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Sample records for times higher proportion

  1. Faculty workload and collegial support related to proportion of part-time faculty composition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adams, D A

    1995-10-01

    Part-time faculty use has become more prevalent in higher education in response to enrollment shifts and budgetary constraints. This descriptive, exploratory study used a mailed survey to investigate whether full-time nursing faculty perceptions of workload and collegial support differ with changes in the proportion of part-time faculty in Comprehensive I baccalaureate nursing programs. Workload was measured by Dick's Workload Instrument. Collegial support was measured by the Survey of Collegial Communication, adapted by Beyer, which was based on Likert's organizational model. Schools were partitioned into three strata based on the proportion of part-time faculty employed (low, medium, and high). A 30% sample of schools were randomly selected from each stratum (10 schools from each). Within each selected school, six full-time undergraduate faculty were chosen by their respective deans to participate. The total response rate was 89.4%. The results of this study did not support assertions about part-time faculty use in the literature and existing accreditation standards. Findings indicated that there were significant differences in reported total faculty workload when varying proportions of part-time faculty are employed. Faculty in nursing programs with medium proportions of part-time faculty reported higher average total workloads per week than faculty in programs with low and high proportions of part-timers. Another finding demonstrated that full-time faculty in nursing programs with high proportions of part-time faculty spend fewer hours in direct clinical supervision of their students when compared with faculty in the other two strata. There were, however, no differences in perceived collegial support among full-time faculty participants. It was recommended that further research be conducted to investigate specific workload differences found in this study using more precise quantitative measures. Communication and collegiality between part-time and full-time

  2. Proportional green time scheduling for traffic lights

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    P. Kovacs; Le, T. (Tung); R. Núñez Queija (Rudesindo); Vu, H. (Hai); N. Walton

    2016-01-01

    textabstractWe consider the decentralized scheduling of a large number of urban traffic lights. We investigate factors determining system performance, in particular, the length of the traffic light cycle and the proportion of green time allocated to each junction. We study the effect of the length

  3. On timing properties of the SRPO-304 proportional counters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gusev, A.A.; Pugacheva, G.I.

    1979-01-01

    Data of measurements of the signal delay time and the time of development of the discharge in a proportional counter filled with 90% Xe + 10% CH 4 mixture at 0.3 atm are presented. The measurements were carried out on muons of cosmic rays. Signal delay distribution for the proportional counter are given relative to the time of passage through it of a charged particle. The data obtained shows that the average delay time is 0.8 μs when a particle passes near the counter centre, whereas when it passes near its side wall the average delay time is 1.5 μs. The investigation of the discharge development time distribution was carried out for two values of the discriminator threshold: 6 and 20 keV. It was determined that the discharge development time distribution depends but little on the place of particle passage in a counter. The average discharge development time is 1.5 μs, with the maximum time beina 4.3 μs. It is shown that the resolution time of logical circuits will be near 4 μs when the counter is combined with scintillation detectors

  4. Proportional reasoning as a heuristic-based process: time constraint and dual task considerations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gillard, Ellen; Van Dooren, Wim; Schaeken, Walter; Verschaffel, Lieven

    2009-01-01

    The present study interprets the overuse of proportional solution methods from a dual process framework. Dual process theories claim that analytic operations involve time-consuming executive processing, whereas heuristic operations are fast and automatic. In two experiments to test whether proportional reasoning is heuristic-based, the participants solved "proportional" problems, for which proportional solution methods provide correct answers, and "nonproportional" problems known to elicit incorrect answers based on the assumption of proportionality. In Experiment 1, the available solution time was restricted. In Experiment 2, the executive resources were burdened with a secondary task. Both manipulations induced an increase in proportional answers and a decrease in correct answers to nonproportional problems. These results support the hypothesis that the choice for proportional methods is heuristic-based.

  5. The Attributable Proportion of Specific Leisure-Time Physical Activities to Total Leisure Activity Volume Among US Adults, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2006.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watson, Kathleen Bachtel; Dai, Shifan; Paul, Prabasaj; Carlson, Susan A; Carroll, Dianna D; Fulton, Janet

    2016-11-01

    Previous studies have examined participation in specific leisure-time physical activities (PA) among US adults. The purpose of this study was to identify specific activities that contribute substantially to total volume of leisure-time PA in US adults. Proportion of total volume of leisure-time PA moderate-equivalent minutes attributable to 9 specific types of activities was estimated using self-reported data from 21,685 adult participants (≥ 18 years) in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2006. Overall, walking (28%), sports (22%), and dancing (9%) contributed most to PA volume. Attributable proportion was higher among men than women for sports (30% vs. 11%) and higher among women than men for walking (36% vs. 23%), dancing (16% vs. 4%), and conditioning exercises (10% vs. 5%). The proportion was lower for walking, but higher for sports, among active adults than those insufficiently active and increased with age for walking. Compared with other racial/ethnic groups, the proportion was lower for sports among non-Hispanic white men and for dancing among non-Hispanic white women. Walking, sports, and dance account for the most activity time among US adults overall, yet some demographic variations exist. Strategies for PA promotion should be tailored to differences across population subgroups.

  6. Experimental dead time corrections for a linear position-sensitive proportional counter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yelon, W.B.; Tompson, C.W.; Mildner, D.F.R.; Berliner, R.; Missouri Univ., Columbia

    1984-01-01

    Two simple counters included in the charge-digitization circuitry of a position-sensitive proportional counter using the charge division method for position encoding have enabled us to determine the dead time losses for the system. An interesting positional dependence of the dead time tau is observed, which agrees with a simple model. The system enables us to correct the experimental data for dead time and to be indifferent to the relatively slow analog-to-digital converters used in the system. (orig.)

  7. X-ray polarimetry with a conventional gas proportional counter through rise-time analysis

    CERN Document Server

    Hayashida, K; Tsunemi, H; Torii, K; Murakami, H; Ohno, Y; Tamura, K

    1999-01-01

    We have performed an experiment on the signal rise time of a Xe gas proportional counter using a polarized X-ray beam of synchrotron orbital radiation with energies from 10 to 40 keV. When the counter anode is perpendicular to the electric vector of the incident X-ray photons, the average rise time becomes significantly longer than that for the parallel case. This indicates that the conventional gas proportional counters are useful for X-ray polarimetry. The moderate modulation contrast of this rise-time polarimeter (M=0.1 for 10 keV X-rays and M=0.35 for 40 keV X-rays), with capability of the simultaneous measuring X-ray energies and the timing, would be useful for applications in X-ray astronomy and in other fields.

  8. Time-Varying Biased Proportional Guidance with Seeker’s Field-of-View Limit

    OpenAIRE

    Yang, Zhe; Wang, Hui; Lin, Defu

    2016-01-01

    Traditional guidance laws with range-to-go information or time-to-go estimation may not be implemented in passive homing missiles since passive seekers cannot measure relative range directly. A time-varying biased proportional guidance law, which only uses line-of-sight (LOS) rate and look angle information, is proposed to satisfy both impact angle constraint and seeker’s field-of-view (FOV) limit. In the proposed guidance law, two time-varying bias terms are applied to divide the trajectory ...

  9. Impact of CD133 positive stem cell proportion on survival in patients with glioblastoma multiforme

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kase, Marju; Minajeva, Ave; Niinepuu, Kristi; Kase, Sandra; Vardja, Markus; Asser, Toomas; Jaal, Jana

    2013-01-01

    The aim of the study was to assess the impact of CD133-positive (CD133+) cancer stem cell proportions on treatment results of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) patients. Patients with GBM (n = 42) received postoperative radiotherapy (± chemotherapy). Surgically excised GBM tissue sections were immunohistochemically examined for CD133 expression. The proportions of CD133+ GBM cells were determined (%). The proportion of CD133+ GBM stem cells was established by 2 independent researchers whose results were in good accordance (R = 0.8, p < 0.01). Additionally, CD133 expression levels were correlated with patients overall survival. The proportion of CD133+ cells varied between patients, being from 0.5% to 82%. Mean and median proportions of CD133+ cells of the entire study group were 33% ± 24% (mean ± SD) and 28%, respectively. Clinical data do not support the association between higher proportion of stem cells and the aggressiveness of GBM. Median survival time of the study group was 10.0 months (95% CI 9.0–11.0). The survival time clearly depended on the proportion of CD133+ cells (log rank test, p = 0.02). Median survival times for patients with low (< median) and high (≥ median) proportion of CD133+ cells were 9.0 months (95% CI 7.6–10.5) and 12.0 months (95% CI 9.3–14.7), respectively. In multivariate analysis, the proportion of CD133+ cells emerged as a significant independent predictor for longer overall survival (HR 2.0, 95% CI 1.0–3.8, p = 0.04). In patients with higher stem cell proportion, significantly longer survival times after postoperative radiotherapy were achieved. Underlying reasons and possible higher sensitivity of GBM stem cells to fractionated radio-therapy should be clarified in further studies

  10. Decision-Tree Models of Categorization Response Times, Choice Proportions, and Typicality Judgments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lafond, Daniel; Lacouture, Yves; Cohen, Andrew L.

    2009-01-01

    The authors present 3 decision-tree models of categorization adapted from T. Trabasso, H. Rollins, and E. Shaughnessy (1971) and use them to provide a quantitative account of categorization response times, choice proportions, and typicality judgments at the individual-participant level. In Experiment 1, the decision-tree models were fit to…

  11. Evaluation of protocol change in burn-care management using the Cox proportional hazards model with time-dependent covariates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ichida, J M; Wassell, J T; Keller, M D; Ayers, L W

    1993-02-01

    Survival analysis methods are valuable for detecting intervention effects because detailed information from patient records and sensitive outcome measures are used. The burn unit at a large university hospital replaced routine bathing with total body bathing using chlorhexidine gluconate for antimicrobial effect. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to analyse time from admission until either infection with Staphylococcus aureus or discharge for 155 patients, controlling for burn severity and two time-dependent covariates: days until first wound excision and days until first administration of prophylactic antibiotics. The risk of infection was 55 per cent higher in the historical control group, although not statistically significant. There was also some indication that early wound excision may be important as an infection-control measure for burn patients.

  12. Quantum Statistical Entropy of Non-extreme and Nearly Extreme Black Holes in Higher-Dimensional Space-Time

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    XU Dian-Yan

    2003-01-01

    The free energy and entropy of Reissner-Nordstrom black holes in higher-dimensional space-time are calculated by the quantum statistic method with a brick wall model. The space-time of the black holes is divided into three regions: region 1, (r > r0); region 2, (r0 > r > n); and region 3, (T-J > r > 0), where r0 is the radius of the outer event horizon, and r, is the radius of the inner event horizon. Detailed calculation shows that the entropy contributed by region 2 is zero, the entropy contributed by region 1 is positive and proportional to the outer event horizon area, the entropy contributed by region 3 is negative and proportional to the inner event horizon area. The total entropy contributed by all the three regions is positive and proportional to the area difference between the outer and inner event horizons. As rt approaches r0 in the nearly extreme case, the total quantum statistical entropy approaches zero.

  13. Measuring Stratigraphic Congruence Across Trees, Higher Taxa, and Time.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Connor, Anne; Wills, Matthew A

    2016-09-01

    The congruence between the order of cladistic branching and the first appearance dates of fossil lineages can be quantified using a variety of indices. Good matching is a prerequisite for the accurate time calibration of trees, while the distribution of congruence indices across large samples of cladograms has underpinned claims about temporal and taxonomic patterns of completeness in the fossil record. The most widely used stratigraphic congruence indices are the stratigraphic consistency index (SCI), the modified Manhattan stratigraphic measure (MSM*), and the gap excess ratio (GER) (plus its derivatives; the topological GER and the modified GER). Many factors are believed to variously bias these indices, with several empirical and simulation studies addressing some subset of the putative interactions. This study combines both approaches to quantify the effects (on all five indices) of eight variables reasoned to constrain the distribution of possible values (the number of taxa, tree balance, tree resolution, range of first occurrence (FO) dates, center of gravity of FO dates, the variability of FO dates, percentage of extant taxa, and percentage of taxa with no fossil record). Our empirical data set comprised 647 published animal and plant cladograms spanning the entire Phanerozoic, and for these data we also modeled the effects of mean age of FOs (as a proxy for clade age), the taxonomic rank of the clade, and the higher taxonomic group to which it belonged. The center of gravity of FO dates had not been investigated hitherto, and this was found to correlate most strongly with some measures of stratigraphic congruence in our empirical study (top-heavy clades had better congruence). The modified GER was the index least susceptible to bias. We found significant differences across higher taxa for all indices; arthropods had lower congruence and tetrapods higher congruence. Stratigraphic congruence-however measured-also varied throughout the Phanerozoic, reflecting

  14. Time-zero fission-fragment detector based on low-pressure multiwire proportional chambers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Assamagan, K.; Baker, K.; Bayatyan, G.; Carlini, R.; Danagoulian, S.; Eden, T.; Egiyan, K.; Ent, R.; Fenker, H.; Gan, L.; Gasparian, A.; Grigoryan, N.; Greenwood, Z.; Gueye, P.; Hashimoto, O.; Johnston, K.; Keppel, C.; Knyazyan, S.; Majewski, S.; Margaryan, A.; Margaryan, Yu.; Marikyan, G.; Martoff, J.; Mkrtchyan, H.; Parlakyan, L.; Sato, Y.; Sawafta, R.; Simicevic, N.; Tadevosyan, V.; Takahashi, T.; Tang, L.; Vartanyan, G.; Vulcan, W.; Wells, S.; Wood, S.

    1999-01-01

    A time-zero fission fragment (FF) detector, based on the technique of low-pressure multiwire proportional chambers (LPMWPC), has been designed and constructed for the heavy hypernuclear lifetime experiment (E95-002) at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. Its characteristics and the method of time-zero reconstruction were investigated using fission fragments from a 252 Cf spontaneous fission source. The influence of the ionization energy loss was also studied. It is shown that Heptane, Hexane, and Isobutane gases at a pressure of 1-2 Torr are all suitable for such a FF detector. As desired by experiment, a timing resolution of about 200 ps (FWHM) for a chamber size of 21x21 cm 2 was achieved

  15. Proportional gas scintillation detectors and their applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petr, I.

    1978-01-01

    The principle is described of a gas proportional scintillation detector and its function. Dependence of Si(Li) and xenon proportional detectors energy resolution on the input window size is given. A typical design is shown of a xenon detector used for X-ray spetrometry at an energy of 277 eV to 5.898 keV and at a gas pressure of 98 to 270 kPa. Gas proportional scintillation detectors show considerable better energy resolution than common proportional counters and even better resolution than semiconductor Si(Li) detectors for low X radiation energies. For detection areas smaller than 25 mm 2 Si(Li) detectors show better resolution, especially for higher X radiation energies. For window areas 25 to 190 mm 2 both types of detectors are equal, for a window area exceeding 190 mm 2 the proportional scintillation detector has higher energy resolution. (B.S.)

  16. The Application of Extended Cox Proportional Hazard Method for Estimating Survival Time of Breast Cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Husain, Hartina; Astuti Thamrin, Sri; Tahir, Sulaiha; Mukhlisin, Ahmad; Mirna Apriani, M.

    2018-03-01

    Breast cancer is one type of cancer that is the leading cause of death worldwide. This study aims to model the factors that affect the survival time and rate of cure of breast cancer patients. The extended cox model, which is a modification of the proportional hazard cox model in which the proportional hazard assumptions are not met, is used in this study. The maximum likelihood estimation approach is used to estimate the parameters of the model. This method is then applied to medical record data of breast cancer patient in 2011-2016, which is taken from Hasanuddin University Education Hospital. The results obtained indicate that the factors that affect the survival time of breast cancer patients are malignancy and leukocyte levels.

  17. Time-zero fission-fragment detector based on low-pressure multiwire proportional chambers

    CERN Document Server

    Assamagan, Ketevi A; Bayatyan, G L; Carlini, R; Danagulyan, S; Eden, T; Egiyan, K; Ent, R; Fenker, H; Gan, L; Gasparian, A; Grigoryan, N K; Greenwood, Z; Gueye, P; Hashimoto, O; Johnston, K; Keppel, C; Knyazyan, S; Majewski, S; Margaryan, A; Margaryan, Yu L; Marikian, G G; Martoff, J; Mkrtchyan, H G; Parlakyan, L; Sato, Y; Sawafta, R; Simicevic, N; Tadevosyan, V; Takahashi, T; Tang, L; Vartanian, G S; Vulcan, W; Wells, S; Wood, S

    1999-01-01

    A time-zero fission fragment (FF) detector, based on the technique of low-pressure multiwire proportional chambers (LPMWPC), has been designed and constructed for the heavy hypernuclear lifetime experiment (E95-002) at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. Its characteristics and the method of time-zero reconstruction were investigated using fission fragments from a sup 2 sup 5 sup 2 Cf spontaneous fission source. The influence of the ionization energy loss was also studied. It is shown that Heptane, Hexane, and Isobutane gases at a pressure of 1-2 Torr are all suitable for such a FF detector. As desired by experiment, a timing resolution of about 200 ps (FWHM) for a chamber size of 21x21 cm sup 2 was achieved.

  18. To Build Proportions in Time, or Tie Knots in Space? A Reassessment of the Renaissance Turn in Architectural Proportions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marvin Trachtenberg

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Since Alberti, and most critically since Wittkower’s 'Architectural Principles', architectural theory has tended to construe ‘proportions’ in plenary, static terms. The dimension of time and change that relentlessly affects all human endeavor is not accommodated by the celebrated Albertian ideal of immutable design perfection, so perfect in all respects that once attained ‘nothing can be added, taken away, or altered, but for the worse’. This article, drawing on the author’s recent book, 'Building-in-Time from Giotto to Alberti and Modern Oblivion' (Yale, 2010, outlines the antithetical, dynamic proportional methodology of the pre-Albertian architectural regime. Its point of departure was the author’s concept of durational aesthetics, according to which perfected architectural form is produced by a process of incessant revision. What distinguished this process from related ancient or neo-antique doctrines was above all its dynamic modality and participation in the fluid orientation and processes of ‘building-in-time’.

  19. Icon arrays help younger children's proportional reasoning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruggeri, Azzurra; Vagharchakian, Laurianne; Xu, Fei

    2018-06-01

    We investigated the effects of two context variables, presentation format (icon arrays or numerical frequencies) and time limitation (limited or unlimited time), on the proportional reasoning abilities of children aged 7 and 10 years, as well as adults. Participants had to select, between two sets of tokens, the one that offered the highest likelihood of drawing a gold token, that is, the set of elements with the greater proportion of gold tokens. Results show that participants performed better in the unlimited time condition. Moreover, besides a general developmental improvement in accuracy, our results show that younger children performed better when proportions were presented as icon arrays, whereas older children and adults were similarly accurate in the two presentation format conditions. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? There is a developmental improvement in proportional reasoning accuracy. Icon arrays facilitate reasoning in adults with low numeracy. What does this study add? Participants were more accurate when they were given more time to make the proportional judgement. Younger children's proportional reasoning was more accurate when they were presented with icon arrays. Proportional reasoning abilities correlate with working memory, approximate number system, and subitizing skills. © 2018 The British Psychological Society.

  20. Wolf (Canis lupus) generation time and proportion of current breeding females by age

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mech, L. David; Barber-Meyer, Shannon M.; Erb, John

    2016-01-01

    Information is sparse about aspects of female wolf (Canis lupus) breeding in the wild, including age of first reproduction, mean age of primiparity, generation time, and proportion of each age that breeds in any given year. We studied these subjects in 86 wolves (113 captures) in the Superior National Forest (SNF), Minnesota (MN), during 1972–2013 where wolves were legally protected for most of the period, and in 159 harvested wolves from throughout MN wolf range during 2012–2014. Breeding status of SNF wolves were assessed via nipple measurements, and wolves from throughout MN wolf range, by placental scars. In the SNF, proportions of currently breeding females (those breeding in the year sampled) ranged from 19% at age 2 to 80% at age 5, and from throughout wolf range, from 33% at age 2 to 100% at age 7. Excluding pups and yearlings, only 33% to 36% of SNF females and 58% of females from throughout MN wolf range bred in any given year. Generation time for SNF wolves was 4.3 years and for MN wolf range, 4.7 years. These findings will be useful in modeling wolf population dynamics and in wolf genetic and dog-domestication studies.

  1. A proposal simulated annealing algorithm for proportional parallel flow shops with separated setup times

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Helio Yochihiro Fuchigami

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available This article addresses the problem of minimizing makespan on two parallel flow shops with proportional processing and setup times. The setup times are separated and sequence-independent. The parallel flow shop scheduling problem is a specific case of well-known hybrid flow shop, characterized by a multistage production system with more than one machine working in parallel at each stage. This situation is very common in various kinds of companies like chemical, electronics, automotive, pharmaceutical and food industries. This work aimed to propose six Simulated Annealing algorithms, their perturbation schemes and an algorithm for initial sequence generation. This study can be classified as “applied research” regarding the nature, “exploratory” about the objectives and “experimental” as to procedures, besides the “quantitative” approach. The proposed algorithms were effective regarding the solution and computationally efficient. Results of Analysis of Variance (ANOVA revealed no significant difference between the schemes in terms of makespan. It’s suggested the use of PS4 scheme, which moves a subsequence of jobs, for providing the best percentage of success. It was also found that there is a significant difference between the results of the algorithms for each value of the proportionality factor of the processing and setup times of flow shops.

  2. An optimal policy for deteriorating items with time-proportional deterioration rate and constant and time-dependent linear demand rate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Trailokyanath; Mishra, Pandit Jagatananda; Pattanayak, Hadibandhu

    2017-12-01

    In this paper, an economic order quantity (EOQ) inventory model for a deteriorating item is developed with the following characteristics: (i) The demand rate is deterministic and two-staged, i.e., it is constant in first part of the cycle and linear function of time in the second part. (ii) Deterioration rate is time-proportional. (iii) Shortages are not allowed to occur. The optimal cycle time and the optimal order quantity have been derived by minimizing the total average cost. A simple solution procedure is provided to illustrate the proposed model. The article concludes with a numerical example and sensitivity analysis of various parameters as illustrations of the theoretical results.

  3. Why do card issuers charge proportional fees?

    OpenAIRE

    Oz Shy; Zhu Wang

    2008-01-01

    This paper explains why payment card companies charge consumers and merchants fees which are proportional to the transaction values instead of charging a fixed per-transaction fee. Our theory shows that, even in the absence of any cost considerations, card companies earn much higher profit when they charge proportional fees. It is also shown that competition among merchants reduces card companies' gains from using proportional fees relative to a fixed per-transaction fee. Merchants are found ...

  4. Association between proportion of US medical graduates and program characteristics in gastroenterology fellowships.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atsawarungruangkit, Amporn

    2017-01-01

    Gastroenterology is one of the most competitive internal medicine fellowship. However, factors that associated with program competitiveness have not been documented. The objective of this study was to evaluate associations between characteristics of gastroenterology fellowship programs and their competitiveness through the proportion of US medical graduates for the academic year 2016/17. This study used a retrospective, cross-sectional design with data obtained from the American Medical Association. The proportion of US medical graduates in gastroenterology fellowships was used as an indicator of program competitiveness. Using both univariate and multivariate linear regression analyses, we analyzed the association between the proportion of medical graduates in each program and 27 program characteristics based on a significance level of 0.05. In total, 153 out of 171 gastroenterology fellowship programs satisfied the inclusion criteria. A multivariate analysis revealed that a higher proportion of US medical graduates was significantly associated with five program characteristics: that it was a university-based program (p < 0.001), the ratio of full-time paid faculty to fellow positions (p < 0.001), the proportion of females in the program (p = 0.002), location in the Pacific region (p = 0.039), and a non-smoker hiring policy (p = 0.042). Among the five significant factors, being university based, located in the Pacific, and having a non-smoker hiring policy were likely to remain unchanged over a long period. However, program directors and candidates should pay attention to equivalence between full-time paid faculty and fellowship positions, and the proportion of women in the program. The former indicates the level of supervision while the latter has become increasingly important owing to the higher proportion of women in medicine.

  5. Low-pressure, multistep, multiwire proportional counter for the time-of-flight isochronous spectrometer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vieira, D.J.

    1985-01-01

    A low-pressure, multistep, multiwire proportional counter (MSMWPC) has been developed for the characterization and testing of the time-of-flight isochronous (TOFI) spectrometer and its associated secondary-beam transport line. This type of counter was selected because of its high sensitivity, large dynamic range, and good position (0.2 mm FWHM) and timing (180 ps FWHM) resolution. Furthermore, because the counter operates at low gas pressures (1-10 torr) and high electric-field strengths, which enable short collection times, it can be used as a transmission counter with thin gas-isolation windows and it can operate at high counting rates. Here the authors discuss the basic operating principle of the MSMWPC, describe the technical details of the detector and signal processing, and report on the performance they have measured for alpha particles and fission fragments

  6. A clinical trial design using the concept of proportional time using the generalized gamma ratio distribution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phadnis, Milind A; Wetmore, James B; Mayo, Matthew S

    2017-11-20

    Traditional methods of sample size and power calculations in clinical trials with a time-to-event end point are based on the logrank test (and its variations), Cox proportional hazards (PH) assumption, or comparison of means of 2 exponential distributions. Of these, sample size calculation based on PH assumption is likely the most common and allows adjusting for the effect of one or more covariates. However, when designing a trial, there are situations when the assumption of PH may not be appropriate. Additionally, when it is known that there is a rapid decline in the survival curve for a control group, such as from previously conducted observational studies, a design based on the PH assumption may confer only a minor statistical improvement for the treatment group that is neither clinically nor practically meaningful. For such scenarios, a clinical trial design that focuses on improvement in patient longevity is proposed, based on the concept of proportional time using the generalized gamma ratio distribution. Simulations are conducted to evaluate the performance of the proportional time method and to identify the situations in which such a design will be beneficial as compared to the standard design using a PH assumption, piecewise exponential hazards assumption, and specific cases of a cure rate model. A practical example in which hemorrhagic stroke patients are randomized to 1 of 2 arms in a putative clinical trial demonstrates the usefulness of this approach by drastically reducing the number of patients needed for study enrollment. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  7. Time-optimal control of nuclear reactor power with adaptive proportional- integral-feedforward gains

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Moon Ghu; Cho, Nam Zin

    1993-01-01

    A time-optimal control method which consists of coarse and fine control stages is described here. During the coarse control stage, the maximum control effort (time-optimal) is used to direct the system toward the switching boundary which is set near the desired power level. At this boundary, the controller is switched to the fine control stage in which an adaptive proportional-integral-feedforward (PIF) controller is used to compensate for any unmodeled reactivity feedback effects. This fine control is also introduced to obtain a constructive method for determining the (adaptive) feedback gains against the sampling effect. The feedforward control term is included to suppress the over-or undershoot. The estimation and feedback of the temperature-induced reactivity is also discussed

  8. Maximizing the retention level for proportional reinsurance under  -regulation of the finite time surplus process with unit-equalized interarrival time

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sukanya Somprom

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The research focuses on an insurance model controlled by proportional reinsurance in the finite-time surplus process with a unit-equalized time interval. We prove the existence of the maximal retention level for independent and identically distributed claim processes under α-regulation, i.e., a model where the insurance company has to manage the probability of insolvency to be at most α. In addition, we illustrate the maximal retention level for exponential claims by applying the bisection technique.

  9. Changes in public health workforce composition: proportion of part-time workforce and its correlates, 2008-2013.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leider, Jonathon P; Shah, Gulzar H; Castrucci, Brian C; Leep, Carolyn J; Sellers, Katie; Sprague, James B

    2014-11-01

    State and local public health department infrastructure in the U.S. was impacted by the 2008 economic recession. The nature and impact of these staffing changes have not been well characterized, especially for the part-time public health workforce. To estimate the number of part-time workers in state and local health departments (LHDs) and examine the correlates of change in the part-time LHD workforce between 2008 and 2013. We used workforce data from the 2008 and 2013 National Association of County and City Health Officials (n=1,543) and Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (n=24) profiles. We employed a Monte Carlo simulation to estimate the possible and plausible proportion of the workforce that was part-time, over various assumptions. Next, we employed a multinomial regression assessing correlates of the change in staffing composition among LHDs, including jurisdiction and organizational characteristics, as well measures of community involvement. Nationally representative estimates suggest that the local public health workforce decreased from 191,000 to 168,000 between 2008 and 2013. During that period, the part-time workforce decreased from 25% to 20% of those totals. At the state level, part-time workers accounted for less than 10% of the total workforce among responding states in 2013. Smaller and multi-county jurisdictions employed relatively more part-time workers. This is the first study to create national estimates regarding the size of the part-time public health workforce and estimate those changes over time. A relatively small proportion of the public health workforce is part-time and may be decreasing. Copyright © 2014 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Electronics for proportional drift tubes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fremont, G.; Friend, B.; Mess, K.H.; Schmidt-Parzefall, W.; Tarle, J.C.; Verweij, H.; CERN-Hamburg-Amsterdam-Rome-Moscow Collaboration); Geske, K.; Riege, H.; Schuett, J.; CERN-Hamburg-Amsterdam-Rome-Moscow Collaboration); Semenov, Y.; CERN-Hamburg-Amsterdam-Rome-Moscow Collaboration)

    1980-01-01

    An electronic system for the read-out of a large number of proportional drift tubes (16,000) has been designed. This system measures deposited charge and drift-time of the charge of a particle traversing a proportional drift tube. A second event can be accepted during the read-out of the system. Up to 40 typical events can be collected and buffered before a data transfer to a computer is necessary. (orig.)

  11. A phenomenological SMA model for combined axial–torsional proportional/non-proportional loading conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bodaghi, M.; Damanpack, A.R.; Aghdam, M.M.; Shakeri, M.

    2013-01-01

    In this paper, a simple and robust phenomenological model for shape memory alloys (SMAs) is proposed to simulate main features of SMAs under uniaxial as well as biaxial combined axial–torsional proportional/non-proportional loadings. The constitutive model for polycrystalline SMAs is developed within the framework of continuum thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The model nominates the volume fractions of self-accommodated and oriented martensite as scalar internal variables and the preferred direction of oriented martensitic variants as directional internal variable. An algorithm is introduced to develop explicit relationships for the thermo-mechanical behavior of SMAs under uniaxial and biaxial combined axial–torsional proportional/non-proportional loading conditions and also thermal loading. It is shown that the model is able to simulate main aspects of SMAs including self-accommodation, martensitic transformation, orientation and reorientation of martensite, shape memory effect, ferro-elasticity and pseudo-elasticity. A description of the time-discrete counterpart of the proposed SMA model is presented. Experimental results of uniaxial tension and biaxial combined tension–torsion non-proportional tests are simulated and a good qualitative correlation between numerical and experimental responses is achieved. Due to simplicity and accuracy, the model is expected to be used in the future studies dealing with the analysis of SMA devices in which two stress components including one normal and one shear stress are dominant

  12. Proportional hazards models of infrastructure system recovery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barker, Kash; Baroud, Hiba

    2014-01-01

    As emphasis is being placed on a system's ability to withstand and to recover from a disruptive event, collectively referred to as dynamic resilience, there exists a need to quantify a system's ability to bounce back after a disruptive event. This work applies a statistical technique from biostatistics, the proportional hazards model, to describe (i) the instantaneous rate of recovery of an infrastructure system and (ii) the likelihood that recovery occurs prior to a given point in time. A major benefit of the proportional hazards model is its ability to describe a recovery event as a function of time as well as covariates describing the infrastructure system or disruptive event, among others, which can also vary with time. The proportional hazards approach is illustrated with a publicly available electric power outage data set

  13. Preterm Cord Blood Contains a Higher Proportion of Immature Hematopoietic Progenitors Compared to Term Samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Podestà, Marina; Bruschettini, Matteo; Cossu, Claudia; Sabatini, Federica; Dagnino, Monica; Romantsik, Olga; Spaggiari, Grazia Maria; Ramenghi, Luca Antonio; Frassoni, Francesco

    2015-01-01

    Cord blood contains high number of hematopoietic cells that after birth disappear. In this paper we have studied the functional properties of the umbilical cord blood progenitor cells collected from term and preterm neonates to establish whether quantitative and/or qualitative differences exist between the two groups. Our results indicate that the percentage of total CD34+ cells was significantly higher in preterm infants compared to full term: 0.61% (range 0.15-4.8) vs 0.3% (0.032-2.23) p = 0.0001 and in neonates <32 weeks of gestational age (GA) compared to those ≥32 wks GA: 0.95% (range 0.18-4.8) and 0.36% (0.15-3.2) respectively p = 0.0025. The majority of CD34+ cells co-expressed CD71 antigen (p<0.05 preterm vs term) and grew in vitro large BFU-E, mostly in the second generation. The subpopulations CD34+CD38- and CD34+CD45- resulted more represented in preterm samples compared to term, conversely, Side Population (SP) did not show any difference between the two group. The absolute number of preterm colonies (CFCs/10microL) resulted higher compared to term (p = 0.004) and these progenitors were able to grow until the third generation maintaining an higher proportion of CD34+ cells (p = 0.0017). The number of colony also inversely correlated with the gestational age (Pearson r = -0.3001 p<0.0168). We found no differences in the isolation and expansion capacity of Endothelial Colony Forming Cells (ECFCs) from cord blood of term and preterm neonates: both groups grew in vitro large number of endothelial cells until the third generation and showed a transitional phenotype between mesenchymal stem cells and endothelial progenitors (CD73, CD31, CD34 and CD144)The presence, in the cord blood of preterm babies, of high number of immature hematopoietic progenitors and endothelial/mesenchymal stem cells with high proliferative potential makes this tissue an important source of cells for developing new cells therapies.

  14. Preterm Cord Blood Contains a Higher Proportion of Immature Hematopoietic Progenitors Compared to Term Samples.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marina Podestà

    Full Text Available Cord blood contains high number of hematopoietic cells that after birth disappear. In this paper we have studied the functional properties of the umbilical cord blood progenitor cells collected from term and preterm neonates to establish whether quantitative and/or qualitative differences exist between the two groups.Our results indicate that the percentage of total CD34+ cells was significantly higher in preterm infants compared to full term: 0.61% (range 0.15-4.8 vs 0.3% (0.032-2.23 p = 0.0001 and in neonates <32 weeks of gestational age (GA compared to those ≥32 wks GA: 0.95% (range 0.18-4.8 and 0.36% (0.15-3.2 respectively p = 0.0025. The majority of CD34+ cells co-expressed CD71 antigen (p<0.05 preterm vs term and grew in vitro large BFU-E, mostly in the second generation. The subpopulations CD34+CD38- and CD34+CD45- resulted more represented in preterm samples compared to term, conversely, Side Population (SP did not show any difference between the two group. The absolute number of preterm colonies (CFCs/10microL resulted higher compared to term (p = 0.004 and these progenitors were able to grow until the third generation maintaining an higher proportion of CD34+ cells (p = 0.0017. The number of colony also inversely correlated with the gestational age (Pearson r = -0.3001 p<0.0168.We found no differences in the isolation and expansion capacity of Endothelial Colony Forming Cells (ECFCs from cord blood of term and preterm neonates: both groups grew in vitro large number of endothelial cells until the third generation and showed a transitional phenotype between mesenchymal stem cells and endothelial progenitors (CD73, CD31, CD34 and CD144The presence, in the cord blood of preterm babies, of high number of immature hematopoietic progenitors and endothelial/mesenchymal stem cells with high proliferative potential makes this tissue an important source of cells for developing new cells therapies.

  15. Higher third-generation cephalosporin prescription proportion is associated with lower probability of reducing carbapenem use: a nationwide retrospective study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Allison Muller

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The ongoing extended spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-PE pandemic has led to an increasing carbapenem use, requiring release of guidelines for carbapenem usage in France in late 2010. We sought to determine factors associated with changes in carbapenem use in intensive care units (ICUs, medical and surgical wards between 2009 and 2013. Methods This ward-level multicentre retrospective study was based on data from French antibiotic and multidrug-resistant bacteria surveillance networks in healthcare facilities. Antibiotic use was expressed in defined daily doses per 1000 patient-days. Factors associated with the reduction in carbapenem use (yes/no over the study period were determined from random-effects logistic regression model (493 wards nested within 259 healthcare facilities: ward characteristics (type, size…, ward antibiotic use (initial antibiotic use [i.e., consumption of a given antibiotic in 2009], initial antibiotic prescribing profile [i.e., proportion of a given antibiotic in the overall antibiotic consumption in 2009] and reduction in the use of a given antibiotic between 2009 and 2013 and regional ESBL-PE incidence rate in acute care settings in 2011. Results Over the study period, carbapenem consumption in ICUs (n = 85, medical (n = 227 and surgical wards (n = 181 was equal to 73.4, 6.2 and 5.4 defined daily doses per 1000 patient-days, respectively. Release of guidelines was followed by a significant decrease in carbapenem use within ICUs and medical wards, and a slowdown in use within surgical wards. The following factors were independently associated with a higher probability of reducing carbapenem use: location in Eastern France, higher initial carbapenem prescribing profile and reductions in consumption of fluoroquinolones, glycopeptides and piperacillin/tazobactam. In parallel, factors independently associated with a lower probability of reducing carbapenem use were

  16. Time-Discrete Higher-Order ALE Formulations: Stability

    KAUST Repository

    Bonito, Andrea; Kyza, Irene; Nochetto, Ricardo H.

    2013-01-01

    on the stability of the PDE but may influence that of a discrete scheme. We examine this critical issue for higher-order time stepping without space discretization. We propose time-discrete discontinuous Galerkin (dG) numerical schemes of any order for a time

  17. Proportionality lost - proportionality regained?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Werlauff, Erik

    2010-01-01

    In recent years, the European Court of Justice (the ECJ) seems to have accepted restrictions on the freedom of establishment and other basic freedoms, despite the fact that a more thorough proportionality test would have revealed that the restriction in question did not pass the 'rule of reason' ...

  18. Mediation Analysis with Survival Outcomes: Accelerated Failure Time vs. Proportional Hazards Models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gelfand, Lois A; MacKinnon, David P; DeRubeis, Robert J; Baraldi, Amanda N

    2016-01-01

    Survival time is an important type of outcome variable in treatment research. Currently, limited guidance is available regarding performing mediation analyses with survival outcomes, which generally do not have normally distributed errors, and contain unobserved (censored) events. We present considerations for choosing an approach, using a comparison of semi-parametric proportional hazards (PH) and fully parametric accelerated failure time (AFT) approaches for illustration. We compare PH and AFT models and procedures in their integration into mediation models and review their ability to produce coefficients that estimate causal effects. Using simulation studies modeling Weibull-distributed survival times, we compare statistical properties of mediation analyses incorporating PH and AFT approaches (employing SAS procedures PHREG and LIFEREG, respectively) under varied data conditions, some including censoring. A simulated data set illustrates the findings. AFT models integrate more easily than PH models into mediation models. Furthermore, mediation analyses incorporating LIFEREG produce coefficients that can estimate causal effects, and demonstrate superior statistical properties. Censoring introduces bias in the coefficient estimate representing the treatment effect on outcome-underestimation in LIFEREG, and overestimation in PHREG. With LIFEREG, this bias can be addressed using an alternative estimate obtained from combining other coefficients, whereas this is not possible with PHREG. When Weibull assumptions are not violated, there are compelling advantages to using LIFEREG over PHREG for mediation analyses involving survival-time outcomes. Irrespective of the procedures used, the interpretation of coefficients, effects of censoring on coefficient estimates, and statistical properties should be taken into account when reporting results.

  19. Mediation Analysis with Survival Outcomes: Accelerated Failure Time vs. Proportional Hazards Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gelfand, Lois A.; MacKinnon, David P.; DeRubeis, Robert J.; Baraldi, Amanda N.

    2016-01-01

    Objective: Survival time is an important type of outcome variable in treatment research. Currently, limited guidance is available regarding performing mediation analyses with survival outcomes, which generally do not have normally distributed errors, and contain unobserved (censored) events. We present considerations for choosing an approach, using a comparison of semi-parametric proportional hazards (PH) and fully parametric accelerated failure time (AFT) approaches for illustration. Method: We compare PH and AFT models and procedures in their integration into mediation models and review their ability to produce coefficients that estimate causal effects. Using simulation studies modeling Weibull-distributed survival times, we compare statistical properties of mediation analyses incorporating PH and AFT approaches (employing SAS procedures PHREG and LIFEREG, respectively) under varied data conditions, some including censoring. A simulated data set illustrates the findings. Results: AFT models integrate more easily than PH models into mediation models. Furthermore, mediation analyses incorporating LIFEREG produce coefficients that can estimate causal effects, and demonstrate superior statistical properties. Censoring introduces bias in the coefficient estimate representing the treatment effect on outcome—underestimation in LIFEREG, and overestimation in PHREG. With LIFEREG, this bias can be addressed using an alternative estimate obtained from combining other coefficients, whereas this is not possible with PHREG. Conclusions: When Weibull assumptions are not violated, there are compelling advantages to using LIFEREG over PHREG for mediation analyses involving survival-time outcomes. Irrespective of the procedures used, the interpretation of coefficients, effects of censoring on coefficient estimates, and statistical properties should be taken into account when reporting results. PMID:27065906

  20. Mediation Analysis with Survival Outcomes: Accelerated Failure Time Versus Proportional Hazards Models

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lois A Gelfand

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Objective: Survival time is an important type of outcome variable in treatment research. Currently, limited guidance is available regarding performing mediation analyses with survival outcomes, which generally do not have normally distributed errors, and contain unobserved (censored events. We present considerations for choosing an approach, using a comparison of semi-parametric proportional hazards (PH and fully parametric accelerated failure time (AFT approaches for illustration.Method: We compare PH and AFT models and procedures in their integration into mediation models and review their ability to produce coefficients that estimate causal effects. Using simulation studies modeling Weibull-distributed survival times, we compare statistical properties of mediation analyses incorporating PH and AFT approaches (employing SAS procedures PHREG and LIFEREG, respectively under varied data conditions, some including censoring. A simulated data set illustrates the findings.Results: AFT models integrate more easily than PH models into mediation models. Furthermore, mediation analyses incorporating LIFEREG produce coefficients that can estimate causal effects, and demonstrate superior statistical properties. Censoring introduces bias in the coefficient estimate representing the treatment effect on outcome – underestimation in LIFEREG, and overestimation in PHREG. With LIFEREG, this bias can be addressed using an alternative estimate obtained from combining other coefficients, whereas this is not possible with PHREG.Conclusions: When Weibull assumptions are not violated, there are compelling advantages to using LIFEREG over PHREG for mediation analyses involving survival-time outcomes. Irrespective of the procedures used, the interpretation of coefficients, effects of censoring on coefficient estimates, and statistical properties should be taken into account when reporting results.

  1. A HIGHER PROPORTION OF PUFA IN DIET INCREASES THE PUFA CONTENT IN RABBIT MEAT, BUT REDUCES THE OXIDATIVE STABILITY OF MEAT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tina Trebušak

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The aim of our study was to determine the changes in the fatty acid composition of rabbit meat, if palm fat (99% of saturated fatty acids (SFA, as a source of fat in rabbit diet, was replaced with linseed oil (71% of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA, containing 52% of α-linolenic acid (n-3 PUFA. The Ganoderma lucidum or olive leaves were added in the diet as potential antioxidant in order to protect the PUFA against oxidation. 48 SIKA rabbits were randomly divided by mass and gender in four groups: CONT- 6% palm fat, CONT+ 6% linseed oil, REISHI 6% linseed oil and 1% Ganoderma lucidum, OLIVE 6% linseed oil and 1% olive leaves. After 22 days of the experimental procedure, the samples of back muscle were taken and divided in 7 portions. One was for fatty acid determination, other six for malondialdehyde (MDA determination after different storage condition; fresh, 6 days at 4°C or 3 months at -20°C, raw or cooked (60 minutes, 85°C. Addition of linseed oil resulted in a significant higher proportion of PUFA (n-3 PUFA and monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA and lower proportion of SFA in the back muscle, but the oxidative stability of meat was reduced, since the level of MDA was significantly higher. After cooking, the level of MDA increased in all the groups, but more in the groups with linseed oil in the diet, the addition of Ganoderma lucidum or olive leaves slightly decreased the level of MDA, but the difference was not significant.

  2. Part-Time Higher Education: Employer Engagement under Threat?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mason, Geoff

    2014-01-01

    Employer support for employees who are studying part-time for higher education qualifications constitutes a form of indirect employer engagement with higher education institutions that has contributed strongly to the development of work-related skills and knowledge over the years. However, this form of employer engagement with higher education…

  3. A higher order space-time Galerkin scheme for time domain integral equations

    KAUST Repository

    Pray, Andrew J.

    2014-12-01

    Stability of time domain integral equation (TDIE) solvers has remained an elusive goal formany years. Advancement of this research has largely progressed on four fronts: 1) Exact integration, 2) Lubich quadrature, 3) smooth temporal basis functions, and 4) space-time separation of convolutions with the retarded potential. The latter method\\'s efficacy in stabilizing solutions to the time domain electric field integral equation (TD-EFIE) was previously reported for first-order surface descriptions (flat elements) and zeroth-order functions as the temporal basis. In this work, we develop the methodology necessary to extend the scheme to higher order surface descriptions as well as to enable its use with higher order basis functions in both space and time. These basis functions are then used in a space-time Galerkin framework. A number of results are presented that demonstrate convergence in time. The viability of the space-time separation method in producing stable results is demonstrated experimentally for these examples.

  4. A higher order space-time Galerkin scheme for time domain integral equations

    KAUST Repository

    Pray, Andrew J.; Beghein, Yves; Nair, Naveen V.; Cools, Kristof; Bagci, Hakan; Shanker, Balasubramaniam

    2014-01-01

    Stability of time domain integral equation (TDIE) solvers has remained an elusive goal formany years. Advancement of this research has largely progressed on four fronts: 1) Exact integration, 2) Lubich quadrature, 3) smooth temporal basis functions, and 4) space-time separation of convolutions with the retarded potential. The latter method's efficacy in stabilizing solutions to the time domain electric field integral equation (TD-EFIE) was previously reported for first-order surface descriptions (flat elements) and zeroth-order functions as the temporal basis. In this work, we develop the methodology necessary to extend the scheme to higher order surface descriptions as well as to enable its use with higher order basis functions in both space and time. These basis functions are then used in a space-time Galerkin framework. A number of results are presented that demonstrate convergence in time. The viability of the space-time separation method in producing stable results is demonstrated experimentally for these examples.

  5. Proportional reasoning

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dole, Shelley; Hilton, Annette; Hilton, Geoff

    2015-01-01

    Proportional reasoning is widely acknowledged as a key to success in school mathematics, yet students’ continual difficulties with proportion-related tasks are well documented. This paper draws on a large research study that aimed to support 4th to 9th grade teachers to design and implement tasks...

  6. Boosted PWM open loop control of hydraulic proportional valves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amirante, R.; Innone, A.; Catalano, L.A.

    2008-01-01

    This paper presents an innovative open loop control technique for direct single stage hydraulic proportional valves whose response rate is significantly higher than that obtained by standard open loop control techniques, even comparable to more costly commercial closed loop systems. Different from standard open loop techniques, which provide the coil with a constant current proportional to the target position, the control strategy proposed in this paper employs the peak and hold (P and H) technique, widely used in Diesel engine modern supply systems, to boost the duty cycle value of the pulse width modulation (PWM) signal for a short time, namely during the spool displacement, while maintaining a lower duty cycle for holding the spool in the required opening position. The developed 'boosted PWM' technique only requires a low cost microcontroller, such as a peripheral interface controller (PIC) equipped with a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) power driver. The PWM parameters are calibrated as a function of the spool displacement so as to maximize the response rate without introducing overshoots: the collected data are stored in the PIC. Different valve opening procedures with step response have been compared to demonstrate the merits of the proposed boosted PWM technique. No overshoots have been registered. Moreover, the proposed method is characterized by a significantly higher response rate with respect to a standard open loop control, which approximately has the same cost. Similar experimental tests show that the proposed boosted PWM technique has a response rate even higher than that provided by the more costly commercial closed loop system mounted on the valve, and it produces no overshoots

  7. Boosted PWM open loop control of hydraulic proportional valves

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Amirante, R.; Catalano, L.A. [Dipartimento di Ingegneria Meccanica e Gestionale, Politecnico di Bari, Via Re David 200, 70125 Bari (Italy); Innone, A. [Universita degli Studi di Foggia, via Napoli, 25 Foggia (Italy)

    2008-08-15

    This paper presents an innovative open loop control technique for direct single stage hydraulic proportional valves whose response rate is significantly higher than that obtained by standard open loop control techniques, even comparable to more costly commercial closed loop systems. Different from standard open loop techniques, which provide the coil with a constant current proportional to the target position, the control strategy proposed in this paper employs the peak and hold (P and H) technique, widely used in Diesel engine modern supply systems, to boost the duty cycle value of the pulse width modulation (PWM) signal for a short time, namely during the spool displacement, while maintaining a lower duty cycle for holding the spool in the required opening position. The developed 'boosted PWM' technique only requires a low cost microcontroller, such as a peripheral interface controller (PIC) equipped with a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) power driver. The PWM parameters are calibrated as a function of the spool displacement so as to maximize the response rate without introducing overshoots: the collected data are stored in the PIC. Different valve opening procedures with step response have been compared to demonstrate the merits of the proposed boosted PWM technique. No overshoots have been registered. Moreover, the proposed method is characterized by a significantly higher response rate with respect to a standard open loop control, which approximately has the same cost. Similar experimental tests show that the proposed boosted PWM technique has a response rate even higher than that provided by the more costly commercial closed loop system mounted on the valve, and it produces no overshoots. (author)

  8. Higher dimensional time-energy entanglement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Richart, Daniel Lampert

    2014-01-01

    Judging by the compelling number of innovations based on taming quantum mechanical effects, such as the development of transistors and lasers, further research in this field promises to tackle further technological challenges in the years to come. This statement gains even more importance in the information processing scenario. Here, the growing data generation and the correspondingly higher need for more efficient computational resources and secure high bandwidth networks are central problems which need to be tackled. In this sense, the required CPU minituarization makes the design of structures at atomic levels inevitable, as foreseen by Moore's law. From these perspectives, it is necessary to concentrate further research efforts into controlling and manipulating quantum mechanical systems. This enables for example to encode quantum superposition states to tackle problems which are computationally NP hard and which therefore cannot be solved efficiently by classical computers. The only limitation affecting these solutions is the low scalability of existing quantum systems. Similarly, quantum communication schemes are devised to certify the secure transmission of quantum information, but are still limited by a low transmission bandwidth. This thesis follows the guideline defined by these research projects and aims to further increase the scalability of the quantum mechanical systems required to perform these tasks. The method used here is to encode quantum states into photons generated by spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC). An intrinsic limitation of photons is that the scalability of quantum information schemes employing them is limited by the low detection efficiency of commercial single photon detectors. This is addressed by encoding higher dimensional quantum states into two photons, increasing the scalability of the scheme in comparison to multi-photon states. Further on, the encoding of quantum information into the emission-time degree of

  9. Higher dimensional time-energy entanglement

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Richart, Daniel Lampert

    2014-07-08

    Judging by the compelling number of innovations based on taming quantum mechanical effects, such as the development of transistors and lasers, further research in this field promises to tackle further technological challenges in the years to come. This statement gains even more importance in the information processing scenario. Here, the growing data generation and the correspondingly higher need for more efficient computational resources and secure high bandwidth networks are central problems which need to be tackled. In this sense, the required CPU minituarization makes the design of structures at atomic levels inevitable, as foreseen by Moore's law. From these perspectives, it is necessary to concentrate further research efforts into controlling and manipulating quantum mechanical systems. This enables for example to encode quantum superposition states to tackle problems which are computationally NP hard and which therefore cannot be solved efficiently by classical computers. The only limitation affecting these solutions is the low scalability of existing quantum systems. Similarly, quantum communication schemes are devised to certify the secure transmission of quantum information, but are still limited by a low transmission bandwidth. This thesis follows the guideline defined by these research projects and aims to further increase the scalability of the quantum mechanical systems required to perform these tasks. The method used here is to encode quantum states into photons generated by spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC). An intrinsic limitation of photons is that the scalability of quantum information schemes employing them is limited by the low detection efficiency of commercial single photon detectors. This is addressed by encoding higher dimensional quantum states into two photons, increasing the scalability of the scheme in comparison to multi-photon states. Further on, the encoding of quantum information into the emission-time degree of

  10. Limitations of Cox Proportional Hazards Analysis in Mortality Prediction of Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Babińska Magdalena

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to evaluate the possibility of incorrect assessment of mortality risk factors in a group of patients affected by acute coronary syndrome, due to the lack of hazard proportionality in the Cox regression model. One hundred and fifty consecutive patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS and no age limit were enrolled. Univariable and multivariable Cox proportional hazard analyses were performed. The proportional hazard assumptions were verified using Schoenfeld residuals, χ2 test and rank correlation coefficient t between residuals and time. In the total group of 150 patients, 33 (22.0% deaths from any cause were registered in the follow-up time period of 64 months. The non-survivors were significantly older and had increased prevalence of diabetes and erythrocyturia, longer history of coronary artery disease, higher concentrations of serum creatinine, cystatin C, uric acid, glucose, C-reactive protein (CRP, homocysteine and B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP, and lower concentrations of serum sodium. No significant differences in echocardiography parameters were observed between groups. The following factors were risk of death factors and fulfilled the proportional hazard assumption in the univariable model: smoking, occurrence of diabetes and anaemia, duration of coronary artery disease, and abnormal serum concentrations of uric acid, sodium, homocysteine, cystatin C and NT-proBNP, while in the multivariable model, the risk of death factors were: smoking and elevated concentrations of homocysteine and NT-proBNP. The study has demonstrated that violation of the proportional hazard assumption in the Cox regression model may lead to creating a false model that does not include only time-independent predictive factors.

  11. Ecuador's higher education system in times of change

    OpenAIRE

    Van Hoof, Hubert B.; Estrella, Mateo; Eljuri, María Isabel; Torres León, Leonardo

    2013-01-01

    Ecuador’s higher education system is undergoing dramatic changes. The National Constitution of 2008 and the Higher Education Law of 2010 have changed the way Ecuador’s universities are funded, administered, and accredited. The importance of research was elevated and drastic changes were made to the academic qualifications and employment conditions of full-time faculty. This article describes the attempt to raise the level of Ecuador’s system of higher education and its impact on faculty and a...

  12. Ecuador's Higher Education System in Times of Change

    OpenAIRE

    Van Hoof, Hubert

    2013-01-01

    Ecuador’s higher education system is undergoing dramatic changes. The National Constitution of 2008 and the Higher Education Law of 2010 have changed the way Ecuador’s universities are funded, administered, and accredited. The importance of research was elevated and drastic changes were made to the academic qualifications and employment conditions of full-time faculty. This article describes the attempt to raise the level of Ecuador’s system of higher education and its impact on faculty and a...

  13. Kalman-predictive-proportional-integral-derivative (KPPID)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fluerasu, A.; Sutton, M.

    2004-01-01

    With third generation synchrotron X-ray sources, it is possible to acquire detailed structural information about the system under study with time resolution orders of magnitude faster than was possible a few years ago. These advances have generated many new challenges for changing and controlling the state of the system on very short time scales, in a uniform and controlled manner. For our particular X-ray experiments on crystallization or order-disorder phase transitions in metallic alloys, we need to change the sample temperature by hundreds of degrees as fast as possible while avoiding over or under shooting. To achieve this, we designed and implemented a computer-controlled temperature tracking system which combines standard Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) feedback, thermal modeling and finite difference thermal calculations (feedforward), and Kalman filtering of the temperature readings in order to reduce the noise. The resulting Kalman-Predictive-Proportional-Integral-Derivative (KPPID) algorithm allows us to obtain accurate control, to minimize the response time and to avoid over/under shooting, even in systems with inherently noisy temperature readings and time delays. The KPPID temperature controller was successfully implemented at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratories and was used to perform coherent and time-resolved X-ray diffraction experiments.

  14. Just in Time Research: Data Breaches in Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grama, Joanna

    2014-01-01

    This "Just in Time" research is in response to recent discussions on the EDUCAUSE Higher Education Information Security Council (HEISC) discussion list about data breaches in higher education. Using data from the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, this research analyzes data breaches attributed to higher education. The results from this…

  15. Time-Discrete Higher-Order ALE Formulations: Stability

    KAUST Repository

    Bonito, Andrea

    2013-01-01

    Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) formulations deal with PDEs on deformable domains upon extending the domain velocity from the boundary into the bulk with the purpose of keeping mesh regularity. This arbitrary extension has no effect on the stability of the PDE but may influence that of a discrete scheme. We examine this critical issue for higher-order time stepping without space discretization. We propose time-discrete discontinuous Galerkin (dG) numerical schemes of any order for a time-dependent advection-diffusion-model problem in moving domains, and study their stability properties. The analysis hinges on the validity of the Reynold\\'s identity for dG. Exploiting the variational structure and assuming exact integration, we prove that our conservative and nonconservative dG schemes are equivalent and unconditionally stable. The same results remain true for piecewise polynomial ALE maps of any degree and suitable quadrature that guarantees the validity of the Reynold\\'s identity. This approach generalizes the so-called geometric conservation law to higher-order methods. We also prove that simpler Runge-Kutta-Radau methods of any order are conditionally stable, that is, subject to a mild ALE constraint on the time steps. Numerical experiments corroborate and complement our theoretical results. © 2013 Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.

  16. Very large area multiwire spectroscopic proportional counters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ubertini, P.; Bazzano, A.; Boccaccini, L.; Mastropietro, M.; La Padula, C.D.; Patriarca, R.; Polcaro, V.F.

    1981-01-01

    As a result of a five year development program, a final prototype of a Very Large Area Spectroscopic Proportional Counter (VLASPC), to be employed in space borne payloads, was produced at the Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale, Frascati. The instrument is the last version of a new generation of Multiwire Spectroscopic Proportional Counters (MWSPC) succesfully employed in many balloon borne flights, devoted to hard X-ray astronomy. The sensitive area of this standard unit is 2700 cm 2 with an efficiency higher than 10% in the range 15-180 keV (80% at 60 keV). The low cost and weight make this new type of VLASPC competitive with Nal arrays, phoswich and GSPC detectors in terms of achievable scientific results. (orig.)

  17. Very large area multiwire spectroscopic proportional counters

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ubertini, P.; Bazzano, A.; Boccaccini, L.; Mastropietro, M.; La Padula, C.D.; Patriarca, R.; Polcaro, V.F. (Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale, Frascati (Italy))

    1981-07-01

    As a result of a five year development program, a final prototype of a Very Large Area Spectroscopic Proportional Counter (VLASPC), to be employed in space borne payloads, was produced at the Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale, Frascati. The instrument is the last version of a new generation of Multiwire Spectroscopic Proportional Counters (MWSPC) successfully employed in many balloon borne flights, devoted to hard X-ray astronomy. The sensitive area of this standard unit is 2700 cm/sup 2/ with an efficiency higher than 10% in the range 15-180 keV (80% at 60 keV). The low cost and weight make this new type of VLASPC competitive with Nal arrays, phoswich and GSPC detectors in terms of achievable scientific results.

  18. Adopting Consumer Time: Potential Issues for Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gibbs, Paul

    2009-01-01

    Time and temporality have received little attention in the consumerism, marketing or, until recently, higher education literature. This paper attempts to compare the notions of timing implicit in education as "paideia" (transitional personal growth) with that implicit in consumerism and the marketing practices which foster it. This…

  19. A stable higher order space time Galerkin marching-on-in-time scheme

    KAUST Repository

    Pray, Andrew J.

    2013-07-01

    We present a method for the stable solution of time-domain integral equations. The method uses a technique developed in [1] to accurately evaluate matrix elements. As opposed to existing stabilization schemes, the method presented uses higher order basis functions in time to improve the accuracy of the solver. The method is validated by showing convergence in temporal basis function order, time step size, and geometric discretization order. © 2013 IEEE.

  20. BE-FAST (Balance, Eyes, Face, Arm, Speech, Time): Reducing the Proportion of Strokes Missed Using the FAST Mnemonic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aroor, Sushanth; Singh, Rajpreet; Goldstein, Larry B

    2017-02-01

    The FAST algorithm (Face, Arm, Speech, Time) helps identify persons having an acute stroke. We determined the proportion of patients with acute ischemic stroke not captured by FAST and evaluated a revised mnemonic. Records of all patients admitted to the University of Kentucky Stroke Center between January and December 2014 with a discharge International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification code for acute ischemic stroke were reviewed. Those misclassified, having missing National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale data, or were comatose or intubated were excluded. Presenting symptoms, demographics, and examination findings based on the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale data were abstracted. Of 858 consecutive records identified, 736 met inclusion criteria; 14.1% did not have any FAST symptoms at presentation. Of these, 42% had gait imbalance or leg weakness, 40% visual symptoms, and 70% either symptom. With their addition, the proportion of stroke patients not identified was reduced to 4.4% (Pface weakness, arm weakness, or speech impairment on admission examination were considered in addition to a history of FAST symptoms, the proportion missed was reduced to 9.9% (P=0.0010). The proportion of stroke patients not identified was also reduced (2.6%) with the addition of a history of gait imbalance/leg weakness or visual symptoms (P<0.0001). Of patients with ischemic stroke with deficits potentially amenable to acute intervention, 14% are not identified using FAST. The inclusion of gait/leg and visual symptoms leads to a reduction in missed strokes. If validated in a prospective study, a revision of public educational programs may be warranted. © 2017 American Heart Association, Inc.

  1. Amplifier Design for Proportional Ionization Chambers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baker, W. H.

    1950-08-24

    This paper presents the requirements of a nuclear amplifier of short resolving time, designed to accept pulses of widely varying amplitudes. Data are given which show that a proportional ionization chamber loaded with a 1,000-ohm resistor develops pulses of 0.5 microsecond duration and several volts amplitude. Results indicate that seven basic requirements are imposed on the amplifier when counting soft beta and gamma radiation in the presence of alpha particles, without absorbers. It should, (1) have a fast recovery time, (2) have a relatively good low frequency response, (3) accept pulses of widely varying heights without developing spurious pulsed, (4) have a limiting output stage, (5) preserve the inherently short rise time of the chamber, (6) minimize pulse integration, and (7) have sufficient gain to detect the weak pulses well below the chamber voltage at which continuous discharge takes place. The results obtained with an amplifier which meets these requirements is described. A formula is derived which indicates that redesign of the proportional ionization chamber might eliminate the need for an amplifier. This may be possible if the radioactive particles are collimated parallel to the collecting electrode.

  2. Cardboard proportions and total solids contents as driving factors in dry co-fermentation of food waste.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Capson-Tojo, Gabriel; Trably, Eric; Rouez, Maxime; Crest, Marion; Bernet, Nicolas; Steyer, Jean-Philippe; Delgenès, Jean-Philippe; Escudié, Renaud

    2018-01-01

    This study evaluated the influence of the co-substrate proportions (0-60% of cardboard in dry basis) and the initial total solid contents (20-40%) on the batch fermentation performance. Maximum hydrogen yields were obtained when mono-fermenting food waste at high solids contents (89mlH 2 ·gVS -1 ). The hydrogen yields were lower when increasing the proportions of cardboard. The lower hydrogen yields at higher proportions of cardboard were translated into higher yields of caproic acid (up to 70.1gCOD·kgCOD bio -1 ), produced by consumption of acetic acid and hydrogen. The highest substrate conversions were achieved at low proportions of cardboard, indicating a stabilization effect due to higher buffering capacities in co-fermentation. Clostridiales were predominant in all operational conditions. This study opens up new possibilities for using the cardboard proportions for controlling the production of high added-value products in dry co-fermentation of food waste. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Quantification of meat proportions by measuring DNA contents in raw and boiled sausages using matrix-adapted calibrators and multiplex real-time PCR.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Köppel, René; Eugster, Albert; Ruf, Jürg; Rentsch, Jürg

    2012-01-01

    The quantification of meat proportions in raw and boiled sausage according to the recipe was evaluated using three different calibrators. To measure the DNA contents from beef, pork, sheep (mutton), and horse, a tetraplex real-time PCR method was applied. Nineteen laboratories analyzed four meat products each made of different proportions of beef, pork, sheep, and horse meat. Three kinds of calibrators were used: raw and boiled sausages of known proportions ranging from 1 to 55% of meat, and a dilution series of DNA from muscle tissue. In general, results generated using calibration sausages were more accurate than those resulting from the use of DNA from muscle tissue, and exhibited smaller measurement uncertainties. Although differences between uses of raw and boiled calibration sausages were small, the most precise and accurate results were obtained by calibration with fine-textured boiled reference sausages.

  4. [Analysis of the proportion of women at different qualification levels in departments of human medicine in Germany].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zuber, M A

    2001-01-26

    In Germany leadership positions in medicine are characterized by an almost complete lack of women. The goal of this study was to determine the representation of women among different career ranks during medical school, residency and academic advancement during the past 20 years. The annual reports of the German Federal Statistic Office in Wiesbaden were checked for the numbers of medical students, dissertations, physicians, internists, fellows and trainees at universities, habilitations and professorships. Among medical students, final examination, dissertation, physicians, internists and trainees at universities a proportion of women can be found nowadays which is at a 15% higher percentage level than 20 years ago. Among assistant professors and habilitations at universities there is a very low proportion of women, which did increase only slightly from 5 to 10% during the past 20 years. Within the same period of time the total number of professors and the proportion of female professors were nearly unchanged. Reunification of East and West Germany led to an increase of the representation of women among all levels of qualification which is due to the much higher proportion of female physicians in the former GDR. The lack of women in leadership positions in medicine in Germany is not due to a general lack of women in medicine. Among all other career ranks the proportion of women increased by 15%. The completely unchanged number and composition of the professors during the past 20 years suggests that the lack of women among this professional group has to do with conservatism which is an inherent trait of university professors in Germany.

  5. The Analysis of Proportional Reasoning Problem in the Indonesian Mathematics Textbook for Junior High School

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rahmah Johar

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The lack of Indonesian students achievement in the international assessment is due to several factors. Students are not familiar with the problems requiring reasoning, in particular the proportional reasoning. This research aims to identify the distribution and the Level of Cognitive Demands (LCD of the proportional reasoning problems found in the Year 7 and Year 8 mathematics textbooks based on the 2013 curriculum (revised edition 2014. The data collection was conducted by identifying the proportional reasoning problems found in the whole chapters of the textbooks which are then analysed and classified using the Smiths and Stein’s criteria of LCD (1998. The results reveal that the proportional reasoning problems were only found in the three of 17 chapters namely ratio and proportion, rectangle and triangle, and Pythagorean Theorem, which represent different LCD including Lower-LCD (Low-M and Low-P and Higher-LCD (High-P. Out of 69 proportional reasoning problem found in the textbooks, the percentage of higher-LCD problems (n=29 ; 42.03% is less than lower-LCD (n=40;57.97%. In addition, the higher-LCD problems found were only the high-P type. None was found to meet the requirement of High-DM demanding students to conduct ‘doing mathematics’, complex approach and self-monitoring or self regulation of students’ cognitive process. It is recommended that the proportional reasoning problems, including some High-DM problems, should be provided in each topic in Indonesian mathematics textbooks.

  6. Charged fluid distribution in higher dimensional spheroidal space-time

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    A general solution of Einstein field equations corresponding to a charged fluid distribution on the background of higher dimensional spheroidal space-time is obtained. The solution generates several known solutions for superdense star having spheroidal space-time geometry.

  7. Proportion congruency effects: Instructions may be enough

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olga eEntel

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Learning takes time, namely, one needs to be exposed to contingency relations between stimulus dimensions in order to learn, whereas intentional control can be recruited through task demands. Therefore showing that control can be recruited as a function of experimental instructions alone, that is, adapting the processing according to the instructions before the exposure to the task, can be taken as evidence for existence of control recruitment in the absence of learning. This was done by manipulating the information given at the outset of the experiment. In the first experiment, we manipulated list-level congruency proportion. Half of the participants were informed that most of the stimuli would be congruent, whereas the other half were informed that most of the stimuli would be incongruent. This held true for the stimuli in the second part of each experiment. In the first part, however, the proportion of the two stimulus types was equal. A proportion congruent effect was found in both parts of the experiment, but it was larger in the second part. In our second experiment, we manipulated the proportion of the stimuli within participants by applying an item-specific design. This was done by presenting some color words most often in their congruent color, and other color words in incongruent colors. Participants were informed about the exact word-color pairings in advance. Similar to Experiment 1, this held true only for the second experimental part. In contrast to our first experiment, informing participants in advance did not result in an item-specific proportion effect, which was observed only in the second part. Thus our results support the hypothesis that instructions may be enough to trigger list-level control, yet learning does contribute to the proportion congruent effect under such conditions. The item-level proportion effect is apparently caused by learning or at least it is moderated by it.

  8. A stable higher order space time Galerkin marching-on-in-time scheme

    KAUST Repository

    Pray, Andrew J.; Shanker, Balasubramaniam; Bagci, Hakan

    2013-01-01

    We present a method for the stable solution of time-domain integral equations. The method uses a technique developed in [1] to accurately evaluate matrix elements. As opposed to existing stabilization schemes, the method presented uses higher order

  9. A unified approach to the design of advanced proportional-integral-derivative controllers for time-delay processes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Moonyong [Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan (Korea, Republic of); Vu, Truong Nguyen Luan [University of Technical Education of Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh (China)

    2013-03-15

    A unified approach for the design of proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controllers cascaded with first-order lead-lag filters is proposed for various time-delay processes. The proposed controller’s tuning rules are directly derived using the Padé approximation on the basis of internal model control (IMC) for enhanced stability against disturbances. A two-degrees-of-freedom (2DOF) control scheme is employed to cope with both regulatory and servo problems. Simulation is conducted for a broad range of stable, integrating, and unstable processes with time delays. Each simulated controller is tuned to have the same degree of robustness in terms of maximum sensitivity (Ms). The results demonstrate that the proposed controller provides superior disturbance rejection and set-point tracking when compared with recently published PID-type controllers. Controllers’ robustness is investigated through the simultaneous introduction of perturbation uncertainties to all process parameters to obtain worst-case process-model mismatch. The process-model mismatch simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method consistently affords superior robustness.

  10. Proportional feedback control of laminar flow over a hemisphere

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Jung Il [Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Ajou University, Suwon (Korea, Republic of); Son, Dong Gun [Severe Accident and PHWR Safety Research Division, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI), Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-08-15

    In the present study, we perform a proportional feedback control of laminar flow over a hemisphere at Re = 300 to reduce its lift fluctuations by attenuating the strength of the vortex shedding. As a control input, blowing/suction is distributed on the surface of hemisphere before the separation, and its strength is linearly proportional to the transverse velocity at a sensing location in the centerline of the wake. The sensing location is determined based on a correlation function between the lift force and the time derivative of sensing velocity. The optimal proportional gains for the proportional control are obtained for the sensing locations considered. The present control successfully attenuates the velocity fluctuations at the sensing location and three dimensional vertical structures in the wake, resulting in the reduction of lift fluctuations of hemisphere.

  11. PEP quark search proportional chambers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Parker, S I; Harris, F; Karliner, I; Yount, D [Hawaii Univ., Honolulu (USA); Ely, R; Hamilton, R; Pun, T [California Univ., Berkeley (USA). Lawrence Berkeley Lab.; Guryn, W; Miller, D; Fries, R [Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (USA)

    1981-04-01

    Proportional chambers are used in the PEP Free Quark Search to identify and remove possible background sources such as particles traversing the edges of counters, to permit geometric corrections to the dE/dx and TOF information from the scintillator and Cerenkov counters, and to look for possible high cross section quarks. The present beam pipe has a thickness of 0.007 interaction lengths (lambdasub(i)) and is followed in both arms each with 45/sup 0/ <= theta <= 135/sup 0/, ..delta..phi=90/sup 0/ by 5 proportional chambers, each 0.0008 lambdasub(i) thick with 32 channels of pulse height readout, and by 3 thin scintillator planes, each 0.003 lambdasub(i) thick. Following this thin front end, each arm of the detector has 8 layers of scintillator (one with scintillating light pipes) interspersed with 4 proportional chambers and a layer of lucite Cerenkov counters. Both the calculated ion statistics and measurements using He-CH/sub 4/ gas in a test chamber indicate that the chamber efficiencies should be >98% for q=1/3. The Landau spread measured in the test was equal to that observed for normal q=1 traversals. One scintillator plane and thin chamber in each arm will have an extra set of ADC's with a wide gate bracketing the normal one so timing errors and tails of earlier pulses should not produce fake quarks.

  12. Naked singularities in higher dimensional Vaidya space-times

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ghosh, S. G.; Dadhich, Naresh

    2001-01-01

    We investigate the end state of the gravitational collapse of a null fluid in higher-dimensional space-times. Both naked singularities and black holes are shown to be developing as the final outcome of the collapse. The naked singularity spectrum in a collapsing Vaidya region (4D) gets covered with the increase in dimensions and hence higher dimensions favor a black hole in comparison to a naked singularity. The cosmic censorship conjecture will be fully respected for a space of infinite dimension

  13. The comparison of proportional hazards and accelerated failure time models in analyzing the first birth interval survival data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faruk, Alfensi

    2018-03-01

    Survival analysis is a branch of statistics, which is focussed on the analysis of time- to-event data. In multivariate survival analysis, the proportional hazards (PH) is the most popular model in order to analyze the effects of several covariates on the survival time. However, the assumption of constant hazards in PH model is not always satisfied by the data. The violation of the PH assumption leads to the misinterpretation of the estimation results and decreasing the power of the related statistical tests. On the other hand, the accelerated failure time (AFT) models do not assume the constant hazards in the survival data as in PH model. The AFT models, moreover, can be used as the alternative to PH model if the constant hazards assumption is violated. The objective of this research was to compare the performance of PH model and the AFT models in analyzing the significant factors affecting the first birth interval (FBI) data in Indonesia. In this work, the discussion was limited to three AFT models which were based on Weibull, exponential, and log-normal distribution. The analysis by using graphical approach and a statistical test showed that the non-proportional hazards exist in the FBI data set. Based on the Akaike information criterion (AIC), the log-normal AFT model was the most appropriate model among the other considered models. Results of the best fitted model (log-normal AFT model) showed that the covariates such as women’s educational level, husband’s educational level, contraceptive knowledge, access to mass media, wealth index, and employment status were among factors affecting the FBI in Indonesia.

  14. Subjective Proportions: 18th-Century Interpretations of Paestum’s ‘Disproportion’

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sigrid de Jong

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available When 18th-century travellers saw the Doric temples of Paestum in Southern Italy with their own eyes, they observed for the first time true examples of the proportions of archaic Greek architecture. Contrary to the Roman proportional systems, the Greek ones had been largely unavailable to architects until then. With the rediscovery of Paestum, conveniently located south of Naples and not in far away Greece, the secret of Greek proportions was no more. Architects were able to precisely measure the temples and wrote many accounts about their primitive forms and proportions. But what did architects mean exactly when describing the proportions as primitive? What kinds of reflections did these proportions provoke? This article treats proportions as aesthetics, or as visible proportions, not as a numerical system. The discourse on proportions changed in this period, giving more weight to their cultural and historical meaning. The writings by such architects as Soane, Wilkins, and Labrouste demonstrate how Paestum functioned as a laboratory to unveil the secret of primitive proportions, and how, with the different meanings architects attached to them, it enlarged and renewed the debate on proportions.

  15. Proportionality for Military Leaders

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Brown, Gary D

    2000-01-01

    .... Especially lacking is a realization that there are four distinct types of proportionality. In determining whether a particular resort to war is just, national leaders must consider the proportionality of the conflict (i.e...

  16. Position sensitive proportional counters as focal plane detectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ford, J.L.C. Jr.

    1979-01-01

    The rise time and charge division techniques for position decoding with RC-line proportional counters are reviewed. The advantages that these detectors offer as focal plane counters for nuclear spectroscopy performed with magnetic spectrographs are discussed. The theory of operation of proportional counters as position sensing devices is summarized, as well as practical aspects affecting their application. Factors limiting the position and energy resolutions obtainable with a focal plane proportional counter are evaluated and measured position and energy loss values are presented for comparison. Detector systems capable of the multiparameter measurements required for particle identification, background suppression and ray-tracing are described in order to illustrate the wide applicability of proportional counters within complex focal plane systems. Examples of the use of these counters other than with magnetic spectrographs are given in order to demonstrate their usefulness in not only nuclear physics but also in fields such as solid state physics, biology, and medicine. The influence of the new focal plane detector systems on future magnetic spectrograph designs is discussed. (Auth.)

  17. Optimization of simultaneous tritium–radiocarbon internal gas proportional counting

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bonicalzi, R. M.; Aalseth, C. E.; Day, A. R.; Hoppe, E. W.; Mace, E. K.; Moran, J. J.; Overman, C. T.; Panisko, M. E.; Seifert, A.

    2016-03-01

    Specific environmental applications can benefit from dual tritium and radiocarbon measurements in a single compound. Assuming typical environmental levels, it is often the low tritium activity relative to the higher radiocarbon activity that limits the dual measurement. In this paper, we explore the parameter space for a combined tritium and radiocarbon measurement using a methane sample mixed with an argon fill gas in low-background proportional counters of a specific design. We present an optimized methane percentage, detector fill pressure, and analysis energy windows to maximize measurement sensitivity while minimizing count time. The final optimized method uses a 9-atm fill of P35 (35% methane, 65% argon), and a tritium analysis window from 1.5 to 10.3 keV, which stops short of the tritium beta decay endpoint energy of 18.6 keV. This method optimizes tritium counting efficiency while minimizing radiocarbon beta decay interference.

  18. Academic Work—Faster, Higher, Further? On the (Missing Proportion of Work to Spare Time in the (Cultural Sciences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gert Dressel

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available We make the practices of the academic production of knowledge a subject of critical discussion by focusing on the world of academic work and the academics themselves. Based on interviews with academics in the field of cultural sciences we conclude that with regard to their daily routines, their annual schedules, and their life-courses the so-called private life (family life, leisure time etc. becomes dominated by the social and cultural logics of the working sphere. Although it might appear exaggerated, we will refer to the humanities as a "total institution" which entails social, physical, and mental costs for its "inmates" as well as for those who never managed to become "inmates" (in spite of their efforts and those who don’t belong to the institution any more. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0801385

  19. Duality between resource reservation and proportional share resource allocation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoica, Ion; Abdel-Wahab, Hussein; Jeffay, Kevin

    1997-01-01

    We describe anew framework for resource allocation that unifies the well-known proportional share and resource reservation policies. Each client is characterized by two parameters: a weight that represents the rate at which the client 'pays' for the resource, and a share that represents the fraction of the resource that the client should receive. A fixed rate corresponds to a proportional share allocation, while a fixed share corresponds to a reservation. Furthermore, rates and shares are duals of each other. Once one parameters is fixed the other becomes fixed as well. If a client asks for a fixed share then the level of competition for the resource determines the rate at which it has to pay, while if the rate is fixed, level of competition determines the service time the clients should receive. To implement this framework we use a new proportional share algorithm, called earliest eligible virtual deadline first, that achieves optical accuracy in the rates at which process execute. This makes it possible to provide support for highly predictable, real-time services. As a proof of concept we have implemented a prototype of a CPU scheduler under the FreeBSD operating system. The experimental results show that our scheduler achieves the goal of providing integrated support for batch and real-time applications.

  20. Enhanced learning of proportional math through music training and spatial-temporal training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graziano, A B; Peterson, M; Shaw, G L

    1999-03-01

    It was predicted, based on a mathematical model of the cortex, that early music training would enhance spatial-temporal reasoning. We have demonstrated that preschool children given six months of piano keyboard lessons improved dramatically on spatial-temporal reasoning while children in appropriate control groups did not improve. It was then predicted that the enhanced spatial-temporal reasoning from piano keyboard training could lead to enhanced learning of specific math concepts, in particular proportional math, which is notoriously difficult to teach using the usual language-analytic methods. We report here the development of Spatial-Temporal Math Video Game software designed to teach fractions and proportional math, and its strikingly successful use in a study involving 237 second-grade children (age range six years eight months-eight years five months). Furthermore, as predicted, children given piano keyboard training along with the Math Video Game training scored significantly higher on proportional math and fractions than children given a control training along with the Math Video Game. These results were readily measured using the companion Math Video Game Evaluation Program. The training time necessary for children on the Math Video Game is very short, and they rapidly reach a high level of performance. This suggests that, as predicted, we are tapping into fundamental cortical processes of spatial-temporal reasoning. This spatial-temporal approach is easily generalized to teach other math and science concepts in a complementary manner to traditional language-analytic methods, and at a younger age. The neural mechanisms involved in thinking through fractions and proportional math during training with the Math Video Game might be investigated in EEG coherence studies along with priming by specific music.

  1. Growth Optimal Portfolio Selection Under Proportional Transaction Costs with Obligatory Diversification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duncan, T.; Pasik Duncan, B.; Stettner, L.

    2011-01-01

    A continuous time long run growth optimal or optimal logarithmic utility portfolio with proportional transaction costs consisting of a fixed proportional cost and a cost proportional to the volume of transaction is considered. The asset prices are modeled as exponent of diffusion with jumps whose parameters depend on a finite state Markov process of economic factors. An obligatory portfolio diversification is introduced, accordingly to which it is required to invest at least a fixed small portion of our wealth in each asset.

  2. Simple estimation procedures for regression analysis of interval-censored failure time data under the proportional hazards model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Jianguo; Feng, Yanqin; Zhao, Hui

    2015-01-01

    Interval-censored failure time data occur in many fields including epidemiological and medical studies as well as financial and sociological studies, and many authors have investigated their analysis (Sun, The statistical analysis of interval-censored failure time data, 2006; Zhang, Stat Modeling 9:321-343, 2009). In particular, a number of procedures have been developed for regression analysis of interval-censored data arising from the proportional hazards model (Finkelstein, Biometrics 42:845-854, 1986; Huang, Ann Stat 24:540-568, 1996; Pan, Biometrics 56:199-203, 2000). For most of these procedures, however, one drawback is that they involve estimation of both regression parameters and baseline cumulative hazard function. In this paper, we propose two simple estimation approaches that do not need estimation of the baseline cumulative hazard function. The asymptotic properties of the resulting estimates are given, and an extensive simulation study is conducted and indicates that they work well for practical situations.

  3. Programming real-time executives in higher order language

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foudriat, E. C.

    1982-01-01

    Methods by which real-time executive programs can be implemented in a higher order language are discussed, using HAL/S and Path Pascal languages as program examples. Techniques are presented by which noncyclic tasks can readily be incorporated into the executive system. Situations are shown where the executive system can fail to meet its task scheduling and yet be able to recover either by rephasing the clock or stacking the information for later processing. The concept of deadline processing is shown to enable more effective mixing of time and information synchronized systems.

  4. Position-sensitive proportional counter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kopp, M.K.

    1980-01-01

    A position-sensitive proportional counter circuit uses a conventional (low-resistance, metal-wire anode) counter for spatial resolution of an ionizing event along the anode, which functions as an RC line. A pair of preamplifiers at the anode ends act as stabilized active-capacitance loads, each comprising a series-feedback, low-noise amplifier and a unity-gain, shunt-feedback amplifier whose output is connected through a feedback capacitor to the series-feedback amplifier input. The stabilized capacitance loading of the anode allows distributed RC-line position encoding and subsequent time difference decoding by sensing the difference in rise times of pulses at the anode ends where the difference is primarily in response to the distributed capacitance along the anode. This allows the use of lower resistance wire anodes for spatial radiation detection which simplifies the counter construction of handling of the anodes, and stabilizes the anode resistivity at high count rates (>10 6 counts/sec). (author)

  5. Analogical proportions: another logical view

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prade, Henri; Richard, Gilles

    This paper investigates the logical formalization of a restricted form of analogical reasoning based on analogical proportions, i.e. statements of the form a is to b as c is to d. Starting from a naive set theoretic interpretation, we highlight the existence of two noticeable companion proportions: one states that a is to b the converse of what c is to d (reverse analogy), while the other called paralogical proportion expresses that what a and b have in common, c and d have it also. We identify the characteristic postulates of the three types of proportions and examine their consequences from an abstract viewpoint. We further study the properties of the set theoretic interpretation and of the Boolean logic interpretation, and we provide another light on the understanding of the role of permutations in the modeling of the three types of proportions. Finally, we address the use of these proportions as a basis for inference in a propositional setting, and relate it to more general schemes of analogical reasoning. The differences between analogy, reverse-analogy, and paralogy is still emphasized in a three-valued setting, which is also briefly presented.

  6. The Times Higher Education Ranking Product: Visualising Excellence through Media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stack, Michelle L.

    2013-01-01

    This paper will examine the Times Higher Education's (THE) World University Rankings as a corporate media product. A number of empirical studies have critiqued the methodology of the THE, yet individuals, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and governments continue to use them for decision-making. This paper analyses the influence of…

  7. Fatigue damage assessment under multi-axial non-proportional cyclic loading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mohta, Keshav; Gupta, Suneel K.; Jadhav, P.A.; Bhasin, V.; Vijayan, P.K.

    2016-01-01

    Detailed fatigue analysis is carried out for class I Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) components to rule out the fatigue failure during their design lifetime. ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel code Section III NB, has provided two schemes for fatigue assessment, one for fixed principal directions (proportional) loading and the other for varying principal directions (non-proportional) loading conditions. Recent literature on multi-axial fatigue tests has revealed lower fatigue lives under nonproportional loading conditions. In an attempt to understand the loading parameter lowering the fatigue life, a finite element based study has been carried out. Here, fatigue damage in a tube has been correlated with the applied axial to shear strain ratio and phase difference between them. The FE analysis has used Chaboche nonlinear kinematic hardening rule to model material's realistic cyclic plastic deformation behavior. The ASME alternating stress intensity (based on linear elastic FEA) and the plastic strain energy dissipation (based on elastic-plastic FEA) have been considered to assess the per cycle fatigue damage. The study has revealed that ASME criteria predicts lower alternating stress intensity (fatigue damage parameter S alt ) for some cases of non-proportional loading than that predicted for corresponding proportional loading case. However, the actual fatigue damage is higher in non-proportional loading than that in corresponding proportional loading case. Further the fatigue damage of an NPP component under realistic multi-axial cyclic loading conditions has been assessed using some popular critical plane based models vis-à-vis ASME Sec. III criteria. (author)

  8. LDPC Codes with Minimum Distance Proportional to Block Size

    Science.gov (United States)

    Divsalar, Dariush; Jones, Christopher; Dolinar, Samuel; Thorpe, Jeremy

    2009-01-01

    error floors as well as low decoding thresholds. As an example, the illustration shows the protograph (which represents the blueprint for overall construction) of one proposed code family for code rates greater than or equal to 1.2. Any size LDPC code can be obtained by copying the protograph structure N times, then permuting the edges. The illustration also provides Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) hardware performance simulations for this code family. In addition, the illustration provides minimum signal-to-noise ratios (Eb/No) in decibels (decoding thresholds) to achieve zero error rates as the code block size goes to infinity for various code rates. In comparison with the codes mentioned in the preceding article, these codes have slightly higher decoding thresholds.

  9. The golden proportion in facial soft-tissues of Vietnamese females.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Minh Son; Saag, Mare; Le, Van Nho; Nguyen, Thuy Trang; Nguyen, Bui Bao Tien; Jagomägi, Triin

    2016-01-01

    Objective of the current study was to evaluate proportions of frontal facial soft-tissues of Vietnamese females correspond to the golden proportion (GP). Sixty frontal facial photographs of Vietnamese female students aged 19 years were selected. The selected participants had symmetrical face, a Class I relationship occlusion, complete lip closure, and no history of trauma and orthodontic treatment. The photographic record was set-up with a white backdrop, fill light, a reflector, a camera Canon 650D and subjects were asked to sit in a standard position. Trichion (TR), Temporal soft tissue (TS), Lateral canthus (LC), Lateral nasal (LN), Chilion (CH), and Menton (ME) point were used for photometric measurements on CorelDRAW Graphic X3 software. The vertical facial proportions (mean, percentage compared with GP) were significantly higher than the GP including: LC-CH:CH-ME (1.661, 102%), LN-ME:LC-LN (1.729, 106%), TR-ME:LC-ME (1.739, 107%), TR-LN:LN-ME (1.759, 108%). Whereas TR-ME:LN-ME; CH-ME:LN-CH; LC-LN:LN-CH had ratios of 84% - 92% and were significantly smaller in comparison with GP. The horizontal facial proportions of CHR-L:LNR-L, LCR-L:CHR-L and TSR-L:LCR-L deviated from the GP with mean values of 1.221, 1.922 and 1.229, respectively. The new mean values of TR-ME:LC-ME (1.733), TR-LN:LN-ME (1.732), LC-ME:TR-LC (1.374), CH-ME:LN-CH (1.524), which were predictable changes in proportions, can be significantly converged to the GP if LC-CH:CH-ME is equal to the GP. Soft-tissue facial proportions of Vietnamese females did not correspond to the GP. Changing the lower third face may create harmony vertical facial proportions.

  10. NO3-/NH4+ proportions affect cadmium bioaccumulation and tolerance of tomato.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nogueirol, Roberta Corrêa; Monteiro, Francisco Antonio; de Souza Junior, João Cardoso; Azevedo, Ricardo Antunes

    2018-05-01

    With the growth of the world population, cadmium (Cd) concentration in the environment has increased considerably as a result of human activities such as foundry, battery disposal, mining, application of fertilizers containing toxic elements as impurities, and disposal of metal-containing waste. Higher plants uptake N as ammonium (NH 4 + ), nitrate (NO 3 - ), and many other water-soluble compounds such as urea and amino acids, and nourishing plants with N, providing part of it as NH 4 + , is an interesting alternative to the supply of this nutrient in the exclusive form of NO 3 - under Cd toxicity. The objective was to evaluate the influence of NO 3 - /NH 4 + proportions on the development and tolerance of tomato plants grown under the presence of Cd in the culture medium. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized block design in a 3 × 3 factorial arrangement consisting of three Cd rates (0, 50, and 100 μmol L -1 ) and three NO 3 - /NH 4 + proportions (100/0, 70/30, and 50/50) in the nutrient solution. To this end, we quantified the responses of the antioxidant enzymatic system and productive and functional changes in Solanum lycopersicum var. esculentum (Calabash Rouge). Shoot biomass production decreased with the maximum Cd rate (100 μmol L -1 ) tested in the growth medium, whereas the NO 3 - /NH 4 + proportions and other Cd rates did not significantly influence this variable. The lowest SPAD values were observed at the 100/0 NO 3 - /NH 4 + proportion and in plants exposed to Cd. The largest accumulation of the metal occurred in the shoots at the NO 3 - /NH 4 + proportion of 70/30 and at 100 μmol L -1 Cd and in the roots at 100/0 NO 3 - /NH 4 + and with 50 and 100 μmol L -1 Cd. The concentration and accumulation of NO 3 - were highest at the NO 3 - /NH 4 + proportion of 100/0 in the shoots and at 50/50 NO 3 - /NH 4 + in the roots, whereas for NH 4 + , values were higher as the proportion of N supplied in the form of NH 4 + was

  11. A Linear-Elasticity Solver for Higher-Order Space-Time Mesh Deformation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diosady, Laslo T.; Murman, Scott M.

    2018-01-01

    A linear-elasticity approach is presented for the generation of meshes appropriate for a higher-order space-time discontinuous finite-element method. The equations of linear-elasticity are discretized using a higher-order, spatially-continuous, finite-element method. Given an initial finite-element mesh, and a specified boundary displacement, we solve for the mesh displacements to obtain a higher-order curvilinear mesh. Alternatively, for moving-domain problems we use the linear-elasticity approach to solve for a temporally discontinuous mesh velocity on each time-slab and recover a continuous mesh deformation by integrating the velocity. The applicability of this methodology is presented for several benchmark test cases.

  12. Comparative evaluation of the calcium release from mineral trioxide aggregate and its mixture with glass ionomer cement in different proportions and time intervals – An in vitro study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Surbhi Sawhney

    2015-10-01

    Conclusions: Adding GIC to improve the setting time and handling properties of the MTA powder can be detrimental to the calcium-releasing ability of the resultant mixture, depending on the proportion of GIC added. Adding MTA and GIC at a proportion of 2:1 by volume did not impact calcium release from the mixture. These findings should be verified through further clinical studies.

  13. Time as the Fourth Dimension in the Globalization of Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker, Judith

    2009-01-01

    This paper calls for an analysis of time to be integrated into the theories on the globalization of higher education. Specifically, the author argues that academic capitalism, fuelled by globalization, has led to changes in the university visible in time/space compression, time acceleration, the reification of time and our internalization of the…

  14. The Principle of Proportionality

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bennedsen, Morten; Meisner Nielsen, Kasper

    2005-01-01

    Recent policy initiatives within the harmonization of European company laws have promoted a so-called "principle of proportionality" through proposals that regulate mechanisms opposing a proportional distribution of ownership and control. We scrutinize the foundation for these initiatives...... in relationship to the process of harmonization of the European capital markets.JEL classifications: G30, G32, G34 and G38Keywords: Ownership Structure, Dual Class Shares, Pyramids, EU companylaws....

  15. Part-Time Higher Education in English Colleges: Adult Identities in Diminishing Spaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Esmond, Bill

    2015-01-01

    Adult participation in higher education has frequently entailed mature students studying part time in lower-ranked institutions. In England, higher education policies have increasingly emphasised higher education provision in vocational further education colleges, settings which have extensive adult traditions but which mainly teach…

  16. Simulation of proportional control of hydraulic actuator using digital hydraulic valves

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raghuraman, D. R. S.; Senthil Kumar, S.; Kalaiarasan, G.

    2017-11-01

    Fluid power systems using oil hydraulics in earth moving and construction equipment have been using proportional and servo control valves for a long time to achieve precise and accurate position control backed by system performance. Such valves are having feedback control in them and exhibit good response, sensitivity and fine control of the actuators. Servo valves and proportional valves are possessing less hysteresis when compared to on-off type valves, but when the servo valve spools get stuck in one position, a high frequency called as jitter is employed to bring the spool back, whereas in on-off type valves it requires lesser technology to retract the spool. Hence on-off type valves are used in a technology known as digital valve technology, which caters to precise control on slow moving loads with fast switching times and with good flow and pressure control mimicking the performance of an equivalent “proportional valve” or “servo valve”.

  17. Evaluating Middle Years Students' Proportional Reasoning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hilton, Annette; Dole, Shelley; Hilton, Geoff; Goos, Merrilyn; O'Brien, Mia

    2012-01-01

    Proportional reasoning is a key aspect of numeracy that is not always developed naturally by students. Understanding the types of proportional reasoning that students apply to different problem types is a useful first step to identifying ways to support teachers and students to develop proportional reasoning in the classroom. This paper describes…

  18. Effect of Different Proportions of Agrowaste on Cultivation Yield and Nutritional Composition of the Culinary-Medicinal Jelly Mushroom Auricularia polytricha (Higher Basidiomycetes).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Chiu-Yeh; Liang, Chih-Hung; Wu, Kuan-Jzen; Shih, Hsin-Der; Liang, Zeng-Chin

    2017-01-01

    In this study, Auricularia polytricha was cultivated on a sawdust basal substrate supplemented with different proportions (30%, 45%, and 60%, respectively) of agrowastes-sugarcane bagasse (SB), rice straw (RS), and rice husk (RH)-to evaluate the alternative substrates. The mycelial growth rate, total colonization time, time to first primordia, biological efficiency, and chemical composition of the fruiting bodies were determined. Results indicated that the 60% SB substrate was the best substrate for mycelial growth of A. polytricha, with a corresponding total colonization period of 35.2 days, followed by the control (35.5 days) and 45% SB (36.2 days) substrates. The most suitable substrate with a high biological efficiency was 60% RS substrate (159.14%), followed by the 45% SB (128.45%), and 20% RH (124.47%) substrates. The nutrient values of fruiting bodies showed the largest amounts of ash, protein, fat, carbohydrates, and energy cultivated on 60% SB, 60% SB, 30% SB, 30% RH, and 30% RH/the control substrates, respectively. The results indicated that 60% RS was an appropriate substrate for A. polytricha cultivation.

  19. Position-sensitive proportional counters using resistance-capacitance position encoding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kopp, M.K.; Borkowski, C.J.

    1975-12-01

    A new method was developed for encoding the position of individual photons, neutrons, or charged particles in proportional counters by using the distributed RC line characteristics of these counters. The signal processing is described and guidelines for the design and operation of these position sensitive proportional counters (PSPCs) are given. Using these guidelines, several prototypic PSPCs were constructed to improve the spatial resolution and shorten the signal processing time; for example, the intrinsic spatial uncertainty was reduced to 28 μ fwhm for alpha particles and 100 μ fwhm for low-energy x rays (2 to 6 keV). Also, the signal processing time was reduced to 0.6 μsec without seriously degrading the spatial resolution. These results have opened new fields of application of the RC position encoding method in imaging distributions of photons, charged particles, or neutrons in nuclear medicine, physics, and radiography

  20. Optical fusions and proportional syntheses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albert-Vanel, Michel

    2002-06-01

    A tragic error is being made in the literature concerning matters of color when dealing with optical fusions. They are still considered to be of additive nature, whereas experience shows us somewhat different results. The goal of this presentation is to show that fusions are, in fact, of 'proportional' nature, tending to be additive or subtractive, depending on each individual case. Using the pointillist paintings done in the manner of Seurat, or the spinning discs experiment could highlight this intermediate sector of the proportional. So, let us try to examine more closely what occurs in fact, by reviewing additive, subtractive and proportional syntheses.

  1. Shorter Perceived Outpatient MRI Wait Times Associated With Higher Patient Satisfaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holbrook, Anna; Glenn, Harold; Mahmood, Rabia; Cai, Qingpo; Kang, Jian; Duszak, Richard

    2016-05-01

    The aim of this study was to assess differences in perceived versus actual wait times among patients undergoing outpatient MRI examinations and to correlate those times with patient satisfaction. Over 15 weeks, 190 patients presenting for outpatient MR in a radiology department in which "patient experience" is one of the stated strategic priorities were asked to (1) estimate their wait times for various stages in the imaging process and (2) state their satisfaction with their imaging experience. Perceived times were compared with actual electronic time stamps. Perceived and actual times were compared and correlated with standardized satisfaction scores using Kendall τ correlation. The mean actual wait time between patient arrival and examination start was 53.4 ± 33.8 min, whereas patients perceived a mean wait time of 27.8 ± 23.1 min, a statistically significant underestimation of 25.6 min (P perceived wait times at all points during patient encounters were correlated with higher satisfaction scores (P perceived and actual wait times were both correlated with higher satisfaction scores. As satisfaction surveys play a larger role in an environment of metric transparency and value-based payments, better understanding of such factors will be increasingly important. Copyright © 2016 American College of Radiology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Higher percent body fat in young women with lower physical activity level and greater proportion Pacific Islander ancestry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Black, Nate; Nabokov, Vanessa; Vijayadeva, Vinutha; Novotny, Rachel

    2011-11-01

    Samoan women exhibit high rates of obesity, which can possibly be attenuated through diet and physical activity. Obesity, and body fatness in particular, is associated with increased risk for chronic diseases. Ancestry, physical activity, and dietary patterns have been associated with body composition. Using a cross-sectional design, the relative importance of proportion of Pacific Islander (PI) ancestry, level of physical activity, and macronutrients among healthy women in Honolulu, Hawai'i, ages 18 to 28 years was examined. All data were collected between January 2003 and December 2004. Percent body fat (%BF) was determined by whole body dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Nutrient data were derived from a three-day food record. Means and standard deviations were computed for all variables of interest. Bivariate correlation analysis was used to determine correlates of %BF. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine relative contribution of variables significantly associated with %BF. Proportion of PI ancestry was significantly positively associated with %BF (P=0.0001). Physical activity level was significantly negatively associated with %BF (P=0.0006). Intervention to increase physical activity level of young Samoan women may be effective to decrease body fat and improve health. CRC-NIH grant: 0216.

  3. Preliminary results from a high-pressure imaging spectroscopic proportional counter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hall, C.J.; Bazzano, A.; Lewis, R.A.; Parker, B.; Ubertini, P.; Worgan, J.S.

    1992-01-01

    A new type of high-pressure proportional counter, with both spatial resolution and spectroscopic capabilities is being jointly developed by the Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale (CNR), Frascati, Italy and the SERC Daresbury Laboratory, Warrington, UK. The characteristics of the detector can be optimized for the particular requirement of the experiment, either for x-ray astronomy observations from space, or for the high count rate applications associated with a synchrotron light source. In its baseline configuration, the detector is filled to 5 bar with a xenon/quench gas mixture and will be sensitive over the energy range 5 keV to 150 keV (2.5 to 0.08 A). The positional resolution will range from 500 μm at the lower energies to around 1 mm at the higher end of the energy range. The current prototype has a sensitive area of 200x200 mm. The final version is hoped to have an area closer to 425x425 mm. The very small photon absorption length in the higher pressure gas allows the parallax effect, a feature of 1 atmosphere detectors, to be greatly reduced. The timing resolution (150 ns) of the detector enables both a high-rate capability and the possibility of the escape gate technique to achieve higher spectral resolution at energies > the Xe K edge. Preliminary results are presented showing the spectral and positional resolution for the prototype detector

  4. Body physique and proportionality of Brazilian female artistic gymnasts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bacciotti, Sarita; Baxter-Jones, Adam; Gaya, Adroaldo; Maia, José

    2018-04-01

    This study aimed to identify physique characteristics (anthropometry, somatotype, body proportionality) of Brazilian female artistic gymnasts, and to compare them across competitive levels (sub-elite versus non-elite) within competitive age-categories. Two hundred forty-nine female gymnasts (68 sub-elite; 181 non-elite) from 26 Brazilian gymnastics clubs, aged 9-20 years and split into four age-categories, were sampled. Gymnasts were assessed for 16 anthropometric traits (height, weight, lengths, widths, girths, and skinfolds); somatotype was determined according to Heath-Carter method, body fat was estimated by bioimpedance, and proportionality was computed based on the z-phantom strategy. Non-elite and sub-elite gymnasts had similar values in anthropometric characteristics, however non-elite had higher fat folds in all age-categories (P < 0.01). In general, mesomorphy was the salient somatotype component in all age-categories, and an increase in endomorphy, followed by a decrease in ectomorphy across age was observed. Regarding proportionality, profile similarity was found between sub-elite and non-elite within age-categories. In conclusion results suggest the presence of a typical gymnast's physical prototype across age and competitive level, which can be useful to coaches during their selection processes in clubs and regional/national teams.

  5. Flexible geometry hodoscope using proportional chamber cathode read-out

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aubret, C.; Bellefon, A. de; Benoit, P.; Brunet, J.M.; Tristram, G.

    1978-01-01

    The construction of a cathode read-out proportional chamber, used as a low mass hodoscope is described. Results on efficiency, time resolution and space resolution are shown. The associative logic, which permits the use of the chamber as a coplanarity chamber is briefly presented

  6. Do later wake times and increased sleep duration of 12th graders result in more studying, higher grades, and improved SAT/ACT test scores?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cole, James S

    2016-09-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between sleep duration, wake time, and hours studying on high school grades and performance on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)/ American College Testing (ACT) college entrance exams. Data were collected from 13,071 recently graduated high school seniors who were entering college in the fall of 2014. A column proportions z test with a Bonferroni adjustment was used to analyze proportional differences. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to examine mean group differences. Students who woke up prior to 6 a.m. and got less than 8 h of sleep (27 %) were significantly more likely to report studying 11 or more hours per week (30 %), almost double the rate compared to students who got more than 8 h of sleep and woke up the latest (16 %). Post hoc results revealed students who woke up at 7 a.m. or later reported significantly higher high school grades than all other groups (p students who woke up between 6:01 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. and got eight or more hours of sleep. The highest reported SAT/ACT scores were from the group that woke up after 7 a.m. but got less than 8 h sleep (M = 1099.5). Their scores were significantly higher than all other groups. This study provides additional evidence that increased sleep and later wake time are associated with increased high school grades. However, this study also found that students who sleep the longest also reported less studying and lower SAT/ACT scores.

  7. Proportioning of U3O8 powder

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cermak, V.; Markvart, M.; Novy, P.; Vanka, M.

    1989-01-01

    The tests are briefly described or proportioning U 3 O 8 powder of a granulometric grain size range of 0-160 μm using a vertical screw, a horizontal dual screw and a vibration dispenser with a view to proportioning very fine U 3 O 8 powder fractions produced in the oxidation of UO 2 fuel pellets. In the tests, the evenness of proportioning was assessed by the percentage value of the proportioning rate spread measured at one-minute intervals at a proportioning rate of 1-3 kg/h. In feeding the U 3 O 3 in a flame fluorator, it is advantageous to monitor the continuity of the powder column being proportioned and to assess it radiometrically by the value of the proportioning rate spread at very short intervals (0.1 s). (author). 10 figs., 1 tab., 12 refs

  8. Just in Time and Future-Proofing? Policy, Challenges and Opportunities in the Professional Development of Part-Time Teachers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beaton, Fran

    2017-01-01

    Part-time teachers form a growing proportion of the global Higher Education (HE) workforce. Their backgrounds can vary from Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) teaching for the first time, to practitioners bringing workplace experience into HE and sessional teachers, all with differing professional development needs. This paper builds on previous…

  9. Proportional Symbol Mapping in R

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susumu Tanimura

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Visualization of spatial data on a map aids not only in data exploration but also in communication to impart spatial conception or ideas to others. Although recent carto-graphic functions in R are rapidly becoming richer, proportional symbol mapping, which is one of the common mapping approaches, has not been packaged thus far. Based on the theories of proportional symbol mapping developed in cartography, the authors developed some functions for proportional symbol mapping using R, including mathematical and perceptual scaling. An example of these functions demonstrated the new expressive power and options available in R, particularly for the visualization of conceptual point data.

  10. Impossibility Theorem in Proportional Representation Problem

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Karpov, Alexander

    2010-01-01

    The study examines general axiomatics of Balinski and Young and analyzes existed proportional representation methods using this approach. The second part of the paper provides new axiomatics based on rational choice models. New system of axioms is applied to study known proportional representation systems. It is shown that there is no proportional representation method satisfying a minimal set of the axioms (monotonicity and neutrality).

  11. "The Balancing Act"--Irish Part-Time Undergraduate Students in Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Darmody, Merike; Fleming, Bairbre

    2009-01-01

    While the numbers of part-time students has increased in higher education in Ireland, little is known about these students or about how they balance their study and other commitments. Drawing on a larger study on Irish students' experiences in higher education, this article attempts to address this gap in research and reports on Irish part-time…

  12. Simulation comparison of proportional integral derivative and fuzzy logic in controlling AC-DC buck boost converter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faisal, A.; Hasan, S.; Suherman

    2018-03-01

    AC-DC converter is widely used in the commercial industry even for daily purposes. The AC-DC converter is used to convert AC voltage into DC. In order to obtain the desired output voltage, the converter usually has a controllable regulator. This paper discusses buck boost regulator with a power MOSFET as switching component which is adjusted based on the duty cycle of pulse width modulation (PWM). The main problems of the buck boost converter at start up are the high overshoot, the long peak time and rise time. This paper compares the effectiveness of two control techniques: proportional integral derivative (PID) and fuzzy logic control in controlling the buck boost converter through simulations. The results show that the PID is more sensitive to voltage change than fuzzy logic. However, PID generates higher overshoot, long peak time and rise time. On the other hand, fuzzy logic generates no overshoot and shorter rise time.

  13. High Proportions of Multidrug-Resistant Acinetobacter spp. Isolates in a District in Western India: A Four-Year Antibiotic Susceptibility Study of Clinical Isolates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ingvild Odsbu

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of the study was to determine the proportions of multidrug-resistant (MDR Acinetobacter spp. isolates from the district of Nashik in Western India during the period from 2011–2014. Antibacterial susceptibility testing of isolates from inpatients and outpatients was performed using Kirby–Bauer disc diffusion method to determine inhibitory zone diameters. Proportions of non-susceptible isolates were calculated from the antibacterial susceptibility data. MDR was defined as an isolate being non-susceptible to at least one antibacterial agent in at least three antibacterial categories. The change in proportions of MDR isolates; extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL-producing isolates; and non-susceptible isolates to specific antibacterial categories over calendar time was investigated by logistic regression. The proportions of MDR and ESBL-producing isolates ranged from 89.4% to 95.9% and from 87.9% to 94.0%; respectively. The proportions of non-susceptible isolates to aminoglycosides; carbapenems; antipseudomonal penicillins/β-lactamase inhibitors; cephalosporins; folate pathway inhibitors; or penicillins/β-lactamase inhibitors exceeded 77.5%. Proportions of fluoroquinolone and tetracycline non-susceptible isolates ranged from 65.3% to 83.3% and from 71.3% to 75.9%; respectively. No changes in trends were observed over time; except for a decreasing trend in fluoroquinolone non-susceptible isolates (OR = 0.75 (95% CI, 0.62–0.91. Significantly higher proportions of non-susceptible; MDR and ESBL-producing isolates were found among isolates from the respiratory system compared to isolates from all other specimen types (p < 0.05. High proportions of MDR Acinetobacter spp. isolates were observed in the period from 2011–2014. Antimicrobial stewardship programmes are needed to prevent the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance.

  14. The organization of human epidermis: functional epidermal units and phi proportionality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoath, Steven B; Leahy, D G

    2003-12-01

    The concept that mammalian epidermis is structurally organized into functional epidermal units has been proposed on the basis of stratum corneum (SC) architecture, proliferation kinetics, melanocyte:keratinocyte ratios (1:36), and, more recently, Langerhans cell: epidermal cell ratios (1:53). This article examines the concept of functional epidermal units in human skin in which the maintenance of phi (1.618034) proportionality provides a central organizing principle. The following empirical measurements were used: 75,346 nucleated epidermal cells per mm2, 1394 Langerhans cells per mm2, 1999 melanocytes per mm2, 16 (SC) layers, 900-microm2 corneocyte surface area, 17,778 corneocytes per mm2, 14-d (SC) turnover time, and 93,124 per mm2 total epidermal cells. Given these empirical data: (1) the number of corneocytes is a mean proportional between the sum of the Langerhans cell + melanocyte populations and the number of epidermal cells, 3393/17,778-17,778/93,124; (2) the ratio of nucleated epidermal cells over corneocytes is phi proportional, 75,346/17,778 approximately phi3; (3) assuming similar 14-d turnover times for the (SC) and Malpighian epidermis, the number of corneocytes results from subtraction of a cellular fraction equal to approximately 2/phi2 x the number of living cells, 75,436 - (2/phi2 x 75,346) approximately 17,778; and (4) if total epidermal turnover time equals (SC) turnover time x the ratio of living/dead cells, then compartmental turnover times are unequal (14 d for (SC) to 45.3 d for nucleated epidermis approximately 1/2phi) and cellular replacement rates are 52.9 corneocytes/69.3 keratinocytes per mm2 per h approximately 2/phi2. These empirically derived equivalences provide logicomathematical support for the presence of functional epidermal units in human skin. Validation of a phi proportional unit architecture in human epidermis will be important for tissue engineering of skin and the design of instruments for skin measurement.

  15. Proportioning of light weight concrete

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Palmus, Lars

    1996-01-01

    Development of a method to determine the proportions of the raw materials in light weight concrete made with leight expanded clay aggregate. The method is based on composite theory......Development of a method to determine the proportions of the raw materials in light weight concrete made with leight expanded clay aggregate. The method is based on composite theory...

  16. Should fatty acid signature proportions sum to 1 for diet estimation?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bromaghin, Jeffrey F.; Budge, Suzanne M.; Thiemann, Gregory W.

    2016-01-01

    Knowledge of predator diets, including how diets might change through time or differ among predators, provides essential insights into their ecology. Diet estimation therefore remains an active area of research within quantitative ecology. Quantitative fatty acid signature analysis (QFASA) is an increasingly common method of diet estimation. QFASA is based on a data library of prey signatures, which are vectors of proportions summarizing the fatty acid composition of lipids, and diet is estimated as the mixture of prey signatures that most closely approximates a predator’s signature. Diets are typically estimated using proportions from a subset of all fatty acids that are known to be solely or largely influenced by diet. Given the subset of fatty acids selected, the current practice is to scale their proportions to sum to 1.0. However, scaling signature proportions has the potential to distort the structural relationships within a prey library and between predators and prey. To investigate that possibility, we compared the practice of scaling proportions with two alternatives and found that the traditional scaling can meaningfully bias diet estimators under some conditions. Two aspects of the prey types that contributed to a predator’s diet influenced the magnitude of the bias: the degree to which the sums of unscaled proportions differed among prey types and the identifiability of prey types within the prey library. We caution investigators against the routine scaling of signature proportions in QFASA.

  17. Effects of fatty acid methyl esters proportion on combustion and emission characteristics of a biodiesel fueled diesel engine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    E, Jiaqiang; Liu, Teng; Yang, W.M.; Li, Jing; Gong, Jinke; Deng, Yuanwang

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • The effects of FAMEs proportion on combustion and emission were numerically studied. • The impact of the saturation level on combustion characteristic is not straightforward. • The NO_x emission is mainly related to the fuel kinetic viscosity. - Abstract: With the growing energy problems, scholars has focused on utilizing renewable biodiesel as a fossil fuel alternative. Four different typical biodiesels were employed to investigate the effects of fatty acid methyl esters proportion on combustion and emission characteristics of a biodiesel fueled diesel engine in terms of heat release rate, cylinder pressure, indicated power and formation of NO_x emission. The corresponding computational fluid dynamic modeling was performed by KIVA4 coupled CHEMKIN II code, and a special chemical kinetics mechanism consisting of 106 species and 263 reactions was developed to simulate the combustion process since it contained methyl linoleate, a majority component in most biodiesel, thereby improved the accuracy of simulation. The simulation results indicated that chemical ignition delay time and kinetic viscosity of biodiesel played very important roles in combustion process. Higher saturation level could shorten chemical ignition delay time, but the higher saturation contents like C16:0 and C18:0 together with C18:1 (a single double bond methyl ester) would increase the kinetic viscosity, resulting in poor fuel–air mixing and evaporation process. Lower kinetic viscosity methyl esters like C18:2 and C18:3 was favorable for better fuel–air mixing and subsequent combustion, however, a higher NO_x emission was discovered. Therefore, the relationship between saturation levels and combustion and emission characteristics of biodiesels is not simple and straightforward, the balance of five majority components is very important.

  18. Development of multiwire proportional chambers

    CERN Multimedia

    Charpak, G

    1969-01-01

    It has happened quite often in the history of science that theoreticians, confronted with some major difficulty, have successfully gone back thirty years to look at ideas that had then been thrown overboard. But it is rare that experimentalists go back thirty years to look again at equipment which had become out-dated. This is what Charpak and his colleagues did to emerge with the 'multiwire proportional chamber' which has several new features making it a very useful addition to the armoury of particle detectors. In the 1930s, ion-chambers, Geiger- Muller counters and proportional counters, were vital pieces of equipment in nuclear physics research. Other types of detectors have since largely replaced them but now the proportional counter, in new array, is making a comeback.

  19. Time-discrete higher order ALE formulations: a priori error analysis

    KAUST Repository

    Bonito, Andrea

    2013-03-16

    We derive optimal a priori error estimates for discontinuous Galerkin (dG) time discrete schemes of any order applied to an advection-diffusion model defined on moving domains and written in the Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) framework. Our estimates hold without any restrictions on the time steps for dG with exact integration or Reynolds\\' quadrature. They involve a mild restriction on the time steps for the practical Runge-Kutta-Radau methods of any order. The key ingredients are the stability results shown earlier in Bonito et al. (Time-discrete higher order ALE formulations: stability, 2013) along with a novel ALE projection. Numerical experiments illustrate and complement our theoretical results. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

  20. Principles of operation of multiwire proportional and drift chambers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sauli, F.

    1987-01-01

    The first multiwire proportional chamber, in its modern conception, was constructed and operated in the years 1967-68. It was soon recognized that the main properties of a multiwire proportional chamber, i.e. very good time resolution, good position accuracy and self-triggered operation, are very attractive for the use of the new device in high-energy physics experiments. Today, most fast detectors contain a large number of proportional chambers, and their use has spread to many different fields of applied research, such as X-ray and heavy ion astronomy, nuclear medicine, and protein crystallography. In many respects, however, multiwire proportional chambers are still experimental devices, requiring continuous attention for good operation and sometimes reacting in unexpected ways to a change in the environmental conditions. Furthermore, in the fabrication and operation of a chamber people seem to use a mixture of competence, technical skill and magic rites, of the kind ''I do not know why I'm doing this but somebody told me to do so''. In these notes the authors illustrate the basic phenomena underlying the behaviour of a gas detector, with the hope that the reader will not only better understand the reasons for some irrational-seeming preferences (such as, for example, in the choice of the gas mixture), but will also be able better to design detectors for his specific experimental needs

  1. Proportional chamber with data analog output

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Popov, V.E.; Prokof'ev, A.N.

    1977-01-01

    A proportional multiwier chamber is described. The chamber makes it possible to determine angles at wich a pion strikes a polarized target. A delay line, made of 60-core flat cable is used for removing signals from the chamber. From the delay line, signals are amplified and successively injected into shapers and a time-to-amplitude converter. An amplitude of the time-to amplitude converter output signal unambiguously determines the coordinate of a point at which a particle strikes the chamber plane. There are also given circuits of amplifiers, which consist of a preamplifier with gain 30 and a main amplifier with adjustable gain. Data on testing the chamber with the 450 MeV pion beam is demonstrated. The chamber features an efficiency of about 98 per cent under load of 2x10 5 s -1

  2. Large-proportional shrunken bio-replication of shark skin based on UV-curing shrinkage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Huawei; Che, Da; Zhang, Xin; Yue, Yue; Zhang, Deyuan

    2015-01-01

    The shark skin effect has attracted worldwide attention because of its superior drag reduction. As the product of natural selection, the maximum drag reduction of shark skin is found in its normal living environment. Large-proportional shrinkage of shark skin morphology is greatly anticipated for its adaptation to faster fluid flow. One novel approach, large-proportional shrunken bio-replication, is proposed as a method to adjust the optimal drag reduction region of shark skin based on the shrinkage of UV-cured material. The shark skin is taken as a replica template to allow large-proportional shrinking in the drag reduction morphology by taking advantage of the shrinkage of UV-curable material. The accuracy of the large-proportional shrunken bio-replication approach is verified by a comparison between original and shrunken bio-replicated shark skin, which shows that the shrinking ratio can reach 23% and the bio-replication accuracy is higher than 95%. In addition, the translation of the optimum drag reduction peak of natural surface function to various applications and environments is proved by drag reduction experiments. (technical note)

  3. Detrended fluctuation analysis based on higher-order moments of financial time series

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teng, Yue; Shang, Pengjian

    2018-01-01

    In this paper, a generalized method of detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) is proposed as a new measure to assess the complexity of a complex dynamical system such as stock market. We extend DFA and local scaling DFA to higher moments such as skewness and kurtosis (labeled SMDFA and KMDFA), so as to investigate the volatility scaling property of financial time series. Simulations are conducted over synthetic and financial data for providing the comparative study. We further report the results of volatility behaviors in three American countries, three Chinese and three European stock markets by using DFA and LSDFA method based on higher moments. They demonstrate the dynamics behaviors of time series in different aspects, which can quantify the changes of complexity for stock market data and provide us with more meaningful information than single exponent. And the results reveal some higher moments volatility and higher moments multiscale volatility details that cannot be obtained using the traditional DFA method.

  4. 39Ar/Ar measurements using ultra-low background proportional counters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hall, Jeter; Aalseth, Craig E.; Bonicalzi, Ricco M.; Brandenberger, Jill M.; Day, Anthony R.; Humble, Paul H.; Mace, Emily K.; Panisko, Mark E.; Seifert, Allen

    2016-01-01

    Age-dating groundwater and seawater using the 39 Ar/Ar ratio is an important tool to understand water mass-flow rates and mean residence time. Low-background proportional counters developed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory use mixtures of argon and methane as counting gas. We demonstrate sensitivity to 39 Ar by comparing geological (ancient) argon recovered from a carbon dioxide gas well and commercial argon. The demonstrated sensitivity to the 39 Ar/Ar ratio is sufficient to date water masses as old as 1000 years. - Highlights: • 39 Ar/Ar age dating is important for understanding environmental water migration. • Ultra low background proportional counters have been developed. • 39 Ar is detected in atmospheric argon at a rate of 70.3 counts per day. The demonstrated background is 166 counts per day. • Age dating is possible for water with underground residence time of up to 1000 years.

  5. Optimization of simultaneous tritium–radiocarbon internal gas proportional counting

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bonicalzi, R.M. [Seattle Central College, 1701 Broadway, Seattle, WA 98122 (United States); Aalseth, C.E.; Day, A.R.; Hoppe, E.W. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 902 Battelle Boulevard, Richland, WA 99352 (United States); Mace, E.K., E-mail: Emily.Mace@pnl.gov [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 902 Battelle Boulevard, Richland, WA 99352 (United States); Moran, J.J.; Overman, C.T.; Panisko, M.E.; Seifert, A. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 902 Battelle Boulevard, Richland, WA 99352 (United States)

    2016-03-21

    Specific environmental applications can benefit from dual tritium and radiocarbon measurements in a single compound. Assuming typical environmental levels, it is often the low tritium activity relative to the higher radiocarbon activity that limits the dual measurement. In this paper, we explore the parameter space for a combined tritium and radiocarbon measurement using a natural methane sample mixed with an argon fill gas in low-background proportional counters of a specific design. We present an optimized methane percentage, detector fill pressure, and analysis energy windows to maximize measurement sensitivity while minimizing count time. The final optimized method uses a 9-atm fill of P35 (35% methane, 65% argon), and a tritium analysis window from 1.5 to 10.3 keV, which stops short of the tritium beta decay endpoint energy of 18.6 keV. This method optimizes tritium-counting efficiency while minimizing radiocarbon beta-decay interference. - Highlights: • Use of a single compound (methane) for dual tritium and radiocarbon measurements. • Optimized analysis window for simultaneous tritium and radiocarbon measurement. • Allows for optimization of tritium counting in the presence of radiocarbon.

  6. Adaptive bayesian analysis for binomial proportions

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Das, Sonali

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available of testing the proportion of some trait. For example, say, we are interested to infer about the effectiveness of a certain intervention teaching strategy, by comparing proportion of ‘proficient’ teachers, before and after an intervention. The number...

  7. High proportion of smaller ranged hummingbird species coincides with ecological specialization across the Americas

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sonne, Jesper; Martín González, Ana M.; Maruyama, Pietro K.

    2016-01-01

    Ecological communities that experience stable climate conditions have been speculated to preserve more specialized interspecific associations and have higher proportions of smaller ranged species (SRS). Thus, areas with disproportionally large numbers of SRS are expected to coincide geographicall...

  8. Cognitive and Metacognitive Aspects of Proportional Reasoning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Modestou, Modestina; Gagatsis, Athanasios

    2010-01-01

    In this study we attempt to propose a new model of proportional reasoning based both on bibliographical and research data. This is impelled with the help of three written tests involving analogical, proportional, and non-proportional situations that were administered to pupils from grade 7 to 9. The results suggest the existence of a…

  9. Position-sensitive proportional counter with low-resistance metal-wire anode

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kopp, M.K.

    1980-01-01

    A position-sensitive proportional counter circuit is provided which uses a conventional (low-resistance, metal-wire anode) proportional counter for spatial resolution of an ionizing event along the anode of the counther. A pair of specially designed activecapacitance preamplifiers terminate the anode ends wherein the anode is treated as an RC line. The preamplifiers act as stabilized active capacitance loads and each is composed of a series-feedback, lownoise amplifier, a unity-gain, shunt-feedback amplifier whose output is connected through a feedback capacitor to the series-feedback amplifier input. The stabilized capacitance loading of the anode allows distributed RC-line position encoding and subsequent time difference decoding by sensing the difference in rise times of pulses at te anode ends where the difference is primarily in response to the distributed capacitance along the anode. This allows the use of lower resistance wire anodes for spatial radiation detection which simplifies the counter construction and handling of the anodes, and stabilizes the anode resistivity at high count rates

  10. Relating arithmetical techniques of proportion to geometry

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wijayanti, Dyana

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to investigate how textbooks introduce and treat the theme of proportion in geometry (similarity) and arithmetic (ratio and proportion), and how these themes are linked to each other in the books. To pursue this aim, we use the anthropological theory of the didactic....... Considering 6 common Indonesian textbooks in use, we describe how proportion is explained and appears in examples and exercises, using an explicit reference model of the mathematical organizations of both themes. We also identify how the proportion themes of the geometry and arithmetic domains are linked. Our...

  11. Proportional Reasoning and the Visually Impaired

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hilton, Geoff; Hilton, Annette; Dole, Shelley L.; Goos, Merrilyn; O'Brien, Mia

    2012-01-01

    Proportional reasoning is an important aspect of formal thinking that is acquired during the developmental years that approximate the middle years of schooling. Students who fail to acquire sound proportional reasoning often experience difficulties in subjects that require quantitative thinking, such as science, technology, engineering, and…

  12. Amplification and discrimination of signals from proportional multiwire chambers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Papadopoulos, L.; Bosio, C.; Cordelli, M.

    1976-03-01

    A circuit is described which detects signals from proportional multiwire chambers. The threshold is about 3μ A and the time jitter of the pulse obtained is better than 2.5 ns. The circuit has one negative input and two complementary outputs. The realized module includes 8 channels with common trigger level control and was built as NIM standard unit

  13. Bayesian inference on proportional elections.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gabriel Hideki Vatanabe Brunello

    Full Text Available Polls for majoritarian voting systems usually show estimates of the percentage of votes for each candidate. However, proportional vote systems do not necessarily guarantee the candidate with the most percentage of votes will be elected. Thus, traditional methods used in majoritarian elections cannot be applied on proportional elections. In this context, the purpose of this paper was to perform a Bayesian inference on proportional elections considering the Brazilian system of seats distribution. More specifically, a methodology to answer the probability that a given party will have representation on the chamber of deputies was developed. Inferences were made on a Bayesian scenario using the Monte Carlo simulation technique, and the developed methodology was applied on data from the Brazilian elections for Members of the Legislative Assembly and Federal Chamber of Deputies in 2010. A performance rate was also presented to evaluate the efficiency of the methodology. Calculations and simulations were carried out using the free R statistical software.

  14. PROPORTIONS AND HUMAN SCALE IN DAMASCENE COURTYARD HOUSES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Salim Ferwati

    2008-03-01

    Full Text Available Interior designers, architects, landscape architects, and even urban designers, agree that environment, as a form of non-verbal communication means, has a symbolic dimension to it. As for its aesthetic dimension, it seems that beauty is related to a certain proportion, partially and as a whole. Suitable proportion leaves a good impression upon the beholders, especially when it matches human proportion. That in fact was the underlining belief of LeCorbusier, according to which he developed his Modular concept. The study searches for a modular, or proportion, system that governs the design of Damascene traditional house. By geometrical and mathematical examinations of 28 traditional houses, it was found that a certain proportional relationship existed; however, these proportional relationships were not fixed ones. The study relied on analyzing the Iwan elevation as well as the inner courtyard proportion in relation to the building area. Charts, diagrams and tables were produced to summarize the results.

  15. Fabrication of preamplifier for proportional counter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lotfi, Y.; Yazdanpanah, M.; Talebi, B.; Mohammadi, A.; Etaati, Gh.

    2002-01-01

    We have tried to describe techniques of preamplifier fabrication for proportional counter. At first electronic circuit of preamplifier has been analyzed by means of Or cad 9.1. Then we assembled the circuit. Thereafter essential and standard parameters of preamplifier has been measured and compared with foreign made one, according to IEEE standard method. (IEEE Std 301-1988) Specification for our preamplifier is: 1. Rise time of output plus: 25 nsec. 2. Fall time of output pulse: 50μ sec. 3. Charge sensitive: 46.3 mV/pc. 4. Average noise: 500 ion pair (rms) 5. Count R ate L imit: 9.14*10 10 Count/sec. 6. Resolution: %1.3 7. Spectrum of Bf3 detector to 300μ Ci Am-Be source for this preamplifier is the same as foreign one. On the Whole comparison of this preamplifier with the foreign one shows that their parameters similarity is about %95

  16. The peculiarities' study of higher education applicants' employment in pharmaceutical specialties of full-time training

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. A. Kotvitska

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Employment of applicants of pharmaceutical higher education has both positive and negative impact on the quality of educational services provided by institutions, especially in terms of knowledge and skills acquired by student. Objective is to study peculiarities of higher education employment, full-time training, and features driving them to conclude labor agreements. Materials and methods. During the study, we used juridical and comparative legal methods of analysis. Results. The study has defined the following features of the employment of applicants of higher education in the health care institutions, pharmaceutical enterprises and organizations. The current legislation provides the applicants of higher education enrolled in HEIs for full-time training with a right to make a free choice of the field of study, profession, type of occupation and work. The relationship developed between an applicant and higher education institutions are not to be regarded as an employment relationship. The working under the items of labor agreement for person who combine it with the full-time education is not a part or combination or sharing, and is considered the main place of job. Thus, it stipulates maintenance of records book of the employed worker according to the general procedure. An applicant of higher education has discretion to choose working hours (full- or part-time working day, full- or part-time working week with taking into consideration the HEIs schedule and only in the free time. When full-time operating in frameworks of collective agreement at enterprise, institution, or organization, having accounted peculiarities of operation, non-standardized working day for some positions can be set. The current legislation stipulates possibility of employment for persons without higher pharmaceutical education to the health care institutions on the clearly defined positions. Conclusions.The country authority has created and is providing favorable

  17. Three-part joint modeling methods for complex functional data mixed with zero-and-one-inflated proportions and zero-inflated continuous outcomes with skewness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Haocheng; Staudenmayer, John; Wang, Tianying; Keadle, Sarah Kozey; Carroll, Raymond J

    2018-02-20

    We take a functional data approach to longitudinal studies with complex bivariate outcomes. This work is motivated by data from a physical activity study that measured 2 responses over time in 5-minute intervals. One response is the proportion of time active in each interval, a continuous proportions with excess zeros and ones. The other response, energy expenditure rate in the interval, is a continuous variable with excess zeros and skewness. This outcome is complex because there are 3 possible activity patterns in each interval (inactive, partially active, and completely active), and those patterns, which are observed, induce both nonrandom and random associations between the responses. More specifically, the inactive pattern requires a zero value in both the proportion for active behavior and the energy expenditure rate; a partially active pattern means that the proportion of activity is strictly between zero and one and that the energy expenditure rate is greater than zero and likely to be moderate, and the completely active pattern means that the proportion of activity is exactly one, and the energy expenditure rate is greater than zero and likely to be higher. To address these challenges, we propose a 3-part functional data joint modeling approach. The first part is a continuation-ratio model to reorder the ordinal valued 3 activity patterns. The second part models the proportions when they are in interval (0,1). The last component specifies the skewed continuous energy expenditure rate with Box-Cox transformations when they are greater than zero. In this 3-part model, the regression structures are specified as smooth curves measured at various time points with random effects that have a correlation structure. The smoothed random curves for each variable are summarized using a few important principal components, and the association of the 3 longitudinal components is modeled through the association of the principal component scores. The difficulties in

  18. Anti-synchronization control of BAM memristive neural networks with multiple proportional delays and stochastic perturbations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Weiping; Yuan, Manman; Luo, Xiong; Liu, Linlin; Zhang, Yao

    2018-01-01

    Proportional delay is a class of unbounded time-varying delay. A class of bidirectional associative memory (BAM) memristive neural networks with multiple proportional delays is concerned in this paper. First, we propose the model of BAM memristive neural networks with multiple proportional delays and stochastic perturbations. Furthermore, by choosing suitable nonlinear variable transformations, the BAM memristive neural networks with multiple proportional delays can be transformed into the BAM memristive neural networks with constant delays. Based on the drive-response system concept, differential inclusions theory and Lyapunov stability theory, some anti-synchronization criteria are obtained. Finally, the effectiveness of proposed criteria are demonstrated through numerical examples.

  19. Proportional Systems in the History of Architecture: A Conversation with James S. Ackerman

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matthew A Cohen

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available In November 2010, James S. Ackerman, today the only living participant of the conference ‘De divina proportione’, which was held in Milan in 1951, sat for a video interview that was later shown at the conference ‘Proportional Systems in the History of Architecture’ in Leiden in 2011 to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the Milan conference. In this interview, conducted by Matthew A. Cohen, Ackerman discusses how the study of proportional systems has changed over the past six decades, and thereby provides a unique link between the two conferences. The interview begins with Ackerman’s experiences in northern Italy at the close of World War II, and a few years later at the Milan conference. It considers prevailing twentieth-century attitudes toward proportion up to the time of the conference, and compares them with prevailing medieval and Renaissance attitudes. Ackerman then shares his thoughts on the works and legacies of Rudolf Wittkower, Le Corbusier and Colin Rowe, before exploring the influences of architectural proportional theory on architectural design, and possible relationships between proportional systems and architectural beauty. After exploring changes in the uses of proportional systems that accompanied the rise of Abstract Expressionism, the arc of the interview concludes with Ackerman’s thoughts about the future of proportional systems in light of the evolving role of the computer in architectural practice today.

  20. Mix Proportion Design of Asphalt Concrete

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Xianhu; Gao, Lingling; Du, Shoujun

    2017-12-01

    Based on the gradation of AC and SMA, this paper designs a new type of anti slide mixture with two types of advantages. Chapter introduces the material selection, ratio of ore mixture ratio design calculation, and determine the optimal asphalt content test and proportioning design of asphalt concrete mix. This paper introduces the new technology of mix proportion.

  1. Global Drought Proportional Economic Loss Risk Deciles

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Global Drought Proportional Economic Loss Risk Deciles is a 2.5 minute grid of drought hazard economic loss as proportions of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per...

  2. Investigations of single-electron avalanches in a proportional drift tube

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anderson, W.S.; Armitage, J.C.; Chevreau, P.; Heinrich, J.G.; Lu, C.; McDonald, I.; McDonald, K.T.; Miller, B.; Secrest, D.; Weckel, J.

    1990-01-01

    Detailed information on single-electron drift and avalanche behavior has a basic interest in an investigation of gas-chamber performance. Its timing, avalanche distribution, attachment by the working gas mixtures, etc., provide various criteria for choosing the best suitable gas mixture under a specific experimental circumstance. Investigations of single-electron avalanches in a proportional drift tube have been carried out with a pulsed N 2 laser. The study consists of two aspects: timing properties, and fluctuations in the gas avalanche

  3. Proportional and Integral Thermal Control System for Large Scale Heating Tests

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fleischer, Van Tran

    2015-01-01

    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Armstrong Flight Research Center (Edwards, California) Flight Loads Laboratory is a unique national laboratory that supports thermal, mechanical, thermal/mechanical, and structural dynamics research and testing. A Proportional Integral thermal control system was designed and implemented to support thermal tests. A thermal control algorithm supporting a quartz lamp heater was developed based on the Proportional Integral control concept and a linearized heating process. The thermal control equations were derived and expressed in terms of power levels, integral gain, proportional gain, and differences between thermal setpoints and skin temperatures. Besides the derived equations, user's predefined thermal test information generated in the form of thermal maps was used to implement the thermal control system capabilities. Graphite heater closed-loop thermal control and graphite heater open-loop power level were added later to fulfill the demand for higher temperature tests. Verification and validation tests were performed to ensure that the thermal control system requirements were achieved. This thermal control system has successfully supported many milestone thermal and thermal/mechanical tests for almost a decade with temperatures ranging from 50 F to 3000 F and temperature rise rates from -10 F/s to 70 F/s for a variety of test articles having unique thermal profiles and test setups.

  4. Term-time Employment and Student Attainment in Higher Education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cath Dennis

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The number of UK full-time university students engaging in term-time employment (TTE is rising. Students engaging in TTE have previously been found to achieve less well academically than those who do not. This study aimed to explore patterns of TTE and academic achievement of undergraduates at a large UK higher education institution. Self-reported TTE hours were matched to attainment data for 1304 undergraduate students in levels 1-4 of study (SQCF levels 7-10. The majority of students in TTE (71%, n=621 reported undertaking TTE to cover essential living expenses. Compared to students not undertaking TTE, attainment was significantly better at low levels of TTE (1-10 hours, and only significantly worse when TTE was >30 hours/week. This pattern was magnified when job type was taken into account – students employed in skilled roles for ≤10 hours/week on average attained grades 7% higher than those not in TTE; students working >10 hours/week in unskilled positions showed a mean 1.6% lower grade. The impact of ‘academic potential’ (measured via incoming UCAS tariff was accounted for in the model. The finding that students engaging in some categories of TTE achieve better academic outcomes than their non-employed peers is worthy of further investigation. This study is unable to provide direct evidence of possible causation, but would tentatively suggest that students may benefit from taking on 10 or fewer hours of TTE per week.

  5. The Supply of Part-Time Higher Education in the UK. Research Report

    Science.gov (United States)

    Callender, Claire; Birkbeck, Anne Jamieson; Mason, Geoff

    2010-01-01

    This report explores the supply of part-time higher education in the UK, with particular consideration to the study of part-time undergraduate provision in England. It is the final publication in the series of reports on individual student markets that were commissioned by Universities UK following the publication of the reports on the Future size…

  6. Which Mixed-Member Proportional Electoral Formula Fits You Best? Assessing the Proportionality Principle of Positive Vote Transfer Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bochsler, Daniel

    2014-01-01

    Mixed-member proportional systems (MMP) are a family of electoral systems which combine district-based elections with a proportional seat allocation. Positive vote transfer systems belong to this family. This article explains why they might be better than their siblings, and examines under which ...

  7. Optimization of Counting Times, Figure of Merit and Mass Thickness for Low-background Alpha/beta Proportional Counter in Sea Water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pakkong, Pannee; Wongsanit, Sarinya; Tumnoi, Yutthana; Udomsomporn, Suchin

    2011-06-01

    Full text: The determination of gross alpha and beta activity in environmental aqueous samples can be done by using a low-background alpha/beta proportional counter with multiple detector type (Bert hold LB770). The co precipitate sea water samples were considered for optimal regime of counting time, the minimum detectable activity (MDA), mass thickness of samples (mg/cm-2) and figure of merit (FOM). The result showed that the MDA of the measurements were estimated to be 0.07 Bq/l for gross alpha and 0.05 Bq/l for gross beta at counting time of 100 and 200 minute, respectively. The thickness of samples prepared by coprecipitation technique indicated more parochial range when compared to evaporation to dryness method. In addition, the samples were in the suitable range that can be corrected by the previous self-absorption correction factor (F a ) as 0.0003w 2 -0.0414 w+1.692; where F a is the self-absorption correction factor and w is the weight of the final precipitate in milligrams

  8. Differences in the occurrence and characteristics of injuries between full-time and part-time dancers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vassallo, Amy Jo; Pappas, Evangelos; Stamatakis, Emmanuel; Hiller, Claire E

    2018-01-01

    Professional dancers are at significant risk of injury due to the physical demands of their career. Despite their high numbers, the experience of injury in freelance or part-time dancers is not well understood. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the occurrence and characteristics of injury in part-time compared with full-time Australian professional dancers. Data were collected using a cross-sectional survey distributed to employees of small and large dance companies and freelance dancers in Australia. Statistical comparisons between full-time and part-time dancer demographics, dance training, injury prevalence and characteristics were made using χ 2 , two-tailed Fisher's exact tests, independent t-tests and Mann-Whitney U tests. A total of 89 full-time and 57 part-time dancers were included for analysis. A higher proportion of full-time dancers (79.8%) than part-time dancers (63.2%) experienced an injury that impacted on their ability to dance in the past 12 months (p=0.035). Injuries characteristics were similar between groups with fatigue being the most cited contributing factor. Part-time dancers took longer to seek treatment while a higher proportion of full-time dancers were unable to dance in any capacity following their injury. More full-time dancers sustained an injury in the past 12 months, and were unable to dance in any capacity following their injury. However injuries still commonly occurred in part-time dancers without necessarily a large volume of dance activity. Part-time dancers often access general community clinicians for treatment, who may need additional education to practically advise on appropriate return to dance.

  9. The arcsine is asinine: the analysis of proportions in ecology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warton, David I; Hui, Francis K C

    2011-01-01

    The arcsine square root transformation has long been standard procedure when analyzing proportional data in ecology, with applications in data sets containing binomial and non-binomial response variables. Here, we argue that the arcsine transform should not be used in either circumstance. For binomial data, logistic regression has greater interpretability and higher power than analyses of transformed data. However, it is important to check the data for additional unexplained variation, i.e., overdispersion, and to account for it via the inclusion of random effects in the model if found. For non-binomial data, the arcsine transform is undesirable on the grounds of interpretability, and because it can produce nonsensical predictions. The logit transformation is proposed as an alternative approach to address these issues. Examples are presented in both cases to illustrate these advantages, comparing various methods of analyzing proportions including untransformed, arcsine- and logit-transformed linear models and logistic regression (with or without random effects). Simulations demonstrate that logistic regression usually provides a gain in power over other methods.

  10. Multiwire proportional chamber development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doolittle, R. F.; Pollvogt, U.; Eskovitz, A. J.

    1973-01-01

    The development of large area multiwire proportional chambers, to be used as high resolution spatial detectors in cosmic ray experiments is described. A readout system was developed which uses a directly coupled, lumped element delay-line whose characteristics are independent of the MWPC design. A complete analysis of the delay-line and the readout electronic system shows that a spatial resolution of about 0.1 mm can be reached with the MWPC operating in the strictly proportional region. This was confirmed by measurements with a small MWPC and Fe-55 X-rays. A simplified analysis was carried out to estimate the theoretical limit of spatial resolution due to delta-rays, spread of the discharge along the anode wire, and inclined trajectories. To calculate the gas gain of MWPC's of different geometrical configurations a method was developed which is based on the knowledge of the first Townsend coefficient of the chamber gas.

  11. Opportunities and Challenges of AC/DC Transmission Network Planning Considering High Proportion Renewable Energy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arslan Habib

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The time and space distribution characteristics of future high proportion of renewable energy sources will bring unprecedented challenges to the electric power system’s processing and planning, the basic form of electric power system and operating characteristics will have fundamental changes. Based on the research status quo at home and abroad, this paper expounds the four scientific problems of the transmission network planning with high proportion of renewable energy. Respectively, from the network source collaborative planning, transmission network flexible planning. With the distribution network in conjunction with the transmission network planning, transmission planning program comprehensive evaluation and decision-making methods. This paper puts forward the research ideas and framework of transmission network planning considering the high proportion of renewable energy. At the end, the future high proportion of (renewable energy grid-connected transmission network’s opportunities and challenges are presented.

  12. The Origins of Scintillator Non-Proportionality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moses, W. W.; Bizarri, G. A.; Williams, R. T.; Payne, S. A.; Vasil'ev, A. N.; Singh, J.; Li, Q.; Grim, J. Q.; Choong, W.-S.

    2012-10-01

    Recent years have seen significant advances in both theoretically understanding and mathematically modeling the underlying causes of scintillator non-proportionality. The core cause is that the interaction of radiation with matter invariably leads to a non-uniform ionization density in the scintillator, coupled with the fact that the light yield depends on the ionization density. The mechanisms that lead to the luminescence dependence on ionization density are incompletely understood, but several important features have been identified, notably Auger-like processes (where two carriers of excitation interact with each other, causing one to de-excite non-radiatively), the inability of excitation carriers to recombine (caused either by trapping or physical separation), and the carrier mobility. This paper reviews the present understanding of the fundamental origins of scintillator non-proportionality, specifically the various theories that have been used to explain non-proportionality.

  13. Gas sampling calorimeter studies in proportional, saturated avalanche, and streamer modes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Atac, M.; Bedeschi, F.; Yoh, J.; Morse, R.; Procario, M.

    1982-01-01

    Recently, satisfactory new results were obtained at SLAC from gas sampling calorimeters running in the saturated avalanche mode within the energy range of 1.5 to 17.5 GeV. To study the higher energy behavior of this mode, more tests were carried out in the M4 beamline at Fermilab. This paper contains results obtained from the MAC prototype electromagnetic and hadronic calorimeters running in the proportional, saturated avalanche, and the streamer regions for energies between 12 and 150 GeV

  14. Higher Education Institution Leaders' Identity Constructions in Times of Changing Structures and Legislation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tigerstedt, Christa

    2016-01-01

    The focus in this paper is on the leadership of higher education institutions (HEI) in Finland and more specifically on the rector's leadership. The higher education sector is undergoing many changes and has been so for a long time. How, then, do the current changes become visible from a leadership perspective? The leadership discourse is here…

  15. Single-machine scheduling of proportionally deteriorating jobs by two agents

    OpenAIRE

    S Gawiejnowicz; W-C Lee; C-L Lin; C-C Wu

    2011-01-01

    We consider a problem of scheduling a set of independent jobs by two agents on a single machine. Every agent has its own subset of jobs to be scheduled and uses its own optimality criterion. The processing time of each job proportionally deteriorates with respect to the starting time of the job. The problem is to find a schedule that minimizes the total tardiness of the first agent, provided that no tardy job is allowed for the second agent. We prove basic properties of the problem and give a...

  16. 16 CFR 240.9 - Proportionally equal terms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 16 Commercial Practices 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Proportionally equal terms. 240.9 Section 240.9 Commercial Practices FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION GUIDES AND TRADE PRACTICE RULES GUIDES FOR ADVERTISING ALLOWANCES AND OTHER MERCHANDISING PAYMENTS AND SERVICES § 240.9 Proportionally equal terms. (a...

  17. Evaluation and visualization of multiaxial fatigue behavior under random non-proportional loading condition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Takahiro Morishita

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available In cyclic multiaxial stress/strain condition under nonproportional loading in which principal direction of stress/strain are changed in a cycle, it becomes difficult to analyze stress/strain ranges because of complexity of multiaxial stress/strain states depending on time in cycles. In order to evaluate stress/strain simply and suitably under non-proportional loading, Itoh and Sakane have proposed a method called as IS-method and a strain parameter for life evaluation under non-proportional loading NP. In the method, 6-components of stress/strain are converted to an equivalent stress/strain indicating the amplitude and the direction of principal stress/strain as a function of time as well as an intensity of loading nonproportionality fNP. Based on IS-method, the authors also have developed a tool which enables to analyze multiaxial stress/strain condition with the nonproportionality of loading history and evaluate failure life under nonproportional multiaxial loading. The tool indicates the analyzed results on monitor and users can understand visually not only variation of the stress/strain conditions but also non-proportionality during the cycle, which helps the design of material strength.

  18. Changes in wood product proportions in the Douglas-fir region with respect to size, age, and time.

    Science.gov (United States)

    R.A. Monserud; X. Zhou

    2007-01-01

    We examine both the variation and the changing proportions of different wood products obtained from trees and logs in the Douglas-fir region of the Northwestern United States. Analyses are based on a large product recovery database covering over 40 years of recovery studies; 13 studies are available for Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.)...

  19. Proportionally more deleterious genetic variation in European than in African populations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lohmueller, Kirk E; Indap, Amit R; Schmidt, Steffen

    2008-01-01

    of functional SNPs considered, including synonymous, non-synonymous, predicted 'benign', predicted 'possibly damaging' and predicted 'probably damaging' SNPs. This result is wholly consistent with previous work showing higher overall levels of nucleotide variation in African populations than in Europeans. EA...... individuals, in contrast, have significantly more genotypes homozygous for the derived allele at synonymous and non-synonymous SNPs and for the damaging allele at 'probably damaging' SNPs than AAs do. For SNPs segregating only in one population or the other, the proportion of non-synonymous SNPs...

  20. Time-trends and congener profiles of PBDEs and PCBs in California peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, June-Soo; Holden, Arthur; Chu, Vivian; Kim, Michele; Rhee, Alexandra; Patel, Puja; Shi, Yating; Linthicum, Janet; Walton, Brian J; McKeown, Karen; Jewell, Nicholas P; Hooper, Kim

    2009-12-01

    High levels (microg/g lw) of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were measured in peregrine falcon eggs from California (n = 90 eggs from 52 birds, 38 nest sites, collected 1986-2007, SigmaPBDEs median = 4.53, range = 0.08-53.1). Over the past 22 years, PBDE levels more than tripled each decade in the eggs, whereas PCB levels had no significant changes. PBDE levels were highest in eggs from major California cities ("Big Cities"), whereas PCBs showed no difference across the regions. For PBDEs, Big City eggs had markedly different patterns from Coastal eggs: BDE-209 and the higher brominated PBDEs (hexa-nona) were dominant congeners in Big City eggs, while BDE-47 and -99 were dominant in Coastal eggs. In many of the birds that gave multiple eggs over time ("time series"), PBDE patterns changed over time: the high proportions of BDE-209 and higher brominated PBDEs (short half-lives) in young birds contrasted with increasingly higher proportions of BDE-153 (long half-life) and other lower brominated PBDEs as the birds aged. These data are consistent with metabolic debromination of BDE-209 (t(1/2) = 1-2 weeks) to the lower brominated PBDEs, with accumulation over time of BDE-153 (t(1/2) = 3-4 years). In contrast, PCB patterns showed no differences by locations, and did not change over time. Diet (prey birds) may explain the urban PBDE pattern, as the patterns in urban pigeons and peregrines were similar, with high proportions of BDE-209 and the higher-brominated PBDEs. Also, our prey data (feathers from peregrine nests) showed urban peregrines having a higher proportion (>2 fold) of granivorous/opportunistic birds (e.g., "introduced feral" pigeons, mourning doves, starlings) in their diet than coastal peregrines. In summary, these data indicate that BDE-209 exits consumer products as an environmental contaminant to be taken up by wildlife (particularly in urban locations), and undergoes metabolic debromination to the banned lower

  1. Contingency proportion systematically influences contingency learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forrin, Noah D; MacLeod, Colin M

    2018-01-01

    In the color-word contingency learning paradigm, each word appears more often in one color (high contingency) than in the other colors (low contingency). Shortly after beginning the task, color identification responses become faster on the high-contingency trials than on the low-contingency trials-the contingency learning effect. Across five groups, we varied the high-contingency proportion in 10% steps, from 80% to 40%. The size of the contingency learning effect was positively related to high-contingency proportion, with the effect disappearing when high contingency was reduced to 40%. At the two highest contingency proportions, the magnitude of the effect increased over trials, the pattern suggesting that there was an increasing cost for the low-contingency trials rather than an increasing benefit for the high-contingency trials. Overall, the results fit a modified version of Schmidt's (2013, Acta Psychologica, 142, 119-126) parallel episodic processing account in which prior trial instances are routinely retrieved from memory and influence current trial performance.

  2. Against proportional shortfall as a priority-setting principle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Altmann, Samuel

    2018-05-01

    As the demand for healthcare rises, so does the need for priority setting in healthcare. In this paper, I consider a prominent priority-setting principle: proportional shortfall. My purpose is to argue that proportional shortfall, as a principle, should not be adopted. My key criticism is that proportional shortfall fails to consider past health.Proportional shortfall is justified as it supposedly balances concern for prospective health while still accounting for lifetime health, even though past health is deemed irrelevant. Accounting for this lifetime perspective means that the principle may indirectly consider past health by accounting for how far an individual is from achieving a complete, healthy life. I argue that proportional shortfall does not account for this lifetime perspective as it fails to incorporate the fair innings argument as originally claimed, undermining its purported justification.I go on to demonstrate that the case for ignoring past health is weak, and argue that past health is at least sometimes relevant for priority-setting decisions. Specifically, when an individual's past health has a direct impact on current or future health, and when one individual has enjoyed significantly more healthy life years than another.Finally, I demonstrate that by ignoring past illnesses, even those entirely unrelated to their current illness, proportional shortfall can lead to instances of double jeopardy, a highly problematic implication. These arguments give us reason to reject proportional shortfall. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  3. Proportion and factors associated with recent HIV infection in a cohort of patients seen for care in Italy over 1996-2014: Data from the ICONA Foundation Study cohort.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silvia Nozza

    Full Text Available In Italy the prevalence of recent HIV infection (RHI isn't currently monitored. Early diagnosis is crucial to allow introduction of antiretroviral therapy (cART in the recent phase of infection. We aimed to estimate the proportion and the determinants of RHI among patients enrolled in the ICONA cohort; we explored differences in the median time from HIV diagnosis to cART initiation and in the viro-immunological response between RHI and Less Recent HIV infections (NRHI. We included antiretroviral-naïve HIV-positive patients enrolled in the cohort with documented dates of HIV-negative and positive antibodies tests, grouped in RHI (estimated date of seroconversion within 12 months of enrolment and NRHI. Proportion of RHI and the trend of this proportion by calendar period (1996-2014 were investigated (Chi-square test. Logistic regression analysis was employed to identify factors associated with RHI. The time from seroconversion to cART initiation was compared in RHI and NRHI overall and after stratification by calendar period (survival analysis. We finally explored the time from starting cART to HIV-RNA <50 copies/mL and to CD4+ gain ≥200 cells/mmc by Cox regression. HIV seroconversion could be estimated for 2608/12,616 patients: 981/2608 (37.6% were RHI. Proportion of RHI increased in recent calendar periods and was associated with younger age, baseline higher HIV-RNA and CD4+ count. There wasn't difference in the 2-year estimates of cART start between RHI and NRHI, regardless of calendar period. Rates and hazards of virological response were similar in RHI versus NRHI. RHI showed a 1.5-fold higher probability of CD4+ gain, also following adjustment for calendar period and cART regimen, and for age, HCV and smoking; the difference in probability was however attenuated after further controlling for baseline HIV-RNA and CD4+ T-cells. The increased proportion of RHI over time suggests that in recent years in Italy HIV infections are more likely to

  4. Multiwire proportional counter (lecture by an electromagnetic delay line)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bruere-Dawson, R.

    1989-01-01

    For track localisation of ionizing particles with multiwire proportional chamber, an electronic chain including amplifying, shaping and memorizing circuits is required for each wire. In order to lower the cost of this type of detector, an electromagnetic delay line is proposed among various possibilities. In this paper, different coupling modes between chamber and delay line are studied with their respective advantages. The realization of one meter long delay line with a unit delay time of 15 ns per cm is also presented [fr

  5. The divine proportion

    CERN Document Server

    Huntley, H E

    1970-01-01

    Using simple mathematical formulas, most as basic as Pythagoras's theorem and requiring only a very limited knowledge of mathematics, Professor Huntley explores the fascinating relationship between geometry and aesthetics. Poetry, patterns like Pascal's triangle, philosophy, psychology, music, and dozens of simple mathematical figures are enlisted to show that the ""divine proportion"" or ""golden ratio"" is a feature of geometry and analysis which awakes answering echoes in the human psyche. When we judge a work of art aesthetically satisfying, according to his formulation, we are making it c

  6. Pressure control valve using proportional electro-magnetic solenoid actuator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yun, So Nam; Ham, Young Bog; Park, Pyoung Won

    2006-01-01

    This paper presents an experimental characteristics of electro-hydraulic proportional pressure control valve. In this study, poppet and valve body which are assembled into the proportional solenoid were designed and manufactured. The constant force characteristics of proportional solenoid actuator in the control region should be independent of the plunger position in order to be used to control the valve position in the fluid flow control system. The stroke-force characteristics of the proportional solenoid actuator is determined by the shape (or parameters) of the control cone. In this paper, steady state and transient characteristics of the solenoid actuator for electro-hydraulic proportional valve are analyzed using finite element method and it is confirmed that the proportional solenoid actuator has a constant attraction force in the control region independently on the stroke position. The effects of the parameters such as control cone length, thickness and taper length are also discussed

  7. Large-Scale Analysis of Art Proportions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Karl Kristoffer

    2014-01-01

    While literature often tries to impute mathematical constants into art, this large-scale study (11 databases of paintings and photos, around 200.000 items) shows a different truth. The analysis, consisting of the width/height proportions, shows a value of rarely if ever one (square) and with majo......While literature often tries to impute mathematical constants into art, this large-scale study (11 databases of paintings and photos, around 200.000 items) shows a different truth. The analysis, consisting of the width/height proportions, shows a value of rarely if ever one (square...

  8. Proton-recoil proportional-counter array for neutron-image construction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fink, C.L.; Eichholz, J.J.; DeVolpi, A.

    1984-01-01

    The fuel-motion measurement capability of the fast-neutron hodoscope has been upgraded by the addition of a 360-detector proton-recoil proportional-counter array, which detects high-energy fission neutrons. The current sensitive amplifier/discriminator module for each detector fits into a 12.7 by 12.7 by 102 mm package and cost less than $100 per module. It has a 50 ns rise time, a noise level of 100 nA, and a deadtime per event of 200 ns. Provision has been provided for the independent adjustment of the input current versus discriminator voltage for each module. The new proportional-counters cost approximately $400 each. Each detector has been tested to have the same gain versus voltage response. A space-charge model relating count-rate changes to space-charge effects has also been developed. The new detector array has been operational for approximately two years and has become the main detector system in fuel-motion analysis. It has significantly improved the linearity, stability, count-rate capability, and setup ease of the hodoscope

  9. Proportion of infants meeting the Australian 24-hour Movement Guidelines for the Early Years: data from the Melbourne InFANT Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hesketh, Kylie D; Downing, Katherine L; Campbell, Karen; Crawford, David; Salmon, Jo; Hnatiuk, Jill A

    2017-11-20

    Little information is available on the movement behaviours of infants, despite evidence that these are important for development. The release of new Australian 24-hour Movement Guidelines provides an opportunity to document the current state of movement behaviours in infants relative to these guidelines. The aim of this study was to report the prevalence of 4 month old Australian infants meeting the 24-hour Movement Guidelines, individually, and in combination, and to describe associations with individual characteristics. Maternal report baseline data from the Melbourne Infant Feeding, Activity and Nutrition Trial Program were used to determine prevalence of infants meeting physical activity (30 min of tummy time per day), sedentary behaviour (no more than 1 h at a time kept restrained; zero screen time), and sleep guidelines (14-17 h for 0-3 month olds or 12-16 h for 4-11 month olds). Prevalence of infants meeting combined guidelines was also described. The odds of meeting guidelines based on infant and family characteristics was determined. Data are reported for 455 infants with a mean age of 3.6 months (SD = 1.0). The proportion of infants meeting each of the guidelines was 29.7% for tummy time, 56.9% for kept restrained, 27.9% for screen time, 58.7% for sleep and 3.5% for the combined guidelines (i.e. meeting all four guidelines). A significantly higher proportion of girls than boys met the screen time guideline (32.5% versus 24.0%, p = 0.04) and the combined guidelines (5.7% versus 1.6%, p = 0.01). Few associations were observed between infant and family characteristics and proportion of infants meeting individual guidelines. Very few infants met all of the guidelines contained in the new Australian 24-hour Movement Guidelines suggesting there is much room for improvement in movement behaviours from early life. Fewer infants met the tummy time and screen time guidelines hence these appear to be the behaviours requiring most attention. Parents and

  10. Restrictions and Proportionality

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Werlauff, Erik

    2009-01-01

    The article discusses three central aspects of the freedoms under European Community law, namely 1) the prohibition against restrictions as an important extension of the prohibition against discrimination, 2) a prohibition against exit restrictions which is just as important as the prohibition...... against host country restrictions, but which is often not recognised to the same extent by national law, and 3) the importance of also identifying and recognising an exit restriction, so that it is possible to achieve the required test of appropriateness and proportionality in relation to the rule...

  11. Disease proportions attributable to environment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vineis Paolo

    2007-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Population disease proportions attributable to various causal agents are popular as they present a simplified view of the contribution of each agent to the disease load. However they are only summary figures that may be easily misinterpreted or over-interpreted even when the causal link between an exposure and an effect is well established. This commentary discusses several issues surrounding the estimation of attributable proportions, particularly with reference to environmental causes of cancers, and critically examines two recently published papers. These issues encompass potential biases as well as the very definition of environment and of environmental agent. The latter aspect is not just a semantic question but carries implications for the focus of preventive actions, whether centred on the material and social environment or on single individuals.

  12. On a higher order multi-term time-fractional partial differential equation involving Caputo-Fabrizio derivative

    OpenAIRE

    Pirnapasov, Sardor; Karimov, Erkinjon

    2017-01-01

    In the present work we discuss higher order multi-term partial differential equation (PDE) with the Caputo-Fabrizio fractional derivative in time. We investigate a boundary value problem for fractional heat equation involving higher order Caputo-Fabrizio derivatives in time-variable. Using method of separation of variables and integration by parts, we reduce fractional order PDE to the integer order. We represent explicit solution of formulated problem in particular case by Fourier series.

  13. Proton-recoil proportional counter tests at TREAT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fink, C.L.; Eichholz, J.J.; Burrows, D.R.; DeVolpi, A.

    1979-01-01

    A methane filled proton-recoil proportional counter will be used as a fission neutron detector in the fast-neutron hodoscope. To provide meaningful fuel-motion information the proportional counter should have: a linear response over a wide range of reactor powers background ratio (the number of high energy neutrons detected must be maximized relative to low energy neutrons, and gamma ray sensitivity must be kept small); and a detector efficiency for fission neutrons above 1 MeV of approximately 1%. In addition, it is desirable that the detector and the associated amplifier/discriminator be capable of operating at counting rates in excess of 500 kHz. This paper reports on tests that were conducted on several proportional counters at the TREAT reactor

  14. Proportional counter end effects eliminator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meekins, J.F.

    1976-01-01

    An improved gas-filled proportional counter which includes a resistor network connected between the anode and cathode at the ends of the counter in order to eliminate ''end effects'' is described. 3 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures

  15. Space-charge effects of the proportional counters in a multiple-ionization chamber

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mang, M.

    1993-01-01

    At the ALADIN spectrometer of the GSI in october 1991 for the first time the new multiple ionization chamber was applied, in the two anode planes of which are additional multiwire-proportional counters. The proportional counters are required in order to make the detection of light fragments (Z 4 gold projectiles per second by these positive space charges the homogeneous electric field of the MUSIC is disturbed. This effect is especially strong in the beam plane. As consequence of the space charge additionally electrons are focused on the proportional counter so that their amplitudes in dependence on the beam intensity increase up to the 2.5-fold. Furthermore the y coordinate is falsified, because the electrons are diverted to the medium plane. On the measurement of the x coordinate this diversion has with maximally 0.1% only a small influence. These space-charge effects can be qualitatively described by a schematic model, which assumes a stationary positive space charge. Additionally for the proportional counters, which are not in the beam plane, their resolution was determined. In these counters the space-charge effects are small, because essentially fewer particles are registrated than in the medium MWPC's. By this charges of fragments with Z<10 could be separated. The charge resolution amounted at lithium 0.8 charge units. The position resolution of the proportional counters in y direction was determined to less than 8 mm. The detection probability of the fragments amounts for lithium 90% and from boron all fragments are detected

  16. Absolute calibration of TFTR helium proportional counters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Strachan, J.D.; Diesso, M.; Jassby, D.; Johnson, L.; McCauley, S.; Munsat, T.; Roquemore, A.L.; Loughlin, M.

    1995-06-01

    The TFTR helium proportional counters are located in the central five (5) channels of the TFTR multichannel neutron collimator. These detectors were absolutely calibrated using a 14 MeV neutron generator positioned at the horizontal midplane of the TFTR vacuum vessel. The neutron generator position was scanned in centimeter steps to determine the collimator aperture width to 14 MeV neutrons and the absolute sensitivity of each channel. Neutron profiles were measured for TFTR plasmas with time resolution between 5 msec and 50 msec depending upon count rates. The He detectors were used to measure the burnup of 1 MeV tritons in deuterium plasmas, the transport of tritium in trace tritium experiments, and the residual tritium levels in plasmas following 50:50 DT experiments

  17. Social Markers of Mild Cognitive Impairment: Proportion of Word Counts in Free Conversational Speech.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dodge, Hiroko H; Mattek, Nora; Gregor, Mattie; Bowman, Molly; Seelye, Adriana; Ybarra, Oscar; Asgari, Meysam; Kaye, Jeffrey A

    2015-01-01

    Detecting early signs of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) during the pre-symptomatic phase is becoming increasingly important for costeffective clinical trials and also for deriving maximum benefit from currently available treatment strategies. However, distinguishing early signs of MCI from normal cognitive aging is difficult. Biomarkers have been extensively examined as early indicators of the pathological process for AD, but assessing these biomarkers is expensive and challenging to apply widely among pre-symptomatic community dwelling older adults. Here we propose assessment of social markers, which could provide an alternative or complementary and ecologically valid strategy for identifying the pre-symptomatic phase leading to MCI and AD. The data came from a larger randomized controlled clinical trial (RCT), where we examined whether daily conversational interactions using remote video telecommunications software could improve cognitive functions of older adult participants. We assessed the proportion of words generated by participants out of total words produced by both participants and staff interviewers using transcribed conversations during the intervention trial as an indicator of how two people (participants and interviewers) interact with each other in one-on-one conversations. We examined whether the proportion differed between those with intact cognition and MCI, using first, generalized estimating equations with the proportion as outcome, and second, logistic regression models with cognitive status as outcome in order to estimate the area under ROC curve (ROC AUC). Compared to those with normal cognitive function, MCI participants generated a greater proportion of words out of the total number of words during the timed conversation sessions (p=0.01). This difference remained after controlling for participant age, gender, interviewer and time of assessment (p=0.03). The logistic regression models showed the ROC AUC of

  18. YAOPBM-II: extension to higher degrees and to shorter time series

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Korzennik, S G [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA (United States)], E-mail: skorzennik@cfa.harvard.edu

    2008-10-15

    In 2005, I presented a new fitting methodology (Yet AnOther Peak Bagging Method -YAOPBM), derived for very-long time series (2088-day-long) and applied it to low degree modes, {iota} {<=} 25. That very-long time series was also sub-divided into shorter segments (728-day-long) that were each fitted over the same range of degrees, to estimate changes with solar activity levels. I present here the extension of this method in several 'directions': a) to substantially higher degrees ({iota} {<=} 125); b) to shorter time series (364- and 182-day-long); and c) to additional 728-day-long segments, covering now some 10 years of observations. I discuss issues with the fitting, namely the leakage matrix, and the f- and p1 mode at very low frequencies, and I present some of the characteristics of the observed temporal changes.

  19. The proportionate value of proportionality in palliative sedation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berger, Jeffrey T

    2014-01-01

    Proportionality, as it pertains to palliative sedation, is the notion that sedation should be induced at the lowest degree effective for symptom control, so that the patient's consciousness may be preserved. The pursuit of proportionality in palliative sedation is a widely accepted imperative advocated in position statements and guidelines on this treatment. The priority assigned to the pursuit of proportionality, and the extent to which it is relevant for patients who qualify for palliative sedation, have been overstated. Copyright 2014 The Journal of Clinical Ethics. All rights reserved.

  20. Proportion of medication error reporting and associated factors among nurses: a cross sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jember, Abebaw; Hailu, Mignote; Messele, Anteneh; Demeke, Tesfaye; Hassen, Mohammed

    2018-01-01

    A medication error (ME) is any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm. Voluntary reporting has a principal role in appreciating the extent and impact of medication errors. Thus, exploration of the proportion of medication error reporting and associated factors among nurses is important to inform service providers and program implementers so as to improve the quality of the healthcare services. Institution based quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted among 397 nurses from March 6 to May 10, 2015. Stratified sampling followed by simple random sampling technique was used to select the study participants. The data were collected using structured self-administered questionnaire which was adopted from studies conducted in Australia and Jordan. A pilot study was carried out to validate the questionnaire before data collection for this study. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were fitted to identify factors associated with the proportion of medication error reporting among nurses. An adjusted odds ratio with 95% confidence interval was computed to determine the level of significance. The proportion of medication error reporting among nurses was found to be 57.4%. Regression analysis showed that sex, marital status, having made a medication error and medication error experience were significantly associated with medication error reporting. The proportion of medication error reporting among nurses in this study was found to be higher than other studies.

  1. Digitally controlled analog proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller for high-speed scanning probe microscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dukic, Maja; Todorov, Vencislav; Andany, Santiago; Nievergelt, Adrian P.; Yang, Chen; Hosseini, Nahid; Fantner, Georg E.

    2017-12-01

    Nearly all scanning probe microscopes (SPMs) contain a feedback controller, which is used to move the scanner in the direction of the z-axis in order to maintain a constant setpoint based on the tip-sample interaction. The most frequently used feedback controller in SPMs is the proportional-integral (PI) controller. The bandwidth of the PI controller presents one of the speed limiting factors in high-speed SPMs, where higher bandwidths enable faster scanning speeds and higher imaging resolution. Most SPM systems use digital signal processor-based PI feedback controllers, which require analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters. These converters introduce additional feedback delays which limit the achievable imaging speed and resolution. In this paper, we present a digitally controlled analog proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller. The controller implementation allows tunability of the PID gains over a large amplification and frequency range, while also providing precise control of the system and reproducibility of the gain parameters. By using the analog PID controller, we were able to perform successful atomic force microscopy imaging of a standard silicon calibration grating at line rates up to several kHz.

  2. Proportion offered in the Dictator and Ultimatum Games decreases with amount and social distance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bechler, Christopher; Green, Leonard; Myerson, Joel

    2015-06-01

    Behavior in both the Dictator Game and the Ultimatum Game is of special interest because proposers often violate the predictions of normative economic theory: On average, offers in both games are higher than what would be considered income-maximizing. In the present study, the initial amount provided to the proposer and the social distance between the proposer and the respondent were both varied across a wide range, and the effects of these manipulations on offers in the Dictator Game and the Ultimatum Game were examined in a broad sample of participants recruited via MTurk. Although the amount offered was consistently higher in the Ultimatum Game, the proportion of the amount offered decreased as the size of the initial amount increased in both games. Moreover, the proportion offered also decreased as a function of the social distance between the proposer and the responder. The present results extend our knowledge of the determinants of proposers' behavior in two-person economic games and emphasize the importance of social distance and the amount of money at stake as factors that affect people's economic decisions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Educational Expansion or Credential Inflation? The Evolution of Part-Time Study by Adults at McGill University, Canada

    Science.gov (United States)

    McLean, Scott; Rollwagen, Heather

    2010-01-01

    Part-time students have accounted for a significant proportion of rising participation in higher education in many countries. The objectives of this paper are to enrich the empirical literature concerning the inclusion of part-time adult learners in higher education, and to assess the two competing theoretical frameworks that have emerged to…

  4. The effect of flooding on soil proportion and plant growth. 2. Its effect on the changes in soil proportion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sisworo, E.L.

    1975-01-01

    An experiment has been carried out to study changes in soil proportion as affected by flooding. Barley plants were used as indicators. Black polyethylene columns were used as plant containers, and were filled with sandy loam Begbroke soil. Several parameters were used in the experiment, namely concentrations of oxygen carbon dioxide, ethylene, hydrogen sulfide, and organic acids. Oxygen concentration dropped to about 2% one day after flooding, while the concentration of carbon dioxide, ethylene and organic acids turned out to be slowly increased with the extension of flooding time. No hydrogen sulfide was detectable as affected by various flooding periods. Different concentrations of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and ethylene were observed between the top and the lower layers of soil. (author)

  5. Higher Education: A Time for Triage?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lagowski, J. J.

    1995-10-01

    Higher education faces unprecedented challenges. The confluence of changing economic and demographic tends; new patterns of federal and state spending; more explicit expectations by students and their families for affordable, accessible education; and heightened scrutiny by those who claim a legitimate interest in higher education is inescapably altering the environment in which this system operates. Higher education will never again be as it was before. Further, many believe that tinkering around the margins is no longer an adequate response to the new demands. Fundamental change is deemed necessary to meet the challenge of this melange of pressures. A number of commentators have observed that political and corporate America have responded to their challenges by instituting a fundamental restructuring of those institutions. The medical community is also in the midst of a similar basic restructuring of the health care delivery system in this country. Now its education's turn. People are questioning the historically expressed mission of higher education. They make the claim that we cost too much, spend carelessly, teach poorly, plan myopically, and when questioned, act defensively. Educational administrators, from department chairs up, are confronted with the task of simultaneously reforming and cutting back. They have no choice. They must establish politically sophisticated priority settings and effect a hard-nosed reallocation of resources in a social environment where competing public needs have equivalent--or stronger--emotional pulls. Triage in a medical context involves confronting an emergency in which the demand for attention far outstrips available assistance by establishing a sequence of care in which one key individual orchestrates the application of harsh priorities which have been designed to maximize the number of survivors. In recent years, the decisions that have been made in some centers of higher education bear a striking similarity. The literature

  6. A multiwire proportional counter for very high counting rates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barbosa, A.F.; Guedes, G.P.; Tamura, E.; Pepe, I.M.; Oliveira, N.B.

    1997-12-01

    Preliminary measurements in a proportional counter with two independently counting wires showed that counting rates up to 10 6 counts/s per wire can be reached without critical loss in the true versus measured linearity relation. Results obtained with a detector containing 30 active wires (2 mm pitch) are presented. To each wire is associated a fast pre-amplifier and a discriminator channel. Global counting rates in excess to 10 7 events/s are reported. Data acquisition systems are described for 1D (real time) and 2D (off-line) position sensitive detection systems. (author)

  7. Use of proportional tubes in a muon polarimeter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kenney, C.J.; Eckhause, M.; Ginkel, J.F.

    1988-01-01

    A prototype muon polarimeter was built to study the feasibility of measuring the positive muon polarization in the decay K/sub L/ → μ + μ/sup /minus//. The system consisted of alternating layers of extruded aluminum gas proportional tubes and polarization-retaining absorber plates of either aluminum or marble. Longitudinally polarized positive muons from the Stopped Muon Channel at the Clinton P. Anderson Meson Physics Facility (LAMPF) were stopped in the absorber plates where they precessed in a field of 60 gauss. Decay times were recorded in 100 ns first-in-first-out memories for all wires hit during a 12.8 μs period centered about the muon stop trigger. The performance of the system was studied for different beam rates and absorber thicknesses. The value of imposing time and spacial cuts on track data to enhance the precession signal was also investigated. 7 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab

  8. Putative golden proportions as predictors of facial esthetics in adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiekens, Rosemie M A; Kuijpers-Jagtman, Anne Marie; van 't Hof, Martin A; van 't Hof, Bep E; Maltha, Jaap C

    2008-10-01

    In orthodontics, facial esthetics is assumed to be related to golden proportions apparent in the ideal human face. The aim of the study was to analyze the putative relationship between facial esthetics and golden proportions in white adolescents. Seventy-six adult laypeople evaluated sets of photographs of 64 adolescents on a visual analog scale (VAS) from 0 to 100. The facial esthetic value of each subject was calculated as a mean VAS score. Three observers recorded the position of 13 facial landmarks included in 19 putative golden proportions, based on the golden proportions as defined by Ricketts. The proportions and each proportion's deviation from the golden target (1.618) were calculated. This deviation was then related to the VAS scores. Only 4 of the 19 proportions had a significant negative correlation with the VAS scores, indicating that beautiful faces showed less deviation from the golden standard than less beautiful faces. Together, these variables explained only 16% of the variance. Few golden proportions have a significant relationship with facial esthetics in adolescents. The explained variance of these variables is too small to be of clinical importance.

  9. The Benefits of Part-Time Undergraduate Study and UK Higher Education Policy: A Literature Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bennion, Alice; Scesa, Anna; Williams, Ruth

    2011-01-01

    Part-time study in the UK is significant: nearly 40 per cent of higher education students study part-time. This article reports on a literature review that sought to understand the economic and social benefits of part-time study in the UK. It concludes that there are substantial and wide-ranging benefits from studying part-time. The article also…

  10. Multiwire proportional chamber for Moessbauer spectroscopy: development and results

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Costa, M.S. da.

    1985-12-01

    A new Multiwere proportional Chamber designed for Moessbauer Spectroscopy is presented. This detector allows transmission backscattering experiments using either photons or electrons. The Moessbauer data acquisition system, partially developed for this work is described. A simple method for determining the frontier between true proportional and semi-proportional regions of operation in gaseous detectors is proposed. The study of the tertiary gas mixture He-Ar-CH 4 leads to a straight forward way of energy calibration of the electron spectra. Moessbauer spectra using Fe-57 source are presented. In particular those obtained with backsattered electrons show the feasibility of depth selective analysis with gaseous proportional counters. (author) [pt

  11. The effect of parity on the proportion of important healthy fatty acids in raw milk of Holstein cows

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luděk Stádník

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this study was to determine and evaluate the effect of parity on the fatty acids groups’ proportion in Holstein cows’ milk during the first phase of lactations, with an emphasis on its potential importance for consumer health. A total of 25 Holstein cows, 9 primiparous, 9 in the 2nd, and 7 in the 3rd and subsequent parity, were observed and sampled at 7-day intervals through the first 17 weeks of lactation. The percentage proportion of saturated (hypercholesterolemic and volatile as its components and unsaturated (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated as its components fatty acids in the samples of milk fat (n=425 was determined. The effects of parity and negative energy balance, as well as regression, on the lactation week and the fat to protein ratio were evaluated using SAS 9.3. A significantly (P<0.01 lower proportion of unhealthy hypercholesterolemic fatty acids was detected in primiparous cows (-2.67 % and those in the 3rd and subsequent lactation (-2.94 % compared to the 2nd lactation, as well as a simultaneously higher proportion of healthy unsaturated fatty acids (+2.07, respectively +3.08 %. The determined relationships corresponded to organism stress evoked by the initiation of milk production and its maintenance in higher parities. Therefore, the generally required prolongation of dairy cows’ longevity can influence on the quality of raw milk, especially considering composition of fatty acids.

  12. The principle of proportionality and European contract law

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cauffman, C.; Rutgers, J.; Sirena, P.

    2015-01-01

    The paper investigates the role of the principle of proportionality within contract law, in balancing the rights and obligations of the contracting parties. It illustrates that the principle of proportionality is one of the general principles which govern contractual relations, and as such it is an

  13. Cox proportional hazards models have more statistical power than logistic regression models in cross-sectional genetic association studies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Net, Jeroen B.; Janssens, A. Cecile J. W.; Eijkemans, Marinus J. C.; Kastelein, John J. P.; Sijbrands, Eric J. G.; Steyerberg, Ewout W.

    2008-01-01

    Cross-sectional genetic association studies can be analyzed using Cox proportional hazards models with age as time scale, if age at onset of disease is known for the cases and age at data collection is known for the controls. We assessed to what degree and under what conditions Cox proportional

  14. Application of random survival forests in understanding the determinants of under-five child mortality in Uganda in the presence of covariates that satisfy the proportional and non-proportional hazards assumption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nasejje, Justine B; Mwambi, Henry

    2017-09-07

    Uganda just like any other Sub-Saharan African country, has a high under-five child mortality rate. To inform policy on intervention strategies, sound statistical methods are required to critically identify factors strongly associated with under-five child mortality rates. The Cox proportional hazards model has been a common choice in analysing data to understand factors strongly associated with high child mortality rates taking age as the time-to-event variable. However, due to its restrictive proportional hazards (PH) assumption, some covariates of interest which do not satisfy the assumption are often excluded in the analysis to avoid mis-specifying the model. Otherwise using covariates that clearly violate the assumption would mean invalid results. Survival trees and random survival forests are increasingly becoming popular in analysing survival data particularly in the case of large survey data and could be attractive alternatives to models with the restrictive PH assumption. In this article, we adopt random survival forests which have never been used in understanding factors affecting under-five child mortality rates in Uganda using Demographic and Health Survey data. Thus the first part of the analysis is based on the use of the classical Cox PH model and the second part of the analysis is based on the use of random survival forests in the presence of covariates that do not necessarily satisfy the PH assumption. Random survival forests and the Cox proportional hazards model agree that the sex of the household head, sex of the child, number of births in the past 1 year are strongly associated to under-five child mortality in Uganda given all the three covariates satisfy the PH assumption. Random survival forests further demonstrated that covariates that were originally excluded from the earlier analysis due to violation of the PH assumption were important in explaining under-five child mortality rates. These covariates include the number of children under the

  15. CWRU multiwire proportional counter readout system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bevington, P.R.; Leskovec, R.A.

    1977-01-01

    An electronic system is described which translates pulses from individual wires of multiwire proportional counters into binary addresses indicating the location of the wires in the chambers. The system combines a fast (<100 ns) serial scan of an event buffer with parallel encoding to provide fast transfer of addresses (250 ns per hit). The buffer has provision for disabling the input less than 40 ns after detection of an event to suppress recording of multiple hits caused by individual events. The encoder can digitize the address of every hit encountered or just the first addresses of contiguous hits. The system includes a coincidence trigger for determining whether timing criteria have been satisfied between chambers and with external devices. Events which do not meet the coincidence criteria are typically reset within 400 ns. The addresses are transferred to a computer interface through CAMAC modules. Multiple buffering permits further data acquisition during CAMAC transfer cycles. (Auth.)

  16. Does expressive timing in music performance scale proportionally with tempo?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Desain, P.; Honing, H.

    1994-01-01

    Evidence is presented that expressive timing in music is not relationally invariant with global tempo. Our results stem from an analysis of repeated performances of Beethoven's variations on a Paisiello theme. Recordings were made of two pianists playing the pieces at three tempi. In contrast with

  17. Proportioning and performance evaluation of self-consolidating concrete

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xuhao

    . Statistical analyses, response surface models and Tukey Honestly Significant Difference (HSD) tests, were conducted to relate the mix design parameters to the concrete performance. The work discussed in Paper 3 was to apply a digital image processing (DIP) method associated with a MATLAB algorithm to evaluate cross sectional images of self-consolidating concrete (SCC). Parameters, such as inter-particle spacing between coarse aggregate particles and average mortar to aggregate ratio defined as average mortar thickness index (MTI), were derived from DIP method and applied to evaluate the static stability and develop statistical models to predict flowability of SCC mixtures. The last paper investigated technologies available to monitor changing properties of a fresh mixture, particularly for use with self-consolidating concrete (SCC). A number of techniques were used to monitor setting time, stiffening and formwork pressure of SCC mixtures. These included longitudinal (P-wave) ultrasonic wave propagation, penetrometer based setting time, semi-adiabatic calorimetry, and formwork pressure. The first study demonstrated that the concrete mixes designed using the modified Brouwers mix design algorithm and particle packing concept had a potential to reduce up to 20% SCMs content compared to existing SCC mix proportioning methods and still maintain good performance. The second paper concluded that slump flow of the SCC mixtures increased with Vpaste/Vvoids at a given viscosity of mortar. Compressive trength increases with increasing Vpaste/Vvoids up to a point (~150%), after which the strength becomes independent of Vpaste/Vvoids, even slightly decreases. Vpaste/Vvoids has little effect on the shrinkage mixtures, while SCC mixtures tend to have a higher shrinkage than CC for a given Vpaste/Vvoids. Vpaste/Vvoids has little effects on surface resistivity of SCC mixtures. The paste quality tends to have a dominant effect. Statistical analysis is an efficient tool to identify the

  18. The Standard Error of a Proportion for Different Scores and Test Length.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David A. Walker

    2005-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines Smith's (2003 proposed standard error of a proportion index..associated with the idea of reliability as sufficiency of information. A detailed table..indexing all of the standard error values affiliated with assessments that range from 5 to..100 items, where students scored as low as 50% correct and 50% incorrect to as high as..95% correct and 5% incorrect, calculated in increments of 1 percentage point, is..presented, along with distributional qualities. Examples using this measure for classroom..teachers and higher education instructors of assessment are provided.

  19. The principle of proportionality revisited: interpretations and applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hermerén, Göran

    2012-11-01

    The principle of proportionality is used in many different contexts. Some of these uses and contexts are first briefly indicated. This paper focusses on the use of this principle as a moral principle. I argue that under certain conditions the principle of proportionality is helpful as a guide in decision-making. But it needs to be clarified and to be used with some flexibility as a context-dependent principle. Several interpretations of the principle are distinguished, using three conditions as a starting point: importance of objective, relevance of means, and most favourable option. The principle is then tested against an example, which suggests that a fourth condition, focusing on non-excessiveness, needs to be added. I will distinguish between three main interpretations of the principle, some primarily with uses in research ethics, others with uses in other areas of bioethics, for instance in comparisons of therapeutic means and ends. The relations between the principle of proportionality and the precautionary principle are explored in the following section. It is concluded that the principles are different and may even clash. In the next section the principle of proportionality is applied to some medical examples drawn from research ethics and bioethics. In concluding, the status of the principle of proportionality as a moral principle is discussed. What has been achieved so far and what remains to be done is finally summarized.

  20. Lead (Pb) Toxicity; Physio-Biochemical Mechanisms, Grain Yield, Quality, and Pb Distribution Proportions in Scented Rice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ashraf, Umair; Kanu, Adam S; Deng, Quanquan; Mo, Zhaowen; Pan, Shenggang; Tian, Hua; Tang, Xiangru

    2017-01-01

    Lead (Pb) caused interruptions with normal plant metabolism, crop yield losses and quality issues are of great concern. This study assessed the physio-biochemical responses, yield and grain quality traits and Pb distribution proportions in three different fragrant rice cultivars i.e., Meixiangzhan-2, Xinagyaxiangzhan and Basmati-385. Plants were exposed to 400, 800, and 1,200 ppm of Pb while pots without Pb were taken as control (0 ppm). Our results showed that Pb toxicity significantly ( P production of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), malanodialdehyde (MDA) and leaves leachates; while such effects were more apparent in Xinagyaxiangzhan than other two rice cultivars. Pb stress differentially affected the production protein, proline and soluble sugars; however the production rates were higher at heading stage (HS) than maturity stage (MS). Furthermore, Pb stress altered superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidases (POD), catalases (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidases (APX) activities and glutathione (GSH) and oxidized glutathione (GSSG) production in all rice cultivars at both HS and MS. All Pb levels reduced the yield and yield components of all rice cultivars; nonetheless such reductions were observed highest in Xinagyaxiangzhan (69.12%) than Meixiangzhan-2 (58.05%) and Basmati-385 (46.27%) and resulted in grain quality deterioration. Significant and positive correlations among rice yields with productive tillers/pot and grains per panicle while negative with sterility percentage were also observed. In addition, all rice cultivars readily taken up the Pb contents from soil to roots and transported upward in different proportions with maximum in roots followed by stemss, leaves, ears and grains. Higher proportions of Pb contents in above ground plant parts in Xinagyaxiangzhan possibly lead to maximum losses in this cultivar than other two cultivars; while less damage in Basmati-385 might be related to strong anti-oxidative defense system and lower proportions of Pb contents in

  1. The Motivations and Outcomes of Studying for Part-Time Mature Students in Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swain, Jon; Hammond, Cathie

    2011-01-01

    This paper examines the motivations and outcomes for mature students who study part-time in higher education (HE) in the UK. Although many students in HE are mature part-time learners, they have not been the specific focus of much research or policy interest. In-depth narrative interviews were carried out with 18 graduates who had studied…

  2. Proportional positive airway pressure: a new concept to treat obstructive sleep apnoea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Juhász, J; Becker, H; Cassel, W; Rostig, S; Peter, J H

    2001-03-01

    Proportional positive airway pressure (PPAP) was designed to optimize airway pressure for the therapy of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). In a randomized crossover prospective study, the clinical feasibility of PPAP and its immediate effects on the breathing disorder and sleep in comparison with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) was evaluated. Twelve patients requiring CPAP therapy underwent CPAP and PPAP titration in a random order. Obstructive and mixed respiratory events could be completely abolished with both forms of treatment. This efficacy could be achieved at a significantly lower mean mask pressure during PPAP titration (8.45+/-2.42 cmH2O) compared to CPAP (9.96+/-2.7 cmH2O) (p=0.002). The mean minimal arterial oxygen saturation (Sa,O2) (82.8+/-6.5%) on the diagnostic night increased significantly (pPPAP titration. Total sleep time, slow wave sleep and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep increased significantly by the same amount during both CPAP and PPAP titration (pPPAP titration night, four patients did not have a preference, and two patients preferred CPAP. The present data show that proportional positive airway pressure is as effective as continuous positive airway pressure in eliminating obstructive events and has the same immediate effect on sleep. The lower average mask pressure during proportional positive airway pressure implies potential advantages compared to continuous positive airway pressure. Proportional positive airway pressure presents a new effective therapeutic approach to obstructive sleep apnoea.

  3. A multiwire proportional counter for very high counting rates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barbosa, A F; Guedes, G P [Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Fisicas (CBPF), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Tamura, E [Laboratorio Nacional de Luz Sincrotron (LNLS), Campinas, SP (Brazil); Pepe, I M; Oliveira, N B [Bahia Univ., Salvador, BA (Brazil). Inst. de Fisica

    1997-12-01

    Preliminary measurements in a proportional counter with two independently counting wires showed that counting rates up to 10{sup 6} counts/s per wire can be reached without critical loss in the true versus measured linearity relation. Results obtained with a detector containing 30 active wires (2 mm pitch) are presented. To each wire is associated a fast pre-amplifier and a discriminator channel. Global counting rates in excess to 10{sup 7} events/s are reported. Data acquisition systems are described for 1D (real time) and 2D (off-line) position sensitive detection systems. (author) 13 refs., 6 figs.

  4. PRINCIPLE OF PROPORTIONALITY, CRITERION OF LEGITIMACY IN THE PUBLIC LAW

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MARIUS ANDREESCU

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available A problem of essence of the state is the one to delimit the discretionary power, respectively the power abuse in the activity of the state’s institutions. The legal behavior of the state’s institutions consists in their right to appreciate them and the power excess generates the violation of a subjective right or of the right that is of legitimate interest to the citizen. The application and nonobservance of the principle of lawfulness in the activities of the state is a complex problem because the exercise of the state’s functions assumes the discretionary powers with which the states authorities are invested, or otherwise said the ‘right of appreciation” of the authorities regarding the moment of adopting the contents of the measures proposed. The discretionary power cannot be opposed to the principle of lawfulness, as a dimension of the state de jure. In this study we propose to analyze the concept of discretionary power, respectively the power excess, having as a guidance the legislation, jurisprudence and doctrine in the matter. At the same time we would like to identify the most important criterions that will allow the user, regardless that he is or not an administrator, a public clerk or a judge, to delimit the legal behavior of the state’s institutions from the power excess. Within this context, we appreciate that the principle of proportionality represents such a criterion. The proportionality is a legal principle of the law, but at the same time it is a principle of the constitutional law and of other law branches. It expresses clearly the idea of balance, reasonability but also of adjusting the measures ordered by the state’s authorities to the situation in fact, respectively to the purpose for which they have been conceived. In our study we choose theoretical and jurisprudence arguments according to which the principle of proportionality can procedurally be determined and used to delimit the discretionary power and

  5. Minority n out of m coincidence circuits for time-differential experiments with multi-detector arrays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Braunsfurth, J.; Geske, K.

    1976-01-01

    Two n out of m minority coincidence circuits (n<=8, 15<=m<=31), employed for time-differential experiments are presented. Specifications like obtainable prompt coincidence resolution time, expandability to higher detector numbers m, implementation variants and their consequences, and some application modes are discussed. Hardware expenses on electronics for m-detector arrays usually rise nearly proportional to m factorial. In the coincidence system proposed here, the rise in hardware expenses can be reduced to slightly more than proportional to m, without sacrifice in experimental quality and flexibility. (Auth.)

  6. Proportional fair scheduling with superposition coding in a cellular cooperative relay system

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kaneko, Megumi; Hayashi, Kazunori; Popovski, Petar

    2013-01-01

    Many works have tackled on the problem of throughput and fairness optimization in cellular cooperative relaying systems. Considering firstly a two-user relay broadcast channel, we design a scheme based on superposition coding (SC) which maximizes the achievable sum-rate under a proportional...... fairness constraint. Unlike most relaying schemes where users are allocated orthogonally, our scheme serves the two users simultaneously on the same time-frequency resource unit by superposing their messages into three SC layers. The optimal power allocation parameters of each SC layer are derived...... by analysis. Next, we consider the general multi-user case in a cellular relay system, for which we design resource allocation algorithms based on proportional fair scheduling exploiting the proposed SC-based scheme. Numerical results show that the proposed algorithms allowing simultaneous user allocation...

  7. Count rate effect in proportional counters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bednarek, B.

    1980-01-01

    A critical evaluaton is presented of the actual state of investigations and explanations of the resolution and pulse height changes resulted in proportional counters from radiation intensity variations. (author)

  8. X-ray proportional counter for the Viking Lander

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Glesius, F.L.; Kroon, J.C.; Castro, A.J.; Clark, B.C.

    1978-01-01

    A set of four sealed proportional counters with optimized energy response is employed in the X-ray fluorescence spectrometer units aboard the two Viking Landers. The instruments have provided quantitative elemental analyses of soil samples taken from the Martian surface. This paper discusses the design and development of these miniature proportional counters, and describes their performance on Mars

  9. Higher spins tunneling from a time dependent and spherically symmetric black hole

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Siahaan, Haryanto M.

    2016-01-01

    The discussions of Hawking radiation via tunneling method have been performed extensively in the case of scalar particles. Moreover, there are also several works in discussing the tunneling method for Hawking radiation by using higher spins, e.g. neutrino, photon, and gravitino, in the background of static black holes. Interestingly, it is found that the Hawking temperature for static black holes using the higher spins particles has no difference compared to the one computed using scalars. In this paper, we study the Hawking radiation for a spherically symmetric and time dependent black holes using the tunneling of Dirac particles, photon, and gravitino. We find that the obtained Hawking temperature is similar to the one derived in the tunneling method by using scalars. (orig.)

  10. Higher spins tunneling from a time dependent and spherically symmetric black hole

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Siahaan, Haryanto M. [Parahyangan Catholic University, Physics Department, Bandung (Indonesia)

    2016-03-15

    The discussions of Hawking radiation via tunneling method have been performed extensively in the case of scalar particles. Moreover, there are also several works in discussing the tunneling method for Hawking radiation by using higher spins, e.g. neutrino, photon, and gravitino, in the background of static black holes. Interestingly, it is found that the Hawking temperature for static black holes using the higher spins particles has no difference compared to the one computed using scalars. In this paper, we study the Hawking radiation for a spherically symmetric and time dependent black holes using the tunneling of Dirac particles, photon, and gravitino. We find that the obtained Hawking temperature is similar to the one derived in the tunneling method by using scalars. (orig.)

  11. Scale effects and morphological diversification in hindlimb segment mass proportions in neognath birds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kilbourne, Brandon M

    2014-01-01

    In spite of considerable work on the linear proportions of limbs in amniotes, it remains unknown whether differences in scale effects between proximal and distal limb segments has the potential to influence locomotor costs in amniote lineages and how changes in the mass proportions of limbs have factored into amniote diversification. To broaden our understanding of how the mass proportions of limbs vary within amniote lineages, I collected data on hindlimb segment masses - thigh, shank, pes, tarsometatarsal segment, and digits - from 38 species of neognath birds, one of the most speciose amniote clades. I scaled each of these traits against measures of body size (body mass) and hindlimb size (hindlimb length) to test for departures from isometry. Additionally, I applied two parameters of trait evolution (Pagel's λ and δ) to understand patterns of diversification in hindlimb segment mass in neognaths. All segment masses are positively allometric with body mass. Segment masses are isometric with hindlimb length. When examining scale effects in the neognath subclade Land Birds, segment masses were again positively allometric with body mass; however, shank, pedal, and tarsometatarsal segment masses were also positively allometric with hindlimb length. Methods of branch length scaling to detect phylogenetic signal (i.e., Pagel's λ) and increasing or decreasing rates of trait change over time (i.e., Pagel's δ) suffer from wide confidence intervals, likely due to small sample size and deep divergence times. The scaling of segment masses appears to be more strongly related to the scaling of limb bone mass as opposed to length, and the scaling of hindlimb mass distribution is more a function of scale effects in limb posture than proximo-distal differences in the scaling of limb segment mass. Though negative allometry of segment masses appears to be precluded by the need for mechanically sound limbs, the positive allometry of segment masses relative to body mass may

  12. Calculating Higher-Order Moments of Phylogenetic Stochastic Mapping Summaries in Linear Time

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dhar, Amrit

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Stochastic mapping is a simulation-based method for probabilistically mapping substitution histories onto phylogenies according to continuous-time Markov models of evolution. This technique can be used to infer properties of the evolutionary process on the phylogeny and, unlike parsimony-based mapping, conditions on the observed data to randomly draw substitution mappings that do not necessarily require the minimum number of events on a tree. Most stochastic mapping applications simulate substitution mappings only to estimate the mean and/or variance of two commonly used mapping summaries: the number of particular types of substitutions (labeled substitution counts) and the time spent in a particular group of states (labeled dwelling times) on the tree. Fast, simulation-free algorithms for calculating the mean of stochastic mapping summaries exist. Importantly, these algorithms scale linearly in the number of tips/leaves of the phylogenetic tree. However, to our knowledge, no such algorithm exists for calculating higher-order moments of stochastic mapping summaries. We present one such simulation-free dynamic programming algorithm that calculates prior and posterior mapping variances and scales linearly in the number of phylogeny tips. Our procedure suggests a general framework that can be used to efficiently compute higher-order moments of stochastic mapping summaries without simulations. We demonstrate the usefulness of our algorithm by extending previously developed statistical tests for rate variation across sites and for detecting evolutionarily conserved regions in genomic sequences. PMID:28177780

  13. Saving Money Using Proportional Reasoning

    Science.gov (United States)

    de la Cruz, Jessica A.; Garney, Sandra

    2016-01-01

    It is beneficial for students to discover intuitive strategies, as opposed to the teacher presenting strategies to them. Certain proportional reasoning tasks are more likely to elicit intuitive strategies than other tasks. The strategies that students are apt to use when approaching a task, as well as the likelihood of a student's success or…

  14. Higher Education Research in Asia: A Publication and Co-Publication Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jung, Jisun; Horta, Hugo

    2013-01-01

    This study explores higher education research in Asia. Drawing on scientometrics, the mapping of science and social network analysis, this paper examines the publications of 38 specialised journals on higher education over the past three decades. The findings indicate a growing number of higher education research publications but the proportion of…

  15. An Upper-Limb Power-Assist Exoskeleton Using Proportional Myoelectric Control

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Zhichuan; Zhang, Kejun; Sun, Shouqian; Gao, Zenggui; Zhang, Lekai; Yang, Zhongliang

    2014-01-01

    We developed an upper-limb power-assist exoskeleton actuated by pneumatic muscles. The exoskeleton included two metal links: a nylon joint, four size-adjustable carbon fiber bracers, a potentiometer and two pneumatic muscles. The proportional myoelectric control method was proposed to control the exoskeleton according to the user's motion intention in real time. With the feature extraction procedure and the classification (back-propagation neural network), an electromyogram (EMG)-angle model was constructed to be used for pattern recognition. Six healthy subjects performed elbow flexion-extension movements under four experimental conditions: (1) holding a 1-kg load, wearing the exoskeleton, but with no actuation and for different periods (2-s, 4-s and 8-s periods); (2) holding a 1-kg load, without wearing the exoskeleton, for a fixed period; (3) holding a 1-kg load, wearing the exoskeleton, but with no actuation, for a fixed period; (4) holding a 1-kg load, wearing the exoskeleton under proportional myoelectric control, for a fixed period. The EMG signals of the biceps brachii, the brachioradialis, the triceps brachii and the anconeus and the angle of the elbow were collected. The control scheme's reliability and power-assist effectiveness were evaluated in the experiments. The results indicated that the exoskeleton could be controlled by the user's motion intention in real time and that it was useful for augmenting arm performance with neurological signal control, which could be applied to assist in elbow rehabilitation after neurological injury. PMID:24727501

  16. An upper-limb power-assist exoskeleton using proportional myoelectric control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Zhichuan; Zhang, Kejun; Sun, Shouqian; Gao, Zenggui; Zhang, Lekai; Yang, Zhongliang

    2014-04-10

    We developed an upper-limb power-assist exoskeleton actuated by pneumatic muscles. The exoskeleton included two metal links: a nylon joint, four size-adjustable carbon fiber bracers, a potentiometer and two pneumatic muscles. The proportional myoelectric control method was proposed to control the exoskeleton according to the user's motion intention in real time. With the feature extraction procedure and the classification (back-propagation neural network), an electromyogram (EMG)-angle model was constructed to be used for pattern recognition. Six healthy subjects performed elbow flexion-extension movements under four experimental conditions: (1) holding a 1-kg load, wearing the exoskeleton, but with no actuation and for different periods (2-s, 4-s and 8-s periods); (2) holding a 1-kg load, without wearing the exoskeleton, for a fixed period; (3) holding a 1-kg load, wearing the exoskeleton, but with no actuation, for a fixed period; (4) holding a 1-kg load, wearing the exoskeleton under proportional myoelectric control, for a fixed period. The EMG signals of the biceps brachii, the brachioradialis, the triceps brachii and the anconeus and the angle of the elbow were collected. The control scheme's reliability and power-assist effectiveness were evaluated in the experiments. The results indicated that the exoskeleton could be controlled by the user's motion intention in real time and that it was useful for augmenting arm performance with neurological signal control, which could be applied to assist in elbow rehabilitation after neurological injury.

  17. An Upper-Limb Power-Assist Exoskeleton Using Proportional Myoelectric Control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhichuan Tang

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available We developed an upper-limb power-assist exoskeleton actuated by pneumatic muscles. The exoskeleton included two metal links: a nylon joint, four size-adjustable carbon fiber bracers, a potentiometer and two pneumatic muscles. The proportional myoelectric control method was proposed to control the exoskeleton according to the user’s motion intention in real time. With the feature extraction procedure and the classification (back-propagation neural network, an electromyogram (EMG-angle model was constructed to be used for pattern recognition. Six healthy subjects performed elbow flexion-extension movements under four experimental conditions: (1 holding a 1-kg load, wearing the exoskeleton, but with no actuation and for different periods (2-s, 4-s and 8-s periods; (2 holding a 1-kg load, without wearing the exoskeleton, for a fixed period; (3 holding a 1-kg load, wearing the exoskeleton, but with no actuation, for a fixed period; (4 holding a 1-kg load, wearing the exoskeleton under proportional myoelectric control, for a fixed period. The EMG signals of the biceps brachii, the brachioradialis, the triceps brachii and the anconeus and the angle of the elbow were collected. The control scheme’s reliability and power-assist effectiveness were evaluated in the experiments. The results indicated that the exoskeleton could be controlled by the user’s motion intention in real time and that it was useful for augmenting arm performance with neurological signal control, which could be applied to assist in elbow rehabilitation after neurological injury.

  18. [Effect of flooding time length on mycorrhizal colonization of three AM fungi in two wetland plants].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Lei-Meng; Wang, Peng-Teng; Wang, Shu-Guang

    2014-01-01

    In order to provide information for elucidating effect of flooding on the formation and function of AM in wetland plants, three AM fungi (Glomus intraradices, Glomus versiforme, Glomus etunicatum) were used to investigate the effects of flooding time length on their colonization in cattail (Typha orientalis) and rice (Oryza sativa L. ). The results showed that the mycorrhizal colonization rate (MCR) presented downtrend with increasing flooding time length. In cattail, MCR of the fungus F3 was higher than those of fungi F1 and F2, but no significant difference in MCR was found between fungi F1 and F2. In rice, the MCRs of fungi F2 and F3 were higher than that of E1. In both plants, the proportional frequency of hyphae was the highest while the proportional frequency of arbuscules and vesicles was very low in all treatments, indicating that hyphal colonization was the main route for AM formation. The proportional frequency of hyphae in cattail increased with the flooding time length, but no significant trend was observed in rice plant. The proportional frequency of arhuscules decreased with the increase of flooding time, and was the highest in the treatment without flooding (treatment IV). The number of spores produced by AM fungi increased with increasing flooding time, and reached the highest in the treatment of long time flooding (treatment I). In the same treatment, the fungus F3 produced more spores than fungi F1 and F2. Changes in wet weight of the two plants showed that AM could increase cattail growth under flooding, hut little effect on rice growth was found. It is concluded that flooding time length significantly affected the mycorrhizal colonization rate and the proportional frequency of colonization. AM could enhance the growth of wetland plant, but this depends on the mycorrhizal dependence of host plant on AM fungi. Therefore, flooding time length should be considered in the inoculation of wetland plants with AM fungi.

  19. Low Proportion of Dietary Plant Protein among Athletes with Premenstrual Syndrome-Related Performance Impairment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamada, Keiko; Takeda, Takashi

    2018-02-01

    Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is psychosomatic disorder that are limited to the late luteal phase in the menstrual cycle. PMS could impair athletic performance. To investigate associations between proportions of dietary plant and animal protein and PMS-related impairment of athletic performance, we surveyed 135 female athletes aged 18-23 years attending Kindai University. Participants belonged to authorized university clubs, all of which have high rankings in Japanese university sports. Participants completed self-administered questionnaires on diet history, demographics, and PMS-related impairment of athletic performance. Total protein, animal protein, and plant protein intake were examined, and the proportion of dietary plant protein was calculated for each participant. We divided athletes into two groups: those without PMS-related impairment of athletic performance (n = 117) and those with PMS-related performance impairment (n = 18). A t-test was used to compare mean values and multivariable adjusted mean values between groups; adjustment variables were energy intake, body mass index, and daily training duration. Total protein intake was not significantly different between the groups. However, athletes whose performance was affected by PMS reported higher intake of animal protein (mean 50.6 g) than athletes whose performance was unaffected by PMS (mean 34.9 g). Plant protein intake was lower among athletes with PMS-related impairment (mean 25.4 g) than among athletes without impairment (mean 26.9 g). The proportion of dietary plant protein was lower among athletes with PMS-related impairment (39.3%) than those without impairment (45.9%). A low proportion of dietary plant protein may cause PMS-related athletic impairment among athletes.

  20. Ecuador's Higher Education System in Times of Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Hoof, Hubert B.; Estrella, Mateo; Eljuri, Marie-Isabel; León, Leonardo Torres

    2013-01-01

    Ecuador's higher education system is undergoing dramatic changes. The National Constitution of 2008 and the Higher Education Law of 2010 have changed the way Ecuador's universities are funded, administered, and accredited. The importance of research was elevated and drastic changes were made to the academic qualifications and employment conditions…

  1. Employers' Demand for and the Provision of Part-Time Higher Education for Employees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trotman-Dickenson, Danusia

    1987-01-01

    A study of public and private employers' demand for part-time higher education for their employees and the response of institutions is reported. The study focuses on Wales and on the regional economic and social trends affecting educational demand and supply. Improved communication between employers, employees, and institutions is recommended.…

  2. Higher order multi-term time-fractional partial differential equations involving Caputo-Fabrizio derivative

    OpenAIRE

    Erkinjon Karimov; Sardor Pirnafasov

    2017-01-01

    In this work we discuss higher order multi-term partial differential equation (PDE) with the Caputo-Fabrizio fractional derivative in time. Using method of separation of variables, we reduce fractional order partial differential equation to the integer order. We represent explicit solution of formulated problem in particular case by Fourier series.

  3. Annular shape silver lined proportional counter for on-line pulsed neutron yield measurement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dighe, P.M.; Das, D.

    2015-01-01

    An annular shape silver lined proportional counter is developed to measure pulsed neutron radiation. The detector has 314 mm overall length and 235 mm overall diameter. The central cavity of 150 mm diameter and 200 mm length is used for placing the neutron source. Because of annular shape the detector covers >3π solid angle of the source. The detector has all welded construction. The detector is developed in two halves for easy mounting and demounting. Each half is an independent detector. Both the halves together give single neutron pulse calibration constant of 4.5×10 4 neutrons/shot count. The detector operates in proportional mode which gives enhanced working conditions in terms of dead time and operating range compared to Geiger Muller based neutron detectors

  4. Application of the pulse-rise-time discriminator for background noise decreasing in proportional x-ray counters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goganov, D.A.; Guslina, A.G.; Korolev, V.F.; Lozinskij, B.S.; Sklyankin, V.A.

    1977-01-01

    The intrinsic background of commercial rising edge discriminator - based proportional counters has been measured. The block-diagram of the experimental apparatus comprises the detector to be tested, a charge-sensitive amplifier with an amplitude analyzer, a rising edge discriminator (RED) and a scaling device. The rising edges have been analyzed in the range between 0.2 to 0.7 of the pulse amplitude. The RED threshold has been preset to cut off all the edges longer than those of 55 Fe (to register 87% of the 55 Fe quanta). It has been found that by limiting the amplitude discriminator window to +-20% and using a RED the background of commercial counters can be reduced by about an order

  5. Nasal biometrics and nasofacial proportion in Hausas and Yorubas using Akinlolu-Raji image-processing algorithm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Akinlolu Abdulazeez Adelaja

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Nasal biometrics is vital to facial analyses. This study evaluated nasal biometrics in Hausas and Yorubas of Nigeria. Materials and Methods: Hausas (150 males and 150 females, aged 18-36 years and Yorubas (150 males and 150 females, aged 15-33 years were selected as subjects with informed consents and when established as Hausas or Yorubas by parents and grandparents. Height, body weight and cephalometric parameters (evaluated on three-dimensional facial photographs were measured on subjects. The novel Akinlolu-Raji image-processing algorithm was developed using modified row method of computer programming. Nasal root width, nose height, nose width, nasal bridge length, nasal tip protrusion, nasal index, facial width and nasofacial proportion computed from readings of Akinlolu-Raji image-processing algorithm were analyzed using Z-test (P ≤ 0.05 of 2010 Microsoft Excel statistical software. Results: Computed nasal biometrics showed statistically nonsignificant higher values (P > 0.05 in males of Hausas (100% and Yorubas (80% compared to their female counterparts. In addition, results showed nonsignificant higher values (P > 0.05 in 80% of nasal biometrics in Hausas compared to Yorubas in both sexes. Based on classifications of nose types from nasal index, Hausas have the platyrrhine nose type while Yorubas have the mesorrhine nose type. Nasofacial proportion was lower in Hausa males compared to females, but of same values in Yoruba males and females. In addition, nasofacial proportions were lower in Hausas compared to Yorubas in both sexes. Conclusions: Sexual dimorphism of nasal biometrics exists between sexes of Hausas and Yorubas. Furthermore, Hausas and Yorubas are of similar nasal sizes.

  6. [Proportion and prevention of venous thromboembolism among hospitalized patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Beijing].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Li-rong; Zhang, Zhu; Wang, Hong; Xu, Zhen-yang; Qian, Xiao-sen; Zhang, Zuo-qing; Chen, Jin; Zhang, Feng-zhen; Yang, Yuan-hua

    2013-08-13

    To explore the proportion and prevention status of venous thromboembolism (VTE) among hospitalized patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) in Beijing. Based on a multi-center retrospective study, a total of 636 hospitalized AECOPD patients from 17 class 2/3 hospitals in Beijing were examined from September 1, 2011 to March 31, 2012. They fulfilled one of the following criteria: respiratory failure type II, on invasive or non-invasive mechanical ventilation, hospitalization for pulmonary infection, bedridden duration ≥ 3 days and congestive heart failure. All investigators received standardized training and used a standardized questionnaire to collect data on VTE risk factors, the diagnosis of VTE and the utilization of VTE prophylaxis. According to Caprini score, they were categorized into 3 groups of lower risk (Caprini score ≤ 3), moderate risk (Caprini score 4-6) and high risk ( ≥ 7) to compare the intergroup differences in the VTE proportion and the utilization of VTE prophylaxis. A total of 636 patients were assessed. There were 416 males and 220 females with a mean (SD) age of 74.9 ± 9.3 years. Among them, 133 patients received lower extremity venous ultrasonic examination and 92 were diagnosed with deep venous thrombosis (DVT) including 2 patients with pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE). Thus the overall incidence of VTE was 14.5% (92/636) and increased with age (Ptrend = 0.044). The proportion of VTE in asymptomatic patients was higher in those symptomatic ones (21.1% vs 8.0%, P = 0.000). And it was the highest in high risk group, followed by lower risk and moderate risk groups at 17.9% (14/78), 16.0% (26/163) and 13.2% (52/395) respectively, There was no statistical significance (P = 0.450 for group difference, Ptrend = 0.946). Among 544 patients without VTE, only 19.1% (104/544) employed the pharmacologic and/or mechanical methods for preventing VTE. The prevention proportion gradually increased with rising

  7. Design and performance of the new cathode readout proportional chambers in LASS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aiken, G.; Aston, D.; Dunwoodie, W.

    1980-10-01

    The design and construction of a new proportional chamber system for the LASS spectrometer are discussed. This system consists of planar and cylindrical chambers employing anode wire and cathode strip readout techniques. The good timing characteristics of anode readout combine with the excellent spatial resolution of cathode readout to provide powerful and compact detectors. Preliminary resolution data are presented along with operating characteristics of the various devices

  8. A reduced feedback proportional fair multiuser scheduling scheme

    KAUST Repository

    Shaqfeh, Mohammad

    2011-12-01

    Multiuser switched-diversity scheduling schemes were recently proposed in order to overcome the heavy feedback requirements of conventional opportunistic scheduling schemes by applying a threshold-based, distributed and ordered scheduling mechanism. A slight reduction in the prospected multiuser diversity gains is an acceptable trade-off for great savings in terms of required channel-state-information feedback messages. In this work, we propose a novel proportional fair multiuser switched-diversity scheduling scheme and we demonstrate that it can be optimized using a practical and distributed method to obtain the per-user feedback thresholds. We demonstrate by numerical examples that our reduced feedback proportional fair scheduler operates within 0.3 bits/sec/Hz from the achievable rates by the conventional full feedback proportional fair scheduler in Rayleigh fading conditions. © 2011 IEEE.

  9. Closing the Gaps: 2015. The Texas Higher Education Plan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, 2015

    2015-01-01

    Texas is profiting from a diverse, vibrant and growing economy. Yet this prosperity could turn to crisis if steps are not taken quickly to ensure an educated population and workforce for the future. At present, the proportion of Texans enrolled in higher education is declining. Too few higher education programs are noted for excellence and too few…

  10. Proportional crosstalk correction for the segmented clover at iThemba LABS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bucher, T D; Noncolela, S P; Lawrie, E A; Dinoko, T R S; Easton, J L; Erasmus, N; Lawrie, J J; Mthembu, S H; Mtshali, W X; Shirinda, O; Orce, J N

    2017-01-01

    Reaching new depths in nuclear structure investigations requires new experimental equipment and new techniques of data analysis. The modern γ -ray spectrometers, like AGATA and GRETINA are now built of new-generation segmented germanium detectors. These most advanced detectors are able to reconstruct the trajectory of a γ -ray inside the detector. These are powerful detectors, but they need careful characterization, since their output signals are more complex. For instance for each γ -ray interaction that occurs in a segment of such a detector additional output signals (called proportional crosstalk), falsely appearing as an independent (often negative) energy depositions, are registered on the non-interacting segments. A failure to implement crosstalk correction results in incorrectly measured energies on the segments for two- and higher-fold events. It affects all experiments which rely on the recorded segment energies. Furthermore incorrectly recorded energies on the segments cause a failure to reconstruct the γ -ray trajectories using Compton scattering analysis. The proportional crosstalk for the iThemba LABS segmented clover was measured and a crosstalk correction was successfully implemented. The measured crosstalk-corrected energies show good agreement with the true γ -ray energies independent on the number of hit segments and an improved energy resolution for the segment sum energy was obtained. (paper)

  11. Part-time and full-time medical specialists, are there differences in allocation of time?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Groenewegen Peter P

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background An increasing number of medical specialists prefer to work part-time. This development can be found worldwide. Problems to be faced in the realization of part-time work in medicine include the division of night and weekend shifts, as well as communication between physicians and continuity of care. People tend to think that physicians working part-time are less devoted to their work, implying that full-time physicians complete a greater number of tasks. The central question in this article is whether part-time medical specialists allocate their time differently to their tasks than full-time medical specialists. Methods A questionnaire was sent by mail to all internists (N = 817, surgeons (N = 693 and radiologists (N = 621 working in general hospitals in the Netherlands. Questions were asked about the actual situation, such as hours worked and night and weekend shifts. The response was 53% (n = 411 for internists, 52% (n = 359 for surgeons, and 36% (n = 213 for radiologists. Due to non-response on specific questions there were 367 internists, 316 surgeons, and 71 radiologists included in the analyses. Multilevel analyses were used to analyze the data. Results Part-time medical specialists do not spend proportionally more time on direct patient care. With respect to night and weekend shifts, part-time medical specialists account for proportionally more or an equal share of these shifts. The number of hours worked per FTE is higher for part-time than for full-time medical specialists, although this difference is only significant for surgeons. Conclusion In general, part-time medical specialists do their share of the job. However, we focussed on input only. Besides input, output like the numbers of services provided deserves attention as well. The trend in medicine towards more part-time work has an important consequence: more medical specialists are needed to get the work done. Therefore, a greater number of medical specialists

  12. Quality measurement by proportional counter with B

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Onizuka, Yoshihiko; Endo, Satoru; Tanaka, Kenichi

    2005-01-01

    The dosimetry of air and the tissue-equivalent phantom made of acryl are carried out by the tissue-equivalent proportional counter (TEPC) and TEPC with wall contained B, and both results were compared. The changes of quality with distance from the beam center are determined by the frequency mean renewal energy y F (y)and the dose mean renewal energy y D (y) as indicators of quality. Both y F (y)and y D (y) of tissue-equivalent phantom are larger than air, but very large change was not observed in all distance. The dose rate is determined by y D (y), the number of events and measurement time. Change of dose rate was larger than the change of quality. The maximum value of dose rate depended on γray and neutron beam showed at the point 2 cm away from the center. (S.Y.)

  13. Predictors of time to relapse in amphetamine-type substance users in the matrix treatment program in Iran: a Cox proportional hazard model application.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moeeni, Maryam; Razaghi, Emran M; Ponnet, Koen; Torabi, Fatemeh; Shafiee, Seyed Ali; Pashaei, Tahereh

    2016-07-26

    The aim of this study was to determine which predictors influence the risk of relapse among a cohort of amphetamine-type substance (ATS) users in Iran. A Cox proportional hazards model was conducted to determine factors associated with the relapse time in the Matrix treatment program provided by the Iranian National Center of Addiction Studies (INCAS) between March 2010 and October 2011. Participating in more treatment sessions was associated with a lower probability of relapse. On the other hand, patients with less family support, longer dependence on ATS, and those with an experience of casual sex and a history of criminal offenses were more likely to relapse. This study broadens our understanding of factors influencing the risk of relapse in ATS use among an Iranian sample. The findings can guide practitioners during the treatment program.

  14. First passage time problems in time-dependent fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fletcher, J.E.; Havlin, S.; Weiss, G.H.

    1988-01-01

    This paper discusses the simplest first passage time problems for random walks and diffusion processes on a line segment. When a diffusing particle moves in a time-varying field, use of the adjoint equation does not lead to any simplification in the calculation of moments of the first passage time as is the case for diffusion in a time-invariant field. We show that for a discrete random walk in the presence of a sinusoidally varying field there is a resonant frequency omega* for which the mean residence time on the line segment in a minimum. It is shown that for a random walk on a line segment of length L the mean residence time goes like L 2 for large L when omega omega*, but when omega = omega* the dependence is proportional to L. The results of our simulation are numerical, but can be regarded as exact. Qualitatively similar results are shown to hold for diffusion processes by a perturbation expansion in powers of a dimensionless velocity. These results are extended to higher values of this parameter by a numerical solution of the forward equation

  15. An integrated photosensor readout for gas proportional scintillation counters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lopes, J.A.M.; Santos, J.M.F. dos; Conde, C.A.N.

    1996-01-01

    A xenon gas proportional scintillation counter has been instrumented with a novel photosensor that replaces the photomultiplier tube normally used to detect the VUV secondary scintillation light. In this implementation, the collection grid of a planar gas proportional scintillation counter also functions as a multiwire proportional chamber to amplify and detect the photoelectrons emitted by a reflective CsI photocathode in direct contact with the xenon gas. This integrated concept combines greater simplicity, compactness, and ruggedness (no optical window is used) with low power consumption. An energy resolution of 12% was obtained for 59.6 keV x-rays

  16. Male scarcity is associated with higher prevalence of premature gestation and low birth weight births across the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kruger, Daniel J; Clark, Jillian; Vanas, Sarah

    2013-01-01

    Modern adverse birth outcomes may partially result from mechanisms evolved to evaluate environmental conditions and regulate maternal investment trade-offs. Male scarcity in a population is associated with a cluster of characteristics related to higher mating effort and lower paternal investment. We predicted that modern populations with male scarcity would have shorter gestational times and lower birth weights on average. We compared US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention county-aggregated year 2000 birth records with US Decennial Census data. We combined these data in a path model with the degree of male scarcity and known socio-economic predictors of birth outcomes as exogenous predictors of prematurity and low birth weight, with single mother households as a proportion of families with children as a mediator (N = 450). Male scarcity was directly associated with higher rates of low birth weight. Male scarcity made significant indirect predictions of rates of prematurity and low birth weight, as mediated by the proportion of families headed by single mothers. Aggregate socio-economic status also indirectly predicted birth outcomes, as mediated by the proportion of families headed by single mothers, whereas the proportion African American retained both direct and indirect predictions of adverse birth outcomes. Male scarcity influences life history tradeoffs, with consequences for important social and public health issues such as adverse birth outcomes. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  17. Higher order multi-term time-fractional partial differential equations involving Caputo-Fabrizio derivative

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erkinjon Karimov

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available In this work we discuss higher order multi-term partial differential equation (PDE with the Caputo-Fabrizio fractional derivative in time. Using method of separation of variables, we reduce fractional order partial differential equation to the integer order. We represent explicit solution of formulated problem in particular case by Fourier series.

  18. A Partial Proportional Odds Model for Pedestrian Crashes at Mid-Blocks in Melbourne Metropolitan Area

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Toran Pour Alireza

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Pedestrian crashes account for 11% of all reported traffic crashes in Melbourne metropolitan area between 2004 and 2013. There are very limited studies on pedestrian accidents at mid-blocks. Mid-block crashes account for about 46% of the total pedestrian crashes in Melbourne metropolitan area. Meanwhile, about 50% of all pedestrian fatalities occur at mid-blocks. In this research, Partial Proportional Odds (PPO model is applied to examine vehicle-pedestrian crash severity at mid-blocks in Melbourne metropolitan area. The PPO model is a logistic regression model that allows the covariates that meet the proportional odds assumption to affect different crash severity levels with the same magnitude; whereas the covariates that do not meet the proportional odds assumption can have different effects on different severity levels. In this research vehicle-pedestrian crashes at mid-blocks are analysed for first time. In addition, some factors such as distance of crashes to public transport stops, average road slope and some social characteristics are considered to develop the model in this research for first time. Results of PPO model show that speed limit, light condition, pedestrian age and gender, and vehicle type are the most significant factors that influence vehicle-pedestrian crash severity at mid-blocks.

  19. Association of Dietary Proportions of Macronutrients with Visceral Adiposity Index: Non-Substitution and Iso-Energetic Substitution Models in a Prospective Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moslehi, Nazanin; Ehsani, Behnaz; Mirmiran, Parvin; Hojjat, Parvane; Azizi, Fereidoun

    2015-10-26

    We aimed to investigate associations between dietary macronutrient proportions and prospective visceral adiposity index changes (ΔVAI). The study included 1254 adults (18-74 years), from the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study (TLGS), who were followed for three years. Dietary intakes were assessed twice using food frequency questionnaires. Associations of dietary macronutrient with ΔVAI and risk of visceral adiposity dysfunction (VAD) after three years were investigated. The percentage of energy intake from protein in the total population, and from fat in women, were associated with higher increases in VAI. A 5% higher energy intake from protein substituted for carbohydrate, monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) was associated with higher ΔVAI. Higher energy intake from animal protein substituted for PUFAs was positively associated with ΔVAI. Substituting protein and PUFAs with MUFAs were related to higher ΔVAI. The associations were similar in men and women, but reached significance mostly among women. Risk of VAD was increased when 1% of energy from protein was replaced with MUFAs. Substituting protein for carbohydrate and fat, and fat for carbohydrate, resulted in increased risk of VAD in women. Higher dietary proportions of protein and animal-derived MUFA may be positively associated with ΔVAI and risk of VAD.

  20. A parsimonious model for the proportional control valve

    OpenAIRE

    Elmer, KF; Gentle, CR

    2001-01-01

    A generic non-linear dynamic model of a direct-acting electrohydraulic proportional solenoid valve is presented. The valve consists of two subsystems-s-a spool assembly and one or two unidirectional proportional solenoids. These two subsystems are modelled separately. The solenoid is modelled as a non-linear resistor-inductor combination, with inductance parameters that change with current. An innovative modelling method has been used to represent these components. The spool assembly is model...

  1. Development of extruded resistive plastic tubes for proportional chamber cathodes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kondo, K.

    1982-01-01

    Carbon mixed plastic tubes with resistivity of 10 3 approx. 10 4 Ωcm have been molded with an extrusion method and used for the d.c. cathode of a proportional counter and a multi-wire proportional chamber. The signal by gas multiplication was picked up from a strip r.f. cathode set outside the tube. The characteristics of the counter in the proportional and limited streamer modes have been studied

  2. IMPACT OF GRANT PROJECTS IMPLEMENTATION IN ROMANIAN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vlad S. PETCU

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Romanian Higher Education Institutions were one of the main beneficiaries of European funding in the 2007-2013 funding excercise, especially in the Sectoral Operational Programme Human Resources Development. Analyzing the data provided by 21 public universities in Romania, we find that Universities have accessed in a significant proportion two types of projects: those dedicated to transition from school to active life and those dedicated to doctoral studies. Also, the proportion of the European funds attracted by HEIs is an overwhelming part of the allocation of reference (over 40% since 2011, and also a significant proportion of total revenues universities (~15.5 % for 2011-2014.

  3. "Times Higher Education" 100 under 50 Ranking: Old Wine in a New Bottle?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soh, Kaycheng

    2013-01-01

    "Times Higher Education" 100 under 50 ranking is a new twist to the university ranking. It focuses on universities that have a history of 50 years or less with the purpose of offsetting the advantage of prestige of the older ones. This article re-analysed the data publicly available and looked into relevant conceptual and statistical issues. The…

  4. The mediation proportion: a structural equation approach for estimating the proportion of exposure effect on outcome explained by an intermediate variable

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ditlevsen, Susanne; Christensen, Ulla; Lynch, John

    2005-01-01

    It is often of interest to assess how much of the effect of an exposure on a response is mediated through an intermediate variable. However, systematic approaches are lacking, other than assessment of a surrogate marker for the endpoint of a clinical trial. We review a measure of "proportion...... of several intermediate variables. Binary or categorical variables can be included directly through threshold models. We call this measure the mediation proportion, that is, the part of an exposure effect on outcome explained by a third, intermediate variable. Two examples illustrate the approach. The first...... example is a randomized clinical trial of the effects of interferon-alpha on visual acuity in patients with age-related macular degeneration. In this example, the exposure, mediator and response are all binary. The second example is a common problem in social epidemiology-to find the proportion...

  5. Multiaxial low cycle fatigue life under non-proportional loading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Itoh, Takamoto; Sakane, Masao; Ohsuga, Kazuki

    2013-01-01

    A simple and clear method of evaluating stress and strain ranges under non-proportional multiaxial loading where principal directions of stress and strain are changed during a cycle is needed for assessing multiaxial fatigue. This paper proposes a simple method of determining the principal stress and strain ranges and the severity of non-proportional loading with defining the rotation angles of the maximum principal stress and strain in a three dimensional stress and strain space. This study also discusses properties of multiaxial low cycle fatigue lives for various materials fatigued under non-proportional loadings and shows an applicability of a parameter proposed by author for multiaxial low cycle fatigue life evaluation

  6. Euclidean scalar Green function in a higher dimensional global monopole space-time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bezerra de Mello, E.R.

    2002-01-01

    We construct the explicit Euclidean scalar Green function associated with a massless field in a higher dimensional global monopole space-time, i.e., a (1+d)-space-time with d≥3 which presents a solid angle deficit. Our result is expressed in terms of an infinite sum of products of Legendre functions with Gegenbauer polynomials. Although this Green function cannot be expressed in a closed form, for the specific case where the solid angle deficit is very small, it is possible to develop the sum and obtain the Green function in a more workable expression. Having this expression it is possible to calculate the vacuum expectation value of some relevant operators. As an application of this formalism, we calculate the renormalized vacuum expectation value of the square of the scalar field, 2 (x)> Ren , and the energy-momentum tensor, μν (x)> Ren , for the global monopole space-time with spatial dimensions d=4 and d=5

  7. First observation of liquid-xenon proportional electroluminescence in THGEM holes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arazi, L; Itay, R; Landsman, H; Levinson, L; Pasmantirer, B; Rappaport, M L; Vartsky, D; Breskin, A; Coimbra, A E C

    2013-01-01

    Radiation-induced proportional-electroluminescence UV signals, emitted from the holes of a Thick Gas Electron Multiplier (THGEM) electrode immersed in liquid xenon, were recorded with a PMT for the first time. Significant photon yields were observed with gamma photons and alpha particles using a 0.4 mm thick electrode with 0.3 mm diameter holes; at 2 kV across the THGEM the photon yield was estimated to be ∼ 600 UV photons/electron over 4π. This may pave the way towards the realization of novel single-phase noble-liquid radiation detectors incorporating liquid hole-multipliers (LHM); their concept is presented

  8. The Improved Estimation of Ratio of Two Population Proportions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Solanki, Ramkrishna S.; Singh, Housila P.

    2016-01-01

    In this article, first we obtained the correct mean square error expression of Gupta and Shabbir's linear weighted estimator of the ratio of two population proportions. Later we suggested the general class of ratio estimators of two population proportions. The usual ratio estimator, Wynn-type estimator, Singh, Singh, and Kaur difference-type…

  9. Increasing physically effective fiber content of dairy cow diets through forage proportion versus forage chop length: chewing and ruminal pH.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, W Z; Beauchemin, K A

    2009-04-01

    A study was conducted to evaluate whether the risk of acidosis in dairy cows can be lowered by increasing the physically effective fiber (peNDF) concentration of the diet, either through increased theoretical chop length of alfalfa silage or higher proportion of forage in the diet. The experiment was designed as a replicated 4 x 4 Latin square using 8 ruminally cannulated lactating dairy cows. Treatments were arranged in a 2 x 2 factorial design; 2 forage particle lengths (FPL) of alfalfa silage (short and long) were combined with low (35:65) and high (60:40) forage:concentrate (F:C) ratios [dry matter (DM) basis]. Dietary peNDF concentration (DM basis) was determined from the sum of the proportion of dietary DM retained either on the 2 sieves (8 and 19 mm) or on the 3 sieves (1.18, 8, and 19 mm) of the Penn State Particle Separator multiplied by the neutral detergent fiber concentration of the diet. The dietary peNDF concentrations were altered by changing the F:C or the FPL, and ranged from 10.7 to 17.5% using 2 sieves, or from 23.1 to 28.2% using 3 sieves. Intake of peNDF was increased by increasing FPL but not by increasing F:C ratio because of the reduction of DM intake at the higher F:C ratio. Chewing activity, including number of chews and chewing time, increased with increasing F:C ratio or FPL. Mean ruminal pH was elevated by 0.4 and 0.2 units with increasing F:C ratio and FPL, respectively. Lowering the F:C ratio decreased the duration that ruminal pH was below 5.8 (1.2 vs. 8 h/d). Increased F:C ratio or FPL reduced ruminal volatile fatty acids concentration from 137 to 122 or from 133 to 126 mM, respectively, whereas acetate:propionate ratio was increased from 2.55 to 3.46 with increasing F:C ratio. Dietary peNDF concentration measured using 2 sieves was correlated to chewing time (r = 0.57) and mean ruminal pH (r = 0.75), whereas dietary peNDF concentration measured using 3 sieves was correlated to mean ruminal pH (r = 0.83) and negatively correlated to

  10. Co-culture microorganisms with different initial proportions reveal the mechanism of chalcopyrite bioleaching coupling with microbial community succession.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Liyuan; Wang, Xingjie; Feng, Xue; Liang, Yili; Xiao, Yunhua; Hao, Xiaodong; Yin, Huaqun; Liu, Hongwei; Liu, Xueduan

    2017-01-01

    The effect of co-culture microorganisms with different initial proportions on chalcopyrite bioleaching was investigated. Communities were rebuilt by six typical strains isolated from the same habitat. The results indicated, by community with more sulfur oxidizers at both 30 and 40°C, the final copper extraction rate was 19.8% and 6.5% higher, respectively, than that with more ferrous oxidizers. The variations of pH, redox potential, ferrous and copper ions in leachate also provided evidences that community with more sulfur oxidizers was more efficient. Community succession of free and attached cells revealed that initial proportions played decisive roles on community dynamics at 30°C, while communities shared similar structures, not relevant to initial proportions at 40°C. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed different microbial functions on mineral surface. A mechanism model for chalcopyrite bioleaching was established coupling with community succession. This will provide theoretical basis for reconstructing an efficient community in industrial application. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Signal shaping and tail cancellation for gas proportional detectors at high counting rates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boie, R.A.; Hrisoho, A.T.; Rehak, P.

    1982-01-01

    A low noise, wide bandwidth preamplifier and signal processing filter were developed for high counting rate proportional counters. The filter consists of a seven pole Gaussian integrator with symmetrical weighting function and continuously variable shaping time, tausub(s), of 8-50 ns (fwhm) preceded by a second order pole/zero circuit which cancels the long (1/t) tails of the chamber signals. The preamplifier is an optimized common base input design with 2 ns rise time and an equivalent noise input charge < 2000 r.m.s. electrons, when connected to a chamber with 10 pF capacitance and at a filtering time, tausub(s), of 10 ns. (orig.)

  12. Reduction of degraded events in miniaturized proportional counters

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Plaga, R.; Kirsten, T. (Max Planck Inst. fuer Kernphysik, Heidelberg (Germany))

    1991-11-15

    A method to reduce the number of degraded events in miniaturized proportional counters is described. A shaping of the outer cathode leads to a more uniform gas gain along the counter axis. The method is useful in situations in which the total number of decay events is very low. The effects leading to degraded events are studied theoretically and experimentally. The usefulness of the method is demonstrated by using it for the proportional counter of the GALLEX solar neutrino experiment. (orig.).

  13. Early lactate clearance in septic patients with elevated lactate levels admitted from the emergency department to intensive care: time to aim higher?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker, Craig A; Griffith, David M; Gray, Alasdair J; Datta, Deepankar; Hay, Alasdair W

    2013-10-01

    Septic patients with hyperlactatemia have increased mortality rates, irrespective of hemodynamic and oxygen-derived variables. The aims of the study are the following: (1) to ascertain whether lactate clearance (LC) (percentage change in lactate over unit time) predicts mortality in septic patients admitted to intensive care directly from the emergency department and (2) to calculate the optimal "cut-off" value for mortality prediction. Three-year retrospective observational study of consecutive patients with severe sepsis and septic shock admitted to intensive care from the emergency department of a tertiary UK hospital. We calculated 6-hour LC, performed receiver operating characteristic analyses to calculate optimal cut-off values for initial lactate and LC, dichotomized patients according to the LC cut-off, and calculated hazard ratios using a Cox proportional hazards model. One hundred six patients were identified; 78, after exclusions. Lactate clearance was independently associated with 30-day mortality (P<.04); optimal cut-off, 36%. Mortality rates were 61.1% and 10.7% for patients with 6-hour LC 36% or less and greater than 36%, respectively. Hazard ratio for death with LC 36% or less was 7.33 (95% confidence interval, 2.17-24.73; P<.001). Six-hour LC was independently associated with mortality, and the optimal cut-off value was 36%, significantly higher than previously reported. We would support further research investigating this higher LC as a distinct resuscitation end point in patients with severe sepsis and septic shock. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Investigation of a multiwire proportional chamber

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Konijn, J.

    1976-01-01

    The article discusses some aspects of a prototype multiwire proportional chamber for electron detection located at IKO in Amsterdam, i.e. voltage, counting rates, noise and gas mixture (argon, ethylene bromide). The efficiency and performance of the chamber have been investigated and an error analysis is given

  15. Triangular tube proportional wire chamber system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Badtke, D H; Bakken, J A; Barnett, B A; Blumenfeld, B J; Chien, C Y; Madansky, L; Matthews, J A.J.; Pevsner, A; Spangler, W J [Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, MD (USA); Lee, K L [California Univ., Berkeley (USA). Lawrence Berkeley Lab.

    1981-10-15

    We report on the characteristics of the proportional tube chamber system which has been constructed for muon identification in the PEP-4 experiment at SLAC. The mechanical and electrical properties of the extruded aluminum triangular tubes allow these detectors to be used as crude drift chambers.

  16. The suppression of destructive sparks in parallel plate proportional counters

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cockshott, R.A.; Mason, I.M.

    1984-02-01

    The authors find that high energy background events produce localised sparks in parallel plate counters when operated in the proportional mode. These sparks increase dead-time and lead to degradation ranging from electrode damage to spurious pulsing and continuous breakdown. The problem is particularly serious in low energy photon detectors for X-ray astronomy which are required to have lifetimes of several years in the high radiation environment of space. For the parallel plate imaging detector developed for the European X-ray Observatory Satellite (EXOSAT) they investigate quantitatively the spark thresholds, spark rates and degradation processes. They discuss the spark mechanism, pointing out differences from the situation in spark chambers and counters. They show that the time profile of the sparks allows them to devise a spark suppression system which reduces the degradation rate by a factor of ''200.

  17. Single channel analog pulse processor Asic for gas proportional counters and SI detector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chandratre, V.B.; Sarkar, Soumen; Kataria, S.K.; Viyogi, Y.P.

    2005-01-01

    The paper presents the design and development of a single channel pulse processor in short Singleplex ASIC targeted for gas proportional counters/Si detectors. The design is optimized for the dynamic range of +500 fC to -500 fC with provision for externally adjusted pole-zero cancellation. A dedicated filter based on the de-convolution principle is used for the cancellation of the long hyperbolic signal tail produced by the slow drift of ions, typical in gas proportional with the filter time constants derived from the actual detector input signal shape. The pole-zero adjustment can be done by external dc voltage to achieve perfect base-line recovery to 1% after 5 μs. The simulated 0 pf noise is 500 e - rms for the peaking time of 1.2 μs with noise slope of 7e - -. The gain is 3.4 mv/fC over the entire linear dynamic range with power dissipation of 13 mW. This design is a modified version of Indiplex chip with features dynamic range equal gain on both polarities with nearly same noise and serves as diagnostic chip for Indiplex. The chip can be used for radiation monitoring instruments. (author)

  18. Incisors’ proportions in smile esthetics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alsulaimani, Fahad F; Batwa, Waeil

    2013-01-01

    Aims: To determine whether alteration of the maxillary central and lateral incisors’ length and width, respectively, would affect perceived smile esthetics and to validate the most esthetic length and width, respectively, for the central and lateral incisors. Materials and Methods: Photographic manipulation was undertaken to produce two sets of photographs, each set of four photographs showing the altered width of the lateral incisor and length of the central length. The eight produced photographs were assessed by laypeople, dentists and orthodontists. Results: Alteration in the incisors’ proportion affected the relative smile attractiveness for laypeople (n=124), dentists (n=115) and orthodontists (n=68); dentists and orthodontists did not accept lateral width reduction of more than 0.5 mm (P<0.01), which suggests that the lateral to central incisor width ratio ranges from 54% to 62%. However, laypeople did not accept lateral width reduction of more than 1 mm (P<0.01), widening the range to be from 48% to 62%. All groups had zero tolerance for changes in central crown length (P<0.01). Conclusion: All participants recognized that the central incisors’ length changes. For lateral incisors, laypeople were more tolerant than dentists and orthodontists. This suggests that changing incisors’ proportions affects the relative smile attractiveness. PMID:24987650

  19. Flexible proportional-rate scheduling for OFDMA system

    KAUST Repository

    Leith, Alex

    2013-10-01

    In this paper, we study the sum-rate maximization algorithms for downlink and uplink orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems under proportional-rate constraint (PRC) and minimum-rate constraint. We develop a low-complexity weighted channel signal-to-noise ratio (w-SNR)-based ranking scheme for user selection on each subchannel in OFDMA combined with waterfilling (WF) power allocation. Both offline and online optimization algorithms are developed to optimize the SNR weight vector to maximize the sum rate while satisfying several constraints, such as PRC. The offline weight optimization technique relies on the analytical throughput results developed in this paper, and the online weight adaptation method tracks the user rates and meets the PRC using a subgradient search. Furthermore, we introduce a novel SNR operating region test to enhance the multiuser diversity gain and the sum rate. The proposed schemes have a low complexity, which is linear to the numbers of users and subchannels. Simulation results verify the accuracy of the developed analytical rates and fairness formulas, and show that the proposed w-SNR schemes can achieve higher sum rates than several benchmark schemes that provide the PRC with either short-term or long-term fairness. © 2013 IEEE. © 2013 ESO.

  20. Flexible proportional-rate scheduling for OFDMA system

    KAUST Repository

    Leith, Alex; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim; Kim, Dongin; (Sherman) Shen X., Xuemin; Wu, Zhiqiang

    2013-01-01

    In this paper, we study the sum-rate maximization algorithms for downlink and uplink orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems under proportional-rate constraint (PRC) and minimum-rate constraint. We develop a low-complexity weighted channel signal-to-noise ratio (w-SNR)-based ranking scheme for user selection on each subchannel in OFDMA combined with waterfilling (WF) power allocation. Both offline and online optimization algorithms are developed to optimize the SNR weight vector to maximize the sum rate while satisfying several constraints, such as PRC. The offline weight optimization technique relies on the analytical throughput results developed in this paper, and the online weight adaptation method tracks the user rates and meets the PRC using a subgradient search. Furthermore, we introduce a novel SNR operating region test to enhance the multiuser diversity gain and the sum rate. The proposed schemes have a low complexity, which is linear to the numbers of users and subchannels. Simulation results verify the accuracy of the developed analytical rates and fairness formulas, and show that the proposed w-SNR schemes can achieve higher sum rates than several benchmark schemes that provide the PRC with either short-term or long-term fairness. © 2013 IEEE. © 2013 ESO.

  1. Radiation loading effect proportional chamber on the performances

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alekseev, T.D.; Kalinina, N.A.; Karpukhin, V.V.; Kruglov, V.V.; Khazins, D.M.

    1980-01-01

    The effect of a space charge which appears under the effect of radiation loading on counting characteristics of a proportional chamber, is experimentally investigated. Calculations are made which take into account the effect of a space charge of positive ions formed in the chamber. The investigations have been carried out on the test board which consists of a one-coordinate proportional chamber, a telescope of two scintillation counters and a collimated 90 Sr β-source. The proportional chamber has the 160x160 mm dimensions. The signal wires with the 50 μm diameter are located with the step of s=10 mm. High-voltage planes are coiled with a wire with the 100 μm diameter and a 2 mm step. The distance between high-voltage planes are 18 mm. The chamber is blown through with a gaseous mixture, its composition is 57% Ar+38% CH 4 +5% (OCH 3 ) 2 CH 2 . When carrying out measurements in wide ranges, the density of radiation loading and the amplifier threshold are changed. The experimental results show a considerable effect of radiation loading and the value of amplifier threshold on the value of a counting characteristic. This should be taken into account when estimating the performance of a proportional chamber according to board testing using radioactive sources, as conditions for investigations are usually different from those of a physical experiment on an accelerator

  2. Prospective Teachers Proportional Reasoning and Presumption of Student Work

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mujiyem Sapti

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to describe the proportional reasoning of prospective teachers and their predictions about students' answers. Subjects were 4 prospective teacher  7th semester Department of Mathematics Education, Muhammadiyah University of Purworejo. Proportional reasoning task used to obtain research data. Subjects were asked to explain their reasoning and write predictions of student completion. Data was taken on October 15th, 2014. Interviews were conducted after the subjects completed the task and recorded with audio media. The research data were subject written work and interview transcripts. Data were analyzed using qualitative analysis techniques. In solving the proportional reasoning task, subjects using the cross product. However, they understand the meaning of the cross product. Subject also could predict students' reasoning on the matter.

  3. Proportion and clinical features of never-smokers with non-small cell lung cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cho, Jaeyoung; Choi, Sun Mi; Lee, Jinwoo; Lee, Chang-Hoon; Lee, Sang-Min; Kim, Dong-Wan; Yim, Jae-Joon; Kim, Young Tae; Yoo, Chul-Gyu; Kim, Young Whan; Han, Sung Koo; Park, Young Sik

    2017-02-08

    The proportion of never-smokers with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is increasing, but that in Korea has not been well addressed in a large population. We aimed to evaluate the proportion and clinical features of never-smokers with NSCLC in a large single institution. We analyzed clinical data of 1860 consecutive patients who were newly diagnosed with NSCLC between June 2011 and December 2014. Of the 1860 NSCLC patients, 707 (38.0%) were never-smokers. The proportions of women (83.7% vs. 5.6%) and adenocarcinoma (89.8% vs. 44.9%) were higher among never-smokers than among ever-smokers. Significantly more never-smokers were diagnosed at a younger median age (65 vs. 68 years, P smokers. Epidermal growth factor receptor mutations (57.8% vs. 24.4%, P never-smokers, whereas Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog mutations (5.8% vs. 9.6%, P = 0.021) were less frequently encountered in never-smokers than in ever-smokers. Never-smokers showed longer survival after adjusting for the favorable effects of younger age, female sex, adenocarcinoma histology, better performance status, early stage disease, being asymptomatic at diagnosis, received antitumor treatment, and the presence of driver mutations (hazard ratio, 0.624; 95% confidence interval, 0.460-0.848; P = 0.003). More than one-third of the Korean patients with NSCLC were never-smokers. NSCLC in never-smokers had different clinical characteristics and major driver mutations and resulted in longer overall survival compared with NSCLC in ever-smokers.

  4. The effect of proportional v. value pricing on fountain drink purchases: results from a field experiment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gollust, Sarah E; Tang, Xuyang; Runge, Carlisle Ford; French, Simone A; Rothman, Alexander J

    2018-05-15

    Reducing sugar-sweetened beverage consumption is a public health priority, yet finding an effective and acceptable policy intervention is challenging. One strategy is to use proportional pricing (a consistent price per fluid ounce) instead of the typical value-priced approach where large beverages offer better value. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate whether proportional pricing affects the purchasing of fountain beverages at a university cinema concession stand. Four price strategies for beverages were evaluated over ten weekends of film screenings. We manipulated two factors: the price structure (value pricing v. proportional pricing) and the provision of information about the price per fluid ounce (labels v. no labels). The key outcomes were the number and size of beverages purchased. We analysed data using regression analyses, with standard errors clustered by film and controlling for the day and time of purchase. A university cinema concession stand in Minnesota, USA, in spring 2015. University students. Over the study period (360 beverages purchased) there were no significant effects of the proportional pricing treatment. Pairing a label with the standard value pricing increased the likelihood of purchasing large drinks but the label did not affect purchasing when paired with proportional pricing. Proportional prices did not significantly affect the size of beverages purchased by students at a university cinema, but adding a price-per-ounce label increased large drink purchases when drinks were value-priced. More work is needed to address whether pricing and labelling strategies might promote healthier beverage purchases.

  5. Attending to relations: Proportional reasoning in 3- to 6-year-old children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hurst, Michelle A; Cordes, Sara

    2018-03-01

    When proportional information is pit against whole number numerical information, children often attend to the whole number information at the expense of proportional information (e.g., indicating 4/9 is greater than 3/5 because 4 > 3). In the current study, we presented younger (3- to 4-year-olds) and older (5- to 6-year-olds) children a task in which the proportional information was presented either continuously (units cannot be counted) or discretely (countable units; numerical information available). In the discrete conditions, older children showed numerical interference-responding based on the number of pieces instead of the proportion of pieces. However, older children easily overcame this poor strategy selection on discrete trials if they first had some experience with continuous, proportional strategies, suggesting this prevalent reliance on numerical information may be malleable. Younger children, on the other hand, showed difficulty with the proportion task, but showed evidence of proportional reasoning in a simplified estimation-style task, suggesting that younger children may still be developing their proportional and numerical skills in task-dependent ways. Lastly, across both age groups, performance on the proportional reasoning task in continuous contexts, but not discrete contexts, was related to more general analogical reasoning skills. Findings suggest that children's proportional reasoning abilities are actively developing between the ages of 3 and 6 and may depend on domain general reasoning skills. We discuss the implications for this work for both cognitive development and education. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  6. Flow proportional sampling of low level liquid effluent

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Colley, D.; Jenkins, R.

    1989-01-01

    A flow proportional sampler for use on low level radioactive liquid effluent has been developed for installation on all CEGB nuclear power stations. The sampler, operates by drawing effluent continuously from the main effluent pipeline, through a sampler loop and returning it to the pipeline. The effluent in this loop is sampled by taking small, frequent aliquots using a linear acting shuttle valve. The frequency of operation of this valve is controlled by a flowmeter installed in the effluent line; sampling rate being directly proportional to effluent flowrate. (author)

  7. Numerical measures of the degree of non-proportionality of multiaxial fatigue loadings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Bolchoun

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available The influence of the non-proportional loadings on the fatigue life depends on the material ductility. Ductile materials react with a shortening of lifetime compared to proportional loading conditions. For a semiductile material there is almost no difference between proportional and non-proportional loadings with respect to the fatigue life. Brittle materials show an increase of the lifetime under non-proportional loadings. If fatigue life assessment is performed using stress-based hypotheses, it is a rather difficult task to take into account material ductility correctly, especially the fatigue life reduction as displayed by ductile materials. Most stress-based hypotheses will compute a longer fatigue life under non-proportional loading conditions. There are also hypotheses, which already include quantitative evaluation of the non-proportionality (e.g. EESH, SSCH and MWCM. Anyway in order to improve assessment for ductile materials, some sort of numerical measure for the degree of non-proportionality of the fatigue loading is required. A number of measures of this kind (or non-proportionality factors were proposed in the literature and are discussed here: - the factor used in EESH is a quotient of stress amplitudes integrals, - the factor according to Gaier, which works with a discrete stress tensor values in a scaled stress space, - the factor according to Kanazawa, which makes use of plane-based stress values, - the factor used in MWCM, which exploits stress values in the plane with the highest shear stress amplitude, a new non-proportionality factor, which is based on the correlation between individual stress tensor components, is proposed. General requirements imposed on the non-proportionality factors are discussed and each of the factors is evaluated with respect to these requirements. Also application with the stress-based hypotheses is discussed and illustrated using the experimental data for aluminum and magnesium welded joints under

  8. International Demand for American Higher Education: An Extension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mixon, J. Wilson, Jr.; Wan, Weidong

    1990-01-01

    A study of the relationship of population and income in Asian countries and Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members to their demand for American higher education found that both population and income significantly affect demand, but not proportionally. Findings suggest countries meet most change in citizens' demand with…

  9. Development of new type boron-coating proportional counter and its experimental investigation and simulation calculation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Zixia; Wei Zhiyong; Fang Meihua; Qiang Peng; Zhu Li; Chen Guoyun

    2015-01-01

    Three materials wherein suitable proportion of isotope enriched 10 B powder, 1, 2-ethylene dichloride and formvar resin were blended to make 10 B neutron sensitive coating by oneself. A new type proportional counter that coated with 10 B neutron sensitive coating was made. Furthermore, in order to increase the character and quality of the neutron detector, a set of 14 annulus epoxy sheets which were sided with 10 B film were placed in the tube. A series performance tests were done by 241 Am-Be neutron source. The tests of 3.7 × 10 9 Bq 211 Am-Be neutron source show that the plateau length of detector is 150 V from 750 V to 900 V, while the plateau slope is 8.2%/100 V. When the working voltage is 800 V, the count rate of new type boron-coating proportional counter is 50 s -1 . The level of sensitivity is 0.71 cm 2 . Compared with the detector only coated with 10 B film in the inner walls of detector, neutron sensitivity area of the new detector increases to 3.15 times. The results show that the plateau length increases from 80 V to 150 V, and the plateau slope is improved from 12.4%/100 V to 7.58%/100 V, while the neutron sensitivity increases to 2.63 times. Using Geant4 software based on Monte Carlo method, this paper presented the response and detection efficiency of new type boron-coating proportional counter, which was covered with φ55 mm × 250 mm cylinder high density polyethylene moderator material. The simulation results of Geant4 are in agreement with the results of 241 Am-Be neutron source experiment. It shows the reliability of simulation application. (authors)

  10. Validity of mathematical proportions in maxillary anterior teeth among Bangladeshi population

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Monwarul Aziz

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To investigate the existence and suitability of mathematical proportions between the widths of maxillary anterior teeth in Bangladeshi population having an esthetic smile, with the aid of digital photographs and computer analysis. Place of Study: The study was conducted at the Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics of Dhaka Dental College and Hospital, Dhaka. Period of Study: The study was conducted from April 2016 to September 2016. Sample Selection: The study samples collected from Students of Dhaka Dental College, Mirpur-14, Dhaka, Bangladesh, with age limit 18–35 years. Materials and Methods: Standardized frontal images of 100 dental students of Dhaka Dental College were captured. All the images were downloaded to a personal computer, and width of each tooth was measured by the scale tool of Photoshop CS version 8.0. All the data were analyzed (through standard statistical method using Statistical Package for Social Science Software version 20 (IBM Corp., USA. Results: The golden proportion existed in 17% of the perceived width ratios of lateral incisor to central incisor and 4% of the width ratios of canine to lateral incisor in natural dentition. Sixty-six percent lateral incisors are following the golden percentage, but only 7% central incisors and 21% canines are following the golden percentage. The recurring esthetic dental (RED proportion existed in only 4% of participants. Conclusions: The golden proportion, golden percentage, and the RED proportion cannot be used as constant proportions to create a harmonious proportion throughout the width of maxillary anterior teeth. The adjusted golden percentage might serve as a guideline to create harmonious proportions in maxillary anterior teeth for Bangladeshi population.

  11. Is higher risk sex common among male or female youths?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berhan, Yifru; Berhan, Asres

    2015-01-01

    There are several studies that showed the high prevalence of high-risk sexual behaviors among youths, but little is known how significant the proportion of higher risk sex is when the male and female youths are compared. A meta-analysis was done using 26 countries' Demographic and Health Survey data from and outside Africa to make comparisons of higher risk sex among the most vulnerable group of male and female youths. Random effects analytic model was applied and the pooled odds ratios were determined using Mantel-Haenszel statistical method. In this meta-analysis, 19,148 male and 65,094 female youths who reported to have sexual intercourse in a 12-month period were included. The overall OR demonstrated that higher risk sex was ten times more prevalent in male youths than in female youths. The practice of higher risk sex by male youths aged 15-19 years was more than 27-fold higher than that of their female counterparts. Similarly, male youths in urban areas, belonged to a family with middle to highest wealth index, and educated to secondary and above were more than ninefold, eightfold and sixfold at risk of practicing higher risk sex than their female counterparts, respectively. In conclusion, this meta-analysis demonstrated that the practice of risky sexual intercourse by male youths was incomparably higher than female youths. Future risky sex protective interventions should be tailored to secondary and above educated male youths in urban areas.

  12. Charged particle in higher dimensional weakly charged rotating black hole spacetime

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frolov, Valeri P.; Krtous, Pavel

    2011-01-01

    We study charged particle motion in weakly charged higher dimensional black holes. To describe the electromagnetic field we use a test field approximation and the higher dimensional Kerr-NUT-(A)dS metric as a background geometry. It is shown that for a special configuration of the electromagnetic field, the equations of motion of charged particles are completely integrable. The vector potential of such a field is proportional to one of the Killing vectors (called a primary Killing vector) from the 'Killing tower' of symmetry generating objects which exists in the background geometry. A free constant in the definition of the adopted electromagnetic potential is proportional to the electric charge of the higher dimensional black hole. The full set of independent conserved quantities in involution is found. We demonstrate that Hamilton-Jacobi equations are separable, as is the corresponding Klein-Gordon equation and its symmetry operators.

  13. Putative golden proportions as predictors of facial esthetics in adolescents.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kiekens, R.M.A.; Kuijpers-Jagtman, A.M.; Hof, M.A. van 't; Hof, B.E. van 't; Maltha, J.C.

    2008-01-01

    INTRODUCTION: In orthodontics, facial esthetics is assumed to be related to golden proportions apparent in the ideal human face. The aim of the study was to analyze the putative relationship between facial esthetics and golden proportions in white adolescents. METHODS: Seventy-six adult laypeople

  14. Proportional resonant individual pitch control for mitigation of wind turbines loads

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhang, Yunqian; Chen, Zhe; Cheng, Ming

    2013-01-01

    attenuation. The individual pitch control (IPC) is a promising way to reduce the wind turbine loads. This study presents a proportional resonant (PR) IPC, which does not need the measurement of blade azimuth angle and multiple complex Coleman transformations between rotational coordinate frame and stationary...... coordinate frame. The new strategy can attenuate the 1p and higher harmonics on the wind turbine blades as well as 3p on the hub without any filters. The wind turbine code fatigue, aerodynamics, structures and turbulence is applied to a doubly fed induction generator-based wind power generation system....... The simulations are performed on the National Renewable Energy Laboratory 1.5 MW upwind reference wind turbine model. The simulation results are presented and discussed to demonstrate the capability and effectiveness of the proposed PR IPC method....

  15. Avalanche localization and its effects in proportional counters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fischer, J.; Okuno, H.; Walenta, A.H.

    1977-11-01

    Avalanche development around the anode wire in a gas proportional counter is investigated. In the region of proportional gas amplification, the avalanche is found to be well localized on one side of the anode wire, where the electrons arrive along the field lines from the point of primary ionization. Induced signals on electrodes surrounding the anode wire are used to measure the azimuthal position of the avalanche on the anode wire. Practical applications of the phenomena such as left-right assignment in drift chambers and measurement of the angular direction of the primary ionization electrons drifting towards the anode wire are discussed

  16. Attention Modulation by Proportion Congruency: The Asymmetrical List Shifting Effect

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abrahamse, Elger L.; Duthoo, Wout; Notebaert, Wim; Risko, Evan F.

    2013-01-01

    Proportion congruency effects represent hallmark phenomena in current theorizing about cognitive control. This is based on the notion that proportion congruency determines the relative levels of attention to relevant and irrelevant information in conflict tasks. However, little empirical evidence exists that uniquely supports such an attention…

  17. [Survival time of HIV/AIDS cases and related factors in Beijing, 1995-2015].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Y; Wang, J; He, S F; Chen, J; Lu, H Y

    2017-11-10

    Objective: To analyze the survival time of HIV/AIDS cases and related factors in Beijing from 1995 to 2015. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted to analyze the data of 12 874 HIV/AIDS cases. The data were collected from Chinese HIV/AIDS Comprehensive Information Management System. Life table method was applied to calculate the survival proportion, and Cox proportion hazard regression model were used to identify the factors related with survival time. Results: Among 12 874 HIV/AIDS cases, 303 (2.4%) died of AIDS related diseases; 9 346 (72.6%) received antiretroviral therapy. The average survival time was 226.5 months (95 %CI : 223.0-230.1), and the survival rates of 1, 5, 10, and 15 years were 98.2%, 96.4%, 93.2%, and 91.9% respectively. Multivariate Cox proportion hazard regression model showed that AIDS phase ( HR =1.439, 95 %CI : 1.041-1.989), heterosexual transmission ( HR =1.646, 95 %CI : 1.184-2.289), being married ( HR =2.186, 95 %CI : 1.510-3.164); older age (≥60 years) at diagnosis ( HR =6.608, 95 %CI : 3.546-12.316); lower CD(4)(+)T cell counts at diagnosis (<350 cells/μl) ( HR =8.711, 95 %CI : 5.757-13.181); receiving no antiretroviral therapy (ART) ( HR =18.223, 95 %CI : 13.317-24.937) were the high risk factors influencing the survival of AIDS patients compared with HIV phase, homosexual transmission, being unmarried, younger age (≤30 years), higher CD(4)(+)T cell count (≥350 cell/μl) and receiving ART. Conclusion: The average survival time of HIV/AIDS cases was 226.5 months after diagnoses. Receiving ART, higher CD(4)(+)T cell counts at the first test, HIV phase, younger age, being unmarried and the homosexual transmission were related to the longer survival time of HIV/AIDS cases. Receiving no ART, the lower CD(4)(+)T cell counts at the first test, AIDS phase, older age, being married and heterosexual transmission indicated higher risk of death due to AIDS.

  18. Statistical power to detect violation of the proportional hazards assumption when using the Cox regression model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Austin, Peter C

    2018-01-01

    The use of the Cox proportional hazards regression model is widespread. A key assumption of the model is that of proportional hazards. Analysts frequently test the validity of this assumption using statistical significance testing. However, the statistical power of such assessments is frequently unknown. We used Monte Carlo simulations to estimate the statistical power of two different methods for detecting violations of this assumption. When the covariate was binary, we found that a model-based method had greater power than a method based on cumulative sums of martingale residuals. Furthermore, the parametric nature of the distribution of event times had an impact on power when the covariate was binary. Statistical power to detect a strong violation of the proportional hazards assumption was low to moderate even when the number of observed events was high. In many data sets, power to detect a violation of this assumption is likely to be low to modest.

  19. Effects of maize maturity at harvest and dietary proportion of maize silage on intake and performance of growing/finishing bulls

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zaralis, K.; Nørgaard, P.; Helander, C.

    2014-01-01

    Whole-crop maize silage as forage in diets of finishing cattle can promote high intakes and thus, enhances animal performance. In the present study we evaluated the effect of whole-crop maize maturity at harvest and the proportion of maize-silage in diets of finishing bulls, on feed intake...... of treatments, involving two maturity stages of maize at harvest (i.e. dough stage or dent stage) and two maize silage proportions (i.e. 100% maize silage or 50% maize and 50% grass silage). The diets were offered ad libitum as total mixed rations (TMRs) with inclusion of concentrates (i.e. rolled barley; dried...... distillers’ grain plus soluble; cold-pressed rapeseed cake) in a 40% proportion on DM basis. All animals were slaughtered at a target body weight of 630 kg. Bulls fed on diets containing maize silage as sole forage achieved higher live-weight gain (P

  20. Verbal and perceptual analogical reasoning and proportional metaphor comprehension in young children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nippold, M A; Sullivan, M P

    1987-09-01

    In contrast to the common assumption that young children have little or no ability to reason by analogy or to comprehend proportional metaphors, the present study demonstrated that children as young as age 5 years have an emerging ability to solve both verbal and perceptual proportional analogy problems and to detect the meanings of proportional metaphoric sentences. These results were largely because the experimental tasks were designed to minimize the number of factors that would restrict the performance of young children. The results indicated that the years between 5 and 7 mark a steady improvement in analogical reasoning and proportional metaphor comprehension, but that children ages 5, 6, and 7 display a wide-ranging ability in these areas. It was also found that perceptual analogical reasoning was statistically related to verbal analogical reasoning and to proportional metaphor comprehension, and that perceptual analogical reasoning and proportional metaphor comprehension were both statistically related to receptive vocabulary development.

  1. Proportional counter with a uniform electric field in the zone of avalanche multiplication of electrons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marzec, J.; Pawlowski, Z.

    1982-01-01

    The work describes the construction of a proportional counter with a uniform electric field in the zone of avalanche multiplication of electrons. It has been shown that in this counter filled with Penning's mixtures Ne+Ar+CO 2 , Ne+CH 4 and Ar+C 2 H 2 , much higher resolutions are obtained than in typical cylindrical counters. In the counter described filled with a mixture of Ne+1%CH 4 , a resolution of fwhm=10.5% has been obtained for E=5.9 keV. (orig.)

  2. Prevention of hospital payment errors and implications for case management: a study of nine hospitals with a high proportion of short-term admissions over time.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hightower, Rebecca E

    2008-01-01

    Since the publication of the first analysis of Medicare payment error rates in 1998, the Office of Inspector General and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have focused resources on Medicare payment error prevention programs, now referred to as the Hospital Payment Monitoring Program. The purpose of the Hospital Payment Monitoring Program is to educate providers of Medicare Part A services in strategies to improve medical record documentation and decrease the potential for payment errors through appropriate claims completion. Although the payment error rates by state (and dollars paid in error) have decreased significantly, opportunities for improvement remain as demonstrated in this study of nine hospitals with a high proportion of short-term admissions over time. Previous studies by the Quality Improvement Organization had focused on inpatient stays of 1 day or less, a primary target due to the large amount of Medicare dollars spent on these admissions. Random review of Louisiana Medicare admissions revealed persistent medical record documentation and process issues regardless of length of stay as well as the opportunity for significant future savings to the Medicare Trust Fund. The purpose of this study was to determine whether opportunities for improvement in reduction of payment error continue to exist for inpatient admissions of greater than 1 day, despite focused education provided by Louisiana Health Care Review, the Louisiana Medicare Quality Improvement Organization, from 1999 to 2005, and to work individually with the nine selected hospitals to assist them in reducing the number of unnecessary short-term admissions and billing errors in each hospital by a minimum of 50% by the end of the study period. Inpatient Short-Term Acute Care Hospitals. A sample of claims for short-term stays (defined as an inpatient admission with a length of stay of 3 days or less excluding deaths, interim bills for those still a patient and those who left against

  3. Development of Proportional Pressure Control Valve for Hydraulic Braking Actuator of Automobile ABS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Che-Pin Chen

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available This research developed a novel proportional pressure control valve for an automobile hydraulic braking actuator. It also analyzed and simulated solenoid force of the control valves, and the pressure relief capability test of electromagnetic thrust with the proportional valve body. Considering the high controllability and ease of production, the driver of this proportional valve was designed with a small volume and powerful solenoid force to control braking pressure and flow. Since the proportional valve can have closed-loop control, the proportional valve can replace a conventional solenoid valve in current brake actuators. With the proportional valve controlling braking and pressure relief mode, it can narrow the space of hydraulic braking actuator, and precisely control braking force to achieve safety objectives. Finally, the proposed novel proportional pressure control valve of an automobile hydraulic braking actuator was implemented and verified experimentally.

  4. Improving Spiking Dynamical Networks: Accurate Delays, Higher-Order Synapses, and Time Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voelker, Aaron R; Eliasmith, Chris

    2018-03-01

    Researchers building spiking neural networks face the challenge of improving the biological plausibility of their model networks while maintaining the ability to quantitatively characterize network behavior. In this work, we extend the theory behind the neural engineering framework (NEF), a method of building spiking dynamical networks, to permit the use of a broad class of synapse models while maintaining prescribed dynamics up to a given order. This theory improves our understanding of how low-level synaptic properties alter the accuracy of high-level computations in spiking dynamical networks. For completeness, we provide characterizations for both continuous-time (i.e., analog) and discrete-time (i.e., digital) simulations. We demonstrate the utility of these extensions by mapping an optimal delay line onto various spiking dynamical networks using higher-order models of the synapse. We show that these networks nonlinearly encode rolling windows of input history, using a scale invariant representation, with accuracy depending on the frequency content of the input signal. Finally, we reveal that these methods provide a novel explanation of time cell responses during a delay task, which have been observed throughout hippocampus, striatum, and cortex.

  5. Nonlinear kinematic hardening under non-proportional loading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ottosen, N.S.

    1979-07-01

    Within the framework of conventional plasticity theory, it is first determined under which conditions Melan-Prager's and Ziegler's kinematic hardening rules result in identical material behaviour. Next, assuming initial isotropy and adopting the von Mises yield criterion, a nonlinear kinematic hardening function is proposed for prediction of metal behaviour. The model assumes that hardening at a specific stress point depends on the direction of the new incremental loading. Hereby a realistic response is obtained for general reversed loading, and a smooth behaviour is assured, even when loading deviates more and more from proportional loading and ultimately results in reversed loading. The predictions of the proposed model for non-proportional loading under plane stress conditions are compared with those of the classical linear kinematic model, the isotropic model and with published experimental data. Finally, the limitations of the proposaed model are discussed. (author)

  6. Estimation of Lithofacies Proportions Using Well and Well Test Data Estimation des proportions lithologiques à partir des données de puits et d'essais de puits

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Blanc G.

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available A crucial step of the two commonly used geostatistical methods for modeling heterogeneous reservoirs : the sequential indicator simulation and the truncated Gaussian simulation is the estimation of the lithofacies local proportion (or probability density functions. Well-test derived permeabilities show good correlation with lithofacies proportions around wells. Integrating well and well-test data in estimating lithofacies proportions could permit the building of more realistic models of reservoir heterogeneity. However this integration is difficult because of the different natures and measurement scales of these two types of data. This paper presents a two step approach to integrating well and well-test data into heterogeneous reservoir modeling. First lithofacies proportions in well-test investigation areas are estimated using a new kriging algorithm called KISCA. KISCA consists in kriging jointly the proportions of all lithofacies in a well-test investigation area so that the corresponding well-test derived permeability is respected through a weighted power averaging of lithofacies permeabilities. For multiple well-tests, an iterative process is used in KISCA to account for their interaction. After this, the estimated proportions are combined with lithofacies indicators at wells for estimating proportion (or probability density functions over the entire reservoir field using a classical kriging method. Some numerical examples were considered to test the proposed method for estimating lithofacies proportions. In addition, a synthetic lithofacies reservoir model was generated and a well-test simulation was performed. The comparison between the experimental and estimated proportions in the well-test investigation area demonstrates the validity of the proposed method. La méthode de simulation gaussienne seuillée et la méthode de simulation séquentielle d'indicatrices sont aujourd'hui couramment utilisées pour générer des mod

  7. Background reduction and noise discrimination in the proportional counting of tritium using pulse-shape analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hochel, R C; Hayes, D W [Du Pont de Nemours (E.I.) and Co., Aiken, S.C. (USA). Savannah River Lab.

    1975-12-01

    A pulse-shape analysis (PSA) unit of commercial design has been incorporated into a proportional counting system to determine the effectiveness of pulse-shape discrimination in increasing the sensitivity of tritium counting. It was found that a quantitative determination of tritium could be obtained directly from the PSA time spectrum eliminating the need for beta-ray energy selection used in the pulse-shape discrimination (PSD) technique. The performance of the proportional counting system was tested using the PSA unit and anticoincidence shielding, both singly and combined, under several types of background. A background reduction factor of 169 was obtained from the combined PSA-anticoincidence system with only a 2% loss in tritium counting efficiency. The PSA method was also found to offer significant reductions in noise background.

  8. Design of nuclear pulse shaped circuit based on proportional counter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Song Qianqian; Cheng Yi; Tuo Xianguo

    2011-01-01

    Use the self-developed proportional to sample gas tritium in environment and make the measurement. For this detector, a kind of pulse shape circuit based on second order active low pass filtering circuit realized filtering and shaping nuclear pulse by high-speed operational amplifier, with less stages that has been approved for filter Gaussian wave. Use Multisim 10.0 to simulate the different parameters of the filter circuit. The simulation result was consistent with the theoretical results. The experiments proved the feasibility of this circuit, and at the same time provided a convenient and reliable method for analysis and optimization of the nuclear pulse waveform in order for discriminating by MCA. (authors)

  9. A comparison of the recoverable proportion of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus from two different types of papers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kacmaz, Birgul; Gul, Serdar

    2016-01-01

    Paper is used for various purposes in hospitals. Generally, there are two different types of paper, which are commonly used in our facility: wood-free paper, and paper containing wood. We compared the recoverable proportion of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA; ATCC 43300) from the surface of such papers. The papers were divided into two groups: Group 1: wood-free paper; Group 2: paper containing wood. The papers were contaminated in a standardized procedure with 0.1 mL of a 5×10(7) CFU MRSA/mL stock solution. The recoverable proportion of MRSA was higher in the wood-containing papers than in the papers without wood (P=0.043). This study indicates that if paper is purchased for healthcare facilities it should not contain wood, but rather wood-free paper types should be considered.

  10. Hereditary Portfolio Optimization with Taxes and Fixed Plus Proportional Transaction Costs—Part II

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mou-Hsiung Chang

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper is the continuation of the paper entitled “Hereditary portfolio optimization with taxes and fixed plus proportional transaction costs I” that treats an infinite-time horizon hereditary portfolio optimization problem in a market that consists of one savings account and one stock account. Within the solvency region, the investor is allowed to consume from the savings account and can make transactions between the two assets subject to paying capital-gain taxes as well as a fixed plus proportional transaction cost. The investor is to seek an optimal consumption-trading strategy in order to maximize the expected utility from the total discounted consumption. The portfolio optimization problem is formulated as an infinite dimensional stochastic classical impulse control problem due to the hereditary nature of the stock price dynamics and inventories. This paper contains the verification theorem for the optimal strategy. It also proves that the value function is a viscosity solution of the QVHJBI.

  11. Calibration methodology for proportional counters applied to yield measurements of a neutron burst

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tarifeño-Saldivia, Ariel, E-mail: atarifeno@cchen.cl, E-mail: atarisal@gmail.com; Pavez, Cristian; Soto, Leopoldo [Comisión Chilena de Energía Nuclear, Casilla 188-D, Santiago (Chile); Center for Research and Applications in Plasma Physics and Pulsed Power, P4, Santiago (Chile); Departamento de Ciencias Fisicas, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Andres Bello, Republica 220, Santiago (Chile); Mayer, Roberto E. [Instituto Balseiro and Centro Atómico Bariloche, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica and Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, San Carlos de Bariloche R8402AGP (Argentina)

    2014-01-15

    This paper introduces a methodology for the yield measurement of a neutron burst using neutron proportional counters. This methodology is to be applied when single neutron events cannot be resolved in time by nuclear standard electronics, or when a continuous current cannot be measured at the output of the counter. The methodology is based on the calibration of the counter in pulse mode, and the use of a statistical model to estimate the number of detected events from the accumulated charge resulting from the detection of the burst of neutrons. The model is developed and presented in full detail. For the measurement of fast neutron yields generated from plasma focus experiments using a moderated proportional counter, the implementation of the methodology is herein discussed. An experimental verification of the accuracy of the methodology is presented. An improvement of more than one order of magnitude in the accuracy of the detection system is obtained by using this methodology with respect to previous calibration methods.

  12. Calibration methodology for proportional counters applied to yield measurements of a neutron burst

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tarifeño-Saldivia, Ariel; Pavez, Cristian; Soto, Leopoldo; Mayer, Roberto E.

    2014-01-01

    This paper introduces a methodology for the yield measurement of a neutron burst using neutron proportional counters. This methodology is to be applied when single neutron events cannot be resolved in time by nuclear standard electronics, or when a continuous current cannot be measured at the output of the counter. The methodology is based on the calibration of the counter in pulse mode, and the use of a statistical model to estimate the number of detected events from the accumulated charge resulting from the detection of the burst of neutrons. The model is developed and presented in full detail. For the measurement of fast neutron yields generated from plasma focus experiments using a moderated proportional counter, the implementation of the methodology is herein discussed. An experimental verification of the accuracy of the methodology is presented. An improvement of more than one order of magnitude in the accuracy of the detection system is obtained by using this methodology with respect to previous calibration methods

  13. The influence of craniofacial to standing height proportion on perceived attractiveness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naini, F B; Cobourne, M T; McDonald, F; Donaldson, A N A

    2008-10-01

    An idealised male image, based on Vitruvian Man, was created. The craniofacial height was altered from a proportion of 1/6 to 1/10 of standing height, creating 10 images shown in random order to 89 observers (74 lay people; 15 clinicians), who ranked the images from the most to the least attractive. The main outcome was the preference ranks of image attractiveness given by the observers. Linear regressions were used to assess what influences the choice for the most and the least attractive images, followed by a multivariate rank ordinal logistic regression to test the influence of age, gender, ethnicity and professional status of the observer. A craniofacial height to standing height proportion of 1/7.5 was perceived as the most attractive (36%), followed by a proportion of 1/8 (26%). The images chosen as most attractive by more than 10% of observers had a mean proportion of 1/7.8(min=1/7; max=1/8.5). The images perceived as most unattractive had a proportion of 1/6 and 1/10. The choice of images was not influenced by the age, gender, ethnicity or professional status of the observers. The ideal craniofacial height to standing height proportion is in the range 1/7 to 1/8.5. This finding should be considered when planning treatment to alter craniofacial or facial height.

  14. A nuclear proportional counter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1973-01-01

    The invention relates to a nuclear proportional counter comprising in a bulb filled with a low-pressure gas, a wire forming an anode and a cathode, characterized in that said cathode is constituted by two plane plates parallel to each other and to the anode wire, and in that two branches of a circuit are connected to the anode wire end-portions, each branch comprising a pre-amplifier, a measuring circuit consisting of a differentiator-integrator-differentiator amplifier and a zero detector, one of the branches comprising an adjustable delay circuit, both branches jointly attacking a conversion circuit for converting the pulse duration into amplitudes said conversion circuit being followed by a multi-channel analyzer, contingently provided with a recorder [fr

  15. Substantial proportion of MODY among multiplex families participating in a Type 1 diabetes prediction programme.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petruzelkova, L; Dusatkova, P; Cinek, O; Sumnik, Z; Pruhova, S; Hradsky, O; Vcelakova, J; Lebl, J; Kolouskova, S

    2016-12-01

    Patients with maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) might be over-represented in families with histories of Type 1 diabetes. Our aim was to re-evaluate families participating in the Czech T1D Prediction Programme (PREDIA.CZ) with at least two members affected with diabetes to assess the proportion of MODY among these families and determine its most significant clinical predictors. Of the 557 families followed up by the PREDIA.CZ, 53 (9.5%) had two or more family members with diabetes. One proband with diabetes from these families was chosen for direct sequencing of the GCK, HNF1A, HNF4A and INS genes. Non-parametric tests and a linear logistic regression model were used to evaluate differences between MODY and non-MODY families. MODY was genetically diagnosed in 24 of the 53 families with multiple occurrences of diabetes (45%). Mutations were detected most frequently in GCK (58%), followed by HNF1A (38%) and INS (4%). MODY families were more likely to have a parent with diabetes and had a higher proportion of females with diabetes than non-MODY families. Higher age (P MODY families already presenting with diabetes. A prediction programme for Type 1 diabetes would provide a useful new source of patients with MODY most likely to benefit from an accurate diagnosis. This identification has implications for patient treatment and disease prognosis. © 2015 Diabetes UK.

  16. Time-resolved photoemission micro-spectrometer using higher-order harmonics of Ti:sapphire laser

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Azuma, J.; Kamada, M.; Kondo, Y.

    2004-01-01

    Full text: A new photoemission spectrometer is under construction for the photoemission microscopy and the time-resolved pump- probe experiment. The higher order harmonics of the Ti:sapphire laser is used as the light source of the VUV region in this system. Because the fundamental laser is focused tightly into the rare gas jet to generate the higher order harmonics, the spot size of the laser, in other words, the spot size of the VUV light source is smaller than a few tens of micrometer. This smallness of the spot size has advantage for the microscopy. In order to compensate the low flux of the laser harmonics, a multilayer-coated schwaltzshild optics was designed. The multilayers play also as the monochromatic filter. The spatial resolution of this schwaltzshild system is found to be less than 1 micrometer by the ray-tracing calculations. A main chamber of the system is equipped with a time-of-flight energy analyzer to improve the efficiency of the electron detection. The main chamber and the gas chamber are separated by a differential pumping chamber and a thin Al foil. The system is designed for the study of the clean surface. It will be capable to perform the sub-micron photoemission microscopy and the femto-second pump-probe photoemission study for the various photo-excited dynamics on clean surfaces

  17. Complete synchronization of uncertain chaotic systems via a single proportional adaptive controller: A comparative study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ahmad, Israr, E-mail: iak-2000plus@yahoo.com; Saaban, Azizan Bin, E-mail: azizan.s@uum.edu.my; Ibrahim, Adyda Binti, E-mail: adyda@uum.edu.my [School of Quantitative Sciences, College of Arts & Sciences, UUM (Malaysia); Shahzad, Mohammad, E-mail: dmsinfinite@gmail.com [College of Applied Sciences Nizwa, Ministry of Higher Education, Sultanate of Oman (Oman)

    2015-12-11

    This paper addresses a comparative computational study on the synchronization quality, cost and converging speed for two pairs of identical chaotic and hyperchaotic systems with unknown time-varying parameters. It is assumed that the unknown time-varying parameters are bounded. Based on the Lyapunov stability theory and using the adaptive control method, a single proportional controller is proposed to achieve the goal of complete synchronizations. Accordingly, appropriate adaptive laws are designed to identify the unknown time-varying parameters. The designed control strategy is easy to implement in practice. Numerical simulations results are provided to verify the effectiveness of the proposed synchronization scheme.

  18. Proportional-integral control modes for a hydrogen isotope distillation column

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kinoshita, M.; Bartlit, J.R.; Sherman, R.H.

    1984-01-01

    The dynamics and control of a hydrogen isotope distillation column are discussed. The proportionalintegral (PI) controller parameter setting method previously reported by one of the authors is further investigated and extended by applying the method to two different experimental control modes. The method accounts for the nonlinearity of the column to some extent and allows us to predict the unstable region or the region of the proportional-only control behavior. The method can also be applied to the cases where the measurement of the controlled variable is accompanied by a significant time lag. The mean delay time depends greatly on the controlled variable and manipulated variable chosen and the upset condition assumed, varying by over two orders of magnitude. The PI control presents great stability, and a rather long time lag is permissible in the measurement of the controlled variable if the flow rate of the top product is chosen for the manipulated variable. On the other hand, if the reflux ratio is manipulated for controlling the lightest key element in the bottom product, the great stability is no longer present and the time lag must be adequately short. Once several response curves of the controlled variable are calculated for different magnitudes of the manipulated variable upset, the parameter setting method proposed makes it possible to study how long a time lag is allowable in the measurement of the controlled variable

  19. Robust estimation of the proportion of treatment effect explained by surrogate marker information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parast, Layla; McDermott, Mary M; Tian, Lu

    2016-05-10

    In randomized treatment studies where the primary outcome requires long follow-up of patients and/or expensive or invasive obtainment procedures, the availability of a surrogate marker that could be used to estimate the treatment effect and could potentially be observed earlier than the primary outcome would allow researchers to make conclusions regarding the treatment effect with less required follow-up time and resources. The Prentice criterion for a valid surrogate marker requires that a test for treatment effect on the surrogate marker also be a valid test for treatment effect on the primary outcome of interest. Based on this criterion, methods have been developed to define and estimate the proportion of treatment effect on the primary outcome that is explained by the treatment effect on the surrogate marker. These methods aim to identify useful statistical surrogates that capture a large proportion of the treatment effect. However, current methods to estimate this proportion usually require restrictive model assumptions that may not hold in practice and thus may lead to biased estimates of this quantity. In this paper, we propose a nonparametric procedure to estimate the proportion of treatment effect on the primary outcome that is explained by the treatment effect on a potential surrogate marker and extend this procedure to a setting with multiple surrogate markers. We compare our approach with previously proposed model-based approaches and propose a variance estimation procedure based on a perturbation-resampling method. Simulation studies demonstrate that the procedure performs well in finite samples and outperforms model-based procedures when the specified models are not correct. We illustrate our proposed procedure using a data set from a randomized study investigating a group-mediated cognitive behavioral intervention for peripheral artery disease participants. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  20. Multiwire proportional chambers in the devices for molecular biology constructed at JINR

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Anisimov, Y S; Chernenko, S P; Ivanov, A B; Peshekhonov, V D; Skvaril, J; Zanevsky, Y V [Joint Inst. for Nuclear Research, Dubna (USSR). Lab. of High Energy; Kheiker, D M [Joint Inst. for Nuclear Research, Dubna (USSR). Lab. of High Energy; AN SSSR, Moscow. Inst. Kristallografii)

    1980-10-01

    The automation of measuring processes in molecular biology is a current problem. In order to solve this problem, conventionally used methods should be changed for an up-to-date technique which allows the processes of data measurement and analysis to be automated. Toward this end two-coordinate proportional chambers (MWPCs) are coming widely into use. The use of MWPCs in devices for radiochromatography and x-ray diffractrometry is discussed in this paper. A new device consisting of proportional chambers has been constructed for an automated analysis of thin layer radiochromatograms. The device enables one to localize radioactive zones (labelled with /sup 3/H, /sup 14/C, /sup 32/P), to identify radionuclides and to measure their activities. The device has a high sensitivity (5 pCi for tritium), a small dead time, good space resolution (in the case of /sup 3/H zones spaced 1-2 mm apart are separated) and high reproducibility. For x-ray diffractometry of single crystals, a high counting rate device has been constructed on the basis of a MWPC with a total number of channels amounting to 350 x 200 = 70,000. The dead time of the device is about 0.6 ..mu..s which allows to detect 3 x 10/sup 5/ events/s at counting losses of no more than 20%. The quantum efficiency (Cu K..cap alpha..) is about 73%. The X and Y space resolution (fwhm) is equal to 1 mm and 1.7 mm, respectively.

  1. A proportional integral estimator-based clock synchronization protocol for wireless sensor networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Wenlun; Fu, Minyue

    2017-11-01

    Clock synchronization is an issue of vital importance in applications of WSNs. This paper proposes a proportional integral estimator-based protocol (EBP) to achieve clock synchronization for wireless sensor networks. As each local clock skew gradually drifts, synchronization accuracy will decline over time. Compared with existing consensus-based approaches, the proposed synchronization protocol improves synchronization accuracy under time-varying clock skews. Moreover, by restricting synchronization error of clock skew into a relative small quantity, it could reduce periodic re-synchronization frequencies. At last, a pseudo-synchronous implementation for skew compensation is introduced as synchronous protocol is unrealistic in practice. Numerical simulations are shown to illustrate the performance of the proposed protocol. Copyright © 2017 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Evaluation of Recurring Esthetic Dental Proportion in Natural Mandibular Anterior Dentition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dipti S Shah

    2015-01-01

    Results: After calculating proportions in mandibular anterior teeth, P value was found to be statistically insignificant (P > 0.05. Conclusion: Within the limitations of the study, RED proportion was not seen in mandibular natural dentition.

  3. Author: IM Rautenbach PROPORTIONALITY AND THE LIMITATION ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    10332324

    public law, it is not clear to me that there are any differences at this more abstract ... Bills of Rights entrench "basic principles of rationality and proportionality – of ..... Sweet Europe of Rights 10-11; Van Dijk and Van Hoof Theory and Practice.

  4. Multistate cohort models with proportional transfer rates

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schoen, Robert; Canudas-Romo, Vladimir

    2006-01-01

    of transfer rates. The two living state case and hierarchical multistate models with any number of living states are analyzed in detail. Applying our approach to 1997 U.S. fertility data, we find that observed rates of parity progression are roughly proportional over age. Our proportional transfer rate...... approach provides trajectories by parity state and facilitates analyses of the implications of changes in parity rate levels and patterns. More women complete childbearing at parity 2 than at any other parity, and parity 2 would be the modal parity in models with total fertility rates (TFRs) of 1.40 to 2......We present a new, broadly applicable approach to summarizing the behavior of a cohort as it moves through a variety of statuses (or states). The approach is based on the assumption that all rates of transfer maintain a constant ratio to one another over age. We present closed-form expressions...

  5. Pulse triggering mechanism of air proportional counters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aoyama, T.; Mori, T.; Watanabe, T.

    1983-01-01

    This paper describes the pulse triggering mechanism of a cylindrical proportional counter filled with air at atmospheric pressure for the incidence of β-rays. Experimental results indicate that primary electrons created distantly from the anode wire by a β-ray are transformed into negative ions, which then detach electrons close to the anode wire and generate electron avalanches thus triggering pulses, while electrons created near the anode wire by a β-ray directly trigger a pulse. Since a negative ion pulse is triggered by a single electron detached from a negative ion, multiple pulses are generated by a large number of ions produced by the incidence of a single β-ray. It is therefore necessary not to count pulses triggered by negative ions but to count those by primary electrons alone when use is made of air proportional counters for the detection of β-rays. (orig.)

  6. Proportional counter with a uniform electric field in the zone of avalanche multiplication of electrons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marzec, J.; Pawlowski, Z. (Politechnika Warszawska (Poland). Inst. Radioelektroniki)

    1982-09-15

    The work describes the construction of a proportional counter with a uniform electric field in the zone of avalanche multiplication of electrons. It has been shown that in this counter filled with Penning's mixtures Ne+Ar+CO/sub 2/, Ne+CH/sub 4/ and Ar+C/sub 2/H/sub 2/, much higher resolutions are obtained than in typical cylindrical counters. In the counter described filled with a mixture of Ne+1%CH/sub 4/, a resolution of fwhm=10.5% has been obtained for E=5.9 keV.

  7. The proportion valid effect in covert orienting: strategic control or implicit learning?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Risko, Evan F; Stolz, Jennifer A

    2010-03-01

    It is well known that the difference in performance between valid and invalid trials in the covert orienting paradigm (i.e., the cueing effect) increases as the proportion of valid trials increases. This proportion valid effect is widely assumed to reflect "strategic" control over the distribution of attention. In the present experiments we determine if this effect results from an explicit strategy or implicit learning by probing participant's awareness of the proportion of valid trials. Results support the idea that the proportion valid effect in the covert orienting paradigm reflects implicit learning not an explicit strategy.

  8. Wavelet Transform Based Higher Order Statistical Analysis of Wind and Wave Time Histories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Habib Huseni, Gulamhusenwala; Balaji, Ramakrishnan

    2017-10-01

    Wind, blowing on the surface of the ocean, imparts the energy to generate the waves. Understanding the wind-wave interactions is essential for an oceanographer. This study involves higher order spectral analyses of wind speeds and significant wave height time histories, extracted from European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast database at an offshore location off Mumbai coast, through continuous wavelet transform. The time histories were divided by the seasons; pre-monsoon, monsoon, post-monsoon and winter and the analysis were carried out to the individual data sets, to assess the effect of various seasons on the wind-wave interactions. The analysis revealed that the frequency coupling of wind speeds and wave heights of various seasons. The details of data, analysing technique and results are presented in this paper.

  9. Conflict adaptation in time: foreperiods as contextual cues for attentional adjustment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wendt, Mike; Kiesel, Andrea

    2011-10-01

    Interference evoked by distractor stimulus information, such as flankers in the Eriksen task, is reduced when the proportion of conflicting stimuli is increased. This modulation is sensitive to contextual cues such as stimulus location or color, suggesting attentional adjustment to conflict contingencies on the basis of context information. In the present study, we explored whether conflict adjustment is modulated by temporal variation of conflict likelihood. To this end, we associated low and high proportions of conflict stimuli with foreperiods of different lengths. Flanker interference was higher with foreperiods associated with low conflict proportions, suggesting that participants use the foreperiod as a contextual cue for attentional adjustment. We conjecture that participants initially adopt the strategy useful for conflict contingencies associated with short foreperiods, and then readjust during the trial, in the absence of any additional exogenous cue, when the imperative stimulus has not occurred during a certain time interval.

  10. Significance of the proportion of binucleate cells in the micronucleus assay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Imamura, Masahiro; Edgren, M.R.

    1994-01-01

    Using treatment with cytochalasin-B (Cyt-B) for the induction of a cytokinetic block, the significance of the proportion of binucleate cells (BNC) in the micronucleus (MN) assay was investigated in a methodological study. A Chinese hamster cell line V79 was used in which MN were induced by radiation. In complementary tests the radiation effect in inducing MN was enhanced by depletion of the cellular glutathione content with buthionine sulfoximine (BSO). The data indicated that the concentration of Cyt-B is the major factor which determines the proportion of BNC. This proportion was shown to be independent of radiation dose and of BSO. Furthermore, the MN frequency was not related to the percentage of BNC. Therefore, a high proportion of BNC may be practical for the MN assay, but may not make the technique more accurate. (author)

  11. Non-proportional odds multivariate logistic regression of ordinal family data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaloumis, Sophie G; Scurrah, Katrina J; Harrap, Stephen B; Ellis, Justine A; Gurrin, Lyle C

    2015-03-01

    Methods to examine whether genetic and/or environmental sources can account for the residual variation in ordinal family data usually assume proportional odds. However, standard software to fit the non-proportional odds model to ordinal family data is limited because the correlation structure of family data is more complex than for other types of clustered data. To perform these analyses we propose the non-proportional odds multivariate logistic regression model and take a simulation-based approach to model fitting using Markov chain Monte Carlo methods, such as partially collapsed Gibbs sampling and the Metropolis algorithm. We applied the proposed methodology to male pattern baldness data from the Victorian Family Heart Study. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  12. Load proportional safety brake

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cacciola, M. J.

    1979-01-01

    This brake is a self-energizing mechanical friction brake and is intended for use in a rotary drive system. It incorporates a torque sensor which cuts power to the power unit on any overload condition. The brake is capable of driving against an opposing load or driving, paying-out, an aiding load in either direction of rotation. The brake also acts as a no-back device when torque is applied to the output shaft. The advantages of using this type of device are: (1) low frictional drag when driving; (2) smooth paying-out of an aiding load with no runaway danger; (3) energy absorption proportional to load; (4) no-back activates within a few degrees of output shaft rotation and resets automatically; and (5) built-in overload protection.

  13. Macroeconomic Proportions and Corellations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Constantin Mitrut

    2006-04-01

    Full Text Available The work is focusing on the main proportions and correlations which are being set up between the major macroeconomic indicators. This is the general frame for the analysis of the relations between the Gross Domestic Product growth rate and the unemployment rate; the interaction between the inflation rate and the unemployment rate; the connection between the GDP growth rate and the inflation rate. Within the analysis being performed, a particular attention is paid to “the basic relationship of the economic growth” by emphasizing the possibilities as to a factorial analysis of the macroeconomic development, mainly as far as the Gross Domestic Product is concerned. At this point, the authors are introducing the mathematical relations, which are used for modeling the macroeconomic correlations, hence the strictness of the analysis being performed.

  14. Joint time-frequency domain proportional fair scheduler with HARQ for 3GPP LTE systems

    OpenAIRE

    Beh, KC; Doufexi, A; Armour, SMD

    2008-01-01

    This paper explores the potential gain of joint diversity in both frequency domain and time domain which can be exploited to achieve spectral efficiency gains whilst simultaneously facilitating QoS/ fairness in an OFDMA system particularly in 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE)). The performance of several joint time-frequency schedulers is investigated. Simulation results show that joint time frequency schedulers achieve significantly superior performance compared to a more conventional time doma...

  15. Background reduction and noise discrimination in the proportional counting of tritium using pulse-shape analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hochel, R.C.; Hayes, D.W.

    1975-01-01

    A pulse-shape analysis (PSA) unit of commercial design has been incorporated into a proportional counting system to determine the effectiveness of pulse-shape discrimination in increasing the sensitivity of tritium counting. It was found that a quantitative determination of tritium could be obtained directly from the PSA time spectrum eliminating the need for beta-ray energy selection used in the pulse-shape discrimination (PSD) technique. The performance of the proportional counting system was tested using the PSA unit and anticoincidence shielding, both singly and combined, under several types of background. A background reduction factor of 169 was obtained from the combined PSA-anticoincidence system with only a 2% loss in tritium counting efficiency. The PSA method was also found to offer significant reductions in noise background. (Auth.)

  16. Is the Proportion of Carbohydrate Intake Associated with the Incidence of Diabetes Complications?—An Analysis of the Japan Diabetes Complications Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chika Horikawa

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available The appropriate proportions of macronutritional intake have been controversial in medical nutritional therapy for diabetes, and evidence of the effects of carbohydrate consumption on diabetes complications in prospective settings is sparse. We investigated the relationships between proportions of carbohydrate intake as the % of total energy and diabetes complications in a nationwide cohort of Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes aged 40–70 years with hemoglobin A1c ≥6.5%. The analysis was of 1516 responders to a baseline dietary survey assessed by the Food Frequency Questionnaire based on food groups. Primary outcomes were times to overt nephropathy, diabetic retinopathy, and cardiovascular disease (CVD after 8 years. Hazard ratios (HRs for proportions of carbohydrate intake were estimated by Cox regression adjusted for confounders. High carbohydrate intake was significantly related to higher intakes of grain, fruits, and sweets/snacks and lower intakes of soybean and soy products, vegetables, seaweed, meat and processed meat, fish and processed fish, eggs, milk and dairy products, oil, and alcoholic beverages. During the eight-year follow-up, there were 81, 275, and 129 events of overt nephropathy, diabetic retinopathy, and CVD, respectively. After adjustment for confounders, HRs for complications in patients with carbohydrate intake in the second or third tertiles (51.0%–56.4% and ≥56.5%, respectively compared with carbohydrate intake in the first tertile (<50.9%, referent were analyzed. No significant associations were shown in the second and third tertiles relative to first tertile (overt nephropathy: 1.05 (95% Confidence Interval, 0.54–2.06 and 0.98 (0.40–2.44; diabetic retinopathy: 1.30 (0.90–1.88 and 1.30 (0.78–2.15; and CVD: 0.95 (0.55–1.63 and 1.37 (0.69–2.72. By exploring potentially nonlinear relationships, trends for the incidence of diabetes complications according to proportions of carbohydrate intake were not

  17. Electronic system for recording proportional counter rare pulses with the pulse shape analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barabanov, I.R.; Gavrin, V.N.; Zakharov, Yu.I.; Tikhonov, A.A.

    1984-01-01

    The anutomated system for recording proportional counter rare pulses is described. The proportional counters are aimed at identification of 37 Ar and H7 1 Gr decays in chemical radiation detectors of solar neutrino. Pulse shape recording by means of a storage oscilloscope and a TV display is performed in the system considered besides two-parametric selection of events (measurement of pulse amplitude in a slow channel and the amplitude of pulse differentiated with time constant of about 10 ns in a parallel fast channel). Pulse discrimination by a front rise rate provides background decrease in the 55 Fe range (5.9 keV) by 6 times; the visual analysis of pulse shapes recorded allows to decrease the background additionally by 25-30%. The background counting rate in the 55 Fe range being equal to 1 pulse per 1.5 days, is obtained when using the installation described above, as well as the passive Pb shield 5 cm thick, and the active shield based on the anticoincidence NaI(Tl) detector with the cathode 5.6 mm in-diameter made of Fe fabircated by zone melting. The installation described allows to reach the background level of 0.6 pulse/day (the total coefficient of background attenuation is 400). Further background decrease is supposed to be provided by installation allocation in the low-noise underground laboratory of the Baksan Neutrino Observatory

  18. 2 π gaseous flux proportional detector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guevara, E.A.; Costello, E.D.; Di Carlo, R.O.

    1986-01-01

    A counting system has been developed in order to measure carbon-14 samples obtained in the course of a study of a plasmapheresis treatment for diabetic children. The system is based on the use of a 2π gaseous flux proportional detector especially designed for the stated purpose. The detector is described and experiment results are given, determining the characteristic parameters which set up the working conditions. (Author) [es

  19. Acute kidney injury in cats and dogs: A proportional meta-analysis of case series studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Legatti, Sabrina Almeida Moreira; Legatti, Emerson; Botan, Andresa Graciutti; Camargo, Samira Esteves Afonso; Agarwal, Arnav; Barretti, Pasqual; Paes, Antônio Carlos

    2018-01-01

    Introduction Risk of mortality in the setting of acute kidney injury (AKI) in cats and dogs remains unclear. Objectives To evaluate the incidence of mortality in cats and dogs with AKI based on etiology (i.e. infectious versus non-infectious; receiving dialysis versus conservative treatment). Materials and methods Ovid Medline, EMBASE, and LILACS were searched up to July 2016. Articles were deemed eligible if they were case series studies evaluating the incidence of all-cause mortality in cats and dogs with AKI, regardless of etiology or the nature of treatment. Results Eighteen case series involving 1,201animalsproved eligible. The pooled proportions for overall mortality were: cats53.1% [95% CI 0.475, 0.586; I2 = 11,9%, p = 0.3352]; dogs 45.0% [95% CI 0.33, 0.58; I2 = 91.5%, P dogs, 19.2% [95% CI 0.134, 0.258; I2 = 37.7%, P = 0.0982]; AKI due non-infectious etiology for cats and dogs, 59.9% [95% CI 0.532, 0.663; I2 = 51.0%, P = 0.0211]. Conclusion Our findings suggest higher rates of overall mortality in cats and dogs with AKI due to non-infectious etiologies relative to infectious etiologies, and showed non-significant differences in terms of higher rates associated with dialysis compared to conservative management. Further investigations regarding optimal time to initiate dialysis and the development of clinical models to prognosticate the course of disease and guide optimal treatment initiation for less severe cases of AKI in cats and dogs is warranted. PMID:29370180

  20. Acute kidney injury in cats and dogs: A proportional meta-analysis of case series studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Legatti, Sabrina Almeida Moreira; El Dib, Regina; Legatti, Emerson; Botan, Andresa Graciutti; Camargo, Samira Esteves Afonso; Agarwal, Arnav; Barretti, Pasqual; Paes, Antônio Carlos

    2018-01-01

    Risk of mortality in the setting of acute kidney injury (AKI) in cats and dogs remains unclear. To evaluate the incidence of mortality in cats and dogs with AKI based on etiology (i.e. infectious versus non-infectious; receiving dialysis versus conservative treatment). Ovid Medline, EMBASE, and LILACS were searched up to July 2016. Articles were deemed eligible if they were case series studies evaluating the incidence of all-cause mortality in cats and dogs with AKI, regardless of etiology or the nature of treatment. Eighteen case series involving 1,201animalsproved eligible. The pooled proportions for overall mortality were: cats53.1% [95% CI 0.475, 0.586; I2 = 11,9%, p = 0.3352]; dogs 45.0% [95% CI 0.33, 0.58; I2 = 91.5%, P cats and dogs, 19.2% [95% CI 0.134, 0.258; I2 = 37.7%, P = 0.0982]; AKI due non-infectious etiology for cats and dogs, 59.9% [95% CI 0.532, 0.663; I2 = 51.0%, P = 0.0211]. Our findings suggest higher rates of overall mortality in cats and dogs with AKI due to non-infectious etiologies relative to infectious etiologies, and showed non-significant differences in terms of higher rates associated with dialysis compared to conservative management. Further investigations regarding optimal time to initiate dialysis and the development of clinical models to prognosticate the course of disease and guide optimal treatment initiation for less severe cases of AKI in cats and dogs is warranted.

  1. Do Experiences with Medicare Managed Care Vary According to the Proportion of Same-Race/Ethnicity/Language Individuals Enrolled in One's Contract?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Price, Rebecca Anhang; Haviland, Amelia M; Hambarsoomian, Katrin; Dembosky, Jacob W; Gaillot, Sarah; Weech-Maldonado, Robert; Williams, Malcolm V; Elliott, Marc N

    2015-01-01

    Objective To examine whether care experiences and immunization for racial/ethnic/language minority Medicare beneficiaries vary with the proportion of same-group beneficiaries in Medicare Advantage (MA) contracts. Data Sources/Study Setting Exactly 492,495 Medicare beneficiaries responding to the 2008–2009 MA Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) Survey. Data Collection/Extraction Methods Mixed-effect regression models predicted eight CAHPS patient experience measures from self-reported race/ethnicity/language preference at individual and contract levels, beneficiary-level case-mix adjustors, along with contract and geographic random effects. Principal Findings As a contract's proportion of a given minority group increased, overall and non-Hispanic, white patient experiences were poorer on average; for the minority group in question, however, high-minority plans may score as well as low-minority plans. Spanish-preferring Hispanic beneficiaries also experience smaller disparities relative to non-Hispanic whites in plans with higher Spanish-preferring proportions. Conclusions The tendency for high-minority contracts to provide less positive patient experiences for others in the contract, but similar or even more positive patient experiences for concentrated minority group beneficiaries, may reflect cultural competency, particularly language services, that partially or fully counterbalance the poorer overall quality of these contracts. For some beneficiaries, experiences may be just as positive in some high-minority plans with low overall scores as in plans with higher overall scores. PMID:25752334

  2. Neutron dosimetry using proportional counters with tissue equivalent walls

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kerviller, H. de

    1965-01-01

    The author reminds the calculation method of the neutron absorbed dose in a material and deduce of it the conditions what this material have to fill to be equivalent to biological tissues. Various proportional counters are mode with walls in new tissue equivalent material and filled with various gases. The multiplication factor and neutron energy response of these counters are investigated and compared with those obtained with ethylene lined polyethylene counters. The conditions of working of such proportional counters for neutron dosimetry in energy range 10 -2 to 15 MeV are specified. (author) [fr

  3. Gas scintillation proportional counters for x-ray synchrotron applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smith, A.; Bavdaz, M.

    1992-01-01

    Gas scintillation proportional counters (GSPCs) as x-ray detectors provide some advantages and disadvantages compared with proportional counters. In this paper the various configurations of xenon filled GSPC are described including both imaging and nonimaging devices. It is intended that this work be used to configure a GSPC for a particular application and predict its general performance characteristics. The general principles of operation are described and the performance characteristics are then separately considered. A high performance, imaging, driftless GSPC is described in which a single intermediate window is used between the PMT and gas cell

  4. The proportional odds cumulative incidence model for competing risks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Eriksson, Frank; Li, Jianing; Scheike, Thomas

    2015-01-01

    We suggest an estimator for the proportional odds cumulative incidence model for competing risks data. The key advantage of this model is that the regression parameters have the simple and useful odds ratio interpretation. The model has been considered by many authors, but it is rarely used...... in practice due to the lack of reliable estimation procedures. We suggest such procedures and show that their performance improve considerably on existing methods. We also suggest a goodness-of-fit test for the proportional odds assumption. We derive the large sample properties and provide estimators...

  5. Context-dependent control of attention capture: Evidence from proportion congruent effects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crump, Matthew J C; Milliken, Bruce; Leboe-McGowan, Jason; Leboe-McGowan, Launa; Gao, Xiaoqing

    2018-06-01

    There are several independent demonstrations that attentional phenomena can be controlled in a context-dependent manner by cues associated with differing attentional control demands. The present set of experiments provide converging evidence that attention-capture phenomena can be modulated in a context-dependent fashion. We determined whether methods from the proportion congruent literature (listwide and item- and context-specific proportion congruent designs) that are known to modulate distractor interference effects in Stroop and flanker tasks are capable of modulating attention capture by salient feature singletons. Across experiments we found evidence that attention capture can be modulated by listwide, item-specific, and context-specific manipulations of proportion congruent. We discuss challenges associated with interpreting results from proportion congruent studies but propose that our findings converge with existing work that has demonstrated context-dependent control of attention capture. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  6. Understanding decimal proportions: discrete representations, parallel access, and privileged processing of zero.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varma, Sashank; Karl, Stacy R

    2013-05-01

    Much of the research on mathematical cognition has focused on the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, with considerably less attention paid to more abstract number classes. The current research investigated how people understand decimal proportions--rational numbers between 0 and 1 expressed in the place-value symbol system. The results demonstrate that proportions are represented as discrete structures and processed in parallel. There was a semantic interference effect: When understanding a proportion expression (e.g., "0.29"), both the correct proportion referent (e.g., 0.29) and the incorrect natural number referent (e.g., 29) corresponding to the visually similar natural number expression (e.g., "29") are accessed in parallel, and when these referents lead to conflicting judgments, performance slows. There was also a syntactic interference effect, generalizing the unit-decade compatibility effect for natural numbers: When comparing two proportions, their tenths and hundredths components are processed in parallel, and when the different components lead to conflicting judgments, performance slows. The results also reveal that zero decimals--proportions ending in zero--serve multiple cognitive functions, including eliminating semantic interference and speeding processing. The current research also extends the distance, semantic congruence, and SNARC effects from natural numbers to decimal proportions. These findings inform how people understand the place-value symbol system, and the mental implementation of mathematical symbol systems more generally. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Phylogenetic tree reconstruction accuracy and model fit when proportions of variable sites change across the tree.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shavit Grievink, Liat; Penny, David; Hendy, Michael D; Holland, Barbara R

    2010-05-01

    Commonly used phylogenetic models assume a homogeneous process through time in all parts of the tree. However, it is known that these models can be too simplistic as they do not account for nonhomogeneous lineage-specific properties. In particular, it is now widely recognized that as constraints on sequences evolve, the proportion and positions of variable sites can vary between lineages causing heterotachy. The extent to which this model misspecification affects tree reconstruction is still unknown. Here, we evaluate the effect of changes in the proportions and positions of variable sites on model fit and tree estimation. We consider 5 current models of nucleotide sequence evolution in a Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo framework as well as maximum parsimony (MP). We show that for a tree with 4 lineages where 2 nonsister taxa undergo a change in the proportion of variable sites tree reconstruction under the best-fitting model, which is chosen using a relative test, often results in the wrong tree. In this case, we found that an absolute test of model fit is a better predictor of tree estimation accuracy. We also found further evidence that MP is not immune to heterotachy. In addition, we show that increased sampling of taxa that have undergone a change in proportion and positions of variable sites is critical for accurate tree reconstruction.

  8. Commanding to 'Nudge' via the Proportionality Principle?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    K.P. Purnhagen (Kai); E. van Kleef (Ellen)

    2017-01-01

    textabstractThis piece assesses whether nudging techniques can be argued to be a less restrictive but equally effective way to regulate diets in EU law. It has been argued that nudging techniques, due to their freedom-preserving nature, might influence the proportionality test in such a way that

  9. Travel Time to Hospital for Childbirth: Comparing Calculated Versus Reported Travel Times in France.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pilkington, Hugo; Prunet, Caroline; Blondel, Béatrice; Charreire, Hélène; Combier, Evelyne; Le Vaillant, Marc; Amat-Roze, Jeanne-Marie; Zeitlin, Jennifer

    2018-01-01

    Objectives Timely access to health care is critical in obstetrics. Yet obtaining reliable estimates of travel times to hospital for childbirth poses methodological challenges. We compared two measures of travel time, self-reported and calculated, to assess concordance and to identify determinants of long travel time to hospital for childbirth. Methods Data came from the 2010 French National Perinatal Survey, a national representative sample of births (N = 14 681). We compared both travel time measures by maternal, maternity unit and geographic characteristics in rural, peri-urban and urban areas. Logistic regression models were used to study factors associated with reported and calculated times ≥30 min. Cohen's kappa coefficients were also calculated to estimate the agreement between reported and calculated times according to women's characteristics. Results In urban areas, the proportion of women with travel times ≥30 min was higher when reported rather than calculated times were used (11.0 vs. 3.6%). Longer reported times were associated with non-French nationality [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.3 (95% CI 1.0-1.7)] and inadequate prenatal care [aOR 1.5 (95% CI 1.2-2.0)], but not for calculated times. Concordance between the two measures was higher in peri-urban and rural areas (52.4 vs. 52.3% for rural areas). Delivery in a specialised level 2 or 3 maternity unit was a principal determinant of long reported and measured times in peri-urban and rural areas. Conclusions for Practice The level of agreement between reported and calculated times varies according to geographic context. Poor measurement of travel time in urban areas may mask problems in accessibility.

  10. DEVELOPMENT OF HETEROGENEOUS PROPORTIONAL COUNTERS FOR NEUTRON DOSIMETRY.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forouzan, Faezeh; Waker, Anthony J

    2018-01-10

    The use of a custom-made cylindrical graphite proportional counter (Cy-GPC) along with a cylindrical tissue equivalent proportional counter (TEPC) for neutron-gamma mixed-field dosimetry has been studied in the following steps: first, the consistency of the gamma dose measurement between the Cy-TEPC and the Cy-GPC was investigated over a range of 20 keV (X-ray) to 0.661 MeV (Cs-137 gamma ray). Then, with both the counters used simultaneously, the neutron and gamma ray doses produced by a P385 Neutron Generator (Thermo Fisher Scientific) together with a Cs-137 gamma source were determined. © The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  11. Viking-Age Sails: Form and Proportion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bischoff, Vibeke

    2017-04-01

    Archaeological ship-finds have shed much light on the design and construction of vessels from the Viking Age. However, the exact proportions of their sails remain unknown due to the lack of fully preserved sails, or other definite indicators of their proportions. Key Viking-Age ship-finds from Scandinavia—the Oseberg Ship, the Gokstad Ship and Skuldelev 3—have all revealed traces of rigging. In all three finds, the keelson—with the mast position—is preserved, together with fastenings for the sheets and the tack, indicating the breadth of the sail. The sail area can then be estimated based on practical experience of how large a sail the specific ship can carry, in conjunction with hull form and displacement. This article presents reconstructions of the form and dimensions of rigging and sail based on the archaeological finds, evidence from iconographic and written sources, and ethnographic parallels with traditional Nordic boats. When these sources are analysed, not only do the similarities become apparent, but so too does the relative disparity between the archaeological record and the other sources. Preferential selection in terms of which source is given the greatest merit is therefore required, as it is not possible to afford them all equal value.

  12. Proportional-Integral-Resonant AC Current Controller

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    STOJIC, D.

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available In this paper an improved stationary-frame AC current controller based on the proportional-integral-resonant control action (PIR is proposed. Namely, the novel two-parameter PIR controller is applied in the stationary-frame AC current control, accompanied by the corresponding parameter-tuning procedure. In this way, the proportional-resonant (PR controller, common in the stationary-frame AC current control, is extended by the integral (I action in order to enable the AC current DC component tracking, and, also, to enable the DC disturbance compensation, caused by the voltage source inverter (VSI nonidealities and by nonlinear loads. The proposed controller parameter-tuning procedure is based on the three-phase back-EMF-type load, which corresponds to a wide range of AC power converter applications, such as AC motor drives, uninterruptible power supplies, and active filters. While the PIR controllers commonly have three parameters, the novel controller has two. Also, the provided parameter-tuning procedure needs only one parameter to be tuned in relation to the load and power converter model parameters, since the second controller parameter is directly derived from the required controller bandwidth value. The dynamic performance of the proposed controller is verified by means of simulation and experimental runs.

  13. Use of tissue equivalent proportional counters to characterize radiation quality on the space shuttle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Braby, L.A.; Conroy, T.J.; Elegy, D.C.; Brackenbush, L.W.

    1992-04-01

    Tissue equivalent proportional counters (TEPC) are essentially cavity ionization chambers operating at low pressure and with gas gain. A small, battery powered, TEPC spectrometer, which records lineal energy spectra at one minute intervals, has been used on several space shuttle missions. The data it has collected clearly show the South Atlantic anomaly and indicate a mean quality factor somewhat higher than expected. An improved type of instrument has been developed with sufficient memory to record spectra at 10 second intervals, and with increased resolution for low LET events. This type of instrument will be used on most future space shuttle flights and in some international experiments

  14. Augmenting the logrank test in the design of clinical trials in which non-proportional hazards of the treatment effect may be anticipated

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patrick Royston

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Most randomized controlled trials with a time-to-event outcome are designed assuming proportional hazards (PH of the treatment effect. The sample size calculation is based on a logrank test. However, non-proportional hazards are increasingly common. At analysis, the estimated hazards ratio with a confidence interval is usually presented. The estimate is often obtained from a Cox PH model with treatment as a covariate. If non-proportional hazards are present, the logrank and equivalent Cox tests may lose power. To safeguard power, we previously suggested a ‘joint test’ combining the Cox test with a test of non-proportional hazards. Unfortunately, a larger sample size is needed to preserve power under PH. Here, we describe a novel test that unites the Cox test with a permutation test based on restricted mean survival time. Methods We propose a combined hypothesis test based on a permutation test of the difference in restricted mean survival time across time. The test involves the minimum of the Cox and permutation test P-values. We approximate its null distribution and correct it for correlation between the two P-values. Using extensive simulations, we assess the type 1 error and power of the combined test under several scenarios and compare with other tests. We investigate powering a trial using the combined test. Results The type 1 error of the combined test is close to nominal. Power under proportional hazards is slightly lower than for the Cox test. Enhanced power is available when the treatment difference shows an ‘early effect’, an initial separation of survival curves which diminishes over time. The power is reduced under a ‘late effect’, when little or no difference in survival curves is seen for an initial period and then a late separation occurs. We propose a method of powering a trial using the combined test. The ‘insurance premium’ offered by the combined test to safeguard power under non

  15. Obtaining a Proportional Allocation by Deleting Items

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dorn, B.; de Haan, R.; Schlotter, I.; Röthe, J.

    2017-01-01

    We consider the following control problem on fair allocation of indivisible goods. Given a set I of items and a set of agents, each having strict linear preference over the items, we ask for a minimum subset of the items whose deletion guarantees the existence of a proportional allocation in the

  16. Macroeconomic Proportions and Corellations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Constantin Anghelache

    2006-02-01

    Full Text Available The work is focusing on the main proportions and correlations which are being set up between the major macroeconomic indicators. This is the general frame for the analysis of the relations between the Gross Domestic Product growth rate and the unemployment rate; the interaction between the inflation rate and the unemployment rate; the connection between the GDP growth rate and the inflation rate. Within the analysis being performed, a particular attention is paid to �the basic relationship of the economic growth� by emphasizing the possibilities as to a factorial analysis of the macroeconomic development, mainly as far as the Gross Domestic Product is concerned. At this point, the authors are introducing the mathematical relations, which are used for modeling the macroeconomic correlations, hence the strictness of the analysis being performed.

  17. The Interplay between Students' Understandings of Proportional and Functional Relationships

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stephens, Ana; Strachota, Susanne; Knuth, Eric; Blanton, Maria; Isler, Isil; Gardiner, Angela

    2017-01-01

    This research explores the interplay between students' understandings of proportional and functional relationships. Approximately 90 students participated in an early algebra intervention in Grades 3- 5. Before the intervention and after each year of the intervention, we evaluated their understandings of proportional and functional relationships.…

  18. Proportion hyperglycosylated hCG: a new test for discriminating gestational trophoblastic diseases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cole, Laurence A

    2014-11-01

    Hyperglycosylated human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is a variant of hCG with large oligosaccharide side chains. Although hCG is produced by syncytiotrophoblast cells, hyperglycosylated hCG marks cytotrophoblast cell. Hyperglycosylated hCG signals placental implantation. Total hCG in serum and urine is measured by the Siemens Immulite hCG pregnancy test; the result is in milli-international unit per milliliter. Hyperglycosylated hCG is determined by the B152 microtiter plate assay; the result is in nanogram per milliliter. Hyperglycosylated hCG results can be converted to milli-international unit per milliliter equivalents by multiplying by 11. The test measures proportion hyperglycosylated hCG, hyperglycosylated hCG / total hCG. Proportion hyperglycosylated hCG marks cases intent on developing persistent hydatidiform mole (68% detection at 17% false detection). Proportion hyperglycosylated hCG also marks persistent hydatidiform mole (100% detection at 5.1% false detection). Proportion hyperglycosylated hCG distinguishes choriocarcinoma and gestational trophoblastic neoplasm cases, absolutely discriminating aggressive cases and minimally aggressive cases. Proportion hyperglycosylated hCG identifies quiescent gestational trophoblastic disease cases. It recognizes quiescent cases that become persistent disease (100% detection at 0% false positive). Proportion hyperglycosylated hCG is an invaluable test for discriminating gestational trophoblastic diseases.

  19. Equality of Shapley value and fair proportion index in phylogenetic trees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fuchs, Michael; Jin, Emma Yu

    2015-11-01

    The Shapley value and the fair proportion index of phylogenetic trees have been introduced recently for the purpose of making conservation decisions in genetics. Moreover, also very recently, Hartmann (J Math Biol 67:1163-1170, 2013) has presented data which shows that there is a strong correlation between a slightly modified version of the Shapley value (which we call the modified Shapley value) and the fair proportion index. He gave an explanation of this correlation by showing that the contribution of both indices to an edge of the tree becomes identical as the number of taxa tends to infinity. In this note, we show that the Shapley value and the fair proportion index are in fact the same. Moreover, we also consider the modified Shapley value and show that its covariance with the fair proportion index in random phylogenetic trees under the Yule-Harding model and uniform model is indeed close to one.

  20. Le Corbusier’s Modulor and the Debate on Proportion in France

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jean-Louis Cohen

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Finally codified in 1945 after several years of research, Le Corbusier’s Modulor is probably the most comprehensive proportional system imagined during the 20th century. Developed through contacts with consultants such as art historian Elisa Maillard, and referring to statistical measurements of the human body, the Modulor concluded decades of discourse on proportions, a theme that preoccupied Le Corbusier ever since his sojourn in Germany in 1910. Matila Ghyka’s work on the golden section was one of the sources for the Modulor, but his work in general was used by other architects, such as Le Corbusier’s rival André Lurçat, who proposed his own range of proportions related to the work of builders as much as to that of designers. Proportions thus became a central issue in the postwar French reconstruction, as architects struggled to maintain their status amid changing procedures in building production.

  1. Channel selection for simultaneous and proportional myoelectric prosthesis control of multiple degrees-of-freedom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hwang, Han-Jeong; Hahne, Janne Mathias; Müller, Klaus-Robert

    2014-10-01

    Objective. Recent studies have shown the possibility of simultaneous and proportional control of electrically powered upper-limb prostheses, but there has been little investigation on optimal channel selection. The objective of this study is to find a robust channel selection method and the channel subsets most suitable for simultaneous and proportional myoelectric prosthesis control of multiple degrees-of-freedom (DoFs). Approach. Ten able-bodied subjects and one person with congenital upper-limb deficiency took part in this study, and performed wrist movements with various combinations of two DoFs (flexion/extension and radial/ulnar deviation). During the experiment, high density electromyographic (EMG) signals and the actual wrist angles were recorded with an 8 × 24 electrode array and a motion tracking system, respectively. The wrist angles were estimated from EMG features with ridge regression using the subsets of channels chosen by three different channel selection methods: (1) least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO), (2) sequential feature selection (SFS), and (3) uniform selection (UNI). Main results. SFS generally showed higher estimation accuracy than LASSO and UNI, but LASSO always outperformed SFS in terms of robustness, such as noise addition, channel shift and training data reduction. It was also confirmed that about 95% of the original performance obtained using all channels can be retained with only 12 bipolar channels individually selected by LASSO and SFS. Significance. From the analysis results, it can be concluded that LASSO is a promising channel selection method for accurate simultaneous and proportional prosthesis control. We expect that our results will provide a useful guideline to select optimal channel subsets when developing clinical myoelectric prosthesis control systems based on continuous movements with multiple DoFs.

  2. Recent improvements to RC-line encoded position-sensitive proportional counters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Borkowski, C.J.; Kopp, M.K.

    1977-01-01

    Continuing research on the principles of position encoding with RC lines has advanced the design of position-sensitive proportional counters (PSPCs) to meet the requirements for high count rates (>10 5 counts/sec) and good spatial resolution (>10 4 spatial elements) in small-angle scattering experiments with x rays and neutrons. Low-noise preamplifiers were developed with pole-zero cancellation in the feedback circuit and modular linear amplifiers with passive RCL shaping which, compared to previous designs, reduce output saturation at high count rates approx.20 times and shorten the position signal processing time to 2 ) for low-energy ( 800 x 800 mm 2 ) for the measurement of small-angle scattering with neutrons. The method of electronic thickness discrimination was applied to change the effective thickness of an area PSPC from 12 to 2 cm whenever the molybdenum target of an x-ray generator was changed to a copper target. This thickness adjustment increased the signal-to-background ratio by a factor of approx.6 for the 8-keV photons from the copper target, while maintaining a >90% detection efficiency

  3. Relative proportions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons differ between accumulation bioassays and chemical methods to predict bioavailability

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gomez-Eyles, Jose L., E-mail: j.l.gomezeyles@reading.ac.u [University of Reading, School of Human and Environmental Sciences, Department of Soil Science, Reading RG6 6DW, Berkshire (United Kingdom); Collins, Chris D.; Hodson, Mark E. [University of Reading, School of Human and Environmental Sciences, Department of Soil Science, Reading RG6 6DW, Berkshire (United Kingdom)

    2010-01-15

    Chemical methods to predict the bioavailable fraction of organic contaminants are usually validated in the literature by comparison with established bioassays. A soil spiked with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was aged over six months and subjected to butanol, cyclodextrin and tenax extractions as well as an exhaustive extraction to determine total PAH concentrations at several time points. Earthworm (Eisenia fetida) and rye grass root (Lolium multiflorum) accumulation bioassays were conducted in parallel. Butanol extractions gave the best relationship with earthworm accumulation (r{sup 2} <= 0.54, p <= 0.01); cyclodextrin, butanol and acetone-hexane extractions all gave good predictions of accumulation in rye grass roots (r{sup 2} <= 0.86, p <= 0.01). However, the profile of the PAHs extracted by the different chemical methods was significantly different (p < 0.01) to that accumulated in the organisms. Biota accumulated a higher proportion of the heavier 4-ringed PAHs. It is concluded that bioaccumulation is a complex process that cannot be predicted by measuring the bioavailable fraction alone. - The ability of chemical methods to predict PAH accumulation in Eisenia fetida and Lolium multiflorum was hindered by the varied metabolic fate of the different PAHs within the organisms.

  4. Gender Equality in Swedish Higher Education: Patterns and Shifts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindberg, Leif; Riis, Ulla; Silander, Charlotte

    2011-01-01

    In most European countries, more women than men attend undergraduate Higher Education (HE) and more women than men obtain degrees. In Sweden the proportion of female students has long been in the vicinity of 51-60%. The number of doctoral entrants and degrees meet a "balanced gender criterion," defined as no sex constituting more than…

  5. Improvement of a Clinical Score for Necrotizing Fasciitis: 'Pain Out of Proportion' and High CRP Levels Aid the Diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borschitz, Thomas; Schlicht, Svenja; Siegel, Ekkehard; Hanke, Eric; von Stebut, Esther

    2015-01-01

    Necrotizing fasciitis (NF) is a rare mono-/polymicrobial skin infection that spreads to underlying tissues. NF is quickly progressing and leads to life threatening situations. Immediate surgical debridement together with i.v. antibiotic administration is required to avoid fatal outcome. Early diagnosis is often delayed due to underestimation or confusion with cellulitis. We now compared the initial clinical and laboratory presentation of NF and cellulitis in detail to assess if a typical pattern can be identified that aids timely diagnosis of NF and avoidance of fatal outcome. 138 different clinical and laboratory features of 29 NF patients were compared to those of 59 age- and gender matched patients with severe erysipelas requiring a subsequent hospitalization time of ≥10 days. Differences in clinical presentation were not obvious; however, NF patients suffered significantly more often from strong pain. NF patients exhibited dramatically elevated CRP levels (5-fold, p>0.001). The overall laboratory risk indicator for necrotizing fasciitis (LRINEC) score was significantly higher in NF patients as compared to cellulitis. However, a modification of the score (alteration of laboratory parameters, addition of clinical parameters) led to a clear improvement of the score with a higher positive predictive value without losing specificity. In summary, clinical differentiation of NF from cellulitis appears to be hard. 'Pain out of proportion' may be an early sign for NF. An improvement of the LRINEC score emphasizing only relevant laboratory and clinical findings as suggested may aid the early diagnosis of NF in the future leading to improvement of disease outcome by enabling rapid adequate therapy.

  6. Flexible Learning and Teaching: Looking Beyond the Binary of Full-time/Part-time Provision in South African Higher Education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barbara M Jones

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper engages with literature on flexible learning and teaching in order to explore whether it may be possible, within the South African context, to have flexible learning and teaching provide a third way which goes beyond the current practice of full-time/part-time provision. This binary classification of students is a proxy for day-time/after-hours delivery.  The argument is made that effective, flexible learning and teaching requires a fundamental shift in thinking about learning and teaching in higher education that moves us beyond such binaries. The paper proposes that in order to ensure access and success for students, ‘common knowledge’ (Edwards, 2010 will need to be co-constructed which understands flexible learning and teaching in ways which will meet needs of a diversity of students, including working students. It will require ‘resourceful leadership’ (Edwards, 2014 within the university that recognises, enhances and gives purpose to the capability of colleagues at every level of the systems they lead. Also, it will require the building of ‘common knowledge’ between certain sectors of universities and particular workplaces.

  7. Coded-Wire Tag Expansion Factors for Chinook Salmon Carcass Surveys in California: Estimating the Numbers and Proportions of Hatchery-Origin Fish

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael S. Mohr

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Recovery of fish with adipose fin clips (adc and coded-wire tags (cwt in escapement surveys allows calculation of expansion factors used in estimation of the total number of fish from each adc,cwt release group, allowing escapement to be resolved by age and stock of origin. Expanded recoveries are used to derive important estimates such as the total number and proportion of hatchery-origin fish present. The standard estimation scheme assumes accurate visual classification of adc status, which can be problematic for decomposing carcasses. Failure to account for this potential misclassification can lead to significant estimation bias. We reviewed sample expansion factors used for the California Central Valley Chinook salmon 2010 carcass surveys in this context. For upper Sacramento River fall-run and late fall-run carcass surveys, the estimated proportions of adc,cwt fish for fresh and non-fresh carcasses differed substantially, likely from the under-recognition of adc fish in non-fresh carcasses. The resulting estimated proportions of hatchery-origin fish in the upper Sacramento River fall-run and late fall-run carcass surveys were 2.33 to 2.89 times higher if only fresh carcasses are considered. Similar biases can be avoided by consideration of only fresh carcasses for which determination of adc status is relatively straightforward; however, restricting the analysis entirely to fresh carcasses may limit precision because of reduced sample size, and is only possible if protocols for sampling and recording data ensure that the sample data and results for fresh carcasses can be extracted. Thus we recommend sampling protocols that are clearly documented and separately track fresh versus non-fresh carcasses, either collecting only definitively adc fish or that carefully track non-fresh carcasses that are definitively adc versus those that are possibly adc. This would allow judicious use of non-fresh carcass data when sample sizes are otherwise

  8. Sensitivity and proportionality assessment of metabolites from microdose to high dose in rats using LC-MS/MS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ni, Jinsong; Ouyang, Hui; Seto, Carmai; Sakuma, Takeo; Ellis, Robert; Rowe, Josh; Acheampong, Andrew; Welty, Devin; Szekely-Klepser, Gabriella

    2010-03-01

    The objective of this study was to evaluate the sensitivity requirement for LC-MS/MS as an analytical tool to characterize metabolites in plasma and urine at microdoses in rats and to investigate proportionality of metabolite exposure from a microdose of 1.67 µg/kg to a high dose of 5000 µg/kg for atorvastatin, ofloxacin, omeprazole and tamoxifen. Only the glucuronide metabolite of ofloxacin, the hydroxylation metabolite of omeprazole and the hydration metabolite of tamoxifen were characterized in rat plasma at microdose by LC-MS/MS. The exposure of detected metabolites of omeprazole and tamoxifen appeared to increase in a nonproportional manner with increasing doses. Exposure of ortho- and para-hydroxyatorvastatin, but not atorvastatin and lactone, increased proportionally with increasing doses. LC-MS/MS has demonstrated its usefulness for detecting and characterizing the major metabolites in plasma and urine at microdosing levels in rats. The exposure of metabolites at microdose could not simply be used to predict their exposure at higher doses.

  9. The Merging of the Higher Educational Institutions: Institutional and Organizational Change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vyacheslav V. Volchik

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Higher education reforms in Russia had been initiated in response to the challenge of time, such as new technologies development, optimization of government expenditures, commercialization of higher education and its “mass” character. Currently implemented reforms rely upon the ideas of neo-liberal thinking, which is operationalized in the methods of regulation within the New Public Management approach. Institutional and organizational change in the higher education are the subject of research in Neo-institutional economics and Original Institutional economics. This paper deals primarily with the Original Institutionalist approach, with its focus on the institutional context of reforms: embedded working rules and social values, corporate culture and organizational specificities. For the recent decades, many Western countries have implemented, and are implementing nowadays, higher education reforms. Related change not only affects proportions of public and private expenditures on higher education, universities’ funding sources, but issues of academic freedom, social value of higher education and its role in the modern society as well. In terms of direction, higher education in Russia is convergent with the world-wide trends: integration into the global market of educational services and rethinking the role of the university as a business organization. However the paradox occurs that performance of the university under the ideas of New Public Management implies market or quasi-market environment. This environment should be much about decentralization of administrative hierarchies and growing autonomy of the universities. But in reality these processes are much about reduced academic freedom and tightened control over the universities’ performance through a system of the objectives and targets.

  10. Risk preference, option pricing and portfolio hedging with proportional transaction costs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Xiao-Tian; Li, Zhe; Zhuang, Le

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Scaling is a key factor in option pricing. • The model is theoretically analyzed and the results are new. • Some numerical examples are performed. • The implied-volatility-frown is affected by the risk preference and scaling. - Abstract: This paper is concerned in the option pricing and portfolio hedging in a discrete time case with the proportional transaction costs. Through the Monte Carlo simulations it has been shown that the fractal scaling and risk preference of traders have an important influence on the hedging performances in both option pricing and portfolio hedging in a discrete time case. In addition, the relation between preference of traders and implied volatility frown is discussed. We conclude that the risk preferences of traders play an important role in determining the shape of the implied-volatility-frown and the different options having the different hedging frequencies is another reason for the implied volatility frown.

  11. DC motor proportional control system for orthotic devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blaise, H. T.; Allen, J. R.

    1972-01-01

    Multi-channel proportional control system for operation of dc motors for use with externally-powered orthotic arm braces is described. Components of circuitry and principles of operation are described. Schematic diagram of control circuit is provided.

  12. Determination of 241Pu by low level β-proportional counting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosner, G.; Hoetzl, H.; Winkler, R.

    1992-01-01

    A chemical separation procedure is described which allows the direct determination of low 241 Pu activities in environmental samples with a windowless gas-flow proportional counter. While current separation schemes based on anion exchange yield counting sources of sufficient purity for subsequent α-spectrometry, for β-counting of 241 Pu additional purification steps are required. A combination of anion exchange from 9 mol/1 HCl, LaF 3 precipitation and TTA extraction was found to be suitable even for analysis of long-range Chernobyl fallout samples which contained interfering radionuclides with β-activities at least 3 to 4 orders of magnitude higher than usually encountered. No difference is detectable between the results of the present, direct procedure and the results of the conventional indirect method based on the build-up of 241 Am. Average 241 Pu/ 239+241 Pu ratios in air and deposition samples taken at Neuherberg near Munich were 70±6 with the present procedure and 66±9 from 241 Am build-up. (author) 29 refs.; 3 tabs

  13. Les proportions des verbes SAY/DIRE/ŘÍCI dans les propositions incises et leurs équivalents en traduction : étude sur corpus parallèle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olga Nádvorníková

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available EN: The aim of this paper is to identify and compare the distribution of the verbs say/dire/říci-říkat in reporting clauses placed medially or finally, and to analyze types of their equivalents in translations (French-English-Czech. Our hypothesis is that in translations from a language with a higher proportion of the neutral verbs say/dire/říci-říkat in reporting clauses into a language where their proportion is lower, the number of replacements of these verbs, especially using explicitation, will be higher than in the opposite direction of translation. The analysis is based on fiction texts from the InterCorp parallel corpus. FR: L’objectif du présent article est d’identifier et de comparer les proportions des verbes say/dire/ří- ci-říkat dans les propositions incises et d’analyser les types de leurs équivalents en traduction (français-anglais-tchèque. Nous avançons l’hypothèse que dans les traductions depuis des langues à proportion élevée de ces verbes de dire neutres dans les incises vers les langues où leur proportion s’avère moins élevée, les traducteurs auront davantage recours à l’explicitation ou à d’autres remplacements du verbe de dire neutre que dans l’autre sens de la traduction. L’analyse est basée sur le corpus parallèle InterCorp, limité aux textes littéraires.

  14. A reduced feedback proportional fair multiuser scheduling scheme

    KAUST Repository

    Shaqfeh, Mohammad; Alnuweiri, Hussein M.; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2011-01-01

    . A slight reduction in the prospected multiuser diversity gains is an acceptable trade-off for great savings in terms of required channel-state-information feedback messages. In this work, we propose a novel proportional fair multiuser switched

  15. Inconsistency of Minkowski higher-derivative theories

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aglietti, Ugo G. [Universita di Roma ' ' La Sapienza' ' , Dipartimento di Fisica, Rome (Italy); Anselmi, Damiano [Universita di Pisa, Dipartimento di Fisica ' ' Enrico Fermi' ' , Pisa (Italy); INFN, Sezione di Pisa, Pisa (Italy)

    2017-02-15

    We show that Minkowski higher-derivative quantum field theories are generically inconsistent, because they generate nonlocal, non-hermitian ultraviolet divergences, which cannot be removed by means of standard renormalization procedures. By ''Minkowski theories'' we mean theories that are defined directly in Minkowski spacetime. The problems occur when the propagators have complex poles, so that the correlation functions cannot be obtained as the analytic continuations of their Euclidean versions. The usual power counting rules fail and are replaced by much weaker ones. Self-energies generate complex divergences proportional to inverse powers of D'Alembertians. Three-point functions give more involved nonlocal divergences, which couple to infrared effects. We illustrate the violations of the locality and hermiticity of counterterms in scalar models and higher-derivative gravity. (orig.)

  16. Digital exclusion in higher education contexts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Khalid, Md. Saifuddin; Pedersen, Mette Jun Lykkegaard

    2016-01-01

    The integration and adoption of digital technologies have enabled improvements in the quality of and inclusion in higher education. However, a significant proportion of the population has either remained or become digitally excluded. This systematic literature review elucidates the factors...... underlying the concepts of “digital exclusion” and the “digital divide” in higher education. The identified factors are grouped into three categories: social exclusion (i.e., low income, ICT-avoidance as the norm, lack of motivation and commitment, and physical or mental disability), digital exclusion (i.......e., lack of hardware devices and Internet services) and accessibility (which include the division between rural and urban areas, as well as disparities in ICT literacy and information literacy). These factors are multi-tiered and overlapping. Studies on the digital divide, digital exclusion, and barriers...

  17. Photometric study of divine proportion and its correlation with facial attractiveness

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Paula Lazzari Marques Peron

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate if there is correlation between perception of facial esthetic and divine proportion, verifying if most attractive faces are closer to and less attractive faces are more distant to this proportion. METHODS: Standard facial photographs (frontal and lateral in natural head position were taken of a sample of 85 Brazilian Caucasian women, with mean age of 23 years and 9 months. The photographs were evaluated by 5 orthodontists, 5 artists and 5 laymen and were classified, according to their subjective analysis of facial esthetic, in pleasant, acceptable and not pleasant. Frontal photographs were evaluated by divine proportion analysis using the computerized method. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: According to subjective analysis the sample consisted 18.8% of pleasant, 70.6% of acceptable and 10.6% of not pleasant faces. After statistical analysis, a lack of agreement was verified in esthetic facial preferences among the three groups of observers. It was also possible to verify that in this research there was no correlation between perception of facial beauty and divine proportion.

  18. Proportionality in enterprise development of South African towns

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maitland T. Seaman

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available We investigated proportionalities in the enterprise structures of 125 South African towns through examining four hypotheses, (1 the magnitude of enterprise development in a town is a function of the population size of the town; (2 the size of an enterprise assemblage of a town is a function of the town’s age; (3 there are statistically significant relationships, and hence proportionalities, between the total number of enterprises in towns and some, if not all, of the enterprise numbers of different business sectors in towns; and (4 the implications of proportionalities have far-reaching implications for rural development and job creation. All hypotheses were accepted on the basis of statistically significant (p < 0.05 correlations, except for the second hypothesis – the age of a town does not determine the size of its enterprise assemblage. Analysis for the fourth hypothesis suggested that there are two broad entrepreneurial types in South African towns: ‘run-of-the-mill’ entrepreneurs and ‘special’ entrepreneurs, which give rise to different enterprise development dynamics. ‘Run-of-the-mill’ enterprises are dependent on, and limited by, local demand and if there is only a small demand, the entrepreneurial space is small. By comparison, ‘special’ enterprises have much larger markets because their products and/or services are exportable. We propose that the fostering of ‘special’ entrepreneurs is an imperative for local economic development in South African towns.

  19. Contributions to the methodology of multiwire proportional chambers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petrascu, H.

    1993-01-01

    The Ph.D. thesis presents first the realization, testing, optimization, and use of detection equipment based on position sensitive multiwire proportional chambers (MWPC), high resolution proportional counters, and of ΔE,E ionization chambers. In the second chapter it is presented the realization MWPC, in which the coordinate information is obtained by means of LC-delay lines, containing many original constructive elements. By using a system of three MWPC in coincidence, an experimental testing of the theoretically predicted pion generation in the 235 U fission process, was performed. An upper limit of 10 -11 for this process was found. In the 3-rd chapter there are presented the developments of high resolution proportional counters for X-ray spectrometry. Various penning mixtures of high purity gases were studied. The purity of gases was assured by a technology described in a Romanian patents. These counters are currently use in various applications as a rapid analysis of steel marks and in the mining industry. the 4-th chapter is dedicated to the construction and using of ΔE,E closed, high resolution ionization chambers. With these chambers the multinucleon transfer in the 27 Al( 14 M, X) reaction at 116 MeV bombarding energy was investigated. Also this type of chambers was used for the elaboration of an absolute method for analysis and profiling of impurities in silicon wafers. This method is described in the last part of the chapter. (Author) 117 Figs., 8 Tabs., 55 Refs

  20. Increasing dynamic range of a fibre Bragg grating edge-filtering interrogator with a proportional control loop

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stan, Nikola; Bailey, D C; Chadderdon, S L; Selfridge, R H; Schultz, S M; Webb, S; Zikry, M; Peters, K J

    2014-01-01

    We present a fibre Bragg grating (FBG) interrogator that uses a microcontroller board and a tunable optical filter in a proportional control loop to increase dynamic range and achieve high strain sensitivity. It is an edge-filtering interrogator with added proportional control loop that locks the operating wavelength to the mid-reflection point on the FBG spectrum. The interrogator separates low-frequency (LF) components of strain and measures them with extended dynamic range, while at the same time measuring high-frequency (HF) strain without loss in strain sensitivity. In this paper, we describe the implementation of the interrogator and analyse the characteristics of individual components, such as the speed and voltage resolution of the microcontroller and the tunable optical filter. We measure the performance of the proportional control loop at frequencies up to 1 kHz and characterize the system using control theory. We illustrate the limitation of the conventional interrogator to measure strains greater than 40 μϵ and demonstrate successful application of the proposed interrogator for simultaneous measurement of 450 μϵ LF strain at 50 Hz superimposed with 32 kHz HF strain. (paper)

  1. Implementation of the Iterative Proportion Fitting Algorithm for Geostatistical Facies Modeling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Yupeng; Deutsch, Clayton V.

    2012-01-01

    In geostatistics, most stochastic algorithm for simulation of categorical variables such as facies or rock types require a conditional probability distribution. The multivariate probability distribution of all the grouped locations including the unsampled location permits calculation of the conditional probability directly based on its definition. In this article, the iterative proportion fitting (IPF) algorithm is implemented to infer this multivariate probability. Using the IPF algorithm, the multivariate probability is obtained by iterative modification to an initial estimated multivariate probability using lower order bivariate probabilities as constraints. The imposed bivariate marginal probabilities are inferred from profiles along drill holes or wells. In the IPF process, a sparse matrix is used to calculate the marginal probabilities from the multivariate probability, which makes the iterative fitting more tractable and practical. This algorithm can be extended to higher order marginal probability constraints as used in multiple point statistics. The theoretical framework is developed and illustrated with estimation and simulation example.

  2. Sample Size Calculation for Controlling False Discovery Proportion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shulian Shang

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The false discovery proportion (FDP, the proportion of incorrect rejections among all rejections, is a direct measure of abundance of false positive findings in multiple testing. Many methods have been proposed to control FDP, but they are too conservative to be useful for power analysis. Study designs for controlling the mean of FDP, which is false discovery rate, have been commonly used. However, there has been little attempt to design study with direct FDP control to achieve certain level of efficiency. We provide a sample size calculation method using the variance formula of the FDP under weak-dependence assumptions to achieve the desired overall power. The relationship between design parameters and sample size is explored. The adequacy of the procedure is assessed by simulation. We illustrate the method using estimated correlations from a prostate cancer dataset.

  3. A Bayesian Combined Model for Time-Dependent Turning Movement Proportions Estimation at Intersections

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pengpeng Jiao

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Time-dependent turning movement flows are very important input data for intelligent transportation systems but are impossible to be detected directly through current traffic surveillance systems. Existing estimation models have proved to be not accurate and reliable enough during all intervals. An improved way to address this problem is to develop a combined model framework that can integrate multiple submodels running simultaneously. This paper first presents a back propagation neural network model to estimate dynamic turning movements, as well as the self-adaptive learning rate approach and the gradient descent with momentum method for solving. Second, this paper develops an efficient Kalman filtering model and designs a revised sequential Kalman filtering algorithm. Based on the Bayesian method using both historical data and currently estimated results for error calibration, this paper further integrates above two submodels into a Bayesian combined model framework and proposes a corresponding algorithm. A field survey is implemented at an intersection in Beijing city to collect both time series of link counts and actual time-dependent turning movement flows, including historical and present data. The reported estimation results show that the Bayesian combined model is much more accurate and stable than other models.

  4. Maintainability analysis considering time-dependent and time-independent covariates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barabadi, Abbas; Barabady, Javad; Markeset, Tore

    2011-01-01

    Traditional parametric methods for assessing maintainability most often only consider time to repair (TTR) as a single explanatory variable. However, to predict availability more precisely for high availability systems, a better model is needed to quantify the effect of operational environment on maintainability. The proportional repair model (PRM), which is developed based on proportional hazard model (PHM), may be used to analyze maintainability in the present of covariates. In the PRM, the effect of covariates is considered to be time independent. However this assumption may not be valid for some situations. The aim of this paper is to develop the Cox regression model and its extension in the presence of time-dependent covariates for determining maintainability. A simple case study is used to demonstrate how the model can be applied in a real case.

  5. the proportion of lactobacilli and/or decreasing the proportion of potentially pathogenic bacteria and/or yeasts (ID 945) pursuant to Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tetens, Inge

    claims in relation to Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 (ATCC 55826) in combination with Lactobacillus reuteri RC-14 (ATCC 55845) and defence against vaginal pathogens by increasing the proportion of lactobacilli and/or decreasing the proportion of potentially pathogenic bacteria and/or yeasts. The scientific...... to be the general female population. From the clarifications provided by Member States, the Panel assumes that the claimed effect refers to defence against vaginal pathogens by increasing the number of lactobacilli and/or decreasing potentially pathogenic bacteria and/or yeasts. The Panel considers that defence...... against vaginal pathogens by increasing the proportion of lactobacilli and/or decreasing the proportion of potentially pathogenic bacteria and/or yeasts is a beneficial physiological effect. No references were provided from which conclusions could be drawn for the scientific substantiation of the claim...

  6. Design and analysis of modified Smith predictors for self-regulating and non-self regulating processes with dead time

    CERN Document Server

    Saravanakumar, G; Nayak, C G

    2007-01-01

    A modification of Smith predictor for controlling the higher order processes with integral action ad long dead-time is proposed in this paper. The controller used in this Smith predictor is an Integral-Proportional Derivative controller, where the Integrator is in the forward path and the Proportional and Derivative control are in the feedback, acting on the feedback signal. The main objective of this paper is to design a Dead Time Compensator(DTC), which has minimum tuning parameters, simple controller tuning, robust performance of tuning formulae and to obtain a critically damped system which is as fast as possible in its setpoint and load disturbance rejection performance. The controller in this paper is tuned by an adaptive method. This paper also presents a survey of various dead time compensators and their performance analysis.

  7. Modeling Employees' Perceptions and Proportional Preferences of Work Locations: The Regular Workplace and Telecommuting Alternatives

    OpenAIRE

    Mokhtarian, Patricia; Bagley, Michael

    2000-01-01

    This paper develops measures of job and workplace perceptions, and examines the importance of those and other measures to the desired proportions of work time at each of three locations: regular workplace, home, and telecommuting center. Using data from 188 participants in the Neighborhood Telecenters Project, four job context perception factors were identified: productivity, job satisfaction, supervisor relationship, and co-worker interaction. Four generic workplace perception factors were i...

  8. Real-time simultaneous and proportional myoelectric control using intramuscular EMG

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Lauren H.; Kuiken, Todd A.; Hargrove, Levi J.

    2014-12-01

    Objective. Myoelectric prostheses use electromyographic (EMG) signals to control movement of prosthetic joints. Clinically available myoelectric control strategies do not allow simultaneous movement of multiple degrees of freedom (DOFs); however, the use of implantable devices that record intramuscular EMG signals could overcome this constraint. The objective of this study was to evaluate the real-time simultaneous control of three DOFs (wrist rotation, wrist flexion/extension, and hand open/close) using intramuscular EMG. Approach. We evaluated task performance of five able-bodied subjects in a virtual environment using two control strategies with fine-wire EMG: (i) parallel dual-site differential control, which enabled simultaneous control of three DOFs and (ii) pattern recognition control, which required sequential control of DOFs. Main results. Over the course of the experiment, subjects using parallel dual-site control demonstrated increased use of simultaneous control and improved performance in a Fitts’ Law test. By the end of the experiment, performance using parallel dual-site control was significantly better (up to a 25% increase in throughput) than when using sequential pattern recognition control for tasks requiring multiple DOFs. The learning trends with parallel dual-site control suggested that further improvements in performance metrics were possible. Subjects occasionally experienced difficulty in performing isolated single-DOF movements with parallel dual-site control but were able to accomplish related Fitts’ Law tasks with high levels of path efficiency. Significance. These results suggest that intramuscular EMG, used in a parallel dual-site configuration, can provide simultaneous control of a multi-DOF prosthetic wrist and hand and may outperform current methods that enforce sequential control.

  9. An extended parametrization of gas amplification in proportional wire chambers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beingessner, S.P.; Carnegie, R.K.; Hargrove, C.K.

    1987-01-01

    It is normally assumed that the gas amplification in proportional chambers is a function of Townsend's first ionization coefficient, α, and that α is a function of the anode surface electric field only. Experimental measurements are presented demonstrating the breakdown of the latter assumption for electric fields, X, greater than about 150 V/cm/Torr on the anode wire surface for a gas mixture of 80/20 argon/methane. For larger values of X, the parametrization of the proportional gas gain data requires an additional term related to the gradient of the electric field near the wire. This extended gain parametrization remains valid until the onset of nonproportional contributions such as positive ion space charge saturation effects. Furthermore, deviations of the data from this parametrization are used to measure the onset of these space charge effects. A simple scaling dependence of the gain data on the product of pressure and wire radius over the whole proportional range is also demonstrated. (orig.)

  10. Designing an optimally proportional inorganic scintillator

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Singh, Jai, E-mail: jai.singh@cdu.edu.au [School of Engineering and IT, B-Purple-12, Faculty of EHSE, Charles Darwin University, NT 0909 (Australia); Koblov, Alexander [School of Engineering and IT, B-Purple-12, Faculty of EHSE, Charles Darwin University, NT 0909 (Australia)

    2012-09-01

    The nonproportionality observed in the light yield of inorganic scintillators is studied theoretically as a function of the rates of bimolecular and Auger quenching processes occurring within the electron track initiated by a gamma- or X-ray photon incident on a scintillator. Assuming a cylindrical track, the influence of the track radius and concentration of excitations created within the track on the scintillator light yield is also studied. Analysing the calculated light yield a guideline for inventing an optimally proportional scintillator with optimal energy resolution is presented.

  11. Designing an optimally proportional inorganic scintillator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, Jai; Koblov, Alexander

    2012-01-01

    The nonproportionality observed in the light yield of inorganic scintillators is studied theoretically as a function of the rates of bimolecular and Auger quenching processes occurring within the electron track initiated by a gamma- or X-ray photon incident on a scintillator. Assuming a cylindrical track, the influence of the track radius and concentration of excitations created within the track on the scintillator light yield is also studied. Analysing the calculated light yield a guideline for inventing an optimally proportional scintillator with optimal energy resolution is presented.

  12. Effect of chopping time and heating on 1 H nuclear magnetic resonance and rheological behavior of meat batter matrix.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Fen; Dong, Hui; Shao, Jun-Hua; Zhang, Jun-Long; Liu, Deng-Yong

    2018-04-01

    The effect of chopping time and heating on physicochemical properties of meat batters was investigated by low-field nuclear magnetic resonance and rheology technology. Cooking loss and L* increased while texture profile analysis index decreased between chopping 5 and 6 min. The relaxation time T 21 (bound water) and its peak area ratio decreased, while the ratio of T 22 peak area (immobilized water) in raw meat batters gradually increased with the extension of chopping time. However, T 22 was opposite after being heated and a new component T 23 (free water) appeared (T 2i is the spin - spin relaxation time for the ith component.). The initial damping factor (Tan δ) gradually decreased and there were significant difference between 4 and 5 min of chopping time. There were significantly positive correlations between the ratio of peak area of T 22 and chopping time, the storage modulus (G'), cooking loss, and L*, respectively. Continued chopping time could improve the peak area proportion of T 22 in raw meat batters. Further, the higher the peak area proportion of T 22 in raw meat batters, the cooking loss of heated meat gel was higher. Also, the stronger the mobility of immobilized water in meat batter, the higher the L* of the fresh meat batters. Thus, it is revealed that the physicochemical properties of meat batter are significantly influenced by chopping time which further affects the water holding capacity and the texture of emulsification gel. © 2017 Japanese Society of Animal Science.

  13. Pulse-shape discrimination in IAEA tritium proportional counters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Florkowski, T.

    1981-01-01

    Two systems of pulse-shape discrimination (PSD) for the reduction of background in low-level proportional counters were tested. A tentative conclusion is drawn that both PSD systems, although they decrease slightly the meson background, do not bring improvement in the analytical accuracy

  14. An RT distribution analysis of relatedness proportion effects in lexical decision and semantic categorization reveals different mechanisms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Wit, Bianca; Kinoshita, Sachiko

    2015-01-01

    The magnitude of the semantic priming effect is known to increase as the proportion of related prime-target pairs in an experiment increases. This relatedness proportion (RP) effect was studied in a lexical decision task at a short prime-target stimulus onset asynchrony (240 ms), which is widely assumed to preclude strategic prospective usage of the prime. The analysis of the reaction time (RT) distribution suggested that the observed RP effect reflected a modulation of a retrospective semantic matching process. The pattern of the RP effect on the RT distribution found here is contrasted to that reported in De Wit and Kinoshita's (2014) semantic categorization study, and it is concluded that the RP effect is driven by different underlying mechanisms in lexical decision and semantic categorization.

  15. Visualizing Proportions and Dissimilarities by Space-filling Maps

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Carrizosa, Emilio; Guerrero, Vanesa; Morales, Dolores Romero

    2017-01-01

    In this paper we address the problem of visualizing a set of individuals, which have attached a statistical value given as a proportion, and a dissimilarity measure. Each individual is represented as a region within the unit square, in such a way that the area of the regions represent...... the proportions and the distances between them represent the dissimilarities. To enhance the interpretability of the representation, the regions are required to satisfy two properties. First, they must form a partition of the unit square, namely, the portions in which it is divided must cover its area without...... is solved heuristically by using the Large Neighborhood Search technique. The methodology proposed in this paper is applied to three real-world datasets: the first one concerning financial markets in Europe and Asia, the second one about the letters in the English alphabet, and finally the provinces...

  16. Pressure control of hydraulic servo system using proportional control valve

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Kyong Uk; Oh, In Ho; Lee, Ill Yeong

    1999-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to develop a control scheme for the hydraulic servo system which can rapidly control the pressure in a hydraulic cylinder with very short stroke. Compared with the negligible stroke of the cylinder in the system, the flow gain of the proportional pressure control valve constituting the hydraulic servo system is relatively large and the time delay on the response of the valve is quite long. Therefore, the pressure control system, in this study tends to get unstable during operations. Considering the above mentioned characteristics of the system, a two-degree-of-freedom control scheme, composed of the I-PDD 2 ... feedback compensator and the feedforward controller, is proposed. The reference model scheme is used in deciding the parameters of the controllers. The validity of the proposed control scheme is confirmed through the experiments

  17. The relative proportion of preterm births complicated by premature rupture of membranes in multifetal gestations: a population-based study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pakrashi, Tarita; Defranco, Emily A

    2013-01-01

    To compare the relative contribution of premature rupture of membranes (PROM) to preterm births in singleton compared with multifetal gestations. A population-based retrospective cohort study of 291,782 nonanomalous live births in the state of Ohio from January 1, 2006, to December 31, 2007, identified through birth certificate data. Frequency of PROM was compared between singleton and multifetal gestations and then stratified by gestational age at birth. Multivariate regression analysis estimated the risk of PROM by plurality in each gestational age group, accounting for influential risk factors. The frequency of PROM increased with increasing plurality of gestation. The relative proportion of preterm birth < 37 weeks complicated by PROM increased with gestational plurality 13.2% singletons, 16.8% twins, 20.0% triplets, 19.6% quadruplets, and 100% for higher-order multiples (p < 0.001). The frequency of PROM increased with earlier gestational age at birth, regardless of plurality. The increased risk of PROM in multifetal gestation persisted even after adjustment for influential concomitant risk factors. The proportion of preterm birth attributable to PROM increases by plurality of gestation, with its most significant contribution in higher-order multiples and at earliest gestational ages when outcomes are the poorest. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

  18. Principles of proportional recovery after stroke generalize to neglect and aphasia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marchi, N A; Ptak, R; Di Pietro, M; Schnider, A; Guggisberg, A G

    2017-08-01

    Motor recovery after stroke can be characterized into two different patterns. A majority of patients recover about 70% of initial impairment, whereas some patients with severe initial deficits show little or no improvement. Here, we investigated whether recovery from visuospatial neglect and aphasia is also separated into two different groups and whether similar proportions of recovery can be expected for the two cognitive functions. We assessed 35 patients with neglect and 14 patients with aphasia at 3 weeks and 3 months after stroke using standardized tests. Recovery patterns were classified with hierarchical clustering and the proportion of recovery was estimated from initial impairment using a linear regression analysis. Patients were reliably clustered into two different groups. For patients in the first cluster (n = 40), recovery followed a linear model where improvement was proportional to initial impairment and achieved 71% of maximal possible recovery for both cognitive deficits. Patients in the second cluster (n = 9) exhibited poor recovery (aphasia after stroke shows the same dichotomy and proportionality as observed in motor recovery. This is suggestive of common underlying principles of plasticity, which apply to motor and cognitive functions. © 2017 EAN.

  19. Evaluation of B10Plus+* proportional detectors for neutron coincidence counting

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Beddingfield, David H.; Yoon, Seokryung [International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna International Centre, PO Box 100, 1400 Vienna, (Austria)

    2015-07-01

    GE-Reuter-Stokes (GERS) has developed a new line of neutron proportional counters, the B10Plus+* proportional counter. The detector design is intended to serve as a cost-effective alternative to traditional {sup 3}He proportional counters in a variety of applications. The detector is a hybrid design 10B-lined tube optimized with the addition of a small quantity of 3He gas to improve the detector performance and efficiency. As a demonstration of the B10Plus+* detector, GERS has constructed a Uranium Neutron Collar (UNCL) system consisting of B-10Plus+* proportional counters. GERS has designed and built a demonstration UNCL system intended to match the performance of a Type-I UNCL design in Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) geometry operating in thermal mode. GERS offered their system on loan to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Safeguards Division of Technical and Scientific Services for an assessment of the detector technology and the demonstration system. We have characterized the demonstration UNCL system and compared its performance with a traditional Type-I UNCL design in regular use by the IAEA. This paper summarizes our findings and observations during the characterization and testing activity. (authors)

  20. Gender gaps--Life expectancy and proportion of life in poor health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luy, Marc; Minagawa, Yuka

    2014-12-01

    The literature suggests that women report worse health but live longer than men--a phenomenon known as the gender paradox in health and mortality. Although studies examining the paradox abound, relatively little is known about mechanisms underlying the gap. With data on healthy life expectancy from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010, this article analyses the relationship between length of life and health among men and women in 45 more-developed countries. The proportion of life spent in poor health is used as an indicator of health. This approach accounts for gender differences in longevity and illustrates the female health disadvantage pattern more clearly. Life expectancy at birth and the proportion of life in poor health are closely related for both genders. Furthermore, the larger the female excess in longevity, the larger the female excess in the proportion of life in poor health. By focusing on the proportion of life in poor health, this analysis suggests that women's longevity advantage translates into a health disadvantages relative to men. The results indicate that women suffer from poor health not in spite of living longer, but because they live longer.

  1. Credentialism, Adults, and Part-Time Higher Education in the United Kingdom: An Account of Rising Take Up and Some Implications for Policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fuller, Alison

    2001-01-01

    Explains the growing importance of higher-level qualifications for adults in the UK, highlighting statistical trends in commitment to learning and qualifying-the result of taking part-time courses in higher education. Most part-time undergraduates fund their own tuition. Mature students' backgrounds and perspectives partly account for their rising…

  2. Risk factors of delay proportional probability in diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccination of Iranian children; Life table approach analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohsen Mokhtari

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Despite success in expanded program immunization for an increase in vaccination coverage in the children of world, timeliness and schedule of vaccination remains as one of the challenges in public health. This study purposed to demonstrate the related factors of delayed diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP vaccination using life table approach. A historical cohort study conducted in the poor areas of five large Iran cities. Totally, 3610 children with 24-47 months old age who had documented vaccination card were enrolled. Time of vaccination for the third dose of DTP vaccine was calculated. Life table survival was used to calculate the proportional probability of vaccination in each time. Wilcoxon test was used for the comparison proportional probability of delayed vaccination based on studies factors. The overall median delayed time for DTP3 was 38.52 days. The Wilcoxon test showed that city, nationality, education level of parents, birth order and being in rural areas are related to the high probability of delay time for DTP3 vaccination (P 0.05. Being away from the capital, a high concentration of immigrants in the city borders with a low socioeconomic class leads to prolonged delay in DTP vaccination time. Special attention to these areas is needed to increase the levels of parental knowledge and to facilitate access to the health services care.

  3. Hydrogen high pressure proportional drift detector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arefiev, A.; Balaev, A.

    1983-01-01

    The design and operation performances of a proportional drift detector PDD are described. High sensitivity of the applied PAD makes it possible to detect the neutron-proton elastic scattering in the energy range of recoil protons as low as 1 keV. The PDD is filled with hydrogen up to the pressure at 40 bars. High purity of the gas is maintained by a continuously operating purification system. The detector has been operating for several years in a neutron beam at the North Area of the CERN SPS

  4. Computer Simulation of Atoms Nuclei Structure Using Information Coefficients of Proportionality

    OpenAIRE

    Labushev, Mikhail M.

    2012-01-01

    The latest research of the proportionality of atomic weights of chemical elements made it possible to obtain 3 x 3 matrices for the calculation of information coefficients of proportionality Ip that can be used for 3D modeling of the structure of atom nucleus. The results of computer simulation show high potential of nucleus structure research for the characterization of their chemical and physical properties.

  5. Internationalization of Chinese Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Linhan; Huang, Danyan

    2013-01-01

    This paper probes into the development of internationalization of higher education in China from ancient times to modern times, including the emergence of international connections in Chinese higher education and the subsequent development of such connections, the further development of internationalization of Chinese higher education, and the…

  6. Sports and leisure time physical activity during pregnancy in nulliparous women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hegaard, Hanne Kristine; Damm, Peter; Hedegaard, Morten; Henriksen, Tine Brink; Ottesen, Bent; Dykes, Anna-Karin; Kjaergaard, Hanne

    2011-08-01

    To describe patterns of leisure time physical activity during pregnancy in relation to pre-pregnancy leisure time physical activity, socio-demographic characteristics, fertility history, and lifestyle factors. 4,718 nulliparous with singleton pregnancy and intended spontaneous vaginal delivery were included in the study at gestational week 33 from May 2004 to July 2005. Information was provided by self-administered questionnaires. Leisure time physical activity was categorised into four categories: competitive sport, moderate-to-heavy, light or sedentary. In this population of nulliparous women, 4% participated in competitive sport, 25% in moderate-to-heavy activities, 66% in light activities, and 5% in sedentary activities in the year prior to pregnancy. Physical activity before pregnancy was statistically significantly associated with age, pre-pregnancy BMI, chronic diseases, number of years at school, and smoking habits. The proportion of women who took part in competitive sports, and moderate-to-heavy activities decreased over the three trimesters of pregnancy. The proportion of women with light physical activity was stable during pregnancy while the proportion of women with sedentary activity increased from 6% to 29%. During the third trimester women performing competitive sports or moderate-to-heavy activities before pregnancy continued to have a higher level of physical activity than women with light activities or sedentary activities before pregnancy. In general the intensity and time spent on exercise decreased during pregnancy. Women with the highest level of exercise prior to pregnancy continued to be the most active during pregnancy. Among women with sedentary activities before pregnancy one-fourth changed to light activity during pregnancy.

  7. Digital proportional multi-resonant current controller for improving grid-connected photovoltaic systems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Almeida, de P.M.; Barbosa, P.G.; Oliveira, J.G.; Duarte, J.L.; Ribeiro, P.F.

    2015-01-01

    This paper presents the modelling and design steps of a digital proportional multi-resonant controller used in a grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) system. It is shown that the use of only one Proportional-Resonant (PR) compensator, tuned to the system fundamental frequency, may have its effectiveness

  8. Combining proportional and majoritarian democracy: An institutional design proposal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Steffen Ganghof

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available The article proposes a new way to combine the “proportional” and “majoritarian” visions of democracy. The proposal blends elements of mixed electoral systems, parliamentarism, presidentialism and bicameralism. Voters are given a single vote to make two simultaneous choices: one about the proportional composition of the legislature and one about the two top parties forming a majoritarian “confidence chamber” embedded within the legislature. Only the majority in this chamber has the power to dismiss the cabinet in a vote of no-confidence. The proposed system virtually guarantees the feasibility of identifiable and stable one-party cabinets governing with shifting, issue-specific majorities in a highly proportional legislature. It is illustrated with respect to the 2013 federal election in Germany.

  9. A time-to-amplitude converter with constant fraction timing discriminators for short time interval measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kostamovaara, J.; Myllylae, R.

    1985-01-01

    The construction and the performance of a time-to-amplitude converter equipped with constant fraction discriminators is described. The TAC consists of digital and analog parts which are constructed on two printed circuit boards, both of which are located in a single width NIM module. The dead time of the TAC for a start pulse which is not followed by a stop pulse within the time range of the device (proportional100 ns) is only proportional100 ns, which enables one to avoid counting rate saturation even with a high random input signal rate. The differential and integral nonlinearities of the TAC are better than +-1.5% and 0.05%, respectively. The resolution for input timing pulses of constant shape is 20 ps (fwhm), and less than 10 ps (fwhm) with a modification in the digital part. The walk error of the constant fraction timing discriminators is presented and various parameters affecting it are discussed. The effect of the various disturbances in linearity caused by the fast ECL logic and their minimization are also discussed. The time-to-amplitude converter has been used in positron lifetime studies and for laser range finding. (orig.)

  10. Characteristics of screen media use associated with higher BMI in young adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bickham, David S; Blood, Emily A; Walls, Courtney E; Shrier, Lydia A; Rich, Michael

    2013-05-01

    This study investigates how characteristics of young adolescents' screen media use are associated with their BMI. By examining relationships between BMI and both time spent using each of 3 screen media and level of attention allocated to use, we sought to contribute to the understanding of mechanisms linking media use and obesity. We measured heights and weights of 91 13- to 15-year-olds and calculated their BMIs. Over 1 week, participants completed a weekday and a Saturday 24-hour time-use diary in which they reported the amount of time they spent using TV, computers, and video games. Participants carried handheld computers and responded to 4 to 7 random signals per day by completing onscreen questionnaires reporting activities to which they were paying primary, secondary, and tertiary attention. Higher proportions of primary attention to TV were positively associated with higher BMI. The difference between 25th and 75th percentiles of attention to TV corresponded to an estimated +2.4 BMI points. Time spent watching television was unrelated to BMI. Neither duration of use nor extent of attention paid to video games or computers was associated with BMI. These findings support the notion that attention to TV is a key element of the increased obesity risk associated with TV viewing. Mechanisms may include the influence of TV commercials on preferences for energy-dense, nutritionally questionable foods and/or eating while distracted by TV. Interventions that interrupt these processes may be effective in decreasing obesity among screen media users.

  11. Small area estimation of proportions with different levels of auxiliary data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chandra, Hukum; Kumar, Sushil; Aditya, Kaustav

    2018-03-01

    Binary data are often of interest in many small areas of applications. The use of standard small area estimation methods based on linear mixed models becomes problematic for such data. An empirical plug-in predictor (EPP) under a unit-level generalized linear mixed model with logit link function is often used for the estimation of a small area proportion. However, this EPP requires the availability of unit-level population information for auxiliary data that may not be always accessible. As a consequence, in many practical situations, this EPP approach cannot be applied. Based on the level of auxiliary information available, different small area predictors for estimation of proportions are proposed. Analytic and bootstrap approaches to estimating the mean squared error of the proposed small area predictors are also developed. Monte Carlo simulations based on both simulated and real data show that the proposed small area predictors work well for generating the small area estimates of proportions and represent a practical alternative to the above approach. The developed predictor is applied to generate estimates of the proportions of indebted farm households at district-level using debt investment survey data from India. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  12. Robust extraction of basis functions for simultaneous and proportional myoelectric control via sparse non-negative matrix factorization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Chuang; Wang, Binghui; Jiang, Ning; Farina, Dario

    2018-04-01

    Objective. This paper proposes a novel simultaneous and proportional multiple degree of freedom (DOF) myoelectric control method for active prostheses. Approach. The approach is based on non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) of surface EMG signals with the inclusion of sparseness constraints. By applying a sparseness constraint to the control signal matrix, it is possible to extract the basis information from arbitrary movements (quasi-unsupervised approach) for multiple DOFs concurrently. Main Results. In online testing based on target hitting, able-bodied subjects reached a greater throughput (TP) when using sparse NMF (SNMF) than with classic NMF or with linear regression (LR). Accordingly, the completion time (CT) was shorter for SNMF than NMF or LR. The same observations were made in two patients with unilateral limb deficiencies. Significance. The addition of sparseness constraints to NMF allows for a quasi-unsupervised approach to myoelectric control with superior results with respect to previous methods for the simultaneous and proportional control of multi-DOF. The proposed factorization algorithm allows robust simultaneous and proportional control, is superior to previous supervised algorithms, and, because of minimal supervision, paves the way to online adaptation in myoelectric control.

  13. Model of predicting proportion of diesel fuel and engine oil in diesel ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Viscosity of diesel adulterated SAE 40 engine oil at varying proportions of the mixture is presented. Regression, variation of intercept and the power parameters methods are used for developing polynomial and power law functions for predicting proportion of either diesel or engine oil in diesel adulterated SAE 40 engine oil ...

  14. A Proportional Hazards Regression Model for the Subdistribution with Covariates-adjusted Censoring Weight for Competing Risks Data

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    He, Peng; Eriksson, Frank; Scheike, Thomas H.

    2016-01-01

    function by fitting the Cox model for the censoring distribution and using the predictive probability for each individual. Our simulation study shows that the covariate-adjusted weight estimator is basically unbiased when the censoring time depends on the covariates, and the covariate-adjusted weight......With competing risks data, one often needs to assess the treatment and covariate effects on the cumulative incidence function. Fine and Gray proposed a proportional hazards regression model for the subdistribution of a competing risk with the assumption that the censoring distribution...... and the covariates are independent. Covariate-dependent censoring sometimes occurs in medical studies. In this paper, we study the proportional hazards regression model for the subdistribution of a competing risk with proper adjustments for covariate-dependent censoring. We consider a covariate-adjusted weight...

  15. Digital signal processing for 3He proportional counters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takahashi, Hiroyuki; Kawarabayashi, Jun; Kurahashi, Tomohiko; Iguchi, Tetsuo; Nakazawa, Masaharu

    1994-01-01

    Numerical analysis of individual pulses from 3 He proportional counters has been performed. A parametric approach has been used for the identification of a charge particle track direction. Using area parameters, a clear separation of events was observed for the wall effect on a triton and a proton, respectively. ((orig.))

  16. Calibration of an ultra-low-background proportional counter for measuring 37Ar

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seifert, A.; Aalseth, C. E.; Bonicalzi, R. M.; Bowyer, T. W.; Day, A. R.; Fuller, E. S.; Haas, D. A.; Hayes, J. C.; Hoppe, E. W.; Humble, P. H.; Keillor, M. E.; LaFerriere, B. D.; Mace, E. K.; McIntyre, J. I.; Merriman, J. H.; Miley, H. S.; Myers, A. W.; Orrell, J. L.; Overman, C. T.; Panisko, M. E.

    2013-01-01

    An ultra-low-background proportional counter design has been developed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) using clean materials, primarily electro-chemically-purified copper. This detector, along with an ultra-low-background counting system (ULBCS), was developed to complement a new shallow underground laboratory (30 meters water-equivalent) at PNNL. The ULBCS design includes passive neutron and gamma shielding, along with an active cosmic-veto system. This system provides a capability for making ultra-sensitive measurements to support applications like age-dating soil hydrocarbons with 14 C/ 3 H, age-dating of groundwater with 39 Ar, and soil-gas assay for 37 Ar to support On-Site Inspection (OSI). On-Site Inspection is a key component of the verification regime for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). Measurements of radionuclides created by an underground nuclear explosion are valuable signatures of a Treaty violation. For OSI, the 35-day half-life of 37 Ar, produced from neutron interactions with calcium in soil, provides both high specific activity and sufficient time for inspection before decay limits sensitivity. This work describes the calibration techniques and analysis methods developed to enable quantitative measurements of 37 Ar samples over a broad range of proportional counter operating pressures. These efforts, along with parallel work in progress on gas chemistry separation, are expected to provide a significant new capability for 37 Ar soil gas background studies

  17. Golden Proportion in Frontal Social Smile from Orthodontic Viewpoint

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    z Tabatabaei

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Physical attraction has a significant effect on all aspects of personal life, and in this category facial appearance is the most important part of the body in prediction of attractiveness. In the face, mouth and specially shape and size of anterior teeth is important to gain dental and facial esthetic. The aim of this study is evaluation of golden proportion from orthodontic view in maxillary anterior teeth in both sexes. Methods: Considering inclusion and exclusion criteria, 100 students of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences were selected, and photographs of their frontal social smile were taken by a standard method from 30cm distance. Then visible part of central, lateral and canine teeth was measured by Photoshop software (Adobe Photoshop ver8 with 0.1mm precision. Data was evaluated by descriptive statistical analysis and sample T-test using SPSS. Results: According to descriptive statistical analysis and sample T- test, mean ratio of central to lateral teeth in the left side in men and women was 1.209±0.199 and 1.157±0.156 and in the right side in men and women was 1.179± 0.27 and 1.158± 0.145, respectively. The ratio of lateral to canine teeth in the left side in men and women was 1.522±0.146 and 1.494±0.127 and in the right side in men and women was 1.55±0.164 and 1.51±0.114, respectively. Golden proportion was seen between central and lateral teeth in 16% in the right side and 3.4% in the left side only in men. Conclusion: Golden proportion was seen between central and lateral in the left side and right side in men, but due to large canine in men, this proportion was not seen between lateral and canine teeth and so due to small lateral in women, it was not seen between anterior teeth.

  18. Digital proportional-integral-derivative velocity controller of a Mössbauer spectrometer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pechousek, J; Prochazka, R; Mashlan, M; Jancik, D; Frydrych, J

    2009-01-01

    The digital proportional-integral-derivative (PID) velocity controller used in the Mössbauer spectrometer implemented in field programmable gate array (FPGA) is based on the National Instruments CompactRIO embedded system and LabVIEW graphical programming tools. The system works as a remote system accessible via the Ethernet. The digital controller operates in real-time conditions, and the maximum sampling frequency is approximately 227 kS s −1 . The system was tested with standard sample measurements of α-Fe and α- 57 Fe 2 O 3 on two different electromechanical velocity transducers. The nonlinearities of the velocity scales in the relative form are better than 0.2%. The replacement of the standard analog PID controller by the new system brings the possibility of optimizing the control process more precisely. (technical design note)

  19. Dependence of 'CT clearance' on dosage and time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaltenborn, H.A.; Klose, K.J.; Dexheimer, C.; Steinijans, V.

    1989-01-01

    The contrast medium dose used in CT renal function analysis corresponds to about 1 ml/kg body weight at a measurement interval of 5 or 10 minutes. In the present study the dependence of 'CT clearance' on dosage and time was examined in 12 healthy subjects. The amount of clearance was directly proportional to the employed contrast medium dose and to the length of the measurement interval. On account of the superior signal-to-noise ratio, the higher dose (1 ml/kg body weight) will continue to be prefered in future. The measurement interval can be limited to 10 minutes. (orig.) [de

  20. Cylindrical geometry for proportional and drift chambers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sadoulet, B.

    1975-06-01

    For experiments performed around storage rings such as e + e - rings or the ISR pp rings, cylindrical wire chambers are very attractive. They surround the beam pipe completely without any dead region in the azimuth, and fit well with the geometry of events where particles are more or less spherically produced. Unfortunately, cylindrical proportional or drift chambers are difficult to make. Problems are discussed and two approaches to fabricating the cathodes are discussed. (WHK)

  1. A unified approach for proportional-integral-derivative controller design for time delay processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shamsuzzoha, Mohammad

    2015-01-01

    An analytical design method for PI/PID controller tuning is proposed for several types of processes with time delay. A single tuning formula gives enhanced disturbance rejection performance. The design method is based on the IMC approach, which has a single tuning parameter to adjust the performance and robustness of the controller. A simple tuning formula gives consistently better performance as compared to several well-known methods at the same degree of robustness for stable and integrating process. The performance of the unstable process has been compared with other recently published methods which also show significant improvement in the proposed method. Furthermore, the robustness of the controller is investigated by inserting a perturbation uncertainty in all parameters simultaneously, again showing comparable results with other methods. An analysis has been performed for the uncertainty margin in the different process parameters for the robust controller design. It gives the guidelines of the M s setting for the PI controller design based on the process parameters uncertainty. For the selection of the closed-loop time constant, (τ c ), a guideline is provided over a broad range of θ/τ ratios on the basis of the peak of maximum uncertainty (M s ). A comparison of the IAE has been conducted for the wide range of θ/τ ratio for the first order time delay process. The proposed method shows minimum IAE in compared to SIMC, while Lee et al. shows poor disturbance rejection in the lag dominant process. In the simulation study, the controllers were tuned to have the same degree of robustness by measuring the M s , to obtain a reasonable comparison

  2. Estimation of Sensitive Proportion by Randomized Response Data in Successive Sampling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bo Yu

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper considers the problem of estimation for binomial proportions of sensitive or stigmatizing attributes in the population of interest. Randomized response techniques are suggested for protecting the privacy of respondents and reducing the response bias while eliciting information on sensitive attributes. In many sensitive question surveys, the same population is often sampled repeatedly on each occasion. In this paper, we apply successive sampling scheme to improve the estimation of the sensitive proportion on current occasion.

  3. Design Method for Proportion of Cement-Foamed Asphalt Cold Recycled Mixture

    OpenAIRE

    Li Junxiao; Fu Wei; Zang Hechao

    2018-01-01

    Through foaming experiment of Zhongtai AH-70 asphalt, the best foaming temperature water consumption and influence factors of foamed asphalt’s foaming features are determined; By designing the proportion of foamed asphalt cold in-place recycled mixture combined with the water stability experiment, for this mixture the best foamed asphalt addition is 3%, and proportion of the mixture is RAP: fine aggregate: cement=75:23:2. Using SEM technology, the mechanism of increasing on the intensity of f...

  4. Golden proportion assessment between maxillary and mandibular teeth on Indian population

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Vaikunth Vijay; Rangarajan, Vedantham

    2012-01-01

    PURPOSE This study evaluated the existence of golden proportion between the widths of the maxillary and mandibular anterior teeth in Indian population. MATERIALS AND METHODS The clinical tooth width measurements were recorded with the digital vernier calipers on 576 patients of both sexes in the age group of 21 - 30 years. Flexible ruler was used to determine the width of maxillary and mandibular anterior teeth on the patients by the same operator. The data obtained was statistically analyzed using paired student t-test (α=.05). RESULTS The golden proportion was not found between the width of the right central and lateral incisors in 53% of women and 47% of men. The results revealed the golden percentage was rather inconstant in terms of relative tooth width. CONCLUSION The golden proportion is an inappropriate method to relate the successive widths of the maxillary anterior teeth in Indian population. PMID:22737310

  5. A helium-3 proportional counter technique for estimating fast and intermediate neutrons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kosako, Toshiso; Nakazawa, Masaharu; Sekiguchi, Akira; Wakabayashi, Hiroaki.

    1976-11-01

    3 He proportional counter was employed to determine the fast and intermediate neutron spectra of wide energy region. The mixed gas ( 3 He, Kr) type counter response and the spectrum unfolding code were prepared and applied to some neutron fields. The counter response calculation was performed by using the Monte Carlo code, paying regards to dealing of the particle range calculation of the mixed gas. An experiment was carried out by using the van de Graaff accelerator to check the response function. The spectrum unfolding code was prepared so that it may have the function of automatic evaluation of the higher energy spectrum's effect to the pulse hight distribution of the lower energy region. The neutron spectra of the various neutron fields were measured and compared with the calculations such as the discrete ordinate Sn calculations. It became clear that the technique developed here can be applied to the practical use in the neutron energy range from about 150 KeV to 5 MeV. (auth.)

  6. MCNP modelling of the wall effects observed in tissue-equivalent proportional counters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoff, J L; Townsend, L W

    2002-01-01

    Tissue-equivalent proportional counters (TEPCs) utilise tissue-equivalent materials to depict homogeneous microscopic volumes of human tissue. Although both the walls and gas simulate the same medium, they respond to radiation differently. Density differences between the two materials cause distortions, or wall effects, in measurements, with the most dominant effect caused by delta rays. This study uses a Monte Carlo transport code, MCNP, to simulate the transport of secondary electrons within a TEPC. The Rudd model, a singly differential cross section with no dependence on electron direction, is used to describe the energy spectrum obtained by the impact of two iron beams on water. Based on the models used in this study, a wall-less TEPC had a higher lineal energy (keV.micron-1) as a function of impact parameter than a solid-wall TEPC for the iron beams under consideration. An important conclusion of this study is that MCNP has the ability to model the wall effects observed in TEPCs.

  7. Proportion of categories of associates and structure of the mental lexicon

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Savić Irena

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to investigate whether there is a systematic distinction between associate pairs that constitute categories of lexical relations (e.g. synonyms, antonyms, hyponyms etc. and categories of associate pairs that have no obvious lexical relation. Proportion of categories of associates were estimated on 80 nouns from "Associative Dictionary of Serbian Language" (Piper, Dragićević & Stefanović, 2005, while frequencies of associates were estimated from "Frequency Dictionary of Contemporary Serbian Language" (Kostić, Đ., 1999. Categories of associates were divided into two groups: group of categories that included standard lexical relations and group that included idiosyncratic associates. Proportions of categories were analyzed with respect to a frequency of a noun to which associates were generated and b whether it was an abstract or concrete noun. Three measures were used to estimate proportion of categories: a number of associates, b sum frequency of associates and c the average frequency per associate. When estimated with respect to number of associates and sum frequency of associates proportion of categories that included standard lexical relations were negligible (6% and 18%, but they become dominant when estimated with respect to the average frequency per associate. Such an outcome suggests that categories that include standard lexical relations are characterized by small number of associates (due to the fact that they are closed classes with high frequency associates. Distinction between abstract and concrete nouns did not affect number of associates per category, which was not the case when proportions were estimated with respect to sum frequency of associates. Frequency of a noun to which associates were generated has no effect on productivity of associates, nor does it affects sum frequency per category. However, it has significant effect on the average frequency per associate within a given category.

  8. Attending to Relations: Proportional Reasoning in 3- to 6-Year-Old Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hurst, Michelle A.; Cordes, Sara

    2018-01-01

    When proportional information is pit against whole number numerical information, children often attend to the whole number information at the expense of proportional information (e.g., indicating 4/9 is greater than 3/5 because 4 > 3). In the current study, we presented younger (3- to 4-year-olds) and older (5- to 6-year-olds) children a task…

  9. The Stroop Effect: Why Proportion Congruent Has Nothing to Do with Congruency and Everything to Do with Contingency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt, James R.; Besner, Derek

    2008-01-01

    The item-specific proportion congruent (ISPC) effect refers to the observation that the Stroop effect is larger for words that are presented mostly in congruent colors (e.g., "BLUE" presented 75% of the time in blue) and smaller for words that are presented mostly in a given incongruent color (e.g., "YELLOW" presented 75% of…

  10. Time Management and Academic Achievement of Higher Secondary Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cyril, A. Vences

    2015-01-01

    The only thing, which can't be changed by man, is time. One cannot get back time lost or gone Nothing can be substituted for time. Time management is actually self management. The skills that people need to manage others are the same skills that are required to manage themselves. The purpose of the present study was to explore the relation between…

  11. Novel concept for neutron detection: proportional counter filled with 10B nanoparticle aerosol

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amaro, F. D.; Monteiro, C. M. B.; dos Santos, J. M. F.; Antognini, A.

    2017-01-01

    The high neutron detection efficiency, good gamma-ray discrimination and non-toxicity of 3He made of proportional counters filled with this gas the obvious choice for neutron detection, particularly in radiation portal monitors (RPM), used to control the illicit transport of nuclear material, of which neutron detectors are key components. 3He is very rare and during the last decade this gas has become increasingly difficult to acquire. With the exception of BF3, which is toxic, no other gas can be used for neutron detection in proportional counters. We present an alternative where the 3He atoms are replaced by nanoparticles made of another neutron sensitive material, 10B. The particles are dispersed in a gaseous volume, forming an aerosol with neutron sensitive properties. A proportional counter filled with such aerosol was exposed to a thermal neutron beam and the recorded response indicates that the neutrons have interacted with the particles in the aerosol. This original technique, which transforms a standard proportional gas mixture into a neutron sensitive aerosol, is a breakthrough in the field of radiation detection and has the potential to become an alternative to the use of 3He in proportional counters. PMID:28181520

  12. HUMAN DIGNITY AND PROPORTIONALITY ANALYSIS / A DIGNIDADE HUMANA E A ANÁLISE DA PROPORCIONALIDADE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert Alexy

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available The relation between proportionality analysis and human dignity is one of the most contested questions in the debate about the normative structure of human dignity. Two conceptions stand in opposition: an absolute and a relative conception. According to the absolute conception, the guarantee of human dignity counts as a norm that takes precedence over all other norms in all cases. Taking precedence over all other norms in all cases implies that balancing is precluded. This, in turn, means that each and every interference with human dignity is a violation of human dignity. Thus, justified interference with human dignity becomes impossible. By contrast, proportionality analysis is intrinsically connected to the distinction between justified and unjustified interferences. A proportional interference is justified and is, therefore, constitutional. The opposite applies in the case of disproportional interference. The absolute conception is incompatible with this conceptual framework. For this reason, it is incompatible with proportionality analysis. According to the relative conception, precisely the opposite is true. The relative conception says that the question of whether human dignity is violated is a question of proportionality. With this, the relative conception is not only compatible with proportionality analysis, it presupposes it.

  13. Enabling Eco-Friendly Choices by Relying on the Proportional-Thinking Heuristic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cleotilde Gonzalez

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Ecological (eco taxes are promising mechanisms to enable eco-friendly decisions, but few people prefer them. In this study, we present a way in which eco-tax options may be communicated to general public to encourage their payment. Our implementation (called “information presentation” takes advantage of the non-linear relationship between eco-tax payments and CO2 emissions and the human reliance on the proportional-thinking heuristic. According to the proportional-thinking heuristic, people are likely to prefer a small eco-tax increase and judge larger eco-tax increases to cause proportionally greater CO2 emissions reductions. In an online study, participants were asked to choose between eco-tax increases in two problems: In one, a smaller eco-tax increase resulted in greater CO2 emissions reduction, while in the other, a smaller tax increase resulted in lesser CO2 emissions reduction. Although the larger eco-tax increase did not reduce CO2 emissions the most, across both problems, people judged larger eco-tax increases to cause proportionally greater reductions in CO2 emissions and preferred smaller tax increases. Thus, eco-tax policies would benefit by presenting information in terms of eco-tax increases, such that smaller eco-tax increases (which are more attractive and are likely to be chosen by people cause greater CO2 emissions reductions.

  14. Properties of a barium fluoride-TMAE-multiwire proportional chamber detector using a large single crystal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Woody, C.L.; Petridou, C.I.; Smith, G.C.

    1985-01-01

    The properties of a detector consisting of a large barium fluoride crystal and a multiwire proportional chamber operating at low pressure with TMAE have been studied. Measurements of the time resolution, pulse width, energy resolution, photoelectron yield and the effective energy threshold were carried out in a test beam using minimum ionizing particles. Although the detector is sensitive to signals originating from an adsorbed layer of TMAE from the crystal surface, no indication of such a signal was observed. 7 refs., 6 figs

  15. Analisa Performansi Algoritma Penjadwalan Proportional Fairness Dan Log Rule Dengan Skenario Multicell Pada Sistem 3GPP LTE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Dimas Arfianto

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Teknologi Long Term Evolution (LTE dikembangkan dengan tujuan untuk mengurangi biaya yang dikeluarkan oleh pengguna maupun operator jasa telekomunikasi, memperluas daerah jangkauan, menambah kapasitas sistem, dan mengurangi delay. Dengan spesifikasi yang tinggi, LTE diharapkan mampu memberikan kemudahan pelanggan dalam mengakses layanan Voice over IP, Streaming, dan Video Conference. LTE diharapkan mampu memberikan layanan dengan besar throughput yang tinggi dan delay yang rendah. Padahal tidak semua user membutuhkan throughput yang sama besar namun yang dibutuhkan adalah kesesuaian pengendalian delay dan fairness index untuk setiap user dengan tetap memperhatikan batasan throughput. Untuk mendapatkan kinerja dan hasil yang maksimal tersebut pada LTE diperlukan sistem algoritma penjadwalan yang baik. Pada penelitian ini, dianalisis performansi LTE dengan parameter Delay, Packet loss, Throughput, dan Fairness Index menggunakan algoritma penjadwalan Proportional Fairness dan Log Rule pada LTE-Simulator dengan skenario menggunakan trafik VoIP, Video dan Best Effort. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukan bahwa penjadwalan algoritma Proportional Fairness lebih baik dalam menangani layanan VoIP, sedangkan algoritma Log Rule lebih baik dalam menangani layanan Video. Hal ini menandakan kedua algoritma ini sangat cocok digunakan untuk jaringan LTE dengan kondisi trafik layanan real-time, tetapi tidak untuk layanan non real-time seperti layanan Best Effort

  16. A test and calibration setup for mass-produced proportional chambers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burov, S.; Galaktionov, Yu.; Kamyshkov, Yu.

    1987-01-01

    The L3 experiment, presently being installed at (CERN) will use a 300 Hadron Calorimeter made of depleted uranium plates interleaved with about 8.000 proportional chambers. The review of experience in the use of gamma radioactivity of depleted uranium for the test of the chambers which are now being built at ITEP is given. The depleted uranium radioactivity and the response of a proportional chamber are discussed. A description of the test setup is given and a method to test the uniformity of the chamber response is discussed. Finally, a procedure for the L3 hadron calorimeter calibration in situ using uranium radioactivity is proposed

  17. Mode of Delivery according to Leisure Time Physical Activity before and during Pregnancy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Emilie Nor; Andersen, Per Kragh; Hegaard, Hanne Kristine

    2017-01-01

    Objectives: To examine the association between maternal leisure time physical activity and mode of delivery. Study Design: Population-based multicentre cohort. From the Danish Dystocia Study, we included 2,435 nulliparous women, who delivered a singleton infant in cephalic presentation at term...... increasing leisure time physical activity before and during pregnancy associated with a less complicated delivery among low-risk, nulliparous women....... with statistically significant trends at all four time stages except the third trimester. This tendency was confirmed in the proportional odds model showing 28% higher odds of a more complicated mode of delivery among women with a low activity level compared to moderately active women. Conclusions: We found...

  18. DNA Methylation Patterns in Cord Blood of Neonates Across Gestational Age: Association With Cell-Type Proportions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braid, Susan M; Okrah, Kwame; Shetty, Amol; Corrada Bravo, Hector

    A statistical methodology is available to estimate the proportion of cell types (cellular heterogeneity) in adult whole blood specimens used in epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS). However, there is no methodology to estimate the proportion of cell types in umbilical cord blood (also a heterogeneous tissue) used in EWAS. The objectives of this study were to determine whether differences in DNA methylation (DNAm) patterns in umbilical cord blood are the result of blood cell type proportion changes that typically occur across gestational age and to demonstrate the effect of cell type proportion confounding by comparing preterm infants exposed and not exposed to antenatal steroids. We obtained DNAm profiles of cord blood using the Illumina HumanMethylation27k BeadChip array for 385 neonates from the Boston Birth Cohort. We estimated cell type proportions for six cell types using the deconvolution method developed by . The cell type proportion estimates segregated into two groups that were significantly different by gestational age, indicating that gestational age was associated with cell type proportion. Among infants exposed to antenatal steroids, the number of differentially methylated CpGs dropped from 127 to 1 after controlling for cell type proportion. EWAS utilizing cord blood are confounded by cell type proportion. Careful study design including correction for cell type proportion and interpretation of results of EWAS using cord blood are critical.

  19. Commanding to 'Nudge' via the Proportionality Principle?

    OpenAIRE

    Purnhagen, Kai; van Kleef, Ellen

    2017-01-01

    textabstractThis piece assesses whether nudging techniques can be argued to be a less restrictive but equally effective way to regulate diets in EU law. It has been argued that nudging techniques, due to their freedom-preserving nature, might influence the proportionality test in such a way that authorities need to give preference to nudging techniques over content-related or information regulation. We will illustrate on the example of EU food law how behavioural sciences have first altered t...

  20. Agency Beliefs Over Time and Across Cultures: Free Will Beliefs Predict Higher Job Satisfaction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feldman, Gilad; Farh, Jiing-Lih; Wong, Kin Fai Ellick

    2017-01-01

    In three studies, we examined the relationship between free will beliefs and job satisfaction over time and across cultures. Study 1 examined 252 Taiwanese real-estate agents over a 3-months period. Study 2 examined job satisfaction for 137 American workers on an online labor market over a 6-months period. Study 3 extended to a large sample of 14,062 employees from 16 countries and examined country-level moderators. We found a consistent positive relationship between the belief in free will and job satisfaction. The relationship was above and beyond other agency constructs (Study 2), mediated by perceived autonomy (Studies 2-3), and stronger in countries with a higher national endorsement of the belief in free will (Study 3). We conclude that free-will beliefs predict outcomes over time and across cultures beyond other agency constructs. We call for more cross-cultural and longitudinal studies examining free-will beliefs as predictors of real-life outcomes. PMID:29191084

  1. Constant Proportion Debt Obligations (CPDOs)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cont, Rama; Jessen, Cathrine

    2012-01-01

    be made arbitrarily small—and thus the credit rating arbitrarily high—by increasing leverage, but the ratings obtained strongly depend on assumptions on the credit environment (high spread or low spread). More importantly, CPDO loss distributions are found to exhibit a wide range of tail risk measures......Constant Proportion Debt Obligations (CPDOs) are structured credit derivatives that generate high coupon payments by dynamically leveraging a position in an underlying portfolio of investment-grade index default swaps. CPDO coupons and principal notes received high initial credit ratings from...... the major rating agencies, based on complex models for the joint transition of ratings and spreads for all names in the underlying portfolio. We propose a parsimonious model for analysing the performance of CPDO strategies using a top-down approach that captures the essential risk factors of the CPDO. Our...

  2. The Impact of a Time Delay on the Depleted Proportion of the Viral ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Journal of the Nigerian Association of Mathematical Physics ... While the impact of the variability of the reproductive rate of the infected cell on the viral load of the virions is an on-going research activity, the inclusion of a time delay which mimics the African culture of diverse health inhibiting belief system is a new numerical ...

  3. Drinking water as a proportion of total human exposure to volatile N-nitrosamines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hrudey, Steve E; Bull, Richard J; Cotruvo, Joseph A; Paoli, Greg; Wilson, Margaret

    2013-12-01

    Some volatile N-nitrosamines, primarily N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), are recognized as products of drinking water treatment at ng/L levels and as known carcinogens. The U.S. EPA has identified the N-nitrosamines as contaminants being considered for regulation as a group under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Nitrosamines are common dietary components, and a major database (over 18,000 drinking water samples) has recently been created under the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule. A Monte Carlo modeling analysis in 2007 found that drinking water contributed less than 2.8% of ingested NDMA and less than 0.02% of total NDMA exposure when estimated endogenous formation was considered. Our analysis, based upon human blood concentrations, indicates that endogenous NDMA production is larger than expected. The blood-based estimates are within the range that would be calculated from estimates based on daily urinary NDMA excretion and an estimate based on methylated guanine in DNA of lymphocytes from human volunteers. Our analysis of ingested NDMA from food and water based on Monte Carlo modeling with more complete data input shows that drinking water contributes a mean proportion of the lifetime average daily NDMA dose ranging from between 0.0002% and 0.001% for surface water systems using free chlorine or between 0.001% and 0.01% for surface water systems using chloramines. The proportions of average daily dose are higher for infants (zero to six months) than other age cohorts, with the highest mean up to 0.09% (upper 95th percentile of 0.3%). © 2013 Society for Risk Analysis.

  4. Microcontroller Based Proportional Derivative Plus Conditional Integral Controller for Electro-Mechanical Dual Acting Pulley Continuously Variable Transmission Ratio Control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Budianto, A; Tawi, K B; Hussein, M; Supriyo, B; Kob, M S Che; Zulkifli, Mohd Ezlamy; Khairuldean A K; Daraoh, Aishah; Ariyono, S

    2012-01-01

    Electro-Mechanical Dual Acting Pulley (EMDAP) Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) is a transmission utilized by electro-mechanical actuated system. It has a potential to reduce energy consumption because it only needs power during changing CVT ratio and no power is needed to maintain CVT ratio due to self lock mechanism design. This paper proposed simple proportional derivative plus conditional integral (PDCI) controller to control EMDAP CVT ratio which can be simply implemented on a microcontroller. This proposed controller used Astrom-Hagglund method and Ziegler-Nichols formula to tune PDCI gain. The Proportional Derivative controller is directly activated from the start but Integral controller is only activated when the error value reaches error value setting point. Simulation using Matlab/Simulink software was conducted to evaluate PDCI system performance. The simulation results showed PDCI controller has ability to perform maximum overshoot 0.1%, 0.001 steady state error and 0.5s settling time. For clamping condition, settling time is about 11.46s during changing ratio from 2.0 to 0.7, while for release condition, settling time is about 8.33s during changing ratio from 0.7 to 2.0.

  5. Is proportion burned severely related to daily area burned?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Birch, Donovan S; Morgan, Penelope; Smith, Alistair M S; Kolden, Crystal A; Hudak, Andrew T

    2014-01-01

    The ecological effects of forest fires burning with high severity are long-lived and have the greatest impact on vegetation successional trajectories, as compared to low-to-moderate severity fires. The primary drivers of high severity fire are unclear, but it has been hypothesized that wind-driven, large fire-growth days play a significant role, particularly on large fires in forested ecosystems. Here, we examined the relative proportion of classified burn severity for individual daily areas burned that occurred during 42 large forest fires in central Idaho and western Montana from 2005 to 2007 and 2011. Using infrared perimeter data for wildfires with five or more consecutive days of mapped perimeters, we delineated 2697 individual daily areas burned from which we calculated the proportions of each of three burn severity classes (high, moderate, and low) using the differenced normalized burn ratio as mapped for large fires by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity project. We found that the proportion of high burn severity was weakly correlated (Kendall τ = 0.299) with size of daily area burned (DAB). Burn severity was highly variable, even for the largest (95th percentile) in DAB, suggesting that other variables than fire extent influence the ecological effects of fires. We suggest that these results do not support the prioritization of large runs during fire rehabilitation efforts, since the underlying assumption in this prioritization is a positive relationship between severity and area burned in a day. (letters)

  6. Sliding spool design for reducing the actuation forces in direct operated proportional directional valves: Experimental validation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amirante, Riccardo; Distaso, Elia; Tamburrano, Paolo

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • An innovative procedure to design a commercial proportional directional valve is shown. • Experimental tests are performed to demonstrate the flow force reduction. • The design is improved by means of a previously made optimization procedure. • Great reduction in the flow forces without reducing the flow rate is demonstrated. - Abstract: This paper presents the experimental validation of a new methodology for the design of the spool surfaces of four way three position direct operated proportional directional valves. The proposed methodology is based on the re-design of both the compensation profile (the central conical surface of the spool) and the lateral surfaces of the spool, in order to reduce the flow forces acting on the spool and hence the actuation forces. The aim of this work is to extend the application range of these valves to higher values of pressure and flow rate, thus avoiding the employment of more expensive two stage configurations in the case of high-pressure conditions and/or flow rate. The paper first presents a theoretical approach and a general strategy for the sliding spool design to be applied to any four way three position direct operated proportional directional valve. Then, the proposed approach is experimentally validated on a commercially available valve using a hydraulic circuit capable of measuring the flow rate as well as the actuation force over the entire spool stroke. The experimental results, performed using both the electronic driver provided by the manufacturer and a manual actuation system, show that the novel spool surface requires remarkably lower actuation forces compared to the commercial configuration, while maintaining the same flow rate trend as a function of the spool position.

  7. Operability test report for 211BA flow proportional sampler

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weissenfels, R.D.

    1995-01-01

    This operability report will verify that the 211-BA flow proportional sampler functions as intended by design. The sampler was installed by Project W-007H and is part of BAT/AKART for the BCE liquid effluent stream

  8. Rebooting Irish Higher Education: Policy Challenges for Challenging Times

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hazelkorn, Ellen

    2014-01-01

    The 2008 global financial crisis cast a long shadow over Ireland's higher education and research system. The IMF said Ireland experienced an "unprecedented economic correction", while Ireland's National Economic and Social Development Office said Ireland was beset by five different crises: a banking crisis, a fiscal crisis, an economic…

  9. New proportional counter assembly in Gliwice 14C laboratory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moscicki, W.; Zastawny, A.

    1977-01-01

    The design and parameters are described of a proportional counter for low level counting. The cathode tube 80 mm in diameter and 30 cm in length is made of pure copper. The anode is a tungsten wire 0.05 mm in diameter. The cathode tube is surrounded by a cylindrical ring container with mercury. The total volume of the counter is 1.5 l and it is filled with carbon dioxide. At a pressure of 1 at of CO 2 the counter background is 4.20+-0.05 cpm and contemporary 14 C net effect 10.22+-0.10 cpm; at a pressure of 2 at of CO 2 the background is 4.40+-0.05 cpm and the contemporary 14 C net effect 20.53+-10 cpm. The efficiency of the proportional counter is 88% in both cases. (J.B.)

  10. Dietary Identities in Higher Education: Attracting and Accommodating Vegetarian and Vegan Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parks, Rodney L.; Evans, Brett A.

    2014-01-01

    As adherents of vegetarianism and veganism form a dedicated minority within the United States and constitute comparatively greater proportions of the populations at U.S. colleges and universities, this qualitative study investigates the unique challenges these communities face in higher education. The exploratory study draws upon two sets of…

  11. Maintained inspiratory activity during proportional assist ventilation in surfactant-depleted cats early after surfactant instillation: phrenic nerve and pulmonary stretch receptor activity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Schaller Peter

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Inspiratory activity is a prerequisite for successful application of patient triggered ventilation such as proportional assist ventilation (PAV. It has recently been reported that surfactant instillation increases the activity of slowly adapting pulmonary stretch receptors (PSRs followed by a shorter inspiratory time (Sindelar et al, J Appl Physiol, 2005 [Epub ahead of print]. Changes in lung mechanics, as observed in preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome and after surfactant treatment, might therefore influence the inspiratory activity when applying PAV early after surfactant treatment. Objective To investigate the regulation of breathing and ventilatory response in surfactant-depleted young cats during PAV and during continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP early after surfactant instillation in relation to phrenic nerve activity (PNA and the activity of PSRs. Methods Seven anesthetized, endotracheally intubated young cats were exposed to periods of CPAP and PAV with the same end-expiratory pressure (0.2–0.5 kPa before and after lung lavage and after surfactant instillation. PAV was set to compensate for 75% of the lung elastic recoil. Results Tidal volume and respiratory rate were higher with lower PaCO2 and higher PaO2 during PAV than during CPAP both before and after surfactant instillation (p Conclusion PSR activity and the control of breathing are maintained during PAV in surfactant-depleted cats early after surfactant instillation, with a higher ventilatory response and a lower breathing effort than during CPAP.

  12. General methods for analyzing bounded proportion data

    OpenAIRE

    Hossain, Abu

    2017-01-01

    This thesis introduces two general classes of models for analyzing proportion response variable when the response variable Y can take values between zero and one, inclusive of zero and/or one. The models are inflated GAMLSS model and generalized Tobit GAMLSS model. The inflated GAMLSS model extends the flexibility of beta inflated models by allowing the distribution on (0,1) of the continuous component of the dependent variable to come from any explicit or transformed (i.e. logit or truncated...

  13. Direct measurement of gaseous activities by diffusion-in long proportional counter method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoshida, M.; Yamamoto, T.; Wu, Y.; Aratani, T.; Uritani, A.; Mori, C.

    1993-01-01

    Direct measurement of gaseous activities by the diffusion-in long proportional counter method (DLPC method) was studied. The measuring time without end effect was estimated by observing the behavior of 37 Ar in the counter and was long enough to carry out the accurate activity measurement. The correction for wall effect was also examined on the basis of the measured and calculated correction factors. Among the tested gases of methane, P10 gas and propane, P10 gas was made clear to be a suitable counting gas for the DLPC method because of good diffusion properties and small wall effect. This method is quite effective for standardization of gaseous activities used for tracer experiments and calibration works of radioactive gas monitoring instruments. (orig.)

  14. Continuing professional education: Motivations and experiences of health and social care professional's part-time study in higher education. A qualitative literature review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burrow, Simon; Mairs, Hilary; Pusey, Helen; Bradshaw, Timothy; Keady, John

    2016-11-01

    To understand the motivations and experiences of health and social care professionals undertaking part-time, accredited, continuing professional education in higher education. A review following systematic principles. Systematic searches for literature published between January 2000 and December 2015 using the databases: SCOPUS, Web of Science, Medline, PsychINFO, Social Policy and Practice and CINAHL. Studies were included if they were published in the English language and were qualitative in design, focussing on the motivations and experiences of staff engaged in part-time, accredited, higher education study. Three reviewers appraised the quality of the selected studies. Thirteen qualitative studies were identified for the review. Motivating factors for staff to engage in part-time, accredited, continuing professional development study included: personal and professional drivers, influence of workplace/management and funding and availability. Key themes in relation to how staff experienced study included: the demands of adjusting to the academic requirements of higher education study; the experience of juggling competing demands of study, work and family; and the presence or absence of support for part-time study in the personal and professional arenas. Health and social care professionals experience a number of challenges when engaging in part-time, continuing professional education in higher education institutions. A significant challenge is the juggling of competing demands of study, work and family, and this may have a negative impact on learning. Research is needed to inform how higher education can address the specific learning needs of this population and develop pedagogic approaches that are both responsive to need and support of effective learning. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Technological Innovation of Higher Education in New Zealand: A Wicked Problem?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marshall, Stephen

    2016-01-01

    New Zealand, like many countries, faces the challenge of building and sustaining an educated population. Particular challenges are posed by the need to educate an increasing proportion of the population to higher levels in order to support the growth of a modern skills and knowledge economy, as opposed to an economy built on low-cost labour and…

  16. Calibration of the Large Area X-Ray Proportional Counter (LAXPC) Instrument on board AstroSat

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Antia, H. M.; Yadav, J. S.; Chauhan, Jai Verdhan; Chitnis, Varsha; Dedhia, Dhiraj; Shah, Parag; Gujar, V. M.; Katoch, Tilak; Kurhade, V. N.; Madhwani, Pankaj; Manojkumar, T. K.; Nikam, V. A.; Pandya, A. S.; Parmar, J. V.; Pawar, D. M. [Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Homi Bhabha Road, Mumbai 400005 (India); Agrawal, P. C. [UM-DAE Centre of Excellence for Basic Sciences, University of Mumbai, Kalina, Mumbai 400098 (India); Manchanda, R. K. [University of Mumbai, Kalina, Mumbai 400098 (India); Paul, Biswajit [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Raman Research Institute, Bengaluru 560080 (India); Pahari, Mayukh; Misra, Ranjeev [Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune 411007 (India); and others

    2017-07-01

    We present the calibration and background model for the Large Area X-ray Proportional Counter (LAXPC) detectors on board AstroSat . The LAXPC instrument has three nominally identical detectors to achieve a large collecting area. These detectors are independent of each other, and in the event analysis mode they record the arrival time and energy of each photon that is detected. The detectors have a time resolution of 10 μ s and a dead-time of about 42 μ s. This makes LAXPC ideal for timing studies. The energy resolution and peak channel-to-energy mapping were obtained from calibration on the ground using radioactive sources coupled with GEANT4 simulations of the detectors. The response matrix was further refined from observations of the Crab after launch. At around 20 keV the energy resolution of the detectors is 10%–15%, while the combined effective area of the three detectors is about 6000 cm{sup 2}.

  17. Increased Total Anesthetic Time Leads to Higher Rates of Surgical Site Infections in Spinal Fusions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Puffer, Ross C; Murphy, Meghan; Maloney, Patrick; Kor, Daryl; Nassr, Ahmad; Freedman, Brett; Fogelson, Jeremy; Bydon, Mohamad

    2017-06-01

    A retrospective review of a consecutive series of spinal fusions comparing patient and procedural characteristics of patients who developed surgical site infections (SSIs) after spinal fusion. It is known that increased surgical time (incision to closure) is associated with a higher rate of postoperative SSIs. We sought to determine whether increased total anesthetic time (intubation to extubation) is a factor in the development of SSIs as well. In spine surgery for deformity and degenerative disease, SSI has been associated with operative time, revealing a nearly 10-fold increase in SSI rates in prolonged surgery. Surgical time is associated with infections in other surgical disciplines as well. No studies have reported whether total anesthetic time (intubation to extubation) has an association with SSIs. Surgical records were searched in a retrospective fashion to identify all spine fusion procedures performed between January 2010 and July 2012. All SSIs during that timeframe were recorded and compared with the list of cases performed between 2010 and 2012 in a case-control design. There were 20 (1.7%) SSIs in this fusion cohort. On univariate analyses of operative factors, there was a significant association between total anesthetic time (Infection 7.6 ± 0.5 hrs vs. no infection -6.0 ± 0.1 hrs, P operative time (infection 5.5 ± 0.4 hrs vs. no infection - 4.4 ± 0.06 hrs, P infections, whereas level of pathology and emergent surgery were not significant. On multivariate logistic analysis, BMI and total anesthetic time remained independent predictors of SSI whereas ASA status and operative time did not. Increasing BMI and total anesthetic time were independent predictors of SSIs in this cohort of over 1000 consecutive spinal fusions. 3.

  18. Performance of microstrip proportional counters for x-ray astronomy on spectrum-roentgen-gamma

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Budtz-Jørgensen, Carl; BAHNSEN, A; Christensen, Finn Erland

    1991-01-01

    DSRI will provide a set of four imaging proportional counters for the Danish-Soviet X-ray telescopes XSPECT/SODART. The sensor principle is based on the novel micro-strip proportional counter (MSPC), where the strip electrodes are deposited by photolithography onto a rigid substrate. The MSPC off...

  19. An approach to scoring cursorial limb proportions in carnivorous dinosaurs and an attempt to account for allometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Persons, W. Scott, IV; Currie, Philip J.

    2016-01-01

    From an initial dataset of 53 theropod species, the general relationship between theropod lower-leg length and body mass is identified. After factoring out this allometric relationship, theropod hindlimb proportions are assessed irrespective of body mass. Cursorial-limb-proportion (CLP) scores derived for each of the considered theropod taxa offer a measure of the extent to which a particular species deviates in favour of higher or lower running speeds. Within the same theropod species, these CLP scores are found to be consistent across multiple adult specimens and across disparate ontogenetic stages. Early theropods are found to have low CLP scores, while the coelurosaurian tyrannosauroids and compsognathids are found to have high CLP scores. Among deinonychosaurs, troodontids have consistently high CLP scores, while many dromaeosaur taxa, including Velociraptor and Deinonychus, have low CLP scores. This indicates that dromaeosaurs were not, overall, a particularly cursorily adapted group. Comparisons between the CLP scores of Tyrannosaurus and specimens referred to the controversial genus Nanotyrannus indicate a strong discrepancy in cursorial adaptations, which supports the legitimacy of Nanotyrannus and the previous suggestions of ecological partitioning between Nanotyrannus and the contemporaneous Tyrannosaurus.

  20. An approach to scoring cursorial limb proportions in carnivorous dinosaurs and an attempt to account for allometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Persons, W Scott; Currie, Philip J

    2016-01-27

    From an initial dataset of 53 theropod species, the general relationship between theropod lower-leg length and body mass is identified. After factoring out this allometric relationship, theropod hindlimb proportions are assessed irrespective of body mass. Cursorial-limb-proportion (CLP) scores derived for each of the considered theropod taxa offer a measure of the extent to which a particular species deviates in favour of higher or lower running speeds. Within the same theropod species, these CLP scores are found to be consistent across multiple adult specimens and across disparate ontogenetic stages. Early theropods are found to have low CLP scores, while the coelurosaurian tyrannosauroids and compsognathids are found to have high CLP scores. Among deinonychosaurs, troodontids have consistently high CLP scores, while many dromaeosaur taxa, including Velociraptor and Deinonychus, have low CLP scores. This indicates that dromaeosaurs were not, overall, a particularly cursorily adapted group. Comparisons between the CLP scores of Tyrannosaurus and specimens referred to the controversial genus Nanotyrannus indicate a strong discrepancy in cursorial adaptations, which supports the legitimacy of Nanotyrannus and the previous suggestions of ecological partitioning between Nanotyrannus and the contemporaneous Tyrannosaurus.

  1. Effect of optimum stratification on sampling with varying probabilities under proportional allocation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Syed Ejaz Husain Rizvi

    2007-10-01

    Full Text Available The problem of optimum stratification on an auxiliary variable when the units from different strata are selected with probability proportional to the value of auxiliary variable (PPSWR was considered by Singh (1975 for univariate case. In this paper we have extended the same problem, for proportional allocation, when two variates are under study. A cum. 3 R3(x rule for obtaining approximately optimum strata boundaries has been provided. It has been shown theoretically as well as empirically that the use of stratification has inverse effect on the relative efficiency of PPSWR as compared to unstratified PPSWR method when proportional method of allocation is envisaged. Further comparison showed that with increase in number of strata the stratified simple random sampling is equally efficient as PPSWR.

  2. The Fair Proportion is a Shapley Value on phylogenetic networks too

    OpenAIRE

    Coronado, Tomás M.; Riera, Gabriel; Rosselló, Francesc

    2018-01-01

    The Fair Proportion of a species in a phylogenetic tree is a very simple measure that has been used to assess its value relative to the overall phylogenetic diversity represented by the tree. It has recently been proved by Fuchs and Jin to be equal to the Shapley Value of the coallitional game that sends each subset of species to its rooted Phylogenetic Diversity in the tree. We prove in this paper that this result extends to the natural translations of the Fair Proportion and the rooted Phyl...

  3. A gas proportional scintillation counter for use in large area detector systems without photomultipliers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baruch, J.E.F.; Brooke, G.; Kellermann, E.W.; Bateman, J.E.; Connolly, J.F.

    1978-03-01

    The properties of a prototype gas proportional scintillation detector, for use in large numbers, are examined. The detector is designed to focus a light signal, which is proportional to ionisation loss, into a fibre optic lightguide. It is shown that a single charged particle traversing the detector produces enough light out of the lightguide to be seen by a TV camera. Problems of lifetime and large scale detector production are discussed. Properties of saturation, linearity, position sensitivity, and operating limits are examined. It is shown that an array of gas proportional scintillation detectors when used with fibre optic lightguides and TV camera readout could offer significant improvements in cost per area and reliability over a scintillator plus photomultiplier or a wire proportional chamber array. (author)

  4. Femoral neck-shaft angle and climate-induced body proportions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Child, Stephanie L; Cowgill, Libby W

    2017-12-01

    Declination in femoral neck-shaft angle (NSA) is commonly linked to an increased level of physical activity during life. More recently, however, research suggests that lower NSA might also be explained, in part, as the mechanical consequence of differences in ecogeographic body proportions. This study tests the proposed link between NSA and climatic-induced body proportions, using relative body mass (RBM), throughout the course of development. NSA and RBM were collected for 445 immature remains from five geographic locations. NSA and RBM were standardized for age-effects. ANOVA was used to examine when population differences emerged in both NSA and RBM. Regression analyses were used to examine the pattern of relationship between NSA and RBM. Populations differ significantly in NSA and RBM before skeletal maturity, and these differences occur early in life. While both NSA and RBM change over the course of development, no significant relationship was found between NSA and RBM for any sample, or any age category (p = .244). Individuals who have relatively greater relative body mass do not necessarily have lower NSA. Population differences in NSA were found to be variable, while differences in RBM remained consistent across the developmental span. Taken together, these results suggest that regardless of body proportions, the degree of declination of NSA is presumed to be similar among individuals with similar gait and ambulatory behaviors. Conversely, populations differ in RBM from birth, and these differences are consistent throughout development. These two measures likely are responsive to diffing stimuli, and any potential relationship is likely complex and multifactorial. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. Thomas precession in time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Strnad, J.

    1983-01-01

    A Thomas precession mechanism is described which would become effective in a symmetric six-dimensional space-time if the time vector of a particle would rotate uniformly. For the effect a discrepancy of the decay time of particles in flight, proportional to their kinetic energy would be characteristic

  6. Soil map disaggregation improved by soil-landscape relationships, area-proportional sampling and random forest implementation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Møller, Anders Bjørn; Malone, Brendan P.; Odgers, Nathan

    implementation generally improved the algorithm’s ability to predict the correct soil class. The implementation of soil-landscape relationships and area-proportional sampling generally increased the calculation time, while the random forest implementation reduced the calculation time. In the most successful......Detailed soil information is often needed to support agricultural practices, environmental protection and policy decisions. Several digital approaches can be used to map soil properties based on field observations. When soil observations are sparse or missing, an alternative approach...... is to disaggregate existing conventional soil maps. At present, the DSMART algorithm represents the most sophisticated approach for disaggregating conventional soil maps (Odgers et al., 2014). The algorithm relies on classification trees trained from resampled points, which are assigned classes according...

  7. Proportionality in the New German Insurance Contract Act 2008

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    H. Heiss (Helmut)

    2013-01-01

    markdownabstract__Abstract__ In 2008, the German legislature enacted a completely revised Insurance Contract Act, in which a new rule of proportionality replaced the former all-or-nothing principle for questions of liability. This article outlines the reasons for this shift and the impact of the

  8. An Axiomatization of the Proportional Rule in Financial Networks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Csoka, Péter; Herings, P. Jean-Jacques

    2017-01-01

    The most important rule to determine payments in real-life bankruptcy problems is the proportional rule. Many bankruptcy problems are characterized by network aspects and default may occur as a result of contagion. Indeed, in financial networks with defaulting agents, the values of the agents'

  9. Design of proportional-integral-derivative type optimal controller for a nuclear reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pal, Jayanta

    1976-01-01

    A theoretic approach to the design of a proportional integral derivative (PID) type optimal controller for a nuclear reactor is considered. A linearized version of the state-space model of a nuclear-reactor-plant is investigated which shows very 'sluggish' response (settling time of the order of 600 seconds) to changes in the power demand and frequency. It is shown that with a judicious choice of state variables a PID type optimal controller realisation is possible. A controller is designed to minimise the effects of (a) a sudden increase or decrease in the electrical power demand (b) change in frequency at grid. The above controller, designed for a tracking problem, reduces the steady-state error (in response to a step input) to zero and the dynamics of the system become 'faster' (setting time of the order of 100 seconds). The controller is also insensitive to changes in system parameters. The superiority in the performance of the system with the optimal PID controller as compared with that of the conventional regulator is conclusively established. (author)

  10. Learning from label proportions in brain-computer interfaces: Online unsupervised learning with guarantees

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verhoeven, Thibault; Schmid, Konstantin; Müller, Klaus-Robert; Tangermann, Michael; Kindermans, Pieter-Jan

    2017-01-01

    Objective Using traditional approaches, a brain-computer interface (BCI) requires the collection of calibration data for new subjects prior to online use. Calibration time can be reduced or eliminated e.g., by subject-to-subject transfer of a pre-trained classifier or unsupervised adaptive classification methods which learn from scratch and adapt over time. While such heuristics work well in practice, none of them can provide theoretical guarantees. Our objective is to modify an event-related potential (ERP) paradigm to work in unison with the machine learning decoder, and thus to achieve a reliable unsupervised calibrationless decoding with a guarantee to recover the true class means. Method We introduce learning from label proportions (LLP) to the BCI community as a new unsupervised, and easy-to-implement classification approach for ERP-based BCIs. The LLP estimates the mean target and non-target responses based on known proportions of these two classes in different groups of the data. We present a visual ERP speller to meet the requirements of LLP. For evaluation, we ran simulations on artificially created data sets and conducted an online BCI study with 13 subjects performing a copy-spelling task. Results Theoretical considerations show that LLP is guaranteed to minimize the loss function similar to a corresponding supervised classifier. LLP performed well in simulations and in the online application, where 84.5% of characters were spelled correctly on average without prior calibration. Significance The continuously adapting LLP classifier is the first unsupervised decoder for ERP BCIs guaranteed to find the optimal decoder. This makes it an ideal solution to avoid tedious calibration sessions. Additionally, LLP works on complementary principles compared to existing unsupervised methods, opening the door for their further enhancement when combined with LLP. PMID:28407016

  11. Proportion Congruency and Practice: A Contingency Learning Account of Asymmetric List Shifting Effects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt, James R.

    2016-01-01

    Performance is impaired when a distracting stimulus is incongruent with the target stimulus (e.g., "green" printed in red). This congruency effect is decreased when the proportion of incongruent trials is increased, termed the proportion congruent effect. This effect is typically interpreted in terms of the adaptation of attention in…

  12. Discrimination of numerical proportions: A comparison of binomial and Gaussian models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raidvee, Aire; Lember, Jüri; Allik, Jüri

    2017-01-01

    Observers discriminated the numerical proportion of two sets of elements (N = 9, 13, 33, and 65) that differed either by color or orientation. According to the standard Thurstonian approach, the accuracy of proportion discrimination is determined by irreducible noise in the nervous system that stochastically transforms the number of presented visual elements onto a continuum of psychological states representing numerosity. As an alternative to this customary approach, we propose a Thurstonian-binomial model, which assumes discrete perceptual states, each of which is associated with a certain visual element. It is shown that the probability β with which each visual element can be noticed and registered by the perceptual system can explain data of numerical proportion discrimination at least as well as the continuous Thurstonian-Gaussian model, and better, if the greater parsimony of the Thurstonian-binomial model is taken into account using AIC model selection. We conclude that Gaussian and binomial models represent two different fundamental principles-internal noise vs. using only a fraction of available information-which are both plausible descriptions of visual perception.

  13. Divine proportions in attractive and nonattractive faces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pancherz, Hans; Knapp, Verena; Erbe, Christina; Heiss, Anja Melina

    2010-01-01

    To test Ricketts' 1982 hypothesis that facial beauty is measurable by comparing attractive and nonattractive faces of females and males with respect to the presence of the divine proportions. The analysis of frontal view facial photos of 90 cover models (50 females, 40 males) from famous fashion magazines and of 34 attractive (29 females, five males) and 34 nonattractive (13 females, 21 males) persons selected from a group of former orthodontic patients was carried out in this study. Based on Ricketts' method, five transverse and seven vertical facial reference distances were measured and compared with the corresponding calculated divine distances expressed in phi-relationships (f=1.618). Furthermore, transverse and vertical facial disproportion indices were created. For both the models and patients, all the reference distances varied largely from respective divine values. The average deviations ranged from 0.3% to 7.8% in the female groups of models and attractive patients with no difference between them. In the male groups of models and attractive patients, the average deviations ranged from 0.2% to 11.2%. When comparing attractive and nonattractive female, as well as male, patients, deviations from the divine values for all variables were larger in the nonattractive sample. Attractive individuals have facial proportions closer to the divine values than nonattractive ones. In accordance with the hypothesis of Ricketts, facial beauty is measurable to some degree. COPYRIGHT © 2009 BY QUINTESSENCE PUBLISHING CO, INC.

  14. Regulation, proportionality and discharges of radioactive wastes: UK perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morley, Bob; Butler, Gregg; Mc Glynn, Grace

    2008-01-01

    In recent years, the UK Government and the Regulators have made a commitment to further improve the operation of the regulatory regime and to its operating within the principles of proportionality, transparency, consistency and accountability which underpin the Government's approach to regulation in general. Particular emphasis was to be placed upon ensuring that there is greater consistency in the treatment of risk and hazard; proportionate and cost effective delivery of public, worker and environmental protection; and an open and transparently applied regulatory system. It is noteworthy that with regard to radiation protection, there are different limits for public doses and workforce doses, with the latter 15 times greater. Allowable doses for medical patients are higher still. This discrepancy raises a question in itself. This presentation focuses on the practical application of the regulatory regime with particular regard to environmental discharges and disposals. Under the Radioactive Substances Act 1993, Operators within the UK nuclear industry are required to employ Best Practicable Means (BPM) to control and minimise radioactive discharges to ensure that doses from discharges are As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA). Scientific assessments to date indicate that there are no expectations of environmental harm from discharges at Sellafield (and hence likewise at other UK nuclear sites where the discharges are lower), even where those discharges have historically been up to two orders of magnitude higher than current levels. Current discharges result in doses which are a small fraction of those received by the UK population due to natural background radiation. In addition, there is no proven environmental harm from foreseeable future discharges from Sellafield or other UK nuclear sites. This is supported by independent work which illustrates that the public collective dose from Sellafield discharges is almost all delivered at risks of less that one in a

  15. CATS, a low pressure multiwire proportional chamber for secondary beam tracking at GANIL

    CERN Document Server

    Ottini-Hustache, S; Auger, F; Musumarra, A; Alamanos, N; Cahan, B; Gillibert, A; Lagoyannis, A; Maillard, O; Pollacco, E; Sida, J L; Riallot, M

    1999-01-01

    A beam detector system, CATS (Chambre A Trajectoires de Saclay), was designed to provide event-by-event particle tracking in experiments with radioactive beams at GANIL. It consists of two low pressure multiwire proportional chambers with one plane of anode wires placed between two cathode planes (active area: 70x70 mm sup 2), respectively segmented into 28 vertical or horizontal strips (2.54 mm wide). The anode wires deliver a time signal allowing a time of flight measurement with an accuracy between 440 ps and 1.2 ns, depending on the energy loss of incident particles in the detector. The cathode strips are individually read out and the position of incoming particles is reconstructed using a charge centroid finding algorithm. A spatial resolution of 400 mu m (700 mu m) was achieved during in beam experiment, with a counting rate of 1.5x10 sup 5 (10 sup 6) particles per second. (author)

  16. Density, proportion, and dendritic coverage of retinal ganglion cells of the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus jacchus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F.L. Gomes

    2005-06-01

    Full Text Available We performed a quantitative analysis of M and P cell mosaics of the common-marmoset retina. Ganglion cells were labeled retrogradely from optic nerve deposits of Biocytin. The labeling was visualized using horseradish peroxidase (HRP histochemistry and 3-3'diaminobenzidine as chromogen. M and P cells were morphologically similar to those found in Old- and New-World primates. Measurements were performed on well-stained cells from 4 retinas of different animals. We analyzed separate mosaics for inner and outer M and P cells at increasing distances from the fovea (2.5-9 mm of eccentricity to estimate cell density, proportion, and dendritic coverage. M cell density decreased towards the retinal periphery in all quadrants. M cell density was higher in the nasal quadrant than in other retinal regions at similar eccentricities, reaching about 740 cells/mm² at 2.5 mm of temporal eccentricity, and representing 8-14% of all ganglion cells. P cell density increased from peripheral to more central regions, reaching about 5540 cells/mm² at 2.5 mm of temporal eccentricity. P cells represented a smaller proportion of all ganglion cells in the nasal quadrant than in other quadrants, and their numbers increased towards central retinal regions. The M cell coverage factor ranged from 5 to 12 and the P cell coverage factor ranged from 1 to 3 in the nasal quadrant and from 5 to 12 in the other quadrants. These results show that central and peripheral retinal regions differ in terms of cell class proportions and dendritic coverage, and their properties do not result from simply scaling down cell density. Therefore, differences in functional properties between central and peripheral vision should take these distinct regional retinal characteristics into account.

  17. Effect of increasing proportions of lignocellulosic cosubstrate on the single-phase and two-phase digestion of readily biodegradable substrate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ganesh, Rangaraj; Torrijos, Michel; Sousbie, Philippe; Lugardon, Aurelien; Steyer, Jean Philippe; Delgenes, Jean Philippe

    2015-01-01

    The influence of different proportions of lignocellulosic substrate (cow manure with straw, CM) on the single-phase (conventional reactor) and two-phase (acidification/methanation with solids and liquid recirculation) digestion of a readily biodegradable substrate (fruit and vegetable waste, FVW) was investigated in order to determine the optimum cosubstrate ratio and the process best suited for codigestion. Both processes were fed initially with FVW, followed by FVW and CM at 80%:20% and 60%:40% (on volatile solids, VS basis) during an experiment run over eleven months. For the single-phase process, energy yield and VS destruction decreased by 11% and 9% with the 80%:20% FVW and CM ratio and by 16% and 17% with the 60%:40% feed ratio when compared to 100% FVW feed. For the two-phase process, energy yield and VS destruction decreased by 21% and 14% with 80%:20% feed ratio and by 48% and 33% with 60%:40% feed ratio compared to 100% FVW. Substrate solubilization in the acidification reactor was very efficient for all the feed proportions but it resulted in compounds other than volatile fatty acid (non-VFA COD) which were not easily amenable to methane generation. This led to a lower energy yield per kg of VS fed in the two-phase process compared to the single-phase process for the respective waste combination. For single-phase digestion, both 80%:20% and 60%:40% ratios were effective co-substrate combinations due to their higher energy yield. The two-phase process can be used for these ratios if higher VS reduction and a higher loading rate are the objectives. - Highlights: • Effect of cow manure addition on the digestion of fruit and vegetable waste studied. • Single and two-phase processes were compared for three different waste ratios. • Methane and energy yields were higher by single-phase than the two-phase process. • FVW-Cow manure ratios of 80%:20% and 60%:40% found effective for single-phase digestion. • Two-phase process resulted in higher solids

  18. Proportional Counter Calibration and Analysis for 12C + p Resonance Scattering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelson, Austin; Rogachev, Grigory; Uberseder, Ethan; Hooker, Josh; Koshchiy, Yevgen

    2014-09-01

    Light exotic nuclei provide a unique opportunity to test the predictions of modern ab initio theoretical calculations near the drip line. In ab initio approaches, nuclear structure is described starting from bare nucleon-nucleon and three-nucleon interactions. Calculations are very heavy and can only be performed for the lightest nuclei (A objective of this project was to test the performance and perform position calibration of this proportional counter array. The test was done using 12C beam. The excitation function for 12C + p elastic scattering was measured and calibration of the proportional counter was performed using known resonances in 13N. The method of calibration, including solid angle calculations, normalization corrections, and position calibration will be presented. Light exotic nuclei provide a unique opportunity to test the predictions of modern ab initio theoretical calculations near the drip line. In ab initio approaches, nuclear structure is described starting from bare nucleon-nucleon and three-nucleon interactions. Calculations are very heavy and can only be performed for the lightest nuclei (A objective of this project was to test the performance and perform position calibration of this proportional counter array. The test was done using 12C beam. The excitation function for 12C + p elastic scattering was measured and calibration of the proportional counter was performed using known resonances in 13N. The method of calibration, including solid angle calculations, normalization corrections, and position calibration will be presented. Funded by DOE and NSF-REU Program; Grant No. PHY-1263281.

  19. A low proportion of systematic reviews in physical therapy are registered: a survey of 150 published systematic reviews.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oliveira, Crystian B; Elkins, Mark R; Lemes, Ítalo Ribeiro; de Oliveira Silva, Danilo; Briani, Ronaldo V; Monteiro, Henrique Luiz; Azevedo, Fábio Mícolis de; Pinto, Rafael Zambelli

    Systematic reviews provide the best evidence about the effectiveness of healthcare interventions. Although systematic reviews are conducted with explicit and transparent methods, discrepancies might occur between the protocol and the publication. To estimate the proportion of systematic reviews of physical therapy interventions that are registered, the methodological quality of (un)registered systematic reviews and the prevalence of outcome reporting bias in registered systematic reviews. A random sample of 150 systematic reviews published in 2015 indexed on the PEDro database. We included systematic reviews written in English, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. A checklist for assessing the methodological quality of systematic reviews tool was used. Relative risk was calculated to explore the association between meta-analysis results and the changes in the outcomes. Twenty-nine (19%) systematic reviews were registered. Funding and publication in a journal with an impact factor higher than 5.0 were associated with registration. Registered systematic reviews demonstrated significantly higher methodological quality (median=8) than unregistered systematic reviews (median=5). Nine (31%) registered systematic reviews demonstrated discrepancies between protocol and publication with no evidence that such discrepancies were applied to favor the statistical significance of the intervention (RR=1.16; 95% CI: 0.63-2.12). A low proportion of systematic reviews in the physical therapy field are registered. The registered systematic reviews showed high methodological quality without evidence of outcome reporting bias. Further strategies should be implemented to encourage registration. Copyright © 2017 Associação Brasileira de Pesquisa e Pós-Graduação em Fisioterapia. Publicado por Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

  20. Operability test procedure for 211BA flow proportional sampler

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weissenfels, R.D.

    1994-01-01

    The purpose of this operability test procedure (OTP) is to verify the 211-BA flow proportional sampler system and components function correctly as intended by design. System test will include the sampling system, all associated instrumentation, and Facility Process Monitor and Control System (FPMCS). The combined chemical sewer stream from B Plant flows through sump 211BA-SMP-01 located in 211-BA and is continuously monitored for gamma and beta radiation and pH. 211-BA has been upgraded to include a flow proportional sampler. A specified sample volume will be withdrawn at programmed intervals from the 211BA sump and deposited in a 19 liter plastic carboy. The sampler will be programmed per the vendor installation and operations manual by B Plant instrument maintenance personnel. Samples will be taken during five consecutive sample cycles with the sample volumes and sample frequencies recorded for comparison purposes. Additional tests related to the sampler include the alarm circuitry for loss of power and failure to obtain sample

  1. Xenon-based Penning mixtures for proportional counters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramsey, B.D.; Agrawal, P.C.; National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Huntsville, AL

    1989-01-01

    The choice of quench gas can have a significant effect on the gas gain and energy resolution of gas-filed proportional counters. Details are given on the performance obtained with a variety of quench additives of varying ionization potentials for use in xenon-filled systems. It is confirmed that optimum performance is obtained when the ionization potential is closely matched to the first metastable level of xenon (8.3 eV) as is the case with xenon + trimethylamine and xenon + dimethylamine. For these mixtures the Penning effect is at its strongest. (orig.)

  2. Is there a correlation between body proportion and choice of profession?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cingi, Can Cemal; Muluk, Nuray Bayar; Hanci, Deniz; Güngör, Elvin Onarıcı; Cingi, Cemal

    2016-05-01

    We made anthropometric measurements to compare body proportions of university students and to investigate the tendency of the students with more developed bodies in choosing profession for university education. A total of 204 male students [group 1: students of School of Physical Education and Sports" (SPESp) (n=88), group 2: students of Faculty of Fine Arts (FFArts) (n=59), and group 3: students of Faculty of Medicine (FMed) (n=57)] were included, and anthropometric measurements were performed. "Height"; "chest circumference"; "difference of inspiration and expiration of chest circumference" values of the SPESp students were higher than the others (FFArts and FMed). In the SPESp students, chest circumference and chest expansion capacity by inspiration developed more. This shows the positive impact of sport on respiratory functions. Additionally, the legs are longer in students engaged in regular sports. Exercise is important for all subjects in terms of body development, growth, and oxygenization and to decrease cardiovascular risk factors. For the development of the ideal body anthropometric rates, obesity prevention, and for the growth of healthy generations, governments should give importance to sports and take incentive measures to increase children and young people's interest in the sport.

  3. Higher-order rogue wave-like solutions for a nonautonomous nonlinear Schrödinger equation with external potentials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Lei; Tian, Bo; Wu, Xiao-Yu; Sun, Yan

    2018-02-01

    Under investigation in this paper is the higher-order rogue wave-like solutions for a nonautonomous nonlinear Schrödinger equation with external potentials which can be applied in the nonlinear optics, hydrodynamics, plasma physics and Bose-Einstein condensation. Based on the Kadomtsev-Petviashvili hierarchy reduction, we construct the Nth order rogue wave-like solutions in terms of the Gramian under the integrable constraint. With the help of the analytic and graphic analysis, we exhibit the first-, second- and third-order rogue wave-like solutions through the different dispersion, nonlinearity and linear potential coefficients. We find that only if the dispersion and nonlinearity coefficients are proportional to each other, heights of the background of those rogue waves maintain unchanged with time increasing. Due to the existence of complex parameters, such nonautonomous rogue waves in the higher-order cases have more complex features than those in the lower.

  4. High proportion of modern genotypes of M. tuberculosis and their affinity with drug resistance in northern region of India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dhatwalia, Sunil Kumar; Yadav, Rakesh; Behera, Digambar; Kaur, Harsimran; Kumar, Manoj; Sethi, Sunil

    2017-09-01

    Comparative genomics on the basis of TbD1 deletion has differentiated the members of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) in two major genogroups. They exhibit differential distribution and virulence potential. The present study was carried out to see the proportion of these genogroups and their association with drug resistance. The drug resistance pattern of 205 culture positive cases of M. tuberculosis and their relation with TbD1 deletion was analysed from the tertiary care centre. Overall proportion of genotypes (TbD1- and Tbd1+) and their association with drug resistance was also observed from the various studies from India. Our study reports that 85.4% of the isolates of M. tuberculosis were modern genotypes (TbD1-) and rest of 14.6% were ancient genotypes (TbD1+). 37 cases were of multiple drug resistant-TB (MDR-TB), 35 of them belongs to modern genogrop and rest of (2) were in ancient genogroup (p=0.12). Overall pooled estimate of proportion of modern genotype is 75.5% (CI 95%, 73.03-77.87) and 24.55% (CI 95%, 22.13-26.97) for ancient genotypes from the studies carried out in India. Modern genotypes were more rarely drug sensitive phenotypes with a relative risk (RR) of 0.89 (CI 95%, 0.74-1.07) while MDR cases were more in this group with an odds ratio (OR) of 2.27 (CI 95%, 0-1.07). This study demonstrates a higher proportion of modern genotypes in our region/India; which are more likely to be associated with drug resistance. Future, epidemiological/in vitro studies are required to ascertain the relationship between genotypes and their virulence potential. Copyright © 2017 International Society for Chemotherapy of Infection and Cancer. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. The PASERO Project: parallel and serial readout systems for gas proportional synchrotron radiation X-ray detectors

    CERN Document Server

    Koch, M H J; Briquet-Laugier, F; Epstein, A; Sheldon, S; Beloeuvre, E; Gabriel, A; Hervé, C; Kocsis, M; Koschuch, A; Laggner, P; Leingartner, W; Raad-Iseli, C D; Reimann, T; Golding, F; Torki, K

    2001-01-01

    A project aiming at producing more efficient position sensitive gas proportional detectors and readout systems is presented. An area detector with reduced electrode spacing and a spatial resolution of 0.5 mm and two time to digital convertors (TDC) based on ASICs were produced. The first TDC, intended for use with linear detectors, relies on time to space conversion, whereas the second one, for area detectors, uses a ring oscillator with a phase locked loop. A parallel readout system for multi-anode detectors aiming at a maximum count rate extensively uses RISC microcontrollers. An electronic simulator of linear detectors built for test purposes and a mechanical chopper used for attenuation of the X-ray beam are also briefly described.

  6. Methods of calculus for neutron spectrometry in proportional counters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Butragueno, J.L.; Blazquez, J.B.; Barrado, J.M.

    1976-01-01

    Response functions for cylindrical proportional counters with hidrogenated gases have been determined, taking in account only wall effect, by means of two independent calculus methods. One of them is a Montecarlo application and the other one analytical at all. Results of both methods have been compared. (author) [es

  7. Methods of calculus for neutron spectrometry in proportional counters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Butragueno Casado, J.L.; Blazquez Martinez, J.B.; Barrado Menendez, J.M.

    1976-01-01

    Response functions for cylindrical proportional counters with hydrogenated gases have been determined, taking in account only wall effect, by means of two independent calculus methods. One of them is a Monte Carlo application and the other one analytica at all. Results of both methods have been compared. (Author)

  8. Transposition of Knowledge: Encountering Proportionality in an Algebra Task

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lundberg, Anna. L. V.; Kilhamn, Cecilia

    2018-01-01

    This article reports on an analysis of the process in which "knowledge to be taught" was transposed into "knowledge actually taught," concerning a task including proportional relationships in an algebra setting in a grade 6 classroom. We identified affordances and constraints of the task by describing the mathematical…

  9. Mixture proportioning of fly ash-concretes based on mortar strength and flow data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nusrat, A.; Tahir, M.A.

    2008-01-01

    A method of mixture proportioning of fly ash concretes is presented. The method is based on the strength and flow data of a minimum of nine fly ash-cement mortars. The essence of the method is that three fly ash-binder ratios are to be combined with three water-binder ratios in the range of interest. The strength and water demand data are analyzed for constructing mixture proportion charts. The strength vs. water-binder ratio charts are prepared by down-scaling the 50-mm mortar strength to the 150-mm standard concrete cylinders. The method is illustrated with the help of examples. The trial mixtures proportioned using the proposed methods have reasonably achieved the 28 day target strengths. (author)

  10. Real-time object recognition in multidimensional images based on joined extended structural tensor and higher-order tensor decomposition methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cyganek, Boguslaw; Smolka, Bogdan

    2015-02-01

    In this paper a system for real-time recognition of objects in multidimensional video signals is proposed. Object recognition is done by pattern projection into the tensor subspaces obtained from the factorization of the signal tensors representing the input signal. However, instead of taking only the intensity signal the novelty of this paper is first to build the Extended Structural Tensor representation from the intensity signal that conveys information on signal intensities, as well as on higher-order statistics of the input signals. This way the higher-order input pattern tensors are built from the training samples. Then, the tensor subspaces are built based on the Higher-Order Singular Value Decomposition of the prototype pattern tensors. Finally, recognition relies on measurements of the distance of a test pattern projected into the tensor subspaces obtained from the training tensors. Due to high-dimensionality of the input data, tensor based methods require high memory and computational resources. However, recent achievements in the technology of the multi-core microprocessors and graphic cards allows real-time operation of the multidimensional methods as is shown and analyzed in this paper based on real examples of object detection in digital images.

  11. Significance of the proportion of binucleate cells in the micronucleus assay; A methodological study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Imamura, Masahiro; Edgren, M.R. (Karolinska Inst., Stockholm (Sweden). Dept. of Radiation Physics)

    1994-03-01

    Using treatment with cytochalasin-B (Cyt-B) for the induction of a cytokinetic block, the significance of the proportion of binucleate cells (BNC) in the micronucleus (MN) assay was investigated in a methodological study. A Chinese hamster cell line V79 was used in which MN were induced by radiation. In complementary tests the radiation effect in inducing MN was enhanced by depletion of the cellular glutathione content with buthionine sulfoximine (BSO). The data indicated that the concentration of Cyt-B is the major factor which determines the proportion of BNC. This proportion was shown to be independent of radiation dose and of BSO. Furthermore, the MN frequency was not related to the percentage of BNC. Therefore, a high proportion of BNC may be practical for the MN assay, but may not make the technique more accurate. (author).

  12. Comparative study of morphometric proportions among Campolina´s stallions and gelded ones

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jorge Eduardo Cavalcante Lucena

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available In the equine species, the surface characteristics, present a close relationship with its functional classification. The scientific use of linear measurements can contribute decisively in the selective process of many breeds, by identifying the higher morphologically individuals and excluding from reproduction those that are not closed to desirable. The present study objected to evaluate and compare, the linear measures from stallions and gelded horses registered in ABCCCampolina’s CP6 and CP8 books, and to determinate the existing correlations. In order to reach so, 15 linear measures from 4.837 stallions and 1.371 gelded were evaluated from descriptive statistic, Pearson’s correlation and analysis of variance. Generally, higher values of correlations were observed for stallions than to gelded ones. To stallions, most of the measures were significantly influenced (P<0,01 by the year of birth, state of birth and coat color, while to gelded ones the coat color showed lower influence (P<0,01 upon the measures. It’s important to notice that castration did not committed the animal’s final growth, however the breeders non sense the lack of appropriated criteria during the selection process and personal preferences can contribute towards stablishing breed characters rather than functionals. This can be highlighted by the fact that Campolina’s gelded horses showed, in average, better proportioned than stallions.

  13. Effect of optimum stratification on sampling with varying probabilities under proportional allocation

    OpenAIRE

    Syed Ejaz Husain Rizvi; Jaj P. Gupta; Manoj Bhargava

    2007-01-01

    The problem of optimum stratification on an auxiliary variable when the units from different strata are selected with probability proportional to the value of auxiliary variable (PPSWR) was considered by Singh (1975) for univariate case. In this paper we have extended the same problem, for proportional allocation, when two variates are under study. A cum. 3 R3(x) rule for obtaining approximately optimum strata boundaries has been provided. It has been shown theoretically as well as empiricall...

  14. Proportional counter system for radiation measurement

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sugimoto, M; Okudera, S

    1970-11-21

    A gas such as Xe or Kr employed in counter tubes is charged into the counter tube of a gas-flow type proportional counter for radiation measurement and into a vessel having a volume larger than that of the counter tube. The vessel communicates with the counter tube to circulate the gas via a pump through both the vessel and tube during measurement. An organic film such as a polyester synthetic resin film is used for the window of the counter tube to measure X-rays in the long wavelength range. Accordingly, a wide range of X-rays can be measured including both long and short wavelengths ranges by utilizing only one counter tube, thus permitting the gases employed to be effectively used.

  15. Tables of Confidence Limits for Proportions

    Science.gov (United States)

    1990-09-01

    0.972 180 49 0.319 0.332 0,357 175 165 0.964 0.969 0.976 ISO 50 0.325 0.338 0.363 175 166 0.969 0.973 0.980 180 51 0.331 0.344 0.368 175 167 0.973 0.977...0.528 180 18 0.135 0 145 0.164 180 19 0.141 0.151 0.171 ISO 80 0.495 0,508 0.534 347 UPPER CONFIDENCE LIMIT FOR PROPORTIONS CONFIDENCE LEVEL...500 409 0.8401 0.8459 0.8565 500 355 0.7364 0.7434 0.7564 500 356 0.7383 0.7453 0.7582 500 410 0.8420 0.8478 0 8583 500 357 0.7402 0.7472 0.7602 500

  16. Count rate effect in proportional counters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bednarek, B.

    1980-01-01

    A new concept is presented explaining changes in spectrometric parameters of proportional counters which occur due to varying count rate. The basic feature of this concept is that the gas gain of the counter remains constant in a wide range of count rate and that the decrease in the pulse amplitude and the detorioration of the energy resolution observed are the results of changes in the shape of original current pulses generated in the active volume of the counter. In order to confirm the validity of this statement, measurements of the gas amplification factor have been made in a wide count rate range. It is shown that above a certain critical value the gas gain depends on both the operating voltage and the count rate. (author)

  17. Development and application of a two-tier diagnostic instrument to assess middle years students' proportional reasoning

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hilton, Annette; Hilton, Geoff; Dole, Shelley

    2013-01-01

    Proportional reasoning involves the use of ratios in the comparison of quantities. While it is a key aspect of numeracy, particularly in the middle years of schooling, students do not always develop proportional reasoning naturally. Research suggests that many students do not apply proportional m...

  18. Time trend by region of suicides and suicidal thoughts among Greenland Inuit

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bjerregaard, Peter; Larsen, Christina Viskum Lytken

    2015-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Suicides remain a major public health problem in Greenland. Their increase coincides with the modernization since 1950. Serious suicidal thoughts are reported by a significant proportion of participants in countrywide surveys. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the time trend by region of suicides...... and suicidal thoughts among the Inuit in Greenland. DESIGN: Data included the Greenland registry of causes of death for 1970-2011 and 2 cross-sectional health surveys carried out in 1993-1994 and 2005-2010 with 1,580 and 3,102 Inuit participants, respectively. RESULTS: Suicide rates were higher among men than...... women while the prevalence of suicidal thoughts was higher among women. Suicide rates for men and women together increased from 1960 to 1980 and have remained around 100 per 100,000 person-years since then. The regional pattern of time trend for suicide rates varied with an early peak in the capital...

  19. Healthy and Unhealthy Food Prices across Neighborhoods and Their Association with Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status and Proportion Black/Hispanic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kern, David M; Auchincloss, Amy H; Robinson, Lucy F; Stehr, Mark F; Pham-Kanter, Genevieve

    2017-08-01

    This paper evaluates variation in food prices within and between neighborhoods to improve our understanding of access to healthy foods in urbanized areas and potential economic incentives and barriers to consuming a higher-quality diet. Prices of a selection of healthier foods (dairy, fruit juice, and frozen vegetables) and unhealthy foods (soda, sweets, and salty snacks) were obtained from 1953 supermarkets across the USA during 2009-2012 and were linked to census block group socio-demographics. Analyses evaluated associations between neighborhood SES and proportion Black/Hispanic and the prices of healthier and unhealthy foods, and the relative price of healthier foods compared with unhealthy foods (healthy-to-unhealthy price ratio). Linear hierarchical regression models were used to explore geospatial variation and adjust for confounders. Overall, the price of healthier foods was nearly twice as high as the price of unhealthy foods ($0.590 vs $0.298 per serving; healthy-to-unhealthy price ratio of 1.99). This trend was consistent across all neighborhood characteristics. After adjusting for covariates, no association was found between food prices (healthy, unhealthy, or the healthy-to-unhealthy ratio) and neighborhood SES. Similarly, there was no association between the proportion Black/Hispanic and healthier food price, a very small positive association with unhealthy price, and a modest negative association with the healthy-to-unhealthy ratio. No major differences were seen in food prices across levels of neighborhood SES and proportion Black/Hispanic; however, the price of healthier food was twice as expensive as unhealthy food per serving on average.

  20. Proportion of patients in the Uganda rheumatic heart disease ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Proportion of patients in the Uganda rheumatic heart disease registry with advanced ... of Cardiology guidelines on the management of valvular heart disease. ... disease that require surgical treatment yet they cannot access this therapy due to ... By Country · List All Titles · Free To Read Titles This Journal is Open Access.

  1. A proportional counter for efficient backscatter Moessbauer effect spectroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pawlowski, Z.; Marzec, J.; Cudny, W.; Holnicka, J.; Walentek, J.

    1979-01-01

    The authors present a novel gas-tight proportional counter with flat beryllium windows for backscatter Moessbauer spectroscopy. The krypton-filled counter has a geometry that approaches 2π and a resolution of 12% fwhm for the 14.4 keV line of 57 Fe, and is easy to manufacture. (Auth.)

  2. A technique for searching for the 2 K capture in 124Xe with a copper proportional counter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gavrilyuk, Yu. M.; Gangapshev, A. M.; Kazalov, V. V.; Kuzminov, V. V.; Panasenko, S. I.; Ratkevich, S. S.; Tekueva, D. A.; Yakimenko, S. P.

    2015-12-01

    An experimental technique for searching for the 2 K capture in 124Xe with a large low-background copper proportional counter is described. Such an experiment is conducted at the Baksan Neutrino Observatory of the Institute for Nuclear Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The experimental setup is located in the Low-Background Deep-Level Laboratory at a depth of 4900 m.w.e., where the flux of muons of cosmic rays is suppressed by a factor of 107 relative to that at the Earth's surface. The setup incorporates a proportional counter and low-background shielding (18 cm of copper, 15 cm of lead, and 8 cm of borated polyethylene). The results of processing the data obtained in 5 months of live measurement time are presented. A new limit on the half-life of 124Xe with respect to the 2 K capture is set at the level of 2.5 × 1021 years.

  3. Maxillary anterior tooth dimensions and proportions in an Irish young adult population.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Condon, M

    2011-07-01

    This study was undertaken in a young Irish population to determine the dimensions and ratios of the six maxillary anterior teeth. One hundred and nine Irish subjects (age 18-25 inclusive) had irreversible hydrocolloid impressions made of their maxillary dentition poured in type V stone. Clinical crown dimensions were measured with a digital calliper. The stone casts were digitally photographed in a standardised manner enabling calculation of various ratios between the maxillary anterior teeth. Sexual dimorphism existed for various tooth dimensions; most notably canine teeth were in the region of 0·8 mm longer and 0·6 mm wider in males. Central and lateral incisors were found to be 0·5 mm wider in males. It is, therefore, recommended that dimensional tooth guidelines should be given for each of the sexes and not on a population basis. With regard to tooth proportion ratios, no significant differences were found between genders or the left and right sides for any of the measurements or ratios measured. The digitally recorded tooth proportions were similar for both sexes, and the Golden Proportion guidelines could only be applied to the lateral incisor\\/central incisor widths (0·618). Identified width proportions for the canine\\/central incisor were 0·58 and for canine\\/lateral incisor 0·89.

  4. Exploring the Establishment of the Office of the Chief Diversity Officer in Higher Education: A Multisite Case Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parker, Eugene T., III

    2015-01-01

    Our nation is experiencing a demographic shift. The proportion of racial minorities will significantly increase during the next several decades. Higher education will similarly experience a demographic shift among its students. Institutions of higher education will have to navigate issues of multiculturalism on campus. Issues of diversity, equity…

  5. Proportional and functional analogical reasoning in normal and language-impaired children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nippold, M A; Erskine, B J; Freed, D B

    1988-11-01

    Teachers often use analogies in classroom settings to clarify new concepts for their students. However, analogies may inadvertently confuse the youngster who has difficulty identifying the one-to-one comparisons underlying them. Although analogical reasoning has been studied extensively in normal children, no information was available concerning this construct in children having a specific language impairment. Thus, it was unknown to what extent they might be deficient in analogical reasoning. Therefore, in the present study, 20 children ages 6-8 years (mean age = 7:6) having normal nonverbal intelligence but deficits in language comprehension were administered tasks of verbal and perceptual proportional analogical reasoning and a problem-solving task of functional analogical reasoning. Compared to a normal-language control group matched on the basis of chronological age and sex, the language-impaired group was deficient in all three tasks of analogical reasoning. However, when the factor of nonverbal intelligence was controlled statistically, the differences between the groups on each of the tasks were removed. Additional findings were that verbal proportional analogical reasoning was significantly correlated to perceptual proportional analogical reasoning and to functional analogical reasoning. Implications for assessment and intervention with young school-age language-impaired children are discussed.

  6. Effect of Alkaline Solution with Varying Mix Proportion on Geopolymer Mortar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karuppuchamy, K.; Ananthkumar, M.; Raghavapriya, S. M.

    2018-02-01

    Cement production is attributed by emission of carbon dioxide which causes severe environmental impacts. This has led to the invention of special construction materials which can replace cement. On the other hand, these construction materials (like Fly ash, Metakaolin) also need to be inexpensive and should possess all the characteristics of cementitious materials. In this project, the effect of geopolymerization on the properties of the end product were studied with varying distillation of NaOH solution (10M, 12M and 15M) for different mix proportion (1:1, 1:2 and 1:3). Curing was done for 1 day at a temperature of 60°C and 80°C respectively. The densities, compressive strength, alkalinity, co-efficient of absorption were determined. As a result, the experiments showed the effect of factors such as mix proportion, curing temperature and curing day on the physical and mechanical properties such as mix proportion of the geopolymer concrete. Results of NaOH concentration of 12M concentration cured for 24 hours at 80°C and 60°C showed better mechanical performance than the rest of the concentrations.

  7. The background of external γ radiation in the proportional counters in SAGE experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gavrin, V.N.; Gorbachev, V.V.

    2003-01-01

    The influence of external γ radiation on the process of 71 Ge-decay counting in proportional counters in SAGE experiment of solar neutrino flux measurement is examined. One determines the systematic error of SAGE result, connected with radon decays inside the air volume surrounding the counters, and the background counting rate of proportional counters from γ radiation of passive and active shield [ru

  8. Design Method for Proportion of Cement-Foamed Asphalt Cold Recycled Mixture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li Junxiao

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Through foaming experiment of Zhongtai AH-70 asphalt, the best foaming temperature water consumption and influence factors of foamed asphalt’s foaming features are determined; By designing the proportion of foamed asphalt cold in-place recycled mixture combined with the water stability experiment, for this mixture the best foamed asphalt addition is 3%, and proportion of the mixture is RAP: fine aggregate: cement=75:23:2. Using SEM technology, the mechanism of increasing on the intensity of foamed asphalt mixture resulted by the addition of cement was analysed. This research provides reference for cement admixture’s formulation in the designing of foamed asphalt cold in-place recycled mixture.

  9. Long life boron-lined proportional counters fitted to the start-up range of the nuclear reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dauphin, G.; Duchene, J.

    1983-03-01

    CEA has been engaged in a research and development program in technical cooperation with RTC, to improve the life time of the boron lined proportional counters used for PWR's start up. The present report is a synthesis of these works. The processes by which the discrimination curves show a shift in count rate versus the neutron fluences are described and, the possible ways to get improved performances and the tests performed on the different prototypes are presented. Analysis of the results is given [fr

  10. Learning and Teaching Problems in Part-Time Higher Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trotman-Dickenson, D. I.

    1988-01-01

    Results of a British survey of the administrations of six universities and six public colleges, employers, and employees who were part-time students are reported and discussed. The survey assessed the perceptions of those groups concerning problems in the instruction and learning of part-time students. (MSE)

  11. Dissociating proportion congruent and conflict adaptation effects in a Simon-Stroop procedure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torres-Quesada, Maryem; Funes, Maria Jesús; Lupiáñez, Juan

    2013-02-01

    Proportion congruent and conflict adaptation are two well known effects associated with cognitive control. A critical open question is whether they reflect the same or separate cognitive control mechanisms. In this experiment, in a training phase we introduced a proportion congruency manipulation for one conflict type (i.e. Simon), whereas in pre-training and post-training phases two conflict types (e.g. Simon and Spatial Stroop) were displayed with the same incongruent-to-congruent ratio. The results supported the sustained nature of the proportion congruent effect, as it transferred from the training to the post-training phase. Furthermore, this transfer generalized to both conflict types. By contrast, the conflict adaptation effect was specific to conflict type, as it was only observed when the same conflict type (either Simon or Stroop) was presented on two consecutive trials (no effect was observed on conflict type alternation trials). Results are interpreted as supporting the reactive and proactive control mechanisms distinction. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Fuzzy portfolio model with fuzzy-input return rates and fuzzy-output proportions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsaur, Ruey-Chyn

    2015-02-01

    In the finance market, a short-term investment strategy is usually applied in portfolio selection in order to reduce investment risk; however, the economy is uncertain and the investment period is short. Further, an investor has incomplete information for selecting a portfolio with crisp proportions for each chosen security. In this paper we present a new method of constructing fuzzy portfolio model for the parameters of fuzzy-input return rates and fuzzy-output proportions, based on possibilistic mean-standard deviation models. Furthermore, we consider both excess or shortage of investment in different economic periods by using fuzzy constraint for the sum of the fuzzy proportions, and we also refer to risks of securities investment and vagueness of incomplete information during the period of depression economics for the portfolio selection. Finally, we present a numerical example of a portfolio selection problem to illustrate the proposed model and a sensitivity analysis is realised based on the results.

  13. Muscle fiber type proportion and size is not altered in mcardle disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henning, Franclo; Cunninghame, Carol Anne; Martín, Miguel Angel; Rubio, Juan Carlos; Arenas, Joaquín; Lucia, Alejandro; HernáNdez-Laín, Aurelio; Kohn, Tertius Abraham

    2017-06-01

    McArdle disease is a metabolic myopathy that presents with exercise intolerance and episodic rhabdomyolysis. Excessive muscle recruitment has also been shown to be present during strenuous exercise, suggesting decreased power output. These findings could potentially be explained by either impaired contractility, decreased fiber size, or altered fiber type proportion. However, there is a paucity of data on the morphological features seen on muscle histology. We examined muscle biopsies of patients with McArdle disease from a Spanish cohort and compared the findings with healthy controls. We found no significant difference in the fiber type proportion or mean fiber size between McArdle patients and controls in the biceps brachii or vastus lateralis muscles. No alterations in muscle fiber type proportion or size were found on muscle histology of patients with McArdle disease. Future research should focus on assessment of muscle fiber contractility to investigate the functional impairment. Muscle Nerve 55: 916-918, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  14. Diffusion in higher dimensional SYK model with complex fermions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, Wenhe; Ge, Xian-Hui; Yang, Guo-Hong

    2018-01-01

    We construct a new higher dimensional SYK model with complex fermions on bipartite lattices. As an extension of the original zero-dimensional SYK model, we focus on the one-dimension case, and similar Hamiltonian can be obtained in higher dimensions. This model has a conserved U(1) fermion number Q and a conjugate chemical potential μ. We evaluate the thermal and charge diffusion constants via large q expansion at low temperature limit. The results show that the diffusivity depends on the ratio of free Majorana fermions to Majorana fermions with SYK interactions. The transport properties and the butterfly velocity are accordingly calculated at low temperature. The specific heat and the thermal conductivity are proportional to the temperature. The electrical resistivity also has a linear temperature dependence term.

  15. The Effect of the Proportion of Women on Salaries: The Case of College Administrators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pfeffer, Jeffrey; Davis-Blake, Alison

    1987-01-01

    Examines the effect of the proportion of women administrators on both men's and women's salaries in colleges and universities. Identifies four theoretical predictors: economic competition and crowding, demographic group power, group interaction, and institutionalization. Increasing the proportion of women actually decreases salaries for both…

  16. Depth of interaction detection with enhanced position-sensitive proportional resistor network

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lerche, Ch.W.; Benlloch, J.M.; Sanchez, F.; Pavon, N.; Gimenez, N.; Fernandez, M.; Gimenez, M.; Sebastia, A.; Martinez, J.; Mora, F.J.

    2005-01-01

    A new method of determining the depth of interaction of γ-rays in thick inorganic scintillation crystals was tested experimentally. The method uses the strong correlation between the width of the scintillation light distribution within large continuous crystals and the γ-ray's interaction depth. This behavior was successfully reproduced by a theoretical model distribution based on the inverse square law. For the determination of the distribution's width, its standard deviation σ is computed using an enhanced position-sensitive proportional resistor network which is often used in γ-ray-imaging devices. Minor changes of this known resistor network allow the analog and real-time determination of the light distribution's 2nd moment without impairing the measurement of the energy and centroid. First experimental results are presented that confirm that the described method works correctly. Since only some cheap electronic components, but no additional detectors or crystals are required, the main advantage of this method is its low cost

  17. Development of proportional counters using photosensitive gases and liquids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anderson, D.F.

    1984-10-01

    An introduction to the history and to the principle of operation of wire chambers using photosensitive gases and liquids is presented. Their use as light sensors coupled to Gas Scintillation Proportional Counters and BaF 2 , as well as their use in Cherenkov Ring imaging, is discussed in some detail. 42 references, 21 figures

  18. Are Explicit Apologies Proportional to the Offenses They Address?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heritage, John; Raymond, Chase Wesley

    2016-01-01

    We consider here Goffman's proposal of proportionality between virtual offenses and remedial actions, based on the examination of 102 cases of explicit apologies. To this end, we offer a typology of the primary apology formats within the dataset, together with a broad categorization of the types of virtual offenses to which these apologies are…

  19. System of two-coordinate cylindrical proportional chambers with resistive cathode

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Golubev, V.B.; Peryshkin, A.N.; Red'ko, I.Yu.; Serednyakov, S.I.

    1981-01-01

    A system of two-coordinate cylindrical proportional chambers is developed for experiments on studying the e + e - annihilation. The system consists of 6 independent proportional chambers of semicylindrical configuration with a gap between anode and cathode equal to 5 mm. The diameter of an external chnsamber equals 25 cm and its length cotitutes 40 cm. Anode wires 20 μm in-diameter are fixed in parallel to the system axis with a pitch of 2-3 mm. The use of a resisti ve cothode permitting to maintain the anode wires and delay circuits under the ground potential is one of the specific feabures of the given chamber. The resistive layer is produced by sputtering the aquadag aqueous suspension with the polyvinylacetate emulsion on a fibregrass-textolite. 8 delay circuits is mounted outside of each chamber from the side of the cathode. A functional flowsheet of a data readout system is given. The track angte is determined directiy according to the numbers of operated wires; coordinates along the axis are determined by means of the delay circuits placed outside the chamber near the resistive cathode. The accuracy of the coordinate measurement in both directions constitutes about 1 mm. Each chamber permits to measure the coordinates of several particles, if they entry into different delay circuits. The proportional chambers are filled with the mixture of Ar+30%CO 2 . Anode and cathode efficiencies in the plateau region (150-250) exceed 99%

  20. The anchor-based minimal important change, based on receiver operating characteristic analysis or predictive modeling, may need to be adjusted for the proportion of improved patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terluin, Berend; Eekhout, Iris; Terwee, Caroline B

    2017-03-01

    Patients have their individual minimal important changes (iMICs) as their personal benchmarks to determine whether a perceived health-related quality of life (HRQOL) change constitutes a (minimally) important change for them. We denote the mean iMIC in a group of patients as the "genuine MIC" (gMIC). The aims of this paper are (1) to examine the relationship between the gMIC and the anchor-based minimal important change (MIC), determined by receiver operating characteristic analysis or by predictive modeling; (2) to examine the impact of the proportion of improved patients on these MICs; and (3) to explore the possibility to adjust the MIC for the influence of the proportion of improved patients. Multiple simulations of patient samples involved in anchor-based MIC studies with different characteristics of HRQOL (change) scores and distributions of iMICs. In addition, a real data set is analyzed for illustration. The receiver operating characteristic-based and predictive modeling MICs equal the gMIC when the proportion of improved patients equals 0.5. The MIC is estimated higher than the gMIC when the proportion improved is greater than 0.5, and the MIC is estimated lower than the gMIC when the proportion improved is less than 0.5. Using an equation including the predictive modeling MIC, the log-odds of improvement, the standard deviation of the HRQOL change score, and the correlation between the HRQOL change score and the anchor results in an adjusted MIC reflecting the gMIC irrespective of the proportion of improved patients. Adjusting the predictive modeling MIC for the proportion of improved patients assures that the adjusted MIC reflects the gMIC. We assumed normal distributions and global perceived change scores that were independent on the follow-up score. Additionally, floor and ceiling effects were not taken into account. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.