliferation could result in more proactive participation of regional parties in developing solutions for regional and international problems, thereby strengthening existing and future international regimes. Possible first steps for strengthening regional infrastructures are identified and potential technical requirements are discussed.

International inter-rater agreement in scoring acne severity utilizing cloud-based image sharing of mobile phone photographs.

Science.gov (United States)

Foolad, Negar; Ornelas, Jennifer N; Clark, Ashley K; Ali, Ifrah; Sharon, Victoria R; Al Mubarak, Luluah; Lopez, Andrés; Alikhan, Ali; Al Dabagh, Bishr; Firooz, Alireza; Awasthi, Smita; Liu, Yu; Li, Chin-Shang; Sivamani, Raja K

2017-09-01

Cloud-based image sharing technology allows facilitated sharing of images. Cloud-based image sharing technology has not been well-studied for acne assessments or treatment preferences, among international evaluators. We evaluated inter-rater variability of acne grading and treatment recommendations among an international group of dermatologists that assessed photographs. This is a prospective, single visit photographic study to assess inter-rater agreement of acne photographs shared through an integrated mobile device, cloud-based, and HIPAA-compliant platform. Inter-rater agreements for global acne assessment and acne lesion counts were evaluated by the Kendall's coefficient of concordance while correlations between treatment recommendations and acne severity were calculated by Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. There was good agreement for the evaluation of inflammatory lesions (KCC = 0.62, P cloud-based image sharing for acne assessment. Cloud-based sharing may facilitate acne care and research among international collaborators. © 2017 The International Society of Dermatology.

What is a good midwife? Insights from the literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Borrelli, Sara Elisabetta

2014-01-01

to review the literature around what is considered to be a good midwife and in particular what women value in a midwife, in order to identify the gaps in the evidence for future research. this paper reviews the research in the area of interest over the past 30 years. The literature search focused on the concept of good midwife using synonyms and antonyms. The inclusion criteria included language (English or Italian). The examined databases were Medline, Maternity and Infant Care, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstract and CINAHL. studies conducted in high-income countries were taken into account. A focused review of papers which explicitly investigated what a good midwife means and a thematic analysis on what women value in a midwife were carried out. different standpoints have been considered (midwives, student midwives, women and their partners), focusing in particular on women viewpoint. the literature review reveals information about what is considered to be a good midwife from a range of perspectives and what women value in a midwife. A good midwife should possess several attributes: theoretical knowledge, professional competencies, personal qualities, communication skills and moral/ethical values. According to the thematic analysis around what childbearing women value in a midwife, frequent key-themes emerging from the literature were: support, possibility of choice, feeling in control and having appropriate information. the meaning of good midwife might change according to different actors involved in midwifery care and there is no agreement on the definition of what constitutes a good midwife. Furthermore, it is not clear if what women value in a good midwife corresponds to the midwives' perception of themselves as good professionals. There is a dearth of information around women's expectations and experiences specifically of a good midwife, and even less around whether this changes according to where they give birth. this literature review seeks to

La opacidad de los acuerdos generales de bienes y servicios en España Opacity of general agreements on goods and services in Spain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Román Andrés Umaña Peña

2006-06-01

Full Text Available Objetivo: Explorar la intensidad del debate parlamentario sobre el Acuerdo General de Comercio de Servicios (AGCS asumido por España ante la Organización Mundial del Comercio (OMC, y compararla con la del Acuerdo General de Bienes (GATT. Métodos: Búsqueda sistemática y análisis del contenido de todas las iniciativas parlamentarias sobre AGCS y GATT realizadas entre 1979 y 2004 en el Congreso de los Diputados y el Senado. Se calculó la frecuencia y porcentaje de iniciativas parlamentarias de ambos temas, resultado de su tramitación y tipo de iniciativa. Resultados: Se presentaron 185 iniciativas parlamentarias sobre los acuerdos multilaterales de bienes y servicios, de las que 120 se referían al GATT, 8 al AGCS y 57 a ambos acuerdos. La mayoría de las iniciativas no fueron discutidas (GATT, 71%; GATS, 55,4% o estuvieron sujetas a un debate político en el que apenas se dieron intervenciones por parte de los grupos parlamentarios. Conclusiones: A pesar de las implicaciones del acuerdo multilateral de servicios para la política sanitaria española, éste se ha asumido con escaso debate parlamentario previo, incluso menos que en el caso de su homólogo sobre bienes. Se requiere en este tema una intensificación de la función de control al gobierno.Objective: To explore the intensity of the debate in the Spanish Parliament on the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS developed by Spain and the World Trade Organization, and to compare it with the debate on the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT. Methods: A systematic search and content analysis were performed of all parliamentary initiatives on GATS and GATT undertaken from 1979 to 2004 in the Spanish Parliament and Senate. The frequency and percentages of initiatives on both issues were calculated, and the final result and kinds of initiative were analyzed. Results: A total of 185 initiatives were presented in the Spanish Parliament on these agreements, of which 120 were

TRIPs Agreement, Important Multilateral WTO Treaty

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oana-Maria Florescu

2006-08-01

Full Text Available This article aims at presenting the content and the frame of the TRIPs. Agreement. It starts by introducing the reader to the terms that defined the world economical climate by the time of the Agreement negociation. Also, it explains the need of having an Agreement on intellectual property rights with impact on the business world. Moreover, the article reviews the main provisions of the Agreement and the most important intellectual property rights.

Royal Decree No 2101/1976 of 10 August 1976 implementing the national regulations for the transport of dangerous goods by road

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1976-01-01

This Royal Decree implements the national Regulations for the transport of dangerous goods by road, based on the European Agreement concerning International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR) to which Spain became a party on 22nd November 1972. The implementing provisions lay down that the national regulations do not apply to transport not exceeding 50 km or to loads below one tonne. Furthermore, the Decree prescribes the period within which vehicles and their markings as well as packaging conditions for dangerous goods must comply with its requirements. It is recalled that radioactive materials are classified as dangerous goods in Class 7. (N.E.A.) [fr

[Good use and knowledge of paracetamol (acetaminophen) among self-medicated patients: Prospective study in community pharmacies].

Science.gov (United States)

Severin, Anne-Elise; Petitpain, Nadine; Scala-Bertola, Julien; Latarche, Clotilde; Yelehe-Okouma, Melissa; Di Patrizio, Paolo; Gillet, Pierre

2016-06-01

Acetaminophen (paracetamol), the highest over-the-counter (OTC) selling drug in France, is also the first cause of acute hepatic failure. We aimed to assess the good use and the knowledge of acetaminophen in a setting of urban self-medicated patients. We conducted a prospective observational study in randomly selected community pharmacies of Metz (France) agglomeration. Patients coming to buy OTC acetaminophen for themselves or their family had to answer to an anonymous autoquestionnaire. Responses were individually and concomitantly analyzed through 3 scores: good use, knowledge and overdosage. Twenty-four community pharmacies participated and 302 patients were interviewed by mean of a dedicated questionnaire. Most of patients (84.4%) could be considered as "good users" and independent factors of good use were (i) a good knowledge of acetaminophen (OR=5.3; P<0.0001) and more surprisingly; (ii) the fact of having no children (parentality: OR=0.1; P=0.006). Responses corresponding to involuntary overdosage were mostly due to a too short interval between drug intakes (3hours). Only 30.8% of patients were aware of liver toxicity of acetaminophen and only 40.7% knew the risk of the association with alcohol. Both good use and knowledge were significantly higher in patients looking for information from their pharmacist, physician and package leaflet. Patients should definitely be better informed about acetaminophen to warrant a better safety of its consumption. Pharmacists and physicians have to remind patients the risk factors of unintentional overdose and liver toxicity. Package leaflets have also to be more informative. Copyright © 2016 Société française de pharmacologie et de thérapeutique. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Vibration Response Imaging: evaluation of rater agreement in healthy subjects and subjects with pneumonia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bartziokas, Konstantinos; Daenas, Christos; Preau, Sebastien; Zygoulis, Paris; Triantaris, Apostolos; Kerenidi, Theodora; Makris, Demosthenes; Gourgoulianis, Konstantinos I; Daniil, Zoe

2010-01-01

We evaluated pulmonologists variability in the interpretation of Vibration response imaging (VRI) obtained from healthy subjects and patients hospitalized for community acquired pneumonia. The present is a prospective study conducted in a tertiary university hospital. Twenty healthy subjects and twenty three pneumonia cases were included in this study. Six pulmonologists blindly analyzed images of normal subjects and pneumonia cases and evaluated different aspects of VRI images related to the quality of data aquisition, synchronization of the progression of breath sound distribution and agreement between the maximal energy frame (MEF) of VRI (which is the maximal geographical area of lung vibrations produced at maximal inspiration) and chest radiography. For qualitative assessment of VRI images, the raters' evaluations were analyzed by degree of consistency and agreement. The average value for overall identical evaluations of twelve features of the VRI image evaluation, ranged from 87% to 95% per rater (94% to 97% in control cases and from 79% to 93% per rater in pneumonia cases). Inter-rater median (IQR) agreement was 91% (82-96). The level of agreement according to VRI feature evaluated was in most cases over 80%; intra-class correlation (ICC) obtained by using a model of subject/rater for the averaged features was overall 0.86 (0.92 in normal and 0.73 in pneumonia cases). Our findings suggest good agreement in the interpretation of VRI data between different raters. In this respect, VRI might be helpful as a radiation free diagnostic tool for the management of pneumonia

Vibration Response Imaging: evaluation of rater agreement in healthy subjects and subjects with pneumonia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Makris Demosthenes

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background We evaluated pulmonologists variability in the interpretation of Vibration response imaging (VRI obtained from healthy subjects and patients hospitalized for community acquired pneumonia. Methods The present is a prospective study conducted in a tertiary university hospital. Twenty healthy subjects and twenty three pneumonia cases were included in this study. Six pulmonologists blindly analyzed images of normal subjects and pneumonia cases and evaluated different aspects of VRI images related to the quality of data aquisition, synchronization of the progression of breath sound distribution and agreement between the maximal energy frame (MEF of VRI (which is the maximal geographical area of lung vibrations produced at maximal inspiration and chest radiography. For qualitative assessment of VRI images, the raters' evaluations were analyzed by degree of consistency and agreement. Results The average value for overall identical evaluations of twelve features of the VRI image evaluation, ranged from 87% to 95% per rater (94% to 97% in control cases and from 79% to 93% per rater in pneumonia cases. Inter-rater median (IQR agreement was 91% (82-96. The level of agreement according to VRI feature evaluated was in most cases over 80%; intra-class correlation (ICC obtained by using a model of subject/rater for the averaged features was overall 0.86 (0.92 in normal and 0.73 in pneumonia cases. Conclusions Our findings suggest good agreement in the interpretation of VRI data between different raters. In this respect, VRI might be helpful as a radiation free diagnostic tool for the management of pneumonia.

76 FR 67440 - Market Access Agreement

Science.gov (United States)

2011-11-01

... FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION Market Access Agreement AGENCY: Farm Credit Administration. ACTION: Notice of Draft Second Amended and Restated Market Access Agreement; request for comments. SUMMARY: The... Market Access Agreement (the ``Restated MAA'') is entered into among AgFirst Farm Credit Bank, AgriBank...

50 CFR 81.3 - Cooperative Agreement.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

...) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE-WILDLIFE SPORT FISH RESTORATION PROGRAM CONSERVATION OF ENDANGERED AND THREATENED SPECIES OF FISH, WILDLIFE, AND PLANTS-COOPERATION WITH THE STATES § 81.3 Cooperative Agreement. Upon... Project Agreement can be approved for endangered or threatened species projects. A cooperative agreement...

Diffusion tensor imaging of the median nerve: intra-, inter-reader agreement, and agreement between two software packages

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guggenberger, Roman; Nanz, Daniel; Puippe, Gilbert; Andreisek, Gustav; Rufibach, Kaspar; White, Lawrence M.; Sussman, Marshall S.

2012-01-01

To assess intra-, inter-reader agreement, and the agreement between two software packages for magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) measurements of the median nerve. Fifteen healthy volunteers (seven men, eight women; mean age, 31.2 years) underwent DTI of both wrists at 1.5 T. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of the median nerve were measured by three readers using two commonly used software packages. Measurements were repeated by two readers after 6 weeks. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and Bland-Altman analysis were used for statistical analysis. ICCs for intra-reader agreement ranged from 0.87 to 0.99, for inter-reader agreement from 0.62 to 0.83, and between the two software packages from 0.63 to 0.82. Bland-Altman analysis showed no differences for intra- and inter-reader agreement and agreement between software packages. The intra-, inter-reader, and agreement between software packages for DTI measurements of the median nerve were moderate to substantial suggesting that user- and software-dependent factors contribute little to variance in DTI measurements. (orig.)

Analyzing rater agreement manifest variable methods

CERN Document Server

von Eye, Alexander

2014-01-01

Agreement among raters is of great importance in many domains. For example, in medicine, diagnoses are often provided by more than one doctor to make sure the proposed treatment is optimal. In criminal trials, sentencing depends, among other things, on the complete agreement among the jurors. In observational studies, researchers increase reliability by examining discrepant ratings. This book is intended to help researchers statistically examine rater agreement by reviewing four different approaches to the technique.The first approach introduces readers to calculating coefficients that allow one to summarize agreements in a single score. The second approach involves estimating log-linear models that allow one to test specific hypotheses about the structure of a cross-classification of two or more raters'' judgments. The third approach explores cross-classifications or raters'' agreement for indicators of agreement or disagreement, and for indicators of such characteristics as trends. The fourth approach compa...

Prediction, Expectation, and Surprise: Methods, Designs, and Study of a Deployed Traffic Forecasting Service

OpenAIRE

Horvitz, Eric J.; Apacible, Johnson; Sarin, Raman; Liao, Lin

2012-01-01

We present research on developing models that forecast traffic flow and congestion in the Greater Seattle area. The research has led to the deployment of a service named JamBayes, that is being actively used by over 2,500 users via smartphones and desktop versions of the system. We review the modeling effort and describe experiments probing the predictive accuracy of the models. Finally, we present research on building models that can identify current and future surprises, via efforts on mode...

VHA Data Sharing Agreement Repository

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Veterans Affairs — The VHA Data Sharing Agreement Repository serves as a centralized location to collect and report on agreements that share VHA data with entities outside of VA. It...

40 CFR 35.3010 - Delegation agreement.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Delegation agreement. 35.3010 Section... STATE AND LOCAL ASSISTANCE Construction Grants Program Delegation to States § 35.3010 Delegation agreement. (a) Before execution of the delegation agreement, the Regional Administrator must determine that...

7 CFR 900.109 - Mediation agreement.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 8 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Mediation agreement. 900.109 Section 900.109 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Marketing... Mediation agreement. An agreement arrived at by mediation shall not become effective until approved by the...

Rater agreement in lung scintigraphy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Christiansen, F.; Andersson, T.; Rydman, H.; Qvarner, N.; Maare, K.

1996-01-01

Purpose: The PIOPED criteria in their original and revised forms are today's standards in the interpretation of ventilation-perfusion scintigraphy. When the PIOPED criteria are used by experienced raters with training in consensus interpretation, the agreement rates have been demonstrated to be excellent. Our purpose was to investigate the rates of agreement between 2 experienced raters from different hospitals who had no training in consensus interpretation. Material and Methods: The 2 raters investigated a population of 195 patients. This group included 72 patients from a previous study who had an intermediate probability of pulmonary embolism and who had also been examined by pulmonary angiography. Results: The results demonstrated moderate agreement rates with a kappa value of 0.54 (0.45-0.63 in a 95% confidence interval), which is similar to the kappa value of the PIOPED study but significantly lower than the kappa values of agreement rates among consensus-trained raters. There was a low consistency in the intermediate probability category, with a proportional agreement rate of 0.39 between the experienced raters. Conclusion: The moderate agreement rates between raters from different hospitals make it difficult to compare study populations of a certain scintigraphic category in different hospitals. Further investigations are mandatory for accurate diagnosis when the scintigrams are in the category of intermediate probability of pulmonary embolism. (orig.)

Flexible climate agreements after 2012

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vevatne, Jonas

2004-01-01

The Kyoto agreement is only a small step towards much stronger and broader commitments and new creativity is needed to further develop a really global climate policy. A flexible approach is necessary to obtain broad participation and substantial reduction of the emissions of greenhouse gases. Flexibility is also important to ease negotiations, to ensure cost-effectiveness and implement a global climate agreement. The US withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol has rendered the agreement much less effective than the original goal of five per cent reduction of the emission from the industrialized countries. In addition the emissions are increasing much faster in countries that have not committed themselves to the agreement. The agreement runs out in 2012 and should be followed by a new agreement, the negotiations about which are to start up no later than 2005. Attempts by the European Union to begin a discussion about future commitments were very quickly wrecked by the G77 group with strong support from the U.S.A. To formulate a practical climate policy the general goal in the Climate Convention must be interpreted and specified. It may seem impossible to agree upon a long-term goal. But the clarity it provides will be very useful. It will be a guide for short-term goals and a reference for evaluation of success

25 CFR 502.5 - Collateral agreement.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 25 Indians 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Collateral agreement. 502.5 Section 502.5 Indians NATIONAL INDIAN GAMING COMMISSION, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR GENERAL PROVISIONS DEFINITIONS OF THIS CHAPTER § 502.5 Collateral agreement. Collateral agreement means any contract, whether or not in writing...

75 FR 76729 - Market Access Agreement

Science.gov (United States)

2010-12-09

... FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION Market Access Agreement AGENCY: Farm Credit Administration. ACTION: Notice of approval of the draft amendment to the amended and restated market access agreement. SUMMARY... Credit Bank of Wichita and the Western Farm Credit Bank under Section 7.12 of the Market Access Agreement...

43 CFR 24.5 - International agreements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... WILDLIFE POLICY: STATE-FEDERAL RELATIONSHIPS § 24.5 International agreements. (a) International conventions... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false International agreements. 24.5 Section 24... shall be to recommend that the United States negotiate and accede to only those international agreements...

A prospective study assessing agreement and reliability of a geriatric evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Locatelli, Isabella; Monod, Stéfanie; Cornuz, Jacques; Büla, Christophe J; Senn, Nicolas

2017-07-19

The present study takes place within a geriatric program, aiming at improving the diagnosis and management of geriatric syndromes in primary care. Within this program it was of prime importance to be able to rely on a robust and reproducible geriatric consultation to use as a gold standard for evaluating a primary care brief assessment tool. The specific objective of the present study was thus assessing the agreement and reliability of a comprehensive geriatric consultation. The study was conducted at the outpatient clinic of the Service of Geriatric Medicine, University of Lausanne, Switzerland. All community-dwelling older persons aged 70 years and above were eligible. Patients were excluded if they hadn't a primary care physician, they were unable to speak French, or they were already assessed by a geriatrician within the last 12 months. A set of 9 geriatricians evaluated 20 patients. Each patient was assessed twice within a 2-month delay. Geriatric consultations were based on a structured evaluation process, leading to rating the following geriatric conditions: functional, cognitive, visual, and hearing impairment, mood disorders, risk of fall, osteoporosis, malnutrition, and urinary incontinence. Reliability and agreement estimates on each of these items were obtained using a three-way Intraclass Correlation and a three-way Observed Disagreement index. The latter allowed a decomposition of overall disagreement into disagreements due to each source of error variability (visit, rater and random). Agreement ranged between 0.62 and 0.85. For most domains, geriatrician-related error variability explained an important proportion of disagreement. Reliability ranged between 0 and 0.8. It was poor/moderate for visual impairment, malnutrition and risk of fall, and good/excellent for functional/cognitive/hearing impairment, osteoporosis, incontinence and mood disorders. Six out of nine items of the geriatric consultation described in this study (functional

Agreement Between Serology and Histology for Detection of Helicobacter pylori Infection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iqbal, S.; Fatima, S.; Raheem, A.; Khan, A. H.

2013-01-01

Objective: To determine the percentage agreement between serology and histology for detection of Helicobacter (H.) pylori infection. Study Design: Cross-sectional analytical study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Pathology and Microbiology, The Aga Khan University and Hospital, Karachi, from January to December 2009. Methodology: Fifty subjects were selected by non-probability purposive sampling from laboratory data who had serological testing of H. pylori IgG antibody, prior to histological evaluation of endoscopic gastric or/and duodenal biopsies. Serological Quantification of H. pylori IgG was carried out with HpG screen ELISA kit (Genesis Diagnostics, UK), using an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay for detection of IgG antibodies against H. pylori. Manufacturer's recommended cutoff value was used and results were considered positive when greater than 7 U/ml. For histological diagnosis, an expert histopathologist characterized the presence of spiral bacteria in the mucosal layer or the surface of epithelial cells on microscopic examination, as a positive test. Results: An agreement of 0.72 was found by Kappa statistics between serology and histopathology results and a good diagnostic accuracy (86%) of serological testing was observed for the diagnosis of H. pylori infection. Conclusion: A substantial agreement was found between serology and histopathology results to detect the H. pylori infection. Laboratory-based serologic testing using ELISA technology to detect IgG antibodies is inexpensive, noninvasive and convenient method to detect the H. pylori infection in primary care setting. (author)

76 FR 63618 - Notice of Agreements Filed

Science.gov (United States)

2011-10-13

...; Washington, DC 20036. Synopsis: The amendment removes Korea from the geographic scope of them agreement and... geographic scope of the Agreement to include Taiwan. The parties requested expedited review. Agreement No... and Korea, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, and Singapore. Agreement No.: 012138. Title: CSAV/CCNI...

22 CFR 120.23 - Distribution agreement.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Distribution agreement. 120.23 Section 120.23... § 120.23 Distribution agreement. An agreement (e.g., a contract) to establish a warehouse or distribution point abroad for defense articles exported from the United States for subsequent distribution to...

Good Looking Is Looking Good / Märt Milter

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Milter, Märt

1998-01-01

Meloodilist drum ǹ̀bassi viljelevatest välismaa plaadifirmadest Good Looking Recordsist ja Looking Good Recordsist, mida juhib LTJ Bukem ja temaga koostööd tegevatest muusikutest Blame, Seba, Tayla, MC Conrad, Artemis

Agreement processing and attraction errors in aging: evidence from subject-verb agreement in German.

Science.gov (United States)

Reifegerste, Jana; Hauer, Franziska; Felser, Claudia

2017-11-01

Effects of aging on lexical processing are well attested, but the picture is less clear for grammatical processing. Where age differences emerge, these are usually ascribed to working-memory (WM) decline. Previous studies on the influence of WM on agreement computation have yielded inconclusive results, and work on aging and subject-verb agreement processing is lacking. In two experiments (Experiment 1: timed grammaticality judgment, Experiment 2: self-paced reading + WM test), we investigated older (OA) and younger (YA) adults' susceptibility to agreement attraction errors. We found longer reading latencies and judgment reaction times (RTs) for OAs. Further, OAs, particularly those with low WM scores, were more accepting of sentences with attraction errors than YAs. OAs showed longer reading latencies for ungrammatical sentences, again modulated by WM, than YAs. Our results indicate that OAs have greater difficulty blocking intervening nouns from interfering with the computation of agreement dependencies. WM can modulate this effect.

Vienna Agreement law 15.986 it approve Vienna Agreement for Protection ozone layer and annex

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-01-01

The Agreement of Vienna is approved with respect to the protection of the Layer of Ozono, definitions,general duties, research and observations systematics, co-operation in the Spheres Scientific Juridical, and information, Technological Conference, transmission from the protocols, amends, secretariat, adoption to the agreement or the protocols, adoption and amendment of controversy, signing, ratify, approve annexes, solution or vote, relation approving, adhesion, rights between the present agreement and its protocols, entrance in vigor, reserves, retirement, deposition, exchange of information [es

76 FR 553 - Notice of Agreements Filed

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-05

... obsolete language on the duration of Agreement, and changes the name and restates the Agreement. By Order... agreement's governing board and would update the corporate addresses of American President Lines, Ltd.; APL.... as a party to the agreement and updates the corporate addresses of American President Lines, Ltd...

The quid-pro-quo of environmental agreements: Reflections on industrial energy efficiency agreements from five countries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Helby, Peter

2001-10-01

This workshop paper reflects on the exchange of values between the government side and the business side, which is a core logic of environmental agreements. The reflections refer to case studies of industrial energy efficiency agreements from Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands and Sweden, originating from the VAIE project (Voluntary Agreements, Implementation and Efficiency). The government bargaining chips discussed are monetary rewards, help to gain competitive advantage, regulatory flexibility and political protection. The business side bargaining chips are emission limits, organisational change, investments, information, submission to control and political pain reduction. The discussion underlines the need for substantial commitments by the government side, as a precondition for achieving effective agreements.

Emerging good practices for Translatability Assessment (TA) of Patient-Reported Outcome (PRO) measures.

Science.gov (United States)

Acquadro, Catherine; Patrick, Donald L; Eremenco, Sonya; Martin, Mona L; Kuliś, Dagmara; Correia, Helena; Conway, Katrin

2017-01-01

This paper presents emerging Good Practices for Translatability Assessment (TA) of Patient-Reported Outcome (PRO) Measures. The ISOQOL Translation and Cultural Adaptation Special Interest Group (TCA-SIG) undertook the review of several TA approaches, with the collaboration of organizations who are involved in conducting TA, and members of the TCA-SIG. The effort led to agreement by the writing group on Good Practices for 1) the terminology to be used in referring to translatability process, 2) the best definition of TA, 3) the methodology that is recommended at each step of the process, 4) the persons involved in TA, 5) the timing of assessment, 6) the review criteria for TA, and 7) the recommendations to be made at the end of the TA process. With input from the TCA-SIG membership and in consultation with experts in the field, these emerging good practices can guide the future use of TA in the development of PROs.

MULTILATERAL ENVIRONMENTAL AGREEMENTS AND THE TRADE MEASURES CONTAINED IN THESE AGREEMENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Margareta Timbur

2012-06-01

Full Text Available The environmental problems which the society is facing, ozone depletion, biodiversity loss, the spread of persistent organic pollutants, are a result of human activity with a worldwide impact, requiring immediate resolution. In this context, negotiation, signing and implementation of several multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs are one of the best solutions, affordable and reliable. The aim of this study is to analyze the commercial measures, which to some extent, ensure stability, security, and expansion of MEAs. The paper discusses, also, the efficiency, necessity and the influences of trade measures in MEAs and the WTO role in signing these agreements.

Agreement among Goldmann applanation tonometer, iCare, and Icare PRO rebound tonometers; non-contact tonometer; and Tonopen XL in healthy elderly subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Kato, Yoshitake; Nakakura, Shunsuke; Matsuo, Naoko; Yoshitomi, Kayo; Handa, Marina; Tabuchi, Hitoshi; Kiuchi, Yoshiaki

2018-04-01

To evaluate the inter-device agreement among the Goldmann applanation tonometer (GAT), iCare and Icare PRO rebound tonometers, non-contact tonometer (NCT), and Tonopen XL tonometer. Sixty healthy elderly subjects were enrolled. The intraocular pressure (IOP) in each subject's right eye was measured thrice using each of the five tonometers. Intra-device agreement was evaluated by calculating intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). Inter-device agreement was evaluated by ICC and Bland-Altman analyses. ICCs for intra-device agreement for each tonometer were >0.8. IOP as measured by iCare (mean ± SD, 11.6 ± 2.5 mmHg) was significantly lower (p tonometers (all ICCs tonometers ranged from 14.94 to 16.47 mmHg. Among the other tonometers, however, the widths of 95% limits of agreement ranged from 7.91 to 9.24 mmHg. There was good inter-device agreement among GAT, rebound tonometers, and NCT. Tonopen XL shows the worst agreement with the other tonometers; therefore, we should pay attention to its' respective IOP. Japan Clinical Trials Register; number: UMIN000011544.

77 FR 42310 - Notice of Agreements Filed

Science.gov (United States)

2012-07-18

...; Washington, DC 20006-4007. Synopsis: The agreement would provide for delivery of data to the Port of Oakland... delivery. Agreement No.: 201217. Title: Port of Long Beach Data Services Agreement. Parties: Port of Long... 1100; Washington, DC 20006-4007. Synopsis: The agreement would provide for delivery of data to the Port...

Client/consultant model services agreement

CERN Document Server

International Federation of Consulting Engineers

2006-01-01

The terms of the Client Consultant Model Services agreement (The White Book) have been prepared by the Fédération Internationale des Ingénieurs-Conseils (FIDIC) and are recommended for general use for the purposes of pre-investment and feasibility studies, designs and administration of construction and project management, where proposals for such services are invited on an international basis. They are equally adaptable for domestic agreements. - See more at: http://fidic.org/books/clientconsultant-model-services-agreement-4th-ed-2006-white-book#sthash.3Uxy5qT3.dpuf

[Innovative medicines and market access agreements].

Science.gov (United States)

Toumi, M; Zard, J; Duvillard, R; Jommi, C

2013-09-01

Market Access Agreements (MAA) for drugs have emerged in response to the need to control health expenditures, as well as to the uncertainty about the true benefit of a drug. It is possible to group MAA in two types of agreements: financial agreements and outcome-based agreements. MAA is a growing trend and is shifting towards conditional access. However, the willingness to use these contracts and their implementation differ across countries, and some are still resistant to put them in place. The MAA challenges to overcome encompass the complexity of the schemes, the administrative burden and the difficulty of evaluating MAA. It is likely that these agreements might experience further evolution in the future to become a faster pathway for therapeutic innovations, at a fair price. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

23 CFR 140.606 - Project agreements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... Reimbursement for Bond Issue Projects § 140.606 Project agreements. Project Agreements, Form PR-2, shall be... 23 Highways 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Project agreements. 140.606 Section 140.606 Highways... projects. 1 The text of FHWA Form PR-2 is found in 23 CFR part 630, subpart C, appendix A. ...

14 CFR 1274.909 - Term of agreement.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... Agreement, which, by their express terms or by necessary implication, apply for periods of time other than... 14 Aeronautics and Space 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Term of agreement. 1274.909 Section 1274... COMMERCIAL FIRMS Other Provisions and Special Conditions § 1274.909 Term of agreement. Term of Agreement July...

Analysis of international negotiations and trade agreements

OpenAIRE

Górriz Gonzalo, Verónica

2014-01-01

This study aims to analyze international trade agreements and negotiations. For that purpose, two agreements made by the United States are chosen to be analyzed. In the first place, the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) agreement, that was signed by the United States, Canada and Mexico in 1994 in order to create a free trade area. In addition, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) will be analyze, an agreement that is still being negotiated between the United Stat...

Safeguards agreements - Their legal and conceptual basis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanders, B.; Rainer, R.H.

1977-01-01

The application of Agency safeguards requires treaty arrangements (Safeguards Agreements) between the State or States concerned and the Agency. The authority for the Agency to conclude such agreements and to implement them is provided for in the Agency's Statute. On the basis of the statutory provisions safeguards principles and procedures have been elaborated. These have been laid down in: The Agency's Safeguards System 1965, extended in 1966 and 1968; and the basis for negotiating safeguards agreements with NNWS pursuant to NPT. The verification of the undertaking by the State concerned not to use items subject to safeguards for purposes contrary to the terms of the agreement is ensured through the application of various safeguards measures. Containment and surveillance measures are expected to play an increasingly important role. One of the specific features of NPT Safeguards Agreements is the establishment of national systems of accounting and control of nuclear material. The majority of the agreements concluded under the non-NPT safeguards agreements implement obligations undertaken under co-operation agreements between States for peaceful uses of nuclear energy. These agreements naturally reflect approaches adopted by the parties, in particular regarding the circumstances under which safeguards should be applied. Thus, the concepts used in the non-NPT safeguards agreements and the Safeguards System document, which is incorporated in these agreements by reference, are in continuous evolution. The Agency's Safeguards System document (INFCIRC/66/Rev.2) continues to be supplemented in practical application and through explicit decision by the Board. The non-NPT safeguards agreements contain, besides technical safeguards provisions from this document, and further provision for notification, inventories and financial matters, legal and political provisions such as sanctions in the case of non-compliance, and privileges and immunities. The paper discusses the

The Text of the Fifth Agreement to Extend the 1987 Regional Cooperative Agreement for Research, Development and Training Related to Nuclear Science and Technology (RCA). Extension of Agreement. Latest Status

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2012-01-01

The Text of the Fifth Agreement to Extend the 1987 Regional Cooperative Agreement for Research, Development and Training Related to Nuclear Science and Technology (RCA). Extension of Agreement. Latest Status [es

Evaluating the agreement between tumour volumetry and the estimated volumes of tumour lesions using an algorithm

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Laubender, Ruediger P. [German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg (Germany); University Hospital Munich - Campus Grosshadern, Institute of Medical Informatics, Biometry, and Epidemiology (IBE), Munich (Germany); German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg (Germany); Lynghjem, Julia; D' Anastasi, Melvin; Graser, Anno [University Hospital Munich - Campus Grosshadern, Institute for Clinical Radiology, Munich (Germany); Heinemann, Volker; Modest, Dominik P. [University Hospital Munich - Campus Grosshadern, Department of Medical Oncology, Munich (Germany); Mansmann, Ulrich R. [University Hospital Munich - Campus Grosshadern, Institute of Medical Informatics, Biometry, and Epidemiology (IBE), Munich (Germany); Sartorius, Ute; Schlichting, Michael [Merck KGaA, Darmstadt (Germany)

2014-07-15

To evaluate the agreement between tumour volume derived from semiautomated volumetry (SaV) and tumor volume defined by spherical volume using longest lesion diameter (LD) according to Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors (RECIST) or ellipsoid volume using LD and longest orthogonal diameter (LOD) according to World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. Twenty patients with metastatic colorectal cancer from the CIOX trial were included. A total of 151 target lesions were defined by baseline computed tomography and followed until disease progression. All assessments were performed by a single reader. A variance component model was used to compare the three volume versions. There was a significant difference between the SaV and RECIST-based tumour volumes. The same model showed no significant difference between the SaV and WHO-based volumes. Scatter plots showed that the RECIST-based volumes overestimate lesion volume. The agreement between the SaV and WHO-based relative changes in tumour volume, evaluated by intraclass correlation, showed nearly perfect agreement. Estimating the volume of metastatic lesions using both the LD and LOD (WHO) is more accurate than those based on LD only (RECIST), which overestimates lesion volume. The good agreement between the SaV and WHO-based relative changes in tumour volume enables a reasonable approximation of three-dimensional tumour burden. (orig.)

Nature of monovacancies on quasi-hexagonal structure of reconstructed Au(100) surface

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pieczyrak, Barbara; Trembulowicz, Artur; Antczak, Grażyna, E-mail: antczak@ifd.uni.wroc.pl; Jurczyszyn, Leszek

2017-06-15

Highlights: • Surprising nature of surface monovacancies: spontaneous healing. • Determination of vacancy formation energy in the range of 0.34–0.55 eV. • A good agreement between the theoretical (DFT) and experimental (STM) data. - Abstract: Density functional theory and the scanning tunneling microscopy were applied to investigate the nature of the defects on an unrotated reconstructed hexagonal Au(100) surface. We show the correlation between the nature of monovacancies and the geometrical arrangement of the atoms from the first (topmost) layer with respect to the second layer. The vacancies created directly above the atoms from the second layer (on-top position) move spontaneously into the subsurface upon relaxation. For the vacancies created in other places, the subsurface shift is hindered by the energy barrier and the lifted subsurface atom is in the interlayer position. Charge density calculations were compared with results from the scanning tunneling microscopy images which show a good agreement between the theoretical and experimental data.

Poor-to-moderate agreement between self and proxy interviews of mobile phone use.

Science.gov (United States)

Hutter, Hans-Peter; Ehrenhöfer, Lisa; Freuis, Edith; Hartl, Patrik; Kundi, Michael

2012-10-01

In epidemiological studies, cases cannot always be interviewed due to them being too ill or already deceased. Under these circumstances, proxy interviews are often conducted; however, the veridicality of information about mobile phone use gained by proxy interviews has been doubted. The issue is undecided due to the lack of empirical data. We conducted a study of 119 heterosexual couples. Both partners answered two questionnaires about mobile phone use, one about their own use and one about their partner's use. Overall agreement assessed using Cohen's kappa, Passing and Bablok regression, and concordance coefficients between self and proxy data was poor to moderate (e.g., concordance coefficients of 0.55 for duration of use). The only item with good agreement was whether or not a prepaid phone was used (Cohen's kappa 0.78 and 0.63 for male and female estimates, respectively), and to a lesser degree, the onset of mobile phone use (concordance coefficients of 0.66 and 0.61). Poorest agreement was obtained for the side of the head the mobile phone was held during calls (kappa coefficients of 0.20 and 0.24 for female and male estimates, respectively). We conclude that the assessment of mobile phone use by proxy data cannot be relied on except for information about onset of mobile phone use, use of prepaid or contract phones, and, to a lesser degree, duration of daily use. Agreement concerning the important information about side of the head the mobile phone is held during calls was poorest and only slightly better than chance. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Bioenergy good practice

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Birse, J.; Chambers, K.

2000-07-01

This report gives details of a project to make the Good Practice Guidelines, which were developed to help the UK Bioenergy industry, the national and local governments, and the public, more widely available. Details concerning the designing of a Good Practice Programme, and the proposed codes of Good Practice programme are given, and general relevant good practice guidance documents are discussed. The stakeholder survey and workshop, and the proposed codes of a Good Practice Programme are presented in Annexes. (UK)

Vascular legacy: HOPE ADVANCEs to EMPA-REG and LEADER: A Surprising similarity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sanjay Kalra

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Recently reported cardiovascular outcome studies on empagliflozin (EMPA-REG and liraglutide (LEADER have spurred interest in this field of diabetology. This commentary compares and contrasts these studies with two equally important outcome trials conducted using blood pressure lowering agents. A comparison with MICROHOPE (using ramipril and ADVANCE (using perindopril + indapamide blood pressure arms throws up interesting facts. The degree of blood pressure lowering, dissociation between cardiovascular and cerebrovascular benefits, and discordance between renal and retinal outcomes are surprisingly similar in these trials, conducted using disparate molecules. The time taken to achieve such benefits is similar for all drugs except empagliflozin. Such discussion helps inform rational and evidence-based choice of therapy and forms the framework for future research.

Agreement between children and parents demonstrated that illness-related absenteeism was validly reported by children.

Science.gov (United States)

Denbæk, Anne Maj; Bonnesen, Camilla Thørring; Andersen, Anette; Holstein, Bjørn Evald; Laursen, Bjarne; Due, Pernille; Johansen, Anette

2016-01-01

To examine the agreement between children's and parents' reporting of illness-related absenteeism from school and to examine predictors for disagreement between children and parents. A total of 8,438 schoolchildren aged from 5 to 15 years (grade 0-8) and one parent of each child were invited to participate in the Hi Five baseline study. The response rate for children answering a questionnaire was 89% (n = 7,525), and 36% of the parents (n = 3,008) participated in a weekly illness registration study using text messages (short message service) over a period of 22 weeks. Text messages and questionnaire data were linked at the individual level, leaving 2,269 child-parent pairs in the analysis, corresponding to 27% of the eligible sample. The agreement between children's and parents' reports of illness-related absenteeism was good, with high absolute agreement and slight to moderate Ƙ values. Agreement was lowest for 6- to 8-year-olds and highest for 11- to 12-year-olds. Children's reports of illness symptoms and parents' reports of their children's illnesses in the preceding week were strong predictors for children reporting illness-related absenteeism when parents did not. Illness-related absenteeism can be reported by children, and children report higher prevalence of illness-related absenteeism than parents. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

23 CFR 630.110 - Modification of original agreement.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 23 Highways 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Modification of original agreement. 630.110 Section 630... OPERATIONS PRECONSTRUCTION PROCEDURES Project Authorization and Agreements § 630.110 Modification of original agreement. (a) When changes are needed to the original project agreement, a modification of agreement shall...

The influence of psychological resilience on the relation between automatic stimulus evaluation and attentional breadth for surprised faces.

Science.gov (United States)

Grol, Maud; De Raedt, Rudi

2015-01-01

The broaden-and-build theory relates positive emotions to resilience and cognitive broadening. The theory proposes that the broadening effects underly the relation between positive emotions and resilience, suggesting that resilient people can benefit more from positive emotions at the level of cognitive functioning. Research has investigated the influence of positive emotions on attentional broadening, but the stimulus in the target of attention may also influence attentional breadth, depending on affective stimulus evaluation. Surprised faces are particularly interesting as they are valence ambiguous, therefore, we investigated the relation between affective evaluation--using an affective priming task--and attentional breadth for surprised faces, and how this relation is influenced by resilience. Results show that more positive evaluations are related to more attentional broadening at high levels of resilience, while this relation is reversed at low levels. This indicates that resilient individuals can benefit more from attending to positively evaluated stimuli at the level of attentional broadening.

Atom Surprise: Using Theatre in Primary Science Education

Science.gov (United States)

Peleg, Ran; Baram-Tsabari, Ayelet

2011-10-01

Early exposure to science may have a lifelong effect on children's attitudes towards science and their motivation to learn science in later life. Out-of-class environments can play a significant role in creating favourable attitudes, while contributing to conceptual learning. Educational science theatre is one form of an out-of-class environment, which has received little research attention. This study aims to describe affective and cognitive learning outcomes of watching such a play and to point to connections between theatrical elements and specific outcomes. "Atom Surprise" is a play portraying several concepts on the topic of matter. A mixed methods approach was adopted to investigate the knowledge and attitudes of children (grades 1-6) from two different school settings who watched the play. Data were gathered using questionnaires and in-depth interviews. Analysis suggested that in both schools children's knowledge on the topic of matter increased after the play with younger children gaining more conceptual knowledge than their older peers. In the public school girls showed greater gains in conceptual knowledge than boys. No significant changes in students' general attitudes towards science were found, however, students demonstrated positive changes towards science learning. Theatrical elements that seemed to be important in children's recollection of the play were the narrative, props and stage effects, and characters. In the children's memory, science was intertwined with the theatrical elements. Nonetheless, children could distinguish well between scientific facts and the fictive narrative.

78 FR 35270 - Notice of Agreements Filed

Science.gov (United States)

2013-06-12

... Russia from the geographic scope of the agreement. Agreement No.: 012210. Title: Siem Car Carrier Pacific AS/Eukor Car Carriers Inc. Space Charter Agreement. Parties: Siem Car Carrier Pacific AS and Eukor...

76 FR 16420 - Notice of Agreements Filed

Science.gov (United States)

2011-03-23

.... Title: Hanjin and WHS Transpacific Vessel Sharing and Slot Allocation Agreement. Parties: Hanjin... amendment would add COSCON as a party to the Agreement and revise the name of the Agreement to Hanjin/WHS...

The Text of a Safeguards Agreement relating to the Bilateral Agreement between Japan and Australia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1973-01-26

The text of a Safeguards Agreement between the Agency, Japan and Australia relating to the agreement of 21 February 1972 between the two Governments for co-operation in the peaceful uses of atomic energy is reproduced in this document for the information of all Members.

Safeguards agreements - their legal and conceptual basis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanders, B.; Rainer, R.

1977-01-01

The application of Agency safeguards requires treaty arrangements (''Safeguards Agreements'') between the State or States concerned and the Agency. The authority for the Agency to conclude such agreements and to implement them is provided for in the Agency's Statute (Articles II, III A.5 and XII). On the basis of the statutory provisions safeguards principles and procedures have been elaborated. These have been laid down in: (a) The Agency's Safeguards System 1965, extended in 1966 and 1968 (INFCIRC/66/Rev.2); and (b) The basis for negotiating safeguards agreements with NNWS pursuant to NPT (INFCIRC/153). The verification of the undertaking by the State concerned not to use items subject to safeguards for purposes contrary to the terms of the agreement is verified through the application of various safeguards measures (design review, records, reports and inspection). Containment and surveillance measures are expected to play an increasingly important role. NPT Safeguards Agreements foresee as one of their specific features the establishment of national systems of accounting and control of nuclear material. The majority of the agreements concluded under document INFCIRC/66/Rev.2 - i.e. the non-NPT safeguards agreements - implement obligations undertaken under co-operation agreements between States for peaceful uses of nuclear energy. These agreements naturally reflect approaches adopted by the parties, in particular as to the circumstances under which safeguards should be applied. Thus, the concepts used in the non-NPT safeguards agreements and the safeguards system of document INFCIRC/66/Rev.2 which is incorporated in these agreements by reference are in continuous evolution. Document INFCIRC/66/Rev.2 continues to be supplemented in practical application and through explicit decision by the Board. The non-NPT safeguards agreements contain, besides technical safeguards provisions from document INFCIRC/66/Rev.2, and further provision for notification, inventories

LHC Report: machine commissioning - looking good

CERN Document Server

CERN Bulletin

2016-01-01

Since first beam was injected on Friday, 25 March, the recommissioning of the LHC has made good progress.   An event display showing the first collisions after the 2015 year-end technical stop as seen by the CMS experiment. At present, work is being performed with either probe bunches (around 1010 protons per bunch) or single nominal bunches (1.1 x 1011 protons per bunch). This procedure is intended to ensure safe operation before full qualification of the machine protection set-up. Beam has been taken up the ramp to 6.5 TeV and through the squeeze to the planned 2016 operating scenario. The optics (i.e. the global focusing properties of the whole ring) have been measured and corrected to an unprecedented level: there is now excellent agreement between the machine model and the actual LHC. Some preliminary measurements of the global aperture have been performed and there are no apparent bottlenecks. The position of the ULO (Unidentified Lying Object) had been probed and it is in a similar positio...

A Population-Based Assessment of the Agreement Between Grading of Goniophotographic Images and Gonioscopy in the Chinese-American Eye Study (CHES).

Science.gov (United States)

Murakami, Yohko; Wang, Dandan; Burkemper, Bruce; Lin, Shan C; Varma, Rohit

2016-08-01

To compare grading of goniophotographic images and gonioscopy in assessing the iridocorneal angle. In a population-based, cross-sectional study, participants underwent gonioscopy and goniophotographic imaging during the same visit. The iridocorneal angle was classified as closed if the posterior trabecular meshwork could not be seen. A single masked observer graded the goniophotographic images, and each eye was classified as having angle closure based on the number of closed quadrants. Agreement between the methods was analyzed by calculating kappa (κ) and first-order agreement coefficient (AC1) statistics and comparison of area under receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC). A total of 4149 Chinese Americans (3994 eyes) were included in this study. The agreement for angle closure diagnosis between gonioscopy and EyeCam was moderate to excellent (κ = 0.60, AC1 0.90, AUC 0.76-0.80). Detection of iridocorneal angle closure based on goniophotographic imaging shows moderate to very good agreement with angle closure assessment using gonioscopy.

'Surprise': Outbreak of Campylobacter infection associated with chicken liver pâté at a surprise birthday party, Adelaide, Australia, 2012.

Science.gov (United States)

Parry, Amy; Fearnley, Emily; Denehy, Emma

2012-10-01

In July 2012, an outbreak of Campylobacter infection was investigated by the South Australian Communicable Disease Control Branch and Food Policy and Programs Branch. The initial notification identified illness at a surprise birthday party held at a restaurant on 14 July 2012. The objective of the investigation was to identify the potential source of infection and institute appropriate intervention strategies to prevent further illness. A guest list was obtained and a retrospective cohort study undertaken. A combination of paper-based and telephone questionnaires were used to collect exposure and outcome information. An environmental investigation was conducted by Food Policy and Programs Branch at the implicated premises. All 57 guests completed the questionnaire (100% response rate), and 15 met the case definition. Analysis showed a significant association between illness and consumption of chicken liver pâté (relative risk: 16.7, 95% confidence interval: 2.4-118.6). No other food or beverage served at the party was associated with illness. Three guests submitted stool samples; all were positive for Campylobacter. The environmental investigation identified that the cooking process used in the preparation of chicken liver pâté may have been inconsistent, resulting in some portions not cooked adequately to inactivate potential Campylobacter contamination. Chicken liver products are a known source of Campylobacter infection; therefore, education of food handlers remains a high priority. To better identify outbreaks among the large number of Campylobacter notifications, routine typing of Campylobacter isolates is recommended.

Federal Facility Agreement progress report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1993-10-01

The (SRS) Federal Facility Agreement (FFA) was made effective by the US. Environmental Protection Agency Region IV (EPA) on August 16, 1993. To meet the reporting requirements in Section XXV of the Agreement, the FFA Progress Report was developed. The FFA Progress Report is the first of a series of quarterly progress reports to be prepared by the SRS. As such this report describes the information and action taken to September 30, 1993 on the SRS units identified for investigation and remediation in the Agreement. This includes; rubble pits, runoff basins, retention basin, seepage basin, burning pits, H-Area Tank 16, and spill areas.

Federal Facility Agreement progress report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-10-01

The (SRS) Federal Facility Agreement (FFA) was made effective by the US. Environmental Protection Agency Region IV (EPA) on August 16, 1993. To meet the reporting requirements in Section XXV of the Agreement, the FFA Progress Report was developed. The FFA Progress Report is the first of a series of quarterly progress reports to be prepared by the SRS. As such this report describes the information and action taken to September 30, 1993 on the SRS units identified for investigation and remediation in the Agreement. This includes; rubble pits, runoff basins, retention basin, seepage basin, burning pits, H-Area Tank 16, and spill areas

US-India agreement for peaceful nuclear cooperation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

The United States and India acheived a historic agreement for strategic partnership after the completion of negotiations on the bilateral agreement for peaceful nuclear cooperation, also known as the agreement of 123. This agreement regulates the civilian nuclear trade between the two countries and opens the door wide to U.S. and Indian companies for a partnership in every other country in the civil nuclear industry. This agreement has opened the door to complete the remaining steps for the the widest American Indian cooperation in the field of civil uses of atomic energy. Critics to the agreement within the United States say that the agreement reflected serious consequences on the ability of the United States to force other countries to comply with the prevention of nuclear proliferation. The global criticism focused on that the agreement strikes at the heart of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and is considered a dangerous precedent to break the laws of the International Tribunal, and especially the laws and rules of the International Group of Suppliers, which includes 45 countries. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says that the agreement is an important step towards meeting India's growing energy needs, especially nuclear technology which is the engine of development. Immediately after the completion of the United States and India for their bilateral agreement for nuclear cooperation, Israel announced that it was seeking U.S. help in the establishment of a power reactor while pressing the direction of tightening control over Iran's nuclear program while some Arab countries announced their desire to have nuclear reactors for electricity generation purposes.

Climate Justice and the Paris Agreement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Michelot, Agnes

2016-01-01

The concept of climate justice has been, for the first time, used in an international agreement - namely, the Paris Agreement. But this recognition of the notion of climate justice is extremely restricted by the very way it is formulated. Preamble of the Paris Agreement 'notes' that climate justice is recognized by 'certain cultures'. Does it mean that particular and concrete stakes of climate justice of the pre-COP21 agenda have been recognized or, on the contrary, that the notion so introduced is actually an empty shell without any genuine legal perspective? Considering this uncertainty, it appears relevant to analyze the Paris Agreement through the claims of various groups and coalitions, which influenced the COP21 negotiations

An Assessment of the China-Korea Free Trade Agreement: Implementation Outcome and Influencing Factors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meiling Wang

2017-04-01

Full Text Available China-Korea Free Trade Agreement tops the list of trade volume covered by 14 FTAs China has signed with its signatory counterparts. In principle, 100 days of China-Korea Free Trade Agreement (ChKFTA into effect as of December 20, 2015, through two stages of tariff reduction and/or elimination, can result in substantial benefits for Chinese imports and/or exports firms. The paper is a pilot questionnaire study assessing the enforcement outcome of ChKFTA, based on the responding firms’ perceived observations and views of the impact of ChKFTA on their trading activities in the first quarter of 2016, and the role of related rule of origin (RoO. Such an inquiry of the relationship between rule of origin and trade in goods aims at yielding evidence for decision-making on how to optimize the outcome of ChKFTA and China’s increasing number of FTAs as well.

ADR 95. European Agreement on International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road - 1995. Annexes A and B, ADR stipulations, index of materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ridder, K.

1995-01-01

The ADR, (authentic official name: Accord Europeen relatif au Transport des Marchandises Dangereuses par Route), after several amendments has been revised in 1994, the revised version having again be amended in January 1995 within the framework of the 12th amending ADR Ordinance. The amendments include: (1) revised versions of danger categories as listed in the following: category 3 (flammable, liquid substances), category 6.1 (toxic substances), 6.2 (contagious substances), and 8 (caustic substances). Some amendments are of special importance, as e.g. those in category 3 (reduction of ignition limit to 61 C) and 9 (introduction of water-polluting substances). (2) Stipulation requiring goods for dispatch to be labelled with the relevant UN number. (3) Abolition of the danger sign No. 6.1A (crossed-out spicule - hazardous to health), replaced by new sign for contagious goods (3 crescents). (4) New annex B.5 for classification numbers indicating tanks/homogenous bulk goods. The German GGVS and the ADR are now almost identical, the remaining minor deviations planned to be harmonised in 1997. However, as from January 1995 there is a difficult situation created by the effectiveness of the revised ADR, with the amended version of the German GGVS being delayed. (orig./HP) [de

Self-organizing weights for Internet AS-graphs and surprisingly simple routing metrics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Scholz, Jan Carsten; Greiner, Martin

2011-01-01

The transport capacity of Internet-like communication networks and hence their efficiency may be improved by a factor of 5–10 through the use of highly optimized routing metrics, as demonstrated previously. The numerical determination of such routing metrics can be computationally demanding...... to an extent that prohibits both investigation of and application to very large networks. In an attempt to find a numerically less expensive way of constructing a metric with a comparable performance increase, we propose a local, self-organizing iteration scheme and find two surprisingly simple and efficient...... metrics. The new metrics have negligible computational cost and result in an approximately 5-fold performance increase, providing distinguished competitiveness with the computationally costly counterparts. They are applicable to very large networks and easy to implement in today's Internet routing...

48 CFR 1542.1203 - Processing agreements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... MANAGEMENT CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION Novation and Change of Name Agreements 1542.1203 Processing agreements. (a... required documentary evidence. (2) Verify the accuracy of the list of contracts through the Contract...

Trade Agreements PTI

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Homeland Security — The objective of the Trade Agreements PTI is to advance CBP’s mission by working with internal and external stakeholders to facilitate legitimate trade and address...

African Regional Cooperative Agreement for Research, Development and Training Related to Nuclear Science and Technology. Third extension of agreement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2005-01-01

Pursuant to Article XIV.2, the Agreement 'shall continue in force for a period of five years from the date of its entry into force and may be extended for further periods of five years if the Government Parties so agree'. The third extension of the Agreement entered into force on 4 April 2005, upon expiration of the second extension of the Agreement and will remain in force for an additional period of five years, i.e. through 3 April 2010. As of 10 May 2005, 20 States have notified the Agency of their acceptance of the extension of the Agreement. The status list of the Agreement is reproduced in this document for the information of all Members. Members will be notified of further acceptances of the extension of the Agreement by addenda to this information circular

27 CFR 70.485 - Closing agreements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... Relating to Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Administrative Remedies § 70.485 Closing agreements... disadvantage through consummation of such an agreement. (b) Scope of closing agreement—(1) In general. A...

23 CFR 635.115 - Agreement estimate.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE Contract Procedures § 635.115 Agreement estimate. (a) Following the award of contract, an agreement estimate based on the contract unit prices and estimated quantities shall be...

Community-based naming agreement, familiarity, image agreement and visual complexity ratings among adult Indians

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

George Annamma

2007-01-01

Full Text Available The validity of Snodgrass and Vanderwart pictures and their norms derived on a western population on naming, familiarity, imageability and visual-complexity, is not established on a population with cultural background different from the west. We developed, therefore, a set of culturally appropriate pictures for and derived norms on Indians. Line-drawings of 103 concepts (67 from Snodgrass and Vanderwart, 36 new from 10 semantic-categories were normed on 200 community-based older subjects. Only 31% of the Snodgrass and Vanderwart items showed a concept-agreement on the Indians comparable to western norms. Naming, familiarity and image-agreement mutually correlated but not with visual-complexity. Low-education and rural-residence tended to reduced concept-agreement. The output of this study will be of use in national and cross-national studies.

Depreciation of public goods in spatial public goods games

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Dong-Mei; Zhuang, Yong; Li, Yu-Jian; Wang, Bing-Hong

2011-10-01

In real situations, the value of public goods will be reduced or even lost because of external factors or for intrinsic reasons. In this work, we investigate the evolution of cooperation by considering the effect of depreciation of public goods in spatial public goods games on a square lattice. It is assumed that each individual gains full advantage if the number of the cooperators nc within a group centered on that individual equals or exceeds the critical mass (CM). Otherwise, there is depreciation of the public goods, which is realized by rescaling the multiplication factor r to (nc/CM)r. It is shown that the emergence of cooperation is remarkably promoted for CM > 1 even at small values of r, and a global cooperative level is achieved at an intermediate value of CM = 4 at a small r. We further study the effect of depreciation of public goods on different topologies of a regular lattice, and find that the system always reaches global cooperation at a moderate value of CM = G - 1 regardless of whether or not there exist overlapping triangle structures on the regular lattice, where G is the group size of the associated regular lattice.

Agreement of Anterior Segment Parameters Obtained From Swept-Source Fourier-Domain and Time-Domain Anterior Segment Optical Coherence Tomography.

Science.gov (United States)

Chansangpetch, Sunee; Nguyen, Anwell; Mora, Marta; Badr, Mai; He, Mingguang; Porco, Travis C; Lin, Shan C

2018-03-01

To assess the interdevice agreement between swept-source Fourier-domain and time-domain anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT). Fifty-three eyes from 41 subjects underwent CASIA2 and Visante OCT imaging. One hundred eighty-degree axis images were measured with the built-in two-dimensional analysis software for the swept-source Fourier-domain AS-OCT (CASIA2) and a customized program for the time-domain AS-OCT (Visante OCT). In both devices, we examined the angle opening distance (AOD), trabecular iris space area (TISA), angle recess area (ARA), anterior chamber depth (ACD), anterior chamber width (ACW), and lens vault (LV). Bland-Altman plots and intraclass correlation (ICC) were performed. Orthogonal linear regression assessed any proportional bias. ICC showed strong correlation for LV (0.925) and ACD (0.992) and moderate agreement for ACW (0.801). ICC suggested good agreement for all angle parameters (0.771-0.878) except temporal AOD500 (0.743) and ARA750 (nasal 0.481; temporal 0.481). There was a proportional bias in nasal ARA750 (slope 2.44, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.95-3.18), temporal ARA750 (slope 2.57, 95% CI: 2.04-3.40), and nasal TISA500 (slope 1.30, 95% CI: 1.12-1.54). Bland-Altman plots demonstrated in all measured parameters a minimal mean difference between the two devices (-0.089 to 0.063); however, evidence of constant bias was found in nasal AOD250, nasal AOD500, nasal AOD750, nasal ARA750, temporal AOD500, temporal AOD750, temporal ARA750, and ACD. Among the parameters with constant biases, CASIA2 tends to give the larger numbers. Both devices had generally good agreement. However, there were proportional and constant biases in most angle parameters. Thus, it is not recommended that values be used interchangeably.

From Lithium-Ion to Sodium-Ion Batteries: Advantages, Challenges, and Surprises.

Science.gov (United States)

Nayak, Prasant Kumar; Yang, Liangtao; Brehm, Wolfgang; Adelhelm, Philipp

2018-01-02

Mobile and stationary energy storage by rechargeable batteries is a topic of broad societal and economical relevance. Lithium-ion battery (LIB) technology is at the forefront of the development, but a massively growing market will likely put severe pressure on resources and supply chains. Recently, sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) have been reconsidered with the aim of providing a lower-cost alternative that is less susceptible to resource and supply risks. On paper, the replacement of lithium by sodium in a battery seems straightforward at first, but unpredictable surprises are often found in practice. What happens when replacing lithium by sodium in electrode reactions? This review provides a state-of-the art overview on the redox behavior of materials when used as electrodes in lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries, respectively. Advantages and challenges related to the use of sodium instead of lithium are discussed. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Parent-child agreement on the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning (BRIEF) in a community sample of adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Egan, Kaitlyn N; Cohen, L Adelyn; Limbers, Christine

2018-03-06

Despite its widespread use, a minimal amount is known regarding the agreement between parent and youth ratings of youth's executive functioning on the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning (BRIEF) in typically developing youth. The present study examined parent-child agreement on the BRIEF with a community sample of adolescents and their parents. Ninety-seven parent-child dyads (M age  = 13.91 years; SD = .52) completed the BRIEF self- and parent-report forms and a demographic questionnaire. Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICCs) and paired sample t-tests were used to evaluate agreement between self- and parent-reports on the BRIEF. Total sample ICCs indicated moderate to good parent-child agreement (0.46-0.68). Parents from the total sample reported significantly higher mean T-scores for their adolescents on Inhibit, Working Memory, Planning/Organization, Behavioral Regulation Index (BRI), Metacognition Index, and Global Executive Composite. Differences were found in regard to gender and race/ethnicity: ICCs were higher between parent-girl dyads on the scales that comprise the BRI than between parent-boy dyads. Parent-adolescent ICCs were also higher for adolescents who self-identified as White in comparison to those who identified as Non-White/Mixed Race on Emotional Control. These findings suggest gender and racial/ethnic differences should be considered when examining parent-child agreement on the BRIEF in typically developing adolescents.

Nonperturbative Results for Yang-Mills Theories

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sannino, Francesco; Schechter, Joseph

2010-01-01

Some non perturbative aspects of the pure SU(3) Yang-Mills theory are investigated assuming a specific form of the beta function, based on a recent modification by Ryttov and Sannino of the known one for supersymmetric gauge theories. The characteristic feature is a pole at a particular value....... Assuming the usual QCD value one finds it to be 1.67 GeV, which is in surprisingly good agreement with a quenched lattice calculation. A similar calculation is made for the supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory where the corresponding beta function is considered to be exact....

The Orientation of Gastric Biopsy Samples Improves the Inter-observer Agreement of the OLGA Staging System.

Science.gov (United States)

Cotruta, Bogdan; Gheorghe, Cristian; Iacob, Razvan; Dumbrava, Mona; Radu, Cristina; Bancila, Ion; Becheanu, Gabriel

2017-12-01

Evaluation of severity and extension of gastric atrophy and intestinal metaplasia is recommended to identify subjects with a high risk for gastric cancer. The inter-observer agreement for the assessment of gastric atrophy is reported to be low. The aim of the study was to evaluate the inter-observer agreement for the assessment of severity and extension of gastric atrophy using oriented and unoriented gastric biopsy samples. Furthermore, the quality of biopsy specimens in oriented and unoriented samples was analyzed. A total of 35 subjects with dyspeptic symptoms addressed for gastrointestinal endoscopy that agreed to enter the study were prospectively enrolled. The OLGA/OLGIM gastric biopsies protocol was used. From each subject two sets of biopsies were obtained (four from the antrum, two oriented and two unoriented, two from the gastric incisure, one oriented and one unoriented, four from the gastric body, two oriented and two unoriented). The orientation of the biopsy samples was completed using nitrocellulose filters (Endokit®, BioOptica, Milan, Italy). The samples were blindly examined by two experienced pathologists. Inter-observer agreement was evaluated using kappa statistic for inter-rater agreement. The quality of histopathology specimens taking into account the identification of lamina propria was analyzed in oriented vs. unoriented samples. The samples with detectable lamina propria mucosae were defined as good quality specimens. Categorical data was analyzed using chi-square test and a two-sided p value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. A total of 350 biopsy samples were analyzed (175 oriented / 175 unoriented). The kappa index values for oriented/unoriented OLGA 0/I/II/III and IV stages have been 0.62/0.13, 0.70/0.20, 0.61/0.06, 0.62/0.46, and 0.77/0.50, respectively. For OLGIM 0/I/II/III stages the kappa index values for oriented/unoriented samples were 0.83/0.83, 0.88/0.89, 0.70/0.88 and 0.83/1, respectively. No case of OLGIM IV

Unfolding the phenomenon of inter-rater agreement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Slaug, Bjørn; Schilling, Oliver; Helle, Tina

2011-01-01

Objective: The overall objective was to unfold the phenomenon of inter-rater agreement: to identify potential sources of variation in agreement data and to explore how they can be statistically accounted for. The ultimate aim was to propose recommendations for in-depth examination of agreement, i...

75 FR 78245 - Notice of Agreements Filed

Science.gov (United States)

2010-12-15

... Mexico, Panama, Jamaica, Colombia, and the Far East, including China, Hong Kong, and Korea. Agreement No.../CSAV Slot Swap Agreement. Parties: China Shipping Container Lines Co. Ltd., China Shipping Container... trade between United States ports and ports in China and Vietnam. Agreement No.: 201208-001. Title...

75 FR 14159 - Notice of Agreements Filed

Science.gov (United States)

2010-03-24

... parties to exchange slots in the trade between U.S. East Coast ports and ports in Turkey. Agreement No.: 201048-005. Title: Lease and Operating Agreement between Philadelphia Regional Port Authority and... FEDERAL MARITIME COMMISSION Notice of Agreements Filed The Commission hereby gives notice of the...

Relationship and inter observer agreement of tooth and face forms in a Saudi subpopulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Habib, Syed Rashid; Shiddi, Ibraheem Al; Al-Sufyani, Mohammed D; Althobaiti, Fahad A

2015-04-01

To determine the relationship of tooth form with the face form by different observers and further investigate the inter observer agreement on tooth forms, face forms, their relationship among male Saudis. A comparative cross-sectional study. Department of Prosthodontics, College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, KSA, from February till August 2013. Ninety four male participants aged 18 - 35 years were randomly recruited for the study. Full-face and anterior teeth (intraoral) digital photographs in the frontal plane were recorded. The outline tracings of the face and the tooth were obtained using Autocad (version 2010) software. The outline of the tooth was enlarged proportionately, without altering the length to width ratio to fit the face outline. The outlines were then evaluated visually by 6 prosthodontists and results were tabulated. The most common type of face form (49.65%) and tooth form (56.38%) was square tapering. Using the visual method, a good relationship (31.41%), moderate relationship (35.31%), weak relationship (19.68%) and no relationship (13.65%) between the tooth form and face form was found by the observers. Overall kappa for inter observer agreement on face form, tooth form and their relationship was 0.24, 0.17 and 0.26 respectively. The kappa values showed a fair agreement between the observers. The study results indicated that there was no highly defined relationship between the tooth form and face form in the studied Saudi subpopulation. A fair agreement was found between the observers for classifying the tooth forms, face froms and their relationship.

Agency Agreements Process Champion Support Intern

Science.gov (United States)

Miksa, Ember

2018-01-01

This document will provide information on the 2018 Spring semester NIFS Intern who represented the Office of Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) as a Reimbursable Accountant at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). This intern supported the Agency Agreements Process Champions and Team Lead, Susan Kroskey, Sandy Massey and Mecca Murphy, with major initiatives to advance the KSC OCFO's vision of creating and innovating healthy financial management practices that maximize the value of resources entrusted to NASA. These initiatives include, but are not limited to: updating the Agency Guidance and NASA Procedural Guidance 9090.1 Agreements, implementing a new budget structure to be utilized across all centers, submitting a Call Request (CRQ) to enhance non-federal customer reporting, initiating a discussion to incorporate a 3-year funding program for NASA agreements, and undertaking the Office of Inspector General (OIG) Audit. In support of these initiatives, this intern identified technical methods to enhance and reduce the workload of financial processes for reimbursable and non-reimbursable agreements, prepared reports in support of accounting functions, and performed administrative work and miscellaneous technical tasks in support of the OCFO as requested. In conclusion of the internship, the intern will become knowledgeable on reimbursable accounting, reimbursable policy, types of reimbursable agreements, the agreements process, estimated pricing reports, and the roles and responsibilities of the Financial Accounting and Financial Services offices.

12 CFR 533.6 - Disclosure of covered agreements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... REPORTING OF CRA-RELATED AGREEMENTS § 533.6 Disclosure of covered agreements. (a) Applicability date. This... mailing the agreement. (7) Use of CRA public file by insured depository institution or affiliate. An... institution's CRA public file if the institution makes the agreement available in accordance with the...

African Regional Cooperative Agreement for Research, Development and Training Related to Nuclear Science and Technology. Fourth Extension of Agreement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-01-01

Pursuant to Article XIV.2, the Agreement 'shall continue in force for a period of five years from the date of its entry into force and may be extended for further periods of five years if the Government Parties so agree'. The fourth extension of the Agreement entered into force on 4 April 2010, upon expiration of the third extension of the Agreement and will remain in force for an additional period of five years, i.e. through 3 April 2015. As of 30 April 2010, 8 States have notified the Agency of their acceptance of the extension of the Agreement. The status list of the Agreement is reproduced in this document for the information of all Members [es

Fifth Supply Agreement. Agreement for the Transfer of Low Enriched Uranium for a Research Reactor in Romania

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

The text of the Fifth Supply Agreement among the Government of Romania, the Government of the United States of America and the International Atomic Energy Agency for the Transfer of Low Enriched Uranium for a Research Reactor in Romania is reproduced in this document for the information of all Members of the Agency. The Agency's Board of Governors approved the text of the Agreement on 20 November 2003, which was signed by the authorized representatives of Romania and the United States, and by the Director General of the IAEA, on 24 November 2003. Pursuant to Article V of the Agreement, the Agreement entered into force on 24 November 2003, upon signature by the representatives of Romania, the United States and the Director General of the IAEA

The Danish agreements on energy efficiency

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1999-05-01

CO{sub 2}-taxes for industry were introduced in 1993. In 1996, the taxes were increased and an agreement system for energy-intensive companies was implemented. The main purpose of the agreement system has been to allow energy-intensive industry to pay a reduced tax rate, while at the same time improving energy efficiency. The evaluation of the energy tax system has shown that it has been possible to establish an energy tax that has led to a decrease in CO{sub 2}-emissions, without causing a decrease in the competitiveness of trade, industry and services. The agreement system has been a very important element in that it has improved energy efficiency in companies in which taxes would not have been a realistic instrument. In the case of companies with agreements, several studies suggest improvements of approximately 2.7% of the total energy use per agreement (three years). The three sources (concrete projects, special investigation and energy management) contribute approximately one third of this reduction each. The values for special investigation and energy management must be used with great care. It is also predicted that a continuation of the agreement system by 2005, relative to a situation without agreements, can lead to a decrease in CO{sub 2}-emissions corresponding to 6% of total emissions in industry and trade. Of this reduction, the highest amount is due to energy management. However, maintaining the positive effects of energy management systems will require that companies give higher priority to the managerial part of the system and not only focus on energy accounting. Some companies have argued that it is costly to carry out energy audits and to have to audits verified. Therefore, consideration should be given to possibilities for reducing the administrative costs of entering into an agreement, without this causing reduced efforts to save energy. A means of achieving these objectives could be to reduce the requirement for energy audits and verification

45 CFR 162.915 - Trading partner agreements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Trading partner agreements. 162.915 Section 162... REQUIREMENTS ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS General Provisions for Transactions § 162.915 Trading partner agreements. A covered entity must not enter into a trading partner agreement that would do any of the...

10 CFR 603.1340 - Technology investment agreement.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Technology investment agreement. 603.1340 Section 603.1340 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY (CONTINUED) ASSISTANCE REGULATIONS TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT AGREEMENTS Definitions of Terms Used in this Part § 603.1340 Technology investment agreement. A TIA is a special type of...

24 CFR 266.15 - Risk-Sharing Agreement.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY RISK-SHARING PROGRAM FOR INSURED AFFORDABLE MULTIFAMILY PROJECT LOANS General Provisions § 266.15 Risk-Sharing Agreement. Execution of a Risk-Sharing Agreement is a prerequisite to... 24 Housing and Urban Development 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Risk-Sharing Agreement. 266.15...

7 CFR 3550.205 - Delinquency workout agreements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Delinquency workout agreements. 3550.205 Section 3550... Delinquency workout agreements. Borrowers with past due accounts may be offered the opportunity to avoid liquidation by entering into a delinquency workout agreement that specifies a plan for bringing the account...

22 CFR 120.21 - Manufacturing license agreement.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Manufacturing license agreement. 120.21 Section... DEFINITIONS § 120.21 Manufacturing license agreement. An agreement (e.g., contract) whereby a U.S. person grants a foreign person an authorization to manufacture defense articles abroad and which involves or...

22 CFR 120.22 - Technical assistance agreement.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Technical assistance agreement. 120.22 Section... DEFINITIONS § 120.22 Technical assistance agreement. An agreement (e.g., contract) for the performance of a... license to manufacture defense articles. Assembly of defense articles is included under this section...

25 CFR 225.33 - Assignment of minerals agreements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Assignment of minerals agreements. 225.33 Section 225.33 Indians BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ENERGY AND MINERALS OIL AND GAS, GEOTHERMAL, AND SOLID MINERALS AGREEMENTS Minerals Agreements § 225.33 Assignment of minerals agreements. An...

12 CFR 346.6 - Disclosure of covered agreements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... POLICY DISCLOSURE AND REPORTING OF CRA-RELATED AGREEMENTS § 346.6 Disclosure of covered agreements. (a... exceed the cost of copying and mailing the agreement. (7) Use of CRA public file by insured depository... the insured depository institution's CRA public file if the institution makes the agreement available...

Optional contributions have positive effects for volunteering public goods games

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Qi-Qing; Li, Zhen-Peng; Fu, Chang-He; Wang, Lai-Sheng

2011-11-01

Public goods (PG) games with the volunteering mechanism are referred to as volunteering public goods (VPG) games, in which loners are introduced to the PG games, and a loner obtains a constant payoff but not participating the game. Considering that small contributions may have positive effects to encourage more players with bounded rationality to contribute, this paper introduces optional contributions (high value or low value) to these typical VPG games-a cooperator can contribute a high or low payoff to the public pools. With the low contribution, the logit dynamics show that cooperation can be promoted in a well mixed population comparing to the typical VPG games, furthermore, as the multiplication factor is greater than a threshold, the average payoff of the population is also enhanced. In spatial VPG games, we introduce a new adjusting mechanism that is an approximation to best response. Some results in agreement with the prediction of the logit dynamics are found. These simulation results reveal that for VPG games the option of low contributions may be a better method to stimulate the growth of cooperation frequency and the average payoff of the population.

The Text of the Safeguards Agreement relating to the Bilateral Agreement between India and the United States of America

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1971-01-01

The text of the Safeguards Agreement between the Agency, the Government of India and the Government of the United States of America providing for the Agency to apply safeguards in relation to the agreement between those Governments concerning co-operation in the civil uses of atomic energy, is reproduced in part I of this document for the information of all Members. The text of the co-operation agreement is reproduced in part II. The Safeguards Agreement entered into force on 27 January 1971

The Text of the Safeguards Agreement relating to the Bilateral Agreement between India and the United States of America

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1971-09-03

The text of the Safeguards Agreement between the Agency, the Government of India and the Government of the United States of America providing for the Agency to apply safeguards in relation to the agreement between those Governments concerning co-operation in the civil uses of atomic energy, is reproduced in part I of this document for the information of all Members. The text of the co-operation agreement is reproduced in part II. The Safeguards Agreement entered into force on 27 January 1971.

5 CFR 575.210 - Service agreement requirements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... agreement must specify that if an employee does not successfully complete the training before the service... employee. (c) The service agreement must specify the total amount of the incentive, the method of paying... incentive, an agency must require the employee to sign a written service agreement to complete a specified...

Good government and good governance: record keeping in a ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This article addresses the challenges that arise when record keeping systems are advocated as a necessary under-pinning for good government and good governance. The relationship between record keeping and accountability is analysed and contextualised in relation to transparency and Freedom of Information ...

Name agreement in picture naming : An ERP study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cheng, Xiaorong; Schafer, Graham; Akyürek, Elkan G.

Name agreement is the extent to which different people agree on a name for a particular picture. Previous studies have found that it takes longer to name low name agreement pictures than high name agreement pictures. To examine the effect of name agreement in the online process of picture naming, we

Depreciation of public goods in spatial public goods games

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shi, Dong-Mei; Zhuang, Yong; Li, Yu-Jian; Wang, Bing-Hong

2011-01-01

In real situations, the value of public goods will be reduced or even lost because of external factors or for intrinsic reasons. In this work, we investigate the evolution of cooperation by considering the effect of depreciation of public goods in spatial public goods games on a square lattice. It is assumed that each individual gains full advantage if the number of the cooperators n c within a group centered on that individual equals or exceeds the critical mass (CM). Otherwise, there is depreciation of the public goods, which is realized by rescaling the multiplication factor r to (n c /CM)r. It is shown that the emergence of cooperation is remarkably promoted for CM > 1 even at small values of r, and a global cooperative level is achieved at an intermediate value of CM = 4 at a small r. We further study the effect of depreciation of public goods on different topologies of a regular lattice, and find that the system always reaches global cooperation at a moderate value of CM = G − 1 regardless of whether or not there exist overlapping triangle structures on the regular lattice, where G is the group size of the associated regular lattice

Agreement between Cochrane Neonatal reviews and clinical practice guidelines for newborns in Denmark a cross sectional study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brok, Jesper; Greisen, Gorm; Madsen, Lars P

2007-01-01

for disagreement were numerous; usage of evidence with higher bias risks than randomised trials in guidelines development was the most frequent one. Cochrane reviews were rarely (10%) used during guideline development. Nine guideline topics (5%) revealed diversity among the departments' recommendations....... CONCLUSIONS: There is good agreement between Cochrane reviews and neonatal guidelines in Denmark. The disagreements are few. Cochrane reviews were rarely used for guideline development. Guideline heterogeneity among neonatal departments seems moderate....

29 CFR 215.6 - The Model Agreement.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 29 Labor 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false The Model Agreement. 215.6 Section 215.6 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor OFFICE OF LABOR-MANAGEMENT STANDARDS, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR GUIDELINES, SECTION 5333(b), FEDERAL TRANSIT LAW § 215.6 The Model Agreement. The Model (or National) Agreement mentioned in paragraphs...

Form 6 - gas balancing agreement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1990-01-01

In 1988, a special Committee of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation undertook a project to draft a model from gas balancing agreement. This project was initiated at the request of a number of Foundation members who felt that a model form gas balancing agreement would facilitate the negotiation of operating agreement, since gas balancing issues had become sticking points in the process. The Committee was composed of attorneys representing a wide cross-section of the oil and gas industry including both major and independent oil companies, production companies with interstate pipeline affiliates, and private practitioners. The Committee attempted to address the more controversial issues in gas balancing with optional provisions in the Form. To facilitate the negotiation process, the number of optional provisions was minimized. This form may be used as an Appendix to the new A.A.P.L. Form 610-1989 Model Form Operating Agreement. This book includes provision of this Form which are: Ownership of gas production; Balancing of production accounts; Cash balancing upon depletion; Deliverability tests; Nominations; Statements; Payment of taxes; Operating expenses; Overproducing allowable; Payment of leasehold burdens; Operator's liability; Successors and assigns; Audits; Arbitration; and Operator's fees

Level of Agreement and Factors Associated With Discrepancies Between Nationwide Medical History Questionnaires and Hospital Claims Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yeon-Yong Kim

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Objectives The objectives of this study were to investigate the agreement between medical history questionnaire data and claims data and to identify the factors that were associated with discrepancies between these data types. Methods Data from self-reported questionnaires that assessed an individual’s history of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, stroke, heart disease, and pulmonary tuberculosis were collected from a general health screening database for 2014. Data for these diseases were collected from a healthcare utilization claims database between 2009 and 2014. Overall agreement, sensitivity, specificity, and kappa values were calculated. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with discrepancies and was adjusted for age, gender, insurance type, insurance contribution, residential area, and comorbidities. Results Agreement was highest between questionnaire data and claims data based on primary codes up to 1 year before the completion of self-reported questionnaires and was lowest for claims data based on primary and secondary codes up to 5 years before the completion of self-reported questionnaires. When comparing data based on primary codes up to 1 year before the completion of self-reported questionnaires, the overall agreement, sensitivity, specificity, and kappa values ranged from 93.2 to 98.8%, 26.2 to 84.3%, 95.7 to 99.6%, and 0.09 to 0.78, respectively. Agreement was excellent for hypertension and diabetes, fair to good for stroke and heart disease, and poor for pulmonary tuberculosis and dyslipidemia. Women, younger individuals, and employed individuals were most likely to under-report disease. Conclusions Detailed patient characteristics that had an impact on information bias were identified through the differing levels of agreement.

Level of Agreement and Factors Associated With Discrepancies Between Nationwide Medical History Questionnaires and Hospital Claims Data.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Yeon-Yong; Park, Jong Heon; Kang, Hee-Jin; Lee, Eun Joo; Ha, Seongjun; Shin, Soon-Ae

2017-09-01

The objectives of this study were to investigate the agreement between medical history questionnaire data and claims data and to identify the factors that were associated with discrepancies between these data types. Data from self-reported questionnaires that assessed an individual's history of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, stroke, heart disease, and pulmonary tuberculosis were collected from a general health screening database for 2014. Data for these diseases were collected from a healthcare utilization claims database between 2009 and 2014. Overall agreement, sensitivity, specificity, and kappa values were calculated. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with discrepancies and was adjusted for age, gender, insurance type, insurance contribution, residential area, and comorbidities. Agreement was highest between questionnaire data and claims data based on primary codes up to 1 year before the completion of self-reported questionnaires and was lowest for claims data based on primary and secondary codes up to 5 years before the completion of self-reported questionnaires. When comparing data based on primary codes up to 1 year before the completion of self-reported questionnaires, the overall agreement, sensitivity, specificity, and kappa values ranged from 93.2 to 98.8%, 26.2 to 84.3%, 95.7 to 99.6%, and 0.09 to 0.78, respectively. Agreement was excellent for hypertension and diabetes, fair to good for stroke and heart disease, and poor for pulmonary tuberculosis and dyslipidemia. Women, younger individuals, and employed individuals were most likely to under-report disease. Detailed patient characteristics that had an impact on information bias were identified through the differing levels of agreement.

The Text of the Safeguards Transfer Agreement relating to the Bilateral Agreement between Pakistan and Canada

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1969-11-13

The text of the Safeguard Transfer Agreement between Pakistan, Canada and the Agency relating to the agreement of 14 May 1959 between the two Governments for co-operation in the peaceful uses of atomic energy is reproduced in this document for the information of all Members.

The Text of a Safeguards Transfer Agreement relating to the Bilateral Agreement between France and Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1973-01-01

The text of a Safeguards Transfer Agreement between the Agency, France and Japan relating to the agreement of 26 February 1972 between the two Governments for co-operation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy is reproduced in this document for the information or all Members

The Text of the Safeguards Transfer Agreement relating to the Bilateral Agreement between Pakistan and Canada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1969-01-01

The text of the Safeguard Transfer Agreement between Pakistan, Canada and the Agency relating to the agreement of 14 May 1959 between the two Governments for co-operation in the peaceful uses of atomic energy is reproduced in this document for the information of all Members

The Text of the Safeguards Transfer Agreement relating to the Bilateral Agreement between Canada and Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1966-01-01

The text of the Safeguards Transfer Agreement between the Agency, Canada and Japan relating to the agreement between those Governments concerning co-operation in the promotion and development of the peaceful uses of atomic energy is reproduced in this document for the information of all Members

The Text of a Safeguards Transfer Agreement relating to the Bilateral Agreement between France and Japan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1973-01-31

The text of a Safeguards Transfer Agreement between the Agency, France and Japan relating to the agreement of 26 February 1972 between the two Governments for co-operation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy is reproduced in this document for the information or all Members.

47 CFR 73.1650 - International agreements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... Agreements for the Broadcasting Service in Region 2: (i) MF Broadcasting 535-1605 kHz, Rio de Janeiro, 1981. (ii) MF Broadcasting 1605-1705 kHz, Rio de Janeiro, 1988. (3) Bi-lateral Agreements between the United...

The text of the third agreement to extend the 1987 Regional Co-operative Agreement for Research, Development and Training Related to Nuclear Science and Technology (RCA). Extension of agreement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-01-01

The text of the Third Agreement to Extend the 1987 Regional Co-operative Agreement for Research, Development and Training Related to Nuclear Science and Technology, 'the 1987 RCA', is reproduced herein for the information of all Members. Pursuant to Article 1 of the Third Agreement to Extend the 1987 Regional Co-operative Agreement, the 1987 RCA shall continue in force for a further period of five years with effect from 12 June 2002, i.e., through 11 June 2007. As of 15 May 2002, notifications of acceptance had been received by the Director General from the Governments of Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Viet Nam. The latest status list is attached

Power sales contract/energy supply agreements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wallace, R.B.

1999-01-01

The factors involved in negotiating power purchase/sales arrangements in Ontario's newly deregulated electricity market are described, and the ways in which they will evolve in the future are predicted. Indications are that the trends that will govern the changes in the electric power industry will be the same as those that existed in the natural gas industry. For this reason, a comparative evaluation of purchase and sale agreements in the two industries was provided. Traditional power purchase arrangements, including requests for proposals, the seller's response, the memorandum of understanding, and the principal terms of a traditional bilateral power purchase agreement were examined. The author predicted that over time, and probably fairly fast in power pool jurisdictions, the traditional power purchase agreement will give way to the concept of energy as a pure commodity and to a standard form of agreement. 1 appendix

14 CFR 372.24 - Surety bond, depository agreement, escrow agreement.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... (2) which is listed in Best's Insurance Reports (fire and casualty) with a general policyholders... surety to any charter participant shall not exceed the charter operator's applicable tariff fare. Such... not exceed the charter operator's applicable tariff fare; and (ii) Enter into an agreement with a bank...

12 CFR 207.5 - Related agreements considered a single agreement.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... RESERVE SYSTEM DISCLOSURE AND REPORTING OF CRA-RELATED AGREEMENTS (REGULATION G) § 207.5 Related... of the CRA. (b) Substantively related contracts. All written contracts to which an insured depository... each such contract is in fulfillment of the CRA, if the contracts were negotiated in a coordinated...

"Good mothering" or "good citizenship"?

Science.gov (United States)

Porter, Maree; Kerridge, Ian H; Jordens, Christopher F C

2012-03-01

Umbilical cord blood banking is one of many biomedical innovations that confront pregnant women with new choices about what they should do to secure their own and their child's best interests. Many mothers can now choose to donate their baby's umbilical cord blood (UCB) to a public cord blood bank or pay to store it in a private cord blood bank. Donation to a public bank is widely regarded as an altruistic act of civic responsibility. Paying to store UCB may be regarded as a "unique opportunity" to provide "insurance" for the child's future. This paper reports findings from a survey of Australian women that investigated the decision to either donate or store UCB. We conclude that mothers are faced with competing discourses that force them to choose between being a "good mother" and fulfilling their role as a "good citizen." We discuss this finding with reference to the concept of value pluralism.

7 CFR 3021.620 - Cooperative agreement.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) OFFICE OF THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) Definitions § 3021.620 Cooperative agreement. Cooperative agreement means an award of financial assistance...

Production sharing agreements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-01-01

This paper, which was presented at the Production Sharing Agreement seminar, discusses economic rent, negotiations, trends in fiscal system development, and concessionary systems. Production sharing contracts, risk service contracts, joint ventures and the global market are examined. (UK)

RETHINKING THE ROLE OF CLINICAL TRIAL DATA IN INTERNATIONAL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW: THE CASE FOR A PUBLIC GOODS APPROACH

Science.gov (United States)

REICHMAN, JEROME H.

2009-01-01

This article describes the growth and consequences of new intellectual property rights given to pharmaceutical developers, and it advocates treating clinical trials as a public good. Although the soaring cost of clinical trials is well known and discussed, too little attention is given to the underlying rationale for allowing drug developers to recoup their costs through the new intellectual property rights provided in multilateral, regional, and bilateral agreements. Known in the US as “market exclusivity” and in Europe as “data exclusivity,” these rights prohibit would-be generic producers from obtaining regulatory approval based on the original producers’ undisclosed test data. Market and data exclusivity is codified in US and European domestic law as well as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and, to a lesser degree, the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). Market and data exclusivity is binding an increasing number of developing countries via Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), which hinder developing countries from manufacturing generic drugs. At a minimum, negotiators should replace the norm of exclusive control over data with a liability rule, or take and pay rule, in which generic manufacturers can use original manufacturers’ clinical trial data in exchange for reasonable compensation. A more fundamental solution requires questioning the status quo of proprietary clinical trial data. The conventional wisdom is that market and data exclusivity, and drug developers’ consequent ability to limit competition from generics above and beyond patent protection, are a necessary incentive for drug developers to fund ever more expensive clinical trials. Clinical trial data, however, are public goods that will be undersupplied and over protected so long as private actors provide them. Moreover, manufacturers have an incentive to present clinical trial data so that they support regulatory approval at the

RETHINKING THE ROLE OF CLINICAL TRIAL DATA IN INTERNATIONAL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW: THE CASE FOR A PUBLIC GOODS APPROACH.

Science.gov (United States)

Reichman, Jerome H

2009-01-01

This article describes the growth and consequences of new intellectual property rights given to pharmaceutical developers, and it advocates treating clinical trials as a public good. Although the soaring cost of clinical trials is well known and discussed, too little attention is given to the underlying rationale for allowing drug developers to recoup their costs through the new intellectual property rights provided in multilateral, regional, and bilateral agreements. Known in the US as "market exclusivity" and in Europe as "data exclusivity," these rights prohibit would-be generic producers from obtaining regulatory approval based on the original producers' undisclosed test data. Market and data exclusivity is codified in US and European domestic law as well as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and, to a lesser degree, the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). Market and data exclusivity is binding an increasing number of developing countries via Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), which hinder developing countries from manufacturing generic drugs. At a minimum, negotiators should replace the norm of exclusive control over data with a liability rule, or take and pay rule, in which generic manufacturers can use original manufacturers' clinical trial data in exchange for reasonable compensation. A more fundamental solution requires questioning the status quo of proprietary clinical trial data. The conventional wisdom is that market and data exclusivity, and drug developers' consequent ability to limit competition from generics above and beyond patent protection, are a necessary incentive for drug developers to fund ever more expensive clinical trials. Clinical trial data, however, are public goods that will be undersupplied and over protected so long as private actors provide them. Moreover, manufacturers have an incentive to present clinical trial data so that they support regulatory approval at the expense of public

The Text of the Safeguards Transfer Agreement relating to the Bilateral Agreement between Denmark and the United Kingdom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1965-01-01

The text of the Safeguards Transfer Agreement between the Agency, Denmark and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland relating to the agreement between those Governments concerning co-operation in the promotion and development of the peaceful uses of atomic energy is reproduced in this document for the information of all Members. This Safeguards Transfer Agreement was signed and entered into force on 23 June 1965

The Text of the Safeguards Transfer Agreement relating to the Bilateral Agreement between Denmark and the United Kingdom

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1965-07-23

The text of the Safeguards Transfer Agreement between the Agency, Denmark and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland relating to the agreement between those Governments concerning co-operation in the promotion and development of the peaceful uses of atomic energy is reproduced in this document for the information of all Members. This Safeguards Transfer Agreement was signed and entered into force on 23 June 1965.

48 CFR 18.118 - Trade agreements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Trade agreements. 18.118 Section 18.118 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION CONTRACTING METHODS AND CONTRACT TYPES EMERGENCY ACQUISITIONS Available Acquisition Flexibilities 18.118 Trade agreements...

The Carriage of goods by Sea Act 1971 (Commencement, Order 1977)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1977-01-01

This Order (S.I. No 981) brought into force the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1971 giving effect at internal level to the 1968 Protocol to the International Convention on Certain Rules of Law relating to Bills of Lading 1924 (the Hague Rules). The 1971 Act introduces an amendment to the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 which lays down, as does the Paris Convention, that none of its provisions shall affect the operation of international transport agreements in force in the United Kingdom, and in particular, the Hague Rules. As of now, and in accordance with the 1968 Protocol, the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 no longer reserves application of the Hague Rules. (NEA) [fr

A framework for nuclear agreement and verification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ali, A.

1991-01-01

This chapter assesses the prospects for a nuclear agreement between India and Pakistan. The chapter opens with a review of past and present political environments of the two countries. The discussion proceeds to describe the linkage of global arms control agreements, prospects for verification of a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, the role of nuclear power in any agreements, the intrusiveness of verification, and possible post-proliferation agreements. Various monitoring and verification technologies are described (mainly satellite oriented). The chapter concludes with an analysis of the likelihood of persuading India and Pakistan to agree to a nonproliferation arrangement

Agreement among readers on what is relevant in self-help psychology books.

Science.gov (United States)

Forest, James J; Del Ben, Kevin; Toews, Stuart B

2003-12-01

It was hypothesized that text marking in self-help psychology books would indicate that readers agree on which pages and lines contain relevant information. Previously owned copies of two self-help book titles (n=48, n=38), all with marked text, were collected from second-hand book stores and scored for line and page marking. Chi-squares for goodness-of-fit yielded significant differences between observed and chance agreement in marking behavior. Intraclass and KR-20 correlations were significantly different from zero, suggesting that readers agreed on what information was relevant and irrelevant. Actual users of self-help books may have similar standards because of cultural values, social group relations, or common problem experiences.

FFTF Authorization Agreement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DAUTEL, W.A.

2000-01-01

The purpose of the Authorization Agreement is to serve as a mechanism whereby the U.S. Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office (RL) and Fluor Hanford (FH) jointly clarify and agree to key conditions for conducting work safely and efficiently

76 FR 77998 - Market Access Agreement

Science.gov (United States)

2011-12-15

... FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION Market Access Agreement AGENCY: Farm Credit Administration. ACTION: Notice of approval of the Draft Second Amended and Restated Market Access Agreement. SUMMARY: The Farm Credit Administration (FCA) announces that it has approved the Draft Second Amended and Restated Market...

Low agreement among 24 doctors using the Neer-classification; only moderate agreement on displacement, even between specialists

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brorson, S; Bagger, J; Sylvest, A

2002-01-01

Twenty-four orthopaedic surgeons classified 42 pairs of radiographs according to the Neer system for proximal humeral fractures. Mean kappa value for inter-observer agreement was 0.27 (95% CI 0.26-0.28) with no clinically significant difference between orthopaedic residents ( n=9), fellows ( n=6)......) and specialists ( n=9). Mean kappa for agreement of displacement versus non-displacement was 0.41 (95% CI 0.39-0.43) overall, and 0.50 (95% CI 0.45-0.56) within the specialist group. The agreement found in our study is unsatisfactory from a clinical perspective....

The Rules of Origin of Goods as an Instrument of the State Foreign Trade Policy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Storozhchuk Volodymyr M.

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The article is aimed at analyzing the types of rules of origin of goods, existing in the international practice, and approaches to assess their impact on the foreign trade flows. The article considers two types of rules for determining the country of origin of goods used in the international practice: non-preferential and preferential. The main characteristics of the non-preferential rules of origin and peculiarities of their application in Ukraine are defined and systematized. The article defines the priority functions of the customs tariff, subject to the use of non-preferential rules of origin of goods, to which are classified: protective, fiscal, and regulatory. The criteria used in the non-preferential rules of origin of goods have been considered. It has been substantiated that the priority functions of the customs tariff subject to the use of preferential rules of origin of goods are the integration and progressive functions. The criteria used in the preferential rules of origin of goods have been considered. Based on the results of the analysis of the rules of origin of goods, it has been substantiated that their use can be considered as a restrictive or an incentive tool of the State foreign trade policy. It has been shown that of special importance, in the context of Ukraine’s integration into the global value chains, is the goods’ acquisition of the status of preferential origin in accordance with the criterion of diagonal cumulation within the framework of the Regional Pan-Euro-Med Convention, which requires Ukraine to conclude a number of bilateral agreements with the identical preferential rules of origin of goods.

Old Star's "Rebirth" Gives Astronomers Surprises

Science.gov (United States)

2005-04-01

Astronomers using the National Science Foundation's Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope are taking advantage of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch an old star suddenly stir back into new activity after coming to the end of its normal life. Their surprising results have forced them to change their ideas of how such an old, white dwarf star can re-ignite its nuclear furnace for one final blast of energy. Sakurai's Object Radio/Optical Images of Sakurai's Object: Color image shows nebula ejected thousands of years ago. Contours indicate radio emission. Inset is Hubble Space Telescope image, with contours indicating radio emission; this inset shows just the central part of the region. CREDIT: Hajduk et al., NRAO/AUI/NSF, ESO, StSci, NASA Computer simulations had predicted a series of events that would follow such a re-ignition of fusion reactions, but the star didn't follow the script -- events moved 100 times more quickly than the simulations predicted. "We've now produced a new theoretical model of how this process works, and the VLA observations have provided the first evidence supporting our new model," said Albert Zijlstra, of the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom. Zijlstra and his colleagues presented their findings in the April 8 issue of the journal Science. The astronomers studied a star known as V4334 Sgr, in the constellation Sagittarius. It is better known as "Sakurai's Object," after Japanese amateur astronomer Yukio Sakurai, who discovered it on February 20, 1996, when it suddenly burst into new brightness. At first, astronomers thought the outburst was a common nova explosion, but further study showed that Sakurai's Object was anything but common. The star is an old white dwarf that had run out of hydrogen fuel for nuclear fusion reactions in its core. Astronomers believe that some such stars can undergo a final burst of fusion in a shell of helium that surrounds a core of heavier nuclei such as carbon and oxygen. However, the

African Regional Co-operative Agreement for research, development and training related to nuclear science and technology. Extension of agreement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-01-01

Pursuant to Article XIV.2, the Agreement ''shall continue in force for a period of five years from the data of its entry into force and may be extended for further periods of five years if the Government Parties so agree''. The extension of the Agreement entered into force on 4 April 1995, upon expiration of the original Agreement

African Regional Co-operative Agreement for research, development and training related to nuclear science and technology. Extension of agreement

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-05-10

Pursuant to Article XIV.2, the Agreement ``shall continue in force for a period of five years from the data of its entry into force and may be extended for further periods of five years if the Government Parties so agree``. The extension of the Agreement entered into force on 4 April 1995, upon expiration of the original Agreement.

Irradiation of goods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lunt, R.E.

1987-01-01

Mechanical handling apparatus is adapted to handle goods, such as boxed fruit, during a process of irradiation, in palletized form. Palletized goods are loaded onto wheeled vehicles in a loading zone. Four vehicles are wheeled on a track into an irradiation zone via a door in a concrete shield. The vehicles are arranged in orthogonal relationship around a source of square section. Turntables are positioned at corners of the square shaped rail truck around the source selectively to turn the vehicles to align then with track sections. Mechanical manipulating devices are positioned in the track sections opposed to sides of the source. During irradiation, the vehicles and their palletized goods are cylically moved toward the source to offer first sides of the goods for irradiation and are retraced from the source and are pivoted through 90 0 to persent succeeding sides of the goods for irradiation

Would you be surprised if this patient died?: Preliminary exploration of first and second year residents' approach to care decisions in critically ill patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Armstrong John D

2003-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background How physicians approach decision-making when caring for critically ill patients is poorly understood. This study aims to explore how residents think about prognosis and approach care decisions when caring for seriously ill, hospitalized patients. Methods Qualitative study where we conducted structured discussions with first and second year internal medicine residents (n = 8 caring for critically ill patients during Medical Intensive Care Unit Ethics and Discharge Planning Rounds. Residents were asked to respond to questions beginning with "Would you be surprised if this patient died?" Results An equal number of residents responded that they would (n = 4 or would not (n = 4 be surprised if their patient died. Reasons for being surprised included the rapid onset of an acute illness, reversible disease, improving clinical course and the patient's prior survival under similar circumstances. Residents reported no surprise with worsening clinical course. Based on the realization that their patient might die, residents cited potential changes in management that included clarifying treatment goals, improving communication with families, spending more time with patients and ordering fewer laboratory tests. Perceived or implied barriers to changes in management included limited time, competing clinical priorities, "not knowing" a patient, limited knowledge and experience, presence of diagnostic or prognostic uncertainty and unclear treatment goals. Conclusions These junior-level residents appear to rely on clinical course, among other factors, when assessing prognosis and the possibility for death in severely ill patients. Further investigation is needed to understand how these factors impact decision-making and whether perceived barriers to changes in patient management influence approaches to care.

Designing Comprehensive Partnering Agreements : An Introduction to the Partnering Agreement Scorecard

NARCIS (Netherlands)

S.M. Pfisterer (Stella); N. Payandeh (Nasim); S. Reid

2014-01-01

textabstractAgreements are a key mechanism of partnerships because their role is to govern interactions. They help partnerships become more effective by allowing partners to cope with relational, performance and situational risks that characterise inter-organisational relationships. The

Agreement between clinical estimation and a new quantitative analysis by Photoshop software in fundus and angiographic image variables.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramezani, Alireza; Ahmadieh, Hamid; Azarmina, Mohsen; Soheilian, Masoud; Dehghan, Mohammad H; Mohebbi, Mohammad R

2009-12-01

To evaluate the validity of a new method for the quantitative analysis of fundus or angiographic images using Photoshop 7.0 (Adobe, USA) software by comparing with clinical evaluation. Four hundred and eighteen fundus and angiographic images of diabetic patients were evaluated by three retina specialists and then by computing using Photoshop 7.0 software. Four variables were selected for comparison: amount of hard exudates (HE) on color pictures, amount of HE on red-free pictures, severity of leakage, and the size of the foveal avascular zone (FAZ). The coefficient of agreement (Kappa) between the two methods in the amount of HE on color and red-free photographs were 85% (0.69) and 79% (0.59), respectively. The agreement for severity of leakage was 72% (0.46). In the two methods for the evaluation of the FAZ size using the magic and lasso software tools, the agreement was 54% (0.09) and 89% (0.77), respectively. Agreement in the estimation of the FAZ size by the lasso magnetic tool was excellent and was almost as good in the quantification of HE on color and on red-free images. Considering the agreement of this new technique for the measurement of variables in fundus images using Photoshop software with the clinical evaluation, this method seems to have sufficient validity to be used for the quantitative analysis of HE, leakage, and FAZ size on the angiograms of diabetic patients.

7 CFR 1424.5 - Agreement process.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Agreement process. 1424.5 Section 1424.5 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE LOANS, PURCHASES, AND OTHER OPERATIONS BIOENERGY PROGRAM § 1424.5 Agreement process. (a) To...

Optimalisasi Penerapan Prinsip Good Governance Bidang Akademik dalam Upaya Mewujudkan Good University Governance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hery Harjono Muljo

2014-05-01

Full Text Available This study wants to know and understand whether good governance principles have been well applied as well as the factors influencing optimization of the implementation of good governance principles on the academic field in an effort to realize good university governance in Bina Nusantara University. The study aims to evaluate the implementation of good governance principles on the academic field, know the factors that affect the implementation of good governance principles on the academic field, and improve and develop the academic areas in accordance with good governance principles in order to maximize the role of Bina Nusantara University as Good University Governance. The approach model used to understand the implementation of good governance principles was a model to educational institution using the 8 principles, namely academic freedom, shared governance, clear rights and responsibilities, selection at merit, financial stability, accountability, regular testing of standards, and the importance of close cooperation. Research used qualitative method with descriptive analysis, by analyzing the factors influencing optimization of the implementation of good governance principles, particularly on academic areas. The results achieved there were 18 factors that affect the optimization of the implementation of good governance principles. Then the factors affected the optimization ofthe implementation of good governance principles the most are operational centralization and academic decentralization which were the novelty of this study.

New Danish Company Act on Shareholders' Agreements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Werlauff, Erik

2011-01-01

) organizational rights, (2) financial rights, and (3) rights of disposal, or in plainer words, the corporate (1) power, (2) money, and (3) exit. If a shareholders’ agreement is thoroughly kept and respected by all parties, both in the way they vote at general assemblies and in the way they act when wishing....... The substantial elements in many agreements are clauses on (1) voting for board candidates, (2) voting for dividends of certain proportions, and (3) first refusal rights, respectively, call options for shares in the company. Such clauses are at the very roots of corporate law, dealing with the shareholders’ (1......Section 82 of the Danish Company Act, in force from 1 March 2010, provides that ‘Shareholders’ agreements are neither binding on the company nor on decisions taken by the general assembly’. This has far-reaching consequences for shareholders’ agreements, also for already existing agreements...

Statistical methods for assessing agreement between continuous measurements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sokolowski, Ineta; Hansen, Rikke Pilegaard; Vedsted, Peter

Background: Clinical research often involves study of agreement amongst observers. Agreement can be measured in different ways, and one can obtain quite different values depending on which method one uses. Objective: We review the approaches that have been discussed to assess the agreement between...... continuous measures and discuss their strengths and weaknesses. Different methods are illustrated using actual data from the `Delay in diagnosis of cancer in general practice´ project in Aarhus, Denmark. Subjects and Methods: We use weighted kappa-statistic, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC......), concordance coefficient, Bland-Altman limits of agreement and percentage of agreement to assess the agreement between patient reported delay and doctor reported delay in diagnosis of cancer in general practice. Key messages: The correct statistical approach is not obvious. Many studies give the product...

International environmental agreements

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Zeeuw, Aart

2015-01-01

The regulation of environmental externalities at the global level requires international agreements between sovereign states. Game theory provides an appropriate theoretical tool for analysis. However, game theory can result in a wide range of outcomes, and therefore it is important to discuss the

A longitudinal study of childhood social behaviour : Inter-informant agreement, inter-context agreement, and social preference linkages

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kuppens, Sofie; Grietens, Hans; Onghena, Patrick; Michiels, Daisy

2009-01-01

This study examined inter-informant agreement, inter-context agreement, and social preference linkages for social behaviour subtypes. On two occasions, data was collected on 600 children (8-10 years old) via mother, father, teacher, and peer reports. Informant reports converged within each context

WTO+ commitments on services in Asian PTAs: The role of regulatory homogeneity and goods trade complementarity

OpenAIRE

Shingal, Anirudh; Ro, Martin; Sauvé, Pierre

2018-01-01

This paper looks at the role of applied services regulations in accounting for WTO+ commitments on trade in services in preferential trade agreements (PTAs) among Asian economies. The empirical findings suggest that Asian trading dyads with regulatory frameworks that are more similar and more trade-restrictive tend to undertake higher levels of WTO+ commitments on services in their PTAs. There is also evidence in the results for such WTO+ commitments being driven by goods trade complementarit...

The Sicomines Agreement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jansson, Johanna

of the global political economy have shifted, and that China’s position as a foreign policy actor is now consolidated. Continuity, since the 2009 amendment of the agreement, which came about partly as a result of China’s ambitions to take up an active role in the International Monetary Fund (IMF......), was to the benefit of the policy preferences of the IMF and the World Bank. This case thus indicates that since China’s own aspirations are changeable, its emergence as an alternative development partner may not bring about any substantive change of direction for the DRC’s international relations. Furthermore......The Sicomines multibillion minerals-for-infrastructure deal was struck in 2007 between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and China. The paper investigates the drivers behind the original conception of the agreement, outlines the structure of the contract, analyses the dynamics at play during...

7 CFR 1290.8 - Grant agreements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Grant agreements. 1290.8 Section 1290.8 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (MARKETING AGREEMENTS... minimum the following: (1) The projects in the approved State plan. (2) Total amount of Federal financial...

7 CFR 1291.8 - Grant agreements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Grant agreements. 1291.8 Section 1291.8 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (MARKETING AGREEMENTS... minimum the following: (1) The projects in the approved State plan. (2) Total amount of Federal financial...

48 CFR 2131.109 - Advance agreements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 true Advance agreements. 2131... PRINCIPLES AND PROCEDURES Applicability 2131.109 Advance agreements. FAR 31.109 is applicable to FEGLI Program contracts, except that precontract costs and nonrecurring costs that exceed $100,000 will not be...

The nuclear agreement between the P5+1 and Iran: real progress?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sitt, Bernard

2013-11-01

The joint plan of action signed on the 24 November 2013 by the P5+1 and Iran is good news, and all the States parties to this document have expressed their satisfaction. This 'mutually agreed long-term comprehensive solution' - as it is repeatedly referred to in the preamble - constitutes a concrete materialisation of the softening of Iran's position since the election of Hassan Rouhani as the country's president (with the approval of the Supreme Guide Ali Khamenei). This plan of action was adopted after nearly eleven years of a crisis that was interrupted on one occasion only by the Paris Agreement signed on the 15 November 2004 between the EU3 and Iran (whose chief negotiator at the time was Hassan Rouhani), and which took a more radical turn following Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's accession to power. But this text, written in the conditional tense, is not strictly speaking an agreement. It is rather an agreement on the substance of a future agreement, albeit a precise and detailed one. Negotiations will be carried out over an initial six-month period, and a second phase will finalise a full agreement at most one year on from the adoption of the joint action plan. It is also underlined that this agreement will be an indivisible whole: nothing will be agreed unless everything is agreed. The limitations that Iran is prepared to accept on its nuclear programme would appear to be substantial: the retention of half of its stock of 20%-enriched uranium to produce fuel for the Teheran Research Reactor and the dilution of the other half to no more than 5%; no increase in its existing enrichment capabilities, but it will continue its research and development practices in this field; the suspension of the construction of the Arak heavy-water reactor; no reprocessing; and enhanced monitoring of nuclear activities by the IAEA. In exchange, no new sanctions or crude oil embargoes will be imposed; existing sanctions on petrochemical products and services will be suspended; and

Agreement between magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasonography in the classification of Schistosomal periportal fibrosis, according to Niamey's criteria

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Scortegagna Junior, Eduardo; Leao, Alberto Ribeiro de Souza; Sales, Danilo Moulin; Shigueoka, David Carlos; D' Ippolito, Giuseppe [Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo (UNIFESP-EPM), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil). Dept. of Imaging Diagnosis]. E-mail: E-mail: giuseppe_dr@uol.com.br; Santos, Jose Eduardo Mourao; Colleoni Neto, Ramiro [Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo (UNIFESP-EPM), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil); Aguiar, Luciane Aparecida Kopke de; Brant, Paulo Eugenio [Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo (UNIFESP-EPM), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil). Dept. of Gastroenterology; Borges, Durval Rosa [Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo (UNIFESP-EPM), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil). Dept. of Medicine

2008-01-15

Objective: To evaluate the reproducibility of magnetic resonance imaging and the agreement between ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging in the classification of periportal fibrosis in patients with schistosomiasis based on Niamey's qualitative criteria. Materials and methods: A prospective, double-blinded study was conducted between February 2005 and June 2006 with 20 patients (10 men and 10 women, with ages ranging between 24 and 60 years, mean age 42.7 years) diagnosed with schistosomiasis mansoni. Both ultrasound and magnetic resonance images were independently evaluated by two experienced observers. Interobserver agreement was evaluated for findings of periportal fibrosis on magnetic resonance images and in a comparison between magnetic resonance and ultrasound images. Results: The analysis of magnetic resonance images showed total interobserver agreement in 14 patients (70%). The comparison between ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging showed agreement between images in only six cases (30%) by observer 1, and in eight cases (40%) by observer 2. Conclusion: Magnetic resonance imaging presents a good reproducibility in the evaluation of periportal fibrosis in later stages of schistosomiasis, however, the correlation between magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasound is poor. (author)

Use of Nondisclosure Agreements in Medical Malpractice Settlements by a Large Academic Health Care System.

Science.gov (United States)

Sage, William M; Jablonski, Joseph S; Thomas, Eric J

2015-07-01

Honesty and transparency are essential aspects of health care, including in physicians' and hospitals' responses to medical error. Biases and habits associated with medical malpractice litigation, however, may work at cross-purposes with compassion in clinical care and with efforts to improve patient safety. To determine the frequency of nondisclosure agreements in medical malpractice settlements and the extent to which the restrictions in these agreements seem incompatible with good patient care. We performed a retrospective review of medical malpractice claim files, including settlement agreements, for claims closed before (fiscal year 2001-2002), during (fiscal year 2006-2007), and after (fiscal years 2009-2012) the implementation of tort reform in Texas. We studied The University of Texas System, which self-insures malpractice claims that involve 6000 physicians at 6 medical campuses in 5 cities. Nondisclosure provisions in medical malpractice settlements. During the 5 study years, The University of Texas System closed 715 malpractice claims and made 150 settlement payments. For the 124 cases that met our selection criteria, the median compensation paid by the university was $100,000 (range, $500-$1.25 million), and the mean compensation was $185,372. A total of 110 settlement agreements (88.7%) included nondisclosure provisions. All the nondisclosure clauses prohibited disclosure of the settlement terms and amount, 61 (55.5%) prohibited disclosure that the settlement had been reached, 51 (46.4%) prohibited disclosure of the facts of the claim, 29 (26.4%) prohibited reporting to regulatory agencies, and 10 (9.1%) prohibited disclosure by the settling physicians and hospitals, not only by the claimant. Three agreements (2.7%) included specific language that prohibited the claimant from disparaging the physicians or hospitals. The 50 settlement agreements signed after tort reform took full effect in Texas (2009-2012) had stricter nondisclosure provisions than the

Rater Agreement Indexes for Performance Assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Burry-Stock, Judith A.; And Others

1996-01-01

It is argued that interrater agreement is a psychometric property which is theoretically different from classic reliability. Formulas are presented to illustrate a set of algebraically equivalent rater agreement indices that are intended to provide educational and psychological researchers with a practical way to establish a measure of rater…

5 CFR 1655.12 - Loan agreement.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Loan agreement. 1655.12 Section 1655.12 Administrative Personnel FEDERAL RETIREMENT THRIFT INVESTMENT BOARD LOAN PROGRAM § 1655.12 Loan agreement. (a) Upon determining that a loan application meets the requirements of this part, the TSP record keeper...

Validation of good agricultural practices (GAP) on Minnesota vegetable farms.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamilton, Karin E; Umber, Jamie; Hultberg, Annalisa; Tong, Cindy; Schermann, Michele; Diez-Gonzalez, Francisco; Bender, Jeff B

2015-02-01

The United States Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture jointly published the "Guide to Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables," which is used as a basis for Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) audits. To understand barriers to incorporation of GAP by Minnesota vegetable farmers, a mail survey completed in 2008 was validated with visits to a subset of the farms. This was done to determine the extent to which actual practices matched perceived practices. Two hundred forty-six producers completed the mail survey, and 27 participated in the on-farm survey. Over 75% of the on-farm survey respondents produced vegetables on 10 acres or less and had 10 or fewer employees. Of 14 questions, excellent agreement between on-farm interviews and mail survey responses was observed on two questions, four questions had poor or slight agreement, and eight questions had no agreement. Ninety-two percent of respondents by mail said "they took measures to keep animals and pests out of packing and storage buildings." However, with the on-site visit only 45% met this requirement. Similarly, 81% of respondents by mail said "measures were taken to reduce the risk of wild and/or domestic animals entering into fruit and vegetable growing areas." With direct observation, 70% of farms actually had taken measures to keep animals out of the growing areas. Additional, on-farm assessments were done regarding employee hygiene, training, presence of animals, water sources, and composting practices. This validation study demonstrated the challenge of creating nonleading and concise questions that are not open to broad interpretation from the respondents. If mail surveys are used to assess GAP, they should include open-ended questions and ranking systems to better assess farm practices. To provide the most accurate survey data for educational purposes or GAP audits, on-farm visits are recommended.

Good and Bad Research Collaborations: Researchers' Views on Science and Ethics in Global Health Research.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Parker

Full Text Available There has been a dramatic rise in the scale and scope of collaborative global health research. A number of structural and scientific factors explain this growth and there has been much discussion of these in the literature. Little, if any, attention has been paid, however, to the factors identified by scientists and other research actors as important to successful research collaboration. This is surprising given that their decisions are likely to play a key role in the sustainability and effectiveness of global health research initiatives. In this paper, we report on qualitative research with leading scientists involved in major international research collaborations about their views on good and bad collaborations and the factors that inform their decision-making about joining and participating actively in research networks. We identify and discuss eight factors that researchers see as essential in judging the merits of active participation in global health research collaborations: opportunities for active involvement in cutting-edge, interesting science; effective leadership; competence of potential partners in and commitment to good scientific practice; capacity building; respect for the needs, interests and agendas of partners; opportunities for discussion and disagreement; trust and confidence; and, justice and fairness in collaboration. Our findings suggest that the sustainability and effectiveness of global health research collaborations has an important ethical or moral dimension for the research actors involved.

Good and Bad Research Collaborations: Researchers' Views on Science and Ethics in Global Health Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, Michael; Kingori, Patricia

2016-01-01

There has been a dramatic rise in the scale and scope of collaborative global health research. A number of structural and scientific factors explain this growth and there has been much discussion of these in the literature. Little, if any, attention has been paid, however, to the factors identified by scientists and other research actors as important to successful research collaboration. This is surprising given that their decisions are likely to play a key role in the sustainability and effectiveness of global health research initiatives. In this paper, we report on qualitative research with leading scientists involved in major international research collaborations about their views on good and bad collaborations and the factors that inform their decision-making about joining and participating actively in research networks. We identify and discuss eight factors that researchers see as essential in judging the merits of active participation in global health research collaborations: opportunities for active involvement in cutting-edge, interesting science; effective leadership; competence of potential partners in and commitment to good scientific practice; capacity building; respect for the needs, interests and agendas of partners; opportunities for discussion and disagreement; trust and confidence; and, justice and fairness in collaboration. Our findings suggest that the sustainability and effectiveness of global health research collaborations has an important ethical or moral dimension for the research actors involved.

Agreement Between an Automated Volume Breast Scanner and Handheld Ultrasound for Diagnostic Breast Examinations.

Science.gov (United States)

Barr, Richard G; DeVita, Robert; Destounis, Stamatia; Manzoni, Federica; De Silvestri, Annalisa; Tinelli, Carmine

2017-10-01

To compare the agreement and interobserver variability of diagnostic handheld ultrasound (US) and a single volume on an automated breast volume scanner (ABVS) and to determine whether there was a significant difference if the ABVS was used by a sonographer or mammographic technologist. Ninety patients scheduled for diagnostic US examinations were randomized to either handheld US or the ABVS first. The AVBS was randomized between a sonographer and a mammographic technologist performing the study. The studies were blinded, randomized, and read by 2 radiologists. The lesion with the highest Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) score was used in the analysis. Final diagnoses were made by core biopsy or follow-up for 2 years. Lesions included 9 malignant and 81 benign. The 90 patients had a mean age ± SD of 53.1 ± 16.3 years. The κ value for agreement between the ABVS and handheld US was 0.831 (95% confidence interval, 0.744-0.925), whereas the global agreement for a 7-point BI-RADS score was 0.488 (0.372-0.560). The agreement between the ABVS and handheld US was nearly the same when the ABVS was used by a mammographic technologist (κ = 0.858 [0.723-0.963]) or sonographer (κ = 0.803 [0.596-1.000]; P = .47). The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves for characterization by the ABVS were 0.91 (0.84-0.96) for reader 1 and 0.91 (0.83-0.96) for reader 2; those for handheld US were 0.91 (0.84-0.96) for reader 1 and 0.83 (0.74-0.90) for reader 2, with no statistical difference. The agreement based on pathologic images was κ = 0.831 (0.718-0.944); for handheld US, κ = 0.795 (0.623-0.967); and for the AVBS, κ = 0.869 (0.725-1.000). Performing a single-view diagnostic ABVS examination has good agreement with a handheld diagnostic US workup. There is no difference if the ABVS is used by a sonographer or mammographic technologist. © 2017 by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine.

Volatility Spillovers in Capesize Forward Freight Agreement Markets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaoxing Gong

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This paper is to investigate spillovers in the Capesize forward freight agreements (FFAs markets before and after the global financial crisis. The paper chooses four Capesize voyage routes FFAs (C3, C4, C5, and C7, two time-charter routes FFAs (BCIT/C average, BPI T/C average, and spot rates as research subjects, covering the periods 3 January 2006 to 24 December 2015. This paper applies Volatility Spillover Multivariate Stochastic Volatility (VS-MSV model to analyze volatility spillover effects and estimates the parameters via software of Bayesian inference using Gibbs Sampling (BUGS, the deviance information criterion (DIC used for goodness-of-fit model. The results suggest that there are volatility spillover effects in certain Capesize FFAs routes, and the effects from spot rates to FFAs take place before crisis, yet they are bilateral after crisis. With the development of shipping markets, the correlations between FFAs and spot rate are enhanced, and it seems that the effects depend on market information and traders’ behavior. So practitioners could make decisions according to the spillovers.

The text of a safeguards transfer agreement relating to a bilateral agreement between Argentina and the United States of America

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-06-01

The document reproduces the text of a safeguards transfer agreement of 28 August 1996 relating to a bilateral agreement between Argentina and the United States of America to suspend the application of safeguards pursuant to the agreement of 25 July 1969 between the Agency, Argentina and the United States of America in light of the provisions for the application of safeguards pursuant to the quadripartite safeguards agreement between Argentina, Brazil, the Brazilian-Argentine Agency for the Accounting and Control of Nuclear Materials and the IAEA. The Protocol entered into force on 13 January 1997

8 CFR 217.6 - Carrier agreements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 8 Aliens and Nationality 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Carrier agreements. 217.6 Section 217.6 Aliens and Nationality DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY IMMIGRATION REGULATIONS VISA WAIVER PROGRAM § 217... may notify a carrier of the existence of a basis for termination of a carrier agreement under this...

23 CFR 710.307 - Project agreement.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 23 Highways 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Project agreement. 710.307 Section 710.307 Highways FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RIGHT-OF-WAY AND ENVIRONMENT RIGHT-OF-WAY AND REAL ESTATE Project Development § 710.307 Project agreement. As a condition of Federal-aid, the STD...

48 CFR 252.225-7020 - Trade Agreements Certificate.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Trade Agreements... of Provisions And Clauses 252.225-7020 Trade Agreements Certificate. As prescribed in 225.1101(5), use the following provision: Trade Agreements Certificate (JAN 2005) (a) Definitions. Designated...

A Shocking Surprise in Stephan's Quintet

Science.gov (United States)

2006-01-01

This false-color composite image of the Stephan's Quintet galaxy cluster clearly shows one of the largest shock waves ever seen (green arc). The wave was produced by one galaxy falling toward another at speeds of more than one million miles per hour. The image is made up of data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and a ground-based telescope in Spain. Four of the five galaxies in this picture are involved in a violent collision, which has already stripped most of the hydrogen gas from the interiors of the galaxies. The centers of the galaxies appear as bright yellow-pink knots inside a blue haze of stars, and the galaxy producing all the turmoil, NGC7318b, is the left of two small bright regions in the middle right of the image. One galaxy, the large spiral at the bottom left of the image, is a foreground object and is not associated with the cluster. The titanic shock wave, larger than our own Milky Way galaxy, was detected by the ground-based telescope using visible-light wavelengths. It consists of hot hydrogen gas. As NGC7318b collides with gas spread throughout the cluster, atoms of hydrogen are heated in the shock wave, producing the green glow. Spitzer pointed its infrared spectrograph at the peak of this shock wave (middle of green glow) to learn more about its inner workings. This instrument breaks light apart into its basic components. Data from the instrument are referred to as spectra and are displayed as curving lines that indicate the amount of light coming at each specific wavelength. The Spitzer spectrum showed a strong infrared signature for incredibly turbulent gas made up of hydrogen molecules. This gas is caused when atoms of hydrogen rapidly pair-up to form molecules in the wake of the shock wave. Molecular hydrogen, unlike atomic hydrogen, gives off most of its energy through vibrations that emit in the infrared. This highly disturbed gas is the most turbulent molecular hydrogen ever seen. Astronomers were surprised not only by the turbulence

MRMC analysis of agreement studies

Science.gov (United States)

Gallas, Brandon D.; Anam, Amrita; Chen, Weijie; Wunderlich, Adam; Zhang, Zhiwei

2016-03-01

The purpose of this work is to present and evaluate methods based on U-statistics to compare intra- or inter-reader agreement across different imaging modalities. We apply these methods to multi-reader multi-case (MRMC) studies. We measure reader-averaged agreement and estimate its variance accounting for the variability from readers and cases (an MRMC analysis). In our application, pathologists (readers) evaluate patient tissue mounted on glass slides (cases) in two ways. They evaluate the slides on a microscope (reference modality) and they evaluate digital scans of the slides on a computer display (new modality). In the current work, we consider concordance as the agreement measure, but many of the concepts outlined here apply to other agreement measures. Concordance is the probability that two readers rank two cases in the same order. Concordance can be estimated with a U-statistic and thus it has some nice properties: it is unbiased, asymptotically normal, and its variance is given by an explicit formula. Another property of a U-statistic is that it is symmetric in its inputs; it doesn't matter which reader is listed first or which case is listed first, the result is the same. Using this property and a few tricks while building the U-statistic kernel for concordance, we get a mathematically tractable problem and efficient software. Simulations show that our variance and covariance estimates are unbiased.

48 CFR 16.702 - Basic agreements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... attachment the required and applicable clauses agreed upon in the basic agreement. A basic agreement is not a... Government to place future contracts or orders with the contractor; or (3) Be used in any manner to restrict... (including reference to each amendment) or by attachment. (2) The contracting officer shall include clauses...

75 FR 42445 - Notice of Agreement Filed

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-21

...)-523-5793 or [email protected] . Agreement No.: 012105. Title: SCM Lines Transportes/CCNI Agreement. Parties: Compania Chilena de Navegacion Interoceanica S.A. and SCM Lines Transportes Maritimos Sociedade...

77 FR 59064 - United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement

Science.gov (United States)

2012-09-26

...-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland... Trade Promotion Agreement entered into by the United States and the Republic of Colombia. DATES: Interim...-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (``CTPA'' or ``Agreement''), and on June 28, 2007, the Parties signed a...

76 FR 65365 - United States-OMAN Free Trade Agreement

Science.gov (United States)

2011-10-21

... Free Trade Agreement AGENCIES: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security... other customs-related provisions of the United States--Oman Free Trade Agreement entered into by the... the U.S.-Oman Free Trade Agreement (``OFTA'' or ``Agreement''). The provisions of the OFTA were...

78 FR 32356 - United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement

Science.gov (United States)

2013-05-30

...-Korea Free Trade Agreement AGENCIES: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security... treatment and other customs-related provisions of the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement entered into...-Korea Free Trade Agreement (hereinafter ``UKFTA'' or the ``Agreement''). On December 3, 2010, the United...

Agreements to work outside the scope of employment

OpenAIRE

Svobodová, Tereza

2010-01-01

Resumé / Summary Title: Agreements on work performed outside an employment relationship Agreements on work performed outside an employment relationship are a specific type of labour relationship allowing the employer to employ an employee on the basis of its actual needs. These agreements are unique in whole Europe; we may find them only in the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic, which is caused by the common development until the first half of 1990's. There are two kinds of these agreements ...

The common good

OpenAIRE

Argandoña, Antonio

2011-01-01

The concept of the common good occupied a relevant place in classical social, political and economic philosophy. After losing ground in the Modern age, it has recently reappeared, although with different and sometimes confusing meanings. This paper is the draft of a chapter of a Handbook; it explains the meaning of common good in the Aristotelian-Thomistic philosophy and in the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church; why the common good is relevant; and how it is different from the other uses...

Innovative approaches to structuring the transaction agreement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Droppo, D.L.

1999-01-01

Several issues regarding the negotiation and structuring of oil and gas property transactions are reviewed. They include: (1) areas of mutual exclusion covenants, (2) use of the short-form term sheet or letter agreement or the longer, more comprehensive formal offer or letter agreement, (3) coping with standard form purchase and sale agreements and property bid packages, (4) allocations of purchase price and their effect on ROFRs, (5) interim operations covenants, including maintaining insurance, contractual relationships and operational integrity, (6) structuring the transaction to facilitate unique financing requirements, (7) making effective use of adjustment clauses, (8) dealing with the cyclicity of commodity prices in the purchase and sale agreement, and (9) using escrow and trust arrangements to meet closure deadlines

12 CFR 207.6 - Disclosure of covered agreements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... DISCLOSURE AND REPORTING OF CRA-RELATED AGREEMENTS (REGULATION G) § 207.6 Disclosure of covered agreements... CRA public file by insured depository institution or affiliate. An insured depository institution and...) by placing a copy of the covered agreement in the insured depository institution's CRA public file if...

48 CFR 52.225-6 - Trade Agreements Certificate.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Trade Agreements....225-6 Trade Agreements Certificate. As prescribed in 25.1101(c)(2), insert the following provision: Trade Agreements Certificate (JAN 2005) (a) The offeror certifies that each end product, except those...

Listen; There's a Hell of a Good Universe Next Door; Let's Go

Science.gov (United States)

Rigby, Jane R.

2012-01-01

Scientific research is key to our nation's technological and economic development. One can attempt to focus research toward specific applications, but science has a way of surprising us. Think for example of the "charge-couple device", which was originally invented for memory storage, but became the modern digital camera that is used everywhere from camera phones to the Hubble Space Telescope. Using digital cameras, Hubble has taken pictures that reach back 12 billion light-years into the past, when the Universe was only 1-2 billion years old. Such results would never have been possible with the film cameras Hubble was originally supposed to use. Over the past two decades, Hubble and other telescopes have shown us much about the Universe -- many of these results are shocking. Our galaxy is swarming with planets; most of the mass in the Universe is invisible; and our Universe is accelerating ever faster and faster for unknown reasons. Thus, we live in a "hell of a good universe", to quote e.e. cummings, that we fundamentally don't understand. This means that you, as young scientists, have many worlds to discover

Forms of treaties for organization of innovative goods marketing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Veronika A. Per’kova

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Objective to identify various ways of innovative products marketing as well as the contract forms most demanded by innovative business that are used in innovative products marketing. Methods the methodological basis of the study was both general scientific methods systemic structural dialectical formal logical analysis synthesis deduction induction etc. methods the method of a philosophical nature and specific methods the method of dogmatic analysis interpretation of legal norms and legal structures formallegal structuralfunctional. Results it was stated that marketing is the final stage of innovation process which is commercializing the innovation i.e. obtains profit through its sales therefore it is important to allocate the contractual structures that mediate sales and distribution of innovative products. It is shown that using contractual forms of organization of innovative products sales the parties determine the marketing scheme for the produced goods and thereby create modify and stop the property relations of the parties thus the contracts whose ultimate goal of signing and execution is marketing of innovations can be identified as organizational by their legal nature. The contractual forms that mediate marketing of innovative products include the contracts of sale agency agreements presented in the Russian civil legislation by the contract of agency contract of commission and agency agreements as well as franchising agreements. Besides in the practice of civil turnover there are mixed contracts contracts based on the freedom principle and the connecting elements of several contractual structures. Mixed contracts include distributor contracts. Scientific novelty for the first time the article comprehensively defines contractual forms of organization of innovative products marketing depending on the means of its distribution and describes the legal nature of emerging relationships for innovations marketing. Practical significance the main

The influence of the surprising decay properties of element 108 on search experiments for new elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hofmann, S.; Armbruster, P.; Muenzenberg, G.; Reisdorf, W.; Schmidt, K.H.; Burkhard, H.G.; Hessberger, F.P.; Schoett, H.J.; Agarwal, Y.K.; Berthes, G.; Gollerthan, U.; Folger, H.; Hingmann, J.G.; Keller, J.G.; Leino, M.E.; Lemmertz, P.; Montoya, M.; Poppensieker, K.; Quint, B.; Zychor, I.

1986-01-01

Results of experiments to synthesize the heaviest elements are reported. Surprising is the high stability against fission not only of the odd and odd-odd nuclei but also of even isotopes of even elements. Alpha decay data gave an increasing stability of nuclei by shell effects up to 266 109, the heaviest known element. Theoretically, the high stability is explained by an island of nuclei with big quadrupole and hexadecapole deformations around Z=109 and N=162. Future experiments will be planned to prove the island character of these heavy nuclei. (orig.)

77 FR 71001 - Notice of Agreements Filed

Science.gov (United States)

2012-11-28

.... Agreement No.: 012187-000. Title: Siem Car Carrier Pacific AS/Hoegh Autoliners, Inc. Space Charter Agreement. Parties: Siem Car Carrier Pacific AS and Hoegh Autoliners, Inc. Filing Party: Ashley W. Craig Esq...

Flexibility of the Paris Agreement on climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lemoine-Schonne, Marion

2016-01-01

The Paris agreement lays the foundation for a new international legal regime on climate change. To achieve a universal agreement, many compromises were made, reflected in the international agreement by signs of flexibility. Firstly, at the temporal level, a 'periodic review mechanism of the National Contributions' is set up. Concerning then the means of implementation of the agreement, a new 'mechanism for sustainable development' has been introduced. This mechanism aims to facilitate the implementation of international legal obligations with a logic of cost-effectiveness, reproducing in this sense the market mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol. At least, at the normative level, flexibility of law is obvious in this agreement, in order to adapt norms to scientific knowledge evolution and political decisions

The practical outfall of DOE compliance agreements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, Leanne; Henrie, Gregory O.

1992-01-01

Perhaps the significant regulatory issue facing the Department of Energy (DOE or the Department) is the compliant treatment, storage, and disposal of mixed (radioactive and hazardous) waste. Since DOE'S By-Product Rulemaking in 1987, when the Department acknowledged that the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) applied to the hazardous component of mixed waste, DOE has repeatedly communicated to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and host States that, for mixed waste, DOE is not always able to strictly comply with RCRA standards and that bringing treatment on-line in an expeditious manner is proving very difficult. One of the most effective methods used between DOE and its regulators to address mixed waste management issues is the negotiation of compliance agreements. These agreements establish formal mile stones for bringing DOE sites into compliance. The milestones are not completed without overcoming technical roadblocks and a struggle for funding. However, agreements can establish technically attainable compliance methods that take into account the special problems radiation introduces into RCRA waste management. Compliance agreements help promote a cooperative relationship within the Department and between DOE and its regulators in that all parties have reached agreement and have a stake in attaining the same goal. Where agreements exist, mixed waste compliance efforts can proceed in a situation where all parties have a full understanding of each other's needs and expectations. (author)

76 FR 72408 - Notice of Agreements Filed

Science.gov (United States)

2011-11-23

.... Synopsis: The amendment adds Korea to the geographic scope of the agreement and removes some historical... agreement authorizes the parties to exchange space in the trade between China, Singapore, Vietnam and the U...

78 FR 6325 - Notice of Agreements Filed

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-30

... Enterprises LLC. Agreement No.: 012193-000. Title: Siem Car Carrier Pacific AS/Compania Sud Americana de Vapores S.A. Space Charter Agreement. Parties: Siem Car Carrier Pacific AS and Compania Sud Americana de...

The Text of the Safeguards Transfer Agreement relating to the Bilateral Agreement between Colombia and the United States of America

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1971-02-23

The text of the Safeguards Transfer Agreement between the Agency, Colombia and the United States of America relating to the agreement between the two Governments for co-operation in the promotion and development of the peaceful uses of atomic energy is reproduced in this document for the information of all Members. The Safeguards Transfer Agreement entered into force on 9 December 1970.

The Text of the Agreement of 8 July Extending the Asian Regional Co-Operative Project on Food Irradiation. Extension Agreement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1983-12-01

The text of the Agreement to Extend the Agreement of 23 May 1980 Establishing the Asian Regional Co-operative Project on Food Irradiation within the framework of the Regional Co-operative Agreement for Research, Development and Training Related to Nuclear Science and Technology of 1972, as extended in 1977 and in 1982, is reproduced herein for the information of all Members

The Text of the Safeguards Transfer Agreement relating to the Bilateral Agreement between Colombia and the United States of America

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1971-01-01

The text of the Safeguards Transfer Agreement between the Agency, Colombia and the United States of America relating to the agreement between the two Governments for co-operation in the promotion and development of the peaceful uses of atomic energy is reproduced in this document for the information of all Members. The Safeguards Transfer Agreement entered into force on 9 December 1970.

Return on research investments: personal good versus public good

Science.gov (United States)

Fox, P. A.

2017-12-01

For some time the outputs, i.e. what's produced, of publicly and privately funded research while necessary, are far from sufficient, when considering an overall return on (research) investment. At the present time products such as peer-reviewed papers, websites, data, and software are recognized by funders on timescales related to research awards and reporting. However, from a consumer perspective impact and value are determined at the time a product is discovered, accessed, assessed and used. As is often the case, the perspectives of producer and consumer communities can be distinct and not intersect at all. We contrast personal good, i.e. credit, reputation, with that of public good, e.g. interest, leverage, exploitation, and more. This presentation will elaborate on both the metaphorical and idealogical aspects of applying a "return on investment" frame for the topic of assessing "good".

7 CFR 3431.17 - VMLRP service agreement offer.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false VMLRP service agreement offer. 3431.17 Section 3431... Administration of the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program § 3431.17 VMLRP service agreement offer. The Secretary will make an offer to successful applicants to enter into an agreement with the Secretary to...

30 CFR 914.30 - State-Federal Cooperative Agreement.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Agreement (Agreement) to read as follows: Article I: Introduction, Purposes and Responsible Agencies A... provided to the DOR under this Agreement will be adjusted in accordance with Office of Management and.... The financial status report submitted pursuant to 30 CFR 735.26 will include a report of the amount of...

41 CFR 109-50.4801 - Equipment Gift Agreement.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Equipment Gift Agreement... 50-SPECIAL DOE DISPOSAL AUTHORITIES 50.48-Exhibits § 109-50.4801 Equipment Gift Agreement. (a) The following Equipment Gift Agreement format will be used to provide gifts of excess and/or surplus equipment...

Levitation of a magnet by an alternating magnetic field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gough, W; Hunt, M O; Summerskill, W S H

2013-01-01

An experiment is described in which a small strong cylindrical magnet is levitated by a vertical non-uniform alternating magnetic field. Surprisingly, no superimposed constant field is necessary, but the levitation can be explained when the vertical motion of the magnet is taken into account. The theoretical mean levitation force is (0.26 ± 0.06) N, which is in good agreement with the levitated weight of (0.239 ± 0.001) N. This experiment is suitable for an undergraduate laboratory, particularly as a final year project. Students have found it interesting, and it sharpens up knowledge of basic magnetism. (paper)

Flow within an evaporating glycerol-water binary droplet: Segregation by gravitational effects

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yaxing; Lv, Pengyu; Diddens, Christian; Wijshoff, Herman; Versluis, Michel; Lohse, Detlef

2017-11-01

The flow within an evaporating glycerol-water binary droplet with Bond number Bo PIV for both sessile and pendant droplets during evaporation process, which surprisingly show opposite radial flow directions - inward and outward, respectively. This observation clearly reveals that gravitational effects play a crucial role in controlling flow fields within the evaporating droplets. We theoretically analyse that this gravity-driven effect is caused by density gradients due to the local concentration difference of glycerol within the droplet triggered by different volatilities of the two components during evaporation. Finally, for confirmation, we numerically simulate the process, revealing a good agreement with experimental results.

Incomplete fissures in severe emphysematous patients evaluated with MDCT: Incidence and interobserver agreement among radiologists and pneumologists

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koenigkam-Santos, Marcel, E-mail: marcelk46@yahoo.com.br [Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University of Heidelberg, Neuenheimer Feld 110, 69120 Heidelberg (Germany); Chest Clinic (Thoraxklinik), University of Heidelberg, Amalienstr. 5,69126 Heidelberg (Germany); Department of Radiology, University Hospital of the School of Medicine of Ribeirao Preto - University of Sao Paulo, Av. Bandeirantes 3900, Campus Universitario Monte Alegre, 14048 900 Ribeirao Preto, SP (Brazil); Puderbach, Michael [Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University of Heidelberg, Neuenheimer Feld 110, 69120 Heidelberg (Germany); Chest Clinic (Thoraxklinik), University of Heidelberg, Amalienstr. 5,69126 Heidelberg (Germany); Gompelmann, Daniela; Eberhardt, Ralf; Herth, Felix [Chest Clinic (Thoraxklinik), University of Heidelberg, Amalienstr. 5,69126 Heidelberg (Germany); Kauczor, Hans-Ulrich [Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University of Heidelberg, Neuenheimer Feld 110, 69120 Heidelberg (Germany); Heussel, Claus Peter [Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University of Heidelberg, Neuenheimer Feld 110, 69120 Heidelberg (Germany); Chest Clinic (Thoraxklinik), University of Heidelberg, Amalienstr. 5,69126 Heidelberg (Germany)

2012-12-15

Objective: Pulmonary fissures completeness predicts efficacy in endobronchial valves (EBV) implantation, a new lobar volume reduction therapy for severe emphysematous patients. We assessed the incidence of incomplete fissures and the interobserver agreement in its evaluation with MDCT, in severe emphysematous patients prior to EBV implantation. Materials and Methods: Volumetric thin-section CT scans of 35 patients (CODP GOLD 3/4, heterogeneous emphysema) were retrospectively reviewed by 2 pneumologists, 1 general and 2 experienced chest radiologists, independently and blinded for treatment outcome, and the pulmonary fissures were classified as either complete or incomplete. Interobserver agreement was assessed with Kappa index (KI). Results: Agreement between all readers for the left oblique, right oblique and horizontal fissure was, respectively, moderate (KI = 0.53), fair (KI = 0.37) and moderate (KI = 0.42). Highest agreement (99/105 fissures) was observed among experienced radiologists, being for left oblique, right oblique and horizontal, respectively, almost perfect (KI = 0.79), perfect (KI = 1.0) and moderate (KI = 0.52). These 2 reviewers found that all of 35 patients had at least one incomplete fissure, with a proportion of incomplete fissures assigned as 74/65%, 85/85% and 91/88%, respectively for the left oblique, right oblique and horizontal fissures. Conclusions: Pneumologists and radiologists agreed fairly to moderately in fissures analysis, while the experienced chest radiologists reached the highest clinically adequate agreement of 94%. We believe that clinical routine visual analysis of the fissures integrity can be done with a good degree of confidence in MDCT images, and experienced readers might be required. Also, a higher than expected incidence of incomplete fissures was described in our studied population.

Incomplete fissures in severe emphysematous patients evaluated with MDCT: Incidence and interobserver agreement among radiologists and pneumologists

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koenigkam-Santos, Marcel; Puderbach, Michael; Gompelmann, Daniela; Eberhardt, Ralf; Herth, Felix; Kauczor, Hans-Ulrich; Heussel, Claus Peter

2012-01-01

Objective: Pulmonary fissures completeness predicts efficacy in endobronchial valves (EBV) implantation, a new lobar volume reduction therapy for severe emphysematous patients. We assessed the incidence of incomplete fissures and the interobserver agreement in its evaluation with MDCT, in severe emphysematous patients prior to EBV implantation. Materials and Methods: Volumetric thin-section CT scans of 35 patients (CODP GOLD 3/4, heterogeneous emphysema) were retrospectively reviewed by 2 pneumologists, 1 general and 2 experienced chest radiologists, independently and blinded for treatment outcome, and the pulmonary fissures were classified as either complete or incomplete. Interobserver agreement was assessed with Kappa index (KI). Results: Agreement between all readers for the left oblique, right oblique and horizontal fissure was, respectively, moderate (KI = 0.53), fair (KI = 0.37) and moderate (KI = 0.42). Highest agreement (99/105 fissures) was observed among experienced radiologists, being for left oblique, right oblique and horizontal, respectively, almost perfect (KI = 0.79), perfect (KI = 1.0) and moderate (KI = 0.52). These 2 reviewers found that all of 35 patients had at least one incomplete fissure, with a proportion of incomplete fissures assigned as 74/65%, 85/85% and 91/88%, respectively for the left oblique, right oblique and horizontal fissures. Conclusions: Pneumologists and radiologists agreed fairly to moderately in fissures analysis, while the experienced chest radiologists reached the highest clinically adequate agreement of 94%. We believe that clinical routine visual analysis of the fissures integrity can be done with a good degree of confidence in MDCT images, and experienced readers might be required. Also, a higher than expected incidence of incomplete fissures was described in our studied population.

77 FR 16838 - Notice of Agreements Filed

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-22

... the U.S. Pacific Coast and the Middle East and Asia. Agreement No.: 012161. Title: Siem Car Carrier Pacific AS/Hyundai Glovis Co., Ltd. Space Charter Agreement. Parties: Siem Car Carrier Pacific AS; Hyundai...

Intra- and Inter-rater Agreement of Superior Vena Cava Flow and Right Ventricular Outflow Measurements in Late Preterm and Term Neonates.

Science.gov (United States)

Mahoney, Liam; Fernandez-Alvarez, Jose R; Rojas-Anaya, Hector; Aiton, Neil; Wertheim, David; Seddon, Paul; Rabe, Heike

2018-02-24

To explore the intra- and inter-rater agreement of superior vena cava (SVC) flow and right ventricular (RV) outflow in healthy and unwell late preterm neonates (33-37 weeks' gestational age), term neonates (≥37 weeks' gestational age), and neonates receiving total-body cooling. The intra- and inter-rater agreement (n = 25 and 41 neonates, respectively) rates for SVC flow and RV outflow were determined by echocardiography in healthy and unwell late preterm and term neonates with the use of Bland-Altman plots, the repeatability coefficient, the repeatability index, and intraclass correlation coefficients. The intra-rater repeatability index values were 41% for SVC flow and 31% for RV outflow, with intraclass correlation coefficients indicating good agreement for both measures. The inter-rater repeatability index values for SVC flow and RV outflow were 63% and 51%, respectively, with intraclass correlation coefficients indicating moderate agreement for both measures. If SVC flow or RV outflow is used in the hemodynamic treatment of neonates, sequential measurements should ideally be performed by the same clinician to reduce potential variability. © 2018 by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine.

Good agreement between questionnaire and administrative databases for health care use and costs in patients with osteoarthritis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robertson M Clare

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Estimating costs is essential to the economic analysis of health care programs. Health care costs are often captured from administrative databases or by patient report. Administrative records only provide a partial representation of health care costs and have additional limitations. Patient-completed questionnaires may allow a broader representation of health care costs; however the validity and feasibility of such methods have not been firmly established. This study was conducted to assess the validity and feasibility of using a patient-completed questionnaire to capture health care use and costs for patients with osteoarthritis, and to compare the research costs of the data-capture methods. Methods We designed a patient questionnaire and applied it in a clinical trial. We captured equivalent data from four administrative databases. We evaluated aspects of the questionnaire's validity using sensitivity and specificity, Lin's concordance correlation coefficient (ρc, and Bland-Altman comparisons. Results The questionnaire's response rate was 89%. Acceptable sensitivity and specificity levels were found for all types of health care use. The numbers of visits and the majority of medications reported by patients were in agreement with the database-derived estimates (ρc > 0.40. Total cost estimates from the questionnaire agreed with those from the databases. Patient-reported co-payments agreed with administrative records with respect to GP office transactions, but not pharmaceutical co-payments. Research costs for the questionnaire-based method were less than one-third of the costs for the databases method. Conclusion A patient-completed questionnaire is feasible for capturing health care use and costs for patients with osteoarthritis, and data collected using it mostly agree with administrative databases. Caution should be exercised when applying unit costs and collecting co-payment data.

Paris Agreement on Climate Change: A Booster to Enable Sustainable Global Development and Beyond.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhore, Subhash Janardhan

2016-11-14

The global warming and its adverse effects on the atmosphere, the biosphere, the lithosphere, and the hydrosphere are obvious. Based on this fact, the international community is fully convinced that we need to fix the problem urgently for our survival, good health, and wellbeing. The aim of this article is to promote the awareness about the United Nations (UN) historic 'Paris Agreement on Climate Change (PACC)' which entered into-force on 4 November 2016. The expected impact of PACC on the global average temperature rise by 2100 as well as its role in enabling accomplishment of global sustainable development goals (SDGs) for the people and planet is also highlighted.

75 FR 69079 - Notice of Agreements Filed

Science.gov (United States)

2010-11-10

... World Liner Data Agreement. Parties: A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S; CMA CGM S.A.; Compania Chilena de... from ports in Mexico to the U.S. Atlantic ports. Agreement No.: 012110. Title: Trailer Bridge/HLUSA...

The Text of a Safeguards Transfer Agreement relating to a Bilateral Agreement between Argentina and the United States of America

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1969-01-01

The text of the Safeguards Transfer Agreement between the Agency, Argentina and the United States of America relating to the agreement of 25 June 1969 between the two Governments for co-operation in the promotion and development of the peaceful uses of atomic energy is reproduced in this document for the information of all Members. The Safeguards Transfer Agreement entered into force on 25 July 1969.

The Text of a Safeguards Transfer Agreement Relating to a Bilateral Agreement between Austria and the United States of America

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1971-05-18

The text of the Safeguards Transfer Agreement between the Agency, Austria and the United States of America relating to the agreement of 11 July 1969 between the two Governments for cooperation in the promotion and development of the peaceful uses of atomic energy is reproduced in this document for the information of all Members. The Safeguards Transfer Agreement entered into force on 24 January 1970.

The Text of the Safeguards Transfer Agreement Relating to the Bilateral Agreement between Iran and the United States of America

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1969-05-06

The text of the Safeguards Transfer Agreement between the Agency, Iran and the United States of America relating to the agreement between the two Governments for co-operation in the promotion and development of the peaceful uses of atomic energy is reproduced in this document for the information of all Members. Members will be informed of the entry into force of the Safeguards Transfer Agreement.

45 CFR 1640.4 - Violation of agreement.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... OF FEDERAL LAW TO LSC RECIPIENTS § 1640.4 Violation of agreement. (a) A violation of the agreement... negligence allowed the employee or board member to engage in the activities which led to the conviction or...

The Texts of the Agency's Headquarters Agreement with Austria and Related Agreements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1975-01-01

The texts of the Agreement between the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Republic of Austria that were in force on 30 September 1975 are reproduced in this document for the information of all Members of the Agency [ru

The Texts of the Agency's Headquarters Agreement with Austria and Related Agreements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1975-01-01

The texts of the Agreement between the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Republic of Austria that were in force on 30 September 1975 are reproduced in this document for the information of all Members of the Agency [fr

The Texts of the Agency's Headquarters Agreement with Austria and Related Agreements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1975-01-01

The texts of the Agreement between the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Republic of Austria that were in force on 30 September 1975 are reproduced in this document for the information of all Members of the Agency [es

A Comparative Study on Safeguards Implementation under Bilateral Nuclear Cooperation Agreements and the IAEA Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jeon, Jihye; Kim, Ki-Hyun; Lee, Young Wook [Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-10-15

A Nuclear Cooperation Agreement (NCA) requires several conditions, so-called obligations, on the items under the agreement such as: 1) peaceful use, 2) retransfer consent, 3) consent prior to reprocessing or enrichment and 4) safeguards and security. These obligations of the NCAs are imposed by the supplier country. The Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA) between the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and its member states require similar activities. However, there is a significant gap in nuclear material accountancy between safeguards implementation under the NCA and CSA. The difference of those two frameworks is compared herein, focusing on the unique features of the NCA safeguards and its implications are presented. In this study, the NCAs between the ROK and Canada, Australia and US were analyzed since each of them is one of the ROK’s major nuclear trading partners. The safeguards implementation under the NCA is usually specified in an Administrative Arrangement (AA) under the Agreement. The ROK has two AAs in force with Canada and Australia among 29 countries with NCA. Recently, the AA with Canada was revised in December 2015, with those concepts mentioned above. The AA with the US is currently under discussion. Cooperation in nuclear energy between two countries could be further enhanced through reliable implementation of the NCA undertakings. Taking into account the unique features of the NCA, we need to establish effective strategy for fulfilling the obligation under the Agreement.

Surprises from the resolution of operator mixing in N=4 SYM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bianchi, Massimo; Rossi, Giancarlo; Stanev, Yassen S.

2004-01-01

We reexamine the problem of operator mixing in N=4 SYM. Particular attention is paid to the correct definition of composite gauge invariant local operators, which is necessary for the computation of their anomalous dimensions beyond lowest order. As an application we reconsider the case of operators with naive dimension Δ 0 =4, already studied in the literature. Stringent constraints from the resummation of logarithms in power behaviours are exploited and the role of the generalized N=4 Konishi anomaly in the mixing with operators involving fermions is discussed. A general method for the explicit (numerical) resolution of the operator mixing and the computation of anomalous dimensions is proposed. We then resolve the order g 2 mixing for the 15 (purely scalar) singlet operators of naive dimension Δ 0 =6. Rather surprisingly we find one isolated operator which has a vanishing anomalous dimension up to order g 4 , belonging to an apparently long multiplet. We also solve the order g 2 mixing for the 26 operators belonging to the representation 20' of SU(4). We find an operator with the same one-loop anomalous dimension as the Konishi multiplet

The myriad challenges of the Paris Agreement

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Dann; Allen, Myles R.; Hall, Jim W.; Muller, Benito; Rajamani, Lavanya; Le Quéré, Corinne

2018-05-01

The much awaited and intensely negotiated Paris Agreement was adopted on 12 December 2015 by the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The agreement set out a more ambitious long-term temperature goal than many had anticipated, implying more stringent emissions reductions that have been under-explored by the research community. By its very nature a multidisciplinary challenge, filling the knowledge gap requires not only climate scientists, but the whole Earth system science community, as well as economists, engineers, lawyers, philosophers, politicians, emergency planners and others to step up. To kick start cross-disciplinary discussions, the University of Oxford's Environmental Change Institute focused its 25th anniversary conference upon meeting the challenges of the Paris Agreement for science and society. This theme issue consists of review papers, opinion pieces and original research from some of the presentations within that meeting, covering a wide range of issues underpinning the Paris Agreement. This article is part of the theme issue `The Paris Agreement: understanding the physical and social challenges for a warming world of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels'.

Recognizing and regulating cannabis as a temptation good.

Science.gov (United States)

Caulkins, Jonathan P

2017-04-01

The U.S. appears to be on a path toward legalizing cannabis on the alcohol model, which is to say allowing for-profit corporations to produce, sell, and promote its use. Even after national legalization, it will take decades to observe the full effects on industry structure and behavior, or on use and misuse. However, we should not be surprised if after markets have matured and consumption patterns stabilized, legalization increases acute cannabis intoxication in the U.S. by 40 billion hours per year. This increase in use will be the most important cannabis-specific effect of legalization. The bulk of it will be consumption by daily and near-daily users, and it is possible that roughly half will be by people who meet the medical criteria for substance use disorder. Much resulting harms will be borne by the users, and their families, and the harms are not primarily "medical", at least not in the narrow sense. Hence, legalization replaces the current problems of crime and black markets not so much with a medical or public health problem, but rather with a problem of potentially excessive consumption of a "temptation good" whose acute effects are performance degrading, not performance-enhancing. As legalization removes formal social controls, it might be prudent for society to develop stronger informal social norms - akin to "friends don't let friends drive drunk" - to protect the public and more importantly the users themselves from the performance degradation of bouts of nearly perpetual intoxication. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

"Everyone just ate good food": 'Good food' in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Science.gov (United States)

Hasnain, Saher

2018-08-01

In recent years, consumption of alternatively produced foods has increased in popularity in response to the deleterious effects of rapidly globalising and industrialised food systems. Concerns over food safety in relation to these changes may result from elevated levels of risk and changing perceptions associated with food production practices. This paper explores how the middle class residents of Islamabad, Pakistan, use the concept of 'good food' to reconnect themselves with nature, changing food systems, and traditional values. The paper also demonstrates how these ideas relate to those of organic, local, and traditional food consumption as currently used in more economically developed states in the Global North. Through research based on participant observation and semi-structured interviews, this paper illustrates that besides price and convenience, purity, freshness, association with specific places, and 'Pakistani-ness' were considered as the basis for making decisions about 'good food'. The results show that while individuals are aware of and have some access to imported organic and local food, they prefer using holistic and culturally informed concepts of 'good food' instead that reconnect them with food systems. I argue that through conceptualisations of 'good food', the urban middle class in Islamabad is reducing their disconnection and dis-embeddedness from nature, the food systems, and their social identities. The paper contributes to literature on food anxieties, reconnections in food geography, and 'good food' perceptions, with a focus on Pakistan. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Texts of the Agency's Agreements with the Republic of Austria. A further supplemental agreement to the Headquarters Agreement. Supplemental Agreement pursuant to Section 4(b) of the Agreement between the Republic of Austria and the International Atomic Energy Agency regarding the Headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

The text of the exchange of Notes, dated 6 July 1995 and 29 September 1995 respectively, between the IAEA and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Austria regarding Section 4(b) of the Headquarters Agreement which allows the IAEA 'to establish and operate such additional radio and other telecommunications facilities as may be specified by supplemental agreement ....' is reproduced in this document for the information of all Members of the Agency

“Goodness itself must change” – Anthroponomy in an age of socially-caused, planetary environmental change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bendik-Keymer Jeremy David

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Given the reality of socially-caused, planetary-scaled, environmental change, how – if at all – should our ethical concepts change? It has been a hallmark of environmental literature in recent years to insist that they should or even must. It will be argued that, yes, our ethical concepts should change by exploring the changes needed for the core ethical concept of goodness. Goodness, it will be argued, must change to reflect a change in priority from personal intentions to the right relation between an agent and the collective to which he/she belongs. This relation, which is called herein the civic relation, centers on taking responsibility for the structure which produces unintentional, aggregate effects at the level of planetary ecology. Examples include a fossil fuel-based infrastructure, isolationist nationalism that undercuts international climate agreements to decarbonize energy, and the lack of a political forum to respect the rights of future generations. More generally, goodness according to the civic relation must express an anthroponomic orientation to life – a sustained, life-long attempt to build the practice of the collective self-regulation of humankind as a whole. Of the many consequences of this meta-ethical change in goodness, one is that it addresses the banality of evil today.

Transport of hazardous goods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1989-01-01

The course 'Transport of hazardous goods' was held in Berlin in November 1988 in cooperation with the Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung. From all lecturs, two are recorded separately: 'Safety of tank trucks - requirements on the tank, development possibiities of active and passive safety' and 'Requirements on the transport of radioactive materials - possible derivations for other hazardous goods'. The other lectures deal with hazardous goods law, requirements on packinging, risk assessment, railroad transport, hazardous goods road network, insurance matters, EC regulations, and waste tourism. (HSCH) [de

The administrative review of concession agreements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fatmira Hajdari

2014-01-01

The practice of concessionary agreements in Albania is only in its early steps of development. Furthermore, the legislation that provides for the concession agreements has suffered changes to reflect the international legislation. All of which have led to the case law encountering various issues, which we have only humbly tried to reflect in this paper, while also providing our opinion with regard to addressing them.

Agreement of physical activity questionnaire with cardiorespiratory fitness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Fatima Glaner

2007-03-01

Full Text Available Many health benefi ts are associated with physical activity level (PAL, but no standardized approaches to measurement exist, and comparisons and surveillance are problematic. The aim of this study was to verify the level ofagreement between the results of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ: short and the Habitual Physical Activity Questionnaire (HPAQ with true cardiorespiratory fi tness (VO2max, in order to classify young men and women ashaving PAL that is either adequate or inadequate for good health. A convenience sample was studied, composed of 105 young adults (43 male physical education students; 28 female physical education students; 34 males not studying physicaleducation. Both questionnaires were self-administered under the identical conditions. Values for VO2max were obtained using Cooper’s 12 min running test. Subjects were classifi ed as having PAL and VO2max that were adequate or inadequatefor good health. The cut off points used to defi ne adequate VO2max ≥44 ml/kg/min-1 for men and ≥33 ml/kg/min-1 for women. Agreement was assessed using a 2x2 contingency table. Percentage agreement ranged from 51.10% to 64.70% for theHPAQ and was 47.06% for the IPAQ. Agreement was higher for the HPAQ than for the IPAQ. Women overestimated their PAL by HPAQ and men underestimated their PAL by both questionnaires. The fi ndings of this study suggest that the HPAQ tends to be more accurate than the IPAQ. RESUMOMuitos benefícios à saúde são associados ao nível de atividade física (NAF, mas não existem medidas padronizadas para tal e, comparações e monitorações são difíceis. O propósito deste estudo foi verifi car a concordância do Questionário Internacional para Atividades Físicas (IPAQ – curto e do Questionário de Atividades Físicas Habituais (QAFH com a aptidão cardiorrespiratória (VO2max, para classifi car homens e mulheres jovens, com níveis de atividade física (NAF recomendado, ou não, para a sa

A good patient?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Campbell, Catherine; Scott, Kerry; Skovdal, Morten

2015-01-01

, physical cleanliness, honesty, gratitude and lifestyle adaptations (taking pills correctly andcoming to the clinic when told). As healthcare workers may decide to punish patients who do not live up the‘good patient persona’, many patients seek to perform within the confines of the ‘good patient persona...

The Texts of the Agency's Agreements with the Republic of Austria. V. Supplemental Agreement on the Establishment of an Agency Commissary

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1973-03-08

The text of the Supplemental Agreement on the Establishment of an Agency Commissary is reproduced in this document for the information of all Members. The Supplemental Agreement entered into force on 1 April 1972 pursuant to Article VII, hereby superseding the Supplemental Agreement which was the subject of documents INFCIRC/15, part V and INFCIRC/15/Add. 1.

The Texts of the Agency's Agreements with the Republic of Austria. V. Supplemental Agreement on the Establishment of an Agency Commissary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1973-01-01

The text of the Supplemental Agreement on the Establishment of an Agency Commissary is reproduced in this document for the information of all Members. The Supplemental Agreement entered into force on 1 April 1972 pursuant to Article VII, hereby superseding the Supplemental Agreement which was the subject of documents INFCIRC/15, part V and INFCIRC/15/Add. 1

The Text of the Fourth Agreement to Extend the 1987 Regional Co-operative Agreement for Research, Development and Training related to Nuclear Science and Technology (RCA). Extension of Agreement. Latest Status

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2007-01-01

The text of the Fourth Agreement to Extend the 1987 Regional Co-operative Agreement for Research, Development and Training Related to Nuclear Science and Technology, 'the 1987 RCA', is reproduced herein for the information of all Members

On good ETOL forms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skyum, Sven

1978-01-01

This paper continues the study of ETOL forms and good EOL forms done by Maurer, Salomaa and Wood. It is proven that binary very complete ETOL forms exist, good synchronized ETOL forms exist and that no propagating or synchronized ETOL form can be very complete.......This paper continues the study of ETOL forms and good EOL forms done by Maurer, Salomaa and Wood. It is proven that binary very complete ETOL forms exist, good synchronized ETOL forms exist and that no propagating or synchronized ETOL form can be very complete....

On Having a Good

OpenAIRE

Korsgaard, Christine M.

2014-01-01

In some recent papers I have been arguing that the concept ‘good-for’ is prior to the concept of ‘good’ (in the sense in which final ends are good), and exploring the implications of that claim. One of those implications is that everything that is good is good for someone. That implication seems to fall afoul of our intuitions about certain cases, such as the intuition that a world full of happy people and animals is better than a world full of miserable ones, even if the people and animals a...

Which type of leader do I support in step-level public good dilemmas? The roles of level of threshold and trust.

Science.gov (United States)

De Cremer, David

2007-02-01

The present research examined the moderating effect of the level of threshold on people's preferences for different leader types in step-level public good dilemmas. It was assumed that the primary focus of people in step-level public good dilemmas is to make sure that the group surpasses the threshold. Consequently, when the level of threshold is difficult to reach people are expected to provide more support for and cooperate with a leader that monitors and controls the contributions made toward the public good. However, if the threshold is easy to surpass people will focus more on whether the obtained public good or bonus will be distributed according to agreements, suggesting that people will provide more support to and cooperate with a leader that monitors and controls the distribution of the bonus. These predictions were confirmed across two experiments using a step-level public good paradigm with a dichotomous (Study 1) and a continuous (Study 2) contribution choice. Moreover, the results also revealed that perceptions of trust accounted, in part, for the effect of level of threshold on people's leadership preferences.

Accidental goodness?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Richter, Anne

In postmodern capitalist market economies, management of the single organisation is bound to be guided by several rationales, which are in conflict with each other. For some writers this perception leads to the argument, that conceptions of management should strive towards goals beyond the present...... society. For others, the handling of plural perspectives is just a management discipline. However these positions seem to share a focus on organization as a the arena for the organization of the good. The contribution looks at the management of occupational accidents as an example of striving for good...

The Text of the Fourth Agreement to Extend the 1987 Regional Co-operative Agreement for Research, Development and Training related to Nuclear Science and Technology (RCA). Extension of Agreement. Latest Status

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2007-01-01

The text of the Fourth Agreement to Extend the 1987 Regional Co-operative Agreement for Research, Development and Training Related to Nuclear Science and Technology, 'the 1987 RCA', is reproduced herein for the information of all Members [es

Agreement between hospital discharge diagnosis codes and medical records to identify metastatic colorectal cancer and associated comorbidities in elderly patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Gouverneur, A; Dolatkhani, D; Rouyer, M; Grelaud, A; Francis, F; Gilleron, V; Fourrier-Réglat, A; Noize, P

2017-08-01

Quality of coding to identify cancers and comorbidities through the French hospital diagnosis database (Programme de médicalisation des systèmes d'information, PMSI) has been little investigated. Agreement between medical records and PMSI database was evaluated regarding metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) and comorbidities. From 01/01/2013 to 06/30/2014, 74 patients aged≥65years at mCRC diagnosis were identified in Bordeaux teaching hospital. Data on mCRC and comorbidities were collected from medical records. All diagnosis codes (main, related and associated) registered into the PMSI were extracted. Agreement between sources was evaluated using the percent agreement for mCRC and the kappa (κ) statistic for comorbidities. Agreement for primary CRC and mCRC was higher using all types of diagnosis codes instead of the main one exclusively (respectively 95% vs. 53% for primary CRC and 91% vs. 24% for mCRC). Agreement was substantial (κ 0.65) for cardiovascular diseases, notably atrial fibrillation (κ 0.77) and hypertension (κ 0.68). It was moderate for psychiatric disorders (κ 0.49) and respiratory diseases (κ 0.48), although chronic obstructive pulmonary disease had a good agreement (κ 0.75). Within the class of endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (κ 0.55), agreement was substantial for diabetes (κ 0.91), obesity (κ 0.82) and hypothyroidism (κ 0.72) and moderate for hypercholesterolemia (κ 0.51) and malnutrition (κ 0.42). These results are reassuring with regard to detection through PMSI of mCRC if all types of diagnosis codes are considered and useful to better choose comorbidities in elderly mCRC patients that could be well identified through hospital diagnosis codes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.