WorldWideScience

Sample records for valid grading procedures

  1. The Guy's stone score--grading the complexity of percutaneous nephrolithotomy procedures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Kay; Smith, Naomi C; Hegarty, Nicholas; Glass, Jonathan M

    2011-08-01

    To report the development and validation of a scoring system, the Guy's stone score, to grade the complexity of percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL). Currently, no standardized method is available to predict the stone-free rate after PCNL. The Guy's stone score was developed through a combination of expert opinion, published data review, and iterative testing. It comprises 4 grades: grade I, solitary stone in mid/lower pole or solitary stone in the pelvis with simple anatomy; grade II, solitary stone in upper pole or multiple stones in a patient with simple anatomy or a solitary stone in a patient with abnormal anatomy; grade III, multiple stones in a patient with abnormal anatomy or stones in a caliceal diverticulum or partial staghorn calculus; grade IV, staghorn calculus or any stone in a patient with spina bifida or spinal injury. It was assessed for reproducibility using the kappa coefficient and validated on a prospective database of 100 PCNL procedures performed in a tertiary stone center. The complications were graded using the modified Clavien score. The clinical outcomes were recorded prospectively and assessed with multivariate analysis. The Guy's stone score was the only factor that significantly and independently predicted the stone-free rate (P = .01). It was found to be reproducible, with good inter-rater agreement (P = .81). None of the other factors tested, including stone burden, operating surgeon, patient weight, age, and comorbidity, correlated with the stone-free rate. The Guy's stone score accurately predicted the stone-free rate after PCNL. It was easy to use and reproducible. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Study of verification and validation of standard welding procedure specifications guidelines for API 5L X-70 grade line pipe welding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qazi H. A. A.

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Verification and validation of welding procedure specifications for X-70 grade line pipe welding was performed as per clause 8.2, Annexure B and D of API 5L, 45th Edition to check weld integrity in its future application conditions. Hot rolled coils were imported from China, de-coiling, strip edge milling, three roller bending to from pipe, inside and outside submerged arc welding of pipe, online ultrasonic testing of weld, HAZ and pipe body, cutting at fixed random length of pipe, visual inspection of pipe, Fluoroscopic inspection of pipe, welding procedure qualification test pieces marking at weld portion of the pipe, tensile testing, guided bend testing, CVN Impact testing were performed. Detailed study was conducted to explore possible explanations and variation in mechanical properties, WPS is examined and qualified as per API 5L 45th Edition.

  3. 7 CFR 70.105 - Procedures for appeal gradings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... conducting the appeal grading. Whether defrosting poultry or rabbit carcasses for other types of appeals will... 7 Agriculture 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Procedures for appeal gradings. 70.105 Section 70.105... PRODUCTS AND RABBIT PRODUCTS Grading of Poultry Products and Rabbit Products Appeal of A Grading Or...

  4. Prospective validation of a surgical complications grading system in a cohort of 2114 patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazeh, Haggi; Cohen, Oded; Mizrahi, Ido; Hamburger, Tamar; Stojadinovic, Alexander; Abu-Wasel, Bassam; Alaiyan, Bilal; Freund, Herbert R; Eid, Ahmed; Nissan, Aviram

    2014-05-01

    We recently reported a grading system for surgical complications. This system proved to have a high sensitivity for recording minor but meaningful complications prolonging hospital stay in patients after colorectal surgery. We aimed to prospectively validate the complication grading system in a general surgery department over 1 year. All surgical procedures and related complications were prospectively recorded between January 1st and December 31st, 2009. Surgical complications were graded on a severity scale of 1-5. The system classifies short-term outcome by grade emphasizing intensity of therapy required for treatment of the defined complication. During the study period, 2114 patients underwent surgery. Elective and oncological surgeries were performed in 1606 (76%) and 465 (22%) patients, respectively. There were 422 surgical complications in 304 (14%) patients (Grade 1/2: 203 [67%]; Grade 3/4: 90 [29%]; Grade 5: 11 [4%]). Median length of stay correlated significantly with complication severity: 2.3 d for no complication, 6.2 and 11.8 d for Grades 1/2 and 3/4, respectively (P 2 (OR 2.07, P Grade (OR 1.85, P = 0.001), oncological (OR 2.82, P 120 min (OR 2.08, P grading surgical complications permits standardized reporting of surgical morbidity according to the severity of impact. Prospective validation of this system supports its use in a general surgery setting as a tool for surgical outcome assessment and quality assurance. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Post-Mission Quality Assurance Procedure for Survey-Grade Mobile Mapping Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kerstinga, A. P.; Friess, P.

    2016-06-01

    Mobile Mapping Systems (MMS) consist of terrestrial-based moving platforms that integrate a set of imaging sensors (typically digital cameras and laser scanners) and a Position and Orientation System (POS), designed to collect data of the surrounding environment. MMS can be classified as "mapping-grade" or "survey-grade" depending on the system's attainable accuracy. Mapping-grade MMS produce geospatial data suitable for GIS applications (e.g., asset management) while survey-grade systems should satisfy high-accuracy applications such as engineering/design projects. The delivered accuracy of an MMS is dependent on several factors such as the accuracy of the system measurements and calibration parameters. It is critical, especially for survey-grade systems, to implement a robust Quality Assurance (QA) procedure to ensure the achievement of the expected accuracy. In this paper, a new post-mission QA procedure is presented. The presented method consists of a fully-automated self-calibration process that allows for the estimation of corrections to the system calibration parameters (e.g., boresight angles and lever-arm offsets relating the lidar sensor(s) to the IMU body frame) as well as corrections to the system measurements (e.g., post-processed trajectory position and orientation, scan angles and ranges). As for the system measurements, the major challenge for MMS is related to the trajectory determination in the presence of multipath signals and GNSS outages caused by buildings, underpasses and high vegetation. In the proposed self-calibration method, trajectory position errors are properly modelled while utilizing an efficient/meaningful trajectory segmentation technique. The validity of the proposed method is demonstrated using a dataset collected under unfavorable GNSS conditions.

  6. POST-MISSION QUALITY ASSURANCE PROCEDURE FOR SURVEY-GRADE MOBILE MAPPING SYSTEMS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. P. Kerstinga

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Mobile Mapping Systems (MMS consist of terrestrial-based moving platforms that integrate a set of imaging sensors (typically digital cameras and laser scanners and a Position and Orientation System (POS, designed to collect data of the surrounding environment. MMS can be classified as “mapping-grade” or “survey-grade” depending on the system’s attainable accuracy. Mapping-grade MMS produce geospatial data suitable for GIS applications (e.g., asset management while survey-grade systems should satisfy high-accuracy applications such as engineering/design projects. The delivered accuracy of an MMS is dependent on several factors such as the accuracy of the system measurements and calibration parameters. It is critical, especially for survey-grade systems, to implement a robust Quality Assurance (QA procedure to ensure the achievement of the expected accuracy. In this paper, a new post-mission QA procedure is presented. The presented method consists of a fully-automated self-calibration process that allows for the estimation of corrections to the system calibration parameters (e.g., boresight angles and lever-arm offsets relating the lidar sensor(s to the IMU body frame as well as corrections to the system measurements (e.g., post-processed trajectory position and orientation, scan angles and ranges. As for the system measurements, the major challenge for MMS is related to the trajectory determination in the presence of multipath signals and GNSS outages caused by buildings, underpasses and high vegetation. In the proposed self-calibration method, trajectory position errors are properly modelled while utilizing an efficient/meaningful trajectory segmentation technique. The validity of the proposed method is demonstrated using a dataset collected under unfavorable GNSS conditions.

  7. [Procedure of seed quality testing and seed grading standard of Prunus humilis].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wen, Hao; Ren, Guang-Xi; Gao, Ya; Luo, Jun; Liu, Chun-Sheng; Li, Wei-Dong

    2014-11-01

    So far there exists no corresponding quality test procedures and grading standards for the seed of Prunus humilis, which is one of the important source of base of semen pruni. Therefor we set up test procedures that are adapt to characteristics of the P. humilis seed through the study of the test of sampling, seed purity, thousand-grain weight, seed moisture, seed viability and germination percentage. 50 cases of seed specimens of P. humilis tested. The related data were analyzed by cluster analysis. Through this research, the seed quality test procedure was developed, and the seed quality grading standard was formulated. The seed quality of each grade should meet the following requirements: for first grade seeds, germination percentage ≥ 68%, thousand-grain weight 383 g, purity ≥ 93%, seed moisture ≤ 5%; for second grade seeds, germination percentage ≥ 26%, thousand-grain weight ≥ 266 g, purity ≥ 73%, seed moisture ≤9%; for third grade seeds, germination percentage ≥ 10%, purity ≥ 50%, thousand-grain weight ≥ 08 g, seed moisture ≤ 13%.

  8. Validation of a Supplemental Reading Intervention for First-Grade Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Case, Lisa Pericola; Speece, Deborah L.; Silverman, Rebecca; Ritchey, Kristen D.; Schatschneider, Christopher; Cooper, David H.; Montanaro, Elizabeth; Jacobs, Dawn

    2010-01-01

    This experimental study was designed to validate a short-term supplemental reading intervention for at-risk first-grade children. Although substantial research on long-term supplemental reading interventions exists, less is known about short-term interventions. Thirty first-grade children were randomly assigned to intervention or control…

  9. In-Trail Procedure Air Traffic Control Procedures Validation Simulation Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chartrand, Ryan C.; Hewitt, Katrin P.; Sweeney, Peter B.; Graff, Thomas J.; Jones, Kenneth M.

    2012-01-01

    In August 2007, Airservices Australia (Airservices) and the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) conducted a validation experiment of the air traffic control (ATC) procedures associated with the Automatic Dependant Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) In-Trail Procedure (ITP). ITP is an Airborne Traffic Situation Awareness (ATSA) application designed for near-term use in procedural airspace in which ADS-B data are used to facilitate climb and descent maneuvers. NASA and Airservices conducted the experiment in Airservices simulator in Melbourne, Australia. Twelve current operational air traffic controllers participated in the experiment, which identified aspects of the ITP that could be improved (mainly in the communication and controller approval process). Results showed that controllers viewed the ITP as valid and acceptable. This paper describes the experiment design and results.

  10. Procedure for Validation of Aggregators Providing Demand Response

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bondy, Daniel Esteban Morales; Gehrke, Oliver; Thavlov, Anders

    2016-01-01

    of small heterogeneous resources that are geographically distributed. Therefore, a new test procedure must be designed for the aggregator validation. This work proposes such a procedure and exemplifies is with a study case. The validation of aggregators is essential if aggregators are to be integrated...... succesfully into the power system....

  11. Validation of a Supplemental Reading Intervention for First-Grade Children

    OpenAIRE

    Case, Lisa Pericola; Speece, Deborah L.; Silverman, Rebecca; Ritchey, Kristen D.; Schatschneider, Christopher; Cooper, David H.; Montanaro, Elizabeth; Jacobs, Dawn

    2010-01-01

    This experimental study was designed to validate a short-term supplemental reading intervention for at-risk first-grade children. Although substantial research on long-term supplemental reading interventions exists, less is known about short-term interventions. Thirty first-grade children were randomly assigned to intervention or control conditions. Students in the intervention received 16 hours of instruction. Analyses of pre- and posttest data and growth measures suggest that short-term sup...

  12. Application of Sensitivity and Uncertainty Analysis Methods to a Validation Study for Weapons-Grade Mixed-Oxide Fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dunn, M.E.

    2001-01-01

    At the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), sensitivity and uncertainty (S/U) analysis methods and a Generalized Linear Least-Squares Methodology (GLLSM) have been developed to quantitatively determine the similarity or lack thereof between critical benchmark experiments and an application of interest. The S/U and GLLSM methods provide a mathematical approach, which is less judgment based relative to traditional validation procedures, to assess system similarity and estimate the calculational bias and uncertainty for an application of interest. The objective of this paper is to gain experience with the S/U and GLLSM methods by revisiting a criticality safety evaluation and associated traditional validation for the shipment of weapons-grade (WG) MOX fuel in the MO-1 transportation package. In the original validation, critical experiments were selected based on a qualitative assessment of the MO-1 and MOX contents relative to the available experiments. Subsequently, traditional trending analyses were used to estimate the Δk bias and associated uncertainty. In this paper, the S/U and GLLSM procedures are used to re-evaluate the suite of critical experiments associated with the original MO-1 evaluation. Using the S/U procedures developed at ORNL, critical experiments that are similar to the undamaged and damaged MO-1 package are identified based on sensitivity and uncertainty analyses of the criticals and the MO-1 package configurations. Based on the trending analyses developed for the S/U and GLLSM procedures, the Δk bias and uncertainty for the most reactive MO-1 package configurations are estimated and used to calculate an upper subcritical limit (USL) for the MO-1 evaluation. The calculated bias and uncertainty from the S/U and GLLSM analyses lead to a calculational USL that supports the original validation study for the MO-1

  13. Web-based Food Behaviour Questionnaire: validation with grades six to eight students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanning, Rhona M; Royall, Dawna; Toews, Jenn E; Blashill, Lindsay; Wegener, Jessica; Driezen, Pete

    2009-01-01

    The web-based Food Behaviour Questionnaire (FBQ) includes a 24-hour diet recall, a food frequency questionnaire, and questions addressing knowledge, attitudes, intentions, and food-related behaviours. The survey has been revised since it was developed and initially validated. The current study was designed to obtain qualitative feedback and to validate the FBQ diet recall. "Think aloud" techniques were used in cognitive interviews with dietitian experts (n=11) and grade six students (n=21). Multi-ethnic students (n=201) in grades six to eight at urban southern Ontario schools completed the FBQ and, subsequently, one-on-one diet recall interviews with trained dietitians. Food group and nutrient intakes were compared. Users provided positive feedback on the FBQ. Suggestions included adding more foods, more photos for portion estimation, and online student feedback. Energy and nutrient intakes were positively correlated between FBQ and dietitian interviews, overall and by gender and grade (all p<0.001). Intraclass correlation coefficients were ≥0.5 for energy and macro-nutrients, although the web-based survey underestimated energy (10.5%) and carbohydrate (-15.6%) intakes (p<0.05). Under-estimation of rice and pasta portions on the web accounted for 50% of this discrepancy. The FBQ is valid, relative to 24-hour recall interviews, for dietary assessment in diverse populations of Ontario children in grades six to eight.

  14. Measuring Anatomic Severity in Pediatric Appendicitis: Validation of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma Appendicitis Severity Grade.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hernandez, Matthew C; Polites, Stephanie F; Aho, Johnathon M; Haddad, Nadeem N; Kong, Victor Y; Saleem, Humza; Bruce, John L; Laing, Grant L; Clarke, Damian L; Zielinski, Martin D

    2018-01-01

    To assess whether the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) grading system accurately corresponds with appendicitis outcomes in a US pediatric population. This single-institution retrospective review included patients appendicitis from 2008 to 2012. Demographic, clinical, procedural, and follow-up data (primary outcome was measured as Clavien-Dindo grade of complication severity) were abstracted. AAST grades were generated based on intraoperative findings. Summary, univariate, and multivariable regression analyses were performed to compare AAST grade and outcomes. Overall, 331 patients (46% female) were identified with a median age of 12 (IQR, 8-15) years. Appendectomy was laparoscopic in 90% and open in 10%. AAST grades included: Normal (n = 13, 4%), I (n = 152, 46%), II (n = 90, 27%), III (n = 43, 13%), IV (n = 24 7.3%), and V (n = 9 2.7%). Increased AAST grade was associated with increased Clavien-Dindo severity, P =.001. The overall complication rate was 13.6% and was comprised by superficial surgical site infection (n = 13, 3.9%), organ space infection (n = 15, 4.5%), and readmission (n = 17, 5.1%). Median duration of stay increased with AAST grade (P appendicitis grading system is valid in a single-institution pediatric population. Increasing AAST grade incrementally corresponds with patient outcomes including increased risk of complications and severity of complications. Determination of the generalizability of this grading system is required. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Social validity of the Social Skills Improvement System-Classwide Intervention Program (SSIS-CIP) in the primary grades.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wollersheim Shervey, Sarah; Sandilos, Lia E; DiPerna, James C; Lei, Pui-Wa

    2017-09-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the social validity of the Social Skills Improvement System-Classwide Intervention Program (SSIS-CIP) for teachers in the primary grades. Participants included 45 first and second grade teachers who completed a 16-item social validity questionnaire during each year of the SSIS-CIP efficacy trial. Findings indicated that teachers generally perceived the SSIS-CIP as a socially valid and feasible intervention for primary grades; however, teachers' ratings regarding ease of implementation and relevance and sequence demonstrated differences across grade levels in the second year of implementation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  16. Disentangling the Predictive Validity of High School Grades for Academic Success in University

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vulperhorst, Jonne; Lutz, Christel; de Kleijn, Renske; van Tartwijk, Jan

    2018-01-01

    To refine selective admission models, we investigate which measure of prior achievement has the best predictive validity for academic success in university. We compare the predictive validity of three core high school subjects to the predictive validity of high school grade point average (GPA) for academic achievement in a liberal arts university…

  17. Academic Self-Esteem and Perceived Validity of Grades: A Test of Self-Verification Theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okun, Morris A.; Fournet, Lee M.

    1993-01-01

    The hypothesis derived from self-verification theory that semester grade point average would be positively related to perceived validity of grade scores among high self-esteem undergraduates and inversely related for low self-esteem students was not supported in a study with 281 undergraduates. (SLD)

  18. CARVEDILOL POPULATION PHARMACOKINETIC ANALYSIS – APPLIED VALIDATION PROCEDURE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aleksandra Catić-Đorđević

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Carvedilol is a nonselective beta blocker/alpha-1 blocker, which is used for treatment of essential hypertension, chronic stable angina, unstable angina and ischemic left ventricular dysfunction. The aim of this study was to describe carvedilol population pharmacokinetic (PK analysis as well as the validation of analytical procedure, which is an important step regarding this approach. In contemporary clinical practice, population PK analysis is often more important than standard PK approach in setting a mathematical model that describes the PK parameters. Also, it includes the variables that have particular importance in the drugs pharmacokinetics such as sex, body mass, dosage, pharmaceutical form, pathophysiological state, disease associated with the organism or the presence of a specific polymorphism in the isoenzyme important for biotransformation of the drug. One of the most frequently used approach in population PK analysis is the Nonlinear Modeling of Mixed Effects - NONMEM modeling. Analytical methods used in the data collection period is of great importance for the implementation of a population PK analysis of carvedilol in order to obtain reliable data that can be useful in clinical practice. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC analysis of carvedilol is used to confirm the identity of a drug and provide quantitative results and also to monitor the efficacy of the therapy. Analytical procedures used in other studies could not be fully implemented in our research as it was necessary to perform certain modification and validation of the method with the aim of using the obtained results for the purpose of a population pharmacokinetic analysis. Validation process is a logical terminal phase of analytical procedure development that provides applicability of the procedure itself. The goal of validation is to ensure consistency of the method and accuracy of results or to confirm the selection of analytical method for a given sample

  19. An Assessment of Reliability and Validity of a Rubric for Grading APA-Style Introductions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stellmack, Mark A.; Konheim-Kalkstein, Yasmine L.; Manor, Julia E.; Massey, Abigail R.; Schmitz, Julie Ann P.

    2009-01-01

    This article describes the empirical evaluation of the reliability and validity of a grading rubric for grading APA-style introductions of undergraduate students. Levels of interrater agreement and intrarater agreement were not extremely high but were similar to values reported in the literature for comparably structured rubrics. Rank-order…

  20. Social Validity of the Social Skills Improvement System--Classwide Intervention Program (SSIS-CIP) in the Primary Grades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wollersheim Shervey, Sarah; Sandilos, Lia E.; DiPerna, James C.; Lei, Pui-Wa

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the social validity of the Social Skills Improvement System--Classwide Intervention Program (SSIS-CIP) for teachers in the primary grades. Participants included 45 first and second grade teachers who completed a 16-item social validity questionnaire during each year of the SSIS-CIP efficacy trial. Findings…

  1. Manufacturing facilities of pharmaceutical products and measures for purification of its environment. Validation for sterilizing grade filter; Iyakuhin no seizo shisetsu to kankyo seijoka taisaku. Mekkin`yo firuta no barideshon

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nishiyama, M.

    1994-07-31

    Validation is defined as firm establishment of a documentary evidence showing the system concerned is functioning as designed. Validation for sterilizing grade filter is not limited only to validation of the filter itself, but evaluation of its extract as well as adsorption and the sterilizing condition of the filter and system are the items to be examined. It is necessary to make validation of the filtering system as a whole taking into consideration any kind of element of composition in order to reach the target. In this article, in order to avoid description on diversified subjects, only validation for the filter is focused and its technique is introduced. The procedure for executing validation is stated first, and concerning validation for the sterilizing grade filter, a bacterial retention test is explained in detail, then with regard to an integrity test, sterilization of the devise concerned and pharmaceutical suitability/extract tests, the points which call special attention and testing items are introduced. Finally self inspection and evaluation of operating performance qualification are described. 13 refs., 7 figs., 2 tabs.

  2. Validity and Reliability of Preschool, First and Second Grade Versions of Berkeley Parenting Self-Efficacy Scale

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shahrbanoo Tajeri

    2009-02-01

    Full Text Available "nObjective: The purpose of this study is to examine the factor structure, internal consistency, and construct validity of preschool, first and second grade versions of Berkeley Parenting self-efficacy scale. "nMethod:  The subjects were 317 mothers: (102 mothers of preschool children, 111 mothers of first grade children and 104 mothers of second grade children who were randomly selected from schools in Tehran. They completed Berkeley parenting self-efficacy and Rotter `s locus of control scales. Factor analysis using the principle component method was used to identify the factor structure of parenting self-efficacy scale. Cronbach`s alpha coefficient was used to identify the reliability of parenting self efficacy scale. "nResults: Results of this study indicated that the cronbach`s alpha coefficient was 0.84, 0.87, 0.64 for preschool, first grade and second grade versions respectively. Based on the scree test ,,factor analysis produced two factors of maternal strategy and child outcome, and it also produced the highest level of total variance explained by these 2 factors. The Parenting self-efficacy scale was negatively associated with measure of locus of control(r=-0.54 for the preschool version, -0.64 for the first grade version and -0.54 for the second grade version. "nConclusion: Due to relatively high reliability and validity of preschool, first and second grade versions of Berkeley Parenting Self-Efficacy scale, this scale could be used as a reliable and valid scale in other research areas

  3. Improvement and Validation of Weld Residual Stress Modelling Procedure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zang, Weilin; Gunnars, Jens; Dong, Pingsha; Hong, Jeong K.

    2009-06-01

    The objective of this work is to identify and evaluate improvements for the residual stress modelling procedure currently used in Sweden. There is a growing demand to eliminate any unnecessary conservatism involved in residual stress assumptions. The study was focused on the development and validation of an improved weld residual stress modelling procedure, by taking advantage of the recent advances in residual stress modelling and stress measurement techniques. The major changes applied in the new weld residual stress modelling procedure are: - Improved procedure for heat source calibration based on use of analytical solutions. - Use of an isotropic hardening model where mixed hardening data is not available. - Use of an annealing model for improved simulation of strain relaxation in re-heated material. The new modelling procedure is demonstrated to capture the main characteristics of the through thickness stress distributions by validation to experimental measurements. Three austenitic stainless steel butt-welds cases are analysed, covering a large range of pipe geometries. From the cases it is evident that there can be large differences between the residual stresses predicted using the new procedure, and the earlier procedure or handbook recommendations. Previously recommended profiles could give misleading fracture assessment results. The stress profiles according to the new procedure agree well with the measured data. If data is available then a mixed hardening model should be used

  4. Improvement and Validation of Weld Residual Stress Modelling Procedure

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zang, Weilin; Gunnars, Jens (Inspecta Technology AB, Stockholm (Sweden)); Dong, Pingsha; Hong, Jeong K. (Center for Welded Structures Research, Battelle, Columbus, OH (United States))

    2009-06-15

    The objective of this work is to identify and evaluate improvements for the residual stress modelling procedure currently used in Sweden. There is a growing demand to eliminate any unnecessary conservatism involved in residual stress assumptions. The study was focused on the development and validation of an improved weld residual stress modelling procedure, by taking advantage of the recent advances in residual stress modelling and stress measurement techniques. The major changes applied in the new weld residual stress modelling procedure are: - Improved procedure for heat source calibration based on use of analytical solutions. - Use of an isotropic hardening model where mixed hardening data is not available. - Use of an annealing model for improved simulation of strain relaxation in re-heated material. The new modelling procedure is demonstrated to capture the main characteristics of the through thickness stress distributions by validation to experimental measurements. Three austenitic stainless steel butt-welds cases are analysed, covering a large range of pipe geometries. From the cases it is evident that there can be large differences between the residual stresses predicted using the new procedure, and the earlier procedure or handbook recommendations. Previously recommended profiles could give misleading fracture assessment results. The stress profiles according to the new procedure agree well with the measured data. If data is available then a mixed hardening model should be used

  5. The Predictive Validity of CBM Writing Indices for Eighth-Grade Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amato, Janelle M.; Watkins, Marley W.

    2011-01-01

    Curriculum-based measurement (CBM) is an alternative to traditional assessment techniques. Technical work has begun to identify CBM writing indices that are psychometrically sound for monitoring older students' writing proficiency. This study examined the predictive validity of CBM writing indices in a sample of 447 eighth-grade students.…

  6. Adaptation and validation of the Spanish version of the graded chronic pain scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferrer-Peña, Raúl; Gil-Martínez, Alfonso; Pardo-Montero, Joaquín; Jiménez-Penick, Virginia; Gallego-Izquierdo, Tomás; La Touche, Roy

    2016-01-01

    To adapt the Graded Chronic Pain Scale for use in Primary care patients in Spain, and to assess its psychometric properties. Clinical measures observational study investigating the severity of chronic pain. The methodology included a process of translation and back-translation following the international guidelines. Study participants were 75 patients who experienced lower back pain for more than six months and were sent to Primary Care physiotherapy units. Internal consistency, construct validity, test-retest reliability, floor and ceiling effects, and answering capacity were analysed. The Spanish version of the Graded Chronic Pain Scale had a high internal consistency, with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.87 and intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.81. Regarding construct validity, it was identified that two factors explained 72.37% of the variance. Convergent validity showed a moderate positive correlation with the Visual Analogue Scale, the activity avoidance subscale of the Tampa Scale of Kinesophobia, the Pain Catastrophizing Scale, the Roland-Morris Low Back Pain and Disability Questionnaire, and the FearAvoidance Beliefs Questionnaire. A moderate negative correlation was identified with the Chronic Pain Self-Efficacy Scale. The mean time of questionnaire administration was 2minutes and 28seconds. The Spanish version of the Graded Chronic Pain Scale appears to be a valid, reliable, and useful tool for measuring chronic pain at an early stage in Primary Care settings in Spain. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and Sociedad Española de Reumatología y Colegio Mexicano de Reumatología. All rights reserved.

  7. Practical procedure for method validation in INAA- A tutorial

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petroni, Robson; Moreira, Edson G.

    2015-01-01

    This paper describes the procedure employed by the Neutron Activation Laboratory at the Nuclear and Energy Research Institute (LAN, IPEN - CNEN/SP) for validation of Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) methods. According to recommendations of ISO/IEC 17025 the method performance characteristics (limit of detection, limit of quantification, trueness, repeatability, intermediate precision, reproducibility, selectivity, linearity and uncertainties budget) were outline in an easy, fast and convenient way. The paper presents step by step how to calculate the required method performance characteristics in a process of method validation, what are the procedures, adopted strategies and acceptance criteria for the results, that is, how to make a method validation in INAA. In order to exemplify the methodology applied, obtained results for the method validation of mass fraction determination of Co, Cr, Fe, Rb, Se and Zn in biological matrix samples, using an internal reference material of mussel tissue were presented. It was concluded that the methodology applied for validation of INAA methods is suitable, meeting all the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025, and thereby, generating satisfactory results for the studies carried at LAN, IPEN - CNEN/SP. (author)

  8. Practical procedure for method validation in INAA- A tutorial

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Petroni, Robson; Moreira, Edson G., E-mail: robsonpetroni@usp.br [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

    2015-07-01

    This paper describes the procedure employed by the Neutron Activation Laboratory at the Nuclear and Energy Research Institute (LAN, IPEN - CNEN/SP) for validation of Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) methods. According to recommendations of ISO/IEC 17025 the method performance characteristics (limit of detection, limit of quantification, trueness, repeatability, intermediate precision, reproducibility, selectivity, linearity and uncertainties budget) were outline in an easy, fast and convenient way. The paper presents step by step how to calculate the required method performance characteristics in a process of method validation, what are the procedures, adopted strategies and acceptance criteria for the results, that is, how to make a method validation in INAA. In order to exemplify the methodology applied, obtained results for the method validation of mass fraction determination of Co, Cr, Fe, Rb, Se and Zn in biological matrix samples, using an internal reference material of mussel tissue were presented. It was concluded that the methodology applied for validation of INAA methods is suitable, meeting all the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025, and thereby, generating satisfactory results for the studies carried at LAN, IPEN - CNEN/SP. (author)

  9. A Neural Networks Based Operation Guidance System for Procedure Presentation and Validation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seung, Kun Mo; Lee, Seung Jun; Seong, Poong Hyun

    2006-01-01

    In this paper, a neural network based operator support system is proposed to reduce operator's errors in abnormal situations in nuclear power plants (NPPs). There are many complicated situations, in which regular and suitable operations should be done by operators accordingly. In order to regulate and validate operators' operations, it is necessary to develop an operator support system which includes computer based procedures with the functions for operation validation. Many computerized procedures systems (CPS) have been recently developed. Focusing on the human machine interface (HMI) design and procedures' computerization, most of CPSs used various methodologies to enhance system's convenience, reliability and accessibility. Other than only showing procedures, the proposed system integrates a simple CPS and an operation validation system (OVS) by using artificial neural network (ANN) for operational permission and quantitative evaluation

  10. [Low grade renal trauma (Part II): diagnostic validity of ultrasonography].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grill, R; Báca, V; Otcenásek, M; Zátura, F

    2010-04-01

    The aim of the study was to verify whether ultrasonography can be considered a reliable method for the diagnosis of low-grade renal trauma. The group investigated included patients with grade I or grade II blunt renal trauma, as classified by the AAST grading system, in whom ultrasonography alone or in conjunction with computed tomography was used as a primary diagnostic method. B-mode ultrasound with a transabdominal probe working at frequencies of 2.5 to 5.0 MHz was used. Every finding of post-traumatic changes in the renal tissues, i.e., post-contusion hypotonic infiltration of the renal parenchyma or subcapsular haematoma, was included. The results were statistically evaluated by the Chi-square test with the level of significance set at 5%, using Epi Info Version 6 CZ software. The group comprised 112 patients (43 women, 69 men) aged between 17 and 82 years (average, 38 years). It was possible to diagnose grade I or grade II renal injury by ultrasonography in only 60 (54%) of them. The statistical significance of ultrasonography as the only imaging method for the diagnosis of low-grade renal injury was not confirmed (p=0.543) Low-grade renal trauma is a problem from the diagnostic point of view. It usually does not require revision surgery and, if found during repeat surgery for more serious injury of another organ, it usually does not receive attention. Therefore, the macroscopic presentation of grade I and grade II renal injury is poorly understood, nor are their microscopic findings known, because during revision surgery these the traumatised kidneys are not usually removed and their injuries at autopsy on the patients who died of multiple trauma are not recorded either. The results of this study demonstrated that the validity of ultrasonography for the diagnosis of low-grade renal injury is not significant, because this examination can reveal only some of the renal injuries such as perirenal haematoma. An injury to the renal parenchyma is also indicated by

  11. DMM assessments of attachment and adaptation: Procedures, validity and utility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farnfield, Steve; Hautamäki, Airi; Nørbech, Peder; Sahhar, Nicola

    2010-07-01

    This article gives a brief over view of the Dynamic-Maturational Model of attachment and adaptation (DMM; Crittenden, 2008) together with the various DMM assessments of attachment that have been developed for specific stages of development. Each assessment is discussed in terms of procedure, outcomes, validity, advantages and limitations, comparable procedures and areas for further research and validation. The aims are twofold: to provide an introduction to DMM theory and its application that underlie the articles in this issue of CCPP; and to provide researchers and clinicians with a guide to DMM assessments.

  12. Validity of diagnoses, procedures, and laboratory data in Japanese administrative data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamana, Hayato; Moriwaki, Mutsuko; Horiguchi, Hiromasa; Kodan, Mariko; Fushimi, Kiyohide; Yasunaga, Hideo

    2017-10-01

    Validation of recorded data is a prerequisite for studies that utilize administrative databases. The present study evaluated the validity of diagnoses and procedure records in the Japanese Diagnosis Procedure Combination (DPC) data, along with laboratory test results in the newly-introduced Standardized Structured Medical Record Information Exchange (SS-MIX) data. Between November 2015 and February 2016, we conducted chart reviews of 315 patients hospitalized between April 2014 and March 2015 in four middle-sized acute-care hospitals in Shizuoka, Kochi, Fukuoka, and Saga Prefectures and used them as reference standards. The sensitivity and specificity of DPC data in identifying 16 diseases and 10 common procedures were identified. The accuracy of SS-MIX data for 13 laboratory test results was also examined. The specificity of diagnoses in the DPC data exceeded 96%, while the sensitivity was below 50% for seven diseases and variable across diseases. When limited to primary diagnoses, the sensitivity and specificity were 78.9% and 93.2%, respectively. The sensitivity of procedure records exceeded 90% for six procedures, and the specificity exceeded 90% for nine procedures. Agreement between the SS-MIX data and the chart reviews was above 95% for all 13 items. The validity of diagnoses and procedure records in the DPC data and laboratory results in the SS-MIX data was high in general, supporting their use in future studies. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Method Validation Procedure in Gamma Spectroscopy Laboratory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    El Samad, O.; Baydoun, R.

    2008-01-01

    The present work describes the methodology followed for the application of ISO 17025 standards in gamma spectroscopy laboratory at the Lebanese Atomic Energy Commission including the management and technical requirements. A set of documents, written procedures and records were prepared to achieve the management part. The technical requirements, internal method validation was applied through the estimation of trueness, repeatability , minimum detectable activity and combined uncertainty, participation in IAEA proficiency tests assure the external method validation, specially that the gamma spectroscopy lab is a member of ALMERA network (Analytical Laboratories for the Measurements of Environmental Radioactivity). Some of these results are presented in this paper. (author)

  14. Pancreaticoduodenectomy: a rare procedure for the management of complex pancreaticoduodenal injuries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asensio, Juan A; Petrone, Patrizio; Roldán, Gustavo; Kuncir, Eric; Demetriades, Demetrios

    2003-12-01

    Pancreaticoduodenectomy (Whipple's procedure) is a formidable procedure when undertaken for severe pancreaticoduodenal injury. The purposes of this study were to review our experience with this procedure for trauma; to classify injury grades for both pancreatic and duodenal injuries in patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy according to the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma-Organ Injury Scale for pancreatic and duodenal injury; and to validate existing indications for performance of this procedure. We performed a retrospective 126-month study (May 1992 to December 2002) of all patients admitted with proven complex pancreaticoduodenal injuries requiring pancreaticoduodenectomy. Eighteen patients were included; mean age was 32 +/- 12 years (SD), mean Revised Trauma Score was 6.84 +/- 2.13 (SD), and mean Injury Severity Score was 27 +/- 8 (SD). There were 17 penetrating injuries (94%) and 1 blunt injury (6%). One of 18 patients had an emergency department thoracotomy and died (100% mortality); 5 of the remaining 17 patients required operating room thoracotomies, and only 1 survived (80% mortality). There was 1 AAST-OIS pancreas grade IV injury, and there were 17 pancreas grade V injuries and 18 AAST-OIS duodenum grade V injuries. Indications for pancreaticoduodenectomy were: massive uncontrollable retropancreatic hemorrhage, 13 patients (72%); massive unreconstructable injury to the head of the pancreas/main pancreatic duct and intrapancreatic portion/distal common bile duct, 18 patients (100%); and massive unreconstructable injury, 18 patients (100%). Mean estimated blood loss was 6,888 +/- 7,866 mL, and overall survival was 67% (12 of 18 patients). Complex pancreaticoduodenal injuries requiring pancreaticoduodenectomy (Whipple's procedure) are uncommon but highly lethal; virtually all are classified as AAST-OIS grade V for both pancreas and duodenum. Current indications for performance of pancreaticoduodenectomy are valid and should be strictly

  15. 7 CFR 980.501 - Safeguard procedures for potatoes, onions, and tomatoes exempt from grade, size, quality, and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 8 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Safeguard procedures for potatoes, onions, and....501 Safeguard procedures for potatoes, onions, and tomatoes exempt from grade, size, quality, and... imports: (1) Potatoes, onions or tomatoes for consumption by charitable institutions or distribution by...

  16. Procedural confidence in hospital based practitioners: implications for the training and practice of doctors at all grades

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tsagkaraki Petroula A

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Medical doctors routinely undertake a number of practical procedures and these should be performed competently. The UK Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board (PMETB curriculum lists the procedures trainees should be competent in. We aimed to describe medical practitioner's confidence in their procedural skills, and to define which practical procedures are important in current medical practice. Methods A cross sectional observational study was performed measuring procedural confidence in 181 hospital practitioners at all grades from 2 centres in East Anglia, England. Results Both trainees and consultants provide significant service provision. SpR level doctors perform the widest range and the highest median number of procedures per year. Most consultants perform few if any procedures, however some perform a narrow range at high volume. Cumulative confidence for the procedures tested peaks in the SpR grade. Five key procedures (central line insertion, lumbar puncture, pleural aspiration, ascitic aspiration, and intercostal drain insertion are the most commonly performed, are seen as important generic skills, and correspond to the total number of procedures for which confidence can be maintained. Key determinants of confidence are gender, number of procedures performed in the previous year and total number of procedures performed. Conclusion The highest volume of service requirement is for six procedures. The procedural confidence is dependent upon gender, number of procedures performed in the previous year and total number of procedures performed. This has implications for those designing the training curriculum and with regards the move to shorten the duration of training.

  17. Validation of EOPs/FRGs Procedures Using LOHS Scenario

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bajs, T.; Konjarek, D.; Vukovic, J.

    2012-01-01

    Validation of EOPs (Emergency Operating Procedures) and FRGs (Function Restoration Guidelines) can be achieved either through plant full scope simulator or on desk top exercises. The desk top exercise is conducted when for the given scenario plant full scope simulator is not suitable. In either verification cases predefined scenario should be evaluated and possible branching foreseen. The scenario presented is LOHS, with bleed and feed procedure initiated. Best estimate light water reactor transient analysis code RELAP5/mod3.3 was used in calculation. Standardized detailed plant model was used. Operator actions were modelled from beginning of the scenario to its termination.(author).

  18. easyCBM® Reading Criterion Related Validity Evidence: Grades K-1. Technical Report #1309

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lai, Cheng-Fei; Alonzo, Julie; Tindal, Gerald

    2013-01-01

    In this technical report, we present the results of a study to gather criterion-related evidence for Grade K-1 easyCBM® reading measures. We used correlations to examine the relation between the easyCBM® measures and other published measures with known reliability and validity evidence, including the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy…

  19. A Multistage Sulphidisation Flotation Procedure for a Low Grade Malachite Copper Ore

    OpenAIRE

    Tebogo P. Phetla; Edison Muzenda

    2010-01-01

    This study was carried out to develop a flotation procedure for an oxide copper ore from a Region in Central Africa for producing an 18% copper concentrate for downstream processing at maximum recovery from a 4% copper feed grade. The copper recoveries achieved from the test work were less than 50% despite changes in reagent conditions (multistage sulphidisation, use of RCA emulsion and mixture, use of AM 2, etc). The poor recoveries were attributed to the mineralogy of t...

  20. Clear cell renal cell carcinoma: validation of World Health Organization/International Society of Urological Pathology grading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dagher, Julien; Delahunt, Brett; Rioux-Leclercq, Nathalie; Egevad, Lars; Srigley, John R; Coughlin, Geoffrey; Dunglinson, Nigel; Gianduzzo, Troy; Kua, Boon; Malone, Greg; Martin, Ben; Preston, John; Pokorny, Morgan; Wood, Simon; Yaxley, John; Samaratunga, Hemamali

    2017-12-01

    In 2012, the International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) introduced a novel grading system for clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) and papillary renal cell carcinoma. This system is incorporated into the latest World Health Organization renal tumour classification, being designated WHO/ISUP grading. This study was undertaken to compare WHO/ISUP and Fuhrman grading and to validate WHO/ISUP grading as a prognostic parameter in a series of clear cell RCC. Analysis of 681 cases of ccRCC showed that 144 tumours could not be assigned a Fuhrman grade on the basis of ambiguous grading features. The application of WHO/ISUP grading resulted in a general down-grading of cases when compared with Fuhrman grading. In a sub-group of 374 cases, for which outcome data were available, 9.3% were WHO/ISUP grade 1, 50.3% were grade 2, 24.1% grade 3 and 16.3% grade 4, while the distribution of Fuhrman grades was 0.4% grade 1, 48.7% grade 2, 29.4% grade 3 and 21.5% grade 4. There were no recurrence/metastases amongst patients with WHO/ISUP grade 1 tumours and there was a significant difference in outcome for WHO/ISUP grades 2, 3 and 4. For Fuhrman grading the cancer-free survival was not significantly different for grade 2 and grade 3 tumours. On multivariate analysis WHO/ISUP grade and pT staging category were found to retain prognostic significance. The study demonstrates that FG cannot be applied in >20% of cases of ccRCC and the WHO/ISUP provides superior prognostic information. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. easyCBM® Reading Criterion Related Validity Evidence: Grades 2-5. Technical Report #1310

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lai, Cheng-Fei; Alonzo, Julie; Tindal, Gerald

    2013-01-01

    In this technical report, we present the results of a study to gather criterion-related evidence for Grade 2-5 easyCBM® reading measures. We used correlations to examine the relation between the easyCBM® measures and other published measures with known reliability and validity evidence, including the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests and the Dynamic…

  2. A Contemporary Prostate Cancer Grading System: A Validated Alternative to the Gleason Score

    Science.gov (United States)

    Epstein, Jonathan I.; Zelefsky, Michael J.; Sjoberg, Daniel D.; Nelson, Joel B.; Egevad, Lars; Magi-Galluzzi, Cristina; Vickers, Andrew J.; Parwani, Anil V.; Reuter, Victor E.; Fine, Samson W.; Eastham, James A.; Wiklund, Peter; Han, Misop; Reddy, Chandana A.; Ciezki, Jay P.; Nyberg, Tommy; Klein, Eric A.

    2016-01-01

    accurate grade stratification than current systems, simplified grading system of five grades, and lowest grade is 1, as opposed to 6, with the potential to reduce overtreatment of PCa. Patient summary We looked at outcomes for prostate cancer (PCa) treated with radical prostatectomy or radiation therapy and validated a new grading system with more accurate grade stratification than current systems, including a simplified grading system of five grades and a lowest grade is 1, as opposed to 6, with the potential to reduce overtreatment of PCa. PMID:26166626

  3. Graded changes in enamel component volumes resulted from a short tooth bleaching procedure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferreira, Artemisa Fernanda Moura; Perez, Flávia Maria de Moraes Ramos; Limeira Júnior, Francisco de Assis; de Moura, Mirella de Fátima Liberato; de Sousa, Frederico Barbosa

    2016-05-01

    To test the hypothesis that changes in enamel component volumes (mineral, organic, and water volumes, and permeability) are graded from outer to inner enamel after a short bleaching procedure. Extracted unerupted human third molars had half of their crowns bleached (single bleaching session, 3 × 15 min), and tooth shade changes in bleached parts were analyzed with a spectrophotometer. Ground sections were prepared, component volumes and permeability were quantified at histological points located at varying distances from the enamel surface (n=10 points/location), representing conditions before and after bleaching. Tooth shade changes were significant (pbleaching, except at the outer layers. Multiple analysis of covariances revealed that most of the variance of the change in enamel composition after bleaching was explained by the combination of the set of types of component volume (in decreasing order of relevance: mineral loss, organic gain, water gain, and decrease in permeability) with the set of distances from the enamel surface (graded from the enamel surface inward) (canonical R(2)=0.97; p99%). Changes in enamel composition after a short bleaching procedure followed a gradient within component volumes (mineral loss>organic gain>water gain>decrease in permeability) and decreased from the enamel surface inward. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Validity, reliability and support for implementation of independence-scaled procedural assessment in laparoscopic surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kramp, Kelvin H; van Det, Marc J; Veeger, Nic J G M; Pierie, Jean-Pierre E N

    2016-06-01

    There is no widely used method to evaluate procedure-specific laparoscopic skills. The first aim of this study was to develop a procedure-based assessment method. The second aim was to compare its validity, reliability and feasibility with currently available global rating scales (GRSs). An independence-scaled procedural assessment was created by linking the procedural key steps of the laparoscopic cholecystectomy to an independence scale. Subtitled and blinded videos of a novice, an intermediate and an almost competent trainee, were evaluated with GRSs (OSATS and GOALS) and the independence-scaled procedural assessment by seven surgeons, three senior trainees and six scrub nurses. Participants received a short introduction to the GRSs and independence-scaled procedural assessment before assessment. The validity was estimated with the Friedman and Wilcoxon test and the reliability with the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). A questionnaire was used to evaluate user opinion. Independence-scaled procedural assessment and GRS scores improved significantly with surgical experience (OSATS p = 0.001, GOALS p < 0.001, independence-scaled procedural assessment p < 0.001). The ICCs of the OSATS, GOALS and independence-scaled procedural assessment were 0.78, 0.74 and 0.84, respectively, among surgeons. The ICCs increased when the ratings of scrub nurses were added to those of the surgeons. The independence-scaled procedural assessment was not considered more of an administrative burden than the GRSs (p = 0.692). A procedural assessment created by combining procedural key steps to an independence scale is a valid, reliable and acceptable assessment instrument in surgery. In contrast to the GRSs, the reliability of the independence-scaled procedural assessment exceeded the threshold of 0.8, indicating that it can also be used for summative assessment. It furthermore seems that scrub nurses can assess the operative competence of surgical trainees.

  5. Validation of an advanced analytical procedure applied to the measurement of environmental radioactivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thanh, Tran Thien; Vuong, Le Quang; Ho, Phan Long; Chuong, Huynh Dinh; Nguyen, Vo Hoang; Tao, Chau Van

    2018-04-01

    In this work, an advanced analytical procedure was applied to calculate radioactivity in spiked water samples in a close geometry gamma spectroscopy. It included MCNP-CP code in order to calculate the coincidence summing correction factor (CSF). The CSF results were validated by a deterministic method using ETNA code for both p-type HPGe detectors. It showed that a good agreement for both codes. Finally, the validity of the developed procedure was confirmed by a proficiency test to calculate the activities of various radionuclides. The results of the radioactivity measurement with both detectors using the advanced analytical procedure were received the ''Accepted'' statuses following the proficiency test. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. The Validity of the New York Radiological Grading Criteria in Diagnosing Sacroiliitis by Computed Tomography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Geijer, M.; Gadeholt Goethlin, G.; Goethlin, J.H. (Dept. of Diagnostic Radiology, Sahlgrenska Univ. Hospital, Goeteborg (Sweden))

    2009-07-15

    Background: Sacroiliitis in ankylosing spondylitis has frequently been graded radiographically using the New York (NY) criteria, which also have been applied in computed tomography (CT). Purpose: To validate the grading of the NY criteria in CT of the sacroiliac joints. Material and Methods: With the aid of the NY criteria, assessment of inflammatory and degenerative changes was made in 1304 CT studies. Assessment included erosions, the distribution, type, and width of sclerosis, and the involvement of the joints in sacroiliitis, as well as of normal anatomic variants such as joint space width and shape. Results: There was definite radiological sacroiliitis in 420 joints in 251 patients. Among these, more than two-thirds of the joint was involved in 71.0% of the affected joints. Sclerosis of the ilium was much more prevalent than sacral sclerosis. With increasing NY grade, iliac sclerosis, width, and extent increased, transition from sclerosis to normal bone became indistinct, and the structure of sclerosis was more inhomogeneous. Erosions of the joint surfaces were localized predominantly on the iliac side. Conclusion: Only erosions seem to be a valid solitary diagnostic sign. Solitary erosions need supplemental evidence from other inflammatory signs. Inflammatory sclerosis may be distinguished from degenerative sclerosis, and can sometimes support early diagnosis. Joint space width, joint shape, bone mineral content, or enthesopathy have no place in sacroiliitis diagnosis on CT. The NY criteria are not ideal for use with CT. A practical classification of sacroiliitis on CT is proposed, with a grading of no disease, suspected disease, and definite disease

  7. Let's End the Grading Game.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edwards, Clifford H.; Edwards, Laurie

    1999-01-01

    Argues that grades have negative effects on learning and self-concept. States that while grading has a long tradition of sorting children for college entrance, there is limited evidence that grades serve a valid purpose. Argues that this practice should be abolished and an evaluation system established that provides a more valid estimate of…

  8. Successful Written Subject-Verb Agreement: An Online Analysis of the Procedure Used by Students in Grades 3, 5 and 12

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alamargot, Denis; Flouret, Lisa; Larocque, Denis; Caporossi, Gilles; Pontart, Virginie; Paduraru, Carmen; Morisset, Pauline; Fayol, Michel

    2015-01-01

    This study was designed to (1) investigate the procedure responsible for successful written subject-verb agreement, and (2) describe how it develops across grades. Students in Grades 3, 5 and 12 were asked to read noun-noun-verb sentences aloud (e.g., "Le chien des voisins mange" ["The dog of the neighbors eats"]) and write out…

  9. Consistency of FMEA used in the validation of analytical procedures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Oldenhof, M.T.; van Leeuwen, J.F.; Nauta, Maarten

    2011-01-01

    is always carried out under the supervision of an experienced FMEA-facilitator and that the FMEA team has at least two members with competence in the analytical method to be validated. However, the FMEAs of both teams contained valuable information that was not identified by the other team, indicating......In order to explore the consistency of the outcome of a Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) in the validation of analytical procedures, an FMEA was carried out by two different teams. The two teams applied two separate FMEAs to a High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Diode Array Detection...

  10. Validity of the MicroDYN Approach: Complex Problem Solving Predicts School Grades beyond Working Memory Capacity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schweizer, Fabian; Wustenberg, Sascha; Greiff, Samuel

    2013-01-01

    This study examines the validity of the complex problem solving (CPS) test MicroDYN by investigating a) the relation between its dimensions--rule identification (exploration strategy), rule knowledge (acquired knowledge), rule application (control performance)--and working memory capacity (WMC), and b) whether CPS predicts school grades in…

  11. Collect Available Creep-Fatigue Data and Study Existing Creep-Fatigue Evaluation Procedures for Grade 91 and Hastelloy XR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Asayama, Tai; Tachibana, Yukio

    2007-01-01

    This report describes the results of investigation on Task 5 of DOE/ASME Materials Project based on a contract between ASME Standards Technology, LLC (ASME ST-LLC) and Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA). Task 5 is to collect available creep-fatigue data and study existing creep-fatigue evaluation procedures for Grade 91 steel and Hastelloy XR. Part I of this report is devoted to Grade 91 steel. Existing creep-fatigue data were collected (Appendix A) and analyzed from the viewpoints of establishing a creep-fatigue procedure for VHTR design. A fair amount of creep-fatigue data has been obtained and creep-fatigue phenomena have been clarified to develop design standards mainly for fast breeder reactors. Following this, existing creep-fatigue procedures were studied and it was clarified that the creep-fatigue evaluation procedure of the ASME-NH has a lot of conservatisms and they were analyzed in detail from the viewpoints of the evaluation of creep damage of material. Based on the above studies, suggestions to improve the ASME-NH procedure along with necessary research and development items were presented. Part II of this report is devoted to Hastelloy XR. Existing creep-fatigue data used for development of the high temperature structural design guideline for High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR) were collected. Creep-fatigue evaluation procedure in the design guideline and its application to design of the intermediate heat exchanger (IHX) for High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR) was described. Finally, some necessary research and development items in relation to creep-fatigue evaluation for Gen IV and VHTR reactors were presented.

  12. Construct validity of selected measures of physical activity beliefs and motives in fifth and sixth grade boys and girls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dishman, Rod K; Saunders, Ruth P; McIver, Kerry L; Dowda, Marsha; Pate, Russell R

    2013-06-01

    Scales used to measure selected social-cognitive beliefs and motives for physical activity were tested among boys and girls. Covariance modeling was applied to responses obtained from large multi-ethnic samples of students in the fifth and sixth grades. Theoretically and statistically sound models were developed, supporting the factorial validity of the scales in all groups. Multi-group longitudinal invariance was confirmed between boys and girls, overweight and normal weight students, and non-Hispanic black and white children. The construct validity of the scales was supported by hypothesized convergent and discriminant relationships within a measurement model that included correlations with physical activity (MET • min/day) measured by an accelerometer. Scores from the scales provide valid assessments of selected beliefs and motives that are putative mediators of change in physical activity among boys and girls, as they begin the understudied transition from the fifth grade into middle school, when physical activity naturally declines.

  13. Integrated System Validation Usability Questionnaire: Computerized Procedures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garcés, Ma. I.; Torralba, B.

    2015-01-01

    The Research and Development (R&D) project on “Theoretical and Methodological Approaches to Integrated System Validation of Control Rooms, 2014-2015”, in which the research activities described in this report are framed, has two main objectives: to develop the items for an usability methodology conceived as a part of the measurement framework for performance-based control room evaluation that the OECD Halden Reactor Project will test in the experiments planned for 2015; and the statistical analysis of the data generated in the experimental activities of the Halden Man-Machine Laboratory (HAMMLAB) facility, with previous usability questionnaires, in 2010 and 2011. In this report, the procedure designed to meet the first goal of the project is described, in particular, the process followed to identify the items related to operating procedures, both computer and paper-based, one of the elements to be included in the usability questionnaire. Three phases are performed, in the first one, the approaches developed by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NRC, are reviewed, the models used by the nuclear industry and their technical support organizations, mainly, the Electric Power Research Institute, EPRI, are analyzed, and scientist advances are also explored. In the remaining stages, general and specific guidelines for computerized and paper-based procedures are compared and criteria for the preliminary selection of the items that should be incorporated into the usability questionnaire are defined. This proposal will be reviewed and adapted by the Halden Reactor Project to the design of the specific experiments performed in HAMLAB.

  14. Statistical Outlier Detection for Jury Based Grading Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thompson, Mary Kathryn; Clemmensen, Line Katrine Harder; Rosas, Harvey

    2013-01-01

    This paper presents an algorithm that was developed to identify statistical outliers from the scores of grading jury members in a large project-based first year design course. The background and requirements for the outlier detection system are presented. The outlier detection algorithm...... and the follow-up procedures for score validation and appeals are described in detail. Finally, the impact of various elements of the outlier detection algorithm, their interactions, and the sensitivity of their numerical values are investigated. It is shown that the difference in the mean score produced...... by a grading jury before and after a suspected outlier is removed from the mean is the single most effective criterion for identifying potential outliers but that all of the criteria included in the algorithm have an effect on the outlier detection process....

  15. Developing and Validating a Science Notebook Rubric for Fifth-Grade Non-Mainstream Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huerta, Margarita; Lara-Alecio, Rafael; Tong, Fuhui; Irby, Beverly J.

    2014-07-01

    We present the development and validation of a science notebook rubric intended to measure the academic language and conceptual understanding of non-mainstream students, specifically fifth-grade male and female economically disadvantaged Hispanic English language learner (ELL) and African-American or Hispanic native English-speaking students. The science notebook rubric is based on two main constructs: academic language and conceptual understanding. The constructs are grounded in second-language acquisition theory and theories of writing and conceptual understanding. We established content validity and calculated reliability measures using G theory and percent agreement (for comparison) with a sample of approximately 144 unique science notebook entries and 432 data points. Results reveal sufficient reliability estimates, indicating that the instrument is promising for use in future research studies including science notebooks in classrooms with populations of economically disadvantaged Hispanic ELL and African-American or Hispanic native English-speaking students.

  16. Operator competence in fetoscopic laser surgery for twin-twin transfusion syndrome: validation of a procedure-specific evaluation tool.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peeters, S H P; Akkermans, J; Bustraan, J; Middeldorp, J M; Lopriore, E; Devlieger, R; Lewi, L; Deprest, J; Oepkes, D

    2016-03-01

    Fetoscopic laser surgery for twin-twin transfusion syndrome is a procedure for which no objective tools exist to assess technical skills. To ensure that future fetal surgeons reach competence prior to performing the procedure unsupervised, we developed a performance assessment tool. The aim of this study was to validate this assessment tool for reliability and construct validity. We made use of a procedure-specific evaluation instrument containing all essential steps of the fetoscopic laser procedure, which was previously created using Delphi methodology. Eleven experts and 13 novices from three fetal medicine centers performed the procedure on the same simulator. Two independent observers assessed each surgery using the instrument (maximum score: 52). Interobserver reliability was assessed using Spearman correlation. We compared the performance of novices and experts to assess construct validity. The interobserver reliability was high (Rs  = 0.974, P performed by experts and in 9/13 (69%) procedures performed by novices (P = 0.005). Multivariable analysis showed that the checklist score, independent of age and gender, predicted competence. The procedure-specific assessment tool for fetoscopic laser surgery shows good interobserver reliability and discriminates experts from novices. This instrument may therefore be a useful tool in the training curriculum for fetal surgeons. Further intervention studies with reassessment before and after training may increase the construct validity of the tool. Copyright © 2015 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Copyright © 2015 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  17. The validation of science virtual test to assess 7th grade students’ critical thinking on matter and heat topic (SVT-MH)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sya’bandari, Y.; Firman, H.; Rusyati, L.

    2018-05-01

    The method used in this research was descriptive research for profiling the validation of SVT-MH to measure students’ critical thinking on matter and heat topic in junior high school. The subject is junior high school students of 7th grade (13 years old) while science teacher and expert as the validators. The instruments that used as a tool to obtain the data are rubric expert judgment (content, media, education) and rubric of readability test. There are four steps to validate SVT-MH in 7th grade Junior High School. These steps are analysis of core competence and basic competence based on Curriculum 2013, expert judgment (content, media, education), readability test and trial test (limited and larger trial test). The instrument validation resulted 30 items that represent 8 elements and 21 sub-elements to measure students’ critical thinking based on Inch in matter and heat topic. The alpha Cronbach (α) is 0.642 which means that the instrument is sufficient to measure students’ critical thinking matter and heat topic.

  18. Prostatectomy-based validation of combined urine and plasma test for predicting high grade prostate cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albitar, Maher; Ma, Wanlong; Lund, Lars; Shahbaba, Babak; Uchio, Edward; Feddersen, Søren; Moylan, Donald; Wojno, Kirk; Shore, Neal

    2018-03-01

    Distinguishing between low- and high-grade prostate cancers (PCa) is important, but biopsy may underestimate the actual grade of cancer. We have previously shown that urine/plasma-based prostate-specific biomarkers can predict high grade PCa. Our objective was to determine the accuracy of a test using cell-free RNA levels of biomarkers in predicting prostatectomy results. This multicenter community-based prospective study was conducted using urine/blood samples collected from 306 patients. All recruited patients were treatment-naïve, without metastases, and had been biopsied, designated a Gleason Score (GS) based on biopsy, and assigned to prostatectomy prior to participation in the study. The primary outcome measure was the urine/plasma test accuracy in predicting high grade PCa on prostatectomy compared with biopsy findings. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated using standard formulas, while comparisons between groups were performed using the Wilcoxon Rank Sum, Kruskal-Wallis, Chi-Square, and Fisher's exact test. GS as assigned by standard 10-12 core biopsies was 3 + 3 in 90 (29.4%), 3 + 4 in 122 (39.8%), 4 + 3 in 50 (16.3%), and > 4 + 3 in 44 (14.4%) patients. The urine/plasma assay confirmed a previous validation and was highly accurate in predicting the presence of high-grade PCa (Gleason ≥3 + 4) with sensitivity between 88% and 95% as verified by prostatectomy findings. GS was upgraded after prostatectomy in 27% of patients and downgraded in 12% of patients. This plasma/urine biomarker test accurately predicts high grade cancer as determined by prostatectomy with a sensitivity at 92-97%, while the sensitivity of core biopsies was 78%. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  19. Experimental Testing Procedures and Dynamic Model Validation for Vanadium Redox Flow Battery Storage System

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Baccino, Francesco; Marinelli, Mattia; Nørgård, Per Bromand

    2013-01-01

    The paper aims at characterizing the electrochemical and thermal parameters of a 15 kW/320 kWh vanadium redox flow battery (VRB) installed in the SYSLAB test facility of the DTU Risø Campus and experimentally validating the proposed dynamic model realized in Matlab-Simulink. The adopted testing...... efficiency of the battery system. The test procedure has general validity and could also be used for other storage technologies. The storage model proposed and described is suitable for electrical studies and can represent a general model in terms of validity. Finally, the model simulation outputs...

  20. Validation of science virtual test to assess 8th grade students' critical thinking on living things and environmental sustainability theme

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rusyati, Lilit; Firman, Harry

    2017-05-01

    This research was motivated by the importance of multiple-choice questions that indicate the elements and sub-elements of critical thinking and implementation of computer-based test. The method used in this research was descriptive research for profiling the validation of science virtual test to measure students' critical thinking in junior high school. The participant is junior high school students of 8th grade (14 years old) while science teacher and expert as the validators. The instrument that used as a tool to capture the necessary data are sheet of an expert judgment, sheet of legibility test, and science virtual test package in multiple choice form with four possible answers. There are four steps to validate science virtual test to measure students' critical thinking on the theme of "Living Things and Environmental Sustainability" in 7th grade Junior High School. These steps are analysis of core competence and basic competence based on curriculum 2013, expert judgment, legibility test and trial test (limited and large trial test). The test item criterion based on trial test are accepted, accepted but need revision, and rejected. The reliability of the test is α = 0.747 that categorized as `high'. It means the test instruments used is reliable and high consistency. The validity of Rxy = 0.63 means that the validity of the instrument was categorized as `high' according to interpretation value of Rxy (correlation).

  1. Development and validation of a screening procedure to identify speech-language delay in toddlers with cleft palate

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jørgensen, Line Dahl; Willadsen, Elisabeth

    2017-01-01

    condition based on assessment of consonant inventory using a real-time listening procedure in combination with parent-reported expressive vocabulary. These measures allowed evaluation of early speech-language skills found to correlate significantly with later speech-language difficulties in longitudinal......The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a clinically useful speech-language screening procedure for young children with cleft palate +/- cleft lip (CP) to identify those in need of speech-language intervention. Twenty-two children with CP were assigned to a +/- need for intervention...... studies of children with CP. The external validity of this screening procedure was evaluated by comparing the +/- need for intervention assignment determined by the screening procedure to experienced speech-language pathologists’ (SLPs’) clinical judgment of whether or not a child needed early...

  2. Verification and validation of a numeric procedure for flow simulation of a 2x2 PWR rod bundle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santos, Andre A.C.; Barros Filho, Jose Afonso; Navarro, Moyses A.

    2011-01-01

    Before Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) can be considered as a reliable tool for the analysis of flow through rod bundles there is a need to establish the credibility of the numerical results. Procedures must be defined to evaluate the error and uncertainty due to aspects such as mesh refinement, turbulence model, wall treatment and appropriate definition of boundary conditions. These procedures are referred to as Verification and Validation (V and V) processes. In 2009 a standard was published by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) establishing detailed procedures for V and V of CFD simulations. This paper presents a V and V evaluation of a numerical methodology applied to the simulation of a PWR rod bundle segment with a split vane spacer grid based on ASMEs standard. In this study six progressively refined meshes were generated to evaluate the numerical uncertainty through the verification procedure. Experimental and analytical results available in the literature were used in this study for validation purpose. The results show that the ASME verification procedure can give highly variable predictions of uncertainty depending on the mesh triplet used for the evaluation. However, the procedure can give good insight towards optimization of the mesh size and overall result quality. Although the experimental results used for the validation were not ideal, through the validation procedure the deficiencies and strengths of the presented modeling could be detected and reasonably evaluated. Even though it is difficult to obtain reliable estimates of the uncertainty of flow quantities in the turbulent flow, this study shows that the V and V process is a necessary step in a CFD analysis of a spacer grid design. (author)

  3. Technical Note: Procedure for the calibration and validation of kilo-voltage cone-beam CT models

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vilches-Freixas, Gloria; Létang, Jean Michel; Rit, Simon, E-mail: simon.rit@creatis.insa-lyon.fr [Université de Lyon, CREATIS, CNRS UMR5220, Inserm U1206, INSA-Lyon, Université Lyon 1, Centre Léon Bérard, Lyon 69373 Cedex 08 (France); Brousmiche, Sébastien [Ion Beam Application, Louvain-la-Neuve 1348 (Belgium); Romero, Edward; Vila Oliva, Marc [Université de Lyon, CREATIS, CNRS UMR5220, Inserm U1206, INSA-Lyon, Université Lyon 1, Centre Léon Bérard, Lyon 69373 Cedex 08, France and Ion Beam Application, Louvain-la-Neuve 1348 (Belgium); Kellner, Daniel; Deutschmann, Heinz; Keuschnigg, Peter; Steininger, Philipp [Institute for Research and Development on Advanced Radiation Technologies, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg 5020 (Austria)

    2016-09-15

    Purpose: The aim of this work is to propose a general and simple procedure for the calibration and validation of kilo-voltage cone-beam CT (kV CBCT) models against experimental data. Methods: The calibration and validation of the CT model is a two-step procedure: the source model then the detector model. The source is described by the direction dependent photon energy spectrum at each voltage while the detector is described by the pixel intensity value as a function of the direction and the energy of incident photons. The measurements for the source consist of a series of dose measurements in air performed at each voltage with varying filter thicknesses and materials in front of the x-ray tube. The measurements for the detector are acquisitions of projection images using the same filters and several tube voltages. The proposed procedure has been applied to calibrate and assess the accuracy of simple models of the source and the detector of three commercial kV CBCT units. If the CBCT system models had been calibrated differently, the current procedure would have been exclusively used to validate the models. Several high-purity attenuation filters of aluminum, copper, and silver combined with a dosimeter which is sensitive to the range of voltages of interest were used. A sensitivity analysis of the model has also been conducted for each parameter of the source and the detector models. Results: Average deviations between experimental and theoretical dose values are below 1.5% after calibration for the three x-ray sources. The predicted energy deposited in the detector agrees with experimental data within 4% for all imaging systems. Conclusions: The authors developed and applied an experimental procedure to calibrate and validate any model of the source and the detector of a CBCT unit. The present protocol has been successfully applied to three x-ray imaging systems. The minimum requirements in terms of material and equipment would make its implementation suitable in

  4. The predictive and discriminant validity of the zone of proximal development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meijer, J; Elshout, J J

    2001-03-01

    Dynamic measurement procedures are supposed to uncover the zone of proximal development and to increase predictive validity in comparison to conventional, static measurement procedures. Two alternative explanations for the discrepancies between static and dynamic measurements were investigated. The first focuses on Vygotsky's learning potential theory, the second considers the role of anxiety tendency during test taking. If test anxious tendencies are mitigated by dynamic testing procedures, in particular the availability of assistance, the concept of the zone of proximal development may be superfluous in explaining the differences between the outcomes of static and dynamic measurement. Participants were students from secondary education in the Netherlands. They were tested repeatedly in grade three as well as in grade four. Participants were between 14 and 17 years old; their average age was 15.4 years with a standard deviation of .52. Two types of mathematics tests were used in a longitudinal experiment. The first type of test consisted of open-ended items, which participants had to solve completely on their own. With the second type of test, assistance was available to participants during the test. The latter so-called learning test was conceived of as a dynamic testing procedure. Furthermore, a test anxiety questionnaire was administered repeatedly. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data. Apart from emotionality and worry, lack of self-confidence appears to be an important constituent of test anxiety. The learning test appears to contribute to the predictive validity of conventional tests and thus a part of Vygotsky's claims were substantiated. Moreover, the mere inclusion of a test anxiety factor into an explanatory model for the gathered data is not sufficient. Apart from test anxiety and mathematical ability it is necessary to assume a factor which may be construed as mathematics learning potential. The results indicate that the observed

  5. LASER treatment for women with high-grade vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia: A propensity-matched analysis on the efficacy of ablative versus excisional procedures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bogani, Giorgio; Ditto, Antonino; Martinelli, Fabio; Mosca, Lavinia; Chiappa, Valentina; Rossetti, Diego; Leone Roberti Maggiore, Umberto; Sabatucci, Ilaria; Lorusso, Domenica; Raspagliesi, Francesco

    2018-05-14

    To investigate the long-term effectiveness of LASER treatment in women affected by high-grade vaginal intra-epithelial neoplasia. Data of consecutive women treated for high-grade vaginal intra-epithelial neoplasia were retrieved. Efficacy and long-term effectiveness of ablative and excisional procedures were tested using a propensity-matched algorithm. Risk of recurrence over the time was assessed using Kaplan-Meier and Cox models. Overall, 204 patients met the inclusion criteria. LASER ablation and exicision were performed in 169 (82.8%) and 35 (17.2%) patients. A total of 41 (20%) patients developed high-grade vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia at a median follow-up of 65 (range, 6-120) months. We observed that only HPV persistence (HR: 2.37 [95%CI:1.03, 5.42]; P = 0.04) was associated with the risk of recurrence at multivariate analysis. Seven (3.4%) invasive cancers of the lower genital tract were observed in our population. Considering the efficacy of type of procedure (after we applied the propensity-matched analysis), we observed that type of procedure did not influence persistence of HPV infection (22.8% after excision and 15.7% after ablation; P = 0.424). Similarly, recurrence (17.1% vs. 18.6%; P = 1.00) and lower genital tract (2.8% vs. 1.4%; P = 1.00) rates were similar between groups. Women affected by high-grade vaginal intra-epithelial neoplasia are at high risk of recurrence. LASER ablation seems to be equivalent to excision in term of long-term effectiveness. Lasers Surg. Med. 9999:1-7, 2018. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  6. Biology Procedural Knowledge at Eleventh Grade of Senior High School in West Lampung Based on Curriculum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sari, T. M.; Paidi; Mercuriani, I. S.

    2018-03-01

    This study was aim to determine Biology procedural knowledge of senior high school in West Lampung based on curriculum at 11th grade in even semester. This research was descriptive research. The population was all students of senior high school in West Lampung. The sampling technique in this research used purposive sampling technique, so the researcher obtained 3 schools using K13 and 3 schools using KTSP. Data collecting technique used instrument test. Data analysis technique used U-Mann Whitney test. The result showed that p=0.028 (p<0.05), so there was significant differences between school using K13 and KTSP. The procedural knowledge of schools which using K13 is higher than school which using KTSP, with the mean score K13=4.35 and KTSP=4.00

  7. Cost-effective master cell bank validation of multiple clinical-grade human pluripotent stem cell lines from a single donor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Devito, Liani; Petrova, Anastasia; Miere, Cristian; Codognotto, Stefano; Blakely, Nicola; Lovatt, Archie; Ogilvie, Caroline; Khalaf, Yacoub; Ilic, Dusko

    2014-10-01

    Standardization guidelines for human pluripotent stem cells are still very broadly defined, despite ongoing clinical trials in the U.S., U.K., and Japan. The requirements for validation of human embryonic (hESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) in general follow the regulations for other clinically compliant biologics already in place but without addressing key differences between cell types or final products. In order to realize the full potential of stem cell therapy, validation criteria, methodology, and, most importantly, strategy, should address the shortfalls and efficiency of current approaches; without this, hESC- and, especially, iPSC-based therapy will not be able to compete with other technologies in a cost-efficient way. We addressed the protocols for testing cell lines for human viral pathogens and propose a novel strategy that would significantly reduce costs. It is highly unlikely that the multiple cell lines derived in parallel from a tissue sample taken from one donor would have different profiles of endogenous viral pathogens; we therefore argue that samples from the Master Cell Banks of sibling lines could be safely pooled for validation. We illustrate this approach with tiered validation of two sibling clinical-grade hESC lines, KCL033 and KCL034 (stage 1, sterility; stage 2, specific human pathogens; and stage 3, nonspecific human pathogens). The results of all tests were negative. This cost-effective strategy could also be applied for validation of Master Cell Banks of multiple clinical-grade iPSC lines derived from a single donor. ©AlphaMed Press.

  8. Development and Validation of Extract the Base: An English Derivational Morphology Test for Third through Fifth Grade Monolingual Students and Spanish-Speaking English Language Learners

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodwin, Amanda P.; Huggins, A. Corinne; Carlo, Maria; Malabonga, Valerie; Kenyon, Dorry; Louguit, Mohammed; August, Diane

    2012-01-01

    This study describes the development and validation of the Extract the Base test (ETB), which assesses derivational morphological awareness. Scores on this test were validated for 580 monolingual students and 373 Spanish-speaking English language learners (ELLs) in third through fifth grade. As part of the validation of the internal structure,…

  9. An Investigation of Seventh Grade Students’ Performances on Conceptual, Procedural and Graphical Problems Regarding Circles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lütfi İncikabı

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to determine seventh grade students’ preferences among the procedural, conceptual and graphical questions in the subject of circles, to define their success levels in their preferences, and to compare students’ success levels in one question type with their performances in other question types. The methodology adopted during this research was case study. Based on criterion-based purposive sampling strategy, 98 middle school students were selected as the participants. Data were collected through an achievement test consisting of nine questions (three per question type. The results obtained from the study indicated that students mostly preferred graphical question types. Moreover, majority of students could not succeeded high levels in their preferred question types. In addition, the students performed better in graphical question types; however, the failure in procedural question types was remarkable. Keywords: Multiple representations, middle school students, mathematics education, circles

  10. Multiparametric Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Discriminating Low-Grade From High-Grade Prostate Cancer

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vos, E.K.; Kobus, T.; Litjens, G.J.S.; Hambrock, T.; Hulsbergen-van de Kaa, C.A.; Barentsz, J.O.; Maas, M.C.; Scheenen, T.W.J.

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this study was to determine and validate the optimal combination of parameters derived from 3-T diffusion-weighted imaging, dynamic contrast-enhanced imaging, and magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopic imaging for discriminating low-grade from high-grade prostate cancer (PCa).The study was

  11. Validation of a densimeter calibration procedure for a secondary calibration laboratory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alpizar Herrera, Juan Carlos

    2014-01-01

    A survey was conducted to quantify the need for calibration of a density measurement instrument at the research units at the Sede Rodrigo Facio of the Universidad de Costa Rica. A calibration procedure was documented for the instrument that presented the highest demand in the survey by the calibration service. A study of INTE-ISO/IEC 17025: 2005 and specifically in section 5.4 of this standard was done, to document the procedure for calibrating densimeters. Densimeter calibration procedures and standards were sought from different national and international sources. The method of hydrostatic weighing or Cuckow method was the basis of the defined procedure. Documenting the calibration procedure and creating other documents was performed for data acquisition log, intermediate calculation log and calibration certificate copy. A veracity test was performed using as reference laboratory a laboratory of calibration secondary national as part of the validation process of the documented procedure. The results of the E_n statistic of 0.41; 0.34 and 0.46 for the calibration points 90%, 50% and 10% were obtained for the densimeter scale respectively. A reproducibility analysis of the method was performed with satisfactory results. Different suppliers were contacted to estimate the economic costs of the equipment and materials, needed to develop the documented method of densimeter calibration. The acquisition of an analytical balance was recommended, instead of a precision scale, in order to improve the results obtained with the documented method [es

  12. Stepwise Procedure for Development and Validation of a Multipesticide Method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ambrus, A. [Hungarian Food Safety Office, Budapest (Hungary)

    2009-07-15

    The stepwise procedure for development and the validation of so called multi-pesticide methods are described. Principles, preliminary actions, criteria for the selection of chromatographic separation, detection and performance verification of multi-pesticide methods are outlined. Also the long term repeatability and reproducibility, as well as the necessity for the documentation of laboratory work are highlighted. Appendix I hereof describes in detail the calculation of calibration parameters, whereas Appendix II focuses on the calculation of the significance of differences of concentrations obtained on two different separation columns. (author)

  13. Validation procedures used in the Background Soil Characterization Project on the Oak Ridge Reservation, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1993-12-01

    The purpose of this report is (1) to document the data validation process developed for the Background Soil Characterization Project (BSCP); (2) to offer members of other project teams and potential data users the benefit of the experience gained in the BSCP in the area of developing project-specific data validation criteria and procedures based on best available guidance and technical information; and (3) to provide input and guidance to the efforts under way within Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc., to develop standard operating procedures to streamline and optimize the analytical laboratory data validation process for general use by making it more technically rigorous, consistent, and cost effective. Lessons learned from the BSCP are also provided to meet this end (Sect. 1.3)

  14. The validity and reliability of value-added and target-setting procedures with special reference to Key Stage 3

    OpenAIRE

    Moody, Ian Robin

    2003-01-01

    The validity of value-added systems of measurement is crucially dependent upon there being a demonstrably unambiguous relationship between the so-called baseline, or intake measures, and any subsequent measure of performance at a later stage. The reliability of such procedures is dependent on the relationships between these two measures being relatively stable over time. A number of questions arise with regard to both the validity and reliability of value-added procedures at any level in educ...

  15. 41 CFR 60-3.6 - Use of selection procedures which have not been validated.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 3-UNIFORM GUIDELINES ON EMPLOYEE SELECTION PROCEDURES (1978... validation techniques contemplated by these guidelines. In such circumstances, the user should utilize... techniques contemplated by these guidelines usually should be followed if technically feasible. Where the...

  16. P2-7: Encoding of Graded Changes in Validity of Spatial Priors in Human Visual Cortex

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuko Hara

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available If the spatial validity of prior information is varied systematically, does human behavioral performance improve in a graded fashion, and if so, does visual cortex represent the probability directly? Cortical activity was measured with fMRI while subjects performed a contrast-discrimination task in which the spatial validity of a prior cue for target location was systematically varied. Subjects viewed four sinusoidal gratings (randomized contrasts of 12.5, 25, and 50% shown in discrete visual quadrants presented twice. The contrast in one location (target was incremented in one of the two presentations. Subjects reported with a button press which presentation contained the greater contrast. The target grating was signaled in advance by a cue which varied in spatial validity; at trial onset, small lines pointed to four, two, or one of the possible target locations, thus indicating the target with 25, 50, or 100% probability. Behavioral performance was 2.1 and 3.3 times better in the 100% probability condition than the 50% and 25%, respectively (p < .001, ANOVA. Unlike behavioral performance, cortical activity in early visual areas showed the same increase in response amplitude for cued versus uncued stimuli for both 100% and 50% probability (V1-V4, V3A all p < .18, Student's t-test, 25% had no uncued condition. How could behavioral performance improve in a graded fashion if cortical activity showed the same effect for different probabilities? A model of efficient selection in which V1 responses were pooled according to their magnitude rather than as a simple average explained the observations (AIC difference = −15.

  17. Spatial Distribution of Cosmetic-Procedure Businesses in Two U.S. Cities: A Pilot Mapping and Validation Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Austin, S. Bryn; Gordon, Allegra R.; Kennedy, Grace A.; Sonneville, Kendrin R.; Blossom, Jeffrey; Blood, Emily A.

    2013-01-01

    Cosmetic procedures have proliferated rapidly over the past few decades, with over $11 billion spent on cosmetic surgeries and other minimally invasive procedures and another $2.9 billion spent on U.V. indoor tanning in 2012 in the United States alone. While research interest is increasing in tandem with the growth of the industry, methods have yet to be developed to identify and geographically locate the myriad types of businesses purveying cosmetic procedures. Geographic location of cosmetic-procedure businesses is a critical element in understanding the public health impact of this industry; however no studies we are aware of have developed valid and feasible methods for spatial analyses of these types of businesses. The aim of this pilot validation study was to establish the feasibility of identifying businesses offering surgical and minimally invasive cosmetic procedures and to characterize the spatial distribution of these businesses. We developed and tested three methods for creating a geocoded list of cosmetic-procedure businesses in Boston (MA) and Seattle (WA), USA, comparing each method on sensitivity and staff time required per confirmed cosmetic-procedure business. Methods varied substantially. Our findings represent an important step toward enabling rigorous health-linked spatial analyses of the health implications of this little-understood industry. PMID:24322394

  18. Spatial Distribution of Cosmetic-Procedure Businesses in Two U.S. Cities: A Pilot Mapping and Validation Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Bryn Austin

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Cosmetic procedures have proliferated rapidly over the past few decades, with over $11 billion spent on cosmetic surgeries and other minimally invasive procedures and another $2.9 billion spent on U.V. indoor tanning in 2012 in the United States alone. While research interest is increasing in tandem with the growth of the industry, methods have yet to be developed to identify and geographically locate the myriad types of businesses purveying cosmetic procedures. Geographic location of cosmetic-procedure businesses is a critical element in understanding the public health impact of this industry; however no studies we are aware of have developed valid and feasible methods for spatial analyses of these types of businesses. The aim of this pilot validation study was to establish the feasibility of identifying businesses offering surgical and minimally invasive cosmetic procedures and to characterize the spatial distribution of these businesses. We developed and tested three methods for creating a geocoded list of cosmetic-procedure businesses in Boston (MA and Seattle (WA, USA, comparing each method on sensitivity and staff time required per confirmed cosmetic-procedure business. Methods varied substantially. Our findings represent an important step toward enabling rigorous health-linked spatial analyses of the health implications of this little-understood industry.

  19. Consistency of FMEA used in the validation of analytical procedures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oldenhof, M T; van Leeuwen, J F; Nauta, M J; de Kaste, D; Odekerken-Rombouts, Y M C F; Vredenbregt, M J; Weda, M; Barends, D M

    2011-02-20

    In order to explore the consistency of the outcome of a Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) in the validation of analytical procedures, an FMEA was carried out by two different teams. The two teams applied two separate FMEAs to a High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Diode Array Detection-Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-DAD-MS) analytical procedure used in the quality control of medicines. Each team was free to define their own ranking scales for the probability of severity (S), occurrence (O), and detection (D) of failure modes. We calculated Risk Priority Numbers (RPNs) and we identified the failure modes above the 90th percentile of RPN values as failure modes needing urgent corrective action; failure modes falling between the 75th and 90th percentile of RPN values were identified as failure modes needing necessary corrective action, respectively. Team 1 and Team 2 identified five and six failure modes needing urgent corrective action respectively, with two being commonly identified. Of the failure modes needing necessary corrective actions, about a third were commonly identified by both teams. These results show inconsistency in the outcome of the FMEA. To improve consistency, we recommend that FMEA is always carried out under the supervision of an experienced FMEA-facilitator and that the FMEA team has at least two members with competence in the analytical method to be validated. However, the FMEAs of both teams contained valuable information that was not identified by the other team, indicating that this inconsistency is not always a drawback. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Enhanced Oceanic Operations Human-In-The-Loop In-Trail Procedure Validation Simulation Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murdoch, Jennifer L.; Bussink, Frank J. L.; Chamberlain, James P.; Chartrand, Ryan C.; Palmer, Michael T.; Palmer, Susan O.

    2008-01-01

    The Enhanced Oceanic Operations Human-In-The-Loop In-Trail Procedure (ITP) Validation Simulation Study investigated the viability of an ITP designed to enable oceanic flight level changes that would not otherwise be possible. Twelve commercial airline pilots with current oceanic experience flew a series of simulated scenarios involving either standard or ITP flight level change maneuvers and provided subjective workload ratings, assessments of ITP validity and acceptability, and objective performance measures associated with the appropriate selection, request, and execution of ITP flight level change maneuvers. In the majority of scenarios, subject pilots correctly assessed the traffic situation, selected an appropriate response (i.e., either a standard flight level change request, an ITP request, or no request), and executed their selected flight level change procedure, if any, without error. Workload ratings for ITP maneuvers were acceptable and not substantially higher than for standard flight level change maneuvers, and, for the majority of scenarios and subject pilots, subjective acceptability ratings and comments for ITP were generally high and positive. Qualitatively, the ITP was found to be valid and acceptable. However, the error rates for ITP maneuvers were higher than for standard flight level changes, and these errors may have design implications for both the ITP and the study's prototype traffic display. These errors and their implications are discussed.

  1. Assessing Women's Responses to Sexual Threat: Validity of a Virtual Role-Play Procedure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jouriles, Ernest N.; Rowe, Lorelei Simpson; McDonald, Renee; Platt, Cora G.; Gomez, Gabriella S.

    2011-01-01

    This study evaluated the validity of a role-play procedure that uses virtual reality technology to assess women's responses to sexual threat. Forty-eight female undergraduate students were randomly assigned to either a standard, face-to-face role-play (RP) or a virtual role-play (VRP) of a sexually coercive situation. A multimethod assessment…

  2. Handling of radiopharmaceuticals drugs in hot cell: Implementation and validation of new hygiene procedures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Levigoureux, E.; Hoffman, A.; Bolot, C.; Aulagner, G.; Brun, J.

    2012-01-01

    Exigencies associated with radiopharmaceutical drugs require validation of hygiene procedures. Different bio-cleaning processes were applied. For each, samples were collected from work surface, from preparation field and from the cap of multi-doses vial on agar contact. Twenty-two radiopharmaceutical preparations were inoculated in different liquid media. Results show that modification of bio-cleaning process enables a microbiological contamination reduction (p ≡ 0.0196). All preparations passed the sterility tests. Thus these results enabled the validation of new hygiene process in the radiopharmacy unit. (authors) [fr

  3. A competency based selection procedure for Dutch postgraduate GP training: a pilot study on validity and reliability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vermeulen, Margit I; Tromp, Fred; Zuithoff, Nicolaas P A; Pieters, Ron H M; Damoiseaux, Roger A M J; Kuyvenhoven, Marijke M

    2014-12-01

    Abstract Background: Historically, semi-structured interviews (SSI) have been the core of the Dutch selection for postgraduate general practice (GP) training. This paper describes a pilot study on a newly designed competency-based selection procedure that assesses whether candidates have the competencies that are required to complete GP training. The objective was to explore reliability and validity aspects of the instruments developed. The new selection procedure comprising the National GP Knowledge Test (LHK), a situational judgement tests (SJT), a patterned behaviour descriptive interview (PBDI) and a simulated encounter (SIM) was piloted alongside the current procedure. Forty-seven candidates volunteered in both procedures. Admission decision was based on the results of the current procedure. Study participants did hardly differ from the other candidates. The mean scores of the candidates on the LHK and SJT were 21.9 % (SD 8.7) and 83.8% (SD 3.1), respectively. The mean self-reported competency scores (PBDI) were higher than the observed competencies (SIM): 3.7(SD 0.5) and 2.9(SD 0.6), respectively. Content-related competencies showed low correlations with one another when measured with different instruments, whereas more diverse competencies measured by a single instrument showed strong to moderate correlations. Moreover, a moderate correlation between LHK and SJT was found. The internal consistencies (intraclass correlation, ICC) of LHK and SJT were poor while the ICC of PBDI and SIM showed acceptable levels of reliability. Findings on content validity and reliability of these new instruments are promising to realize a competency based procedure. Further development of the instruments and research on predictive validity should be pursued.

  4. External validation of a PCA-3-based nomogram for predicting prostate cancer and high-grade cancer on initial prostate biopsy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greene, Daniel J; Elshafei, Ahmed; Nyame, Yaw A; Kara, Onder; Malkoc, Ercan; Gao, Tianming; Jones, J Stephen

    2016-08-01

    The aim of this study was to externally validate a previously developed PCA3-based nomogram for the prediction of prostate cancer (PCa) and high-grade (intermediate and/or high-grade) prostate cancer (HGPCa) at the time of initial prostate biopsy. A retrospective review was performed on a cohort of 336 men from a large urban academic medical center. All men had serum PSA PCa, PSA at diagnosis, PCA3, total prostate volume (TPV), and abnormal finding on digital rectal exam (DRE). These variables were used to test the accuracy (concordance index) and calibration of a previously published PCA3 nomogram. Biopsy confirms PCa and HGPCa in 51.0% and 30.4% of validation patients, respectively. This differed from the original cohort in that it had significantly more PCa and HGPCA (51% vs. 44%, P = 0.019; and 30.4% vs. 19.1%, P PCa detection the concordance index was 75% and 77% for overall PCa and HGPCa, respectively. Calibration for overall PCa was good. This represents the first external validation of a PCA3-based prostate cancer predictive nomogram in a North American population. Prostate 76:1019-1023, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. Validity of the Draw-a-Person: Screening Procedure for Emotional Disturbance (DAP:SPED) in Strengths-Based Assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matto, Holly C.; Naglieri, Jack A.; Clausen, Cinny

    2005-01-01

    Objective: This is the first validity study to date to examine the relationship between the Draw-A-Person: Screening Procedure for Emotional Disturbance (DAP:SPED) and strengths-based emotional and behavioral measures. The incremental predictive validity of the DAP:SPED relative to the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale was examined. Method:…

  6. Grade 11 Students' Interconnected Use of Conceptual Knowledge, Procedural Skills, and Strategic Competence in Algebra: A Mixed Method Study of Error Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Egodawatte, Gunawardena; Stoilescu, Dorian

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this mixed-method study was to investigate grade 11 university/college stream mathematics students' difficulties in applying conceptual knowledge, procedural skills, strategic competence, and algebraic thinking in solving routine (instructional) algebraic problems. A standardized algebra test was administered to thirty randomly…

  7. Does direct observation of procedural skills reflect trainee's progress in otolaryngology?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Awad, Z; Hayden, L; Muthuswamy, K; Ziprin, P; Darzi, A; Tolley, N S

    2014-06-01

    UK surgical trainees are required to undertake work-based assessments each year in order to progress in their training. Direct Observation of Procedural Skills (DOPS) is one of these assessments. We aim to investigate the validity of DOPS in assessing otolaryngology trainees at all levels. A retrospective search of the portfolios of all otolaryngology trainees in North Thames was carried out to identify otolaryngology-specific DOPS. A score (Cs) was calculated for each DOPS based on the percentage of satisfactorily-rated items. The overall performance rating (Ps) was analysed as a separate variable and compared with Cs. The Ps and Cs results were then compared across trainee grades and levels within each grade: Core trainees (CT1-CT2) and specialty trainees (ST3-ST8). Seven hundred and sixty-seven otolaryngology DOPS were completed between August 2008 and September 2013. The tool was found to be reliable and internally consistent. Trainees in ST grade had higher Cs and Ps scores than CT grade (P Otolaryngology DOPS is a useful tool in assessing otolaryngology trainees especially from CT1-ST3 level. DOPS can also differentiate between junior and senior trainees. However, it was not able to demonstrate progress at levels above ST3, most likely due to the simplicity of the procedures which trainees tend to master in the first few years of training. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  8. TSUNAMI analysis of the applicability of proposed experiments to reactor-grade and weapons-grade mixed-oxide systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rearden, Bradley T.; Hopper, Calvin M.; Elam, Karla R.

    2005-01-01

    The applicability of proposed critical experiments for the criticality code validation of a series of prototypic reactor-grade and weapons-grade mixed-oxide systems has been assessed with the TSUNAMI methodology from SCALE 5. The application systems were proposed by the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Working Party on Nuclear Criticality Safety MOX Experimental Needs Working Group. Forty-eight application systems were conceived to envelope the range of conditions in processing and fabrication of reactor-grade and weapons-grade MOX fuel. The applicability of 303 existing critical benchmarks to each of the 48 applications was assessed, and validation coverage was found to be lacking for certain applications. Two series of proposed critical experiments were also considered in this analysis. The TSUNAMI analysis has revealed that both series of proposed experiments are applicable to numerous configurations of the reactor-grade and weapons-grade systems. A detailed assessment of which experiments were revealed by TSUNAMI to be most applicable to specific prototypic fuel processing systems has been performed. (author)

  9. [The WHO/ISUP grading system for renal carcinoma].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moch, H

    2016-07-01

    Histological tumor grading is an accepted prognostic parameter of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). In 2012, the International Society of Urologic Pathologists (ISUP) proposed a novel grading system for RCC, mainly based on the evaluation of nucleoli: grade 1 tumors have nucleoli that are inconspicuous and basophilic at ×400 magnification; grade 2 tumors have nucleoli that are clearly visible at ×400 magnification and eosinophilic; grade 3 tumors have clearly visible nucleoli at ×100 magnification; and grade 4 tumors have extreme pleomorphism or rhabdoid and/or sarcomatoid morphology. This grading system was validated for clear cell renal cell carcinoma and papillary renal cell carcinoma. At the same time, the ISUP proposed not grading chromophobe renal cell carcinomas according to this system. At a consensus conference in Zurich the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended the ISUP grading system; thus, the WHO/ISUP grading system is now going to be implemented internationally. The ISUP/WHO grading system has not been validated as a prognostic parameter for other tumor subtypes, but can be used for descriptive purposes.

  10. Readability of Invasive Procedure Consent Forms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eltorai, Adam E M; Naqvi, Syed S; Ghanian, Soha; Eberson, Craig P; Weiss, Arnold-Peter C; Born, Christopher T; Daniels, Alan H

    2015-12-01

    Informed consent is a pillar of ethical medicine which requires patients to fully comprehend relevant issues including the risks, benefits, and alternatives of an intervention. Given the average reading skill of US adults is at the 8th grade level, the American Medical Association (AMA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommend patient information materials should not exceed a 6th grade reading level. We hypothesized that text provided in invasive procedure consent forms would exceed recommended readability guidelines for medical information. To test this hypothesis, we gathered procedure consent forms from all surgical inpatient hospitals in the state of Rhode Island. For each consent form, readability analysis was measured with the following measures: Flesch Reading Ease Formula, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Fog Scale, SMOG Index, Coleman-Liau Index, Automated Readability Index, and Linsear Write Formula. These readability scores were used to calculate a composite Text Readability Consensus Grade Level. Invasive procedure consent forms were found to be written at an average of 15th grade level (i.e., third year of college), which is significantly higher than the average US adult reading level of 8th grade (p readability guidelines for patient materials of 6th grade (p readability levels which makes comprehension difficult or impossible for many patients. Efforts to improve the readability of procedural consent forms should improve patient understanding regarding their healthcare decisions. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  11. Outcome and clinical signs of arthroscopically graded patellar chondromalacia with or without lateral release.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korkala, O L; Isotalo, T M; Lavonius, M I; Niskanen, R O

    1995-01-01

    In a follow-up study of 67 patients with an arthroscopically diagnosed patellar chondromalacia, we compared the results of plain conservative treatment with those after an open lateral retinacular release. The mean follow-up was 35 months. In Grade I chondromalacia the lateral release did not affect the result, which was in all cases good or excellent. In Grade II to IV chondromalacia the lateral release appeared beneficial, although the difference did not reach statistical significance. We also examined the validity of three clinical signs in arthroscopically verified patellar chondromalacia. Patellar inhibition and tracking tests were clearly more sensitive than the lateral apprehension test, which often gave a false negative result. If the patellar inhibition test is positive and a Grade II to IV chondromalacia of the patella is found at arthroscopy, lateral release should be considered among other procedures, like patellar shaving or patellar resurfacing.

  12. Validity of Alternative Fitnessgram Upper Body Tests of Muscular Strength and Endurance among Seventh and Eighth Grade Males and Females

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hobayan, Kalani; Patterson, Debra; Sherman, Clay; Wiersma, Lenny

    2014-01-01

    In a society in which obesity levels have tripled in the past 30 years, the importance of increased fitness levels within the academic setting has become even more critical. The purpose of this study was to investigate the validity of alternative Fitnessgram upper body tests of muscular strength and endurance among seventh and eighth grade males…

  13. Grade determination of crumb rubber-modified performance graded asphalt binder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-01

    Due to particulates common in crumb rubber-modified asphalt binders, conventional PG grading using the Dynamic : Shear Rheometer (DSR) with a gap height of 1.0 mm may not be valid and in accordance with current specifications. : Asphalt binder testin...

  14. Development and External Validation of the Korean Prostate Cancer Risk Calculator for High-Grade Prostate Cancer: Comparison with Two Western Risk Calculators in an Asian Cohort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Jae Young; Yoon, Sungroh; Park, Man Sik; Choi, Hoon; Bae, Jae Hyun; Moon, Du Geon; Hong, Sung Kyu; Lee, Sang Eun; Park, Chanwang; Byun, Seok-Soo

    2017-01-01

    We developed the Korean Prostate Cancer Risk Calculator for High-Grade Prostate Cancer (KPCRC-HG) that predicts the probability of prostate cancer (PC) of Gleason score 7 or higher at the initial prostate biopsy in a Korean cohort (http://acl.snu.ac.kr/PCRC/RISC/). In addition, KPCRC-HG was validated and compared with internet-based Western risk calculators in a validation cohort. Using a logistic regression model, KPCRC-HG was developed based on the data from 602 previously unscreened Korean men who underwent initial prostate biopsies. Using 2,313 cases in a validation cohort, KPCRC-HG was compared with the European Randomized Study of Screening for PC Risk Calculator for high-grade cancer (ERSPCRC-HG) and the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial Risk Calculator 2.0 for high-grade cancer (PCPTRC-HG). The predictive accuracy was assessed using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and calibration plots. PC was detected in 172 (28.6%) men, 120 (19.9%) of whom had PC of Gleason score 7 or higher. Independent predictors included prostate-specific antigen levels, digital rectal examination findings, transrectal ultrasound findings, and prostate volume. The AUC of the KPCRC-HG (0.84) was higher than that of the PCPTRC-HG (0.79, pexternal validation. Calibration plots also revealed better performance of KPCRC-HG and ERSPCRC-HG than that of PCPTRC-HG on external validation. At a cut-off of 5% for KPCRC-HG, 253 of the 2,313 men (11%) would not have been biopsied, and 14 of the 614 PC cases with Gleason score 7 or higher (2%) would not have been diagnosed. KPCRC-HG is the first web-based high-grade prostate cancer prediction model in Korea. It had higher predictive accuracy than PCPTRC-HG in a Korean population and showed similar performance with ERSPCRC-HG in a Korean population. This prediction model could help avoid unnecessary biopsy and reduce overdiagnosis and overtreatment in clinical settings.

  15. Clinical Validation of the 2005 ISUP Gleason Grading System in a Cohort of Intermediate and High Risk Men Undergoing Radical Prostatectomy.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sheila F Faraj

    Full Text Available In 2005, the International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP introduced several modifications to the original Gleason system that were intended to enhance the prognostic power of Gleason score (GS. The objective of this study was to clinically validate the 2005 ISUP Gleason grading system for its ability to detect metastasis. We queried our institutional RP database for men with NCCN clinically localized intermediate to high-risk disease undergoing radical prostatectomy (RP between 1992 and 2010 with no additional treatment until the time of metastatic progression. A case-cohort design was utilized. A total of 333 available RP samples were re-reviewed and GS was reassigned per the 2005 ISUP Gleason system. Cumulative incidence of metastasis was 0%, 8.4%, 24.5% and 44.4% among specimens that were downgraded, unchanged, had one point GS increase and two point GS increase, respectively. The hazard ratio for metastasis raised in GS 8 and 9 compared to GS 7 from 2.77 and 5.91 to 3.49 and 9.31, respectively. The survival c-index of GS increased from 0.70 to 0.80 when samples were re-graded at 5 years post RP. The c-index of the reassigned GS was higher than the original GS (0.77 vs 0.64 for predicting PCSM at 10 years post RP. The regraded GS improved the prediction of metastasis and PCSM. This validates the updated Gleason grading system using an unambiguous clinical endpoint and highlights the need for reassignment of Gleason grading according to 2005 ISUP system when considering comparisons of novel biomarkers to clinicopathological variables in archival cohorts.

  16. Validity, reliability, feasibility, acceptability and educational impact of direct observation of procedural skills (DOPS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naeem, Naghma

    2013-01-01

    Direct observation of procedural skills (DOPS) is a new workplace assessment tool. The aim of this narrative review of literature is to summarize the available evidence about the validity, reliability, feasibility, acceptability and educational impact of DOPS. A PubMed database and Google search of the literature on DOPS published from January 2000 to January 2012 was conducted which yielded 30 articles. Thirteen articles were selected for full text reading and review. In the reviewed literature, DOPS was found to be a useful tool for assessment of procedural skills, but further research is required to prove its utility as a workplace based assessment instrument.

  17. Validation of the American Board of Orthodontics Objective Grading System for assessing the treatment outcomes of Chinese patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Guang-Ying; Baumrind, Sheldon; Zhao, Zhi-He; Ding, Yin; Bai, Yu-Xing; Wang, Lin; He, Hong; Shen, Gang; Li, Wei-Ran; Wu, Wei-Zi; Ren, Chong; Weng, Xuan-Rong; Geng, Zhi; Xu, Tian-Min

    2013-09-01

    Orthodontics in China has developed rapidly, but there is no standard index of treatment outcomes. We assessed the validity of the American Board of Orthodontics Objective Grading System (ABO-OGS) for the classification of treatment outcomes in Chinese patients. We randomly selected 108 patients who completed treatment between July 2005 and September 2008 in 6 orthodontic treatment centers across China. Sixty-nine experienced Chinese orthodontists made subjective assessments of the end-of-treatment casts for each patient. Three examiners then used the ABO-OGS to measure the casts. Pearson correlation analysis and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis were conducted to evaluate the correspondence between the ABO-OGS cast measurements and the orthodontists' subjective assessments. The average subjective grading scores were highly correlated with the ABO-OGS scores (r = 0.7042). Four of the 7 study cast components of the ABO-OGS score-occlusal relationship, overjet, interproximal contact, and alignment-were statistically significantly correlated with the judges' subjective assessments. Together, these 4 accounted for 58% of the variability in the average subjective grading scores. The ABO-OGS cutoff score for cases that the judges deemed satisfactory was 16 points; the corresponding cutoff score for cases that the judges considered acceptable was 21 points. The ABO-OGS is a valid index for the assessment of treatment outcomes in Chinese patients. By comparing the objective scores on this modification of the ABO-OGS with the mean subjective assessment of a panel of highly qualified Chinese orthodontists, a cutoff point for satisfactory treatment outcome was defined as 16 points or fewer, with scores of 16 to 21 points denoting less than satisfactory but still acceptable treatment. Cases that scored greater than 21 points were considered unacceptable. Copyright © 2013 American Association of Orthodontists. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. 大型資料庫國小四年級自然科學習成就評量標準設定結果之效度評估 Validation of the Standard Setting Procedure for a Large Scale 4th Grade Science

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    謝進昌 Jin-Chang Hsieh

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available 學習成就評量資料庫建置目的之一,在於描述學生於各學科的學習成就表現概況;而學習成就表現的描述,即牽涉到標準設定議題。隨著臺灣學生學習成就評量資料庫對於國小四年級自然科之評量架構調整,致使沿用的表現標準已多不符合實務運用,而興起重新修訂之舉。本研究主要目的在於評估2009 年自然科學習成就評量國小四年級標準設定結果之效度,以Kane(1994, 2001)的效度評估證據為依據,藉由效度的過程證據、內部證據以及外部證據,作為標準設定結果之效度證據來源。結果發現,從各項效度證據來看,國小四年級自然科標準設定可由標準設定成員的組成及其回應、設定結果的一致性,以及外推論於數學成就的效度外部證據得到支持。本研究最後提出數項建議,供未來標準設定研究者參考。 One of the main purposes for constructing an academic achievement database is to understand the students’ academic performance for each content area. Standard setting is the main issue in the academic achievement. Due to the adjustment of the test blueprint for Taiwan Assessment of Student Achievement 4th grade science, the previous performance level description is outmoded for practice. Therefore, modifying the standards is necessary. The purpose of this study is to validate a science standard setting procedure designed for 2009 4th grade science students. Based on Kane’s (1994, 2001 framework for validation, this study collected procedural evidence, internal evidence, as well as external evidence using mathematics academic performance. Several suggestions are provided in the conclusion for further studies.

  19. Maintenance Procedures for North American Visually-graded Dimension Lumber Design Values

    Science.gov (United States)

    David Kretschmann; Don DeVisser; Kevin Cheung; Bob Browder; Al Rozek

    2014-01-01

    ASTM International D1990 Standard Practice for Establishing Allowable Properties for Visually-Graded Dimension Lumber from In-Grade Tests of Full-Size Specimens, that governs the development of design values for dimension lumber in North America, was first adopted in 1991with recognition that the resource and manufacturing of lumber could change over time impacting...

  20. Issues of validity and generalisability in the Grade 12 English Home Language examination

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    du Plessis, Colleen Lynne

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Very little research has been devoted to evaluating the national English Home Language (HL curriculum and assessment system. Not only is there a lack of clarity on whether the language subject is being offered at an adequately high level to meet the declared objectives of the curriculum, but the reliability of the results obtained by Grade 12 learners in the exit-level examination has been placed under suspicion. To shed some light on the issue, this study takes a close look at the language component of the school-leaving examination covering the period 2008-2012, to see whether evidence of high language ability can be generated through the current selection of task types and whether the inferred ability can be generalised to non-examination contexts. Of primary interest here are the validity of the construct on which the examination is built and the sub-abilities that are being measured, as well as the validity of the scoring. One of the key findings of the study is that the language papers cannot be considered indicators of advanced and differential language ability, only of basic and general proficiency. The lack of specifications in the design of the examination items and construction of the marking memoranda undermine the validity and reliability of the assessment. As a consequence hereof, the inferences made on the basis of the scores obtained by examinees are highly subjective and cannot be generalised to other domains of language use. The study hopes to draw attention to the importance of the format and design of the examination papers in maintaining educational standards.

  1. Probabilistic Modeling of Graded Timber Material Properties

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Faber, M. H.; Köhler, J.; Sørensen, John Dalsgaard

    2004-01-01

    The probabilistic modeling of timber material characteristics is considered with special emphasis to the modeling of the effect of different quality control and selection procedures used as means for quality grading in the production line. It is shown how statistical models may be established...... on the basis of the same type of information which is normally collected as a part of the quality control procedures and furthermore, how the efficiency of different control procedures may be quantified and compared. The tail behavior of the probability distributions of timber material characteristics plays...... such that they may readily be applied in structural reliability analysis and their format appears to be appropriate for codification purposes of quality control and selection for grading procedures....

  2. Clinical validation of a medical grade color monitor for chest radiology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacobs, J.; Zanca, F.; Verschakelen, J.; Marchal, G.; Bosmans, H.

    2009-02-01

    Until recently, the specifications of medical grade monochrome LCD monitors outperformed those of color LCD monitors. New generations of color LCD monitors, however, show specifications that are in many respects similar to those of monochrome monitors typically used in diagnostic workstations. The aim of present study was to evaluate the impact of different medical grade monitors in terms of detection of simulated lung nodules in chest x-ray images. Specifically, we wanted to compare a new medical grade color monitor (Barco Coronis 6MP color) to a medical grade grayscale monitor (Barco Coronis 3MP monochrome) and a consumer color monitor (Philips 200VW 1.7MP color) by means of an observer performance experiment. Using the free-response acquisition data paradigm, seven radiologists were asked to detect and locate lung nodules (170 in total), simulated in half of the 200 chest X-ray images used in the experiment. The jackknife free-response receiver operating characteristic (JAFROC) analysis of the data showed a statistically significant difference between at least two monitors, F-value=3.77 and p-value =0.0481. The different Figure of Merit values were 0.727, 0.723 and 0.697 for the new color LCD monitor, the medical grade monitor and the consumer color monitor respectively. There was no difference between the needed reading times but there was a difference between the mean calculated Euclidian distances between the position marked by the observers and the center of the simulated nodule, indicating a better accuracy with both medical grade monitors. Present data suggests that the new generation of medical grade color monitors could be used as diagnostic workstations.

  3. Validation of DWI pre-processing procedures for reliable differentiation between human brain gliomas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vellmer, Sebastian; Tonoyan, Aram S; Suter, Dieter; Pronin, Igor N; Maximov, Ivan I

    2018-02-01

    Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) is a powerful tool in clinical applications, in particular, in oncology screening. dMRI demonstrated its benefit and efficiency in the localisation and detection of different types of human brain tumours. Clinical dMRI data suffer from multiple artefacts such as motion and eddy-current distortions, contamination by noise, outliers etc. In order to increase the image quality of the derived diffusion scalar metrics and the accuracy of the subsequent data analysis, various pre-processing approaches are actively developed and used. In the present work we assess the effect of different pre-processing procedures such as a noise correction, different smoothing algorithms and spatial interpolation of raw diffusion data, with respect to the accuracy of brain glioma differentiation. As a set of sensitive biomarkers of the glioma malignancy grades we chose the derived scalar metrics from diffusion and kurtosis tensor imaging as well as the neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) biophysical model. Our results show that the application of noise correction, anisotropic diffusion filtering, and cubic-order spline interpolation resulted in the highest sensitivity and specificity for glioma malignancy grading. Thus, these pre-processing steps are recommended for the statistical analysis in brain tumour studies. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

  4. Verification Results of Safety-grade Optical Modem for Core Protection Calculator (CPC) in Korea Standard Nuclear Power Plant (KSNP)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Jangyeol; Son, Kwangseop; Lee, Youngjun; Cheon, Sewoo; Cha, Kyoungho; Lee, Jangsoo; Kwon, Keechoon [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2013-05-15

    We confirmed that the coverage criteria for a safety-grade optical modem of a Core Protection Calculator is satisfactory using a traceability analysis matrix between high-level requirements and lower-level system test case data set. This paper describes the test environment, test components and items, a traceability analysis, and system tests as a result of system verification and validation based on Software Requirement Specifications (SRS) for a safety-grade optical modem of a Core Protection Calculator (CPC) in a Korea Standard Nuclear Power Plant (KSNP), and Software Design Specifications (SDS) for a safety-grade optical modem of a CPC in a KSNP. All tests were performed according to the test plan and test procedures. Functional testing, performance testing, event testing, and scenario based testing for a safety-grade optical modem of a Core Protection Calculator in a Korea Standard Nuclear Power Plant as a thirty-party verifier were successfully performed.

  5. Grade IV fibrosis interferes in biliary drainage after Kasai procedure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salzedas-Netto, A A; Chinen, E; de Oliveira, D F; Pasquetti, A F; Azevedo, R A; da Silva Patricio, F F; Cury, E K; Gonzalez, A M; Vicentine, F P P; Martins, J L

    2014-01-01

    Biliary atresia (BA) is the most common cause of liver transplantation in children. The earlier the treatment is done, the better the prognosis. The aim is to evaluate the impact of late diagnosis in children with BA, including the histopathological findings and success rate of biliary drainage in patients submitted to hepatic portoenterostomy (HPE). A retrospective study of cases of BA in the Department of Pediatric Surgery, Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) between 1998-2011. We found 63 cases of BA; of these, 42 underwent HPE and 21 were referred for liver transplantation. Clinic and pathologic data were evaluated. The HPE was performed with a mean age of 86.5 days, with 16.6% having the operation at 60 days or earlier; 59.2% between 61 and 90 days; and 23.8% after 90 days. Successful biliary drainage occurred in 31% of surgeries, Mean days when HPE drained was 69.1 days, and 94.3 days when the surgery did not drain (P = .05). All patients who were successfully drained, did not have grade IV fibrosis on histology. In cases in which surgery was performed after 60 days that had not drained, 25% had grade IV fibrosis on biopsy (P = .0469). The age of HPE relates to better prognosis of the disease. It was found that the rate of grade IV fibrosis is higher in no drainage patients. All patients with grade IV fibrosis had no biliary drainage. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Validity of Students Worksheet Based Problem-Based Learning for 9th Grade Junior High School in living organism Inheritance and Food Biotechnology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jefriadi, J.; Ahda, Y.; Sumarmin, R.

    2018-04-01

    Based on preliminary research of students worksheet used by teachers has several disadvantages such as students worksheet arranged directly drove learners conduct an investigation without preceded by directing learners to a problem or provide stimulation, student's worksheet not provide a concrete imageand presentation activities on the students worksheet not refer to any one learning models curicullum recommended. To address problems Reviews these students then developed a worksheet based on problem-based learning. This is a research development that using Ploom models. The phases are preliminary research, development and assessment. The instruments used in data collection that includes pieces of observation/interviews, instrument self-evaluation, instruments validity. The results of the validation expert on student worksheets get a valid result the average value 80,1%. Validity of students worksheet based problem-based learning for 9th grade junior high school in living organism inheritance and food biotechnology get valid category.

  7. On a Bayesian estimation procedure for determining the average ore grade of a uranium deposit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heising, C.D.; Zamora-Reyes, J.A.

    1996-01-01

    A Bayesian procedure is applied to estimate the average ore grade of a specific uranium deposit (the Morrison formation in New Mexico). Experimental data taken from drilling tests for this formation constitute deposit specific information, E 2 . This information is combined, through a single stage application of Bayes' theorem, with the more extensive and well established information on all similar formations in the region, E 1 . It is assumed that the best estimate for the deposit specific case should include the relevant experimental evidence collected from other like formations giving incomplete information on the specific deposit. This follows traditional methods for resource estimation, which presume that previous collective experience obtained from similar formations in the geological region can be used to infer the geologic characteristics of a less well characterized formation. (Author)

  8. Validation of the school lunch recall questionnaire to capture school lunch intake of third- to fifth-grade students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paxton, Amy; Baxter, Suzanne Domel; Fleming, Phyllis; Ammerman, Alice

    2011-03-01

    Children's dietary intake is a key variable in evaluations of school-based interventions. Current methods for assessing children's intake, such as 24-hour recalls and meal observations, are time- and resource-intensive. As part of a study to evaluate the impact of farm-to-school programs, the school lunch recall was developed from a need for a valid and efficient tool to assess school lunch intake among large samples of children. A self-administered paper-and-pencil questionnaire, the school lunch recall prompts for school lunch items by asking children whether they chose a menu item, how much of it they ate, how much they liked it, and whether they would choose it again. The school lunch recall was validated during summer school in 2008 with 18 third- to fifth-grade students (8 to 11 years old) in a North Carolina elementary school. For 4 consecutive days, trained observers recorded foods and amounts students ate during school lunch. Students completed the school lunch recall immediately after lunch. Thirty-seven total observation school lunch recall sets were analyzed. Comparison of school lunch recalls against observations indicated high accuracy, with means of 6% for omission rate (items observed but unreported), 10% for intrusion rate (items unobserved but reported), and 0.63 servings for total inaccuracy (a measure that combines errors for reporting items and amounts). For amounts, accuracy was high for matches (0.06 and 0.01 servings for absolute and arithmetic differences, respectively) but lower for omissions (0.47 servings) and intrusions (0.54 servings). In this pilot study, the school lunch recall was a valid, efficient tool for assessing school lunch intake for a small sample of third- to fifth-grade students. Copyright © 2011 American Dietetic Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Multiparametric analysis of magnetic resonance images for glioma grading and patient survival time prediction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garzon, Benjamin; Emblem, Kyrre E.; Mouridsen, Kim; Nedregaard, Baard; Due-Toennessen, Paulina; Nome, Terje; Hald, John K.; Bjoernerud, Atle; Haaberg, Asta K.; Kvinnsland, Yngve

    2011-01-01

    Background. A systematic comparison of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) options for glioma diagnosis is lacking. Purpose. To investigate multiple MR-derived image features with respect to diagnostic accuracy in tumor grading and survival prediction in glioma patients. Material and Methods. T1 pre- and post-contrast, T2 and dynamic susceptibility contrast scans of 74 glioma patients with histologically confirmed grade were acquired. For each patient, a set of statistical features was obtained from the parametric maps derived from the original images, in a region-of-interest encompassing the tumor volume. A forward stepwise selection procedure was used to find the best combinations of features for grade prediction with a cross-validated logistic model and survival time prediction with a cox proportional-hazards regression. Results. Presence/absence of enhancement paired with kurtosis of the FM (first moment of the first-pass curve) was the feature combination that best predicted tumor grade (grade II vs. grade III-IV; median AUC 0.96), with the main contribution being due to the first of the features. A lower predictive value (median AUC = 0.82) was obtained when grade IV tumors were excluded. Presence/absence of enhancement alone was the best predictor for survival time, and the regression was significant (P < 0.0001). Conclusion. Presence/absence of enhancement, reflecting transendothelial leakage, was the feature with highest predictive value for grade and survival time in glioma patients

  10. Multiparametric analysis of magnetic resonance images for glioma grading and patient survival time prediction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Garzon, Benjamin (Dept. of Circulation and Medical Imaging, NTNU, Trondheim (Norway)), email: benjamin.garzon@ntnu.no; Emblem, Kyrre E. (The Interventional Center, Rikshospitalet, Oslo Univ. Hospital, Oslo (Norway); Dept. of Radiology, MGH-HST AA Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston (United States)); Mouridsen, Kim (Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus Univ., Aarhus (Denmark)); Nedregaard, Baard; Due-Toennessen, Paulina; Nome, Terje; Hald, John K. (Dept. of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Rikshospitalet, Oslo Univ. Hospital, Oslo (Norway)); Bjoernerud, Atle (The Interventional Center, Rikshospitalet, Oslo Univ. Hospital, Oslo (Norway)); Haaberg, Asta K. (Dept. of Circulation and Medical Imaging, NTNU, Trondheim (Norway); Dept. of Medical Imaging, St Olav' s Hospital, Trondheim (Norway)); Kvinnsland, Yngve (NordicImagingLab, Bergen (Norway))

    2011-11-15

    Background. A systematic comparison of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) options for glioma diagnosis is lacking. Purpose. To investigate multiple MR-derived image features with respect to diagnostic accuracy in tumor grading and survival prediction in glioma patients. Material and Methods. T1 pre- and post-contrast, T2 and dynamic susceptibility contrast scans of 74 glioma patients with histologically confirmed grade were acquired. For each patient, a set of statistical features was obtained from the parametric maps derived from the original images, in a region-of-interest encompassing the tumor volume. A forward stepwise selection procedure was used to find the best combinations of features for grade prediction with a cross-validated logistic model and survival time prediction with a cox proportional-hazards regression. Results. Presence/absence of enhancement paired with kurtosis of the FM (first moment of the first-pass curve) was the feature combination that best predicted tumor grade (grade II vs. grade III-IV; median AUC 0.96), with the main contribution being due to the first of the features. A lower predictive value (median AUC = 0.82) was obtained when grade IV tumors were excluded. Presence/absence of enhancement alone was the best predictor for survival time, and the regression was significant (P < 0.0001). Conclusion. Presence/absence of enhancement, reflecting transendothelial leakage, was the feature with highest predictive value for grade and survival time in glioma patients

  11. What Do You Think You Are Measuring? A Mixed-Methods Procedure for Assessing the Content Validity of Test Items and Theory-Based Scaling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koller, Ingrid; Levenson, Michael R.; Glück, Judith

    2017-01-01

    The valid measurement of latent constructs is crucial for psychological research. Here, we present a mixed-methods procedure for improving the precision of construct definitions, determining the content validity of items, evaluating the representativeness of items for the target construct, generating test items, and analyzing items on a theoretical basis. To illustrate the mixed-methods content-scaling-structure (CSS) procedure, we analyze the Adult Self-Transcendence Inventory, a self-report measure of wisdom (ASTI, Levenson et al., 2005). A content-validity analysis of the ASTI items was used as the basis of psychometric analyses using multidimensional item response models (N = 1215). We found that the new procedure produced important suggestions concerning five subdimensions of the ASTI that were not identifiable using exploratory methods. The study shows that the application of the suggested procedure leads to a deeper understanding of latent constructs. It also demonstrates the advantages of theory-based item analysis. PMID:28270777

  12. Video observation of procedural skills for assessment of trabeculectomy performed by residents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hassanpour, Narges; Chen, Rebecca; Baikpour, Masoud; Moghimi, Sasan

    2016-06-01

    The efficacy and sufficiency of a healthcare system is directly related to the knowledge and skills of graduates working in the system. In this regard, many different assessment methods have been proposed to evaluate various skills of the learners. Video Observation of Procedural Skills (VOPS) is one newly-proposed method. In this study we aimed to compare the results of the VOPS method with the more commonly used Direct Observation of Procedural Skills (DOPS). In this prospective study conducted in 2012, all 10 ophthalmology residents of post graduate year 4 were selected for participation. Three months into training in the glaucoma ward, these residents performed trabeculectomy surgery on patients, and their procedural skills were assessed in real time by an expert via the DOPS method. All surgeries were also recorded and later evaluated via the VOPS method by an expert. Bland-Altman plot also was used to compare the two methods and calculating the mean and 95% limit of agreement. Residents have been done a mean of 14.9 ± 3.5 (range 10-20) independent trabeculectomy before the assessments. DOPS grade was positively associated with number of independent trabeculectomy during glaucoma rotation (β=0.227, p = 0.004). The intra-observer reproducibility of VOPS measurements was 0.847 (95% CI: 0.634, 0.961). The mean VOPS grade was significantly lower than the mean DOPS grade (8.4 vs. 8.9, p = 0.02). However, a good correlation was observed between the grades of VOPS and DOPS (r = 0.89, p = 0.001). Bland-Altman analysis demonstrated that all data points fell within the 95% limits of agreement (-1.46, 0.46). The present study showed that VOPS might be considered a feasible, valid, and reliable assessment method for procedural skills of medical students and residents that can be used as an alternative to the DOPS method. However, VOPS might underestimate DOPS in evaluating surgical skills of residents.

  13. A formal language to describe a wide class of failure detection and signal validation procedures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Racz, A. [Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest (Hungary). Atomic Energy Research Inst.

    1996-01-01

    In the present article we make the first step towards the implementation of a user-friendly, object-oriented system devoted to failure detection and signal validation purposes. After overviewing different signal modelling, residual making and hypothesis testing procedures, a mathematical tool is suggested to describe a general failure detection problem. Three different levels of the abstraction are distinguished; direct examination, preliminary decision support mechanism and indirect examination. Possible scenarios are introduced depending both on the objective properties of the investigated signal and the particular requirements prescribed by the expert himself. Finally it is showed how to build up systematically a complete, general failure detection procedure. (author).

  14. Purification of melt-spun metallurgical grade silicon micro-flakes through a multi-step segregation procedure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martinsen, F. A.; Nordstrand, E. F.; Gibson, U. J.

    2013-01-01

    Melt-spun metallurgical grade (MG) micron dimension silicon flakes have been purified into near solar grade (SG) quality through a multi-step melting and re-solidification procedure. A wet oxidation-applied thermal oxide maintained the sample morphology during annealing while the interiors were melted and re-solidified. The small thickness of the flakes allowed for near elimination of in-plane grain boundaries, with segregation enhanced accumulation of impurities at the object surface and in the few remaining grain boundaries. A subsequent etch in 48% hydrofluoric acid (HF) removed the impure oxide layer, and part of the contamination at the oxide-silicon interface, as shown by electron dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and backscattered electron imaging (BEI). The sample grains were investigated by electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) after varying numbers of oxidation-annealing-etch cycles, and were observed to grow from ˜5 μm to ˜200 μm. The concentration of iron, titanium, copper and aluminium were shown by secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICPMS) to drop between five and six orders of magnitude. The concentration of boron was observed to drop approximately one order of magnitude. A good correlation was observed between impurity removal rates and segregation models, indicating that the purification effect is mainly caused by segregation. Deviations from these models could be explained by the formation of oxides and hydroxides later removed through etching.

  15. CHARACTERIZATION OF METAL GRADES IN A STOCKPILE OF AN IRON MINE (CASE STUDY- CHOGHART IRON MINE, IRAN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francesco Tinti

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available In any mining operation due to the cut-off grade (economic criteria, materials classify into the ore and waste. The material with grade equal to or higher than the cut-off grade is considered as ore and the material with grade less than the cut-off grade is transported as wastes to the waste dumps. However, because of increasing metal demand, depleting of in situ ore reserves and so the reduction of cut-off grades for many metals, the mentioned waste dumps were considered as valuable ore reserves named stockpiles. In this paper, multivariate geostatistics was used to estimate the iron grades of two stockpiles following the sequential of piling procedures from the main source - the ore deposit - to the piling field. One stockpile is characterized by phosphorous concentration ((P % > 0.6 %, while the other by iron concentration ((Fe %< 50%. Since economic and physical constraints made sampling physically and economically problematic, the grade distribution and variability were estimated on the basis of primary blast-hole data from the main ore body and the mine’s long-term planning policy. A geostatistical model was applied to the excavated part of the iron deposit and the stockpile, by reconstructing ore selection, haulage and piling method. Results were validated through spatial variability of iron and phosphorous concentrations by comparing grade variability (Fe and P with mining and pilling units. This methodology allows characterizing the iron grades within stockpiles without any extra sampling.

  16. Concomitant glenohumeral pathologies associated with acute and chronic grade III and grade V acromioclavicular joint injuries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jensen, Gunnar; Millett, Peter J; Tahal, Dimitri S; Al Ibadi, Mireille; Lill, Helmut; Katthagen, Jan Christoph

    2017-08-01

    The purpose of this study was to identify the risk of concomitant glenohumeral pathologies with acromioclavicular joint injuries grade III and V. Patients who underwent arthroscopically-assisted stabilization of acromioclavicular joint injuries grade III or grade V between 01/2007 and 12/2015 were identified in the patient databases of two surgical centres. Gender, age at index surgery, grade of acromioclavicular joint injury (Rockwood III or Rockwood V), and duration between injury and index surgery (classified as acute or chronic) were of interest. Concomitant glenohumeral pathologies were noted and their treatment was classified as debridement or reconstructive procedure. A total of 376 patients (336 male, 40 female) were included. Mean age at time of arthroscopic acromioclavicular joint reconstruction surgery was 42.1 ± 14.0 years. Overall, 201 patients (53%) had one or more concomitant glenohumeral pathologies. Lesions of the biceps tendon complex and rotator cuff were the most common. Forty-five patients (12.0%) had concomitant glenohumeral pathologies that required an additional repair. The remaining 156 patients (41.5%) received a debridement of their concomitant pathologies. Rockwood grade V compared to Rockwood grade III (p = 0.013; odds ratio 1.7), and chronic compared to acute injury were significantly associated with having a concomitant glenohumeral pathology (p = 0.019; odds ratio 1.7). The probability of having a concomitant glenohumeral pathology was also significantly associated with increasing age (p acromioclavicular joint injury of either grade III or V. Twenty-two percent of these patients with concomitant glenohumeral pathologies received an additional dedicated repair procedure. Although a significant difference in occurrence of concomitant glenohumeral pathologies was seen between Rockwood grades III and V, and between acute and chronic lesions, increasing age was identified as the most dominant predictor. Level IV, case series.

  17. A validity generalization procedure to test relations between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and influence tactics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbuto, John E; Moss, Jennifer A

    2006-08-01

    The relations of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation with use of consultative, legitimating, and pressure influence tactics were examined using validity generalization procedures. 5 to 7 field studies with cumulative samples exceeding 800 were used to test each relationship. Significance was found for relation between agents' intrinsic motivation and their use of consultative influence tactics and agents' extrinsic motivation and their use of legitimating influence tactics.

  18. Medical and pharmacy students' perceptions of the grading and assessment practices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kasanda, C D; Mitonga, K H; Veii, K; Zimba, R F

    2013-01-01

    Many students at the University of Namibia have frequently complained about ineffective assessment practices used at the institution. On many occasions, these complaints have not been substantiated with evidence of any kind. The purpose of this study was to obtain some empirical evidence that would ascertain undergraduate students' perceptions of the University of Namibia's grading and assessment practices. Using a structured scaled questionnaire, data were obtained from a representative sample of the University's undergraduate students studying for Medical and Pharmacy degrees. The questionnaire items covered matters related to students' experiences of assessment practices, feedback on assessment tasks, reliability and validity of assessment tools used by lecturers, efficacy of processes of administering examinations, perceptions of irregular and unfair assessment practices, impact of assessment regimes on students' cost of studies, motivation, morale, rate of progression in studies and graduation, the degree of compliance with assessment ethics and on academic quality assurance. According to the data reported in this article, the majority of the respondents perceived that the Schools of Medicine and Pharmacy at the University of Namibia applied assessment practices that yielded reliable and valid results. This was the case because most lecturers in the two schools used appropriate assessment tools and provided their students with prompt and informative feedback on the results of assignments, tests and examinations. In addition, most respondents reported that whereas examination procedures used in the two schools were efficient and effective, lecturers graded examination scripts fairly. These and other results are discussed in the article to communicate the message that the assessment procedures used in the Schools of Medicine and Pharmacy at the University of Namibia would promote effective learning and understanding amongst students as they were of high quality.

  19. MEDICAL AND PHARMACY STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE GRADING AND ASSESSMENT PRACTICES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Honoré eMITONGA KABWEBWE

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Many students at the University of Namibia have frequently complained about ineffective assessment practices used at the institution. On many occasions, these complaints have not been substantiated with evidence of any kind. The purpose of this study was to obtain some empirical evidence that would ascertain undergraduate students’ perceptions of the University of Namibia’s grading and assessment practices. Using a structured scaled questionnaire, data were obtained from a representative sample of the University’s undergraduate students studying for Medical and Pharmacy degrees. The questionnaire items covered matters related to students’ experiences of assessment practices, feedback on assessment tasks, reliability and validity of assessment tools used by lecturers, efficacy of processes of administering examinations, perceptions of irregular and unfair assessment practices, impact of assessment regimes on students’ cost of studies, motivation, morale, rate of progression in studies and graduation, the degree of compliance with assessment ethics and on academic quality assurance.According to the data reported in this article, the majority of the respondents perceived that the Schools of Medicine and Pharmacy at the University of Namibia applied assessment practices that yielded reliable and valid results. This was the case because most lecturers in the two schools used appropriate assessment tools and provided their students with prompt and informative feedback on the results of assignments, tests and examinations. In addition, most respondents reported that whereas examination procedures used in the two schools were efficient and effective, lecturers graded examination scripts fairly. These and other results are discussed in the article to communicate the message that the assessment procedures used in the Schools of Medicine and Pharmacy at the University of Namibia would promote effective learning and understanding amongst students

  20. Validating the Early Childhood Classroom Observation Measure in First and Third Grade Classrooms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Xin; Pakarinen, Eija; Lerkkanen, Marja-Kristiina; Kikas, Eve; Muotka, Joona; Nurmi, Jari-Erik

    2017-01-01

    The present study reports on the psychometric properties of the Early Childhood Classroom Observation Measure (ECCOM) in Finnish and Estonian first and third grade classrooms. The observation data were collected from 91 first grade teachers and 70 third grade teachers. Teachers' curriculum goals, teaching experience and the classroom size were…

  1. Experimental design technique applied to the validation of an instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis procedure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santos, Uanda Paula de M. dos; Moreira, Edson Gonçalves

    2017-01-01

    In this study optimization of procedures and standardization of Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) method were carried out for the determination of the elements bromine, chlorine, magnesium, manganese, potassium, sodium and vanadium in biological matrix materials using short irradiations at a pneumatic system. 2 k experimental designs were applied for evaluation of the individual contribution of selected variables of the analytical procedure in the final mass fraction result. The chosen experimental designs were the 2 3 and the 2 4 , depending on the radionuclide half life. Different certified reference materials and multi-element comparators were analyzed considering the following variables: sample decay time, irradiation time, counting time and sample distance to detector. Comparator concentration, sample mass and irradiation time were maintained constant in this procedure. By means of the statistical analysis and theoretical and experimental considerations, it was determined the optimized experimental conditions for the analytical methods that will be adopted for the validation procedure of INAA methods in the Neutron Activation Analysis Laboratory (LAN) of the Research Reactor Center (CRPq) at the Nuclear and Energy Research Institute (IPEN /CNEN-SP). Optimized conditions were estimated based on the results of z-score tests, main effect, interaction effects and better irradiation conditions. (author)

  2. Experimental design technique applied to the validation of an instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis procedure

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Santos, Uanda Paula de M. dos; Moreira, Edson Gonçalves, E-mail: uandapaula@gmail.com, E-mail: emoreira@ipen.br [Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), São Paulo, SP (Brazil)

    2017-07-01

    In this study optimization of procedures and standardization of Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) method were carried out for the determination of the elements bromine, chlorine, magnesium, manganese, potassium, sodium and vanadium in biological matrix materials using short irradiations at a pneumatic system. 2{sup k} experimental designs were applied for evaluation of the individual contribution of selected variables of the analytical procedure in the final mass fraction result. The chosen experimental designs were the 2{sup 3} and the 2{sup 4}, depending on the radionuclide half life. Different certified reference materials and multi-element comparators were analyzed considering the following variables: sample decay time, irradiation time, counting time and sample distance to detector. Comparator concentration, sample mass and irradiation time were maintained constant in this procedure. By means of the statistical analysis and theoretical and experimental considerations, it was determined the optimized experimental conditions for the analytical methods that will be adopted for the validation procedure of INAA methods in the Neutron Activation Analysis Laboratory (LAN) of the Research Reactor Center (CRPq) at the Nuclear and Energy Research Institute (IPEN /CNEN-SP). Optimized conditions were estimated based on the results of z-score tests, main effect, interaction effects and better irradiation conditions. (author)

  3. URANS simulations of the tip-leakage cavitating flow with verification and validation procedures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Huai-yu; Long, Xin-ping; Liang, Yun-zhi; Long, Yun; Ji, Bin

    2018-04-01

    In the present paper, the Vortex Identified Zwart-Gerber-Belamri (VIZGB) cavitation model coupled with the SST-CC turbulence model is used to investigate the unsteady tip-leakage cavitating flow induced by a NACA0009 hydrofoil. A qualitative comparison between the numerical and experimental results is made. In order to quantitatively evaluate the reliability of the numerical data, the verification and validation (V&V) procedures are used in the present paper. Errors of numerical results are estimated with seven error estimators based on the Richardson extrapolation method. It is shown that though a strict validation cannot be achieved, a reasonable prediction of the gross characteristics of the tip-leakage cavitating flow can be obtained. Based on the numerical results, the influence of the cavitation on the tip-leakage vortex (TLV) is discussed, which indicates that the cavitation accelerates the fusion of the TLV and the tip-separation vortex (TSV). Moreover, the trajectory of the TLV, when the cavitation occurs, is close to the side wall.

  4. A simple method for assigning genomic grade to individual breast tumours

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wennmalm, Kristian; Bergh, Jonas

    2011-01-01

    The prognostic value of grading in breast cancer can be increased with microarray technology, but proposed strategies are disadvantaged by the use of specific training data or parallel microscopic grading. Here, we investigate the performance of a method that uses no information outside the breast profile of interest. In 251 profiled tumours we optimised a method that achieves grading by comparing rank means for genes predictive of high and low grade biology; a simpler method that allows for truly independent estimation of accuracy. Validation was carried out in 594 patients derived from several independent data sets. We found that accuracy was good: for low grade (G1) tumors 83- 94%, for high grade (G3) tumors 74- 100%. In keeping with aim of improved grading, two groups of intermediate grade (G2) cancers with significantly different outcome could be discriminated. This validates the concept of microarray-based grading in breast cancer, and provides a more practical method to achieve it. A simple R script for grading is available in an additional file. Clinical implementation could achieve better estimation of recurrence risk for 40 to 50% of breast cancer patients

  5. A simple method for assigning genomic grade to individual breast tumours

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bergh Jonas

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The prognostic value of grading in breast cancer can be increased with microarray technology, but proposed strategies are disadvantaged by the use of specific training data or parallel microscopic grading. Here, we investigate the performance of a method that uses no information outside the breast profile of interest. Results In 251 profiled tumours we optimised a method that achieves grading by comparing rank means for genes predictive of high and low grade biology; a simpler method that allows for truly independent estimation of accuracy. Validation was carried out in 594 patients derived from several independent data sets. We found that accuracy was good: for low grade (G1 tumors 83- 94%, for high grade (G3 tumors 74- 100%. In keeping with aim of improved grading, two groups of intermediate grade (G2 cancers with significantly different outcome could be discriminated. Conclusion This validates the concept of microarray-based grading in breast cancer, and provides a more practical method to achieve it. A simple R script for grading is available in an additional file. Clinical implementation could achieve better estimation of recurrence risk for 40 to 50% of breast cancer patients.

  6. Reliability and validity of procedure-based assessments in otolaryngology training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Awad, Zaid; Hayden, Lindsay; Robson, Andrew K; Muthuswamy, Keerthini; Tolley, Neil S

    2015-06-01

    To investigate the reliability and construct validity of procedure-based assessment (PBA) in assessing performance and progress in otolaryngology training. Retrospective database analysis using a national electronic database. We analyzed PBAs of otolaryngology trainees in North London from core trainees (CTs) to specialty trainees (STs). The tool contains six multi-item domains: consent, planning, preparation, exposure/closure, technique, and postoperative care, rated as "satisfactory" or "development required," in addition to an overall performance rating (pS) of 1 to 4. Individual domain score, overall calculated score (cS), and number of "development-required" items were calculated for each PBA. Receiver operating characteristic analysis helped determine sensitivity and specificity. There were 3,152 otolaryngology PBAs from 46 otolaryngology trainees analyzed. PBA reliability was high (Cronbach's α 0.899), and sensitivity approached 99%. cS correlated positively with pS and level in training (rs : +0.681 and +0.324, respectively). ST had higher cS and pS than CT (93% ± 0.6 and 3.2 ± 0.03 vs. 71% ± 3.1 and 2.3 ± 0.08, respectively; P reliable and valid for assessing otolaryngology trainees' performance and progress at all levels. It is highly sensitive in identifying competent trainees. The tool is used in a formative and feedback capacity. The technical domain is the best predictor and should be given close attention. NA. © 2014 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.

  7. Procedure for the Selection and Validation of a Calibration Model I-Description and Application.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Desharnais, Brigitte; Camirand-Lemyre, Félix; Mireault, Pascal; Skinner, Cameron D

    2017-05-01

    Calibration model selection is required for all quantitative methods in toxicology and more broadly in bioanalysis. This typically involves selecting the equation order (quadratic or linear) and weighting factor correctly modelizing the data. A mis-selection of the calibration model will generate lower quality control (QC) accuracy, with an error up to 154%. Unfortunately, simple tools to perform this selection and tests to validate the resulting model are lacking. We present a stepwise, analyst-independent scheme for selection and validation of calibration models. The success rate of this scheme is on average 40% higher than a traditional "fit and check the QCs accuracy" method of selecting the calibration model. Moreover, the process was completely automated through a script (available in Supplemental Data 3) running in RStudio (free, open-source software). The need for weighting was assessed through an F-test using the variances of the upper limit of quantification and lower limit of quantification replicate measurements. When weighting was required, the choice between 1/x and 1/x2 was determined by calculating which option generated the smallest spread of weighted normalized variances. Finally, model order was selected through a partial F-test. The chosen calibration model was validated through Cramer-von Mises or Kolmogorov-Smirnov normality testing of the standardized residuals. Performance of the different tests was assessed using 50 simulated data sets per possible calibration model (e.g., linear-no weight, quadratic-no weight, linear-1/x, etc.). This first of two papers describes the tests, procedures and outcomes of the developed procedure using real LC-MS-MS results for the quantification of cocaine and naltrexone. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  8. Beta-Test Data On An Assessment Of Textbook Problem Solving Ability: An Argument For Right/Wrong Grading?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cummings, Karen; Marx, Jeffrey D.

    2010-10-01

    We have developed an assessment of students' ability to solve standard textbook style problems and are currently engaged in the validation and revision process. The assessment covers the topics of force and motion, conservation of momentum and conservation of energy at a level consistent with most calculus-based, introductory physics courses. This tool is discussed in more detail in an accompanying paper by Marx and Cummings. [1] Here we present preliminary beta-test data collected at four schools during the 2009/2010 academic year. Data include both pre- and post-instruction results for introductory physics courses as well as results for physics majors in later years. In addition, we present evidence that right/wrong grading may well be a perfectly acceptable grading procedure for a course-level assessment of this type.

  9. DEVELOPING SIGNS AND SONGS MATERIALS DEALING WITH THE 2013 CURRICULUM FOR THE SEVENTH GRADE STUDENTS IN MTSN BALANG-BALANG

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mardiana

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available This research aimed to develop Signs and Songs Materials based on 2013 curriculum for the Seventh Grade Student at MTsN. BalangBalang, Gowa. It was Research and Development (R&D applied ADDIE model standing for Analysis, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate. The procedures were; 1 analyzing materials needed by students; 2designing the blueprint; 3 developing the materials through the syllabus of 2013 Curriculum; 4 implementing the product (try-out product; and 5 evaluating the product. The product was tried out to the seventh grade students at MTsN Balang-balang. Type of data obtained in this study was qualitative. The instruments used in this study were questionnaire and rubrics for teacher and expert. Then, the teacher and expert were involved in order to validate the product. They validated three systematic aspects of the product, namely; the organization of the Materials, English Teaching strategies or method, and the content of the materials. Finally, based on the teacher and expert judgment as well as try-out design result, it was found that the developed materials were applicable to be taught for the Seventh Grade of Junior High School as additional learning and teaching materials which help both students and teachers in learning process based on 2013 Curriculum.

  10. A procedure validation for high conversion reactors fuel elements calculation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ishida, V.N.; Patino, N.E.; Abbate, M.J.; Sbaffoni, M.M.

    1990-01-01

    The present work includes procedure validation of cross sections generation starting from nuclear data and the calculation system actually used at the Bariloche Atomic Center Reactor and Neutrons Division for its application to fuel elements calculation of a high conversion reactor (HCR). To this purpose, the fuel element calculation belonging to a High Conversion Boiling water Reactor (HCBWR) was chosen as reference problem, employing the Monte Carlo method. Various cases were considered: with and without control bars, cold of hot, at different vacuum fractions. Multiplication factors, reaction rates, power maps and peak factors were compared. A sensitivity analysis of typical cells used, the approximations employed to solve the transport equation (Sn or Diffusion), the 1-D or 2-D representation and densification of the spatial network used, with the aim of evaluating their influence on the parameters studied and to come to an optimum combination to be used in future design calculations. (Author) [es

  11. Design for validation: An approach to systems validation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter, William C.; Dunham, Janet R.; Laprie, Jean-Claude; Williams, Thomas; Howden, William; Smith, Brian; Lewis, Carl M. (Editor)

    1989-01-01

    Every complex system built is validated in some manner. Computer validation begins with review of the system design. As systems became too complicated for one person to review, validation began to rely on the application of adhoc methods by many individuals. As the cost of the changes mounted and the expense of failure increased, more organized procedures became essential. Attempts at devising and carrying out those procedures showed that validation is indeed a difficult technical problem. The successful transformation of the validation process into a systematic series of formally sound, integrated steps is necessary if the liability inherent in the future digita-system-based avionic and space systems is to be minimized. A suggested framework and timetable for the transformtion are presented. Basic working definitions of two pivotal ideas (validation and system life-cyle) are provided and show how the two concepts interact. Many examples are given of past and present validation activities by NASA and others. A conceptual framework is presented for the validation process. Finally, important areas are listed for ongoing development of the validation process at NASA Langley Research Center.

  12. Revisions of the Learning Mastery Systems for the Harper and Row Grades One and Two and the Macmillan Bank Street Grade One Reading Series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maeder, Jacqueline; And Others

    The revisions on the Learning Mastery Systems (LMSs) for the Harper & Row grade-one and grade-two and the Macmillan Bank Street grade-one reading programs are outlined in this document. A rationale for the revisions is presented. An LMS is a set of materials and procedures prepared by the southwest Regional Laboratory (SWRL) as an…

  13. A practical approach to perform graded verification and validation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Terrado, Carlos; Woolley, J.

    2000-01-01

    Modernization of instrumentation and control (I and C) systems in nuclear power plants often implies to go from analog to digital systems. One condition for the upgrade to be successful is that the new systems achieve at least the same quality level as the analog they replace. The most important part of digital systems quality assurance (QA) is verification and validation (V and V). V and V is concerned with the process as much as the product, it is a systematic program of review and testing activities performed throughout the system development life cycle. Briefly, we can say that verification is to build the product correctly, and validation is to build the correct product. Since V and V is necessary but costly, it is helpful to tailor the effort that should be performed to achieve the quality goal for each particular case. To do this, an accepted practice is to establish different V and V levels, each one with a proper degree of stringency or rigor. This paper shows a practical approach to estimate the appropriate level of V and V, and the resulting V and V techniques recommended for each specific system. The firs step purposed is to determine 'What to do', that is the selection of the V and V class. The main factors considered here are: required integrity, functional complexity, defense in depth and development environment. A guideline to classify the particular system using these factors and show how they lead to the selection of the V and V class is presented. The second step is to determine 'How to do it', that is to choose an appropriate set of V and V methods according to the attributes of the system and the V and V class already selected. A list of possible V and V methods that are recommended for each V and V level during different stages of the development life cycle is included. As a result of the application of this procedure, solutions are found for generalists interested in 'What to do', as well as for specialists, interested in 'How to do'. Finally

  14. Are we really measuring what we say we're measuring? Using video techniques to supplement traditional construct validation procedures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Podsakoff, Nathan P; Podsakoff, Philip M; Mackenzie, Scott B; Klinger, Ryan L

    2013-01-01

    Several researchers have persuasively argued that the most important evidence to consider when assessing construct validity is whether variations in the construct of interest cause corresponding variations in the measures of the focal construct. Unfortunately, the literature provides little practical guidance on how researchers can go about testing this. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to describe how researchers can use video techniques to test whether their scales measure what they purport to measure. First, we discuss how researchers can develop valid manipulations of the focal construct that they hope to measure. Next, we explain how to design a study to use this manipulation to test the validity of the scale. Finally, comparing and contrasting traditional and contemporary perspectives on validation, we discuss the advantages and limitations of video-based validation procedures. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

  15. [Questions of terminology, systematization and grading of complications of contact ureteral lithotripsy].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dutov, V V; Bazaev, V V; Mamedov, E A; Urenkov, S B; Podoinitsyn, A A

    2017-07-01

    To investigate the advantages and disadvantages of the current variants of systematization and grading of complications of contact ureteral lithotripsy (CULT) and develop a working classification of CULT complications. The study analyzed results of 545 fluoroscopy-guided endoscopic procedures performed at the MRRCI Clinic of Urology from 2008 to 2015 in 506 patients with ureterolithiasis. The proposed and implemented classification and terminology of CULT complications unifies the diagnostic and management algorithm. This tool is more systematic and structured than the classical classification and universal methods of systematization and grading of CULT complications (classifying CULT complications in "major" and "minor", PULS scale, Satava and Clavien-Dindo grading systems). Given the lack of clear grading of ureteral rupture, it was divided into amputation (two-level rupture) and avulsion (one-level rupture). Using such term as extravasation of the contrast media and/or migration of the stone outside of the ureter is groundless because these complications occur only after the perforation of the ureteral wall. Therefore, these conditions are complications not of CULT, but of the ureteral wall perforation. The ureteral perforation was classified into macro- and micro-perforation. The existing terminology, classification and grading of the CULT complications should undergo a more detailed analysis. None of the existing classifications of CULT complications afford them to be fully staged and systematized. The working classification of complications of CULT developed at the M.F. Vladimirsky MRRCI Clinic of Urology warrants a multi-center prospective study to validate it and investigate its effectiveness.

  16. Validation of standard operating procedures in a multicenter retrospective study to identify -omics biomarkers for chronic low back pain.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Concetta Dagostino

    Full Text Available Chronic low back pain (CLBP is one of the most common medical conditions, ranking as the greatest contributor to global disability and accounting for huge societal costs based on the Global Burden of Disease 2010 study. Large genetic and -omics studies provide a promising avenue for the screening, development and validation of biomarkers useful for personalized diagnosis and treatment (precision medicine. Multicentre studies are needed for such an effort, and a standardized and homogeneous approach is vital for recruitment of large numbers of participants among different centres (clinical and laboratories to obtain robust and reproducible results. To date, no validated standard operating procedures (SOPs for genetic/-omics studies in chronic pain have been developed. In this study, we validated an SOP model that will be used in the multicentre (5 centres retrospective "PainOmics" study, funded by the European Community in the 7th Framework Programme, which aims to develop new biomarkers for CLBP through three different -omics approaches: genomics, glycomics and activomics. The SOPs describe the specific procedures for (1 blood collection, (2 sample processing and storage, (3 shipping details and (4 cross-check testing and validation before assays that all the centres involved in the study have to follow. Multivariate analysis revealed the absolute specificity and homogeneity of the samples collected by the five centres for all genetics, glycomics and activomics analyses. The SOPs used in our multicenter study have been validated. Hence, they could represent an innovative tool for the correct management and collection of reliable samples in other large-omics-based multicenter studies.

  17. Software V and V methods for a safety - grade programmable logic controller

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jang Yeol Kim; Young Jun Lee; Kyung Ho Cha; Se Woo Cheon; Jang Soo Lee; Kee Choon Kwon

    2006-01-01

    This paper addresses the Verification and Validation(V and V) process and the methodology for an embedded real time software of a safety-grade Programmable Logic Controller(PLC). This safety- grade PLC is being developed as one of the Korean Nuclear Instrumentation and Control System (KNICS) projects. KNICS projects are developing a Reactor Protection System(RPS) and an Engineered Safety Feature-Component Control System(ESF-CCS) as well as a safety-grade PLC. The safety-grade PLC will be a major component that encomposes the RPS systems and the ESF-CCS systems as nuclear instruments and control equipment. This paper describes the V and V guidelines and procedures, V and V environment, V and V process and methodology, and the V and V tools in the KNICS projects. Specifically, it describes the real-time operating system V and V experience which corresponds to the requirement analysis phase, design phase and the implementation and testing phase of the software development life cycle. Main activities of the V and V for the PLC system software are a technical evaluation, licensing suitability evaluation, inspection and traceability analysis, formal verification, software safety analysis, and a software configuration management. The proposed V and V methodology satisfies the Standard Review Plan(SRP)/Branch Technical Position(BTP)-14 criteria for the safety software in nuclear power plants. The proposed V and V methodology is going to be used to verify the upcoming software life cycle in the KNICS projects. (author)

  18. Validation of the in-flight calibration procedures for the MICROSCOPE space mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hardy, Émilie; Levy, Agnès; Rodrigues, Manuel; Touboul, Pierre; Métris, Gilles

    2013-11-01

    The MICROSCOPE space mission aims to test the Equivalence Principle with an accuracy of 10-15. The drag-free micro-satellite will orbit around the Earth and embark a differential electrostatic accelerometer including two cylindrical test masses submitted to the same gravitational field and made of different materials. The experience consists in testing the equality of the electrostatic acceleration applied to the masses to maintain them relatively motionless. The accuracy of the measurements exploited for the test of the Equivalence Principle is limited by our a priori knowledge of several physical parameters of the instrument. These parameters are partially estimated on-ground, but with an insufficient accuracy, and an in-orbit calibration is therefore required to correct the measurements. The calibration procedures have been defined and their analytical performances have been evaluated. In addition, a simulator software including the dynamics model of the instrument, the satellite drag-free system and the perturbing environment has been developed to numerically validate the analytical results. After an overall presentation of the MICROSCOPE mission, this paper will describe the calibration procedures and focus on the simulator. Such an in-flight calibration is mandatory for similar space missions taking advantage of a drag-free system.

  19. Developmental Predictors of Fraction Concepts and Procedures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jordan, Nancy C.; Hansen, Nicole; Fuchs, Lynn S.; Siegler, Robert S.; Gersten, Russell; Micklos, Deborah

    2013-01-01

    Developmental predictors of children's fraction concepts and procedures at the end of fourth grade were investigated in a 2-year longitudinal study. Participants were 357 children who started the study in third grade. Attentive behavior, language, nonverbal reasoning, number line estimation, calculation fluency, and reading fluency each…

  20. Analytical validation of an ultraviolet-visible procedure for determining lutein concentration and application to lutein-loaded nanoparticles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silva, Jéssica Thaís do Prado; Silva, Anderson Clayton da; Geiss, Julia Maria Tonin; de Araújo, Pedro Henrique Hermes; Becker, Daniela; Bracht, Lívia; Leimann, Fernanda Vitória; Bona, Evandro; Guerra, Gustavo Petri; Gonçalves, Odinei Hess

    2017-09-01

    Lutein is a carotenoid presenting known anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Lutein-rich diets have been associated with neurological improvement as well as reduction of the risk of vision loss due to Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD). Micro and nanoencapsulation have demonstrated to be effective techniques in protecting lutein against degradation and also in improving its bioavailability. However, actual lutein concentration inside the capsules and encapsulation efficiency are key parameters that must be precisely known when designing in vitro and in vivo tests. In this work an analytical procedure was validated for the determination of the actual lutein content in zein nanoparticles using ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. Method validation followed the International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) guidelines which evaluate linearity, detection limit, quantification limit, accuracy and precision. The validated methodology was applied to characterize lutein-loaded nanoparticles. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Validation of a new analytical procedure for determination of residual solvents in [18F]FDG by gas chromatography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Costa, Flávia M.; Costa, Cassiano L.S.; Silva, Juliana B.; Ferreira, Soraya M.Z.M.D.

    2017-01-01

    Fludeoxyglucose F 18 ([ 18 F]FDG) is the most used radiopharmaceutical for positron emission tomography, especially on oncology. Organic solvents such as ether, ethanol and acetonitrile might be used in the synthesis of [ 18 F]FDG; however, they might not be completely removed during purification steps. The determination of residual solvents in [ 18 F]FDG is required in the European Pharmacopoeia (EP) and the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) monographs. While the procedure described in the EP is quite general, the one described in the USP requires a long runtime (about 13 minutes). In this work a simple and fast (4-minute) analytical procedure was developed and validated for determination of residual solvents in [ 18 F]FDG. Analyses were carried out in a Perkin Elmer gas chromatograph equipped with a flame ionization detector. The separation was obtained on a 0.53-mm x 30 m fused-silica column. Validation included the evaluation of various parameters, such as: specificity, linearity and range, limits of detection and quantitation, precision (repeatability and intermediate precision), accuracy, and robustness. Results were found to be within acceptable limits, indicating the developed procedure is suitable for its intended application. Considering the short half-life of fluorine-18 (109.7 minutes), this new method could be a valuable alternative for routine quality control of [ 18 F]FDG. (author)

  2. Delphi Method Validation of a Procedural Performance Checklist for Insertion of an Ultrasound-Guided Internal Jugular Central Line.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hartman, Nicholas; Wittler, Mary; Askew, Kim; Manthey, David

    2016-01-01

    Placement of ultrasound-guided central lines is a critical skill for physicians in several specialties. Improving the quality of care delivered surrounding this procedure demands rigorous measurement of competency, and validated tools to assess performance are essential. Using the iterative, modified Delphi technique and experts in multiple disciplines across the United States, the study team created a 30-item checklist designed to assess competency in the placement of ultrasound-guided internal jugular central lines. Cronbach α was .94, indicating an excellent degree of internal consistency. Further validation of this checklist will require its implementation in simulated and clinical environments. © The Author(s) 2014.

  3. Development and Validation of a Mobile Device-based External Ventricular Drain Simulator.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morone, Peter J; Bekelis, Kimon; Root, Brandon K; Singer, Robert J

    2017-10-01

    Multiple external ventricular drain (EVD) simulators have been created, yet their cost, bulky size, and nonreusable components limit their accessibility to residency programs. To create and validate an animated EVD simulator that is accessible on a mobile device. We developed a mobile-based EVD simulator that is compatible with iOS (Apple Inc., Cupertino, California) and Android-based devices (Google, Mountain View, California) and can be downloaded from the Apple App and Google Play Store. Our simulator consists of a learn mode, which teaches users the procedure, and a test mode, which assesses users' procedural knowledge. Twenty-eight participants, who were divided into expert and novice categories, completed the simulator in test mode and answered a postmodule survey. This was graded using a 5-point Likert scale, with 5 representing the highest score. Using the survey results, we assessed the module's face and content validity, whereas construct validity was evaluated by comparing the expert and novice test scores. Participants rated individual survey questions pertaining to face and content validity a median score of 4 out of 5. When comparing test scores, generated by the participants completing the test mode, the experts scored higher than the novices (mean, 71.5; 95% confidence interval, 69.2 to 73.8 vs mean, 48; 95% confidence interval, 44.2 to 51.6; P mobile-based EVD simulator that is inexpensive, reusable, and accessible. Our results demonstrate that this simulator is face, content, and construct valid. Copyright © 2017 by the Congress of Neurological Surgeons

  4. Grade Level Differences in Factors of Self-Esteem

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kokenes, Barbara

    1974-01-01

    Investigated the construct validity of the Coopersmith Self Esteem Inventory, using approximately 1500 elementary school students. Also investigated grade level differences in preadolescent and adolescent children. (Author/ED)

  5. 3D Texture Analysis in Renal Cell Carcinoma Tissue Image Grading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cho, Nam-Hoon; Choi, Heung-Kook

    2014-01-01

    One of the most significant processes in cancer cell and tissue image analysis is the efficient extraction of features for grading purposes. This research applied two types of three-dimensional texture analysis methods to the extraction of feature values from renal cell carcinoma tissue images, and then evaluated the validity of the methods statistically through grade classification. First, we used a confocal laser scanning microscope to obtain image slices of four grades of renal cell carcinoma, which were then reconstructed into 3D volumes. Next, we extracted quantitative values using a 3D gray level cooccurrence matrix (GLCM) and a 3D wavelet based on two types of basis functions. To evaluate their validity, we predefined 6 different statistical classifiers and applied these to the extracted feature sets. In the grade classification results, 3D Haar wavelet texture features combined with principal component analysis showed the best discrimination results. Classification using 3D wavelet texture features was significantly better than 3D GLCM, suggesting that the former has potential for use in a computer-based grading system. PMID:25371701

  6. 3D Texture Analysis in Renal Cell Carcinoma Tissue Image Grading

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tae-Yun Kim

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available One of the most significant processes in cancer cell and tissue image analysis is the efficient extraction of features for grading purposes. This research applied two types of three-dimensional texture analysis methods to the extraction of feature values from renal cell carcinoma tissue images, and then evaluated the validity of the methods statistically through grade classification. First, we used a confocal laser scanning microscope to obtain image slices of four grades of renal cell carcinoma, which were then reconstructed into 3D volumes. Next, we extracted quantitative values using a 3D gray level cooccurrence matrix (GLCM and a 3D wavelet based on two types of basis functions. To evaluate their validity, we predefined 6 different statistical classifiers and applied these to the extracted feature sets. In the grade classification results, 3D Haar wavelet texture features combined with principal component analysis showed the best discrimination results. Classification using 3D wavelet texture features was significantly better than 3D GLCM, suggesting that the former has potential for use in a computer-based grading system.

  7. INAA of polyacrylic hydrogels of pharmaceutical grade

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ponta, C.; Salagean, M.; Pantelica, A.; Georgescu, I.I.

    1998-01-01

    Polyacrylic acid (PA) and its salts are promising biomaterials used in the pharmaceutical industry. They could be used as pharmaceutical additives, as a burn dressing and also in the slow released implants or trans-derma patch formulations. Polyacrylic acid of pharmaceutical grade can be obtained by gamma irradiation polymerization. The influence of the raw materials and of the technological procedure on the final product purity has been investigated by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) method. The following materials have been analyzed by INAA: 1) acrylic acid of technical grade; 2) acrylic acid purified by double crystallisation; 3) NaOH of analytical grade; 4) CaCl-2·6H 2 O of pharmaceutical grade; 5) CaCl 2 ·2H 2 O of analytical grade; 6) granulated PANa; 7) ungranulated PANa; 8) ungranulated PANaCa; 9) PANaCa granulated by milling in IFIN-HH using the mill nr. 1; 10) PANaCa granulated by milling in Institute of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research (ICPR); 11) PANaCa granulated by milling in IFIN-HH using the mill nr. 2. The first five samples, marked from 1 to 5, are raw materials and the other six samples, marked from 6 to 11, are the final polyacrylic structures processed by various technological procedures. The samples together with the appropriate reference materials have been irradiated at WWR-S reactor in a neutron flux of 2.5·10 12 cm -2 s -1 and the induced radioactivity was registered by a HPGe detector (EG/G ORTEC) of 30% efficiency and 2.1 keV resolution. The concentrations of As, Br, Ce, Co, Cr, Fe, La, Sb, Sc, Zn have been determined. For the final polyacrylic structures, except for granulated PANa (sample 6), only the elements Co, Cr, Fe, Sc, Zn were found at the following concentration levels: tens of ppm (Co), ppm (Zn), hundreds of ppb (Cr), tens of ppb (Co), ppb (Co, Sc), 10 -1 ppb (Sc). In the granulated PANa, in comparison with the other analyzed final products, similar concentration values were found for Fe, Sc and Zn

  8. "INTRODUCING A FULL VALIDATED ANALYTICAL PROCEDURE AS AN OFFICIAL COMPENDIAL METHOD FOR FENTANYL TRANSDERMAL PATCHES"

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amir Mehdizadeh

    2005-04-01

    Full Text Available A simple, sensitive and specific HPLC method and also a simple and fast extraction procedure were developed for quantitative analysis of fentanyl transdermal patches. Chloroform, methanol and ethanol were used as extracting solvents with recovery percent of 92.1, 94.3 and 99.4% respectively. Fentanyl was extracted with ethanol and the eluted fentanyl through the C18 column was monitored by UV detection at 230 nm. The linearity was at the range of 0.5-10 µg/mL with correlation coefficient (r2 of 0.9992. Both intra and inter-day accuracy and precision were within acceptable limits. The detection limit (DL and quantitation limit (QL were 0.15 and 0.5 µg/mL, respectively. Other validation characteristics such as selectivity, robustness and ruggedness were evaluated. Following method validation, a system suitability test (SST including capacity factor (k´, plate number (N, tailing factor (T, and RSD was defined for routine test.

  9. Design of the measurements validation procedure and the expert system architecture for a cogeneration internal combustion engine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barelli, L.; Bidini, G.

    2005-01-01

    A research activity has been initiated to study the development of a diagnostic methodology, for the optimization of energy efficiency and the maximization of the operational time in those conditions, based on artificial intelligence (AI) techniques such as artificial neural network (ANN) and fuzzy logic. The diagnostic procedure, developed specifically for the cogeneration plant located at the Engineering Department of the University of Perugia, must be characterized by a modular architecture to obtain a flexible architecture applicable to different systems. The first part of the study deals with the identifying the principal modules and the corresponding variables necessary to evaluate the module 'health state'. Also the consequent upgrade of the monitoring system is described in this paper. Moreover it describes the structure proposed for the diagnostic procedure, consisting of a procedure for measurement validation and a fuzzy logic-based inference system. The first reveals the presence of abnormal conditions and localizes their source distinguishing between system failure and instrumentation malfunctions. The second provides an evaluation of module health state and the classification of the failures which have possibly occurred. The procedure was implemented in C++

  10. Validation of a new analytical procedure for determination of residual solvents in [{sup 18}F]FDG by gas chromatography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Costa, Flávia M.; Costa, Cassiano L.S.; Silva, Juliana B.; Ferreira, Soraya M.Z.M.D., E-mail: flaviabiomedica@yahoo.com.br [Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear (UPPR/CDTN/CNEN-MG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil). Unidade de Pesquisa e Produção de Radiofármacos

    2017-07-01

    Fludeoxyglucose F 18 ([{sup 18}F]FDG) is the most used radiopharmaceutical for positron emission tomography, especially on oncology. Organic solvents such as ether, ethanol and acetonitrile might be used in the synthesis of [{sup 18}F]FDG; however, they might not be completely removed during purification steps. The determination of residual solvents in [{sup 18}F]FDG is required in the European Pharmacopoeia (EP) and the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) monographs. While the procedure described in the EP is quite general, the one described in the USP requires a long runtime (about 13 minutes). In this work a simple and fast (4-minute) analytical procedure was developed and validated for determination of residual solvents in [{sup 18}F]FDG. Analyses were carried out in a Perkin Elmer gas chromatograph equipped with a flame ionization detector. The separation was obtained on a 0.53-mm x 30 m fused-silica column. Validation included the evaluation of various parameters, such as: specificity, linearity and range, limits of detection and quantitation, precision (repeatability and intermediate precision), accuracy, and robustness. Results were found to be within acceptable limits, indicating the developed procedure is suitable for its intended application. Considering the short half-life of fluorine-18 (109.7 minutes), this new method could be a valuable alternative for routine quality control of [{sup 18}F]FDG. (author)

  11. Optimization of instrumental neutron activation analysis method by means of 2k experimental design technique aiming the validation of analytical procedures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petroni, Robson; Moreira, Edson G.

    2013-01-01

    In this study optimization of procedures and standardization of Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) methods were carried out for the determination of the elements arsenic, chromium, cobalt, iron, rubidium, scandium, selenium and zinc in biological materials. The aim is to validate the analytical methods for future accreditation at the National Institute of Metrology, Quality and Technology (INMETRO). The 2 k experimental design was applied for evaluation of the individual contribution of selected variables of the analytical procedure in the final mass fraction result. Samples of Mussel Tissue Certified Reference Material and multi-element standards were analyzed considering the following variables: sample decay time, counting time and sample distance to detector. The standard multi-element concentration (comparator standard), mass of the sample and irradiation time were maintained constant in this procedure. By means of the statistical analysis and theoretical and experimental considerations it was determined the optimized experimental conditions for the analytical methods that will be adopted for the validation procedure of INAA methods in the Neutron Activation Analysis Laboratory (LAN) of the Research Reactor Center (CRPq) at the Nuclear and Energy Research Institute (IPEN - CNEN/SP). Optimized conditions were estimated based on the results of z-score tests, main effect and interaction effects. The results obtained with the different experimental configurations were evaluated for accuracy (precision and trueness) for each measurement. (author)

  12. [Validity and reliability of the Culture of Quality Health Services questionnaire in Mexico].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herrera-Kiengelher, L; Zepeda-Zaragoza, J; Austria-Corrales, F; Vázquez-Zarate, V M

    2013-01-01

    Patient Safety is a major public health problem worldwide and is responsibility of all those involved in health care. Establishing a Safety Culture has proved to be a factor that favors the integration of work teams, communication and construction of clear procedures in various organizations. Promote a culture of safety depends on several factors, such as organization, work unit and staff. Objective assessment of these factors will help to identify areas for improvement and establish strategic lines of action. [corrected] To adapt, validate and calibrate the questionnaire Culture of Quality in Health Services (CQHS) in Mexican population. A cross with a stratified representative sample of 522 health workers. The questionnaire was translated and adapted from Singer's. Content was validated by experts, internal consistency, confirmatory factorial validity and item calibration with Samejima's Graded Response Model. Convergent and divergent construct validity was confirmed from the CQHS, item calibration showed that the questionnaire is able to discriminate between patients and represent different levels of the hypothesized dimensions with greater accuracy and lower standard error. The CQHS is a valid and reliable instrument to assess patient safety culture in hospitals in Mexico. Copyright © 2013 SECA. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  13. The Predictive Validity of using Admissions Testing and Multiple Mini-interviews in Undergraduate University Admissions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Makransky, Guido; Havmose, Philip S.; Vang, Maria Louison

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictive validity of a two-step admissions procedure that included a cognitive ability test followed by multiple mini-interviews (MMI) used to assess non-cognitive skills compared to a grade-based admissions relative to subsequent drop-out rates...... and academic achievement after one and two years of study. The participants consisted of the entire population of 422 psychology students who were admitted to the University of Southern Denmark between 2010 and 2013. The results showed significantly lower drop-out rates after the first year of study, and non......-significant lower drop-out rates after the second year of study for the admission procedure that included the assessment of non-cognitive skills though the MMI. Furthermore, this admission procedure resulted in a significant lower risk of failing the final exam after the first and second year of study, compared...

  14. Glioma grade assessment by using histogram analysis of diffusion tensor imaging-derived maps

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jakab, Andras; Berenyi, Ervin; Molnar, Peter; Emri, Miklos

    2011-01-01

    Current endeavors in neuro-oncology include morphological validation of imaging methods by histology, including molecular and immunohistochemical techniques. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is an up-to-date methodology of intracranial diagnostics that has gained importance in studies of neoplasia. Our aim was to assess the feasibility of discriminant analysis applied to histograms of preoperative diffusion tensor imaging-derived images for the prediction of glioma grade validated by histomorphology. Tumors of 40 consecutive patients included 13 grade II astrocytomas, seven oligoastrocytomas, six grade II oligodendrogliomas, three grade III oligoastrocytomas, and 11 glioblastoma multiformes. Preoperative DTI data comprised: unweighted (B 0 ) images, fractional anisotropy, longitudinal and radial diffusivity maps, directionally averaged diffusion-weighted imaging, and trace images. Sampling consisted of generating histograms for gross tumor volumes; 25 histogram bins per scalar map were calculated. The histogram bins that allowed the most precise determination of low-grade (LG) or high-grade (HG) classification were selected by multivariate discriminant analysis. Accuracy of the model was defined by the success rate of the leave-one-out cross-validation. Statistical descriptors of voxel value distribution did not differ between LG and HG tumors and did not allow classification. The histogram model had 88.5% specificity and 85.7% sensitivity in the separation of LG and HG gliomas; specificity was improved when cases with oligodendroglial components were omitted. Constructing histograms of preoperative radiological images over the tumor volume allows representation of the grade and enables discrimination of LG and HG gliomas which has been confirmed by histopathology. (orig.)

  15. A study on a systematic approach of verification and validation of a computerized procedure system: ImPRO

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Qin, Wei; Seong, Poong Hyun

    2003-01-01

    Paper Based Procedure (PBP) and Computerized Procedure System (CPS) are studied to demonstrate that it is necessary to develop CPS in NPP I and C system. Computerized procedure system is actually a software system. All the desired and undesired properties of a software system can be described and evaluated as software qualities. Generally, software qualities can be categorized into product quality and process quality. In order to achieve product quality, the process quality of a software system should also be considered and achieved. Characteristics of CPS will be described to analyse the product and process of an example CPS: ImPRO. At the same time, several main product and process issues will be analysed from Verification and Validation (V and V) point of view. It is concluded and suggested that V and V activities can also be regarded as software development process, this point of view then is applied to the V and V activities of ImPRO as a systematic approach of V and V of ImPRO. To support and realize this approach, suitable testing technologies and testing strategies are suggested

  16. GRADING: Involving Students in a Time-saving Solution to the Homework Problem.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mafi, Mohammad

    1989-01-01

    A procedure where homework assignments are collected, graded, and returned each week is suggested. Students were used to grade each other's homework against copies of the solutions according to criteria established at the beginning of the course. Student response has been positive. (MVL)

  17. Validation of an efficiency calibration procedure for a coaxial n-type and a well-type HPGe detector used for the measurement of environmental radioactivity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Morera-Gómez, Yasser, E-mail: ymore24@gamail.com [Centro de Estudios Ambientales de Cienfuegos, AP 5. Ciudad Nuclear, CP 59350 Cienfuegos (Cuba); Departamento de Química y Edafología, Universidad de Navarra, Irunlarrea No 1, Pamplona 31009, Navarra (Spain); Cartas-Aguila, Héctor A.; Alonso-Hernández, Carlos M.; Nuñez-Duartes, Carlos [Centro de Estudios Ambientales de Cienfuegos, AP 5. Ciudad Nuclear, CP 59350 Cienfuegos (Cuba)

    2016-05-11

    To obtain reliable measurements of the environmental radionuclide activity using HPGe (High Purity Germanium) detectors, the knowledge of the absolute peak efficiency is required. This work presents a practical procedure for efficiency calibration of a coaxial n-type and a well-type HPGe detector using experimental and Monte Carlo simulations methods. The method was performed in an energy range from 40 to 1460 keV and it can be used for both, solid and liquid environmental samples. The calibration was initially verified measuring several reference materials provided by the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency). Finally, through the participation in two Proficiency Tests organized by IAEA for the members of the ALMERA network (Analytical Laboratories for the Measurement of Environmental Radioactivity) the validity of the developed procedure was confirmed. The validation also showed that measurement of {sup 226}Ra should be conducted using coaxial n-type HPGe detector in order to minimize the true coincidence summing effect. - Highlights: • An efficiency calibration for a coaxial and a well-type HPGe detector was performed. • The calibration was made using experimental and Monte Carlo simulations methods. • The procedure was verified measuring several reference materials provided by IAEA. • Calibrations were validated through the participation in 2 ALMERA Proficiency Tests.

  18. Validity and reliability of three definitions of hip osteoarthritis: cross sectional and longitudinal approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reijman, M; Hazes, J M W; Pols, H A P; Bernsen, R M D; Koes, B W; Bierma-Zeinstra, S M A

    2004-11-01

    To compare the reliability and validity in a large open population of three frequently used radiological definitions of hip osteoarthritis (OA): Kellgren and Lawrence grade, minimal joint space (MJS), and Croft grade; and to investigate whether the validity of the three definitions of hip OA is sex dependent. from the Rotterdam study (aged > or= 55 years, n = 3585) were evaluated. The inter-rater reliability was tested in a random set of 148 x rays. The validity was expressed as the ability to identify patients who show clinical symptoms of hip OA (construct validity) and as the ability to predict total hip replacement (THR) at follow up (predictive validity). Inter-rater reliability was similar for the Kellgren and Lawrence grade and MJS (kappa statistics 0.68 and 0.62, respectively) but lower for Croft's grade (kappa statistic, 0.51). The Kellgren and Lawrence grade and MJS showed the strongest associations with clinical symptoms of hip OA. Sex appeared to be an effect modifier for Kellgren and Lawrence and MJS definitions, women showing a stronger association between grading and symptoms than men. However, the sex dependency was attributed to differences in height between women and men. The Kellgren and Lawrence grade showed the highest predictive value for THR at follow up. Based on these findings, Kellgren and Lawrence still appears to be a useful OA definition for epidemiological studies focusing on the presence of hip OA.

  19. Using Arabic word identification fluency to monitor first-grade reading progress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abu-Hamour, Bashir

    2014-05-01

    This study examined the applicability, reliability and validity of the Arabic version of the curriculum-based measurement word identification fluency (CBM WIF) measure in Jordanian students. A sample of 75 first-grade students, 50 average readers and 25 with reading difficulties, were recruited from two public primary schools. Results indicated that the CBM WIF is a reliable, valid and cost-effective measure. A 15-week trial demonstrated the effectiveness of using CBM WIF with the first-grade students. In addition, CBM WIF was a good predictor of grade point average in the native language. Moreover, students who were struggling with reading scored significantly lower on CBM WIF probes than did average readers. Results suggest that the CBM WIF measures may be useful for evaluating and predicting reading performance in Arabic. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  20. Procedures For Microbial-Ecology Laboratory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huff, Timothy L.

    1993-01-01

    Microbial Ecology Laboratory Procedures Manual provides concise and well-defined instructions on routine technical procedures to be followed in microbiological laboratory to ensure safety, analytical control, and validity of results.

  1. Virtual reality simulation training in a high-fidelity procedure suite

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lönn, Lars; Edmond, John J; Marco, Jean

    2012-01-01

    To assess the face and content validity of a novel, full physics, full procedural, virtual reality simulation housed in a hybrid procedure suite.......To assess the face and content validity of a novel, full physics, full procedural, virtual reality simulation housed in a hybrid procedure suite....

  2. Optimization of instrumental neutron activation analysis method by means of 2{sup k} experimental design technique aiming the validation of analytical procedures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Petroni, Robson; Moreira, Edson G., E-mail: rpetroni@ipen.br, E-mail: emoreira@ipen.br [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

    2013-07-01

    In this study optimization of procedures and standardization of Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) methods were carried out for the determination of the elements arsenic, chromium, cobalt, iron, rubidium, scandium, selenium and zinc in biological materials. The aim is to validate the analytical methods for future accreditation at the National Institute of Metrology, Quality and Technology (INMETRO). The 2{sup k} experimental design was applied for evaluation of the individual contribution of selected variables of the analytical procedure in the final mass fraction result. Samples of Mussel Tissue Certified Reference Material and multi-element standards were analyzed considering the following variables: sample decay time, counting time and sample distance to detector. The standard multi-element concentration (comparator standard), mass of the sample and irradiation time were maintained constant in this procedure. By means of the statistical analysis and theoretical and experimental considerations it was determined the optimized experimental conditions for the analytical methods that will be adopted for the validation procedure of INAA methods in the Neutron Activation Analysis Laboratory (LAN) of the Research Reactor Center (CRPq) at the Nuclear and Energy Research Institute (IPEN - CNEN/SP). Optimized conditions were estimated based on the results of z-score tests, main effect and interaction effects. The results obtained with the different experimental configurations were evaluated for accuracy (precision and trueness) for each measurement. (author)

  3. Validation Process Methods

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lewis, John E. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); English, Christine M. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Gesick, Joshua C. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Mukkamala, Saikrishna [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

    2018-01-04

    This report documents the validation process as applied to projects awarded through Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) within the U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office (DOE-BETO). It describes the procedures used to protect and verify project data, as well as the systematic framework used to evaluate and track performance metrics throughout the life of the project. This report also describes the procedures used to validate the proposed process design, cost data, analysis methodologies, and supporting documentation provided by the recipients.

  4. Validity and reliability of grade scoring in the diagnosis of exercise-induced laryngeal obstruction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Walsted, Emil Schwarz; Hull, James H; Hvedstrup, Jeppe

    2017-01-01

    The current gold-standard method for diagnosing exercise-induced laryngeal obstruction (EILO) is continuous laryngoscopy during exercise (CLE), with severity classified by a visual grade scoring system. We evaluated the precision of this approach, by evaluating test-retest reliability of CLE...... grade scoring system does not appear to be a robust means for reliably classifying severity of EILO....

  5. Validation procedures of software applied in nuclear instruments. Proceedings of a technical meeting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2007-09-01

    The IAEA has supported the availability of well functioning nuclear instruments in Member States over more than three decades. Some older or aged instruments are still being used and are still in good working condition. However, those instruments may not meet modern software requirements for the end-user in all cases. Therefore, Member States, mostly those with emerging economies, modernize/refurbish such instruments to meet the end-user demands. New advanced software is not only applied in case of new instrumentation, but often also for new and improved applications of modernized and/or refurbished instruments in many Member States for which in few cases the IAEA also provided support. Modern software applied in nuclear instrumentation plays a key role for their safe operation and execution of commands in a user friendly manner. Correct data handling and transfer has to be ensured. Additional features such as data visualization, interfacing to PC for control and data storage are often included. To finalize the task, where new instrumentation which is not commercially available is used, or aged instruments are modernized/refurbished, the applied software has to be verified and validated. A Technical Meeting on 'Validation Procedures of Software Applied in Nuclear Instruments' was organized in Vienna, 20-23 November 2006, to discuss the verification and validation process of software applied to operation and use of nuclear instruments. The presentations at the technical meeting included valuable information, which has been compiled and summarized in this publication, which should be useful for technical staff in Member States when modernizing/refurbishing nuclear instruments. 22 experts in the field of modernization/refurbishment of nuclear instruments as well as users of applied software presented their latest results. Discussion sessions followed the presentations. This publication is the outcome of deliberations during the meeting

  6. Bio-Oil Analysis Laboratory Procedures | Bioenergy | NREL

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bio-Oil Analysis Laboratory Procedures Bio-Oil Analysis Laboratory Procedures NREL develops laboratory analytical procedures (LAPs) for the analysis of raw and upgraded pyrolysis bio-oils. These standard procedures have been validated and allow for reliable bio-oil analysis. Procedures Determination

  7. Establishment of Traceability of Reference Grade Hydrometers at National Physical Laboratory, India (npli)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Anil; Kumar, Harish; Mandal, Goutam; Das, M. B.; Sharma, D. C.

    The present paper discusses the establishment of traceability of reference grade hydrometers at National Physical Laboratory, India (NPLI). The reference grade hydrometers are calibrated and traceable to the primary solid density standard. The calibration has been done according to standard procedure based on Cuckow's Method and the reference grade hydrometers calibrated covers a wide range. The uncertainty of the reference grade hydrometers has been computed and corrections are also calculated for the scale readings, at which observations are taken.

  8. Validity and reliability of three definitions of hip osteoarthritis: Cross sectional and longitudinal approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    M. Reijman (Max); J.M.W. Hazes (Mieke); H.A.P. Pols (Huib); R.M.D. Bernsen (Roos); B.W. Koes (Bart); S.M. Bierma-Zeinstra (Sita)

    2004-01-01

    textabstractObjectives: To compare the reliability and validity in a large open population of three frequently used radiological definitions of hip osteoarthritis (OA): Kellgren and Lawrence grade, minimal joint space (MJS), and Croft grade; and to investigate whether the validity of the three

  9. An evaluation procedure of sodium environmental effects on FBR grade SUS316 (316FR) and Modified 9Cr-1Mo steel. On the basis of the studies up to the fiscal year of 1998

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1999-01-01

    Evaluation of sodium environmental effects on structural materials of fast breeder reactors (FBR's) is one of the key issues for the integrity of the plants. The Elevated Temperature Structural Design Guide for Monju (ETSDG) incorporated an evaluation procedure of sodium environmental effects in the Appendix MA.2, for the conventional steels, such as SUS304, SUS316, SUS321 and 2 1/4Cr-1Mo. Following the establishment of the ETSDG, a new material with superior elevated temperature properties, FBR grade SUS316 (316FR), has been developed, and studies on Mod.9Cr-1Mo steel (Mod.9Cr-1Mo steel) has been performed, for the application to demonstration reactors and successive large-scale reactors. These materials were shown to have, at least equal, or better compatibility with sodium compared with the conventional steels. Moreover, studies have been continued with the conventional steels, particularly with SUS304, for the further validation of the procedure in the ETSDG, especially in terms of long-term properties. Those studies provide basis for the study on 316FR. This report proposed an evaluation procedure of sodium environmental effects on 316FR and Mod.9Cr-1Mo steel, which is to be incorporated into the structural design guide for demonstration fast breeder reactors. The procedure is summarized as follows: (1) Corrosion allowance of 316FR and Mod.9Cr-1Mo can be evaluated by the equation determined in the ETSTG. (2) Strength reduction factors on design allowable values are not necessary for either steel. Strength reduction due to the transfer of carbon and nitrogen, etc does not occur with 316FR, which was the same as SUS304. Mod.9Cr-1Mo steel does not show strength reduction, contrary to 2 l/4Cr-1Mo, similar ferritic steel. (3) Corrosion allowance can be determined separately for thin-walled components. The procedure allows design without correction factors for Mod.9Cr-1Mo steel, which was not possible for 2 1/4Cr-1Mo steel in the ETSDG. (author)

  10. A Procedure for Identification of Appropriate State Space and ARIMA Models Based on Time-Series Cross-Validation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patrícia Ramos

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available In this work, a cross-validation procedure is used to identify an appropriate Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average model and an appropriate state space model for a time series. A minimum size for the training set is specified. The procedure is based on one-step forecasts and uses different training sets, each containing one more observation than the previous one. All possible state space models and all ARIMA models where the orders are allowed to range reasonably are fitted considering raw data and log-transformed data with regular differencing (up to second order differences and, if the time series is seasonal, seasonal differencing (up to first order differences. The value of root mean squared error for each model is calculated averaging the one-step forecasts obtained. The model which has the lowest root mean squared error value and passes the Ljung–Box test using all of the available data with a reasonable significance level is selected among all the ARIMA and state space models considered. The procedure is exemplified in this paper with a case study of retail sales of different categories of women’s footwear from a Portuguese retailer, and its accuracy is compared with three reliable forecasting approaches. The results show that our procedure consistently forecasts more accurately than the other approaches and the improvements in the accuracy are significant.

  11. Standard operating procedures for ESPEN guidelines and consensus papers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bischoff, Stephan C; Singer, Pierre; Koller, Michael; Barazzoni, Rocco; Cederholm, Tommy; van Gossum, André

    2015-12-01

    The ESPEN Guideline standard operating procedures (SOP) is based on the methodology provided by the Association of Scientific Medical Societies of Germany (AWMF), the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN), and the Centre for Evidence-based Medicine at the University of Oxford. The SOP is valid and obligatory for all future ESPEN-sponsored guideline projects aiming to generate high-quality guidelines on a regular basis. The SOP aims to facilitate the preparation of guideline projects, to streamline the consensus process, to ensure quality and transparency, and to facilitate the dissemination and publication of ESPEN guidelines. To achieve this goal, the ESPEN Guidelines Editorial board (GEB) has been established headed by two chairmen. The GEB will support and supervise the guideline processes and is responsible for the strategic planning of ESPEN guideline activities. Key elements of the SOP are the generation of well-built clinical questions according to the PICO system, a systemic literature search, a classification of the selected literature according to the SIGN evidence levels providing an evidence table, and a clear and straight-forward consensus procedure consisting of online voting's and a consensus conference. Only experts who meet the obligation to disclosure any potential conflict of interests and who are not employed by the Industry can participate in the guideline process. All recommendations will be graded according to the SIGN grading and novel outcome models besides biomedical endpoints. This approach will further extent the leadership of ESPEN in creating up-to-date and suitable for implementation guidelines and in sharing knowledge on malnutrition and clinical nutrition. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. All rights reserved.

  12. Validation of the new graded prognostic assessment scale for brain metastases: a multicenter prospective study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Villà, Salvador; Verger, Eugènia; Balañà, Carme; Graus, Francesc; Weber, Damien C; Moretones, Cristina; Mañes, Anabel; Combescure, Christophe; Jové, Josep; Puyalto, Paloma; Cuadras, Patricia; Bruna, Jordi

    2011-01-01

    Prognostic indexes are useful to guide tailored treatment strategies for cancer patients with brain metastasis (BM). We evaluated the new Graded Prognostic Assessment (GPA) scale in a prospective validation study to compare it with two published prognostic indexes. A total of 285 newly diagnosed BM (n = 85 with synchronous BM) patients, accrued prospectively between 2000 and 2009, were included in this analysis. Mean age was 62 ± 12.0 years. The median KPS and number of BM was 70 (range, 20-100) and 3 (range, 1-50), respectively. The majority of primary tumours were lung (53%), or breast (17%) cancers. Treatment was administered to 255 (89.5%) patients. Only a minority of patients could be classified prospectively in a favourable prognostic class: GPA 3.5-4: 3.9%; recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) 1, 8.4% and Basic Score for BM (BSBM) 3, 9.1%. Mean follow-up (FU) time was 5.2 ± 4.7 months. During the period of FU, 225 (78.9%) patients died. The 6 months- and 1 year-OS was 36.9% and 17.6%, respectively. On multivariate analysis, performance status (P < 0.001), BSBM (P < 0.001), Center (P = 0.007), RPA (P = 0.02) and GPA (P = 0.03) were statistically significant for OS. The survival prediction performances' of all indexes were identical. Noteworthy, the significant OS difference observed within 3 months of diagnosis between the BSBM, RPA and GPA classes/groups was not observed after this cut-off time point. Harrell's concordance indexes C were 0.58, 0.61 and 0.58 for the GPA, BSBM and RPA, respectively. Our data suggest that the new GPA index is a valid prognostic index. In this prospective study, the prediction performance was as good as the BSBM or RPA systems. These published indexes may however have limited long term prognostication capability

  13. Photodynamic therapy of Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia (CIN) high grade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carbinatto, Fernanda M.; Inada, Natalia M.; Lombardi, Welington; da Silva, Eduardo V.; Belotto, Renata; Kurachi, Cristina; Bagnato, Vanderlei S.

    2016-02-01

    Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) is the precursor of invasive cervical cancer and associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a technique that has been used for the treatment of tumors. PDT is based on the accumulation of a photosensitizer in target cells that will generate cytotoxic reactive oxygen species upon illumination, inducing the death of abnormal tissue and PDT with less damaging to normal tissues than surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy and seems to be a promising alternative procedure for CIN treatment. The CIN high grades (II and III) presents potential indications for PDT due the success of PDT for CIN low grade treatment. The patients with CIN high grade that were treated with new clinic protocol shows lesion regression to CIN low grade 60 days after the treatment. The new clinical protocol using for treatment of CIN high grade shows great potential to become a public health technique.

  14. Grading sacroiliitis with emphasis on MRI imaging; Grading der Sakroiliitis mit Betonung der MRT-Bildgebung

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jurik, A.G.; Egund, N. [The Department of Radiology R, Aarhus Kommunehospital (Denmark)

    2004-03-01

    Cross-sectional imaging techniques play a decisive role in identification, localization, and characterization of alterations in the sacroiliac joint during the early stage of seronegative spondylarthropathy (SpA). Although several studies showed that the diagnostic capabilities of MRI and CT are superior to those of conventional radiography, they have not yet become established and accepted as methods for evaluating the grade of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) in contrast to conventional radiography. The lack of acceptance for MRI and/or CT methods for evaluating and grading changes in the sacroiliac joint makes it difficult to include the results of these procedures in classifying the grade of SpA. Moreover, grading the changes in the sacroiliac joint in SpA with a method more sensitive than conventional radiography will be of prime importance in assessing treatment, e.g., the efficacy of new biological therapeutic agents directed against the tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-{alpha}). An overview of the available grading methods is provided and MRI and CT techniques are presented. (orig.) [German] Schnittbildverfahren spielen bei der Identifizierung, Lokalisation und Charakterisierung von Veraenderungen des Sakroiliakalgelenks (SIG) im Fruehstadium der seronegativen Spondylarthropathie (SpA) eine entscheidende Rolle. Obwohl mehrere Studien zeigten, dass der diagnostische Wert der MRT und CT jenem der konventionellen Radiographie ueberlegen ist, hat sich das Schnittbildverfahren als Mittel zur Evaluierung des Grades der ankylosierenden Spondylitis (AS) im Gegensatz zur konventionellen Radiographie noch nicht etabliert und durchgesetzt. Dieses Fehlen eines akzeptierten MRT- und/oder CT-Verfahrens zur Evaluierung und zum Grading der Veraenderungen am SIG macht es schwierig, die Ergebnisse dieser Verfahren bei der Einstufung des Grades der AS-Veraenderungen und Erarbeitung von Diagnosekriterien fuer andere Formen der SpA einzubeziehen. Ausserdem wird das Grading der SIG

  15. Crowd-sourced assessment of surgical skills in cricothyrotomy procedure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aghdasi, Nava; Bly, Randall; White, Lee W; Hannaford, Blake; Moe, Kris; Lendvay, Thomas S

    2015-06-15

    Objective assessment of surgical skills is resource intensive and requires valuable time of expert surgeons. The goal of this study was to assess the ability of a large group of laypersons using a crowd-sourcing tool to grade a surgical procedure (cricothyrotomy) performed on a simulator. The grading included an assessment of the entire procedure by completing an objective assessment of technical skills survey. Two groups of graders were recruited as follows: (1) Amazon Mechanical Turk users and (2) three expert surgeons from University of Washington Department of Otolaryngology. Graders were presented with a video of participants performing the procedure on the simulator and were asked to grade the video using the objective assessment of technical skills questions. Mechanical Turk users were paid $0.50 for each completed survey. It took 10 h to obtain all responses from 30 Mechanical Turk users for 26 training participants (26 videos/tasks), whereas it took 60 d for three expert surgeons to complete the same 26 tasks. The assessment of surgical performance by a group (n = 30) of laypersons matched the assessment by a group (n = 3) of expert surgeons with a good level of agreement determined by Cronbach alpha coefficient = 0.83. We found crowd sourcing was an efficient, accurate, and inexpensive method for skills assessment with a good level of agreement to experts' grading. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Validity in assessment of prior learning

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wahlgren, Bjarne; Aarkrog, Vibe

    2015-01-01

    , the article discusses the need for specific criteria for assessment. The reliability and validity of the assessment procedures depend on whether the competences are well-defined, and whether the teachers are adequately trained for the assessment procedures. Keywords: assessment, prior learning, adult...... education, vocational training, lifelong learning, validity...

  17. Identification and validation of multiple cell surface markers of clinical-grade adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal cells as novel release criteria for good manufacturing practice-compliant production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Camilleri, Emily T; Gustafson, Michael P; Dudakovic, Amel; Riester, Scott M; Garces, Catalina Galeano; Paradise, Christopher R; Takai, Hideki; Karperien, Marcel; Cool, Simon; Sampen, Hee-Jeong Im; Larson, A Noelle; Qu, Wenchun; Smith, Jay; Dietz, Allan B; van Wijnen, Andre J

    2016-08-11

    Clinical translation of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) necessitates basic characterization of the cell product since variability in biological source and processing of MSCs may impact therapeutic outcomes. Although expression of classical cell surface markers (e.g., CD90, CD73, CD105, and CD44) is used to define MSCs, identification of functionally relevant cell surface markers would provide more robust release criteria and options for quality control. In addition, cell surface expression may distinguish between MSCs from different sources, including bone marrow-derived MSCs and clinical-grade adipose-derived MSCs (AMSCs) grown in human platelet lysate (hPL). In this work we utilized quantitative PCR, flow cytometry, and RNA-sequencing to characterize AMSCs grown in hPL and validated non-classical markers in 15 clinical-grade donors. We characterized the surface marker transcriptome of AMSCs, validated the expression of classical markers, and identified nine non-classical markers (i.e., CD36, CD163, CD271, CD200, CD273, CD274, CD146, CD248, and CD140B) that may potentially discriminate AMSCs from other cell types. More importantly, these markers exhibit variability in cell surface expression among different cell isolates from a diverse cohort of donors, including freshly prepared, previously frozen, or proliferative state AMSCs and may be informative when manufacturing cells. Our study establishes that clinical-grade AMSCs expanded in hPL represent a homogeneous cell culture population according to classical markers,. Additionally, we validated new biomarkers for further AMSC characterization that may provide novel information guiding the development of new release criteria. Use of Autologous Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate in Painful Knee Osteoarthritis (BMAC): Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01931007 . Registered August 26, 2013. MSC for Occlusive Disease of the Kidney: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01840540 . Registered April 23, 2013. Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy in Multiple

  18. Use of commercial grade item dedication to reduce procurement costs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosch, F.

    1995-01-01

    In the mid-1980s, the Nuclear Regulatory Industry (NRC) began inspecting utility practices of procuring and dedicating commercial grade items intended for plant safety-related applications. As a result of the industry efforts to address NRC concerns, nuclear utilities have enhanced existing programs and procedures for dedication of commercial grade items. Though these programs were originally enhanced to meet NRC concerns, utilities have discovered that the dedication of commercial grade items can also reduce overall procurement costs. This paper will discuss the enhancement of utility dedication programs and demonstrates how utilities have utilized them to reduce procurement costs

  19. Procedures for, and Experiences in, Introducing Algebra in New South Wales.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pegg, John; Redden, Edward

    1990-01-01

    Discussed are the philosophy and procedures behind the introduction of algebra to students in grade 7 in Australia. Included are the importance of concrete experiences, language development, and the consequences involved in this procedure. (CW)

  20. Validity of anthropometric procedures to estimate body density and body fat percent in military men

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ciro Romélio Rodriguez-Añez

    1999-12-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this study was to verify the validity of the Katch e McArdle’s equation (1973,which uses the circumferences of the arm, forearm and abdominal to estimate the body density and the procedure of Cohen (1986 which uses the circumferences of the neck and abdominal to estimate the body fat percent (%F in military men. Therefore data from 50 military men, with mean age of 20.26 ± 2.04 years serving in Santa Maria, RS, was collected. The circumferences were measured according with Katch e McArdle (1973 and Cohen (1986 procedures. The body density measured (Dm obtained under water weighting was used as criteria and its mean value was 1.0706 ± 0.0100 g/ml. The residual lung volume was estimated using the Goldman’s e Becklake’s equation (1959. The %F was obtained with the Siri’s equation (1961 and its mean value was 12.70 ± 4.71%. The validation criterion suggested by Lohman (1992 was followed. The analysis of the results indicated that the procedure developed by Cohen (1986 has concurrent validity to estimate %F in military men or in other samples with similar characteristics with standard error of estimate of 3.45%. . RESUMO Através deste estudo objetivou-se verificar a validade: da equação de Katch e McArdle (1973 que envolve os perímetros do braço, antebraço e abdômen, para estimar a densidade corporal; e, o procedimento de Cohen (1986 que envolve os perímetros do pescoço e abdômen, para estimar o % de gordura (%G; para militares. Para tanto, coletou-se os dados de 50 militares masculinos, com idade média de 20,26 ± 2,04 anos, lotados na cidade de Santa Maria, RS. Mensurou-se os perímetros conforme procedimentos de Katch e McArdle (1973 e Cohen (1986. Utilizou-se a densidade corporal mensurada (Dm através da pesagem hidrostática como critério de validação, cujo valor médio foi de 1,0706 ± 0,0100 g/ml. Estimou-se o volume residual pela equação de Goldman e Becklake (1959. O %G derivado da Dm estimou

  1. Exergame Grading Scheme: Concept Development and Preliminary Psychometric Evaluations in Cancer Survivors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hsiao-Lan Wang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The challenge of using exergames to promote physical activity among cancer survivors lies in the selection of the exergames that match their fitness level. There is a need for a standardized grading scheme by which to judge an exergame’s capacity to address specific physical fitness attributes with different levels of physical engagement. The study aimed to develop an Exergame Grading Scheme and preliminarily evaluate its psychometric properties. Fourteen (14 items were created from the human movement and exergame literature. The content validity index (CVI was rated by content experts with two consecutive rounds (N=5 and N=3 independently. The interrater reliability (IRR was determined by two raters who used the Exergame Grading Scheme to determine the grading score of the five exergames performed by two cancer survivors (N=10. Each item had a score of 1 for item-level CVI and 1 for k. For IRR, 9 items had rho values of 1, 1 item had 0.93, and 4 items had between 0.80 and 0.89. This valid and reliable Exergame Grading Scheme makes it possible to develop a personalized physical activity program using any type of exergame or fitness mobile application in rehabilitation practice to meet the needs of cancer survivors.

  2. The development of a statistical procedure to correct the effects of restriction of range on validity coefficients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. M. Scheepers

    1996-06-01

    Full Text Available In the validation of tests used for selection purposes, the obtained validity coefficients are invariably underestimates of the true validities, due to explicit and implicit selection in respect of the relevant variables. Both explicit and implicit selection leads to restriction of range of the relevant variables, and this in turn reduces the obtained validites. A formal proof for this is given. A number of researchers have developed formulae for correcting sample validities in order to get better estimates of the true validities (Pearson/ 1903; Thorndike, 1949; Gulliksen, 1950; Rydberg, 1962 and Lord & Novick, 1968. It is, however, virtually impossible to obtain a complete view of the problem of restriction of range in this way. In the present paper a different approach has been followed: Population correlations have been computed for various degrees of truncation of the explicit selection variable. This has been done for population correlations ranging from 0,10 to 0,99. A graphical display, indicating the shrinkage of the population correlations for various truncation ratios, has been prepared. Opsomming In die geldigheidsbepaling van toetse wat vir keuringsdoeleindes gebruik word, is die verkree geldigheidskoeffisiente sender uitsondering onderskattings van die ware geldighede as gevolg van eksplisiete en implisiete keuring ten opsigte van die tersaaklike veranderlikes. Sowel eksplisiete as implisiete keuring lei tot inperking van die variasiewydte van die relevante veranderiikes, en dit reduseer om die beurt weer die verkree geldighede. 'n Formele bewys hiervoor word in die referaat gegee. 'n Aantal navorsers het formules ontwikkel om steekproefgeldighede te korrigeer ten einde beter beramings van die ware geldighede te verkry (Pearson/ 1903; horndike, 1949: Gulliksen, 1950; Rygberg, 1962 en Lord & Novick, 1968. Dit is egter bykans onmoontlik om op hierdie wyse 'n geheelbeeld van die probleem van inperking van variasiewydte te vorm. In die

  3. Validity and Reliability of Surface Electromyography Measurements from a Wearable Athlete Performance System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Scott K. Lynn, Casey M. Watkins, Megan A. Wong, Katherine Balfany, Daniel F. Feeney

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available The Athos ® wearable system integrates surface electromyography (sEMG electrodes into the construction of compression athletic apparel. The Athos system reduces the complexity and increases the portability of collecting EMG data and provides processed data to the end user. The objective of the study was to determine the reliability and validity of Athos as compared with a research grade sEMG system. Twelve healthy subjects performed 7 trials on separate days (1 baseline trial and 6 repeated trials. In each trial subjects wore the wearable sEMG system and had a research grade sEMG system’s electrodes placed just distal on the same muscle, as close as possible to the wearable system’s electrodes. The muscles tested were the vastus lateralis (VL, vastus medialis (VM, and biceps femoris (BF. All testing was done on an isokinetic dynamometer. Baseline testing involved performing isometric 1 repetition maximum tests for the knee extensors and flexors and three repetitions of concentric-concentric knee flexion and extension at MVC for each testing speed: 60, 180, and 300 deg/sec. Repeated trials 2-7 each comprised 9 sets where each set included three repetitions of concentric-concentric knee flexion-extension. Each repeated trial (2-7 comprised one set at each speed and percent MVC (50%, 75%, 100% combination. The wearable system and research grade sEMG data were processed using the same methods and aligned in time. The amplitude metrics calculated from the sEMG for each repetition were the peak amplitude, sum of the linear envelope, and 95th percentile. Validity results comprise two main findings. First, there is not a significant effect of system (Athos or research grade system on the repetition amplitude metrics (95%, peak, or sum. Second, the relationship between torque and sEMG is not significantly different between Athos and the research grade system. For reliability testing, the variation across trials and averaged across speeds was 0.8%, 7

  4. Hanford Environmental Restoration data validation process for chemical and radiochemical analyses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adams, M.R.; Bechtold, R.A.; Clark, D.E.; Angelos, K.M.; Winter, S.M.

    1993-10-01

    Detailed procedures for validation of chemical and radiochemical data are used to assure consistent application of validation principles and support a uniform database of quality environmental data. During application of these procedures, it was determined that laboratory data packages were frequently missing certain types of documentation causing subsequent delays in meeting critical milestones in the completion of validation activities. A quality improvement team was assembled to address the problems caused by missing documentation and streamline the entire process. The result was the development of a separate data package verification procedure and revisions to the data validation procedures. This has resulted in a system whereby deficient data packages are immediately identified and corrected prior to validation and revised validation procedures which more closely match the common analytical reporting practices of laboratory service vendors

  5. Measuring Students' Writing Ability on a Computer-Analytic Developmental Scale: An Exploratory Validity Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burdick, Hal; Swartz, Carl W.; Stenner, A. Jackson; Fitzgerald, Jill; Burdick, Don; Hanlon, Sean T.

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of the study was to explore the validity of a novel computer-analytic developmental scale, the Writing Ability Developmental Scale. On the whole, collective results supported the validity of the scale. It was sensitive to writing ability differences across grades and sensitive to within-grade variability as compared to human-rated…

  6. MRI features can predict EGFR expression in lower grade gliomas. A voxel-based radiomic analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Yiming; Liu, Xing; Qian, Zenghui; Fan, Xing; Li, Shaowu; Jiang, Tao [Capital Medical University, Beijing Neurosurgical Institute, Beijing (China); Xu, Kaibin [Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Automation, Beijing (China); Wang, Kai [Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Department of Neuroradiology, Beijing (China); Wang, Yinyan [Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Department of Neuroradiology, Beijing (China); Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing (China)

    2018-01-15

    To identify the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features associated with epidermal growth factor (EGFR) expression level in lower grade gliomas using radiomic analysis. 270 lower grade glioma patients with known EGFR expression status were randomly assigned into training (n=200) and validation (n=70) sets, and were subjected to feature extraction. Using a logistic regression model, a signature of MRI features was identified to be predictive of the EGFR expression level in lower grade gliomas in the training set, and the accuracy of prediction was assessed in the validation set. A signature of 41 MRI features achieved accuracies of 82.5% (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.90) in the training set and 90.0% (AUC = 0.95) in the validation set. This radiomic signature consisted of 25 first-order statistics or related wavelet features (including range, standard deviation, uniformity, variance), one shape and size-based feature (spherical disproportion), and 15 textural features or related wavelet features (including sum variance, sum entropy, run percentage). A radiomic signature allowing for the prediction of the EGFR expression level in patients with lower grade glioma was identified, suggesting that using tumour-derived radiological features for predicting genomic information is feasible. (orig.)

  7. Rapid grading of fundus photographs for diabetic retinopathy using crowdsourcing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brady, Christopher J; Villanti, Andrea C; Pearson, Jennifer L; Kirchner, Thomas R; Gupta, Omesh P; Shah, Chirag P

    2014-10-30

    Screening for diabetic retinopathy is both effective and cost-effective, but rates of screening compliance remain suboptimal. As screening improves, new methods to deal with screening data may help reduce the human resource needs. Crowdsourcing has been used in many contexts to harness distributed human intelligence for the completion of small tasks including image categorization. Our goal was to develop and validate a novel method for fundus photograph grading. An interface for fundus photo classification was developed for the Amazon Mechanical Turk crowdsourcing platform. We posted 19 expert-graded images for grading by Turkers, with 10 repetitions per photo for an initial proof-of-concept (Phase I). Turkers were paid US $0.10 per image. In Phase II, one prototypical image from each of the four grading categories received 500 unique Turker interpretations. Fifty draws of 1-50 Turkers were then used to estimate the variance in accuracy derived from randomly drawn samples of increasing crowd size to determine the minimum number of Turkers needed to produce valid results. In Phase III, the interface was modified to attempt to improve Turker grading. Across 230 grading instances in the normal versus abnormal arm of Phase I, 187 images (81.3%) were correctly classified by Turkers. Average time to grade each image was 25 seconds, including time to review training images. With the addition of grading categories, time to grade each image increased and percentage of images graded correctly decreased. In Phase II, area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver-operator characteristic (ROC) indicated that sensitivity and specificity were maximized after 7 graders for ratings of normal versus abnormal (AUC=0.98) but was significantly reduced (AUC=0.63) when Turkers were asked to specify the level of severity. With improvements to the interface in Phase III, correctly classified images by the mean Turker grade in four-category grading increased to a maximum of 52.6% (10/19 images

  8. A randomized clinical trial comparing cervical dysplasia treatment with cryotherapy vs loop electrosurgical excision procedure in HIV-seropositive women from Johannesburg, South Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Jennifer S; Sanusi, Busola; Swarts, Avril; Faesen, Mark; Levin, Simon; Goeieman, Bridgette; Ramotshela, Sibongile; Rakhombe, Ntombiyenkosi; Williamson, Anna L; Michelow, Pam; Omar, Tanvier; Hudgens, Michael G; Firnhaber, Cynthia

    2017-08-01

    Mortality associated with cervical cancer is a public health concern for women, particularly in HIV-seropositive women in resource-limited countries. HIV-seropositive women are at a higher risk of high-grade cervical precancer, which can eventually progress to invasive carcinoma as compared to HIV-seronegative women. It is imperative to identify effective treatment methods for high-grade cervical precursors among HIV-seropositive women. Randomized controlled trial data are needed comparing cryotherapy vs loop electrosurgical excision procedure treatment efficacy in HIV-seropositive women. Our primary aim was to compare the difference in the efficacy of loop electrosurgical excision procedure vs cryotherapy for the treatment of high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (grade ≥2) among HIV-seropositive women by conducting a randomized clinical trial. HIV-seropositive women (n = 166) aged 18-65 years with histology-proven cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade ≥2 were randomized (1:1) to cryotherapy or loop electrosurgical excision procedure treatment at a government hospital in Johannesburg. Treatment efficacy was compared using 6- and 12-month cumulative incidence posttreatment of: (1) cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade ≥2; (2) secondary endpoints of histologic cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade ≥3 and grade ≥1; and (3) high-grade and low-grade cervical cytology. The study was registered (ClinicalTrials.govNCT01723956). From January 2010 through August 2014, 166 participants were randomized (86 loop electrosurgical excision procedure; 80 cryotherapy). Cumulative cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade ≥2 incidence was higher for cryotherapy (24.3%; 95% confidence interval, 16.1-35.8) than loop electrosurgical excision procedure at 6 months (10.8%; 95% confidence interval, 5.7-19.8) (P = .02), although by 12 months, the difference was not significant (27.2%; 95% confidence interval, 18.5-38.9 vs 18.5%; 95% confidence interval, 11

  9. Content validation applied to job simulation and written examinations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saari, L.M.; McCutchen, M.A.; White, A.S.; Huenefeld, J.C.

    1984-08-01

    The application of content validation strategies in work settings have become increasingly popular over the last few years, perhaps spurred by an acknowledgment in the courts of content validation as a method for validating employee selection procedures (e.g., Bridgeport Guardians v. Bridgeport Police Dept., 1977). Since criterion-related validation is often difficult to conduct, content validation methods should be investigated as an alternative for determining job related selection procedures. However, there is not yet consensus among scientists and professionals concerning how content validation should be conducted. This may be because there is a lack of clear cut operations for conducting content validation for different types of selection procedures. The purpose of this paper is to discuss two content validation approaches being used for the development of a licensing examination that involves a job simulation exam and a written exam. These represent variations in methods for applying content validation. 12 references

  10. Accordion complication grading predicts short-term outcome after right colectomy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klos, Coen L; Safar, Bashar; Hunt, Steven R; Wise, Paul E; Birnbaum, Elisa H; Mutch, Matthew G; Fleshman, James W; Dharmarajan, Sekhar

    2014-08-01

    The Accordion severity grading system is a novel system to score the severity of postoperative complications in a standardized fashion. This study aims to demonstrate the validity of the Accordion system in colorectal surgery by correlating severity grades with short-term outcomes after right colectomy for colon cancer. This is a retrospective cohort review of patients who underwent right colectomy for cancer between January 1, 2002, and January 31, 2007, at a single tertiary care referral center. Complications were categorized according to the Accordion severity grading system: grades 1 (mild), 2 (moderate), 3-5 (severe), and 6 (death). Outcome measures were hospital stay, 30-d readmission rate and 1-y survival. Correlation between Accordion grades and outcome measures is reflected by Spearman rho (ρ). One-year survival was obtained per Kaplan-Meier method and compared by logrank test for trend. Significance was set at P ≤ 0.05. Overall, 235 patients underwent right colectomy for cancer of which 122 (51.9%) had complications. In total, 52 (43%) had an Accordion grade 1 complication; 44 (36%) grade 2; four (3%) grade 3; 11 (9%) grade 4; seven (6%) grade 5; and four (3%) grade 6. There was significant correlation between Accordion grades and hospital stay (ρ = 0.495, P trend in 1-y survival as complication severity by Accordion grade increased (P = 0.02). The Accordion grading system is a useful tool to estimate short-term outcomes after right colectomy for cancer. High-grade Accordion complications are associated with longer hospital stay and increased risk of readmission and mortality. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  11. Design, Manufacturing and Characterization of Functionally Graded Flextensional Piezoelectric Actuators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amigo, R C R; Vatanabe, S L; Silva, E C N

    2013-01-01

    Previous works have been shown several advantages in using Functionally Graded Materials (FGMs) for the performance of flextensional devices, such as reduction of stress concentrations and gains in reliability. In this work, the FGM concept is explored in the design of graded devices by using the Topology Optimization Method (TOM), in order to determine optimal topologies and gradations of the coupled structures of piezoactuators. The graded pieces are manufactured by using the Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) technique and are bonded to piezoelectric ceramics. The graded actuators are then tested by using a modular vibrometer system for measuring output displacements, in order to validate the numerical simulations. The technological path developed here represents the initial step toward the manufacturing of an integral piezoelectric device, constituted by piezoelectric and non-piezoelectric materials without bonding layers.

  12. Proposed Core Competencies and Empirical Validation Procedure in Competency Modeling: Confirmation and Classification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baczyńska, Anna K; Rowiński, Tomasz; Cybis, Natalia

    2016-01-01

    Competency models provide insight into key skills which are common to many positions in an organization. Moreover, there is a range of competencies that is used by many companies. Researchers have developed core competency terminology to underline their cross-organizational value. The article presents a theoretical model of core competencies consisting of two main higher-order competencies called performance and entrepreneurship. Each of them consists of three elements: the performance competency includes cooperation, organization of work and goal orientation, while entrepreneurship includes innovativeness, calculated risk-taking and pro-activeness. However, there is lack of empirical validation of competency concepts in organizations and this would seem crucial for obtaining reliable results from organizational research. We propose a two-step empirical validation procedure: (1) confirmation factor analysis, and (2) classification of employees. The sample consisted of 636 respondents (M = 44.5; SD = 15.1). Participants were administered a questionnaire developed for the study purpose. The reliability, measured by Cronbach's alpha, ranged from 0.60 to 0.83 for six scales. Next, we tested the model using a confirmatory factor analysis. The two separate, single models of performance and entrepreneurial orientations fit quite well to the data, while a complex model based on the two single concepts needs further research. In the classification of employees based on the two higher order competencies we obtained four main groups of employees. Their profiles relate to those found in the literature, including so-called niche finders and top performers. Some proposal for organizations is discussed.

  13. Nuclear grade and necrosis predict prognosis in malignant epithelioid pleural mesothelioma: a multi-institutional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosen, Lauren E; Karrison, Theodore; Ananthanarayanan, Vijayalakshmi; Gallan, Alexander J; Adusumilli, Prasad S; Alchami, Fouad S; Attanoos, Richard; Brcic, Luka; Butnor, Kelly J; Galateau-Sallé, Françoise; Hiroshima, Kenzo; Kadota, Kyuichi; Klampatsa, Astero; Stang, Nolween Le; Lindenmann, Joerg; Litzky, Leslie A; Marchevsky, Alberto; Medeiros, Filomena; Montero, M Angeles; Moore, David A; Nabeshima, Kazuki; Pavlisko, Elizabeth N; Roggli, Victor L; Sauter, Jennifer L; Sharma, Anupama; Sheaff, Michael; Travis, William D; Vigneswaran, Wickii T; Vrugt, Bart; Walts, Ann E; Tjota, Melissa Y; Krausz, Thomas; Husain, Aliya N

    2018-04-01

    A recently described nuclear grading system predicted survival in patients with epithelioid malignant pleural mesothelioma. The current study was undertaken to validate the grading system and to identify additional prognostic factors. We analyzed cases of epithelioid malignant pleural mesothelioma from 17 institutions across the globe from 1998 to 2014. Nuclear grade was computed combining nuclear atypia and mitotic count into a grade of I-III using the published system. Nuclear grade was assessed by one pathologist for three institutions, the remaining were scored independently. The presence or absence of necrosis and predominant growth pattern were also evaluated. Two additional scoring systems were evaluated, one combining nuclear grade and necrosis and the other mitotic count and necrosis. Median overall survival was the primary endpoint. A total of 776 cases were identified including 301 (39%) nuclear grade I tumors, 354 (45%) grade II tumors and 121 (16%) grade III tumors. The overall survival was 16 months, and correlated independently with age (P=0.006), sex (0.015), necrosis (0.030), mitotic count (0.001), nuclear atypia (0.009), nuclear grade (<0.0001), and mitosis and necrosis score (<0.0001). The addition of necrosis to nuclear grade further stratified overall survival, allowing classification of epithelioid malignant pleural mesothelioma into four distinct prognostic groups: nuclear grade I tumors without necrosis (29 months), nuclear grade I tumors with necrosis and grade II tumors without necrosis (16 months), nuclear grade II tumors with necrosis (10 months) and nuclear grade III tumors (8 months). The mitosis-necrosis score stratified patients by survival, but not as well as the combination of necrosis and nuclear grade. This study confirms that nuclear grade predicts survival in epithelioid malignant pleural mesothelioma, identifies necrosis as factor that further stratifies overall survival, and validates the grading system across multiple

  14. Technical Adequacy of the easyCBM Grade 2 Reading Measures. Technical Report #1004

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jamgochian, Elisa; Park, Bitnara Jasmine; Nese, Joseph F. T.; Lai, Cheng-Fei; Saez, Leilani; Anderson, Daniel; Alonzo, Julie; Tindal, Gerald

    2010-01-01

    In this technical report, we provide reliability and validity evidence for the easyCBM[R] Reading measures for grade 2 (word and passage reading fluency and multiple choice reading comprehension). Evidence for reliability includes internal consistency and item invariance. Evidence for validity includes concurrent, predictive, and construct…

  15. Validation of IT-based Data Communication Protocol for Nuclear Power Plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jeong, K. I.; Kim, D. H.; Lee, J. C.

    2009-12-01

    The communication network designed to transmit control and processing signals in digital Instrument and Control (I and C) systems in Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), should provide a high level of safety and reliability. There are different features between the communication networks of NPPs and other commercial communication networks. Safety and reliability are the most important factors in the communication networks of an NPP rather than efficiency which are important factors of a commercial communication network design. To develop Data Communication Protocol for Nuclear Power Plant, We analyze the design criteria and performance requirements of existing commercial communication protocols based on Information Technology(IT). And also, we examine the adaptability to the communication protocol of an NPP. Based on these results, we developed our own protocol(Nuclear power plant Safety Communication Protocol : NSCP) for NPP I and C, which meet the required specifications through design overall protocol architecture and data frame format, definition of functional requirements and specifications. NSCP is the communication protocol designed for a safety-grade control network in the nuclear power plant. In this report, we had specified NSCP protocol by FDT(Formal Description Technique) and established validation procedures based on the validation methodology. It was confirmed specification error, major function's validity and reachability of NSCP by performing simulation and the validation process using Telelogic Tau tool

  16. Estimation of intermediate grade uranium resources. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lambie, F.W.; Kendall, G.R.; Klahn, L.J.; Davis, J.C.; Harbaugh, J.W.

    1980-12-01

    The purpose of this project is to analyze the technique currently used by DOE to estimate intermediate grade uranium (0.01 to 0.05% U 3 O 8 ) and, if possible, suggest alternatives to improve the accuracy and precision of the estimate. There are three principal conclusions resulting from this study. They relate to the quantity, distribution and sampling of intermediate grade uranium. While the results of this study must be validated further, they indicate that DOE may be underestimating intermediate level reserves by 20 to 30%. Plots of grade of U 3 O 8 versus tonnage of ore and tonnage U 3 O 8 indicate grade-tonnage relationships that are essentially log-linear, at least down to 0.01% U 3 O 8 . Though this is not an unexpected finding, it may provide a technique for reducing the uncertainty of intermediate grade endowment. The results of this study indicate that a much lower drill hole density is necessary for DOE to estimate uranium resources than for a mining company to calculate ore resources. Though errors in local estimates will occur, they will tend to cancel over the entire deposit

  17. Job Grading Standard for Materials Expediter WG-6705.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Civil Service Commission, Washington, DC. Bureau of Policies and Standards.

    The standard is used to grade nonsupervisory jobs involved in routing and expediting the movement of parts, end items, supplies, and materials within production and repair facilities to meet priority needs. The work requires knowledge of material characteristics, uses, condition, industrial production shop procedures, shop layout, and internal…

  18. 76 FR 80278 - Revision of Cotton Classification Procedures for Determining Cotton Leaf Grade

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-23

    ... challenge to the provisions of this rule. Regulatory Flexibility Act Pursuant to requirements set forth in... currently part of the official USDA cotton classification. Accurate assignment of leaf grade is of economic... cost factor associated with its removal. Furthermore, since small leaf particles cannot always be...

  19. 77 FR 20503 - Revision of Cotton Classification Procedures for Determining Cotton Leaf Grade

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-04-05

    ... measurements for other quality factors are performed by precise HVI measurements, manual determinations for.... Accurate assignment of leaf grade is of economic importance to all participants along the cotton supply... significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. Fees paid by users of the service are...

  20. Comparison of cartilage thickness with radiologic grade of knee osteoarthritis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Agnesi, Filippo; Amrami, Kimberly K.; Frigo, Carlo A.; Kaufman, Kenton R.

    2008-01-01

    To compare joint space width (JSW) measurements obtained from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with a semi-automated computer algorithm to the Kellgren and Lawrence grading of osteoarthritis (OA). Three hundred and six patients (234 female, 72 male) with a mean age of 56.7 years (range 31-81 years) underwent MRI of their knees with a fast oblique spiral spoiled gradient (SPGR) sequence. A board-certified musculoskeletal radiologist graded the OA of all the patients in accordance with the Kellgren and Lawrence OA scale. A previously validated computer algorithm was used to determine the minimum JSW for both the tibiofemoral joint and the patellofemoral joint. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) with the Student-Newman-Kuels post-hoc test was used to determine if there were differences in JSW as a function of OA grade. The radiologic grade of OA was inversely associated with the JSW. In the medial compartment the JSW did not change significantly between grade 1 and grade 2, but there was a significant decrease in JSW between grade 0 (normal) and grade 1 and for each OA grade above grade 2. In the lateral compartment no statistical differences were found till grade 2, while grade 3 was found to be statistically different from the previous one. The number of patients with a grade 4 patellofemoral OA was too low for the statistical significance to be assessed. In the patellofemoral joint the JSW did not change significantly until grade 2, while a statistically significant reduction was found for both grade 3 and grade 4. This study showed that an inverse non-linear relationship exists between radiologic grade and JSW. The relationship differs for the tibiofemoral and the patellofemoral joint. (orig.)

  1. Comparison of cartilage thickness with radiologic grade of knee osteoarthritis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Agnesi, Filippo [Mayo Clinic, Motion Analysis Laboratory, Division of Orthopedic Research, Rochester, MN (United States); Polytechnic of Milan, Department of Bioengineering, Milan (Italy); Amrami, Kimberly K. [Mayo Clinic, Department of Radiology, Rochester, MN (United States); Frigo, Carlo A. [Polytechnic of Milan, Department of Bioengineering, Milan (Italy); Kaufman, Kenton R. [Mayo Clinic, Motion Analysis Laboratory, Division of Orthopedic Research, Rochester, MN (United States); Mayo Clinic/Foundation, Motion Analysis Laboratory, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Rochester, MN (United States)

    2008-07-15

    To compare joint space width (JSW) measurements obtained from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with a semi-automated computer algorithm to the Kellgren and Lawrence grading of osteoarthritis (OA). Three hundred and six patients (234 female, 72 male) with a mean age of 56.7 years (range 31-81 years) underwent MRI of their knees with a fast oblique spiral spoiled gradient (SPGR) sequence. A board-certified musculoskeletal radiologist graded the OA of all the patients in accordance with the Kellgren and Lawrence OA scale. A previously validated computer algorithm was used to determine the minimum JSW for both the tibiofemoral joint and the patellofemoral joint. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) with the Student-Newman-Kuels post-hoc test was used to determine if there were differences in JSW as a function of OA grade. The radiologic grade of OA was inversely associated with the JSW. In the medial compartment the JSW did not change significantly between grade 1 and grade 2, but there was a significant decrease in JSW between grade 0 (normal) and grade 1 and for each OA grade above grade 2. In the lateral compartment no statistical differences were found till grade 2, while grade 3 was found to be statistically different from the previous one. The number of patients with a grade 4 patellofemoral OA was too low for the statistical significance to be assessed. In the patellofemoral joint the JSW did not change significantly until grade 2, while a statistically significant reduction was found for both grade 3 and grade 4. This study showed that an inverse non-linear relationship exists between radiologic grade and JSW. The relationship differs for the tibiofemoral and the patellofemoral joint. (orig.)

  2. Development and preliminary validation of a leadership competency instrument for existing and emerging allied health professional leaders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ang, Hui-Gek; Koh, Jeremy Meng-Yeow; Lee, Jeffrey; Pua, Yong-Hao

    2016-02-19

    No instruments, to our knowledge, exist to assess leadership competency in existing and emerging allied health professional (AHP) leaders. This paper describes the development and preliminary exploration of the psychometric properties of a leadership competency instrument for existing and emerging AHP leaders and examines (i) its factor structure, (ii) its convergent validity with the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI), and (iii) its discriminative validity in AHPs with different grades. During development, we included 25 items in the AHEAD (Aspiring leaders in Healthcare-Empowering individuals, Achieving excellence, Developing talents) instrument. A cross-sectional study was then conducted in 106 high-potential AHPs from Singapore General Hospital (34 men and 72 women) of different professional grades (49 principal-grade AHPs, 41 senior-grade AHPs, and 16 junior-grade AHPs) who completed both AHEAD and LPI instruments. Exploratory factor analysis was used to test the theoretical structure of AHEAD. Spearman correlation analysis was performed to evaluate the convergent validity of AHEAD with LPI. Using proportional odds regression models, we evaluated the association of grades of AHPs with AHEAD and LPI. To assess discriminative validity, the c-statistics - a measure of discrimination - were derived from these ordinal models. As theorized, factor analysis suggested a two-factor solution, where "skills" and "values" formed separate factors. Internal consistency of AHEAD was excellent (α-values > 0.88). Total and component AHEAD and LPI scores correlated moderately (Spearman ρ-values, 0.37 to 0.58). The c-index for discriminating between AHP grades was higher for AHEAD than for the LPI (0.76 vs. 0.65). The factorial structure of AHEAD was generally supported in our study. AHEAD showed convergent validity with the LPI and outperformed the LPI in terms of discriminative validity. These results provide initial evidence for the use of AHEAD to assess leadership

  3. Expertise, following the 5.7.1977 decree: assessment of the procedure; Expertise, arrete du 5.7.77 - bilan de la procedure

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Maillard, M. [Ministere de l`Industrie, des Postes et Telecommunications, 75 - Paris (France)

    1996-12-31

    The French Government decree concerning the periodical inspection and extensive examination procedure for plants and buildings where thermal energy is consumed, is presented. The inspection procedure is intended to control the thermal and electrical equipment, the regulation systems, the pollutant emission control systems and the waste heat recovery systems. Design recommendations, fuel substitution, pollution abatement, waste heat up-grading, etc. may be proposed by the expert

  4. Reliable and valid assessment of Lichtenstein hernia repair skills

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Carlsen, C G; Lindorff Larsen, Karen; Funch-Jensen, P

    2014-01-01

    PURPOSE: Lichtenstein hernia repair is a common surgical procedure and one of the first procedures performed by a surgical trainee. However, formal assessment tools developed for this procedure are few and sparsely validated. The aim of this study was to determine the reliability and validity...... of an assessment tool designed to measure surgical skills in Lichtenstein hernia repair. METHODS: Key issues were identified through a focus group interview. On this basis, an assessment tool with eight items was designed. Ten surgeons and surgical trainees were video recorded while performing Lichtenstein hernia...... a significant difference between the three groups which indicates construct validity, p skills can be assessed blindly by a single rater in a reliable and valid fashion with the new procedure-specific assessment tool. We recommend this tool for future assessment...

  5. CVTresh: R Package for Level-Dependent Cross-Validation Thresholding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Donghoh Kim

    2006-04-01

    Full Text Available The core of the wavelet approach to nonparametric regression is thresholding of wavelet coefficients. This paper reviews a cross-validation method for the selection of the thresholding value in wavelet shrinkage of Oh, Kim, and Lee (2006, and introduces the R package CVThresh implementing details of the calculations for the procedures. This procedure is implemented by coupling a conventional cross-validation with a fast imputation method, so that it overcomes a limitation of data length, a power of 2. It can be easily applied to the classical leave-one-out cross-validation and K-fold cross-validation. Since the procedure is computationally fast, a level-dependent cross-validation can be developed for wavelet shrinkage of data with various sparseness according to levels.

  6. CVTresh: R Package for Level-Dependent Cross-Validation Thresholding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Donghoh Kim

    2006-04-01

    Full Text Available The core of the wavelet approach to nonparametric regression is thresholding of wavelet coefficients. This paper reviews a cross-validation method for the selection of the thresholding value in wavelet shrinkage of Oh, Kim, and Lee (2006, and introduces the R package CVThresh implementing details of the calculations for the procedures.This procedure is implemented by coupling a conventional cross-validation with a fast imputation method, so that it overcomes a limitation of data length, a power of 2. It can be easily applied to the classical leave-one-out cross-validation and K-fold cross-validation. Since the procedure is computationally fast, a level-dependent cross-validation can be developed for wavelet shrinkage of data with various sparseness according to levels.

  7. Application of the neo-deterministic seismic microzonation procedure in Bulgaria and validation of the seismic input against Eurocode 8

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paskaleva, I.; Kouteva, M.; Vaccari, F.; Panza, G.F.

    2008-03-01

    The earthquake record and the Code for design and construction in seismic regions in Bulgaria have shown that the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria is exposed to a high seismic risk due to local shallow and regional strong intermediate-depth seismic sources. The available strong motion database is quite limited, and therefore not representative at all of the real hazard. The application of the neo-deterministic seismic hazard assessment procedure for two main Bulgarian cities has been capable to supply a significant database of synthetic strong motions for the target sites, applicable for earthquake engineering purposes. The main advantage of the applied deterministic procedure is the possibility to take simultaneously and correctly into consideration the contribution to the earthquake ground motion at the target sites of the seismic source and of the seismic wave propagation in the crossed media. We discuss in this study the result of some recent applications of the neo-deterministic seismic microzonation procedure to the cities of Sofia and Russe. The validation of the theoretically modeled seismic input against Eurocode 8 and the few available records at these sites is discussed. (author)

  8. Standardized Curriculum for Enrichment Agriculture. Grades 7 and 8.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mississippi State Dept. of Education, Jackson. Office of Vocational, Technical and Adult Education.

    Standardized vocational education course titles and core contents are provided for two courses in Mississippi: agriculture, grades seven and eight. The first course contains the following units: (1) agricultural careers; (2) leadership and Future Farmers of America (FFA); (3) public speaking; (4) parliamentary procedures; (5) introduction to…

  9. Readmission after treatment of Grade 3 and 4 renal injuries at a Level I trauma center: Statewide assessment using the Comprehensive Hospital Abstract Reporting System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winters, Brian; Wessells, Hunter; Voelzke, Bryan B

    2016-03-01

    One criticism of the existing renal trauma research is the limited outpatient follow-up after index hospitalization. We assessed readmission rates following treatment for American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) Grade 3 and 4 renal injury using the Comprehensive Hospital Abstract Reporting System (CHARS). We evaluated all patients with AAST Grade 3 and 4 renal injuries admitted to Harborview Medical Center (HMC) between 1998 and 2010, the only Level 1 trauma center in Washington state. Grade 4 renal injuries were stratified by collecting system laceration (CSL) or segmental vascular injury. Data were abstracted from the CHARS database for readmissions to any Washington state hospital within 6 months of renal injury. Clinical variables, diagnoses, and procedures were queried based on DRG International Classification of Diseases-9th Rev. codes. A total of 477 Grade 3 and 159 Grade 4 renal injuries were initially treated at HMC. On admission, 111 patients required intervention: 75 (16%) of 477 Grade 3 and 36 (23%) of 159 Grade 4 injuries. Within 6 months of index hospitalization, 86 (18%) of 477 Grade 3 and 38 (24%) of 159 Grade 4 patients were readmitted to any Washington state hospital. Eighty percent of Grade 3 injuries and 66% of Grade 4 injuries returned to HMC compared with secondary hospitals (p = 0.08). At readmission, 19 (22%) of 86 Grade 3 and 16 (42%) of 38 Grade 4 injuries had a urologic diagnosis. Subsequent procedural intervention was required on readmission in 6 (7%) of 86 Grade 3 and 5 (13%) of 38 Grade 4 renal injuries (all CSL injuries). A subset of patients treated for Grade 3 and 4 renal trauma will be readmitted for further management. While urologic diagnoses and additional procedures may be low overall, readmission to outside hospitals may preclude accurate determination of renal trauma outcomes. Based on these data, patients with Grade 4 CSL injuries seem to be at the highest risk for readmission and to require a subsequent

  10. Exploring PE Teachers' "Gut Feelings": An Attempt to Verbalise and Discuss Teachers' Internalised Grading Criteria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Svennberg, Lena; Meckbach, Jane; Redelius, Karin

    2014-01-01

    Research shows that teachers' grading is influenced by non-achievement factors in addition to official criteria, such as knowledge and skills. Some grading criteria are internalised by the teacher, who is sometimes unable to verbalise the criteria used and refers to what is called a "gut feeling". Therefore, transparency, validity and…

  11. Embryo apoptosis identification: Oocyte grade or cleavage stage?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bakri, Noraina Mohd; Ibrahim, Siti Fatimah; Osman, Nurul Atikah; Hasan, Nurhaslina; Jaffar, Farah Hanan Fathihah; Rahman, Zulaiha Abdul; Osman, Khairul

    2015-01-01

    Apoptosis is a programed cell death that is vital for tissue homeostasis. However, embryo apoptosis had been known to be related to embryo fragmentation which should be avoided in in vitro fertilization (IVF). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship of embryo apoptosis with the grade of immature oocytes and cleavage stage of in vitro produced (IVP) cattle embryos. This study consisted of 345 oocytes collected through ovary slicing. Immature oocytes were graded as A, B and C. This grading was based on cumulus cell thickness and compactness. All oocytes then underwent an in vitro maturation (IVM) procedure. An IVF was done 24 h after IVM culture. Prior to staining, stage of cleaved embryos was determined and classified as either 2, 4, 8 or >8-cell embryo stage. Apoptosis status of cleaved IVP embryos was determined by using annexin V-FITC staining technique at 48 and 72 h post insemination (hpi). Apoptosis status for each embryo was classified as either early or late. The result showed that there was no significant difference (p > 0.05) of apoptosis status among grade A, B and C embryos. All grades of oocytes showed embryo apoptosis where 1.5% late apoptosis for grade A, 4.5% and 10.4% of early and late apoptosis for grade B and grade C. Early apoptosis was not seen in grade A embryo. We also noted no significant difference (p > 0.05) of apoptosis status between 2, 4, 8 and >8-cell embryo stage. Early apoptosis was also not seen in >8-cell stage. Even though there were no differences in apoptosis expression between the three classes, the cleavage rate of grade A oocytes was significantly higher (p < 0.01) than grade B and grade C. In conclusion, the apoptosis expression in the embryo can occur regardless of the oocyte quality and the cleavage stage of the embryo produced. PMID:26858565

  12. Grade III or Grade IV Hypertensive Retinopathy with Severely Elevated Blood Pressure

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amanda D Henderson

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Hypertensive retinopathy describes a spectrum of retinal changes in patients with elevated blood pressure (BP. It is unknown why some patients are more likely to develop acute ocular end-organ damage than others with similar BP. We examined risk factors for grade III/IV hypertensive retinopathy among patients with hypertensive urgency in the emergency department (ED and compared healthcare utilization and mortality between patients with and without grade III/IV hypertensive retinopathy.Methods: A preplanned subanalysis of patients who presented to a university hospital ED with diastolic BP > 120 mmHg and who enrolled in the Fundus Photography versus Ophthalmoscopy Trial Outcomes in the ED study was performed. Bilateral nonmydriatic ocular fundus photographs, vital signs, and demographics were obtained at presentation. Past medical history, laboratory values, healthcare utilization, and mortality were ascertained from medical record review at least 8 months after initial ED visit.Results: Twenty-one patients with diastolic BP > 120 mmHg, 7 of whom (33% had grade III/IV hypertensive retinopathy, were included. Patients with retinopathy were significantly younger than those without (median 33 vs 50 years, P = 0.02. Mean arterial pressure (165 vs 163 mmHg was essentially equal in the 2 groups. Patients with retinopathy had substantially increased but nonsignificant rates of ED revisit (57% vs 29%, P = 0.35 and hospital admission after ED discharge (43% vs 14%, P = 0.28. One of the patients with retinopathy died, but none without.Conclusion: Younger patients may be at higher risk for grade III/IV hypertensive retinopathy among patients with hypertensive urgency. Chronic compensatory mechanisms may have not yet developed in these younger patients. Alternatively, older patients with retinopathy may be underrepresented secondary to increased mortality among these patients at a younger age (survivorship bias. Further research is needed to

  13. Can Patients Comprehend the Educational Materials that Hospitals Provide about Common IR Procedures?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sadigh, Gelareh; Hawkins, C Matthew; O'Keefe, John J; Khan, Ramsha; Duszak, Richard

    2015-08-01

    To assess the readability of online education materials offered by hospitals describing commonly performed interventional radiology (IR) procedures. Online patient education materials from 402 hospitals selected from the Medicare Hospital Compare database were assessed. The presence of an IR service was determined by representation in the Society of Interventional Radiology physician finder directory. Patient online education materials about (i) uterine artery embolization for fibroid tumors, (ii) liver cancer embolization, (iii) varicose vein treatment, (iv) central venous access, (v) inferior vena cava (IVC) filter placement, (vi) nephrostomy tube insertion, (vii) gastrostomy tube placement, and (viii) vertebral augmentation were targeted and assessed by using six validated readability scoring systems. Of 402 hospitals sampled, 156 (39%) were presumed to offer IR services. Of these, 119 (76%) offered online patient education material for one or more of the eight service lines. The average readability scores corresponding to grade varied between the ninth- and 12th-grade levels. All were higher than the recommended seventh-grade level (P Reading Ease scores ranged from 42 to 69, corresponding with fairly difficult to difficult readability for all service lines except IVC filter and gastrostomy tube placement, which corresponded with standard readability. A majority of hospitals offering IR services provide at least some online patient education material. Most, however, are written significantly above the reading comprehension level of most Americans. More attention to health literacy by hospitals and IR physicians is warranted. Copyright © 2015 SIR. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Computer-Aided Grading of Gliomas Combining Automatic Segmentation and Radiomics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei Chen

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Gliomas are the most common primary brain tumors, and the objective grading is of great importance for treatment. This paper presents an automatic computer-aided diagnosis of gliomas that combines automatic segmentation and radiomics, which can improve the diagnostic ability. The MRI data containing 220 high-grade gliomas and 54 low-grade gliomas are used to evaluate our system. A multiscale 3D convolutional neural network is trained to segment whole tumor regions. A wide range of radiomic features including first-order features, shape features, and texture features is extracted. By using support vector machines with recursive feature elimination for feature selection, a CAD system that has an extreme gradient boosting classifier with a 5-fold cross-validation is constructed for the grading of gliomas. Our CAD system is highly effective for the grading of gliomas with an accuracy of 91.27%, a weighted macroprecision of 91.27%, a weighted macrorecall of 91.27%, and a weighted macro-F1 score of 90.64%. This demonstrates that the proposed CAD system can assist radiologists for high accurate grading of gliomas and has the potential for clinical applications.

  15. The validation of an infrared simulation system

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    De Waal, A

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available theoretical validation framework. This paper briefly describes the procedure used to validate software models in an infrared system simulation, and provides application examples of this process. The discussion includes practical validation techniques...

  16. TRREMS procedure (transanal repair of rectocele and rectal mucosectomy with one circular stapler: a prospective multicenter trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Vinicius Cruz

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available CONTEXT: Since anorectocele is usually associated with mucosa prolapse and/or rectal intussusceptions, it was developed a stapled surgical technique using one circular stapler. OBJECTIVE: To report the results of Transanal Repair of Rectocele and Rectal Mucosectomy with one Circular Stapler (TRREMS procedure in the treatment of anorectocele with mucosa prolapse in a prospective multicenter trial. METHODS: It was conducted by 14 surgeons and included 75 female patients, mean aged 49.6 years, with symptoms of obstructed defecation due to grade 2 (26.7% and grade 3 (73.3% anorectocele associated with mucosa prolapse and/or rectal intussusception (52.0% and an average validated Wexner constipation score of 16. All patients were evaluated by a proctological examination, cinedefecography, anal manometry and colonic transit time. The TRREMS procedure consists of the manual removal of the rectocele wall with circumferential rectal mucosectomy performed with a circular stapler. The mean follow-up time was 21 months. RESULTS: All patients presented obstructed defecation and they persisted with symptoms despite conservative treatment. The mean operative time was 42 minutes. In 13 (17.3% patients, bleeding from the stapled line required hemostatic suture. Stapling was incomplete in 2 (2.6%. Forty-nine patients (65.3% required 1 hospitalization day, the remainder (34.7% 2 days. Postoperatively, 3 (4.0% patients complained of persistent rectal pain and 7 (9.3% developed stricture on the stapled suture subsequently treated by stricturectomy under anesthesia (n = 1, endoscopic stricturectomy with hot biopsy forceps (n = 3 and digital dilatation (n = 3. Postoperative cinedefecography showed residual grade I anorectoceles in 8 (10.6%. The mean Wexner constipation score decreased significantly from 16 to 4 (0-4: n = 68 (6: n = 6 (7: n = 1 (P<0.0001. CONCLUSION: Current trial results suggest that TRREMS procedure is a safe and effective technique for the treatment

  17. Construction and Validation of the Marital Justice Scale

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Majid Ghaffari

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available The main purpose of this study was to construct and validate a scale for measuring marital justice. A sample of three hundred and four voluntary and unpaid married participants (194 females, 110 males, aged between 20 and 35 years old (29.01 ± 4.44 years, were selected randomly through multi-stage sampling in Isfahan, Iran; the participants included in this sample had preschool child/children, were all in the first decade of marriage, and had at least eight grades of education. All participants were asked to complete the Marital Justice Scale (MJS, the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale (R-DAS; Busby, Christensen, Crane, & Larson, 1995, and the Marital Conflict Questionnaire (MCQ; Sanai Zaker, 2000. The exploratory factor analysis extracted two factors labelled ‘Procedural/interactional justice’ (twelve items and ‘Distributive justice’ (eight items which accounted for 66.70% of the total variance. The convergent and discriminant validity of the 20-item MJS were supported by an expected pattern of correlations between the scale and the measures of marital quality and marital conflict. All correlation coefficients between the mean scores of the MJS and the scores of the RDAS and the MCQ were statistically significant. The obtained internal consistency was markedly high (Cronbach’s α = .97. The test-retest reliability of the MJS was .87. The results suggest that the MJS is a reliable and valid measure; however, further studies should be carried out in other countries, based on different age groups and socio-economic levels, various developmental stages of family life cycles, diverse cultures and sub-cultures, and according to gender difference so as to validate the MJS.

  18. Developing Conceptual Understanding and Procedural Skill in Mathematics: An Iterative Process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rittle-Johnson, Bethany; Siegler, Robert S.; Alibali, Martha Wagner

    2001-01-01

    Proposes that conceptual and procedural knowledge develop in an iterative fashion and improved problem representation is one mechanism underlying the relations between them. Two experiments were conducted with 5th and 6th grade students learning about decimal fractions. Results indicate conceptual and procedural knowledge do develop, iteratively,…

  19. Cumulative irritancy in the guinea pig from low grade irritant vehicles and the angry skin syndrome

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Klaus Ejner; Maibach, H I

    1980-01-01

    A 4-week open cumulative irritancy test in guinea pigs discriminated between two low grade irritant vehicles, nonionic base (anhydrous) and hydrophilic ointment. The procedure might be useful as a predictive test for low grade irritants. The angry skin syndrome was established in the guinea pigs...

  20. In-service behavior of creep strength enhanced ferritic steels Grade 91 and Grade 92 – Part 1 parent metal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parker, Jonathan

    2013-01-01

    In creep strength enhanced ferritic steels, such as Grade 91 and Grade 92, control of both composition and heat treatment of the parent steel is necessary to avoid producing components which have creep strength below the minimum expected by applicable ASME and other International Codes. These efforts are required to ensure that the steel develops a homogeneous fully tempered martensitic microstructure, with the appropriate distribution of precipitates and the required dislocation substructure. In-service creep related problems with Grade 91 steel have been reported associated with factors such as incorrect microstructure and heat treatment, welded connections in headers and piping, dissimilar metal welds as well as the manufacture and performance of castings. Difficulties associated with remediation of in-service damage include challenges over detection and removal of damaged material as well as the selection and qualification of appropriate methodologies for repair. Since repeated heat treatment leads to continued tempering, and a potential degradation of properties, specific procedures for performing and then lifing repair welds are a key aspect of Asset Management. This paper presents a summary of in-service experience with Grade 91 steel and outlines approaches for repair welding. Highlights: ► The steel alloy known as Grade 91 is widely used to fabricate critical pressure part components. ► Designers favor Grade 91 because it provides superior elevated temperature strength at substantially lower cost than the austenitic stainless steels. ► Service experience has confirmed that early failures can occur. ► Life management solutions involved attention to detail at Purchase, during design and all stages of fabrication.

  1. Validation of subclavian duplex velocity criteria to grade severity of subclavian artery stenosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mousa, Albeir Y; Morkous, Ramez; Broce, Mike; Yacoub, Michael; Sticco, Andrew; Viradia, Ravi; Bates, Mark C; AbuRahma, Ali F

    2017-06-01

    Validation of subclavian duplex ultrasound velocity criteria (SDUS VC) to grade the severity of subclavian artery stenosis has not been established or systematically studied. Currently, there is a paucity of published literature and lack of practitioner consensus for how subclavian duplex velocity findings should be interpreted in patients with subclavian artery stenosis. The objective of the present study was to validate SDUS measurements using subclavian conventional or computed tomography angiogram (subclavian angiogram [SA])-derived measurements. Secondary objectives included measuring the correlation between SDUS peak systolic velocities and SA measurements, and to determine the optimal cutoff value for predicting significant stenosis (>70%). This is a retrospective review of all patients with suspected subclavian artery stenosis and a convenience sample of carotid artery patients who underwent SDUS and SA from May 1999 to July 2013. SA reference vessel and intralesion minimal lumen diameters were measured and compared with SDUS velocities obtained within 3 months of the imaging study. Percent stenosis was calculated using the North American Symptomatic Carotid Endarterectomy Trial method for detecting stenosis in a sufficiently large cohort. Receiver operating characteristic curves was generated for SDUS VC to predict >70% stenosis. Velocity cutoff points were determined with equal weighting of sensitivity and specificity. We examined 268 arteries for 177 patients. The majority of the arteries were for female patients (52.5%) with a mean age of 66.7 ± 11.1 years. Twenty-three arteries had retrograde vertebral artery flow and excluded from further analysis. For the remaining 245 arteries, the average peak systolic velocity was 212.6 ± 110.7 cm/s, with a range of 45-626 cm/s. Average stenosis was 25.8% ± 28.2%, with a range of 0% to 100%. Following receiver operating characteristic analysis, we found a cutoff value of >240 cm/s to be most predictive

  2. Validity of Three Recently Proposed Prognostic Grading Indexes for Breast Cancer Patients With Radiosurgically Treated Brain Metastases

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yamamoto, Masaaki, E-mail: BCD06275@nifty.com [Katsuta Hospital Mito GammaHouse, Hitachi-naka (Japan); Department of Neurosurgery, Tokyo Women' s Medical University Medical Center E, Tokyo (Japan); Kawabe, Takuya [Katsuta Hospital Mito GammaHouse, Hitachi-naka (Japan); Department of Neurosurgery, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyoto (Japan); Higuchi, Yoshinori [Department of Neurosurgery, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba (Japan); Sato, Yasunori [Clinical Research Center, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba (Japan); Barfod, Bierta E. [Katsuta Hospital Mito GammaHouse, Hitachi-naka (Japan); Kasuya, Hidetoshi [Department of Neurosurgery, Tokyo Women' s Medical University Medical Center E, Tokyo (Japan); Urakawa, Yoichi [Katsuta Hospital Mito GammaHouse, Hitachi-naka (Japan)

    2012-12-01

    Purpose: We tested the validity of 3 recently proposed prognostic indexes for breast cancer patients with brain metastases (METs) treated radiosurgically. The 3 indexes are Diagnosis-Specific Graded Prognostic Assessment (DS-GPA), New Breast Cancer (NBC)-Recursive Partitioning Analysis (RPA), and our index, sub-classification of RPA class II patients into 3 sub-classes (RPA class II-a, II-b and II-c) based on Karnofsky performance status, tumor number, original tumor status, and non-brain METs. Methods and Materials: This was an institutional review board-approved, retrospective cohort study using our database of 269 consecutive female breast cancer patients (mean age, 55 years; range, 26-86 years) who underwent Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS) alone, without whole-brain radiation therapy, for brain METs during the 15-year period between 1996 and 2011. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate the absolute risk of each event. Results: Kaplan-Meier plots of our patient series showed statistically significant survival differences among patients stratified into 3, 4, or 5 groups based on the 3 systems (P<.001). However, the mean survival time (MST) differences between some pairs of groups failed to reach statistical significance with all 3 systems. Thus, we attempted to regrade our 269 breast cancer patients into 3 groups by modifying our aforementioned index along with the original RPA class I and III, (ie, RPA I+II-a, II-b, and II-c+III). There were statistically significant MST differences among these 3 groups without overlap of 95% confidence intervals (CIs) between any 2 pairs of groups: 18.4 (95% CI = 14.0-29.5) months in I+II-a, 9.2 in II-b (95% CI = 6.8-12.9, P<.001 vs I+II-a) and 5.0 in II-c+III (95% CI = 4.2-6.8, P<.001 vs II-b). Conclusions: As none of the new grading systems, DS-GPS, BC-RPA and our system, was applicable to our set of radiosurgically treated patients for comparing survivals after GKRS, we slightly modified our system for breast cancer

  3. Splenic trauma management in relation to mode and grade

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gangat, S.A.; Khaskhali, A.A.; Memon, I.A.

    2008-01-01

    To study the prevalence and management of splenic trauma in relation to its mode and grade. All cases admitted in emergency with abdominal trauma and splenic injury. The data of all the patients who had splenic trauma was entered on a proforma and analyzed. A total of 44 patients with ages between 20-40 years presented with splenic injury; 32(72.7%) were male. The commonest mode of splenic trauma was blunt abdominal injury (50%), and most (47%) patients had Grade- III injury. Splenectomy was carried out in 84% patients, while 9% underwent splenic salvage. Seven (15.9%) patients with splenectomy died in the series. Splenic injury was mostly caused by blunt abdominal trauma. Proper assessment of the grade of injury at the time of laparotomy resulted in more splenic salvage procedures with decreased risk of complications. (author)

  4. Validity of Wearable Activity Monitors during Cycling and Resistance Exercise.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boudreaux, Benjamin D; Hebert, Edward P; Hollander, Daniel B; Williams, Brian M; Cormier, Corinne L; Naquin, Mildred R; Gillan, Wynn W; Gusew, Emily E; Kraemer, Robert R

    2018-03-01

    The use of wearable activity monitors has seen rapid growth; however, the mode and intensity of exercise could affect the validity of heart rate (HR) and caloric (energy) expenditure (EE) readings. There is a lack of data regarding the validity of wearable activity monitors during graded cycling regimen and a standard resistance exercise. The present study determined the validity of eight monitors for HR compared with an ECG and seven monitors for EE compared with a metabolic analyzer during graded cycling and resistance exercise. Fifty subjects (28 women, 22 men) completed separate trials of graded cycling and three sets of four resistance exercises at a 10-repetition-maximum load. Monitors included the following: Apple Watch Series 2, Fitbit Blaze, Fitbit Charge 2, Polar H7, Polar A360, Garmin Vivosmart HR, TomTom Touch, and Bose SoundSport Pulse (BSP) headphones. HR was recorded after each cycling intensity and after each resistance exercise set. EE was recorded after both protocols. Validity was established as having a mean absolute percent error (MAPE) value of ≤10%. The Polar H7 and BSP were valid during both exercise modes (cycling: MAPE = 6.87%, R = 0.79; resistance exercise: MAPE = 6.31%, R = 0.83). During cycling, the Apple Watch Series 2 revealed the greatest HR validity (MAPE = 4.14%, R = 0.80). The BSP revealed the greatest HR accuracy during resistance exercise (MAPE = 6.24%, R = 0.86). Across all devices, as exercise intensity increased, there was greater underestimation of HR. No device was valid for EE during cycling or resistance exercise. HR from wearable devices differed at different exercise intensities; EE estimates from wearable devices were inaccurate. Wearable devices are not medical devices, and users should be cautious when using these devices for monitoring physiological responses to exercise.

  5. Factors associated with psychological distress following colposcopy among women with low-grade abnormal cervical cytology: a prospective study within the Trial Of Management of Borderline and Other Low-grade Abnormal smears (TOMBOLA).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharp, Linda; Cotton, Seonaidh; Carsin, Anne-Elie; Gray, Nicola; Thornton, Alison; Cruickshank, Margaret; Little, Julian

    2013-02-01

    Little is known about psychological after-effects of colposcopy and associated investigations and treatment in women with low-grade abnormal cervical cytology. We investigated psychological distress following colposcopy and related procedures. Nine hundred and eighty-nine women aged 20-59 years with routine cytology showing low-grade abnormalities were recruited to the Trial of Management of Borderline and other Low-grade Abnormal smears and attended colposcopy. If the cervical transformation zone (TZ) was colposcopically abnormal, women had immediate loop excision or diagnostic punch biopsies, with treatment if these showed cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2/3 (CIN2/3). Women completed socio-demographic and psychosocial questionnaires at recruitment and before colposcopy. Six weeks after their last procedure, women completed the Impact of Event Scale (IES). Logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with significant psychological distress (IES ≥ 9). Analyses were stratified by colposcopic impression. The response rate was 74%. Six weeks after the last procedure, 86 (21%) of 391 women with a normal TZ had significant distress compared with 144 (42%) of 337 with an abnormal TZ. In both groups, significant distress was associated with anxiety pre-colposcopy and pain or discharge afterwards. Additional variables predicting distress in women with a normal TZ were worries about having sex and dissatisfaction with support from others. In women with an abnormal TZ, additional predictors of distress were younger age, CIN2/3, bleeding following colposcopy and worries about having cancer. Substantial proportions of women experience psychological distress after colposcopy and related procedures, even when the colposcopy is normal. This is an important cost of cervical screening. Interventions to alleviate these adverse psychological effects are required. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  6. Medical school dropout - testing at admission versus selection by highest grades as predictors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    O'Neill, Lotte; Hartvigsen, Jan; Wallstedt, Birgitta

    2011-01-01

    Medical Education 2011: 45: 1111-1120 Context  Very few studies have reported on the effect of admission tests on medical school dropout. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the predictive validity of non-grade-based admission testing versus grade-based admission relative to subsequent...... took a composite non-grade-based admission test (Strategy 2). Educational as well as social predictor variables (doctor-parent, origin, parenthood, parents living together, parent on benefit, university-educated parents) were also examined. The outcome of interest was students' dropout status at 2...... appeared to have an independent, protective effect on dropout in this setting....

  7. Chapter 4:Grading and properties of hardwood structural lumber

    Science.gov (United States)

    David W. Green

    2005-01-01

    Structural lumber markets have traditionally been dominated by softwood species. Historically, however, hardwood species have been extensively used for certain structural products such as timbers for railway and highway bridges, railway ties, mine timbers, and for pallets and containers. In the 1920s, when uniform procedures were first developed for structural grading...

  8. Geometry task & drill sheets : grades 6-8

    CERN Document Server

    Rosenberg, Mary

    2011-01-01

    For grades 6-8, our Common Core State Standards-based combined resource meets the geometry concepts addressed by the NCTM standards and encourages the students to review the concepts in unique ways. The task sheets introduce the mathematical concepts to the students around a central problem taken from real-life experiences, while the drill sheets provide warm-up and timed practice questions for the students to strengthen their procedural proficiency skills.

  9. Monte Carlo study of holding forces for tank cars on grades

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-04-15

    This paper describes a numerical procedure to examine the holding forces needed to secure a cut of railroad tank cars staged on a grade during loading and unloading operations. Holding forces are created by applying emergency brake systems and blocki...

  10. Validation and Development of a Modified Breast Graded Prognostic Assessment As a Tool for Survival in Patients With Breast Cancer and Brain Metastases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Subbiah, Ishwaria M; Lei, Xiudong; Weinberg, Jeffrey S; Sulman, Erik P; Chavez-MacGregor, Mariana; Tripathy, Debu; Gupta, Rohan; Varma, Ankur; Chouhan, Jay; Guevarra, Richard P; Valero, Vicente; Gilbert, Mark R; Gonzalez-Angulo, Ana M

    2015-07-10

    Several indices have been developed to predict overall survival (OS) in patients with breast cancer with brain metastases, including the breast graded prognostic assessment (breast-GPA), comprising age, tumor subtype, and Karnofsky performance score. However, number of brain metastases-a highly relevant clinical variable-is less often incorporated into the final model. We sought to validate the existing breast-GPA in an independent larger cohort and refine it integrating number of brain metastases. Data were retrospectively gathered from a prospectively maintained institutional database. Patients with newly diagnosed brain metastases from 1996 to 2013 were identified. After validating the breast-GPA, multivariable Cox regression and recursive partitioning analysis led to the development of the modified breast-GPA. The performances of the breast-GPA and modified breast-GPA were compared using the concordance index. In our cohort of 1,552 patients, the breast-GPA was validated as a prognostic tool for OS (P three v ≤ three), both were independent predictors of OS. We therefore developed the modified breast-GPA integrating a fourth clinical parameter. Recursive partitioning analysis reinforced the prognostic significance of these four factors. Concordance indices were 0.78 (95% CI, 0.77 to 0.80) and 0.84 (95% CI, 0.83 to 0.85) for the breast-GPA and modified breast-GPA, respectively (P formative part of the clinician's discussion of prognosis and direction of care and as a potential patient selection tool for clinical trials. © 2015 by American Society of Clinical Oncology.

  11. A new MRI grading system for chondromalacia patellae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Özgen, Ali; Taşdelen, Neslihan; Fırat, Zeynep

    2017-04-01

    Background Chondromalacia patellae is a very common disorder. Although magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is widely used to investigate patellar cartilage lesions, there is no descriptive MRI-based grading system for chondromalacia patellae. Purpose To propose a new MRI grading system for chondromalacia patellae with corresponding high resolution images which might be useful in precisely reporting and comparing knee examinations in routine daily practice and used in predicting natural course and clinical outcome of the patellar cartilage lesions. Material and Methods High resolution fat-saturated proton density (FS PD) images in the axial plane with corresponding T2 mapping images were reviewed. A detailed MRI grading system covering the deficiencies of the existing gradings has been set and presented on these images. Two experienced observers blinded to clinical data examined 44 knee MR images and evaluated patellar cartilage changes according to the proposed grading system. Inter- and intra-rater validity testing using kappa statistics were calculated. Results A descriptive and detailed grading system with corresponding FS PD and T2 mapping images has been presented. Inter-rater agreement was 0.80 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.71-0.89). Intra-rater agreements were 0.83 (95% CI, 0.74-0.91) for observer A and 0.79 (95% CI, 0.70-0.88) for observer B (k-values). Conclusion We present a new MRI grading system for chondromalacia patellae with corresponding images and good inter- and intra-rater agreement which might be useful in reporting and comparing knee MRI examinations in daily practice and may also have the potential for using more precisely predicting prognosis and clinical outcome of the patients.

  12. Artificial neural network aided non-invasive grading evaluation of hepatic fibrosis by duplex ultrasonography

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhang Li

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Artificial neural networks (ANNs are widely studied for evaluating diseases. This paper discusses the intelligence mode of an ANN in grading the diagnosis of liver fibrosis by duplex ultrasonogaphy. Methods 239 patients who were confirmed as having liver fibrosis or cirrhosis by ultrasound guided liver biopsy were investigated in this study. We quantified ultrasonographic parameters as significant parameters using a data optimization procedure applied to an ANN. 179 patients were typed at random as the training group; 60 additional patients were consequently enrolled as the validating group. Performance of the ANN was evaluated according to accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, Youden’s index and receiver operating characteristic (ROC analysis. Results 5 ultrasonographic parameters; i.e., the liver parenchyma, thickness of spleen, hepatic vein (HV waveform, hepatic artery pulsatile index (HAPI and HV damping index (HVDI, were enrolled as the input neurons in the ANN model. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of the ANN model for quantitative diagnosis of liver fibrosis were 95.0%, 85.0% and 88.3%, respectively. The Youden’s index (YI was 0.80. Conclusions The established ANN model had good sensitivity and specificity in quantitative diagnosis of hepatic fibrosis or liver cirrhosis. Our study suggests that the ANN model based on duplex ultrasound may help non-invasive grading diagnosis of liver fibrosis in clinical practice.

  13. Human factoring administrative procedures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grider, D.A.; Sturdivant, M.H.

    1991-01-01

    In nonnuclear business, administrative procedures bring to mind such mundane topics as filing correspondence and scheduling vacation time. In the nuclear industry, on the other hand, administrative procedures play a vital role in assuring the safe operation of a facility. For some time now, industry focus has been on improving technical procedures. Significant efforts are under way to produce technical procedure requires that a validated technical, regulatory, and administrative basis be developed and that the technical process be established for each procedure. Producing usable technical procedures requires that procedure presentation be engineered to the same human factors principles used in control room design. The vital safety role of administrative procedures requires that they be just as sound, just a rigorously formulated, and documented as technical procedures. Procedure programs at the Tennessee Valley Authority and at Boston Edison's Pilgrim Station demonstrate that human factors engineering techniques can be applied effectively to technical procedures. With a few modifications, those same techniques can be used to produce more effective administrative procedures. Efforts are under way at the US Department of Energy Nuclear Weapons Complex and at some utilities (Boston Edison, for instance) to apply human factors engineering to administrative procedures: The techniques being adapted include the following

  14. Validation of the OMNI RPE Seven Day Exertional Recall Questionnaire

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schafer, Mark A.; Robertson, Robert J.; Thekkada, Savitha J.; Gallagher, Michael, Jr.; Hunt, Sarah E.; Goss, Fredric L.; Aaron, Deborah J.

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: The present study examined the validity of the Seven Day Recall Questionnaire among recreationally active men and women. Method: Initially, participants completed a level walk (2.5 mph [4.0 kph]), hill walk (3.5 mph [5.6 kph], 5% grade), and run (5.0 mph [8.0 kph], 2.5% grade). Seven days later, participants were given the Seven Day…

  15. Validity and reliability of three definitions of hip osteoarthritis: cross sectional and longitudinal approach

    OpenAIRE

    Reijman, Max; Hazes, Mieke; Pols, Huib; Bernsen, Roos; Koes, Bart; Bierma-Zeinstra, Sita

    2004-01-01

    textabstractOBJECTIVES: To compare the reliability and validity in a large open population of three frequently used radiological definitions of hip osteoarthritis (OA): Kellgren and Lawrence grade, minimal joint space (MJS), and Croft grade; and to investigate whether the validity of the three definitions of hip OA is sex dependent. METHODS: SUBJECTS: from the Rotterdam study (aged > or= 55 years, n = 3585) were evaluated. The inter-rater reliability was tested in a random set of 148 x rays. ...

  16. Examining Variations in Fourth-Grade Children's Participation in School Breakfast and Lunch Programs by Student and Program Demographics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guinn, Caroline H.; Baxter, Suzanne Domel; Finney, Christopher J.; Hitchcock, David B.

    2013-01-01

    Purpose/Objectives: Analyses were conducted to examine variations in fourth-grade children's participation in school-breakfast and school-lunch programs by weekday, month, socioeconomic status, absenteeism, gender, and school-breakfast location. Methods: Fourth-grade children were participants in a dietary-reporting validation study during either…

  17. A Quantitative Analysis of Uncertainty in the Grading of Written Exams in Mathematics and Physics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hammer, Hugo Lewi; Habib, Laurence

    2016-01-01

    The most common way to grade students in courses at university and university college level is to use final written exams. The aim of final exams is generally to provide a reliable and a valid measurement of the extent to which a student has achieved the learning outcomes for the course. A source of uncertainty in grading students based on an exam…

  18. PA03.13. Effect of triphaladi rasayana along with yoga therapy on low grade non hodgkins lymphoma and resistant intermediate and high grade non hodgkins lymphoma

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soumya, MS Surya; Sarasa, TP

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: 1. To find out the effect of Thriphaladi Rasayana along with Yoga Therapy on low grade Non Hodgkins Lymphoma and resistant intermediate and high grade NonHodgkins Lymphoma. 2. To apply a less costly, less morbid, well accepted method of treatment on NHL. 3.To find a simple method to increase the immunity. 4.To try a drug which is easy to prepare? Method: Purposive sampling technique was used for the study. Sample of 30 patients age range 25 75 years with histologicaly proven NonHodgkins lymphoma, attending the M.O.I.O.P of the regional cancer centre during a period of 18 months. Groups1) Low grade NonHodgkins Lymphoma 2) Resistant intermediate &High grade NonHodgkins lymphoma (failed chemotherapy) were taken. Procedure : 2 groups were given Triphaladhi Rasayana (15 grams of powder with ghee and honey) twice dailymorning& at bed time with milk as anupana for period of 1month along with selected yoga asanas and niyama? Result: Symptoms included were fever, night sweats, weight loss, lymph nodes enlargement, splenomegaly, and hepatomegaly. In low grade symptom relief was noted in almost all cases. Lymph node changes notedLow grade5 2% (complete remission), 38% (partial remission), 10% (no change), intermediate35% (CR), 52% (PR) & 13% (NC), High grade67% (CR), 33%(PR). Hepatomegaly changes :ve in low grade92.86%, intermediate 90.9% & high grade100%. Splenomegaly changes :ve in low grade92.86%, intermediate72.72% & high grade80% Over all remission status of 30 patientscomplete remission30%, partial remission 30% & no change30%? Conclusion: Thriphaladirasayana along with Yoga therapy is very effective in Low grade NonHodgkins lymphoma and resistant intermediate and high grade Non hodgkins Lymphoma?

  19. Facilitating Improvements in Laboratory Report Writing Skills with Less Grading: A Laboratory Report Peer-Review Process

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jennifer R. Brigati

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Incorporating peer-review steps in the laboratory report writing process provides benefits to students, but it also can create additional work for laboratory instructors. The laboratory report writing process described here allows the instructor to grade only one lab report for every two to four students, while giving the students the benefits of peer review and prompt feedback on their laboratory reports. Here we present the application of this process to a sophomore level genetics course and a freshman level cellular biology course, including information regarding class time spent on student preparation activities, instructor preparation, prerequisite student knowledge, suggested learning outcomes, procedure, materials, student instructions, faculty instructions, assessment tools, and sample data. T-tests comparing individual and group grading of the introductory cell biology lab reports yielded average scores that were not significantly different from each other (p = 0.13, n = 23 for individual grading, n = 6 for group grading. T-tests also demonstrated that average laboratory report grades of students using the peer-review process were not significantly different from those of students working alone (p = 0.98, n = 9 for individual grading, n = 6 for pair grading. While the grading process described here does not lead to statistically significant gains (or reductions in student learning, it allows student learning to be maintained while decreasing instructor workload. This reduction in workload could allow the instructor time to pursue other high-impact practices that have been shown to increase student learning. Finally, we suggest possible modifications to the procedure for application in a variety of settings.

  20. Facilitating improvements in laboratory report writing skills with less grading: a laboratory report peer-review process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brigati, Jennifer R; Swann, Jerilyn M

    2015-05-01

    Incorporating peer-review steps in the laboratory report writing process provides benefits to students, but it also can create additional work for laboratory instructors. The laboratory report writing process described here allows the instructor to grade only one lab report for every two to four students, while giving the students the benefits of peer review and prompt feedback on their laboratory reports. Here we present the application of this process to a sophomore level genetics course and a freshman level cellular biology course, including information regarding class time spent on student preparation activities, instructor preparation, prerequisite student knowledge, suggested learning outcomes, procedure, materials, student instructions, faculty instructions, assessment tools, and sample data. T-tests comparing individual and group grading of the introductory cell biology lab reports yielded average scores that were not significantly different from each other (p = 0.13, n = 23 for individual grading, n = 6 for group grading). T-tests also demonstrated that average laboratory report grades of students using the peer-review process were not significantly different from those of students working alone (p = 0.98, n = 9 for individual grading, n = 6 for pair grading). While the grading process described here does not lead to statistically significant gains (or reductions) in student learning, it allows student learning to be maintained while decreasing instructor workload. This reduction in workload could allow the instructor time to pursue other high-impact practices that have been shown to increase student learning. Finally, we suggest possible modifications to the procedure for application in a variety of settings.

  1. Facilitating Improvements in Laboratory Report Writing Skills with Less Grading: A Laboratory Report Peer-Review Process†

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brigati, Jennifer R.; Swann, Jerilyn M.

    2015-01-01

    Incorporating peer-review steps in the laboratory report writing process provides benefits to students, but it also can create additional work for laboratory instructors. The laboratory report writing process described here allows the instructor to grade only one lab report for every two to four students, while giving the students the benefits of peer review and prompt feedback on their laboratory reports. Here we present the application of this process to a sophomore level genetics course and a freshman level cellular biology course, including information regarding class time spent on student preparation activities, instructor preparation, prerequisite student knowledge, suggested learning outcomes, procedure, materials, student instructions, faculty instructions, assessment tools, and sample data. T-tests comparing individual and group grading of the introductory cell biology lab reports yielded average scores that were not significantly different from each other (p = 0.13, n = 23 for individual grading, n = 6 for group grading). T-tests also demonstrated that average laboratory report grades of students using the peer-review process were not significantly different from those of students working alone (p = 0.98, n = 9 for individual grading, n = 6 for pair grading). While the grading process described here does not lead to statistically significant gains (or reductions) in student learning, it allows student learning to be maintained while decreasing instructor workload. This reduction in workload could allow the instructor time to pursue other high-impact practices that have been shown to increase student learning. Finally, we suggest possible modifications to the procedure for application in a variety of settings. PMID:25949758

  2. Evaluating the Predictive Validity of Graduate Management Admission Test Scores

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sireci, Stephen G.; Talento-Miller, Eileen

    2006-01-01

    Admissions data and first-year grade point average (GPA) data from 11 graduate management schools were analyzed to evaluate the predictive validity of Graduate Management Admission Test[R] (GMAT[R]) scores and the extent to which predictive validity held across sex and race/ethnicity. The results indicated GMAT verbal and quantitative scores had…

  3. Validity and reliability of three definitions of hip osteoarthritis: cross sectional and longitudinal approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    M. Reijman (Max); J.M.W. Hazes (Mieke); H.A.P. Pols (Huib); R.M.D. Bernsen (Roos); B.W. Koes (Bart); S.M. Bierma-Zeinstra (Sita)

    2004-01-01

    textabstractOBJECTIVES: To compare the reliability and validity in a large open population of three frequently used radiological definitions of hip osteoarthritis (OA): Kellgren and Lawrence grade, minimal joint space (MJS), and Croft grade; and to investigate whether the

  4. 7 CFR 810.2204 - Grades and grade requirements for wheat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 7 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Grades and grade requirements for wheat. 810.2204... OFFICIAL UNITED STATES STANDARDS FOR GRAIN United States Standards for Wheat Principles Governing the Application of Standards § 810.2204 Grades and grade requirements for wheat. (a) Grades and grade requirements...

  5. The use of statistical methodology to determine the accuracy of grading within a diabetic retinopathy screening programme

    OpenAIRE

    Oke, J L; Stratton, I M; Aldington, S J; Stevens, R J; Scanlon, Peter H

    2016-01-01

    AIMS:\\ud We aimed to use longitudinal data from an established screening programme with good quality assurance and quality control procedures and a stable well-trained workforce to determine the accuracy of grading in diabetic retinopathy screening.\\ud METHODS:\\ud We used a continuous time-hidden Markov model with five states to estimate the probability of true progression or regression of retinopathy and the conditional probability of an observed grade given the true grade (misclassification...

  6. Assessment of Competence in EVAR Procedures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Strøm, M; Lönn, L; Bech, B

    2017-01-01

    OBJECTIVE/BACKGROUND: To develop a procedure specific global rating scale for assessment of operator competence in endovascular aortic repair (EVAR). METHODS: A Delphi approach was used to achieve expert consensus. A panel of 32 international experts (median 300 EVAR procedures, range 200...... suggested by the panel and reduced to seven pivotal assessment items that reached consensus, Cronbach's alpha = 0.82. The seven item rating scale covers key elements of competence in EVAR stent placement and deployment. Each item has well defined grades with explicit anchors at unacceptable, acceptable......, and superior performance on a 5 point Likert scale. CONCLUSION: The Delphi methodology allowed for international consensus on a new procedure specific global rating scale for assessment of competence in EVAR. The resulting scale, EndoVascular Aortic Repair Assessment of Technical Expertise (EVARATE...

  7. Reirradiation in progressive high-grade gliomas: outcome, role of concurrent chemotherapy, prognostic factors and validation of a new prognostic score with an independent patient cohort

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Scholtyssek, Felix; Kortmann, Rolf-Dieter; Müller, Klaus; Zwiener, Isabella; Schlamann, Annika; Seidel, Clemens; Meixensberger, Jürgen; Bauer, Manfred; Hoffmann, Karl-Titus; Combs, Stephanie E; Bueren, André O von

    2013-01-01

    First, to evaluate outcome, the benefit of concurrent chemotherapy and prognostic factors in a cohort of sixty-four high-grade glioma patients who underwent a second course of radiation therapy at progression. Second, to validate a new prognostic score for overall survival after reirradiation of progressive gliomas with an independent patient cohort. All patients underwent fractionated reirradiation with a median physical dose of 36 Gy. Median planned target volume was 110.4 ml. Thirty-six patients received concurrent chemotherapy consisting in 24/36 cases (67%) of carboplatin and etoposide and in 12/36 cases (33%) of temozolomide. We used the Kaplan Meier method, log rank test and proportional hazards regression analysis for statistical assessment. Median overall survival from the start of reirradiation was 7.7 ± 0.7 months. Overall survival rates at 6 and 12 months were 60 ± 6% and 24 ± 6%, respectively. Despite relatively large target volumes we did not observe any major acute toxicity. Concurrent chemotherapy did not appear to improve outcome. In contrast, female gender, young age, WHO grade III histology, favorable Karnofsky performance score and complete resection of the tumor prior to reirradiation were identified as positive prognostic factors for overall survival. We finally validated a recent suggestion for a prognostic score with our independent but small patient cohort. Our preliminary findings suggest that its ability to discriminate between different prognostic groups is limited. Outcome of our patients was comparable to previous studies. Even in case of large target volumes reirradiation seems to be feasible without observing major toxicity. The benefit of concurrent chemotherapy is still elusive. A reassessment of the prognostic score, tested in this study, using a larger patient cohort is needed

  8. The applicability of a weight loss grading system in cancer cachexia: a longitudinal analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vagnildhaug, Ola Magne; Blum, David; Wilcock, Andrew; Fayers, Peter; Strasser, Florian; Baracos, Vickie E; Hjermstad, Marianne J; Kaasa, Stein; Laird, Barry; Solheim, Tora S

    2017-10-01

    A body mass index (BMI) adjusted weight loss grading system (WLGS) is related to survival in patients with cancer. The aim of this study was to examine the applicability of the WLGS by confirming its prognostic validity, evaluating its relationship to cachexia domains, and exploring its ability to predict cachexia progression. An international, prospective observational study of patients with incurable cancer was conducted. For each patient, weight loss grade was scored 0-4. Weight loss grade 0 represents a high BMI with limited weight loss, progressing through to weight loss grade 4 representing low BMI and a high degree of weight loss. Survival analyses were used to confirm prognostic validity. Analyses of variance were used to evaluate the relationship between the WLGS and cachexia domains [anorexia, dietary intake, Karnofsky performance status (KPS), and physical and emotional functioning]. Cox regression was used to evaluate if the addition of cachexia domains to the WLGS improved prognostic accuracy. Predictive ability of cachexia progression was assessed by estimating proportion of patients progressing to a more advanced weight loss grade. One thousand four hundred six patients were analysed (median age 66 years; 50% female, 63% KPS ≤ 70). The overall effect of the WLGS on survival was significant as expressed by change in -2 log likelihood (P cachexia domains significantly deteriorated with increasing weight loss grade, and deterioration was greatest for dietary intake, with a difference corresponding to 0.87 standard deviations between weight loss grades 0 and 4. The addition of KPS, anorexia, and physical and emotional functioning improved the prognostic accuracy of the WLGS. Likelihood of cachexia progression was greater in patients with weight loss grade 2 (39%) than that with weight loss grade 0 (19%) or 1 (22%). The WLGS is related to survival, cachexia domains, and the likelihood of progression. Adding certain cachexia domains to the WLGS

  9. Validation of calibration procedures for freeform parts on CMMs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Savio, Enrico; De Chiffre, Leonardo

    2003-01-01

    The paper describes the validation of a new method for establishment of traceability of freeform measurements on coordinate measuring machines currently being considered for development as a new ISO standard. The method deals with calibration by: i) repeated measurements of a given uncalibrated...

  10. Validating a Spanish Developmental Spelling Test.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferroli, Lou; Krajenta, Marilyn

    The creation and validation of a Spanish version of an English developmental spelling test (DST) is described. An introductory section reviews related literature on the rationale for and construction of DSTs, spelling development in the early grades, and Spanish-English bilingual education. Differences between the English and Spanish test versions…

  11. Site characterization and validation - validation drift fracture data, stage 4

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bursey, G.; Gale, J.; MacLeod, R.; Straahle, A.; Tiren, S.

    1991-08-01

    This report describes the mapping procedures and the data collected during fracture mapping in the validation drift. Fracture characteristics examined include orientation, trace length, termination mode, and fracture minerals. These data have been compared and analysed together with fracture data from the D-boreholes to determine the adequacy of the borehole mapping procedures and to assess the nature and degree of orientation bias in the borehole data. The analysis of the validation drift data also includes a series of corrections to account for orientation, truncation, and censoring biases. This analysis has identified at least 4 geologically significant fracture sets in the rock mass defined by the validation drift. An analysis of the fracture orientations in both the good rock and the H-zone has defined groups of 7 clusters and 4 clusters, respectively. Subsequent analysis of the fracture patterns in five consecutive sections along the validation drift further identified heterogeneity through the rock mass, with respect to fracture orientations. These results are in stark contrast to the results form the D-borehole analysis, where a strong orientation bias resulted in a consistent pattern of measured fracture orientations through the rock. In the validation drift, fractures in the good rock also display a greater mean variance in length than those in the H-zone. These results provide strong support for a distinction being made between fractures in the good rock and the H-zone, and possibly between different areas of the good rock itself, for discrete modelling purposes. (au) (20 refs.)

  12. Model checking as an aid to procedure design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Wenhu

    2001-01-01

    The OECD Halden Reactor Project has been actively working on computer assisted operating procedures for many years. The objective of the research has been to provide computerised assistance for procedure design, verification and validation, implementation and maintenance. For the verification purpose, the application of formal methods has been considered in several reports. The recent formal verification activity conducted at the Halden Project is based on using model checking to the verification of procedures. This report presents verification approaches based on different model checking techniques and tools for the formalization and verification of operating procedures. Possible problems and relative merits of the different approaches are discussed. A case study of one of the approaches is presented to show the practical application of formal verification. Application of formal verification in the traditional procedure design process can reduce the human resources involved in reviews and simulations, and hence reduce the cost of verification and validation. A discussion of the integration of the formal verification with the traditional procedure design process is given at the end of this report. (Author)

  13. Development of Advanced Verification and Validation Procedures and Tools for the Certification of Learning Systems in Aerospace Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacklin, Stephen; Schumann, Johann; Gupta, Pramod; Richard, Michael; Guenther, Kurt; Soares, Fola

    2005-01-01

    Adaptive control technologies that incorporate learning algorithms have been proposed to enable automatic flight control and vehicle recovery, autonomous flight, and to maintain vehicle performance in the face of unknown, changing, or poorly defined operating environments. In order for adaptive control systems to be used in safety-critical aerospace applications, they must be proven to be highly safe and reliable. Rigorous methods for adaptive software verification and validation must be developed to ensure that control system software failures will not occur. Of central importance in this regard is the need to establish reliable methods that guarantee convergent learning, rapid convergence (learning) rate, and algorithm stability. This paper presents the major problems of adaptive control systems that use learning to improve performance. The paper then presents the major procedures and tools presently developed or currently being developed to enable the verification, validation, and ultimate certification of these adaptive control systems. These technologies include the application of automated program analysis methods, techniques to improve the learning process, analytical methods to verify stability, methods to automatically synthesize code, simulation and test methods, and tools to provide on-line software assurance.

  14. A Situative Metaphor for Teacher Learning: The Case of University Tutors Learning to Grade Student Coursework

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boyd, Pete; Bloxham, Sue

    2014-01-01

    In the continuing concern about academic standards in the higher education sector a great deal of emphasis has been placed on quality assurance procedures rather than on considering how university tutors learn to grade the quality of work produced by students. As part of a larger research project focused on how tutors grade student coursework,…

  15. Implementation of GPS Machine Controlled Grading - Phase III (2008) and Technical Training

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-02-01

    Beginning in 2006, WisDOT and the Construction Material and Support Center (CMSC) at UW-Madison worked together to develop the specifications and the QA/QC procedures for GPS machine guidance on highway grading projects. These specifications and proc...

  16. Development and Validation of Nature of Science Instrument for Elementary School Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hacieminoglu, Esme; Yilmaz-Tüzün, Özgül; Ertepinar, Hamide

    2014-01-01

    The purposes of this study were to develop and validate an instrument for assessing elementary students' nature of science (NOS) views and to explain the elementary school students' NOS views, in terms of varying grade levels and gender. The sample included 782 students enrolled in sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. Exploratory factor analysis…

  17. Waveguide effect under 'antiguiding' conditions in graded anisotropic media.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kozlov, A V; Mozhaev, V G; Zyryanova, A V

    2010-02-24

    A new wave confinement effect is predicted in graded crystals with a concave slowness surface under conditions of growth of the phase velocity with decreasing distance from the waveguide axis. This finding overturns the common notion about the guiding and 'antiguiding' profiles of wave velocity in inhomogeneous media. The waveguide effect found is elucidated by means of ray analysis and particular exact wave solutions. The exact solution obtained for localized flexural waves in thin plates of graded cubic and tetragonal crystals confirms the predicted effect. Since this solution is substantially different with respect to the existence conditions from all others yet reported, and it cannot be deduced from the previously known results, the predicted waves can be classified as a new type of waveguide mode in graded anisotropic media. Although the concrete calculations are given in the article for acoustic waves, its general predictions are expected to be valid for waves of various natures, including spin, plasma, and optical waves.

  18. Waveguide effect under 'antiguiding' conditions in graded anisotropic media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kozlov, A V; Mozhaev, V G; Zyryanova, A V

    2010-01-01

    A new wave confinement effect is predicted in graded crystals with a concave slowness surface under conditions of growth of the phase velocity with decreasing distance from the waveguide axis. This finding overturns the common notion about the guiding and 'antiguiding' profiles of wave velocity in inhomogeneous media. The waveguide effect found is elucidated by means of ray analysis and particular exact wave solutions. The exact solution obtained for localized flexural waves in thin plates of graded cubic and tetragonal crystals confirms the predicted effect. Since this solution is substantially different with respect to the existence conditions from all others yet reported, and it cannot be deduced from the previously known results, the predicted waves can be classified as a new type of waveguide mode in graded anisotropic media. Although the concrete calculations are given in the article for acoustic waves, its general predictions are expected to be valid for waves of various natures, including spin, plasma, and optical waves.

  19. Buckling Response of Thick Functionally Graded Plates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    BOUAZZA MOKHTAR

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, the buckling of a functionally graded plate is studied by using first order shear deformation theory (FSDT. The material properties of the plate are assumed to be graded continuously in the direction of thickness. The variation of the material properties follows a simple power-law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of constituents. The von Karman strains are used to construct the equilibrium equations of the plates subjected to two types of thermal loading, linear temperature rise and gradient through the thickness are considered. The governing equations are reduced to linear differential equation with boundary conditions yielding a simple solution procedure. In addition, the effects of temperature field, volume fraction distributions, and system geometric parameters are investigated. The results are compared with the results of the no shear deformation theory (classic plate theory, CPT.

  20. Recovery of uranium from low-grade sandstone ores and phosphate rock

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kennedy, R H [United States Atomic Energy Commission, Washington, D. C. (United States)

    1967-06-15

    This paper is concerned principally with commercial-scale experience in the United States in the recovery of uranium from low-grade sources. Most of these operations have been conducted by the operators of uranium mills as an alternative to processing normal-grade ores. The operations have been generally limited, therefore, to the treatment of low-grade materials generated in the course of mining normal-grade ores. In some circumstances such materials can be treated by simplified procedures as an attractive source of additional production. The experience gained in uranium recovery from phosphate rock will be treated in some detail. The land pebble phosphate rock of central Florida generally contains about 0.01 to 0.02% U{sub 3}O{sub 8}. While no uranium is being recovered from this source at the present time, it does represent a significant potential source of by-product uranium production because of the large tonnages being mined. (author)

  1. Computer Aided Analysis of TM-Multimode Planar Graded-index Optical Waveguides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ashry, M.; Nasr, A.S.; Abou El-Fadl, A.A.

    2000-01-01

    An algorithm is developed for analysis TM-Multimode Planar graded-index optical waveguides. A Modified Impedance Boundary Method of Moments (MIBMOM) for the analysis of planar graded-index optical waveguide structures is presented. The algorithm is used to calculate the dispersion characteristics and the field distribution of TM-multimode planar graded-index optical waveguides. The technique is based on Galerkin s procedure and the exact boundary condition at the interfaces between the graded index region and the step index cladding. Legendre polynomials are used as basis functions. The efficiency of this algorithm is examined with waveguides having various index profiles such as exponential, Gaussian and complementary error functions. The advantage of the MIBMOM is the complete solution of TM-multimode as presented which is very difficult by the other methods. With this algorithm a minimum number of basis functions to give accurate results is used. The obtained results show good agreement with the experimental results

  2. The 2014 International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) Consensus Conference on Gleason Grading of Prostatic Carcinoma: Definition of Grading Patterns and Proposal for a New Grading System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Epstein, Jonathan I; Egevad, Lars; Amin, Mahul B; Delahunt, Brett; Srigley, John R; Humphrey, Peter A

    2016-02-01

    of 10, it implies that their prognosis is intermediate and contributes to their fear of having a more aggressive cancer. Also, in the literature and for therapeutic purposes, various scores have been incorrectly grouped together with the assumption that they have a similar prognosis. For example, many classification systems consider Gleason score 7 as a single score without distinguishing 3+4 versus 4+3, despite studies showing significantly worse prognosis for the latter. The basis for a new grading system was proposed in 2013 by one of the authors (J.I.E.) based on data from Johns Hopkins Hospital resulting in 5 prognostically distinct Grade Groups. This new system was validated in a multi-institutional study of over 20,000 radical prostatectomy specimens, over 16,000 needle biopsy specimens, and over 5,000 biopsies followed by radiation therapy. There was broad (90%) consensus for the adoption of this new prostate cancer Grading system in the 2014 consensus conference based on: (1) the new classification provided more accurate stratification of tumors than the current system; (2) the classification simplified the number of grading categories from Gleason scores 2 to 10, with even more permutations based on different pattern combinations, to Grade Groups 1 to 5; (3) the lowest grade is 1 not 6 as in Gleason, with the potential to reduce overtreatment of indolent cancer; and (4) the current modified Gleason grading, which forms the basis for the new grade groups, bears little resemblance to the original Gleason system. The new grades would, for the foreseeable future, be used in conjunction with the Gleason system [ie. Gleason score 3+3=6 (Grade Group 1)]. The new grading system and the terminology Grade Groups 1-5 have also been accepted by the World Health Organization for the 2016 edition of Pathology and Genetics: Tumours of the Urinary System and Male Genital Organs.

  3. PENILE ENHANCEMENT PROCEDURES: UROLOGICAL AND ETHICOLEGAL ISSUES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marco Vella

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Phalloplasty procedures for most men requiring penile augmentation surgery are cosmetic procedures; generally the patients have a normal-sized and fully functional penis but they think that their penis is too small. There are not well defined indications for penile enhancement surgery and, except for the treatment of “micropenis”, there are not established guidelines and the outcome measures for success are still unclear. All penile enhancement techniques often do not reach the expected result and the grade of patient’s satisfaction is frequently poor. Phalloplasty procedures for psychological dysmorfism are not approved by any scientific society and the majority of these procedures are performed in private settings. The ethical and medicolegal problems resulting from a penis enhancement can be various and numerous, but few of them are reported in literature. After phalloplasty an attribution of professional responsibility and request of reimbursement is not rare. In this contribution the authors summarize a panorama of several urological and medico-legal aspects related to phalloplasty procedures.

  4. Quality data validation: Comprehensive approach to environmental data validation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matejka, L.A. Jr.

    1993-01-01

    Environmental data validation consists of an assessment of three major areas: analytical method validation; field procedures and documentation review; evaluation of the level of achievement of data quality objectives based in part on PARCC parameters analysis and expected applications of data. A program utilizing matrix association of required levels of validation effort and analytical levels versus applications of this environmental data was developed in conjunction with DOE-ID guidance documents to implement actions under the Federal Facilities Agreement and Consent Order in effect at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory. This was an effort to bring consistent quality to the INEL-wide Environmental Restoration Program and database in an efficient and cost-effective manner. This program, documenting all phases of the review process, is described here

  5. Validation of International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) grading for prostatic adenocarcinoma in thin core biopsies using TROG 03.04 'RADAR' trial clinical data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delahunt, B; Egevad, L; Srigley, J R; Steigler, A; Murray, J D; Atkinson, C; Matthews, J; Duchesne, G; Spry, N A; Christie, D; Joseph, D; Attia, J; Denham, J W

    2015-10-01

    In 2014 a consensus conference convened by the International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) adopted amendments to the criteria for Gleason grading and scoring (GS) for prostatic adenocarcinoma. The meeting defined a modified grading system based on 5 grading categories (grade 1, GS 3+3; grade 2, GS 3+4; grade 3, GS 4+3; grade 4, GS 8; grade 5, GS 9-10). In this study we have evaluated the prognostic significance of ISUP grading in 496 patients enrolled in the TROG 03.04 RADAR Trial. There were 19 grade 1, 118 grade 2, 193 grade 3, 88 grade 4 and 79 grade 5 tumours in the series, with follow-up for a minimum of 6.5 years. On follow-up 76 patients experienced distant progression of disease, 171 prostate specific antigen (PSA) progression and 39 prostate cancer deaths. In contrast to the 2005 modified Gleason system (MGS), the hazards of the distant and PSA progression endpoints, relative to grade 2, were significantly greater for grades 3, 4 and 5 of the 2014 ISUP grading scheme. Comparison of predictive ability utilising Harrell's concordance index, showed 2014 ISUP grading to significantly out-perform 2005 MGS grading for each of the three clinical endpoints.

  6. The effect of various grading scales on student grade point averages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnes, Kelli D; Buring, Shauna M

    2012-04-10

    To investigate changes in and the impact of grading scales from 2005 to 2010 and explore pharmacy faculty and student perceptions of whole-letter and plus/minus grading scales on cumulative grade point averages (GPAs) in required courses. Grading scales used in 2010 at the University of Cincinnati College of Pharmacy were retrospectively identified and compared to those used in 2005. Mean GPA was calculated using a whole-letter grading scale and a plus/minus grading scale to determine the impact of scales on GPA. Faculty members and students were surveyed regarding their perceptions of plus/minus grading. Nine unique grading scales were used throughout the curriculum, including plus/minus (64%) and whole-letter (21%) grading scales. From 2005 to 2010 there was transition from use of predominantly whole-letter scales to plus/minus grading scales. The type of grading scale used did not affect the mean cumulative GPA. Students preferred use of a plus-only grading scale while faculty members preferred use of a plus/minus grading scale. The transition from whole-letter grading to plus/minus grading in courses from 2005 to 2010 reflects pharmacy faculty members' perception that plus/minus grading allows for better differentiation between students' performances.

  7. Developing, adopting and adapting operating procedures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rabouhams, J.

    1986-01-01

    This lecture specifies all the dispositions which have been taken by EDF Nuclear and Fossil Generation Department - according to the fact that availability and safety largely depend on the quality of the procedures and their easy handling - in order to develop, adopt and adapt the operating procedures. The following points are treated: General organization of procedures for plant operation during normal and abnormal conditions; Personnel and extend of responsibility involved into the development of procedures (research center, training center, specialized services, nuclear station, etc.); Validation of the procedures by means of full-scope simulators; Modifications of the procedures taking into account operation experience in material and human fields; Development of simulation softs in order to perform the procedures in abnormal situations; Evolution of operating technics and future skills. (orig.)

  8. MRI differentiation of low-grade from high-grade appendicular chondrosarcoma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Douis, Hassan; Singh, Leanne; Saifuddin, Asif

    2014-01-01

    To identify magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features which differentiate low-grade chondral lesions (atypical cartilaginous tumours/grade 1 chondrosarcoma) from high-grade chondrosarcomas (grade 2, grade 3 and dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma) of the major long bones. We identified all patients treated for central atypical cartilaginous tumours and central chondrosarcoma of major long bones (humerus, femur, tibia) over a 13-year period. The MRI studies were assessed for the following features: bone marrow oedema, soft tissue oedema, bone expansion, cortical thickening, cortical destruction, active periostitis, soft tissue mass and tumour length. The MRI-features were compared with the histopathological tumour grading using univariate, multivariate logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analyses. One hundred and seventy-nine tumours were included in this retrospective study. There were 28 atypical cartilaginous tumours, 79 grade 1 chondrosarcomas, 36 grade 2 chondrosarcomas, 13 grade 3 chondrosarcomas and 23 dedifferentiated chondrosarcomas. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that bone expansion (P = 0.001), active periostitis (P = 0.001), soft tissue mass (P < 0.001) and tumour length (P < 0.001) were statistically significant differentiating factors between low-grade and high-grade chondral lesions with an area under the ROC curve of 0.956. On MRI, bone expansion, active periostitis, soft tissue mass and tumour length can reliably differentiate high-grade chondrosarcomas from low-grade chondral lesions of the major long bones. (orig.)

  9. MRI differentiation of low-grade from high-grade appendicular chondrosarcoma

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Douis, Hassan; Singh, Leanne; Saifuddin, Asif [The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust, Department of Radiology, Stanmore, Middlesex (United Kingdom)

    2014-01-15

    To identify magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features which differentiate low-grade chondral lesions (atypical cartilaginous tumours/grade 1 chondrosarcoma) from high-grade chondrosarcomas (grade 2, grade 3 and dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma) of the major long bones. We identified all patients treated for central atypical cartilaginous tumours and central chondrosarcoma of major long bones (humerus, femur, tibia) over a 13-year period. The MRI studies were assessed for the following features: bone marrow oedema, soft tissue oedema, bone expansion, cortical thickening, cortical destruction, active periostitis, soft tissue mass and tumour length. The MRI-features were compared with the histopathological tumour grading using univariate, multivariate logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analyses. One hundred and seventy-nine tumours were included in this retrospective study. There were 28 atypical cartilaginous tumours, 79 grade 1 chondrosarcomas, 36 grade 2 chondrosarcomas, 13 grade 3 chondrosarcomas and 23 dedifferentiated chondrosarcomas. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that bone expansion (P = 0.001), active periostitis (P = 0.001), soft tissue mass (P < 0.001) and tumour length (P < 0.001) were statistically significant differentiating factors between low-grade and high-grade chondral lesions with an area under the ROC curve of 0.956. On MRI, bone expansion, active periostitis, soft tissue mass and tumour length can reliably differentiate high-grade chondrosarcomas from low-grade chondral lesions of the major long bones. (orig.)

  10. Method validation in pharmaceutical analysis: from theory to practical optimization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jaqueline Kaleian Eserian

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The validation of analytical methods is required to obtain high-quality data. For the pharmaceutical industry, method validation is crucial to ensure the product quality as regards both therapeutic efficacy and patient safety. The most critical step in validating a method is to establish a protocol containing well-defined procedures and criteria. A well planned and organized protocol, such as the one proposed in this paper, results in a rapid and concise method validation procedure for quantitative high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC analysis.   Type: Commentary

  11. Beginning German in Grade Three: MLA Teacher's Guide. A Course of Study Including Methods, Materials, and Aids for Teaching Conversational German to Third-Grade Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wittman, Nora E.; And Others

    This guide is planned to help the FLES teacher develop pleasurable language learning experiences in spoken German for children at the third-grade level. Experiences included in this guide present German in life situations, as well as insight into German culture. The guide offers suggestions for classroom procedures, and detailed directions are…

  12. 7 CFR 810.404 - Grades and grade requirements for corn.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 7 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Grades and grade requirements for corn. 810.404... OFFICIAL UNITED STATES STANDARDS FOR GRAIN United States Standards for Corn Principles Governing the Application of Standards § 810.404 Grades and grade requirements for corn. Grade Minimum test weight per...

  13. Standard specification for nuclear-grade beryllium oxide powder

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1984-01-01

    This specification defines the physical and chemical requirements of nuclear-grade beryllium oxide (BeO) powder to be used in fabricating nuclear components. This specification does not include requirements for health and safety. It recognizes the material as a Class B poison and suggests that producers and users become thoroughly familiar with and comply to applicable federal, state and local regulations and handling guidelines. Special tests and procedures are given

  14. Using GPS, accelerometry and heart rate to predict outdoor graded walking energy expenditure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Müllenheim, P-Y; Chaudru, S; Emily, M; Gernigon, M; Mahé, G; Bickert, S; Prioux, J; Noury-Desvaux, B; Le Faucheur, A

    2018-02-01

    To determine the best method and combination of methods among global positioning system (GPS), accelerometry, and heart rate (HR) for estimating energy expenditure (EE) during level and graded outdoor walking. Thirty adults completed 6-min outdoor walks at speeds of 2.0, 3.5, and 5.0kmh -1 during three randomized outdoor walking sessions: one level walking session and two graded (uphill and downhill) walking sessions on a 3.4% and a 10.4% grade. EE was measured using a portable metabolic system (K4b 2 ). Participants wore a GlobalSat ® DG100 GPS receiver, an ActiGraph™ wGT3X+ accelerometer, and a Polar ® HR monitor. Linear mixed models (LMMs) were tested for EE predictions based on GPS speed and grade, accelerometer counts or HR-related parameters (alone and combined). Root-mean-square error (RMSE) was used to determine the accuracy of the models. Published speed/grade-, count-, and HR-based equations were also cross-validated. According to the LMMs, GPS was as accurate as accelerometry (RMSE=0.89-0.90kcalmin -1 ) and more accurate than HR (RMSE=1.20kcalmin -1 ) for estimating EE during level walking; GPS was the most accurate method for estimating EE during both level and uphill (RMSE=1.34kcalmin -1 )/downhill (RMSE=0.84kcalmin -1 ) walking; combining methods did not increase the accuracy reached using GPS (or accelerometry for level walking). The cross-validation results were in accordance with the LMMs, except for downhill walking. Our study provides useful information regarding the best method(s) for estimating EE with appropriate equations during level and graded outdoor walking. Copyright © 2017 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Evaluation of Urinary Tract Dilation Classification System for Grading Postnatal Hydronephrosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hodhod, Amr; Capolicchio, John-Paul; Jednak, Roman; El-Sherif, Eid; El-Doray, Abd El-Alim; El-Sherbiny, Mohamed

    2016-03-01

    We assessed the reliability and validity of the Urinary Tract Dilation classification system as a new grading system for postnatal hydronephrosis. We retrospectively reviewed charts of patients who presented with hydronephrosis from 2008 to 2013. We included patients diagnosed prenatally and those with hydronephrosis discovered incidentally during the first year of life. We excluded cases involving urinary tract infection, neurogenic bladder and chromosomal anomalies, those associated with extraurinary congenital malformations and those with followup of less than 24 months without resolution. Hydronephrosis was graded postnatally using the Society for Fetal Urology system, and then the management protocol was chosen. All units were regraded using the Urinary Tract Dilation classification system and compared to the Society for Fetal Urology system to assess reliability. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to assess the validity of the Urinary Tract Dilation classification system in predicting hydronephrosis resolution and surgical intervention. A total of 490 patients (730 renal units) were eligible to participate. The Urinary Tract Dilation classification system was reliable in the assessment of hydronephrosis (parallel forms 0.92). Hydronephrosis resolved in 357 units (49%), and 86 units (12%) were managed by surgical intervention. The remainder of renal units demonstrated stable or improved hydronephrosis. Multivariate analysis revealed that the likelihood of surgical intervention was predicted independently by Urinary Tract Dilation classification system risk group, while Society for Fetal Urology grades were predictive of likelihood of resolution. The Urinary Tract Dilation classification system is reliable for evaluation of postnatal hydronephrosis and is valid in predicting surgical intervention. Copyright © 2016 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Classification of prostate cancer grade using temporal ultrasound: in vivo feasibility study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghavidel, Sahar; Imani, Farhad; Khallaghi, Siavash; Gibson, Eli; Khojaste, Amir; Gaed, Mena; Moussa, Madeleine; Gomez, Jose A.; Siemens, D. Robert; Leveridge, Michael; Chang, Silvia; Fenster, Aaron; Ward, Aaron D.; Abolmaesumi, Purang; Mousavi, Parvin

    2016-03-01

    Temporal ultrasound has been shown to have high classification accuracy in differentiating cancer from benign tissue. In this paper, we extend the temporal ultrasound method to classify lower grade Prostate Cancer (PCa) from all other grades. We use a group of nine patients with mostly lower grade PCa, where cancerous regions are also limited. A critical challenge is to train a classifier with limited aggressive cancerous tissue compared to low grade cancerous tissue. To resolve the problem of imbalanced data, we use Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique (SMOTE) to generate synthetic samples for the minority class. We calculate spectral features of temporal ultrasound data and perform feature selection using Random Forests. In leave-one-patient-out cross-validation strategy, an area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.74 is achieved with overall sensitivity and specificity of 70%. Using an unsupervised learning approach prior to proposed method improves sensitivity and AUC to 80% and 0.79. This work represents promising results to classify lower and higher grade PCa with limited cancerous training samples, using temporal ultrasound.

  17. Reliability and Validity of 10 Different Standard Setting Procedures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halpin, Glennelle; Halpin, Gerald

    Research indicating that different cut-off points result from the use of different standard-setting techniques leaves decision makers with a disturbing dilemma: Which standard-setting method is best? This investigation of the reliability and validity of 10 different standard-setting approaches was designed to provide information that might help…

  18. Quality Control Assays for Clinical-Grade Human Mesenchymal Stromal Cells: Validation Strategy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Radrizzani, Marina; Soncin, Sabrina; Bolis, Sara; Lo Cicero, Viviana; Andriolo, Gabriella; Turchetto, Lucia

    2016-01-01

    The present chapter focuses on the validation of the following analytical methods for the control of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) for cell therapy clinical trials: Microbiological control for cellular product Endotoxin assay Mycoplasma assay Cell count and viability Immunophenotype Clonogenic potential (CFU-F assay) In our lab, these methods are in use for product release, process control or control of the biological starting materials. They are described in detail in the accompanying Chapter 19.For each method, validation goals and strategy are presented, and a detailed experimental scheme is proposed.

  19. 77 FR 67862 - Air Traffic Procedures Advisory Committee

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-14

    ...The FAA is issuing this notice to advise the public that the FAA's Air Traffic Procedures Advisory Committee (ATPAC) two year charter has been coordinated and signed by the FAA Administrator. The ATPAC charter is valid for two years and provides a venue to review air traffic control procedures and practices for standardization, revision, clarification, and upgrading of terminology and procedures.

  20. [Reproducibility of Fuhrman nuclear grade: advantages of a two-grade system].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Letourneux, Hervé; Lindner, Véronique; Lang, Hervé; Massfelder, Thierry; Meyer, Nicolas; Saussine, Christian; Jacqmin, Didier

    2006-06-01

    The Fuhrman nuclear grade is the reference histoprognostic grading system routinely used all over the world for renal cell carcinoma. Studies measuring the inter-observer and intra-observer concordance of Fuhrman grade show poor results in terms of reproducibility and repeatability. These variations are due to a certain degree of subjectivity of the pathologist in application of the definition of tumour grade, particularly nuclear grade. Elements able to account for this subjectivity in renal cell carcinoma are identified from a review of the literature. To improve the reliability of nuclear grade, the territory occupied by the highest grade must be specified and the grades should probably be combined. At the present time, regrouping of grade 1 and 2 tumours as low grade and grade 3 and 4 tumours as high grade would achieve better reproducibility, while preserving the prognostic: value for overall survival. The development of new treatment modalities and their use in adjuvant situations will imply the use of reliable histoprognostic factors to specify, indications.

  1. Validity and reliability of balance assessment software using the Nintendo Wii balance board: usability and validation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Dae-Sung; Lee, GyuChang

    2014-06-10

    A balance test provides important information such as the standard to judge an individual's functional recovery or make the prediction of falls. The development of a tool for a balance test that is inexpensive and widely available is needed, especially in clinical settings. The Wii Balance Board (WBB) is designed to test balance, but there is little software used in balance tests, and there are few studies on reliability and validity. Thus, we developed a balance assessment software using the Nintendo Wii Balance Board, investigated its reliability and validity, and compared it with a laboratory-grade force platform. Twenty healthy adults participated in our study. The participants participated in the test for inter-rater reliability, intra-rater reliability, and concurrent validity. The tests were performed with balance assessment software using the Nintendo Wii balance board and a laboratory-grade force platform. Data such as Center of Pressure (COP) path length and COP velocity were acquired from the assessment systems. The inter-rater reliability, the intra-rater reliability, and concurrent validity were analyzed by an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) value and a standard error of measurement (SEM). The inter-rater reliability (ICC: 0.89-0.79, SEM in path length: 7.14-1.90, SEM in velocity: 0.74-0.07), intra-rater reliability (ICC: 0.92-0.70, SEM in path length: 7.59-2.04, SEM in velocity: 0.80-0.07), and concurrent validity (ICC: 0.87-0.73, SEM in path length: 5.94-0.32, SEM in velocity: 0.62-0.08) were high in terms of COP path length and COP velocity. The balance assessment software incorporating the Nintendo Wii balance board was used in our study and was found to be a reliable assessment device. In clinical settings, the device can be remarkably inexpensive, portable, and convenient for the balance assessment.

  2. First-Grade Spelling Scores within the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) Screening: An Exploratory Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munger, Kristen A.; Murray, Maria S.

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the validity evidence of first-grade spelling scores from a standardized test of nonsense word spellings and their potential value within universal literacy screening. Spelling scores from the Test of Phonological Awareness: Second Edition PLUS for 47 first-grade children were scored using a standardized…

  3. Simplified Transit Procedure in Railway Transport

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Željko Kokorović

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available The current transit procedure in railway transport that iscarried out on the basis of the Customs Act [ 11 of the Republicof Croatia is applied only up to the border, i. e. the issued documentsand guarantees are valid only up to the border, and byjoining the Convention on Common transit procedure, i. e. integrationof the Republic of Croatia in the European Union, theRepublic of Croatia will also have to implement the regulationsand rules of Simplified transit procedure valid in each of thethirty member states. In international railway traffic, the transportof goods is regulated by the Convention concerning InternationalCarriage by Rail- COT IF [2 1 and usage of the CIMwaybill (Contract for International Carriage of Goods by Rail.If the goods are transported in Simplified transit procedure, theformalities regarding the transport of goods performed by railcarriers using the international waybill CIM will be significantlysimplified and accelerated. In principle there are no delays dueto customs on the borders when crossing the EU borders andborders of the Convention member states, contributing greatlyto the acceleration of the transport of goods, reduction of waitingcosts and paperwork, as well as influence on the schedulereliability.

  4. Content, format, gender and grade level differences in elementary students' ability to read science materials as measured by the cloze procedure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Richard L.; Yore, Larry D.

    Present instructional trends in science indicate a need to reexamine a traditional concern in science education: the readability of science textbooks. An area of reading research not well documented is the effect of color, visuals, and page layout on readability of science materials. Using the cloze readability method, the present study explored the relationships between page format, grade level, sex, content, and elementary school students ability to read science material. Significant relationships were found between cloze scores and both grade level and content, and there was a significant interaction effect between grade and sex in favor of older males. No significant relationships could be attributed to page format and sex. In the area of science content, biological materials were most difficult in terms of readability followed by earth science and physical science. Grade level data indicated that grade five materials were more difficult for that level than either grade four or grade six materials were for students at each respective level. In eight of nine cases, the science text materials would be classified at or near the frustration level of readability. The implications for textbook writers and publishers are that science reading materials need to be produced with greater attention to readability and known design principles regarding visual supplements. The implication for teachers is that students need direct instruction in using visual materials to increase their learning from text material. Present visual materials appear to neither help nor hinder the student to gain information from text material.

  5. SU-D-207B-02: Early Grade Classification in Meningioma Patients Combining Radiomics and Semantics Data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coroller, T; Bi, W; Abedalthagafi, M; Aizer, A; Wu, W; Greenwald, N; Beroukhim, R; Al-Mefty, O; Santagata, S; Dunn, I; Alexander, B; Huang, R; Aerts, H

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: The clinical management of meningioma is guided by its grade and biologic behavior. Currently, diagnosis of tumor grade follows surgical resection and histopathologic review. Reliable techniques for pre-operative determination of tumor behavior are needed. We investigated the association between imaging features extracted from preoperative gadolinium-enhanced T1-weighted MRI and meningioma grade. Methods: We retrospectively examined the pre-operative MRI for 139 patients with de novo WHO grade I (63%) and grade II (37%) meningiomas. We investigated the predictive power of ten semantic radiologic features as determined by a neuroradiologist, fifteen radiomic features, and tumor location. Conventional (volume and diameter) imaging features were added for comparison. AUC was computed for continuous and χ 2 for discrete variables. Classification was done using random forest. Performance was evaluated using cross validation (1000 iterations, 75% training and 25% validation). All p-values were adjusted for multiple testing. Results: Significant association was observed between meningioma grade and tumor location (p<0.001) and two semantic features including intra-tumoral heterogeneity (p<0.001) and overt hemorrhage (p=0.01). Conventional (AUC 0.61–0.67) and eleven radiomic (AUC 0.60–0.70) features were significant from random (p<0.05, Noether test). Median AUC values for classification of tumor grade were 0.57, 0.71, 0.72 and 0.77 respectively for conventional, radiomic, location, and semantic features after using random forest. By combining all imaging data (semantic, radiomic, and location), the median AUC was 0.81, which offers superior predicting power to that of conventional imaging descriptors for meningioma as well as radiomic features alone (p<0.05, permutation test). Conclusion: We demonstrate a strong association between radiologic features and meningioma grade. Pre-operative prediction of tumor behavior based on imaging features offers promise

  6. SU-D-207B-02: Early Grade Classification in Meningioma Patients Combining Radiomics and Semantics Data

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Coroller, T; Bi, W; Abedalthagafi, M; Aizer, A; Wu, W; Greenwald, N; Beroukhim, R; Al-Mefty, O; Santagata, S; Dunn, I; Alexander, B; Huang, R; Aerts, H [Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham and Womens Hospital, Harvard Medical School (United States)

    2016-06-15

    Purpose: The clinical management of meningioma is guided by its grade and biologic behavior. Currently, diagnosis of tumor grade follows surgical resection and histopathologic review. Reliable techniques for pre-operative determination of tumor behavior are needed. We investigated the association between imaging features extracted from preoperative gadolinium-enhanced T1-weighted MRI and meningioma grade. Methods: We retrospectively examined the pre-operative MRI for 139 patients with de novo WHO grade I (63%) and grade II (37%) meningiomas. We investigated the predictive power of ten semantic radiologic features as determined by a neuroradiologist, fifteen radiomic features, and tumor location. Conventional (volume and diameter) imaging features were added for comparison. AUC was computed for continuous and χ{sup 2} for discrete variables. Classification was done using random forest. Performance was evaluated using cross validation (1000 iterations, 75% training and 25% validation). All p-values were adjusted for multiple testing. Results: Significant association was observed between meningioma grade and tumor location (p<0.001) and two semantic features including intra-tumoral heterogeneity (p<0.001) and overt hemorrhage (p=0.01). Conventional (AUC 0.61–0.67) and eleven radiomic (AUC 0.60–0.70) features were significant from random (p<0.05, Noether test). Median AUC values for classification of tumor grade were 0.57, 0.71, 0.72 and 0.77 respectively for conventional, radiomic, location, and semantic features after using random forest. By combining all imaging data (semantic, radiomic, and location), the median AUC was 0.81, which offers superior predicting power to that of conventional imaging descriptors for meningioma as well as radiomic features alone (p<0.05, permutation test). Conclusion: We demonstrate a strong association between radiologic features and meningioma grade. Pre-operative prediction of tumor behavior based on imaging features offers

  7. Development of ISA procedure for uranium fuel fabrication and enrichment facilities: overview of ISA procedure and its application

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamate, Kazuki; Yamada, Takashi; Takanashi, Mitsuhiro; Sasaki, Noriaki

    2013-01-01

    Integrated Safety Analysis (ISA) procedure for uranium fuel fabrication and enrichment facilities has been developed for aiming at applying risk-informed regulation to these uranium facilities. The development has carried out referring to the ISA (NUREG-1520) by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The paper presents purpose, principles and activities for the development of the ISA procedure, including Risk Level (RL) matrix and grading evaluation method of IROFS (Items Relied on for Safety), as well as general description and features of the procedure. Also described in the paper is current status in application of risk information from the ISA. Japanese four licensees of the uranium facilities have been conducting ISA for their representative processes using the developed procedure as their voluntary safety activities. They have been accumulating experiences and knowledge on the ISA procedure and risk information through the field activities. NISA (Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency) and JNES (Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization) are studying how to use such risk information for the safety regulation of the uranium facilities, taking into account the licensees' experiences and knowledge. (authors)

  8. Course Placement Series: Spotlight on Eighth Grade Algebra I. Policy Brief

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tennessee Department of Education, 2015

    2015-01-01

    The Tennessee Department of Education explored course enrollment patterns in an effort to better understand in which courses students are enrolling and whether course enrollment policies and procedures are promoting students' interests. This report focuses on eighth grade Algebra I enrollment, which can propel students to take more rigorous math…

  9. Number & operations task & drill sheets : grades 3-5

    CERN Document Server

    Reed, Nat

    2011-01-01

    For grades 3-5, our Common Core State Standards-based combined resource meets the number & operations concepts addressed by the NCTM standards and encourages the students to review the concepts in unique ways. The task sheets introduce the mathematical concepts to the students around a central problem taken from real-life experiences, while the drill sheets provide warm-up and timed practice questions for the students to strengthen their procedural proficiency skills.

  10. Evaluation of a novel, hybrid model (Mumbai EUS II) for stepwise teaching and training in EUS-guided biliary drainage and rendezvous procedures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dhir, Vinay; Itoi, Takao; Pausawasdi, Nonthalee; Khashab, Mouen A; Perez-Miranda, Manuel; Sun, Siyu; Park, Do Hyun; Iwashita, Takuji; Teoh, Anthony Y B; Maydeo, Amit P; Ho, Khek Yu

    2017-11-01

     EUS-guided biliary drainage (EUS-BD) and rendezvous (EUS-RV) are acceptable rescue options for patients with failed endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). However, there are limited training opportunities at most centers owing to low case volumes. The existing models do not replicate the difficulties encountered during EUS-BD. We aimed to develop and validate a model for stepwise learning of EUS-BD and EUS-RV, which replicates the actual EUS-BD procedures.  A hybrid model was created utilizing pig esophagus and stomach, with a synthetic duodenum and biliary system. The model was objectively assessed on a grade of 1 - 4 by two experts. Twenty-eight trainees were given initial training with didactic lectures and live procedures. This was followed by hands-on training in EUS-BD and EUS-RV on the hybrid model. Trainees were assessed for objective criteria of technical difficulties.  Both the experts graded the model as very good or above for all parameters. All trainees could complete the requisite steps of EUS-BD and EUS-RV in a mean time of 11 minutes (8 - 18 minutes). Thirty-six technical difficulties were noted during the training (wrong scope position, 13; incorrect duct puncture, 12; guidewire related problems, 11). Technical difficulties peaked for EUS-RV, followed by hepaticogastrostomy (HGS) and choledochoduodenostomy (CDS) (20, 9, and 7, P  = 0.001). At 10 days follow-up, nine of 28 trainees had successfully performed three EUS-RV and seven EUS-BD procedures independently.  The Mumbai EUS II hybrid model replicates situations encountered during EUS-RV and EUS-BD. Stepwise mentoring improves the chances of success in EUS-RV and EUS-BD procedures.

  11. Evaluation of a novel, hybrid model (Mumbai EUS II) for stepwise teaching and training in EUS-guided biliary drainage and rendezvous procedures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dhir, Vinay; Itoi, Takao; Pausawasdi, Nonthalee; Khashab, Mouen A.; Perez-Miranda, Manuel; Sun, Siyu; Park, Do Hyun; Iwashita, Takuji; Teoh, Anthony Y. B.; Maydeo, Amit P.; Ho, Khek Yu

    2017-01-01

    Background and aims  EUS-guided biliary drainage (EUS-BD) and rendezvous (EUS-RV) are acceptable rescue options for patients with failed endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). However, there are limited training opportunities at most centers owing to low case volumes. The existing models do not replicate the difficulties encountered during EUS-BD. We aimed to develop and validate a model for stepwise learning of EUS-BD and EUS-RV, which replicates the actual EUS-BD procedures. Methods  A hybrid model was created utilizing pig esophagus and stomach, with a synthetic duodenum and biliary system. The model was objectively assessed on a grade of 1 – 4 by two experts. Twenty-eight trainees were given initial training with didactic lectures and live procedures. This was followed by hands-on training in EUS-BD and EUS-RV on the hybrid model. Trainees were assessed for objective criteria of technical difficulties. Results  Both the experts graded the model as very good or above for all parameters. All trainees could complete the requisite steps of EUS-BD and EUS-RV in a mean time of 11 minutes (8 – 18 minutes). Thirty-six technical difficulties were noted during the training (wrong scope position, 13; incorrect duct puncture, 12; guidewire related problems, 11). Technical difficulties peaked for EUS-RV, followed by hepaticogastrostomy (HGS) and choledochoduodenostomy (CDS) (20, 9, and 7, P  = 0.001). At 10 days follow-up, nine of 28 trainees had successfully performed three EUS-RV and seven EUS-BD procedures independently. Conclusions  The Mumbai EUS II hybrid model replicates situations encountered during EUS-RV and EUS-BD. Stepwise mentoring improves the chances of success in EUS-RV and EUS-BD procedures. PMID:29250585

  12. Hardwood log grades and lumber grade yields for factory lumber logs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leland F. Hanks; Glenn L. Gammon; Robert L. Brisbin; Everette D. Rast

    1980-01-01

    The USDA Forest Service Standard Grades for Hardwood Factory Lumber Logs are described, and lumber grade yields for 16 species and 2 species groups are presented by log grade and log diameter. The grades enable foresters, log buyers, and log sellers to select and grade those log suitable for conversion into standard factory grade lumber. By using the apropriate lumber...

  13. Distributed Road Grade Estimation for Heavy Duty Vehicles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sahlholm, Per

    2011-07-01

    torque are combined with observations of the road altitude from a GPS receiver, using vehicle and road models. The operation of the estimators is adjusted during gearshifts, braking, and poor satellite coverage, to account for variations in sensor and model reliability. The estimated error covariances of the road grade estimates are used together with their absolute positions to update a stored road grade map. Highway driving trials show that the proposed estimators produce accurate road grade data. The estimation performance improves as the number of road segment traces increases. A vehicle equipped with the proposed system will rapidly develop a road grade map for its area of operation. Simulations show that collaborative generation of the third dimension for a pre-existing large area two-dimensional map is feasible. The experimental results indicate that road grade estimates from the proposed methods are accurate enough to be used in predictive vehicle control systems to enhance safety, efficiency, and driver comfort in heavy duty vehicles. The grade estimators may also be used for on-line validation of road grade information from other sources. This is important in on-board applications, since the envisioned control applications can degrade vehicle performance if inaccurate data are used

  14. Free vibration analysis of multi directional functionally graded circular and annular plates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kermani, Iman Davoodi; Ghayour, Mostafa; Mirdamadi, Hamid Reza [Isfahan Univ. of Technology, Isfahan (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2012-11-15

    This paper addresses the free vibration of multi directional functionally graded circular and annular plates using a semianalytical/numerical method, called state space based differential quadrature method. Three-dimensional elasticity equations are derived for multi directional functionally graded plates and a solution is given by the semi-analytical/numerical method. This method gives an analytical solution along the thickness direction, using a state space method and a numerical solution using differential quadrature method. Some numerical examples are presented to show the accuracy and convergence of the method. The most of simulations of the present study have been validated by the existing literature. The non dimensional frequencies and corresponding displacements mode shapes are obtained. Then the influences of thickness ratio and graded indexes are demonstrated on the non dimensional natural frequencies.

  15. Linguistic Feature Development Across Grades and Genre in Elementary Writing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hall-Mills, Shannon; Apel, Kenn

    2015-07-01

    As children develop skills in writing across academic contexts, clinicians and educators need to have a fundamental understanding of typical writing development as well as valid and reliable assessment methods. The purpose of this study was to examine the progression of linguistic elements in school-age children's narrative and expository writing development. Narrative and expository writing samples produced by 89 children in Grades 2 through 4 were analyzed at the microstructure and macrostructure levels. Measures of receptive vocabulary, word-level reading, and reading comprehension were obtained. Exploratory factor analyses revealed 4 microstructure factors (e.g., productivity, grammatical complexity, grammatical accuracy, and lexical density) and 1 macrostructure factor (e.g., a combination of organization, text structure, and cohesion). Multivariate analyses of covariance with reading comprehension as a covariate showed that productivity and macrostructure were sensitive to grade-level and genre differences and that expository grammatical complexity was sensitive to grade-level differences. Findings are discussed in light of grade-level standards for narrative and expository writing and current practices in writing assessment. Multiple suggestions are offered for clinical and educational implications, and specific directions are provided for future research.

  16. On-Demand Grades: The Effect of Online Grade Book Access on Student Mastery and Performance Goal Orientations, Grade Orientation, Academic Self Efficacy, and Grades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seldow, Adam Lowell

    2010-01-01

    With the widespread growth of broadband Internet access, teachers, and in many cases, schools and school districts are transitioning from traditional paper-based grade books to student accessible online (Web-based) grade books. Online grade books offer students 24/7, on demand access to grades and various other student data, and have the potential…

  17. Validation of the Netherlands pacemaker patient registry

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dijk, WA; Kingma, T; Hooijschuur, CAM; Dassen, WRM; Hoorntje, JCA; van Gelder, LM

    1997-01-01

    This paper deals with the validation of the information stored in the Netherlands central pacemaker patient database. At this moment the registry database contains information on more than 70500 patients, 85000 pacemakers and 90000 leads. The validation procedures consisted of an internal

  18. Low-grade liquid silicone injections as a penile enhancement procedure: Is bigger better?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ramesh Sasidaran

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available To report our experience with 5 cases of complications of penile enhancement procedures secondary to liquid silicone injections and our method of management of its debilitating effects. All five patients were treated with excision of penile shaft skin down to buck′s fascia followed by resurfacing with split thickness skin grafting. We conclude that penile enhancement procedures with liquid silicone by non-medical personnel could result in devastating consequences. We also demonstrate that a simple method of excision of the entire penile shaft skin and resurfacing with split skin grafting showed improvement in cosmetic as well as functional outcome.

  19. Application of the graded management approach to Battelle's nuclear project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Voth, C.B.

    1996-01-01

    Battelle's graded management approach provides an effective and efficient method to perform the Battelle Columbus Laboratories Decommissioning Project (BCLDP). The project is managed by Battelle under their US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) license but is partially funded by the US Department of Energy (DOE) on a cost-shared basis. Battelle's graded management approach adheres to the regulations and orders governing the BCLDP by the interaction of various plans, procedures, permits, and work instructions. By independent assessment, quality control, and worker training, Battelle has been able to establish a cost-effective approach to performing work and, at the same time, have a controlled checks and balance system to assure the proper safety considerations and project particulars are taken into account

  20. 7 CFR 810.1804 - Grades and grade requirements for sunflower seed.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 7 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Grades and grade requirements for sunflower seed. 810... AGRICULTURE OFFICIAL UNITED STATES STANDARDS FOR GRAIN United States Standards for Sunflower Seed Principles Governing the Application of Standards § 810.1804 Grades and grade requirements for sunflower seed. Grade...

  1. A prediction model for the grade of liver fibrosis using magnetic resonance elastography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitsuka, Yusuke; Midorikawa, Yutaka; Abe, Hayato; Matsumoto, Naoki; Moriyama, Mitsuhiko; Haradome, Hiroki; Sugitani, Masahiko; Tsuji, Shingo; Takayama, Tadatoshi

    2017-11-28

    Liver stiffness measurement (LSM) has recently become available for assessment of liver fibrosis. We aimed to develop a prediction model for liver fibrosis using clinical variables, including LSM. We performed a prospective study to compare liver fibrosis grade with fibrosis score. LSM was measured using magnetic resonance elastography in 184 patients that underwent liver resection, and liver fibrosis grade was diagnosed histologically after surgery. Using the prediction model established in the training group, we validated the classification accuracy in the independent test group. First, we determined a cut-off value for stratifying fibrosis grade using LSM in 122 patients in the training group, and correctly diagnosed fibrosis grades of 62 patients in the test group with a total accuracy of 69.3%. Next, on least absolute shrinkage and selection operator analysis in the training group, LSM (r = 0.687, P prediction model. This prediction model applied to the test group correctly diagnosed 32 of 36 (88.8%) Grade I (F0 and F1) patients, 13 of 18 (72.2%) Grade II (F2 and F3) patients, and 7 of 8 (87.5%) Grade III (F4) patients in the test group, with a total accuracy of 83.8%. The prediction model based on LSM, ICGR15, and platelet count can accurately and reproducibly predict liver fibrosis grade.

  2. Validation for chromatographic and electrophoretic methods

    OpenAIRE

    Ribani, Marcelo; Bottoli, Carla Beatriz Grespan; Collins, Carol H.; Jardim, Isabel Cristina Sales Fontes; Melo, Lúcio Flávio Costa

    2004-01-01

    The validation of an analytical method is fundamental to implementing a quality control system in any analytical laboratory. As the separation techniques, GC, HPLC and CE, are often the principal tools used in such determinations, procedure validation is a necessity. The objective of this review is to describe the main aspects of validation in chromatographic and electrophoretic analysis, showing, in a general way, the similarities and differences between the guidelines established by the dif...

  3. Application and Evaluation of an Expert Judgment Elicitation Procedure for Correlations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zondervan-Zwijnenburg, Mariëlle; van de Schoot-Hubeek, Wenneke; Lek, Kimberley; Hoijtink, Herbert; van de Schoot, Rens

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of the current study was to apply and evaluate a procedure to elicit expert judgments about correlations, and to update this information with empirical data. The result is a face-to-face group elicitation procedure with as its central element a trial roulette question that elicits experts' judgments expressed as distributions. During the elicitation procedure, a concordance probability question was used to provide feedback to the experts on their judgments. We evaluated the elicitation procedure in terms of validity and reliability by means of an application with a small sample of experts. Validity means that the elicited distributions accurately represent the experts' judgments. Reliability concerns the consistency of the elicited judgments over time. Four behavioral scientists provided their judgments with respect to the correlation between cognitive potential and academic performance for two separate populations enrolled at a specific school in the Netherlands that provides special education to youth with severe behavioral problems: youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and youth with diagnoses other than ASD. Measures of face-validity, feasibility, convergent validity, coherence, and intra-rater reliability showed promising results. Furthermore, the current study illustrates the use of the elicitation procedure and elicited distributions in a social science application. The elicited distributions were used as a prior for the correlation, and updated with data for both populations collected at the school of interest. The current study shows that the newly developed elicitation procedure combining the trial roulette method with the elicitation of correlations is a promising tool, and that the results of the procedure are useful as prior information in a Bayesian analysis.

  4. Variables influencing wearable sensor outcome estimates in individuals with stroke and incomplete spinal cord injury: a pilot investigation validating two research grade sensors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jayaraman, Chandrasekaran; Mummidisetty, Chaithanya Krishna; Mannix-Slobig, Alannah; McGee Koch, Lori; Jayaraman, Arun

    2018-03-13

    Monitoring physical activity and leveraging wearable sensor technologies to facilitate active living in individuals with neurological impairment has been shown to yield benefits in terms of health and quality of living. In this context, accurate measurement of physical activity estimates from these sensors are vital. However, wearable sensor manufacturers generally only provide standard proprietary algorithms based off of healthy individuals to estimate physical activity metrics which may lead to inaccurate estimates in population with neurological impairment like stroke and incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI). The main objective of this cross-sectional investigation was to evaluate the validity of physical activity estimates provided by standard proprietary algorithms for individuals with stroke and iSCI. Two research grade wearable sensors used in clinical settings were chosen and the outcome metrics estimated using standard proprietary algorithms were validated against designated golden standard measures (Cosmed K4B2 for energy expenditure and metabolic equivalent and manual tallying for step counts). The influence of sensor location, sensor type and activity characteristics were also studied. 28 participants (Healthy (n = 10); incomplete SCI (n = 8); stroke (n = 10)) performed a spectrum of activities in a laboratory setting using two wearable sensors (ActiGraph and Metria-IH1) at different body locations. Manufacturer provided standard proprietary algorithms estimated the step count, energy expenditure (EE) and metabolic equivalent (MET). These estimates were compared with the estimates from gold standard measures. For verifying validity, a series of Kruskal Wallis ANOVA tests (Games-Howell multiple comparison for post-hoc analyses) were conducted to compare the mean rank and absolute agreement of outcome metrics estimated by each of the devices in comparison with the designated gold standard measurements. The sensor type, sensor location

  5. Microbial ecology laboratory procedures manual NASA/MSFC

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huff, Timothy L.

    1990-01-01

    An essential part of the efficient operation of any microbiology laboratory involved in sample analysis is a standard procedures manual. The purpose of this manual is to provide concise and well defined instructions on routine technical procedures involving sample analysis and methods for monitoring and maintaining quality control within the laboratory. Of equal importance is the safe operation of the laboratory. This manual outlines detailed procedures to be followed in the microbial ecology laboratory to assure safety, analytical control, and validity of results.

  6. Student Attitudes Toward Grades and Grading Practices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stallings, William M.; Leslie, Elwood K.

    The result of a study designed to assess student attitudes toward grading practices are discussed. Questionnaire responses of 3439 students in three institutions were tabulated. Responses were generally negative toward conventional grading systems. (MS)

  7. Effects of Grading Leniency and Low Workload on Students' Evaluations of Teaching: Popular Myth, Bias, Validity, or Innocent Bystanders?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marsh, Herbert W.; Roche, Lawrence A.

    2000-01-01

    Discusses two studies that debunk the popular myths that student evaluations of teaching (SETs) are substantially biased by low workload and grading leniency. Results imply teaching effects were related to SETs. Contrary to predictions workload, expected grades, and their relations to SETs were stable over 12 years. (Author/MKA)

  8. A critical appraisal of standard guidelines for grading levels of evidence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gugiu, P Cristian; Gugiu, Mihaiela Ristei

    2010-09-01

    Over the past 30 years, a general consensus has emerged within the medical community regarding the essential role served by grading guidelines in evaluating the quality of evidence produced by a medical research study. Specifically, consensus exists regarding the hierarchy of evidence, where randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are considered the ''gold standard'' followed by nonrandomized controlled trials (non-RCTs) and uncontrolled trials. As guidelines have become more sophisticated, processes have been developed for downgrading poorly conducted studies and upgrading strong studies. Lists of threats to internal validity have been disseminated, thereby assisting reviewers in grading studies. However, despite these many accomplishments, considerable issues remain unresolved with respect to how to evaluate the strength of evidence produced by flawed RCTs versus well-conducted non-RCTs. The purpose of this article is to evaluate existing evidence-based grading guidelines and to offer suggestions for how such guidelines may be improved.

  9. Computed tomography- and fluoroscopy-guided percutaneous screw fixation of low-grade isthmic spondylolisthesis in adults: a new technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amoretti, Nicolas; Huwart, Laurent; Browaeys, Patrick; Nouri, Yasir; Ibba, Caroline; Hauger, Olivier; Marcy, Pierre-Yves; Boileau, Pascal

    2012-01-01

    To evaluate the feasibility of computed tomography (CT)- and fluoroscopy-guided percutaneous screw fixation for the treatment of low-grade isthmic spondylolisthesis in adults. Ten consecutive adult patients (four men and six women; mean age: 57.1 [range, 44-78 years]) were prospectively treated by percutaneous screw fixation for low-grade (six grade 1 and four grade 2) isthmic spondylolisthesis of L5. For each patient, two 4.0-mm Asnis III cannulated screws were placed to fix the pars interarticularis defects. All procedures were performed under local anaesthesia by using CT and fluoroscopy guidance. Post-operative outcome was assessed using the visual analogue scale and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores. The procedure time ranged from 45 to 60 min. The mean screw length was 27 mm (range, 24-32 mm). The VAS and ODI measurements ± SD decreased from 7.8 ± 0.9 preoperatively to 1.5 ± 1.1 at the last 2-year follow-up, and from 62.3 ± 17.2 to 15.1 ± 6.0, respectively (P < 0.001 in both cases). Neither slip progression nor screw failure was noted. This feasibility study showed that CT- and fluoroscopy-guided percutaneous screw fixation could be a rapid, safe and effective method of treating low-grade isthmic spondylolisthesis. (orig.)

  10. Computed tomography- and fluoroscopy-guided percutaneous screw fixation of low-grade isthmic spondylolisthesis in adults: a new technique

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Amoretti, Nicolas; Huwart, Laurent; Browaeys, Patrick; Nouri, Yasir; Ibba, Caroline [Hopital Archet 2, Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire de Nice, Department of Radiology, Nice (France); Hauger, Olivier [Hopital Pellegrin, Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire de Bordeaux, Department of Radiology, Bordeaux (France); Marcy, Pierre-Yves [Antoine Lacassagne Cancer Research Institute, Department of Radiology, Nice (France); Boileau, Pascal [Hopital Archet 2, Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire de Nice, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Nice (France)

    2012-12-15

    To evaluate the feasibility of computed tomography (CT)- and fluoroscopy-guided percutaneous screw fixation for the treatment of low-grade isthmic spondylolisthesis in adults. Ten consecutive adult patients (four men and six women; mean age: 57.1 [range, 44-78 years]) were prospectively treated by percutaneous screw fixation for low-grade (six grade 1 and four grade 2) isthmic spondylolisthesis of L5. For each patient, two 4.0-mm Asnis III cannulated screws were placed to fix the pars interarticularis defects. All procedures were performed under local anaesthesia by using CT and fluoroscopy guidance. Post-operative outcome was assessed using the visual analogue scale and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores. The procedure time ranged from 45 to 60 min. The mean screw length was 27 mm (range, 24-32 mm). The VAS and ODI measurements {+-} SD decreased from 7.8 {+-} 0.9 preoperatively to 1.5 {+-} 1.1 at the last 2-year follow-up, and from 62.3 {+-} 17.2 to 15.1 {+-} 6.0, respectively (P < 0.001 in both cases). Neither slip progression nor screw failure was noted. This feasibility study showed that CT- and fluoroscopy-guided percutaneous screw fixation could be a rapid, safe and effective method of treating low-grade isthmic spondylolisthesis. (orig.)

  11. Asphalt Pavement Aging and Temperature Dependent Properties Using Functionally Graded Viscoelastic Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dave, Eshan V.

    2009-01-01

    Asphalt concrete pavements are inherently graded viscoelastic structures. Oxidative aging of asphalt binder and temperature cycling due to climatic conditions being the major cause of non-homogeneity. Current pavement analysis and simulation procedures dwell on the use of layered approach to account for these non-homogeneities. The conventional…

  12. Simple procedure for phase-space measurement and entanglement validation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rundle, R. P.; Mills, P. W.; Tilma, Todd; Samson, J. H.; Everitt, M. J.

    2017-08-01

    It has recently been shown that it is possible to represent the complete quantum state of any system as a phase-space quasiprobability distribution (Wigner function) [Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 180401 (2016), 10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.180401]. Such functions take the form of expectation values of an observable that has a direct analogy to displaced parity operators. In this work we give a procedure for the measurement of the Wigner function that should be applicable to any quantum system. We have applied our procedure to IBM's Quantum Experience five-qubit quantum processor to demonstrate that we can measure and generate the Wigner functions of two different Bell states as well as the five-qubit Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger state. Because Wigner functions for spin systems are not unique, we define, compare, and contrast two distinct examples. We show how the use of these Wigner functions leads to an optimal method for quantum state analysis especially in the situation where specific characteristic features are of particular interest (such as for spin Schrödinger cat states). Furthermore we show that this analysis leads to straightforward, and potentially very efficient, entanglement test and state characterization methods.

  13. Validity and reliability of global operative assessment of laparoscopic skills (GOALS) in novice trainees performing a laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kramp, Kelvin H; van Det, Marc J; Hoff, Christiaan; Lamme, Bas; Veeger, Nic J G M; Pierie, Jean-Pierre E N

    2015-01-01

    Global Operative Assessment of Laparoscopic Skills (GOALS) assessment has been designed to evaluate skills in laparoscopic surgery. A longitudinal blinded study of randomized video fragments was conducted to estimate the validity and reliability of GOALS in novice trainees. In total, 10 trainees each performed 6 consecutive laparoscopic cholecystectomies. Sixty procedures were recorded on video. Video fragments of (1) opening of the peritoneum; (2) dissection of Calot's triangle and achievement of critical view of safety; and (3) dissection of the gallbladder from the liver bed were blinded, randomized, and rated by 2 consultant surgeons using GOALS. Also, a grade was given for overall competence. The correlation of GOALS with live observation Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills (OSATS) scores was calculated. Construct validity was estimated using the Friedman 2-way analysis of variance by ranks and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. The interrater reliability was calculated using the absolute and consistency agreement 2-way random-effects model intraclass correlation coefficient. A high correlation was found between mean GOALS score (r = 0.879, p = 0.021) and mean OSATS score. The GOALS score increased significantly across the 6 procedures (p = 0.002). The trainees performed significantly better on their sixth when compared with their first cholecystectomy (p = 0.004). The consistency agreement interrater reliability was 0.37 for the mean GOALS score (p = 0.002) and 0.55 for overall competence (p < 0.001) of the 3 video fragments. The validity observed in this randomized blinded longitudinal study supports the existing evidence that GOALS is a valid tool for assessment of novice trainees. A relatively low reliability was found in this study. Copyright © 2014 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Laser-assisted lipolysis for arm contouring in Teimourian grades I and II: a prospective study of 45 patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leclère, Franck Marie; Alcolea, Justo M; Vogt, Peter; Moreno-Moraga, Javier; Mordon, Serge; Casoli, Vincent; Trelles, Mario A

    2015-04-01

    Upper arm deformities secondary to weight loss or senile elastosis have led to an increased demand for aesthetic contouring procedures. We conducted this study to objectively assess if, in Teimourian low-grade upper arm remodelling, one session of laser-assisted lypolisis (LAL) could result in full patient satisfaction. Between 2011 and 2013, 45 patients were treated for unsightly fat arm Teimourian grade I (15 patients), grade IIa (15 patients) and grade IIb (15 patients) with one session of LAL. The laser used in this study was a 1470-nm diode laser (Alma Lasers, Cesarea, Israel) with the following parameters: continuous mode, 15 W power and transmission through a 600-μm optical fibre. Previous mathematical modelling suggested that 0.1 kJ was required in order to destroy 1 ml of fat. Treatment parameters and adverse effects were recorded.The arm circumference and skin pinch measurements were assessed pre and postoperatively. Patients were asked to file a satisfaction questionnaire. Pain during the anaesthesia and discomfort after the procedure were minimal. Complications included prolonged oedema in 11 patients. The average arm circumference decreased by 4.9 ± 0.4 cm in the right arm (p < 0.01) and 4.7 ± 0.5 cm in the left arm (p < 0.01) in grade I patients, 5.5 ± 0.6 cm in the right arm (p < 0.01) and 5.2 ± 0.5 cm in the left arm (p < 0.01) in grade IIa patients and 5.4 ± 0.5 cm in the right arm (p < 0.01) and 5.3 ± 0.5 cm in the left arm (p < 0.01) in grade IIB patients. The skin tightening effect was confirmed by the reduction of the skin calliper measurements in all three groups. Overall mean opinion of treatment was high for both patients and investigators. Of the 45 patients, all but one would recommend this treatment. A single session of LAL in upper arm remodelling for Teimourian grades I to IIb is a safe and reproducible technique. The procedure allows reduction in the amount of adipose deposits

  15. Measuring striving for understanding and learning value of geometry: a validity study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ubuz, Behiye; Aydınyer, Yurdagül

    2017-11-01

    The current study aimed to construct a questionnaire that measures students' personality traits related to striving for understanding and learning value of geometry and then examine its psychometric properties. Through the use of multiple methods on two independent samples of 402 and 521 middle school students, two studies were performed to address this issue to provide support for its validity. In Study 1, exploratory factor analysis indicated the two-factor model. In Study 2, confirmatory factor analysis indicated the better fit of two-factor model compared to one or three-factor model. Convergent and discriminant validity evidence provided insight into the distinctiveness of the two factors. Subgroup validity evidence revealed gender differences for striving for understanding geometry trait favouring girls and grade level differences for learning value of geometry trait favouring the sixth- and seventh-grade students. Predictive validity evidence demonstrated that the striving for understanding geometry trait but not learning value of geometry trait was significantly correlated with prior mathematics achievement. In both studies, each factor and the entire questionnaire showed satisfactory reliability. In conclusion, the questionnaire was psychometrically sound.

  16. Enhanced Sentinel Lymphoscintigraphic Mapping in Breast Tumor Using the Graded Shield Technique

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu-Wen Chen

    2003-07-01

    Full Text Available The graded shield technique was developed to increase the sentinel node detection rate by improving lymphoscintigraphic image contrast. In a 6-month period, 50 women with clinical suspicion of early stage breast cancer (T1 and T2 tumors were enrolled in this study. The patients had a mean age of 47.2 ± 10.3 years. A composite graded shield was constructed using three concentric layers of leaded plastic measuring 3 cm, 5 cm, and 7 cm each in diameter. The graded shield was designed with a movable Velcro backing for accurate positioning over the injection site. Images were acquired with a vertical angle dual-head gamma camera using an established injection procedure developed at our institution. The rate of detection of sentinel lymph nodes using lymphoscintigraphic mapping improved from 74% (37/50 patients to 96% (48/50 using the graded shield (p < 0.05. In addition to the increased detection rate, our technique also increased the number of nodes detected and improved visualization of the adjacent lymphatic basin. By enhancing nodal contrast, we have demonstrated that the graded shield technique is an effective method for improving the rate of sentinel node detection.

  17. Emerging role of functional brain MRI in low-grade glioma surgery

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Friismose, Ancuta; Traise, Peter; Markovic, Ljubo

    Learning objectives 1. To describe the use of functional MRI (fMRI) in cranial surgery planning for patients with low-grade gliomas (LGG). 2. To show the increasing importance of fMRI in the clinical setting. Background LGG include brain tumors classified by the World Health Organization as grade I...... be used to map eloquent cortex areas, thus minimizing postoperative deficits and improving surgical performance. Findings and procedure details Patients diagnosed with low-grade gliomas located in eloquent brain areas undergo fMRI prior to surgery. The exams are performed on a 3T MR system (Achieva TX....... Language comprehension and visual tasks can be added to visualize Wernicke’s area or the visual cortex. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is used to map nerve tract course relative to the tumour. Conclusion FMRI has proven its clinical utility in locating eloquent brain areas with relation to tumor site...

  18. Discriminant Analysis of Defective and Non-Defective Field Pea (Pisum sativum L.) into Broad Market Grades Based on Digital Image Features.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDonald, Linda S; Panozzo, Joseph F; Salisbury, Phillip A; Ford, Rebecca

    2016-01-01

    Field peas (Pisum sativum L.) are generally traded based on seed appearance, which subjectively defines broad market-grades. In this study, we developed an objective Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) model to classify market grades of field peas based on seed colour, shape and size traits extracted from digital images. Seeds were imaged in a high-throughput system consisting of a camera and laser positioned over a conveyor belt. Six colour intensity digital images were captured (under 405, 470, 530, 590, 660 and 850nm light) for each seed, and surface height was measured at each pixel by laser. Colour, shape and size traits were compiled across all seed in each sample to determine the median trait values. Defective and non-defective seed samples were used to calibrate and validate the model. Colour components were sufficient to correctly classify all non-defective seed samples into correct market grades. Defective samples required a combination of colour, shape and size traits to achieve 87% and 77% accuracy in market grade classification of calibration and validation sample-sets respectively. Following these results, we used the same colour, shape and size traits to develop an LDA model which correctly classified over 97% of all validation samples as defective or non-defective.

  19. Commercial off-the-shelf software dedication process based on the commercial grade survey of supplier

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, J. Y.; Lee, J. S.; Chon, S. W.; Lee, G. Y.; Park, J. K.

    2000-01-01

    Commercial Off-The-Shelf(COTS) software dedication process can apply to a combination of methods like the hardware commercial grade item dedication process. In general, these methods are : methods 1(special test and inspection), method 2(commercial grade survey of supplier), method 3(source verification), and method 4(acceptance supplier/item performance record). In this paper, the suggested procedure-oriented dedication process on the basis of method 2 for COTS software is consistent with EPRI/TR-106439 and NUREG/CR-6421 requirements. Additional tailoring policy based on code and standards related to COTS software may be also founded in the suggested commercial software dedication process. Suggested commercial software dedication process has been developed for a commercial I and C software dedication who performs COTS qualification according to the dedication procedure

  20. [Validation of the German Version of Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI)].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brüggemann, Petra; Szczepek, Agnieszka J; Kleinjung, Tobias; Ojo, Michael; Mazurek, Birgit

    2017-09-01

    Tinnitus belongs to seriously debilitating auditory conditions and is often complicated by comorbidities such as insomnia, difficulties with concentration, depression, frustration and irritability. To facilitate the grading of symptoms and the effects of therapeutic strategies, we validated a German-version Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI) in 229 subjects suffering from chronic tinnitus. Outcome validity was assessed using the Tinnitus Questionnaire (TQ, German adaptation by Goebel u. Hiller [1998]). Construct validity was assessed using the "Hamburger Allgemeine Depressionsskala" (HADS). The German TFI featured excellent internal consistency (total score Cronbach's α=0.93). Factor analysis disclosed eight TFI subscales as proposed earlier by Meikle et al. [2012]. Intercorrelations were strong both between the TFI and the TQ (r=0.83), and between the TFI and the HADS (depression r=0.49, anxiety r=0.51). The German-version TFI qualifies as a rapid and statistically robust tool for grading the impact of tinnitus on daily living and for the measurements of therapeutic effects. Regarding depressive symptomatology, sensitivity of the TFI was comparable to that of the TQ. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  1. Do mathematics textbooks cultivate shallow teaching? Applying the TIMSS Video Study criteria to Australian eighth-grade mathematics textbooks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vincent, Jill; Stacey, Kaye

    2008-04-01

    Australian eighth-grade mathematics lessons were shown by the 1999 TIMSS Video Study to use a high proportion of problems of low procedural complexity, with considerable repetition, and an absence of deductive reasoning. Using definitions from the Video Study, this study re-investigated this `shallow teaching syndrome' by examining the problems on three topics in nine eighth-grade textbooks from four Australian states for procedural complexity, type of solving processes, degree of repetition, proportion of `application' problems and proportion of problems requiring deductive reasoning. Overall, there was broad similarity between the characteristics of problems in the textbooks and in the Australian Video Study lessons. There were, however, considerable differences between textbooks and between topics within textbooks. In some books, including the best-selling textbooks in several states, the balance is too far towards repetitive problems of low procedural complexity.

  2. Predictive validity of the Slovene Matura

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valentin Bucik

    2001-09-01

    Full Text Available Passing Matura is the last step of the secondary school graduation, but it is also the entrance ticket for the university. Besides, the summary score of Matura exam takes part in the selection process for the particular university studies in case of 'numerus clausus'. In discussing either aim of Matura important dilemmas arise, namely, is the Matura examination sufficiently exact and rightful procedure to, firstly, use its results for settling starting studying conditions and, secondly, to select validly, reliably and sensibly the best candidates for university studies. There are some questions concerning predictive validity of Matura that should be answered, e.g. (i does Matura as an enrollment procedure add to the qualitaty of the study; (ii is it a better selection tool than entrance examinations formerly used in different faculties in the case of 'numerus clausus'; and (iii is it reasonable to expect high predictive validity of Matura results for success at the university at all. Recent results show that in the last few years the dropout-rate is lower than before, the pass-rate between the first and the second year is higher and the average duration of study per student is shorter. It is clear, however, that it is not possible to simply predict the study success from the Matura results. There are too many factors influencing the success in the university studies. In most examined study programs the correlation between Matura results and study success is positive but moderate, therefore it can not be said categorically that only candidates accepted according to the Matura results are (or will be the best students. Yet it has been shown that Matura is a standardized procedure, comparable across different candidates entering university, and that – when compared entrance examinations – it is more objective, reliable, and hen ce more valid and fair a procedure. In addition, comparable procedures of university recruiting and selection can be

  3. Measuring variability of procedure progression in proceduralized scenarios

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Yochan; Park, Jinkyun; Jung, Wondea

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► The VPP measure was developed to quantify how differently operators follow the procedures. ► Sources that cause variability of ways to follow a given procedure were identified. ► The VPP values for the scenarios are positively related to the scenario performance time. ► The VPP measure is meaningful for explaining characteristics of several PSFs. -- Abstract: Various performance shaping factors (PSFs) have been presented to explain the contributors to unsafe acts in a human failure event or predict a human error probability of new human performance. However, because most of these parameters of an HRA depend on the subjective knowledge and experience of HRA analyzers, the results of an HRA insufficiently provide unbiased standards to explain human performance variations or compare collected data with other data from different analyzers. To secure the validity of the HRA results, we propose a quantitative measure, which represents the variability of procedure progression (VPP) in proceduralized scenarios. A VPP measure shows how differently the operators follow the steps of the procedures. This paper introduces the sources of the VPP measure and relevance to PSFs. The assessment method of the VPP measure is also proposed, and the application examples are shown with a comparison of the performance time. Although more empirical studies should be conducted to reveal the relationship between the VPP measure and other PSFs, it is believed that the VPP measure provides evidence to quantitatively evaluate human performance variations and to cross-culturally compare the collected data.

  4. Is the Sky Falling? Grade Inflation and the Signaling Power of Grades.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pattison, Evangeleen; Grodsky, Eric; Muller, Chandra

    2013-06-01

    Grades are the fundamental currency of our educational system; they signal academic achievement and non-cognitive skills to parents, employers, postsecondary gatekeepers, and students themselves. Grade inflation compromises the signaling value of grades, undermining their capacity to achieve the functions for which they are intended. We challenge the 'increases in grade point average' definition of grade inflation and argue that grade inflation must be understood in terms of the signaling power of grades. Analyzing data from four nationally representative samples, we find that in the decades following 1972: (a) grades have risen at high schools and dropped at four-year colleges, in general, and selective four-year institutions, in particular; and (b) the signaling power of grades has attenuated little, if at all.

  5. Ceramic grade (U,Pu)O2 powder fabrication

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cristallini, O.A.; Villegas de Maroto, Marina; De Pino, J.I.; Osuna, H.A.

    1980-01-01

    Ceramic grade UO 2 powder was obtained by the homogeneous precipitation method. This procedure was afterwards applied to the fabrication of ceramic grade (U,Pu)O 2 powders, and mixed oxide powders with Pu content ranging from 0.7 to 16% were obtained. The obtainment of mixed ceramic oxides as well as the recuperation of fabrication scraps were developed in three steps: 1)study of the process of homogeneous precipitation of ammonium diuranate (ADU); 2) co-precipitation of ADU/PuO 2 .H 2 O for Pu concentrations of 0.6 and 6.8; 3) the thermal conditioning to mixed oxide (U,Pu)O 2 powders. The experimental procedure involves the following steps: preparation of the PuO 2 (NO 3 ) 4 solution; co-precipitation of the PuO 2 (NO 3 ) 2 solution with an UO 2 (NO 3 ) 2 solution; filtration and drying of the precipitate, thermal treatment and finally, mixing, pressing and sintering of the (U,Pu)O 2 and Nukem UO 2 powder with a 0. of zinc stearate. Different controls were made by means of physical, chemical and ceramographic tests. This method can be used for the fabrication of fast reactor fuels or, previous mechanical dispersion in UO 2 powder, for the fabrication of thermal reactors fuels. (M.E.L.) [es

  6. The Auto Industry. Grade Nine. Resource Unit (Unit IV). Project Social Studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Minnesota Univ., Minneapolis. Project Social Studies Curriculum Center.

    Unit four of this curriculum plan for ninth grade social studies outlines a study of the automobile industry in the United States. Objectives state the desired generalizations, skills, and attitudes to be developed. A condensed outline of course content precedes expanded guidelines for teaching procedures and suggested resource materials. A…

  7. Complications Following Common Inpatient Urological Procedures: Temporal Trend Analysis from 2000 to 2010.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyer, Christian P; Hollis, Michael; Cole, Alexander P; Hanske, Julian; O'Leary, James; Gupta, Soham; Löppenberg, Björn; Zavaski, Mike E; Sun, Maxine; Sammon, Jesse D; Kibel, Adam S; Fisch, Margit; Chun, Felix K H; Trinh, Quoc-Dien

    2016-04-01

    Measuring procedure-specific complication-rate trends allows for benchmarking and improvement in quality of care but must be done in a standardized fashion. Using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, we identified all instances of eight common inpatient urologic procedures performed in the United States between 2000 and 2010. This yielded 327218 cases including both oncologic and benign diseases. Complications were identified by International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes. Each complication was cross-referenced to the procedure code and graded according to the standardized Clavien system. The Mann-Whitney and chi-square were used to assess the statistical significance of medians and proportions, respectively. We assessed temporal variability in the rates of overall complications (Clavien grade 1-4), length of hospital stay, and in-hospital mortality using the estimated annual percent change (EAPC) linear regression methodology. We observed an overall reduction in length of stay (EAPC: -1.59; ptrends showed a significant increase in complications for inpatient ureterorenoscopy (EAPC: 5.53; ptrends of urologic procedures and their complications. A significant shift toward sicker patients and more complex procedures in the inpatient setting was found, but this did not result in higher mortality. These results are indicators of the high quality of care for urologic procedures in the inpatient setting. Copyright © 2015 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Characterization of the viscoelastic behavior of the pure bitumen grades 10/20 and 35/50 with macroindentation and finite element computation

    KAUST Repository

    Hamzaoui, Rabah; Guessasma, Sofiane; Bennabi, Abdelkrim

    2013-01-01

    In this article, we present an identification procedure that allows the determination of the viscoelasticity behavior of different grades of pure bitumen (bitumen 35/50 and bitumen 10/20). The procedure required in the first stage a mechanical

  9. Single-incision laparoscopic cecectomy for low-grade appendiceal mucinous neoplasm after laparoscopic rectectomy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fujino, Shiki; Miyoshi, Norikatsu; Noura, Shingo; Shingai, Tatsushi; Tomita, Yasuhiko; Ohue, Masayuki; Yano, Masahiko

    2014-01-01

    In this case report, we discuss single-incision laparoscopic cecectomy for low-grade appendiceal neoplasm after laparoscopic anterior resection for rectal cancer. The optimal surgical therapy for low-grade appendiceal neoplasm is controversial; currently, the options include appendectomy, cecectomy, right hemicolectomy, and open or laparoscopic surgery. Due to the risk of pseudomyxoma peritonei, complete resection without rupture is necessary. We have encountered 5 cases of low-grade appendiceal neoplasm and all 5 patients had no lymph node metastasis. We chose the appendectomy or cecectomy without lymph node dissection if preoperative imaging studies did not suspect malignancy. In the present case, we performed cecectomy without lymph node dissection by single-incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS), which is reported to be a reduced port surgery associated with decreased invasiveness and patient stress compared with conventional laparoscopic surgery. We are confident that SILS is a feasible alternative to traditional surgical procedures for borderline tumors, such as low-grade appendiceal neoplasms. PMID:24868331

  10. High grade glioma: Imaging combined with pathological grade defines management and predicts prognosis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burnet, Neil G.; Lynch, Andrew G.; Jefferies, Sarah J.; Price, Stephen J.; Jones, Phil H.; Antoun, Nagui M.; Xuereb, John H.; Pohl, Ute

    2007-01-01

    Introduction: There is ambiguity in pathological grading of high grade gliomas within the WHO 2000 classification, especially those with predominant oligodendroglial differentiation. Patients and methods: All adult high grade gliomas treated radically, 1996-2005, were assessed. Cases in which pathology was grade III but radiology suggested glioblastoma (GBM) were classified as 'grade III/IV'; their pathology was reviewed. Results: Data from 245 patients (52 grade III, 18 grade III/IV, 175 GBM) were analysed using a Cox Proportional Hazards model. On pathology review, features suggestive of more aggressive behaviour were found in all 18 grade III/IV tumours. Oligodendroglial components with both necrosis and microvascular proliferation were present in 7. MIB-1 counts for the last 8 were all above 14%, mean 27%. Median survivals were: grade III 34 months, grade III/IV 10 months, GBM 11 months. Survival was not significantly different between grade III/IV and GBM. Patients with grade III/IV tumours had significantly worse outcome than grade III, with a hazard of death 3.7 times higher. Conclusions: The results highlight the current inconsistency in pathological grading of high grade tumours, especially those with oligodendroglial elements. Patients with histological grade III tumours but radiological appearances suggestive of GBM should be managed as glioblastoma

  11. On Line Validation Exercise (OLIVE: A Web Based Service for the Validation of Medium Resolution Land Products. Application to FAPAR Products

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marie Weiss

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available The OLIVE (On Line Interactive Validation Exercise platform is dedicated to the validation of global biophysical products such as LAI (Leaf Area Index and FAPAR (Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation. It was developed under the framework of the CEOS (Committee on Earth Observation Satellites Land Product Validation (LPV sub-group. OLIVE has three main objectives: (i to provide a consistent and centralized information on the definition of the biophysical variables, as well as a description of the main available products and their performances (ii to provide transparency and traceability by an online validation procedure compliant with the CEOS LPV and QA4EO (Quality Assurance for Earth Observation recommendations (iii and finally, to provide a tool to benchmark new products, update product validation results and host new ground measurement sites for accuracy assessment. The functionalities and algorithms of OLIVE are described to provide full transparency of its procedures to the community. The validation process and typical results are illustrated for three FAPAR products: GEOV1 (VEGETATION sensor, MGVIo (MERIS sensor and MODIS collection 5 FPAR. OLIVE is available on the European Space Agency CAL/VAL portal, including full documentation, validation exercise results, and product extracts.

  12. Automatic segmentation of rotational x-ray images for anatomic intra-procedural surface generation in atrial fibrillation ablation procedures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manzke, Robert; Meyer, Carsten; Ecabert, Olivier; Peters, Jochen; Noordhoek, Niels J; Thiagalingam, Aravinda; Reddy, Vivek Y; Chan, Raymond C; Weese, Jürgen

    2010-02-01

    Since the introduction of 3-D rotational X-ray imaging, protocols for 3-D rotational coronary artery imaging have become widely available in routine clinical practice. Intra-procedural cardiac imaging in a computed tomography (CT)-like fashion has been particularly compelling due to the reduction of clinical overhead and ability to characterize anatomy at the time of intervention. We previously introduced a clinically feasible approach for imaging the left atrium and pulmonary veins (LAPVs) with short contrast bolus injections and scan times of approximately 4 -10 s. The resulting data have sufficient image quality for intra-procedural use during electro-anatomic mapping (EAM) and interventional guidance in atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation procedures. In this paper, we present a novel technique to intra-procedural surface generation which integrates fully-automated segmentation of the LAPVs for guidance in AF ablation interventions. Contrast-enhanced rotational X-ray angiography (3-D RA) acquisitions in combination with filtered-back-projection-based reconstruction allows for volumetric interrogation of LAPV anatomy in near-real-time. An automatic model-based segmentation algorithm allows for fast and accurate LAPV mesh generation despite the challenges posed by image quality; relative to pre-procedural cardiac CT/MR, 3-D RA images suffer from more artifacts and reduced signal-to-noise. We validate our integrated method by comparing 1) automatic and manual segmentations of intra-procedural 3-D RA data, 2) automatic segmentations of intra-procedural 3-D RA and pre-procedural CT/MR data, and 3) intra-procedural EAM point cloud data with automatic segmentations of 3-D RA and CT/MR data. Our validation results for automatically segmented intra-procedural 3-D RA data show average segmentation errors of 1) approximately 1.3 mm compared with manual 3-D RA segmentations 2) approximately 2.3 mm compared with automatic segmentation of pre-procedural CT/MR data and 3

  13. Psychometric properties of scales used for grading the severity of bronchial obstruction in pediatrics: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luarte-Martínez, Soledad; Rodríguez-Núñez, Iván; Astudillo, Paula; Manterola, Carlos

    2017-06-01

    In pediatrics, identifying the severity of bronchial obstruction in an early manner is a decisive factor. To assess the psychometric properties of the scales for grading the severity of bronchial obstruction in pediatric patients. This was a systematic review of studies on the validity and reliability of scales for grading the severity of bronchial obstruction conducted in infants and children younger than 3 years old. The search was conducted in Medline, WoS, EMBASE, SciELO, and Google Scholar. The correlation coefficient corresponding to each article was included in a random effects model to establish the criterion validity and reliability using the weighted averages of coefficients as per the sample size. A total of 9 articles were included, which accounted for 2699 children; 3 articles had an adequate or excellent methodological quality. Four articles established the concurrent criterion validity considering oxygen saturation, with a weighted correlation coefficient of -0.627 (95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.767 to -0.431, p reliability, with a weighted correlation coefficient of0.500for kappa and 0.891 for the intraclass correlation coefficient. The assessment of psychometric properties to support the use of scales for grading the construct "severity of bronchial obstruction" showed a moderate to adequate criterion validity. The percentage of agreement among observers in terms of the studied measure (severity of bronchial obstruction) was adequate; however, weaknesses such as the article design should be taken into account since it may affect the internal validity of results.

  14. Continuous validation of ASTEC containment models and regression testing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nowack, Holger; Reinke, Nils; Sonnenkalb, Martin

    2014-01-01

    The focus of the ASTEC (Accident Source Term Evaluation Code) development at GRS is primarily on the containment module CPA (Containment Part of ASTEC), whose modelling is to a large extent based on the GRS containment code COCOSYS (COntainment COde SYStem). Validation is usually understood as the approval of the modelling capabilities by calculations of appropriate experiments done by external users different from the code developers. During the development process of ASTEC CPA, bugs and unintended side effects may occur, which leads to changes in the results of the initially conducted validation. Due to the involvement of a considerable number of developers in the coding of ASTEC modules, validation of the code alone, even if executed repeatedly, is not sufficient. Therefore, a regression testing procedure has been implemented in order to ensure that the initially obtained validation results are still valid with succeeding code versions. Within the regression testing procedure, calculations of experiments and plant sequences are performed with the same input deck but applying two different code versions. For every test-case the up-to-date code version is compared to the preceding one on the basis of physical parameters deemed to be characteristic for the test-case under consideration. In the case of post-calculations of experiments also a comparison to experimental data is carried out. Three validation cases from the regression testing procedure are presented within this paper. The very good post-calculation of the HDR E11.1 experiment shows the high quality modelling of thermal-hydraulics in ASTEC CPA. Aerosol behaviour is validated on the BMC VANAM M3 experiment, and the results show also a very good agreement with experimental data. Finally, iodine behaviour is checked in the validation test-case of the THAI IOD-11 experiment. Within this test-case, the comparison of the ASTEC versions V2.0r1 and V2.0r2 shows how an error was detected by the regression testing

  15. Modified Graded Repair of Cerebrospinal Fluid Leaks in Endoscopic Endonasal Transsphenoidal Surgery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Jae-Hyun; Choi, Jai Ho; Kim, Young-Il; Kim, Sung Won

    2015-01-01

    Objective Complete sellar floor reconstruction is critical to avoid postoperative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage during transsphenoidal surgery. Recently, the pedicled nasoseptal flap has undergone many modifications and eventually proved to be valuable and efficient. However, using these nasoseptal flaps in all patients who undergo transsphenoidal surgery, including those who had none or only minor CSF leakage, appears to be overly invasive and time-consuming. Methods Patients undergoing endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal tumor surgery within a 5 year-period were reviewed. Since 2009, we classified the intraoperative CSF leakage into grades from 0 to 3. Sellar floor reconstruction was tailored to each leak grade. We did not use any tissue grafts such as abdominal fat and did not include any procedures of CSF diversions such as lumbar drainage. Results Among 200 cases in 188 patients (147 pituitary adenoma and 41 other pathologies), intraoperative CSF leakage was observed in 27.4% of 197 cases : 14.7% Grade 1, 4.6% Grade 2a, 3.0% Grade 2b, and 5.1% Grade 3. Postoperative CSF leakage was observed in none of the cases. Septal bone buttress was used for Grade 1 to 3 leakages instead of any other foreign materials. Pedicled nasoseptal flap was used for Grades 2b and 3 leakages. Unused septal bones and nasoseptal flaps were repositioned. Conclusion Modified classification of intraoperative CSF leaks and tailored repair technique in a multilayered fashion using an en-bloc harvested septal bone and vascularized nasoseptal flaps is an effective and reliable method for the prevention of postoperative CSF leaks. PMID:26279811

  16. Application of ANFIS for analytical modeling of tensile strength of functionally graded steels

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ali Nazari

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available In the present study, the tensile strength of ferritic and austenitic functionally graded steels produced by electroslag remelting has been modeled. To produce functionally graded steels, two slices of plain carbon steel and austenitic stainless steels were spot welded and used as electroslag remelting electrode. Functionally graded steel containing graded layers of ferrite and austenite may be fabricated via diffusion of alloying elements during remelting stage. Vickers microhardness profile of the specimen has been obtained experimentally and modeled with adaptive network-based fuzzy inference systems (ANFIS. To build the model for graded ferritic and austenitic steels, training, testing and validation using respectively 174 and 120 experimental data were conducted. According to the input parameters, in the ANFIS model, the Vickers microhardness of each layer was predicted. A good fit equation which correlates the Vickers microhardness of each layer to its corresponding chemical composition was achieved by the optimized network for both ferritic and austenitic graded steels. Afterwards; the Vickers microhardness of each layer in functionally graded steels was related to the yield stress of the corresponding layer and by assuming Holloman relation for stress-strain curve of each layer, they were acquired. Finally, by applying the rule of mixtures, tensile strength of functionally graded steels configuration was found through a numerical method. The obtained results from the proposed model are in good agreement with those acquired from the experiments.

  17. Procedural virtual reality simulation in minimally invasive surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Våpenstad, Cecilie; Buzink, Sonja N

    2013-02-01

    Simulation of procedural tasks has the potential to bridge the gap between basic skills training outside the operating room (OR) and performance of complex surgical tasks in the OR. This paper provides an overview of procedural virtual reality (VR) simulation currently available on the market and presented in scientific literature for laparoscopy (LS), flexible gastrointestinal endoscopy (FGE), and endovascular surgery (EVS). An online survey was sent to companies and research groups selling or developing procedural VR simulators, and a systematic search was done for scientific publications presenting or applying VR simulators to train or assess procedural skills in the PUBMED and SCOPUS databases. The results of five simulator companies were included in the survey. In the literature review, 116 articles were analyzed (45 on LS, 43 on FGE, 28 on EVS), presenting a total of 23 simulator systems. The companies stated to altogether offer 78 procedural tasks (33 for LS, 12 for FGE, 33 for EVS), of which 17 also were found in the literature review. Although study type and used outcomes vary between the three different fields, approximately 90 % of the studies presented in the retrieved publications for LS found convincing evidence to confirm the validity or added value of procedural VR simulation. This was the case in approximately 75 % for FGE and EVS. Procedural training using VR simulators has been found to improve clinical performance. There is nevertheless a large amount of simulated procedural tasks that have not been validated. Future research should focus on the optimal use of procedural simulators in the most effective training setups and further investigate the benefits of procedural VR simulation to improve clinical outcome.

  18. Waveguide effect under 'antiguiding' conditions in graded anisotropic media

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kozlov, A V; Mozhaev, V G; Zyryanova, A V, E-mail: av_kozlov@inbox.r, E-mail: vgmozhaev@mail.r, E-mail: annazyr@mail.r [Faculty of Physics, Moscow State University, Moscow, 119991 GSP-1 (Russian Federation)

    2010-02-24

    A new wave confinement effect is predicted in graded crystals with a concave slowness surface under conditions of growth of the phase velocity with decreasing distance from the waveguide axis. This finding overturns the common notion about the guiding and 'antiguiding' profiles of wave velocity in inhomogeneous media. The waveguide effect found is elucidated by means of ray analysis and particular exact wave solutions. The exact solution obtained for localized flexural waves in thin plates of graded cubic and tetragonal crystals confirms the predicted effect. Since this solution is substantially different with respect to the existence conditions from all others yet reported, and it cannot be deduced from the previously known results, the predicted waves can be classified as a new type of waveguide mode in graded anisotropic media. Although the concrete calculations are given in the article for acoustic waves, its general predictions are expected to be valid for waves of various natures, including spin, plasma, and optical waves.

  19. Influence of Tönnis Grade on Outcomes of Arthroscopic Management of Symptomatic Femoroacetabular Impingement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Byrd, J W Thomas; Bardowski, Elizabeth A; Jones, Kay S

    2018-05-19

    To define the outcomes of arthroscopic correction of femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) based on Tönnis findings within a previously reported patient population, including a comparative analysis of Tönnis grade 0 and 1 versus grade 2 changes. Outcomes (modified Harris Hip Score [mHHS]) of a previously published study of arthroscopic correction of FAI were correlated with Tönnis grade. The inclusion criteria were the first 100 consecutive patients undergoing arthroscopic FAI correction with minimum 2-year follow-up. These procedures were performed between December 2003 and May 2006. Grades were determined independently by 2 experienced clinicians. Tönnis grades 0 and 1 were compared with Tönnis grade 2. Independent variables of sex and age were also evaluated. The average age of the entire group was 34.7 years (range, 13-76 years), with 66 male and 34 female patients. Of the patients, 17 had Tönnis grade 0, 49 had Tönnis grade 1, 29 had Tönnis grade 2, and 4 had Tönnis grade 3 (1 unknown). The average mHHS improvement for Tönnis grade 0 was 20.6 points; Tönnis grade 1, 22.2 points; Tönnis grade 2, 14.9 points; and Tönnis grade 3, 18.8 points. The improvement was statistically (P 8 points) significant across all Tönnis grades. There was no difference (P = .077) between Tönnis grades 0 and 1 (21.8 points) versus grade 2 (14.9 points). There was no difference based on sex or age. These data support that statistically and clinically meaningful successful patient-reported outcomes (mHHS) at 2 years can be encountered even in the presence of Tönnis grade 2 radiographic features. Neither age nor sex was an indicator of poorer results within similar Tönnis grades. Level III, case-control study. Copyright © 2018 Arthroscopy Association of North America. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Assessing Online Patient Education Readability for Spine Surgery Procedures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Long, William W; Modi, Krishna D; Haws, Brittany E; Khechen, Benjamin; Massel, Dustin H; Mayo, Benjamin C; Singh, Kern

    2018-03-01

    Increased patient reliance on Internet-based health information has amplified the need for comprehensible online patient education articles. As suggested by the American Medical Association and National Institute of Health, spine fusion articles should be written for a 4th-6th-grade reading level to increase patient comprehension, which may improve postoperative outcomes. The purpose of this study is to determine the readability of online health care education information relating to anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) and lumbar fusion procedures. Online health-education resource qualitative analysis. Three search engines were utilized to access patient education articles for common cervical and lumbar spine procedures. Relevant articles were analyzed for readability using Readability Studio Professional Edition software (Oleander Software Ltd). Articles were stratified by organization type as follows: General Medical Websites (GMW), Healthcare Network/Academic Institutions (HNAI), and Private Practices (PP). Thirteen common readability tests were performed with the mean readability of each compared between subgroups using analysis of variance. ACDF and lumbar fusion articles were determined to have a mean readability of 10.7±1.5 and 11.3±1.6, respectively. GMW, HNAI, and PP subgroups had a mean readability of 10.9±2.9, 10.7±2.8, and 10.7±2.5 for ACDF and 10.9±3.0, 10.8±2.9, and 11.6±2.7 for lumbar fusion articles. Of 310 total articles, only 6 (3 ACDF and 3 lumbar fusion) were written for comprehension below a 7th-grade reading level. Current online literature from medical websites containing information regarding ACDF and lumbar fusion procedures are written at a grade level higher than the suggested guidelines. Therefore, current patient education articles should be revised to accommodate the average reading level in the United States and may result in improved patient comprehension and postoperative outcomes.

  1. A Systematic Procedure for the Generation of Cost-Minimized Designs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Becker, Peter W.; Jarkler, Bjorn

    1972-01-01

    We present a procedure for the generation of cost-minimized designs of circuits and systems. Suppose a designer has decided upon the topology of his product. Also suppose he knows the cost and quality of the different grades of the N components required to implement the product. The designer...... then faces the following problem: How should he proceed to find the combination of grades that will give him the desired manufacturing yield at minimum product cost? We discuss the problem and suggest a policy by which the designer, with a reasonable computational effort, can find a set of ``good...

  2. Outcomes of curettage and anhydrous alcohol adjuvant for low-grade chondrosarcoma of long bone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Wanlim; Han, Ilkyu; Kim, Eo Jin; Kang, Seungcheol; Kim, Han-Soo

    2015-06-01

    Low-grade chondrosarcoma of long bones can be treated successfully with extended intralesional curettage using adjuvants. However, there is no study reporting the use of anhydrous alcohol as an adjuvant in the treatment of low-grade chondrosarcoma. We asked (1) whether intralesional curettage and anhydrous alcohol adjuvant for low-grade chondrosarcoma is associated with good oncologic outcomes; and we report (2) the complications of the procedure. Thirty-six patients (13 men, 23 women) with a mean age of 46 years (range, 18-67 years) were treated for low-grade chondrosarcoma and followed up for a median of 62 months (range, 24-169 months). After intralesional curettage, and additional burring, anhydrous alcohol was used as an adjuvant therapy. At the time of last follow-up, there were no local recurrences or distant metastases. Six patients developed complications: 4 postoperative fractures (11%), 1 intra-articular loose body (3%) and 1 postoperative joint stiffness (3%). Anhydrous alcohol is a reasonable adjuvant for the curettage of low-grade chondrosarcoma of long bones. A long-term follow-up study is necessary, considering the slow biological progression of low-grade chondrosarcoma. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. A Cross-Grade Study Validating the Evolutionary Pathway of Student Mental Models in Electric Circuits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Jing-Wen

    2017-01-01

    Cross-grade studies are valuable for the development of sequential curriculum. However such studies are time and resource intensive and fail to provide a clear representation to integrate different levels of representational complexity. Lin (Lin, 2006; Lin & Chiu, 2006; Lin, Chiu, & Hsu, 2006) proposed a cladistics approach in conceptual…

  4. Experimentally Validated Combustion and Piston Fatigue Life Evaluation Procedures for the Bi-Fuel Engines, Using an Integral-Type Fatigue Criterion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Shariyat

    Full Text Available Abstract A relatively complete procedure for high cycle fatigue life assessment of the engine components is outlined in the present paper. The piston is examined as a typical component of the engine. In this regard, combustion process and transient heat transfer simulations, determination of the instantaneous variations of the pressure and temperature in the combustion chamber, kinematic and dynamic analyses of the moving parts of the engine, thermoelastic stress analyses, and fatigue life analyses are accomplished. Results of the simulation are compared with the test data to verify the results. The heat transfer results are validated by the experimental results measured by the Templugs. The nonlinear multipoint contact constraints are modeled accurately. Results of the more accurate available fatigue criteria are compared with those of a fatigue criterion recently proposed by the first author. These results are also evaluated by comparing them with the experimental durability tests. The presented procedure may be used, e.g., to decide whether it is suitable to convert a gasoline-based engine to a bi-fuel one. Results of the various thermomechanical fatigue analyses performed reveal that the piston life decreases considerably when natural gas is used instead of gasoline.

  5. Diagnostical Procedure for Logistical Management in Turistical Entities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Libia Arlen Fergusson-Álvarez

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available This research aims to design a diagnostic procedure of the logistics management for turistical entities, they could be hotels or not. This procedure was validated in Commercial Branch Caracol Santiago de Cuba and finally, different actions for the detected problems were proposed with the objective of improving the logistics management of the organization. To develop this research various tools and techniques served as support, such as: surveys, SPSS software (Statistical Package for Social Sciences 15.0 version and Decision 1.0 version, exponential smoothing, Cronbach's Alpha, the coefficient of Kendall W, financial and logistical indicators, the ABC or Pareto Method, the matrices for the classification of stocks and suppliers, among others. This research made possible the design of a diagnostic procedure for logistical management for turistical entities. And it was validated in the Comercial Branch Caracol Santiago, which allowed the proposition of improvement actions for increasing customer satisfaction.

  6. The Computerized Perceptual Motor Skills Assessment: A new visual perceptual motor skills evaluation tool for children in early elementary grades.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howe, Tsu-Hsin; Chen, Hao-Ling; Lee, Candy Chieh; Chen, Ying-Dar; Wang, Tien-Ni

    2017-10-01

    Visual perceptual motor skills have been proposed as underlying courses of handwriting difficulties. However, there is no evaluation tool currently available to assess these skills comprehensively and to serve as a sensitive measure. The purpose of this study was to validate the Computerized Perceptual Motor Skills Assessment (CPMSA), a newly developed evaluation tool for children in early elementary grades. Its test-retest reliability, concurrent validity, discriminant validity, and responsiveness were examined in 43 typically developing children and 26 children with handwriting difficulty. The CPMSA demonstrated excellent reliability across all subtests with intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs)≥0.80. Significant moderate correlations between the domains of the CPMSA and corresponding gold standards including Beery VMI, the TVPS-3, and the eye-hand coordination subtest of the DTVP-2 demonstrated good concurrent validity. In addition, the CPMSA showed evidence of discriminant validity in samples of children with and without handwriting difficulty. This article provides evidence in support of the CPMSA. The CPMSA is a reliable, valid, and promising measure of visual perceptual motor skills for children in early elementary grades. Directions for future study and improvements to the assessment are discussed. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  7. A practical MRI grading system for osteoarthritis of the knee: Association with Kellgren–Lawrence radiographic scores

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Park, Hee-Jin, E-mail: parkhiji@gmail.com [Department of Radiology, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, #108 Pyung-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-746 (Korea, Republic of); Department of Radiology, Kangwon National University School of Medicine, Baengnyeong-ro 156, Chuncheon-Si, Gangwon-Do Kangwon National University Hospital 200-722 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Sam Soo, E-mail: samskim@kangwon.ac.kr [Department of Radiology, Kangwon National University School of Medicine, Baengnyeong-ro 156, Chuncheon-Si, Gangwon-Do Kangwon National University Hospital 200-722 (Korea, Republic of); Lee, So-Yeon, E-mail: parkhiji@kwandong.ac.kr [Department of Radiology, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, #108 Pyung-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-746 (Korea, Republic of); Park, Noh-Hyuck, E-mail: nhpark904@kwandong.ac.kr [Department of Radiology, Myongji Hospital, Kwandong University, College of Medicine, 697-24 Hwajung-dong, Dukyang-ku, Koyang, Kyunggi 412-270 (Korea, Republic of); Park, Ji-Yeon, E-mail: zzzz3@hanmail.net [Department of Radiology, Myongji Hospital, Kwandong University, College of Medicine, 697-24 Hwajung-dong, Dukyang-ku, Koyang, Kyunggi 412-270 (Korea, Republic of); Choi, Yoon-Jung, E-mail: yoonchoi99@gmail.com [Department of Radiology, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, #108 Pyung-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-746 (Korea, Republic of); Jeon, Hyun-Jun, E-mail: ostrich-13@hanmail.net [Department of Occupational Medicine, Dongsan Medical Center, Keimyung University School of Medicine, 194 Dongsan-Dong, Jung-ku, Taegu (Korea, Republic of)

    2013-01-15

    Purpose: To propose a reproducible and constant MR grading system for osteoarthritis of the knee joint that provides high interobserver and intraoberver agreement and that does not require complicated calculation procedures. Materials and methods: This retrospective study sample included 44 men and 65 women who underwent both MRI and plain radiography of the knee at our institution. All patients were older than 50 years of age (mean 57.7) and had clinically suspected osteoarthritis of the knee. The standard of 4 grades on the MR grade scale was based mainly on cartilage injury and additional findings. Kellgren–Lawrence grades were assessed for the same patient group. The relationship between the results was determined. Statistical analyses were performed including kappa statistics, categorical regression analysis and nonparametric correlation analysis. Results: The interobserver and intraoberver agreements between the two readers in the grading of osteoarthritis were found to be almost perfect. Interobserver and intraobserver agreements were slightly lower for the MR grading system than for the Kellgren–Lawrence grading scale. The correlation between the MR grade and Kellgren–Lawrence grade was very high and did not differ with patient age. The MR grades were highly correlated with the Kellgren–Lawrence grades and showed excellent interobserver and intraobserver agreements. Conclusion: This new MR grading system for osteoarthritis of the knee joint is reproducible and may be helpful for the grading of osteoarthritis of the knee without requiring reference to plain radiography.

  8. A practical MRI grading system for osteoarthritis of the knee: Association with Kellgren–Lawrence radiographic scores

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Hee-Jin; Kim, Sam Soo; Lee, So-Yeon; Park, Noh-Hyuck; Park, Ji-Yeon; Choi, Yoon-Jung; Jeon, Hyun-Jun

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: To propose a reproducible and constant MR grading system for osteoarthritis of the knee joint that provides high interobserver and intraoberver agreement and that does not require complicated calculation procedures. Materials and methods: This retrospective study sample included 44 men and 65 women who underwent both MRI and plain radiography of the knee at our institution. All patients were older than 50 years of age (mean 57.7) and had clinically suspected osteoarthritis of the knee. The standard of 4 grades on the MR grade scale was based mainly on cartilage injury and additional findings. Kellgren–Lawrence grades were assessed for the same patient group. The relationship between the results was determined. Statistical analyses were performed including kappa statistics, categorical regression analysis and nonparametric correlation analysis. Results: The interobserver and intraoberver agreements between the two readers in the grading of osteoarthritis were found to be almost perfect. Interobserver and intraobserver agreements were slightly lower for the MR grading system than for the Kellgren–Lawrence grading scale. The correlation between the MR grade and Kellgren–Lawrence grade was very high and did not differ with patient age. The MR grades were highly correlated with the Kellgren–Lawrence grades and showed excellent interobserver and intraobserver agreements. Conclusion: This new MR grading system for osteoarthritis of the knee joint is reproducible and may be helpful for the grading of osteoarthritis of the knee without requiring reference to plain radiography

  9. Simultaneous determination of local cerebral glucose utilization and blood flow by carbon-14 double-label autoradiography: method of procedure and validation studies in the rat

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ginsberg, M.D.; Smith, D.W.; Wachtel, M.S.; Gonzalez-Carvajal, M.; Busto, R.

    1986-01-01

    Validation studies were undertaken to establish a computer-assisted double-label autoradiographic strategy employing [ 14 C]2-deoxyglucose ([ 14 C]2DG) and [ 14 C]iodoantipyrine ([ 14 C]IAP) to measure local CMRglu (LCMRglu) and CBF (LCBF). An organic solvent was used to extract the majority of IAP between first and second film exposures. In contrast to previously published data, all solvents tested produced partial losses of 2DG from tissue, and all allowed 2-6% of IAP to persist even after 5-day washes. Technical-grade chloroform permitted equal retention of unmetabolized and metabolized 2DG. A linear model was established, which was insensitive to the changes in tissue self-absorption that were shown to occur with chloroform extraction. Propagated error in computing tissue [ 14 C]2DG and [ 14 C]IAP was reduced by maximizing IAP extraction (by longer solvent wash times) and by administering 2.5 times as much IAP as 2DG. Fractional 2DG retention was measured in single-label 2DG sections placed on the films, and fractional IAP retention was evaluated by an optimization procedure. With this strategy, double-label values for LCMRglu and LCBF in anesthetized rats agreed with values obtained in matched single-label series to within 5%. The coefficients of variation for the double- and single-label LCMRglu data were virtually identical, whereas the coefficient of variation for double-label LCBF was 1.8 times that of single-label LCBF. The double-label strategy permitted pixel-by-pixel measurement and video display of the LCMRglu/LCBF ratio; the mean value among structures was 0.472 mumol/ml. With proper attention to methodological detail, this double-label strategy shows great promise for routine laboratory application

  10. Uncovering student thinking about mathematics in the common core, grades 6-8 25 formative assessment probes

    CERN Document Server

    Tobey, Cheryl Rose

    2013-01-01

    Pinpoint and reverse math misconceptions with laser-like accuracyQuickly and reliably uncover common math misconceptions in Grades 6-8 with these convenient and easy-to-implement diagnostic tools! Bestselling authors Cheryl Tobey and Carolyn Arline provide 25 new assessment probes that pinpoint subconcepts within the new Common Core Standards for Mathematics to promote deep learning and expert math instruction--while learning is already underway.Completely CCSM aligned, these grade-specific probes eliminate the guesswork and help teachers: Systematically address conceptual and procedural mistakes Help students better understand areas of struggle Plan targeted instruction that covers Grades 6-8 CCSM mathematical processes and proficiencies.

  11. The predictive validity of grade point average scores in a partial lottery medical school admission system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohen-Schotanus, Janke; Muijtjens, Arno M M; Reinders, Jan J; Agsteribbe, Jessica; van Rossum, Herman J M; van der Vleuten, Cees P M

    2006-10-01

    To ascertain whether the grade point average (GPA) of school-leaving examinations is related to study success, career development and scientific performance. The problem of restriction of range was expected to be partially reduced due to the use of a national lottery system weighted in favour of students with higher GPAs. We studied the students (n = 398) admitted to the Faculty of Medicine, University of Groningen, the Netherlands in 1982 and 1983. Data concerning drop-out and study progress were derived from the student administration. Data about career development were obtained from annual interviews with graduates (n = 318) between 1993 and 2000. Literature searches yielded data concerning scientific performance. Multiple linear regression and logistic regression were used to analyse the data. The variables 'gender' and 'cohort' and their interaction were included in the analyses to account for variation in the general level of the dependent variable and the effect of GPA on the dependent variable. GPA scores had no effect on drop-out rate. High GPA scores were associated with significantly less time to graduation, more chance of a preferred placement for specialist training and higher scientific output. GPA was not related to income. Gender differences were found for study duration and scientific output. Women graduated earlier and published less. The GPA of school-leaving examinations was found to be related to study success, career development and scientific performance. In this study the usual problem of restriction of range was shown to be absent. The weighted lottery procedure even resulted in an over-dispersion of candidates relative to the applicants. The resulting effect sizes were in agreement with those reported in other studies.

  12. Reliable and valid assessment of Lichtenstein hernia repair skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carlsen, C G; Lindorff-Larsen, K; Funch-Jensen, P; Lund, L; Charles, P; Konge, L

    2014-08-01

    Lichtenstein hernia repair is a common surgical procedure and one of the first procedures performed by a surgical trainee. However, formal assessment tools developed for this procedure are few and sparsely validated. The aim of this study was to determine the reliability and validity of an assessment tool designed to measure surgical skills in Lichtenstein hernia repair. Key issues were identified through a focus group interview. On this basis, an assessment tool with eight items was designed. Ten surgeons and surgical trainees were video recorded while performing Lichtenstein hernia repair, (four experts, three intermediates, and three novices). The videos were blindly and individually assessed by three raters (surgical consultants) using the assessment tool. Based on these assessments, validity and reliability were explored. The internal consistency of the items was high (Cronbach's alpha = 0.97). The inter-rater reliability was very good with an intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) = 0.93. Generalizability analysis showed a coefficient above 0.8 even with one rater. The coefficient improved to 0.92 if three raters were used. One-way analysis of variance found a significant difference between the three groups which indicates construct validity, p fashion with the new procedure-specific assessment tool. We recommend this tool for future assessment of trainees performing Lichtenstein hernia repair to ensure that the objectives of competency-based surgical training are met.

  13. 29 CFR 1607.6 - Use of selection procedures which have not been validated.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    .... 1607.6 Section 1607.6 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY... circumstances in which a user cannot or need not utilize the validation techniques contemplated by these... which has an adverse impact, the validation techniques contemplated by these guidelines usually should...

  14. 40 CFR 1039.501 - How do I run a valid emission test?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 32 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false How do I run a valid emission test? 1039.501 Section 1039.501 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Procedures § 1039.501 How do I run a valid emission test? (a) Use the equipment and procedures for...

  15. Improvements in Logic Diagram of Computerized Procedure System of APR1400

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kang, Sungkweon; Seong, Nokyu [KHNP CRI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-10-15

    The Computerized Procedure System (CPS) has been improved since it is installed in Shin-Kori 3 and 4 Nuclear Power Plants. It is one of operating support systems of digital Main Control Room (MCR) and provides many functions to operators in executing the procedure. CPS can effectively remove the human errors by supporting the procedure flow and logic diagram. This paper describes the logic diagram of CPS of reference power plant and shows the improved logic diagram of CPS of Shin-Kori unit 5 and 6. This paper describes the current logic diagram of CPS and suggests improved design for logic diagram. The improved logic diagram shall be validated through human factors engineering verification and validation. The improved design will help operators execute the computerized procedure fast and remove the human error.

  16. Modelling and experimental investigation of geometrically graded NiTi shape memory alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shariat, Bashir S; Liu, Yinong; Rio, Gerard

    2013-01-01

    To improve actuation controllability of a NiTi shape memory alloy component in applications, it is desirable to create a wide stress window for the stress-induced martensitic transformation in the alloy. One approach is to create functionally graded NiTi with a geometric gradient in the actuation direction. This geometric gradient leads to transformation load and displacement gradients in the structure. This paper reports a study of the pseudoelastic behaviour of geometrically graded NiTi by means of mechanical model analysis and experimentation using three types of sample geometry. Closed-form solutions are obtained for nominal stress–strain variation of such components under cyclic tensile loading and the predictions are validated with experimental data. The geometrically graded NiTi samples exhibit a distinctive positive stress gradient for the stress-induced martensitic transformation and the slope of the stress gradient can be adjusted by sample geometry design. (paper)

  17. Technical Adequacy of the easyCBM Primary-Level Mathematics Measures (Grades K-2), 2009-2010 Version. Technical Report #1006

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Daniel; Lai, Cheng-Fei; Nese, Joseph F. T.; Park, Bitnara Jasmine; Saez, Leilani; Jamgochian, Elisa; Alonzo, Julie; Tindal, Gerald

    2010-01-01

    In the following technical report, we present evidence of the technical adequacy of the easyCBM[R] math measures in grades K-2. In addition to reliability information, we present criterion-related validity evidence, both concurrent and predictive, and construct validity evidence. The results represent data gathered throughout the 2009/2010 school…

  18. Predictive Validity of Curriculum-Based Measures for English Learners at Varying English Proficiency Levels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Jennifer Sun; Vanderwood, Michael L.; Lee, Catherine Y.

    2016-01-01

    This study examined the predictive validity of curriculum-based measures in reading for Spanish-speaking English learners (ELs) at various levels of English proficiency. Third-grade Spanish-speaking EL students were screened during the fall using DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency (DORF) and Daze. Predictive validity was examined in relation to spring…

  19. Graded gauge theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kerner, R.

    1983-01-01

    The mathematical background for a graded extension of gauge theories is investigated. After discussing the general properties of graded Lie algebras and what may serve as a model for a graded Lie group, the graded fiber bundle is constructed. Its basis manifold is supposed to be the so-called superspace, i.e. the product of the Minkowskian space-time with the Grassmann algebra spanned by the anticommuting Lorentz spinors; the vertical subspaces tangent to the fibers are isomorphic with the graded extension of the SU(N) Lie algebra. The connection and curvature are defined then on this bundle; the two different gradings are either independent of each other, or may be unified in one common grading, which is equivalent to the choice of the spin-statistics dependence. The Yang-Mills lagrangian is investigated in the simplified case. The conformal symmetry breaking is discussed, as well as some other physical consequences of the model. (orig.)

  20. The European Stroke Organisation Guidelines: a standard operating procedure

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ntaios, George; Bornstein, Natan M; Caso, Valeria

    2015-01-01

    pace with this progress and driven by the strong determination of the European Stroke Organisation to further promote stroke management, education, and research, the European Stroke Organisation decided to delineate a detailed standard operating procedure for its guidelines. There are two important...... cornerstones in this standard operating procedure: The first is the implementation of the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation methodology for the development of its Guideline Documents. The second one is the decision of the European Stroke Organisation to move from the classical...... and significant input from European Stroke Organisation members as well as methodologists and analysts, this document presents the official standard operating procedure for the development of the Guideline Documents of the European Stroke Organisation....

  1. The "School Safety & Security Questionnaire": Middle Grades Students' Perceptions of Safety at School

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Janice Williams; Nickell, Linda K.

    2008-01-01

    This study presents the development and basic psychometric characteristics of the "School Safety and Security Questionnaire" (SSSQ). This new measure was constructed to assess middle grade students' perceptions of safety and security during the school year. The content validity of the theoretically-based instrument was assessed and the measure was…

  2. Identification of Reading Problems in First Grade within a Response-to-Intervention Framework

    Science.gov (United States)

    Speece, Deborah L.; Schatschneider, Christopher; Silverman, Rebecca; Case, Lisa Pericola; Cooper, David H.; Jacobs, Dawn M.

    2011-01-01

    Models of Response to Intervention (RTI) include parameters of assessment and instruction. This study focuses on assessment with the purpose of developing a screening battery that validly and efficiently identifies first-grade children at risk for reading problems. In an RTI model, these children would be candidates for early intervention. We…

  3. Guidelines for the verification and validation of expert system software and conventional software: Volume 5, Rationale and description of verification and validation guideline packages and procedures. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miller, L.A.; Hayes, J.E.; Mirsky, S.M.

    1995-05-01

    This report is the fifth volume in a series of reports describing the results of the Expert System Verification and Validation (V ampersand V) project which is jointly funded by US NRC and EPRI toward formulating guidelines for V ampersand V of expert systems for use in nuclear power applications. This report provides the rationale for and description of those guidelines. The actual guidelines themselves (and the accompanying 11 step by step Procedures) are presented in Volume 7, User's Manual. Three factors determine what V ampersand V is needed: (1) the stage, of the development life cycle (requirements, design, or implementation), (2) whether the overall system or a specialized component needs be tested (knowledge base component, inference engine or other highly reusable element, or a component involving conventional software), and (3) the stringency of V ampersand V that is needed (as judged from an assessment of the system's complexity and the requirement for its integrity to form three Classes). A V ampersand V guideline package is provided for each of the combinations of these three variables. The package specifies the V ampersand V methods recommended and the order in which they should be administered, the assurances each method provides, the qualifications needed by the V ampersand V team to employ each Particular method, the degree to which the methods should be applied, the performance measures that should be taken, and the decision criteria for accepting, conditionally accepting, or rejecting an evaluated system. In addition to the guideline packages, highly detailed step-by-step procedures are provided for 11 of the more important methods, to ensure that they Can be implemented correctly. The guidelines can apply to conventional procedural software systems as well as all kinds of AI systems

  4. Validation of Biomarkers for Prostate Cancer Prognosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-06-01

    been calibrated and already validated precisely for this purpose. In addition, multiparametric MRI shows good correlation with grade in that only the...StanfordUniversity, Stanford,California 2Departmentof ExperimentalandClinical Pharmacology ,UniversityofMinnesota,Minneapolis,Minnesota BACKGROUND. Protein...repeat biopsies, and more recently, MRI examinations [9–11]. This follow-up is necessitated by the inability to characterize the biological potential of

  5. Teachers' Grading Decision Making

    Science.gov (United States)

    Isnawati, Ida; Saukah, Ali

    2017-01-01

    This study investigated teachers' grading decision making, focusing on their beliefs underlying their grading decision making, their grading practices and assessment types, and factors they considered in grading decision making. Two teachers from two junior high schools applying different curriculum policies in grade reporting in Indonesian…

  6. Commercial Grade Item (CGI) dedication - on complex electronic equipment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sohn, Kwang Young; Kim, Joong Han; Koo, In Soo; Lee, Sang Yong

    2008-01-01

    In future more complicated IT-based hardware and software is supposed to used in the safety-grade systems in nuclear power plants. Also there are the efforts to establish the criteria for CGI dedications in NRC and CEC dedication in other standard organizations. The highly complicated components, i.e. CEC should be dedication plans. Thus work to be done in later is to prepare the strategies, plans, guide and procedures that is more specific for CEC dedication

  7. Comparison between suture anchor and transosseous suture for the modified-Broström procedure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cho, Byung-Ki; Kim, Yong-Min; Kim, Dong-Soo; Choi, Eui-Sung; Shon, Hyun-Chul; Park, Kyoung-Jin

    2012-06-01

    This prospective, randomized study was conducted to compare clinical outcomes of the modified Broström procedure using suture anchor or transosseous suture technique for chronic ankle instability. Forty patients were followed for more than 2 years after modified Broström procedure. Twenty procedures using a suture anchor and 20 procedures using a transosseous suture were performed by one surgeon. The clinical evaluation consisted of the Karlsson scale and the Sefton grading system. Talar tilt and anterior talar translation were measured on anterior and varus stress radiographs. The Karlsson scale had improved significantly to 90.8 points in the suture anchor group, and to 89.2 points in the transosseous suture group. According to Sefton grading system, 18 patients (90%) in suture anchor group and 17 patients (85%) in transosseous suture group achieved satisfactory results. The talar tilt angle and anterior talar translation improved significantly to 5.9 degrees and 4.2 mm in suture anchor group, and to 5.4 degrees and 4.1 mm in transosseous suture group, respectively. No significant differences existed in clinical and functional outcomes between the two techniques for ligament reattachment. Both modified Broström procedures using the suture anchor and transosseous suture seem to be effective treatment methods for chronic lateral ankle instability.

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

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

    2018-01-15

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

  9. Validation and measurement uncertainty estimation in food microbiology: differences between quantitative and qualitative methods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vesna Režić Dereani

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this research is to describe quality control procedures, procedures for validation and measurement uncertainty (MU determination as an important element of quality assurance in food microbiology laboratory for qualitative and quantitative type of analysis. Accreditation is conducted according to the standard ISO 17025:2007. General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories, which guarantees the compliance with standard operating procedures and the technical competence of the staff involved in the tests, recently are widely introduced in food microbiology laboratories in Croatia. In addition to quality manual introduction, and a lot of general documents, some of the most demanding procedures in routine microbiology laboratories are measurement uncertainty (MU procedures and validation experiment design establishment. Those procedures are not standardized yet even at international level, and they require practical microbiological knowledge, altogether with statistical competence. Differences between validation experiments design for quantitative and qualitative food microbiology analysis are discussed in this research, and practical solutions are shortly described. MU for quantitative determinations is more demanding issue than qualitative MU calculation. MU calculations are based on external proficiency testing data and internal validation data. In this paper, practical schematic descriptions for both procedures are shown.

  10. Elementary School Student Burnout Scale for Grades 6-8: A Study of Validity and Reliability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aypay, Ayse

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to develop an "Elementary School Student Burnout Scale for Grades 6-8". The study group included 691 students out of 10 schools in Eskisehir. Both Exploratory Factor Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis were conducted on the data (Burnout stem from school activities, burnout stem from family, feeling of…

  11. 32 CFR 1288.5 - Procedures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... validation sticker will be determined locally. (4) Decals or other media used to identify vehicles of... OF PRIVATELY OWNED MOTOR VEHICLES § 1288.5 Procedures. (a) Issuance of DLA POV decal and 3-year... vehicle. An additional decal may be placed on the rear bumper of the vehicle. For vehicles not equipped...

  12. 40 CFR 1045.501 - How do I run a valid emission test?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 32 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false How do I run a valid emission test... Procedures § 1045.501 How do I run a valid emission test? (a) Applicability. This subpart is addressed to you... maximum test speed. (g) Special and alternate procedures. If you are unable to run the duty cycle...

  13. Quantitative Evidence for Revising the Definition of Primary Graft Dysfunction after Lung Transplant.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cantu, Edward; Diamond, Joshua M; Suzuki, Yoshikazu; Lasky, Jared; Schaufler, Christian; Lim, Brian; Shah, Rupal; Porteous, Mary; Lederer, David J; Kawut, Steven M; Palmer, Scott M; Snyder, Laurie D; Hartwig, Matthew G; Lama, Vibha N; Bhorade, Sangeeta; Bermudez, Christian; Crespo, Maria; McDyer, John; Wille, Keith; Orens, Jonathan; Shah, Pali D; Weinacker, Ann; Weill, David; Wilkes, David; Roe, David; Hage, Chadi; Ware, Lorraine B; Bellamy, Scarlett L; Christie, Jason D

    2018-01-15

    Primary graft dysfunction (PGD) is a form of acute lung injury that occurs after lung transplantation. The definition of PGD was standardized in 2005. Since that time, clinical practice has evolved, and this definition is increasingly used as a primary endpoint for clinical trials; therefore, validation is warranted. We sought to determine whether refinements to the 2005 consensus definition could further improve construct validity. Data from the Lung Transplant Outcomes Group multicenter cohort were used to compare variations on the PGD definition, including alternate oxygenation thresholds, inclusion of additional severity groups, and effects of procedure type and mechanical ventilation. Convergent and divergent validity were compared for mortality prediction and concurrent lung injury biomarker discrimination. A total of 1,179 subjects from 10 centers were enrolled from 2007 to 2012. Median length of follow-up was 4 years (interquartile range = 2.4-5.9). No mortality differences were noted between no PGD (grade 0) and mild PGD (grade 1). Significantly better mortality discrimination was evident for all definitions using later time points (48, 72, or 48-72 hours; P definition can be simplified by combining lower PGD grades. Construct validity of grading was present regardless of transplant procedure type or use of mechanical ventilation. Additional severity categories had minimal impact on mortality or biomarker discrimination.

  14. Will bottle-grade PET demand lure fiber-grade capacity?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coeyman, M.

    1993-01-01

    As demand for bottle-grade polyethylene terephthalate (PET) continues strong and new capacity hastens to meet it, some industry observers wonder if conversions to bottle-grade from fiber-grade capacity will become an industry trend. Taiwan's Nan Ya Plastics was recently said to be considering such a switch, but company sources say it has no such plans. Peter Driscoll, senior partner at PCI Fibres ampersand Raw Materials (Crawley, UK), says that while it is true that demand for the bottle-grade material remains unsatisfied, he doubts that many conversions will take place. You must remember, says Driscoll, that it is not always possible to switch, and that even where it is possible there are limitations

  15. The Validity and Reliability of the Turkish Version of the Neonatal Skin Risk Assessment Scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sari, Çiğdem; Altay, Naime

    2017-03-01

    The study created a Turkish translation of the Neonatal Skin Risk Assessment Scale (NSRAS) that was developed by Huffines and Longsdon in 1997. Study authors used a cross-sectional survey design in order to determine the validity and reliability of the Turkish translation. The study was conducted at the neonatal intensive care unit of a university hospital in Ankara between March 15 and June 30, 2014. The research sample included 130 neonatal assessments from 17 patients. Data were collected by questionnaire regarding the characteristics of the participating neonates, 7 nurse observers, and the NSRAS and its subarticles. After translation and back-translation were performed to assess language validity of the scale, necessary corrections were made in line with expert suggestions, and content validity was ensured. Internal consistency of the scale was assessed by its homogeneity, Cronbach's α, and subarticle-general scale grade correlation. Cronbach's α for the scale overall was .88, and Cronbach's α values for the subarticles were between .83 and .90. Results showed a positive relationship among all the subarticles and the overall NSRAS scale grade (P Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin analysis was applied for sample sufficiency, and Bartlett test analysis was applied in order to assess the factor analysis of the sample. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin coefficient was 0.73, and the χ value found according to the Bartlett test was statistically significant at an advanced level (P < .05). In the 6 subarticles of the scale and in the general scale total grade, a high, positive, and significant relationship among the grades given by the researcher and the nurse observers was found (P < .05). The Turkish NSRAS is reliable and valid.

  16. Relations among conceptual knowledge, procedural knowledge, and procedural flexibility in two samples differing in prior knowledge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Michael; Rittle-Johnson, Bethany; Star, Jon R

    2011-11-01

    Competence in many domains rests on children developing conceptual and procedural knowledge, as well as procedural flexibility. However, research on the developmental relations between these different types of knowledge has yielded unclear results, in part because little attention has been paid to the validity of the measures or to the effects of prior knowledge on the relations. To overcome these problems, we modeled the three constructs in the domain of equation solving as latent factors and tested (a) whether the predictive relations between conceptual and procedural knowledge were bidirectional, (b) whether these interrelations were moderated by prior knowledge, and (c) how both constructs contributed to procedural flexibility. We analyzed data from 2 measurement points each from two samples (Ns = 228 and 304) of middle school students who differed in prior knowledge. Conceptual and procedural knowledge had stable bidirectional relations that were not moderated by prior knowledge. Both kinds of knowledge contributed independently to procedural flexibility. The results demonstrate how changes in complex knowledge structures contribute to competence development.

  17. Natural history of nonoperative management for grade 4 and 5 liver and spleen injuries in children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Jeannie C; Sharp, Susan W; Ostlie, Daniel J; Holcomb, George W; St Peter, Shawn D

    2008-12-01

    Nonoperative management is standard treatment of blunt liver or spleen injuries. However, there are few reports outlining the natural history and outcomes of severe blunt hepatic and splenic trauma. Therefore, we reviewed our experience with nonoperative management of grade 4 or 5 liver and spleen injuries. A retrospective analysis was performed on patients with grade 4 or 5 (high-grade) blunt liver and/or spleen injuries from April 1997 to July 2007 at our children's hospital. Demographics, hospital course data, and follow-up data were analyzed. There were 74 high-grade injuries in 72 patients. There were 30 high-grade liver and 44 high-grade spleen injuries. Two patients had both a liver and splenic injury. High-grade liver injuries had a significantly longer length of intensive care and hospital stay compared to high-grade spleen injuries. There were also a significantly higher number of transfusions, radiographs, and total charges in the high-grade liver injuries when compared to the high-grade splenic injuries. The only mortality from solid organ injury was a grade 4 liver injury with portal vein disruption. In contrast, there was only one complication from a high-grade splenic injury-a pleural effusion treated with thoracentesis. There were 5 patients with complications from their liver injury requiring 18 therapeutic procedures. Three patients (10%) with liver injury required readmission as follows: one 5 times, one 3 times, and another one time. Patients with high-grade liver injuries have a longer recovery, more complications, and greater use of resources than in patients with similar injuries to the spleen.

  18. Selection procedures in sports: Improving predictions of athletes’ future performance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    den Hartigh, Jan Rudolf; Niessen, Anna; Frencken, Wouter; Meijer, Rob R.

    The selection of athletes has been a central topic in sports sciences for decades. Yet, little consideration has been given to the theoretical underpinnings and predictive validity of the procedures. In this paper, we evaluate current selection procedures in sports given what we know from the

  19. Validation of EAF-2005 data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kopecky, J.

    2005-01-01

    Full text: Validation procedures applied on EAF-2003 starter file, which lead to the production of EAF-2005 library, are described. The results in terms of reactions with assigned quality scores in EAF-20005 are given. Further the extensive validation against the recent integral data is discussed together with the status of the final report 'Validation of EASY-2005 using integral measurements'. Finally, the novel 'cross section trend analysis' is presented with some examples of its use. This action will lead to the release of improved library EAF-2005.1 at the end of 2005, which shall be used as the starter file for EAF-2007. (author)

  20. Validation of EORTC Prognostic Factors for Adults With Low-Grade Glioma: A Report Using Intergroup 86-72-51

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Daniels, Thomas B.; Brown, Paul D.; Felten, Sara J.; Wu, Wenting; Buckner, Jan C.; Arusell, Robert M.; Curran, Walter J.; Abrams, Ross A.; Schiff, David; Shaw, Edward G.

    2011-01-01

    Purpose: A prognostic index for survival was constructed and validated from patient data from two European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) radiation trials for low-grade glioma (LGG). We sought to independently validate this prognostic index with a separate prospectively collected data set (Intergroup 86-72-51). Methods and Materials: Two hundred three patients were treated in a North Central Cancer Treatment Group-led trial that randomized patients with supratentorial LGG to 50.4 or 64.8 Gy. Risk factors from the EORTC prognostic index were analyzed for prognostic value: histology, tumor size, neurologic deficit, age, and tumor crossing the midline. The high-risk group was defined as patients with more than two risk factors. In addition, the Mini Mental Status Examination (MMSE) score, extent of surgical resection, and 1p19q status were also analyzed for prognostic value. Results: On univariate analysis, the following were statistically significant (p < 0.05) detrimental factors for both progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS): astrocytoma histology, tumor size, and less than total resection. A Mini Mental Status Examination score of more than 26 was a favorable prognostic factor. Multivariate analysis showed that tumor size and MMSE score were significant predictors of OS whereas tumor size, astrocytoma histology, and MMSE score were significant predictors of PFS. Analyzing by the EORTC risk groups, we found that the low-risk group had significantly better median OS (10.8 years vs. 3.9 years, p < 0.0001) and PFS (6.2 years vs. 1.9 years, p < 0.0001) than the high-risk group. The 1p19q status was available in 66 patients. Co-deletion of 1p19q was a favorable prognostic factor for OS vs. one or no deletion (median OS, 12.6 years vs. 7.2 years; p = 0.03). Conclusions: Although the low-risk group as defined by EORTC criteria had a superior PFS and OS to the high-risk group, this is primarily because of the influence of

  1. The Validity of Teacher Ratings of Adolescents' Social Skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ogden, Terje

    2003-01-01

    Examined the validity of teacher ratings of adolescents' social skills in a followup of a cohort sample of 395 students from seventh to ninth grades. Findings show multi-informant consistency in ratings; teacher ratings consistently covaried with teacher ratings of problem behavior and academic competence, nominations by peer students, and grade…

  2. Validation of the Pangao PG-800A11 wrist device assessed according to the European Society of Hypertension and the British Hypertension Society protocols.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Peigen; Wang, Yanling; Xu, Xiaoying; Huang, Fei; Pan, Jingru

    2015-04-01

    The objective of this study was to determine the accuracy of the Pangao PG-800A11 wrist blood pressure monitor according to the European Society of Hypertension International Protocol (ESH-IP) revision 2010 and the protocol of the British Hypertension Society (BHS). The device evaluations were performed in 85 participants, 33 of whom were included according to the ESH-IP revision 2010 and 52 of whom were included on the basis of the requirements of the BHS protocol. The validation procedure and data analysis followed the protocols precisely. The device achieved an A/A grading for the BHS protocol and passed all phases of the ESH-IP revision 2010 protocol. The mean difference ±SD for the ESH and BHS protocols, respectively, was -0.6±4.5 and -0.8±6.2 mmHg for systolic pressure and 1.2±4.6 and -0.5±5.1 mmHg for diastolic pressure. The device maintained its A/A grading throughout the low, medium, and high-pressure ranges. The Pangao PG-800A11 wrist blood pressure monitor passed all requirements of the ESH-IP revision 2010 and achieved A/A grade of the BHS protocol in an adult population.

  3. Assessment of Lexical and Non-Lexical Spelling in Students in Grades 1-7

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kohnen, Saskia; Colenbrander, Danielle; Krajenbrink, Trudy; Nickels, Lyndsey

    2015-01-01

    The main aim of this study was to develop standardised tests that assess some of the most important spelling skills for children in primary school: sound-letter mappings (non-lexical spelling) and word spelling accuracy (lexical spelling). We present normative comparison data for children in Grades 1-7 as well as measures of validity and…

  4. Bio-inspired composites with functionally graded platelets exhibit enhanced stiffness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tapse, Sanjay; S, Anup

    2017-11-09

    Unidirectional composites inspired from biological materials such as nacre, are composed of stiff platelets arranged in a staggered manner within a soft matrix. Elaborate analyses have been conducted on the aforementioned composites and they are found to have excellent mechanical properties like stiffness, strength and fracture toughness. The superior properties exhibited by these composites have been proved to be the result of its unique structure. An emerging development in the field of composite structures is Functionally Graded Composites(FGC), whose properties vary spatially and possess enhanced thermo-mechanical properties. In this paper, the platelets are functionally graded with its Young's Modulus varying parabolically along the length. Two different models - namely, Tension Shear Chain Model and Minimisation of Complementary Energy Model have been employed to obtain the stiffness of the overall composite analytically. The effect of various parameters that define the composite model such as overlapping length between any two neighbouring platelets, different gradation parameters and platelet aspect ratio on the overall mechanical properties have been studied. Composites with functionally graded platelets are found to possess enhanced stiffness (upto 14% higher) for certain values of these parameters. The obtained solutions have been validated using Finite Element Analysis. Bio-inspired composites with functionally graded platelets can be engineered for structural applications, such as in automobile, aerospace and aircraft industry, where stiffness plays a crucial role. © 2017 IOP Publishing Ltd.

  5. Design of graded filtration media in the diffusion-sedimentation regime

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Robinson, K.S.

    1985-01-01

    The collection of a graphite aerosol on silica gel particles has been studied experimentally. These data, and data from Gebhart et al., have been used to obtain an empirical correlation for penetration in terms of diffusion and sedimentation mechanisms and an interaction term. In addition, a rapid graphical procedure for the design of graded packed beds is presented based on the assumption that a linear axial deposition profile will maximize bed operating lifetime

  6. Predicting First Grade Reading Achievement for Spanish-Speaking Kindergartners: Is Early Literacy Screening in English Valid?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ford, Karen L.; Invernizzi, Marcia A.; Huang, Francis

    2014-01-01

    This study explored the viability of using kindergarten measures of phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge, and orthographic knowledge, administered in English, to predict first grade reading achievement of Spanish-speaking English language learners. The primary research question was: Do kindergarten measures of early literacy skills in…

  7. Development and empirical validation of symmetric component measures of multidimensional constructs: customer and competitor orientation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sørensen, Hans Eibe; Slater, Stanley F

    2008-08-01

    Atheoretical measure purification may lead to construct deficient measures. The purpose of this paper is to provide a theoretically driven procedure for the development and empirical validation of symmetric component measures of multidimensional constructs. Particular emphasis is placed on establishing a formalized three-step procedure for achieving a posteriori content validity. Then the procedure is applied to development and empirical validation of two symmetrical component measures of market orientation, customer orientation and competitor orientation. Analysis suggests that average variance extracted is particularly critical to reliability in the respecification of multi-indicator measures. In relation to this, the results also identify possible deficiencies in using Cronbach alpha for establishing reliable and valid measures.

  8. The pathologist's mean grade is constant and individualizes the prognostic value of bladder cancer grading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Rhijn, Bas W G; van Leenders, Geert J L H; Ooms, Bert C M; Kirkels, Wim J; Zlotta, Alexandre R; Boevé, Egbert R; Jöbsis, Adriaan C; van der Kwast, Theo H

    2010-06-01

    A new grading system for bladder cancer (BCa) was adopted in 2004 to reduce observer variability and provide better prognostic information. We compared the World Health Organization (WHO) 1973 and 2004 systems for observer variability and prognosis. Slides of 173 primary non-muscle-invasive BCa were reviewed two times by four pathologists. Intra- and interobserver variability were assessed using κ statistics. We determined the mean grade (eg, G1/low malignant potential is 1 grade point, G2/low grade is 2 grade points) of the pathologists per grading cycle. Kaplan-Meier analyses were applied for prediction of recurrence and progression. For WHO 2004 and 1973 grading, the agreement between the pathologists was 39-74% (κ: 0.14-0.58) and 39-64% (κ: 0.15-0.41), respectively. The intraobserver agreement varied from 71% to 88% (κ: 0.55-0.81). The mean grade of a pathologist was constant (difference below 0.1 grade point) irrespective of the grading system. Conversely, mean-grade differences among the pathologists were high, up to 0.7 grade point. The mean grades for the WHO 2004 system were 0.3-0.5 grade point higher than those of WHO 1973. Mean grade distinguished low and high graders among the pathologists and was strongly linked with risk of progression in each grade category. The variation in mean grade among individual pathologists exceeded the grade shift caused by WHO 2004 grading. Knowledge of the pathologist's mean grade allows a better assessment of the prognostic value of grading. Mean grade has the potential to become a tool for quality assurance in pathology. Copyright © 2009 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. 20 CFR 404.725 - Evidence of a valid ceremonial marriage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Evidence of a valid ceremonial marriage. 404... DISABILITY INSURANCE (1950- ) Evidence Evidence of Age, Marriage, and Death § 404.725 Evidence of a valid ceremonial marriage. (a) General. A valid ceremonial marriage is one that follows procedures set by law in...

  10. Collection of low-grade waste heat for enhanced energy harvesting

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dede, Ercan M., E-mail: eric.dede@tema.toyota.com; Schmalenberg, Paul; Wang, Chi-Ming; Zhou, Feng [Toyota Research Institute, Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105 (United States); Nomura, Tsuyoshi [Toyota Central Research and Development Laboratories, Inc., Nagakute 480-1192 (Japan)

    2016-05-15

    Enhanced energy harvesting through the collection of low-grade waste heat is experimentally demonstrated. A structural optimization technique is exploited in the design of a thermal-composite substrate to guide and gather the heat emanating from multiple sources to a predetermined location. A thermoelectric generator is then applied at the selected focusing region to convert the resulting low-grade waste heat to electrical power. The thermal characteristics of the device are experimentally verified by direct temperature measurements of the system and numerically validated via heat conduction simulations. Electrical performance under natural and forced convection is measured, and in both cases, the device with optimized heat flow control plus energy harvesting demonstrates increased power generation when compared with a baseline waste heat recovery system. Electronics applications include energy scavenging for autonomously powered sensor networks or self-actuated devices.

  11. Collection of low-grade waste heat for enhanced energy harvesting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dede, Ercan M.; Schmalenberg, Paul; Wang, Chi-Ming; Zhou, Feng; Nomura, Tsuyoshi

    2016-01-01

    Enhanced energy harvesting through the collection of low-grade waste heat is experimentally demonstrated. A structural optimization technique is exploited in the design of a thermal-composite substrate to guide and gather the heat emanating from multiple sources to a predetermined location. A thermoelectric generator is then applied at the selected focusing region to convert the resulting low-grade waste heat to electrical power. The thermal characteristics of the device are experimentally verified by direct temperature measurements of the system and numerically validated via heat conduction simulations. Electrical performance under natural and forced convection is measured, and in both cases, the device with optimized heat flow control plus energy harvesting demonstrates increased power generation when compared with a baseline waste heat recovery system. Electronics applications include energy scavenging for autonomously powered sensor networks or self-actuated devices.

  12. Haeckel or Hennig? The Gordian Knot of Characters, Development, and Procedures in Phylogeny.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dupuis, Claude

    1984-01-01

    Discusses the conditions for validating customary phylogenetic procedures. Concludes that the requisites of homogeneity and completeness for proved short lineages seem satisfied by the Hennigian but not the Haeckelian procedure. The epistemological antinomy of the two procedures is emphasized for the first time. (Author/RH)

  13. A Turkish Version of the Critical-Care Pain Observation Tool: Reliability and Validity Assessment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aktaş, Yeşim Yaman; Karabulut, Neziha

    2017-08-01

    The study aim was to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Critical-Care Pain Observation Tool in critically ill patients. A repeated measures design was used for the study. A convenience sample of 66 patients who had undergone open-heart surgery in the cardiovascular surgery intensive care unit in Ordu, Turkey, was recruited for the study. The patients were evaluated by using the Critical-Care Pain Observation Tool at rest, during a nociceptive procedure (suctioning), and 20 minutes after the procedure while they were conscious and intubated after surgery. The Turkish version of the Critical-Care Pain Observation Tool has shown statistically acceptable levels of validity and reliability. Inter-rater reliability was supported by moderate-to-high-weighted κ coefficients (weighted κ coefficient = 0.55 to 1.00). For concurrent validity, significant associations were found between the scores on the Critical-Care Pain Observation Tool and the Behavioral Pain Scale scores. Discriminant validity was also supported by higher scores during suctioning (a nociceptive procedure) versus non-nociceptive procedures. The internal consistency of the Critical-Care Pain Observation Tool was 0.72 during a nociceptive procedure and 0.71 during a non-nociceptive procedure. The validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Critical-Care Pain Observation Tool was determined to be acceptable for pain assessment in critical care, especially for patients who cannot communicate verbally. Copyright © 2016 American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. The predictive validity of grade point average scores in a partial lottery medical school admission system

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cohen-Schotanus, Janke; Muijtjens, Arno M. M.; Reinders, Jan J.; Agsteribbe, Jessica; van Rossum, Herman J. M.; van der Vleuten, Cees P. M.

    2006-01-01

    PURPOSE To ascertain whether the grade point average (GPA) of school-leaving examinations is related to study success, career development and scientific performance. The problem of restriction of range was expected to be partially reduced due to the use of a national lottery system weighted in

  15. Procedural key steps in laparoscopic colorectal surgery, consensus through Delphi methodology

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dijkstra, Frederieke A.; Bosker, Robbert J. I.; Veeger, Nicolaas J. G. M.; van Det, Marc J.; Pierie, Jean Pierre E. N.

    While several procedural training curricula in laparoscopic colorectal surgery have been validated and published, none have focused on dividing surgical procedures into well-identified segments, which can be trained and assessed separately. This enables the surgeon and resident to focus on a

  16. The Management Advisory Committee of the Inspection Validation Centre - fifth report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1988-07-01

    The Management Advisory Committee of the Inspection Validation Centre (IVC/MAC) was set up by the Chairman of the UKAEA early in 1983 with terms of reference to review the policy, scope, procedure and operation of the Inspection Validation Centre, to supervise its operation and to advise and report to the UKAEA appropriately. The Inspection Validation Centre (IVC) has been established at the UKAEA Northern Research Laboratories, Risley for the purpose of validating the procedures, equipment and personnel proposed by the CEGB for use in the ultrasonic inspection at various stages of the fabrication, erection and operation of the CEGB's PWR reactor pressure vessel and such other components as are identified by the CEGB. This report, for 1987/8, states that the IVC has continued to make progress in the provision of the validation services as specified. (author)

  17. Is bruxism a disorder or a behaviour? Rethinking the international consensus on defining and grading of bruxism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raphael, K G; Santiago, V; Lobbezoo, F

    2016-10-01

    Inspired by the international consensus on defining and grading of bruxism (Lobbezoo F, Ahlberg J, Glaros AG, Kato T, Koyano K, Lavigne GJ et al. J Oral Rehabil. 2013;40:2), this commentary examines its contribution and underlying assumptions for defining sleep bruxism (SB). The consensus' parsimonious redefinition of bruxism as a behaviour is an advance, but we explore an implied question: might SB be more than behaviour? Behaviours do not inherently require clinical treatment, making the consensus-proposed 'diagnostic grading system' inappropriate. However, diagnostic grading might be useful, if SB were considered a disorder. Therefore, to fully appreciate the contribution of the consensus statement, we first consider standards and evidence for determining whether SB is a disorder characterised by harmful dysfunction or a risk factor increasing probability of a disorder. Second, the strengths and weaknesses of the consensus statement's proposed 'diagnostic grading system' are examined. The strongest evidence-to-date does not support SB as disorder as implied by 'diagnosis'. Behaviour alone is not diagnosed; disorders are. Considered even as a grading system of behaviour, the proposed system is weakened by poor sensitivity of self-report for direct polysomnographic (PSG)-classified SB and poor associations between clinical judgments of SB and portable PSG; reliance on dichotomised reports; and failure to consider SB behaviour on a continuum, measurable and definable through valid behavioural observation. To date, evidence for validity of self-report or clinician report in placing SB behaviour on a continuum is lacking, raising concerns about their potential utility in any bruxism behavioural grading system, and handicapping future study of whether SB may be a useful risk factor for, or itself a disorder requiring treatment. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  18. Comparison of the reliability of two hydronephrosis grading systems: The Society for Foetal Urology grading system vs. the Onen grading system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, S.-Y.; Kim, M.-J.; Yoon, C.S.; Lee, M.S.; Han, K.H.; Lee, M.-J.

    2013-01-01

    Aim: To compare the reliability of the conventional ultrasonography grading system for hydronephrosis as suggested by the Society for Fetal Urology (SFU) in 1993 and that developed by Onen in 2007. Materials and methods: One hundred and eighty kidneys in 90 paediatric patients were assessed by four radiologists using each of the two grading systems twice. The SFU system was graded 0–4 (0 = no hydronephrosis; 1 = visualized only renal pelvis; 2 = plus a few caliceal dilatation; 3 = all calyceal dilatation; 4 = plus parenchymal thinning). The Onen system was graded 0–4 (0 = no hydronephrosis; 1 = only renal pelvic dilatation; 2 = plus caliceal dilatation; 3 = plus 50% renal parenchymal loss). Cohen's kappa statistic was used to estimate intra- and interobserver agreement. The weighted least-squares approach was used to compare the intra-observer agreement, and bootstrapping was used to compare the interobserver agreement between the two systems. Results: Intra-observer agreement was substantial to almost perfect in both the SFU (κ 0.79–0.95) and the Onen (κ 0.66–0.97) grading system without difference. The overall interobserver agreement was substantial in both the SFU (κ 0.61–0.68) and the Onen (κ 0.66–0.76) grading system. However, interobserver agreement was fair to moderate for SFU grades 1 and 2 and Onen grades 2 and 3. Conclusion: Both the SFU and Onen grading system are reliable with good intra- and interobserver agreement. However, decreased interobserver agreement was demonstrated for SFU grades 1 and 2 and Onen grades 2 and 3

  19. [Cox/maze III procedure combined with mitral valve replacement in treatment of rheumatic mitral valve disease with atrial fibrilation].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Rukun; Wang, Yongqing; Chen, Yongbing; Chen, Suocheng

    2002-06-25

    To compare the curative effect of Cox/maze III procedure combined with mitral replacement and that of mitral valve replacement (MVR). Fifty-six patients suffering from rheumatic heart disease with atrial fibrillation (AF) were treated by Cox/maze III procedure combined with MVR (maze group). Another 56 age, sex, and heart function-matched patients with the same diagnosis underwent MVR alone during the same period. Warfarin was administered after operation in both groups. Comparison of operative complication and curative effects was made. The aortic cross-clamp time and cardio pulmonary bypass time (CPB) were longer in maze group than in MVT group (75 +/- 22 min vs 41 +/- 11 min, P Atrial contractility was restored in all patients with sinus rhythm. One year after operation, 98.18% patients' cardiac function changed to grade and 1.82% changed to grade II. In MVR group AF disappeared after operation temporarily for 24 hours in 7 patients and re-appeared, and AF disappeared in one patients for 2 years so far. One year after operation, the cardiac function of 94.6% patients in MVR group changed to grade I, of 3.6% patients to grade II, and of 1.8% patients to grade III. No serious hemorrhage relate d to anticoagulant therapy happened. One patient in MVR group suffered from hemiplegia due to cerebral embolism. The late mortality was 1.8% on maze group amd 3.6% in MVR group. Cox/maze III procedure combined with NVR is safe and effective in treating rheumatic heart disease with AF.

  20. Enhancement pattern analysis of hypervascular hepatocellular carcinoma on dynamic MR imaging with histopathological correlation: Validity of portal phase imaging for predicting tumor grade

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Okamoto, Daisuke; Yoshimitsu, Kengo; Nishie, Akihiro; Tajima, Tsuyoshi; Asayama, Yoshiki; Ishigami, Kousei; Hirakawa, Masakazu; Ushijima, Yasuhiro; Kakihara, Daisuke; Nakayama, Tomohiro; Nishihara, Yunosuke; Aishima, Shinichi; Taketomi, Akinobu; Kishimoto, Junji; Honda, Hiroshi

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: To elucidate the correlation between hypervascular hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) enhancement patterns on dynamic MR imaging and histological findings. Materials and methods: Surgically proven 46 hypervascular HCCs of forty-one patients were enrolled. For each HCC, the signal intensity in the portal phase (SIPP) was evaluated. In this study, high, iso-, or low intensity in the portal phase was hypothesized as late, moderate, or early washout pattern, respectively. The SIPP of each HCC was correlated to histological grade and architectural subtypes that represent degrees of trabecular structure. For the trabecular HCCs, the thickness of tumor plate was also correlated for indirect estimation of tumor sinusoid. Results: There was a significant correlation between the SIPP vs. histological grade and also vs. architectural subtypes, namely the degree of trabecular structure. Washout of hypervascular HCC occurred earlier as the histological grade advanced and the histological architecture got closer to pure trabecular HCC. For the trabecular HCCs, the thickness of tumor plate correlated significantly with SIPP or histological grade. Hypervascular HCCs with thicker tumor plates showed worse histological grade and earlier washout pattern. Conclusions: Histological grade of hypervascular HCC may be predicted using SIPP. The thickness of tumor plate, resultantly the size of sinusoid between tumor plates, can account for the relationship between washout pattern and histological grade in the trabecular HCCs.

  1. What is validation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clark, H.K.

    1985-01-01

    Criteria for establishing the validity of a computational method to be used in assessing nuclear criticality safety, as set forth in ''American Standard for Nuclear Criticality Safety in Operations with Fissionable Materials Outside Reactors,'' ANSI/ANS-8.1-1983, are examined and discussed. Application of the criteria is illustrated by describing the procedures followed in deriving subcritical limits that have been incorporated in the Standard

  2. Quality control and assurance for validation of DOS/I measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cerussi, Albert; Durkin, Amanda; Kwong, Richard; Quang, Timothy; Hill, Brian; Tromberg, Bruce J.; MacKinnon, Nick; Mantulin, William W.

    2010-02-01

    Ongoing multi-center clinical trials are crucial for Biophotonics to gain acceptance in medical imaging. In these trials, quality control (QC) and assurance (QA) are key to success and provide "data insurance". Quality control and assurance deal with standardization, validation, and compliance of procedures, materials and instrumentation. Specifically, QC/QA involves systematic assessment of testing materials, instrumentation performance, standard operating procedures, data logging, analysis, and reporting. QC and QA are important for FDA accreditation and acceptance by the clinical community. Our Biophotonics research in the Network for Translational Research in Optical Imaging (NTROI) program for breast cancer characterization focuses on QA/QC issues primarily related to the broadband Diffuse Optical Spectroscopy and Imaging (DOS/I) instrumentation, because this is an emerging technology with limited standardized QC/QA in place. In the multi-center trial environment, we implement QA/QC procedures: 1. Standardize and validate calibration standards and procedures. (DOS/I technology requires both frequency domain and spectral calibration procedures using tissue simulating phantoms and reflectance standards, respectively.) 2. Standardize and validate data acquisition, processing and visualization (optimize instrument software-EZDOS; centralize data processing) 3. Monitor, catalog and maintain instrument performance (document performance; modularize maintenance; integrate new technology) 4. Standardize and coordinate trial data entry (from individual sites) into centralized database 5. Monitor, audit and communicate all research procedures (database, teleconferences, training sessions) between participants ensuring "calibration". This manuscript describes our ongoing efforts, successes and challenges implementing these strategies.

  3. Application of the Materials-by-Design Methodology to Redesign a New Grade of the High-Strength Low-Alloy Class of Steels with Improved Mechanical Properties and Processability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grujicic, M.; Snipes, J. S.; Ramaswami, S.

    2016-01-01

    An alternative to the traditional trial-and-error empirical approach for the development of new materials is the so-called materials-by-design approach. Within the latter approach, a material is treated as a complex system and its design and optimization is carried out by employing computer-aided engineering analyses, predictive tools, and available material databases. In the present work, the materials-by-design approach is utilized to redesign a grade of high-strength low-alloy (HSLA) class of steels with improved mechanical properties (primarily strength and fracture toughness), processability (e.g., castability, hot formability, and weldability), and corrosion resistance. Toward that end, a number of material thermodynamics, kinetics of phase transformations, and physics of deformation and fracture computational models and databases have been developed/assembled and utilized within a multi-disciplinary, two-level material-by-design optimization scheme. To validate the models, their prediction is compared against the experimental results for the related steel HSLA100. Then the optimization procedure is employed to determine the optimal chemical composition and the tempering schedule for a newly designed grade of the HSLA class of steels with enhanced mechanical properties, processability, and corrosion resistance.

  4. Technical skills assessment toolbox: a review using the unitary framework of validity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghaderi, Iman; Manji, Farouq; Park, Yoon Soo; Juul, Dorthea; Ott, Michael; Harris, Ilene; Farrell, Timothy M

    2015-02-01

    The purpose of this study was to create a technical skills assessment toolbox for 35 basic and advanced skills/procedures that comprise the American College of Surgeons (ACS)/Association of Program Directors in Surgery (APDS) surgical skills curriculum and to provide a critical appraisal of the included tools, using contemporary framework of validity. Competency-based training has become the predominant model in surgical education and assessment of performance is an essential component. Assessment methods must produce valid results to accurately determine the level of competency. A search was performed, using PubMed and Google Scholar, to identify tools that have been developed for assessment of the targeted technical skills. A total of 23 assessment tools for the 35 ACS/APDS skills modules were identified. Some tools, such as Operative Performance Rating System (OSATS) and Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skill (OPRS), have been tested for more than 1 procedure. Therefore, 30 modules had at least 1 assessment tool, with some common surgical procedures being addressed by several tools. Five modules had none. Only 3 studies used Messick's framework to design their validity studies. The remaining studies used an outdated framework on the basis of "types of validity." When analyzed using the contemporary framework, few of these studies demonstrated validity for content, internal structure, and relationship to other variables. This study provides an assessment toolbox for common surgical skills/procedures. Our review shows that few authors have used the contemporary unitary concept of validity for development of their assessment tools. As we progress toward competency-based training, future studies should provide evidence for various sources of validity using the contemporary framework.

  5. Specification for nuclear-grade beryllium oxide powder

    CERN Document Server

    American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

    2008-01-01

    1.1 This specification defines the physical and chemical requirements of nuclear-grade beryllium oxide (BeO) powder to be used in fabricating nuclear components. 1.2 This specification does not include requirements for health and safety. , , It recognizes the material as a Class B poison and suggests that producers and users become thoroughly familiar with and comply to applicable federal, state, and local regulations and handling guidelines. 1.3 Special tests and procedures are given in Annex A1 and Annex A2. 1.4 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard. No other units of measurement are included in this standard.

  6. Emergency procedures of nuclear power plants-Evolution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Atalla, D.L.

    1988-01-01

    During the TMI event the operators had some difficulties to accurately diagnose the accident, causing delay to recover the plant, and allowing the conditions to deteriorate. Further analysis concluded that the plant emergency procedures were incomplete, and did not cover the possibility of multiple and simultaneous failures. This paper covers a new approach for developing emergency procedures to create a new general strategy by providing valid instructions for all kinds of possible incidents in a nuclear power plant. (author) [pt

  7. Student Evaluations of Teaching: Effects of the Big Five Personality Traits, Grades and the Validity Hypothesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patrick, Carol Lynn

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of the current study was to examine whether the Big Five personality traits and expected student grades relate to student evaluations of teachers and courses at the college level. Extraversion, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness were found to be personality traits favoured in instructors, whereas neuroticism was not. A…

  8. Developing Cognitive Test Based on the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy on The Structure and Cell Function Material for XI Grade Students in Senior High School of Tarakan City

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zulfadli Zulfadli

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available This research was to develop a cognitive test tool based on Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy. This study aimed to determine the quality of the test based on experts assessment, to measure the level of validity, reliability, and to determine the difficulty levels of the questions, discrimination power, and distractors. This research employed Research and Development (R&D method. The development test model used was the 4D procedure which was modified into three steps: define, design, and develop. The subjects were the Science students of XI grade at SMAN 2 Tarakan and SMA Muhammadiyah Tarakan. The results of the study were: (1 the experts validation analysis showed that the cognitive test has been categorized as valid which the value was 4.28 (2 The quality of cognitive test were: (A the 90% items were valid, while 10% were invalid. (B the reliability value was 0.79 (highly reliable (C the levels of difficulty were: easy (27%, moderate (53%, difficult (20%. (Dthe test discrimination index were: weak (10%, sufficient (33%, good (53%, and either once (3%. (E distractors effectiveness: effective category (85%, ineffective (15%. Assessment results from expert validators and empirical tests indicate that this cognitive test device is feasible to use and apply. The uniformity of this level of difficulty makes the quality of items were good to use. The discrimination power of these test tool, which has good value, indicate that the high diversity of items is able to measure students' abilities.

  9. Evaluation of anatomic and morphologic nomogram to predict malignant and high-grade disease in a cohort of patients with small renal masses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bagrodia, Aditya; Harrow, Brian; Liu, Zhuo-Wei; Olweny, Ephrem O; Faddegon, Stephen; Yin, Gang; Tan, Yung Khan; Han, Woong Kyu; Lotan, Yair; Margulis, Vitaly; Cadeddu, Jeffrey A

    2014-01-01

    To evaluate a nomogram using the RENAL Nephrometry Score (RENAL-NS) that was developed to characterize masses as benign vs. malignant and high vs. low grade in our patients with small renal masses treated with partial nephrectomy (PN). The nomogram was previously developed and validated in patients with widely variable tumor sizes. Retrospective review of PN performed between 1/2003 and 7/2011. Imaging was reviewed by a urologic surgeon for RENAL-NS. Final pathology was used to classify tumors as benign or malignant and low (I/II) or high (III/IV) Fuhrman grade. Patient age, gender, and RENAL score were entered into the nomogram described by Kutikov et al. to determine probabilities of cancer and high-grade disease. Area under the curve was determined to assess agreement between observed and expected outcomes for prediction of benign vs. malignant disease and for prediction of high- vs. low-grade or benign disease. A total of 250 patients with 252 masses underwent PN during the study period; 179/250 (71.6%) had preoperative imaging available. RENAL-NS was assigned to 181 masses. Twenty-two percent of tumors were benign. Eighteen percent of tumors were high grade. Area under the curve was 0.648 for predicting benign vs. malignant disease and 0.955 for predicting low-grade or benign vs. high-grade disease. The RENAL-NS score nomogram by Kutikov does not discriminate well between benign and malignant disease for small renal masses. The nomogram may potentially be useful in identifying high-grade tumors. Further validation is required where the nomogram probability and final pathologic specimen are available. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. WHAT INFLUENCES STUDENTS' EXPECTATIONS IN WHAT REGARDS GRADES?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mare Codruta

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available After a period of studying a certain subject, students form an opinion about it and begin having certain expectations. These expectations and the degree in which, in the end, they fulfil, contribute to the reputation of the university. Consequently, a continuous evaluation of the quality of the educational process is needed. The present research presents a part of a more complex study made on a sample of master students in Audit and Financial Management in Romania. The goal was to evidence the main factors that affect students' expectations in what regards the grades they will obtain at the end of the semester. For this, a questionnaire of 20 questions was applied to 250 such students. After factor reduction procedures were applied, six most significant variables were kept in the analysis: the proportion of knowledge acquired, the perceived level of utility of the discipline in the professional career of the student, the proportion in which the subject could contribute to getting employed in the field it belongs to, the evaluation method and two variables evaluating through grades the didactic performance during the course and the overall performance of the tenure professor. The influence of these variables upon the grade expected by the student was assessed with the help of the OLS regression, both in the simple and multiple forms. Out of the six hypotheses formulated, only one proved to be false based on the simple regression analysis. When individually assessed, the evaluation method announced by the teacher at the beginning of the semester turned out to have no statistically significant influence upon students' expectations. For the rest of the variables, results were according to the assumptions made, i.e. all determine in a significant positive manner the students' opinion about the grade they will get. We have also constructed the multiple regression models. When putting all variables together, the significance changes. The level of

  11. The need for culture sensitive diagnostic procedures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zandi, Tekleh; Havenaar, Johan M.; Limburg-Okken, Annechien G.; van Es, Hans; Sidali, Salah; Kadri, Nadia; van den Brink, Wim; Kahn, Rene S.

    Objective We examine the procedural validity of a standardized instrument for the diagnosis of psychotic disorders in Morocco. Method Twenty-nine patients from Casablanca, Morocco, with a psychotic or mood disorder were examined using the Comprehensive Assessment of Symptoms and History (CASH) an

  12. Stand-Alone Lateral Interbody Fusion for the Treatment of Low-Grade Degenerative Spondylolisthesis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luis Marchi

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper was to investigate the stand-alone lateral interbody fusion as a minimally invasive option for the treatment of low-grade degenerative spondylolisthesis with a minimum 24-month followup. Prospective nonrandomized observational single-center study. 52 consecutive patients (67.6±10 y/o; 73.1% female; 27.4±3.4 BMI with single-level grade I/II single-level degenerative spondylolisthesis without significant spine instability were included. Fusion procedures were performed as retroperitoneal lateral transpsoas interbody fusions without screw supplementation. The procedures were performed in average 73.2 minutes and with less than 50cc blood loss. VAS and Oswestry scores showed lasting improvements in clinical outcomes (60% and 54.5% change, resp.. The vertebral slippage was reduced in 90.4% of cases from mean values of 15.1% preoperatively to 7.4% at 6-week followup (P<0.001 and was maintained through 24 months (7.1%, P<0.001. Segmental lordosis (P<0.001 and disc height (P<0.001 were improved in postop evaluations. Cage subsidence occurred in 9/52 cases (17% and 7/52 cases (13% spine levels needed revision surgery. At the 24-month evaluation, solid fusion was observed in 86.5% of the levels treated. The minimally invasive lateral approach has been shown to be a safe and reproducible technique to treat low-grade degenerative spondylolisthesis.

  13. Validation of an activity optimization method for nuclear medicine in planar studies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Perez D, M. [Central University of Las Villas, CEETI, Camajuani Road Km 5.5, Santa Clara 54830 Villa Clara (Cuba); Diaz R, O. [Institute for Sciences and Advanced Technologies (Cuba); Farias L, F. [Federal University of Pernambuco (Brazil)]. e-mail: mperez@uclv.edu.cu

    2006-07-01

    A method for optimizing the administered activity in Static Nuclear Medicine Studies is validated by comparison with ROC curve. Linear Discriminant analysis of image quality in gamma cameras was the applied statistical technique. The constructed linear discriminant function owns as dependent parameters, the differentiated levels of image quality obtained by observer's criterion. The independent parameters in the function were physical variables, as Signal-to Background ratios and Signal-to-Noise ratios. They were obtained from the selection of Regions of Interest in images obtained from a Jaszczak phantom, corresponding to lesion and background sites. The percentage of cases correctly classified by discriminant analysis was analyzed to grade the proposed discriminant method. The minimum value of the administered activity, which permits good image quality, (it means good results for the parameters selected by the discriminant function), can be proposed as an optimized value of activity for planar studies of Nuclear Medicine. The method was tested using images from a Jaszczak phantom, acquired under four activities (1088 MBq, 962 MBq, 740 MBq and 562 MBq) with a gamma camera equipped with a high resolution - low energy- parallel-hole collimator. The gamma camera was tested by a NEMA protocol. Image quality was graded by three expert observers who also developed a rated procedure which consist in analyzing the images for ROC analysis. Two of the six measured Background-to-Signal ratios were the parameters able to construct the linear discriminant function with high correlation respect to the observer criterion, from all the measured physical variables. The value of 740 MBq was the optimum after discriminant method application in this particular experiment. The results were coincident with the application of ROC-analysis. The optimal activity value obtained with the proposed discriminant procedure coincided with the activity value for which the area under the ROC

  14. Absolute cosine-based SVM-RFE feature selection method for prostate histopathological grading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sahran, Shahnorbanun; Albashish, Dheeb; Abdullah, Azizi; Shukor, Nordashima Abd; Hayati Md Pauzi, Suria

    2018-04-18

    Feature selection (FS) methods are widely used in grading and diagnosing prostate histopathological images. In this context, FS is based on the texture features obtained from the lumen, nuclei, cytoplasm and stroma, all of which are important tissue components. However, it is difficult to represent the high-dimensional textures of these tissue components. To solve this problem, we propose a new FS method that enables the selection of features with minimal redundancy in the tissue components. We categorise tissue images based on the texture of individual tissue components via the construction of a single classifier and also construct an ensemble learning model by merging the values obtained by each classifier. Another issue that arises is overfitting due to the high-dimensional texture of individual tissue components. We propose a new FS method, SVM-RFE(AC), that integrates a Support Vector Machine-Recursive Feature Elimination (SVM-RFE) embedded procedure with an absolute cosine (AC) filter method to prevent redundancy in the selected features of the SV-RFE and an unoptimised classifier in the AC. We conducted experiments on H&E histopathological prostate and colon cancer images with respect to three prostate classifications, namely benign vs. grade 3, benign vs. grade 4 and grade 3 vs. grade 4. The colon benchmark dataset requires a distinction between grades 1 and 2, which are the most difficult cases to distinguish in the colon domain. The results obtained by both the single and ensemble classification models (which uses the product rule as its merging method) confirm that the proposed SVM-RFE(AC) is superior to the other SVM and SVM-RFE-based methods. We developed an FS method based on SVM-RFE and AC and successfully showed that its use enabled the identification of the most crucial texture feature of each tissue component. Thus, it makes possible the distinction between multiple Gleason grades (e.g. grade 3 vs. grade 4) and its performance is far superior to

  15. Validation of a Video-based Game-Understanding Test Procedure in Badminton.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blomqvist, Minna T.; Luhtanen, Pekka; Laakso, Lauri; Keskinen, Esko

    2000-01-01

    Reports the development and validation of video-based game-understanding tests in badminton for elementary and secondary students. The tests included different sequences that simulated actual game situations. Players had to solve tactical problems by selecting appropriate solutions and arguments for their decisions. Results suggest that the test…

  16. Developing Worksheet (LKS) Base on Process Skills in Curriculum 2013 at Elementary School Grade IV,V,VI

    Science.gov (United States)

    Subhan, M.; Oktolita, N.; Kn, M.

    2018-04-01

    The Lacks of students' skills in the learning process is due to lacks of exercises in the form of LKS. In the curriculum of 2013, there is no LKS as a companion to improve the students' skills. In order to solve those problem, it is necessary to develop LKS based on process skills as a teaching material to improve students' process skills. The purpose of this study is to develop LKS Process Skills based elementary school grade IV, V, VI which is integrated by process skill. The development of LKS can be used to develop the thematic process skills of elementary school students grade IV, V, VI based on curriculum 2013. The expected long-term goal is to produce teaching materials LKS Process Skill based of Thematic learning that is able to develop the process skill of elementary school students grade IV, V, VI. This development research refers to the steps developed by Borg & Gall (1983). The development process is carried out through 10 stages: preliminary research and gathering information, planning, draft development, initial test (limited trial), first product revision, final trial (field trial), product operational revision, Desemination and implementation. The limited subject of the this research is the students of SDN in Dharmasraya grade IV, V, VI. The field trial subjects in the experimental class are the students of SDN Dharmasraya grade IV, V, VI who have implemented the curriculum 2013. The data are collected by using LKS validation sheets, process skill observation sheets, and Thematic learning test (pre-test And post-test). The result of LKS development on the validity score is 81.70 (very valid), on practical score is 83.94 (very practical), and on effectiveness score is 86.67 (very effective). In the trial step the use of LKS using One Group Pretest-Posttest Design research design. The purpose of this trial is to know the effectiveness level of LKS result of development for improving the process skill of students in grade IV, V, and VI of elementary

  17. Development and validation of a virtual reality simulator: human factors input to interventional radiology training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Sheena Joanne; Guediri, Sara M; Kilkenny, Caroline; Clough, Peter J

    2011-12-01

    This study developed and validated a virtual reality (VR) simulator for use by interventional radiologists. Research in the area of skill acquisition reports practice as essential to become a task expert. Studies on simulation show skills learned in VR can be successfully transferred to a real-world task. Recently, with improvements in technology, VR simulators have been developed to allow complex medical procedures to be practiced without risking the patient. Three studies are reported. In Study I, 35 consultant interventional radiologists took part in a cognitive task analysis to empirically establish the key competencies of the Seldinger procedure. In Study 2, 62 participants performed one simulated procedure, and their performance was compared by expertise. In Study 3, the transferability of simulator training to a real-world procedure was assessed with 14 trainees. Study I produced 23 key competencies that were implemented as performance measures in the simulator. Study 2 showed the simulator had both face and construct validity, although some issues were identified. Study 3 showed the group that had undergone simulator training received significantly higher mean performance ratings on a subsequent patient procedure. The findings of this study support the centrality of validation in the successful design of simulators and show the utility of simulators as a training device. The studies show the key elements of a validation program for a simulator. In addition to task analysis and face and construct validities, the authors highlight the importance of transfer of training in validation studies.

  18. Noninvasive IDH1 mutation estimation based on a quantitative radiomics approach for grade II glioma

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yu, Jinhua [Fudan University, Department of Electronic Engineering, Shanghai (China); Computing and Computer-Assisted Intervention, Key Laboratory of Medical Imaging, Shanghai (China); Shi, Zhifeng; Chen, Liang; Mao, Ying [Fudan University, Department of Neurosurgery, Huashan Hospital, Shanghai (China); Lian, Yuxi; Li, Zeju; Liu, Tongtong; Gao, Yuan; Wang, Yuanyuan [Fudan University, Department of Electronic Engineering, Shanghai (China)

    2017-08-15

    The status of isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) is highly correlated with the development, treatment and prognosis of glioma. We explored a noninvasive method to reveal IDH1 status by using a quantitative radiomics approach for grade II glioma. A primary cohort consisting of 110 patients pathologically diagnosed with grade II glioma was retrospectively studied. The radiomics method developed in this paper includes image segmentation, high-throughput feature extraction, radiomics sequencing, feature selection and classification. Using the leave-one-out cross-validation (LOOCV) method, the classification result was compared with the real IDH1 situation from Sanger sequencing. Another independent validation cohort containing 30 patients was utilised to further test the method. A total of 671 high-throughput features were extracted and quantized. 110 features were selected by improved genetic algorithm. In LOOCV, the noninvasive IDH1 status estimation based on the proposed approach presented an estimation accuracy of 0.80, sensitivity of 0.83 and specificity of 0.74. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve reached 0.86. Further validation on the independent cohort of 30 patients produced similar results. Radiomics is a potentially useful approach for estimating IDH1 mutation status noninvasively using conventional T2-FLAIR MRI images. The estimation accuracy could potentially be improved by using multiple imaging modalities. (orig.)

  19. Calibration and validation of earthquake catastrophe models. Case study: Impact Forecasting Earthquake Model for Algeria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trendafiloski, G.; Gaspa Rebull, O.; Ewing, C.; Podlaha, A.; Magee, B.

    2012-04-01

    Calibration and validation are crucial steps in the production of the catastrophe models for the insurance industry in order to assure the model's reliability and to quantify its uncertainty. Calibration is needed in all components of model development including hazard and vulnerability. Validation is required to ensure that the losses calculated by the model match those observed in past events and which could happen in future. Impact Forecasting, the catastrophe modelling development centre of excellence within Aon Benfield, has recently launched its earthquake model for Algeria as a part of the earthquake model for the Maghreb region. The earthquake model went through a detailed calibration process including: (1) the seismic intensity attenuation model by use of macroseismic observations and maps from past earthquakes in Algeria; (2) calculation of the country-specific vulnerability modifiers by use of past damage observations in the country. The use of Benouar, 1994 ground motion prediction relationship was proven as the most appropriate for our model. Calculation of the regional vulnerability modifiers for the country led to 10% to 40% larger vulnerability indexes for different building types compared to average European indexes. The country specific damage models also included aggregate damage models for residential, commercial and industrial properties considering the description of the buildings stock given by World Housing Encyclopaedia and the local rebuilding cost factors equal to 10% for damage grade 1, 20% for damage grade 2, 35% for damage grade 3, 75% for damage grade 4 and 100% for damage grade 5. The damage grades comply with the European Macroseismic Scale (EMS-1998). The model was validated by use of "as-if" historical scenario simulations of three past earthquake events in Algeria M6.8 2003 Boumerdes, M7.3 1980 El-Asnam and M7.3 1856 Djidjelli earthquake. The calculated return periods of the losses for client market portfolio align with the

  20. Validation of Procedures for Monitoring Crewmember Immune Function

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crucian, Brian; Stowe, Raymond; Mehta, Satish; Uchakin, Peter; Quiriarte, Heather; Pierson, Duane; Sams, Clarence

    2009-01-01

    There is ample evidence to suggest that space flight leads to immune system dysregulation, however the nature of the phenomenon as it equilibrates over longer flights has not been determined. This dysregulation may be a result of microgravity, confinement, physiological stress, radiation, environment or other mission-associated factors. The clinical risk (if any) for exploration-class space flight is unknown, but may include increased incidence of infection, allergy, hypersensitivity, hematological malignancy or altered wound healing. The objective of this Supplemental Medical Objective (SMO) is to determine the status of the immune system, physiological stress and latent viral reactivation (a clinical outcome that can be measured) during both short and long-duration spaceflight. In addition, this study will develop and validate an immune monitoring strategy consistent with operational flight requirements and constraints. Pre-mission, in-flight and post-flight blood and saliva samples will be obtained from participating crewmembers. Assays included peripheral immunophenotype, T cell function, cytokine profiles (RNA, intracellular, secreted), viral-specific immunity, latent viral reactivation (EBV, CMV, VZV), and stress hormone measurements. This study is currently ongoing. To date, 10 short duration and 5 long-duration crewmembers have completed the study. Technically, the study is progressing well. In-flight blood samples are being collected, and returned for analysis, including functional assays that require live cells. For all in-flight samples to date, sample viability has been acceptable. Preliminary data (n = 4/7; long/short duration, respectively) indicate that distribution of most peripheral leukocyte subsets is largely unaltered during flight. Exceptions include elevated T cells, reduced B/NK cells, increased memory T cells and increased central memory CD8+ T cells. General T cell function, early blastogenesis response to mitogenic stimulation, is markedly

  1. Experimental Validation Of An Innovative Procedure For The Rolling Noise Correction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Viscardi Massimo

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Among the wide contest of the train vehicles rolling noise evaluation, the aim of the paper is the development, implementation and experimental testing of a new method for roughness calculation according to FprCEN/TR 16891:2015 and the successive evaluation of the correction parameters of the measured rolling noise due to the presence of not compliant rail roughness. It is, in-fact, a very often operative condition, the execution of rolling noise tests over standard in-operation rails that are characterized by roughness profiles very different from standard one as those prescribed within the ISO 3095 procedure. Very often, this difference lead to the presence of an exceeding noise that needs to be evaluated and revised for a correct definition of the phenomena. Within the paper, the procedure implementation is presented and later on verified in operative experimental contest; forecasted and measured data are compared and successively commented.

  2. T/P23, 24, 911 and 92: New grades for advanced coal-fired power plants-Properties and experience

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vaillant, J.C.; Vandenberghe, B.; Hahn, B.; Heuser, H.; Jochum, C.

    2008-01-01

    After the development of the well-known T/P91 grade in the early 1980s and the long industrial experiences since the early 1990s, it has been necessary to develop new steels to answer the demand of the powergen industry. New (ultra) super critical boilers require materials with advanced creep properties to reach severe steam parameters. For the 2.25% Cr family, grades 23 and 24 are now available to be used instead of the previous grade 22 with many technical and economical advantages. For the 9% Cr steels, new grades such as T/P911 and T/P92 have been developed with higher creep properties than T/P91. Thanks to its large industrial experience in these new grades, Vallourec and Mannesmann Tubes and Boehler Thyssen Schweisstechnik have now worldwide references of use with these new steel grades. In this paper, information on properties, behaviour and workability will be presented with a focus on ·elevated temperature properties and allowable stresses, ·oxidation and maximum service temperature and ·weldability procedures and recommendations

  3. Grade Inflation Marches On: Grade Increases from the 1990s to 2000s

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kostal, Jack W.; Kuncel, Nathan R.; Sackett, Paul R.

    2016-01-01

    Grade inflation threatens the integrity of college grades as indicators of academic achievement. In this study, we contribute to the literature on grade inflation by providing the first estimate of the size of grade increases at the student level between the mid-1990s and mid-2000s. By controlling for student characteristics and course-taking…

  4. Development of Chemistry Triangle Oriented Module on Topic of Reaction Rate for Senior High School Level Grade XI Chemistry Learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sari, D. R.; Hardeli; Bayharti

    2018-04-01

    This study aims to produce chemistry triangle oriented module on topic of reaction rate, and to reveal the validity and practicality level of the generated module. The type of research used is EducationalDesign Research (EDR) with development model is Plompmodel. This model consists of three phases, which are preliminary research, prototyping phase, and assessment phase. The instrument used in this research is questionnaire validity and practicality. The data of the research were analyzed by using Kappa Cohen formula. The chemistry triangle oriented module validation sheet was given to 5 validators consisting of 3 chemistry lecturers and 2 high school chemistry teachers, while the practicality sheet was given to 2 chemistry teachers, 6 students of SMAN 10 Padang grade XII MIA 5 on the small groupevaluation and 25 students of SMAN 10 Padang grade XII MIA 6 on the field test. Based on the questionnaire validity analysis, the validity level of the module is very high with the value of kappa moment 0.87. The level of practicality based on teacher questionnaire response is very high category with a kappa moment value 0.96. Based on the questionnaire of student responses on small group evaluation, the level of practicality is very high category with a kappa moment 0.81, and the practicality is very high category with kappa moment value 0.83 based on questionnaire of student response on field test.

  5. Interlaboratory study for the validation of an ecotoxicological procedure to monitor the quality of septic sludge received at a wastewater treatment plant.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robidoux, P Y; Choucri, A; Bastien, C; Sunahara, G I; López-Gastey, J

    2001-01-01

    Septic tank sludge is regularly hauled to the Montreal Urban Community (MUC) wastewater treatment plant. It is then discharged and mixed with the wastewater inflow before entering the primary chemical treatment process. An ecotoxicological procedure integrating chemical and toxicological analyses has been recently developed and applied to screen for the illicit discharge of toxic substances in septic sludge. The toxicity tests used were the Microtox, the bacterial-respiration, and the lettuce (Lactuca sativa) root elongation tests. In order to validate the applicability of the proposed procedure, a two-year interlaboratory study was carried out. In general, the results obtained by two independent laboratories (MUC and the Centre d'expertise en analyse environnementale du Quebec) were comparable and reproducible. Some differences were found using the Microtox test. Organic (e.g., phenol and formaldehyde) and inorganic (e.g., nickel and cyanide) spiked septic sludge were detected with good reliability and high efficiency. The relative efficiency to detect spiked substances was > 70% and confirms the results of previous studies. In addition, the respiration test was the most efficient toxicological tool to detect spiked substances, whereas the Microtox was the least efficient (septic sludge.

  6. Automatic Validation of Protocol Narration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bodei, Chiara; Buchholtz, Mikael; Degano, Pierpablo

    2003-01-01

    We perform a systematic expansion of protocol narrations into terms of a process algebra in order to make precise some of the detailed checks that need to be made in a protocol. We then apply static analysis technology to develop an automatic validation procedure for protocols. Finally, we...

  7. Simultaneous validation of the Grandway MD2301 digital automatic blood pressure monitor by the British Hypertension Society and the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation/the International Organization for Standardization protocols.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Jinhua; Wang, Yun; Liu, Zhaoying; Wang, Yuling

    2017-02-01

    The aim of this study was to determine the accuracy of the Grandway MD2301 digital automatic blood pressure monitor by the British Hypertension Society (BHS) and the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI)/the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) protocols. A total of 85 participants were included for evaluation based on the requirements of the BHS and the AAMI/ISO protocols. The validation procedure and data analysis followed the protocols precisely. The device achieved A/A grading for the BHS protocol and maintained A/A grading throughout the low, medium and high blood pressure ranges. The device also fulfilled the requirement of the AAMI/ISO protocol with device-observer differences of -0.9±5.6 and 0.8±5.2 mmHg for systolic and diastolic blood pressure, respectively, for criterion 1, and -0.9±4.7 and 0.8±4.2 mmHg, respectively, for criterion 2. The Grandway MD2301 digital automatic blood pressure monitor achieved A/A grade of the BHS protocol and passed the requirements of the AAMI/ISO protocol in adults.

  8. Non-operative management versus operative management in high-grade blunt hepatic injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cirocchi, Roberto; Trastulli, Stefano; Pressi, Eleonora; Farinella, Eriberto; Avenia, Stefano; Morales Uribe, Carlos Hernando; Botero, Ana Maria; Barrera, Luis M

    2015-08-24

    applied the selection criteria to relevant study reports. We used standard methodological procedures as defined by the Cochrane Collaboration. We were unable to find any randomised controlled trials of non-operative management versus operative management in high-grade blunt hepatic injury. In order to further explore the preliminary findings provided by animal models and observational clinical studies that suggests there may be a beneficial effect of non-operative management versus operative management in high-grade blunt hepatic injury, large, high quality randomised trials are needed.

  9. The Development and Validation of an Instrument to Monitor the Implementation of Social Constructivist Learning Environments in Grade 9 Science Classrooms in South Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luckay, Melanie B.; Laugksch, Rudiger C.

    2015-02-01

    This article describes the development and validation of an instrument that can be used to assess students' perceptions of their learning environment as a means of monitoring and guiding changes toward social constructivist learning environments. The study used a mixed-method approach with priority given to the quantitative data collection. During the quantitative data collection phase, a new instrument—the Social Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (SCLES)—was developed and used to collect data from 1,955 grade 9 science students from 52 classes in 50 schools in the Western Cape province, South Africa. The data were analysed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the new instrument, which assessed six dimensions of the classroom learning environment, namely, Working with Ideas, Personal Relevance, Collaboration, Critical Voice, Uncertainty in Science and Respect for Difference. Two dimensions were developed specifically for the present study in order to contextualise the questionnaire to the requirements of the new South African curriculum (namely, Metacognition and Respect for Difference). In the qualitative data collection phase, two case studies were used to investigate whether profiles of class mean scores on the new instrument could provide an accurate and "trustworthy" description of the learning environment of individual science classes. The study makes significant contributions to the field of learning environments in that it is one of the first major studies of its kind in South Africa with a focus on social constructivism and because the instrument developed captures important aspects of the learning environment associated with social constructivism.

  10. Evaluating the Predictive Validity of Academic and Social-Emotional Screening Assessments for Measuring Academic and Social-Emotional Success at the End of First Grade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erhart, Amber C.

    2013-01-01

    By the end of the kindergarten, students are expected to possess early academic skills as well as the social maturity to be successful in first grade. Students leaving kindergarten without these readiness skills are sometimes held back in first grade or referred for a special education evaluation in later grades if they fail to make adequate…

  11. Model validation using CFD-grade experimental database for NGNP Reactor Cavity Cooling Systems with water and air

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Manera, Annalisa [Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States); Corradini, Michael [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); Petrov, Victor [Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States); Anderson, Mark [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); Tompkins, Casey [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); Nunez, Daniel [Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)

    2018-02-13

    This project has been focused on the experimental and numerical investigations of the water-cooled and air-cooled Reactor Cavity Cooling System (RCCS) designs. At this aim, we have leveraged an existing experimental facility at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW), and we have designed and built a separate effect test facility at the University of Michigan. The experimental facility at UW has underwent several upgrades, including the installation of advanced instrumentation (i.e. wire-mesh sensors) built at the University of Michigan. These provides highresolution time-resolved measurements of the void-fraction distribution in the risers of the water-cooled RCCS facility. A phenomenological model has been developed to assess the water cooled RCCS system stability and determine the root cause behind the oscillatory behavior that occurs under normal two-phase operation. Testing under various perturbations to the water-cooled RCCS facility have resulted in changes in the stability of the integral system. In particular, the effects on stability of inlet orifices, water tank volume have and system pressure been investigated. MELCOR was used as a predictive tool when performing inlet orificing tests and was able to capture the Density Wave Oscillations (DWOs) that occurred upon reaching saturation in the risers. The experimental and numerical results have then been used to provide RCCS design recommendations. The experimental facility built at the University of Michigan was aimed at the investigation of mixing in the upper plenum of the air-cooled RCCS design. The facility has been equipped with state-of-theart high-resolution instrumentation to achieve so-called CFD grade experiments, that can be used for the validation of Computational Fluid Dynanmics (CFD) models, both RANS (Reynold-Averaged) and LES (Large Eddy Simulations). The effect of risers penetration in the upper plenum has been investigated as well.

  12. Does the school performance variable used in the International Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC) Study reflect students' school grades?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Felder-Puig, Rosemarie; Griebler, Robert; Samdal, Oddrun; King, Matthew A; Freeman, John; Duer, Wolfgang

    2012-09-01

    Given the pressure that educators and policy makers are under to achieve academic standards for students, understanding the relationship of academic success to various aspects of health is important. The international Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC) questionnaire, being used in 41 countries with different school and grading systems, has contained an item assessing perceived school performance (PSP) since 1986. Whereas the test-retest reliability of this item has been reported previously, we determined its convergent and discriminant validity. This cross-sectional study used anonymous self-report data from Austrian (N = 266), Norwegian (N = 240), and Canadian (N = 9,717) samples. Students were between 10 and 17 years old. PSP responses were compared to the self-reported average school grades in 6 subjects (Austria) or 8 subjects (Norway), respectively, or to a general, 5-category-based appraisal of most recent school grades (Canada). Correlations between PSP and self-reported average school grade scores were between 0.51 and 0.65, representing large effect sizes. Differences between the median school grades in the 4 categories of the PSP item were statistically significant in all 3 samples. The PSP item showed predominantly small associations with some randomly selected HBSC items or scales designed to measure different concepts. The PSP item seems to be a valid and useful question that can distinguish groups of respondents that get good grades at school from those that do not. The meaning of PSP may be context-specific and may have different connotations across student populations from different countries with different school systems. © 2012, American School Health Association.

  13. Colorado Student Assessment Program: 2001 Released Passages, Items, and Prompts. Grade 4 Reading and Writing, Grade 4 Lectura y Escritura, Grade 5 Mathematics and Reading, Grade 6 Reading, Grade 7 Reading and Writing, Grade 8 Mathematics, Reading and Science, Grade 9 Reading, and Grade 10 Mathematics and Reading and Writing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colorado State Dept. of Education, Denver.

    This document contains released reading comprehension passages, test items, and writing prompts from the Colorado Student Assessment Program for 2001. The sample questions and prompts are included without answers or examples of student responses. Test materials are included for: (1) Grade 4 Reading and Writing; (2) Grade 4 Lectura y Escritura…

  14. A proposed angioarchitecture grading system related to embolization of brain arteriovenous malformations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fang Bing; Wang Yirong; Li Tielin; Duan Chuanzhi

    2007-01-01

    Objective: To analyze the risk of embolization of brain AVMs, study the angioarchitectural factors affecting the difference of embolization level, and to establish the angioarchitecture grading system for embolization of brain AVMs. Methods: The clinical data, angioarchitectural features, embolism complication and embolism level were retrospectively analyzed. Multivariate statistical analysis was performed to determine if any of the variables was predictive of a poor outcome of embolization (death or permanent neurological deficit), and if any of the variables was predictive of the percentage obliteration achieved by embolization. Based on the above results, we established the angioarchitecture grading system. Results: Endovascular procedures for embolization were performed 324 times in 189 patients during an 11-year period. Embolization was performed using N-butyl cyanoacrylate. In those patients, 3 (1.6%) died and 5(2.6%) had a permanent neurological deficit as a result of the embolization. The AVMs were given a score from 0 to 5 based on the size, number of the first grade feeding artery, and number of the second grade feeding artery. The assigned scores were as follows: nidus size (AVF=0, <30 mm=1, ≥30 mm=2), number of the first grade feeding artery (1=0, 2-3=1, ≥4=2)and number of the second grade feeding artery(≤3=0, ≥4=1). Angiographic results based on percentage obliteration were grouped into four categories: complete, 80%-99%, 50%-79%, and 0%-50%. In the AVMs with angioarchitecture scores 0-1, 24(77.4% )of 31 were fully embolised, with scores of 4-5, none of the 101 were fully embolised, 82(81.2%)were below 50% embolization percentage. The correlation between the angioarchitecture grading system and the embolization percentage was strong (κ= 0.736, P<0.05). Conclusions: The angioarchitecture grading system predicts the embolization percentage perfectly. The lower the scores, the higher the possibility of fully embolization is; the higher the scores

  15. Guidelines for the verification and validation of expert system software and conventional software: Validation scenarios. Volume 6

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mirsky, S.M.; Hayes, J.E.; Miller, L.A.

    1995-03-01

    This report is the sixth volume in a series of reports describing the results of the Expert System Verification and Validation (V ampersand V) project which is jointly funded by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Electric Power Research Institute. The ultimate objective is the formulation of guidelines for the V ampersand V of expert systems for use in nuclear power applications. This activity was concerned with the development of a methodology for selecting validation scenarios and subsequently applying it to two expert systems used for nuclear utility applications. Validation scenarios were defined and classified into five categories: PLANT, TEST, BASICS, CODE, and LICENSING. A sixth type, REGRESSION, is a composite of the others and refers to the practice of using trusted scenarios to ensure that modifications to software did not change unmodified functions. Rationale was developed for preferring scenarios selected from the categories in the order listed and for determining under what conditions to select scenarios from other types. A procedure incorporating all of the recommendations was developed as a generalized method for generating validation scenarios. The procedure was subsequently applied to two expert systems used in the nuclear industry and was found to be effective, given that an experienced nuclear engineer made the final scenario selections. A method for generating scenarios directly from the knowledge base component was suggested

  16. Guidelines for the verification and validation of expert system software and conventional software: Validation scenarios. Volume 6

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mirsky, S.M.; Hayes, J.E.; Miller, L.A. [Science Applications International Corp., McLean, VA (United States)

    1995-03-01

    This report is the sixth volume in a series of reports describing the results of the Expert System Verification and Validation (V&V) project which is jointly funded by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Electric Power Research Institute. The ultimate objective is the formulation of guidelines for the V&V of expert systems for use in nuclear power applications. This activity was concerned with the development of a methodology for selecting validation scenarios and subsequently applying it to two expert systems used for nuclear utility applications. Validation scenarios were defined and classified into five categories: PLANT, TEST, BASICS, CODE, and LICENSING. A sixth type, REGRESSION, is a composite of the others and refers to the practice of using trusted scenarios to ensure that modifications to software did not change unmodified functions. Rationale was developed for preferring scenarios selected from the categories in the order listed and for determining under what conditions to select scenarios from other types. A procedure incorporating all of the recommendations was developed as a generalized method for generating validation scenarios. The procedure was subsequently applied to two expert systems used in the nuclear industry and was found to be effective, given that an experienced nuclear engineer made the final scenario selections. A method for generating scenarios directly from the knowledge base component was suggested.

  17. An error analysis in the early grades mathematics – a learning opportunity?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roelien Herholdt

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Error analysis is the study of errors in learners’ work with a view to looking for possible explanations for these errors. It is a multifaceted activity involving analysis of correct, partially correct and incorrect processes and thinking about possible remediating strategies. This paper reports on such an analysis of learner tests. The tests were administered as part of the evaluation of an intervention project that aimed to teach mathematical problem solving skills to grade 1-4 learners. Quantitative error analysis was carried out using a coding sheet for each grade. A reliability coefficient was found for each test, as were item means and discrimination indexes for each item. The analysis provided some insight into the more common procedural and conceptual errors evidenced in the learners’ scripts. Findings showed similar difficulties across intervention and control schools and highlighted particular areas of difficulty. The authors argue that this analysis is an example of large-scale error analysis, but that the analysis method could be adopted by teachers of grades 1-4.

  18. Validating the applicability of the GUM procedure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cox, Maurice G.; Harris, Peter M.

    2014-08-01

    This paper is directed at practitioners seeking a degree of assurance in the quality of the results of an uncertainty evaluation when using the procedure in the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement (GUM) (JCGM 100 : 2008). Such assurance is required in adhering to general standards such as International Standard ISO/IEC 17025 or other sector-specific standards. We investigate the extent to which such assurance can be given. For many practical cases, a measurement result incorporating an evaluated uncertainty that is correct to one significant decimal digit would be acceptable. Any quantification of the numerical precision of an uncertainty statement is naturally relative to the adequacy of the measurement model and the knowledge used of the quantities in that model. For general univariate and multivariate measurement models, we emphasize the use of a Monte Carlo method, as recommended in GUM Supplements 1 and 2. One use of this method is as a benchmark in terms of which measurement results provided by the GUM can be assessed in any particular instance. We mainly consider measurement models that are linear in the input quantities, or have been linearized and the linearization process is deemed to be adequate. When the probability distributions for those quantities are independent, we indicate the use of other approaches such as convolution methods based on the fast Fourier transform and, particularly, Chebyshev polynomials as benchmarks.

  19. Get on Board the Underground Railroad: A Sample Unit for Fifth-Grade History Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferguson, Phyllis M.; Young, Terrell A.

    1996-01-01

    Reviews the materials and procedures used in a fifth-grade history unit on the Underground Railroad. The unit integrated a variety of teaching methods and materials making extensive use of historical literature, K-W-L (what we Know, what we Want to find out, what we Learned) charts, and activities aimed at different learning styles. (MJP)

  20. Enhancing On-Task Behavior in Fourth-Grade Students Using a Modified Color Wheel System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blondin, Carolyn; Skinner, Christopher; Parkhurst, John; Wood, Allison; Snyder, Jamie

    2012-01-01

    The authors used a withdrawal design to evaluate the effects of a modified Color Wheel System (M-CWS) on the on-task behavior of 7 students enrolled in the 4th grade. Standard CWS procedures were modified to include a 4th set of rules designed to set behavioral expectation for cooperative learning activities. Mean data showed that immediately…

  1. LEARNING MODEL OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION LOCOMOTOR BASIC LEARNING IN GRADE III PRIMARY SCHOOL "MODEL PEMBELAJARAN PENJASORKES GERAK DASAR LOKOMOTOR PADA SISWA KELAS III SEKOLAH DASAR"

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eka Nandasari

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to produce games letter word in the learning of basic locomotor movements physical education at Elementary School third-grade students in District Gunungpati 2016. This research is the development, product development procedure includes needs analysis, literature review and observation, the initial product manufacturing, design validation by the experts, the trials I, product revision, the second large-scale trials, expert review and the final product. Data is collected using questionnaires obtained from the expert evaluation, field observations and the student questionnaire. A descriptive data analysis techniques percentage. The results of the analysis of the initial product of 91% then declared eligible. The observation and the student questionnaire on a small scale trial gained (81.6%. The test results of large-scale expert (95% to be eligible and could be used. The observation and questionnaire on large-scale test was (86.6% are feasible and can be used. On a small scale trials and large-scale increase in the observation and questionnaires to students of (5%. It can be concluded that the game is a good letter word that is feasible and can be used as an alternative to the basic motion locomotor learning materials in elementary school third-grade students in District Gunungpati.

  2. What's in a Grade? Grading Policies and Practices in Principles of Economics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walstad, William B.; Miller, Laurie A.

    2016-01-01

    Survey results from a national sample of economics instructors describe the grading policies and practices in principles of economics courses. The survey results provide insights about absolute and relative grading systems used by instructors, the course components and their weights that determine grades, and the type of assessment items used for…

  3. Primary balloon angioplasty for symptomatic, high-grade intracranial stenosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomycz, Luke; Bansal, Neil K; Lockney, Tim; Strothers, Megan; Connors, John J; Shay, Scott; Singer, Robert J

    2013-01-01

    In light of recent controversy about the safety and efficacy of intracranial stenting, we sought to evaluate our experience with primary balloon angioplasty for symptomatic, high-grade intracranial stenosis. All intracranial angioplasty cases performed at Vanderbilt University Medical Center from 2006 to 2011 were retrospectively reviewed for degree of stenosis pre- and post-procedure. Immediate peri-procedural complications were evaluated as well as one-month and long-term outcomes. A total of 26 patients were included in the study with a mean age of 63.0 years and a mean follow-up of 350.2 days. The average pre-procedure stenosis was 71.2%. The immediate, average post-procedure stenosis was 46.6%, and the average post-procedure stenosis at last angiographic follow-up was 44.5%. Retreatment was required in only 3.8% of patients. The primary end-point of major stroke or death at 30 days was observed in 11.5%, and the overall intra-procedural complication rate was 7.7%. The incidence of stroke or death at last follow-up was 15.4%, which is comparable to the one-year stroke or death rate in the medical arm of the SAMPRISS trial. In this retrospective series, primary balloon angioplasty was found to be effective as a treatment option for symptomatic intracranial stenosis with the risk of stroke or death at 30 days higher than the medical arm of SAMPRIS but lower than the stenting arm. The one-year risk of stroke was comparable to that reported for the one-year outcomes in the SAMPRISS medical arm.

  4. High-grade and low-grade gliomas: differentiation by using perfusion MR imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hakyemez, B.; Erdogan, C.; Ercan, I.; Ergin, N.; Uysal, S.; Atahan, S.

    2005-01-01

    AIM: Relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV) is a commonly used perfusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique for the evaluation of tumour grade. Relative cerebral blood flow (rCBF) has been less studied. The goal of our study was to determine the usefulness of these parameters in evaluating the histopathological grade of the cerebral gliomas. METHODS: This study involved 33 patients (22 high-grade and 11 low-grade glioma cases). MRI was performed for all tumours by using a first-passage gadopentetate dimeglumine T2*-weighted gradient-echo single-shot echo-planar sequence followed by conventional MRI. The rCBV and rCBF were calculated by deconvolution of an arterial input function. The rCBV and rCBF ratios of the lesions were obtained by dividing the values obtained from the normal white matter of the contralateral hemisphere. For statistical analysis Mann-Whitney testing was carried out. A p value of less than 0.05 indicated a statistically significant difference. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis was performed to assess the relationship between the rCBV and rCBF ratios and grade of gliomas. Their cut-off value permitting discrimination was calculated. The correlation between rCBV and CBF ratios and glioma grade was assessed using Pearson correlation analysis. RESULTS: In high-grade gliomas, rCBV and rCBF ratios were measured as 6.50±4.29 and 3.32±1.87 (mean±SD), respectively. In low-grade gliomas, rCBV and rCBF ratios were 1.69±0.51 and 1.16±0.38, respectively. The rCBV and rCBF ratios for high-grade gliomas were statistically different from those of low-grade gliomas (p 0.05). The cut-off value was taken as 1.98 in the rCBV ratio and 1.25 in the rCBF ratio. There was a strong correlation between the rCBV and CBF ratios (Pearson correlation = 0.830, p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Perfusion MRI is useful in the preoperative assessment of the histopathologicalal grade of gliomas; the rCBF ratio in addition to the rCBV ratio can be incorporated

  5. The Management Advisory Committee of the Inspection Validation Centre. 2nd report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1985-06-01

    The document is the second report of the Management Advisory Committee of the Inspection Validation Centre (I.V.C.). The IVC is concerned with the ultrasonic inspection of the CEGB's proposed PWR reactor pressure vessel, and other components. The report deals with the technical progress since May 1984, and includes: interim validation, retrospective validation, examination of procedures, test assembly manufacture, interim validation of manual forging inspections, and validation facilities. (U.K.)

  6. A Fourier-based textural feature extraction procedure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stromberg, W. D.; Farr, T. G.

    1986-01-01

    A procedure is presented to discriminate and characterize regions of uniform image texture. The procedure utilizes textural features consisting of pixel-by-pixel estimates of the relative emphases of annular regions of the Fourier transform. The utility and derivation of the features are described through presentation of a theoretical justification of the concept followed by a heuristic extension to a real environment. Two examples are provided that validate the technique on synthetic images and demonstrate its applicability to the discrimination of geologic texture in a radar image of a tropical vegetated area.

  7. High-speed potato grading and quality inspection based on a color vision system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noordam, Jacco C.; Otten, Gerwoud W.; Timmermans, Toine J. M.; van Zwol, Bauke H.

    2000-03-01

    A high-speed machine vision system for the quality inspection and grading of potatoes has been developed. The vision system grades potatoes on size, shape and external defects such as greening, mechanical damages, rhizoctonia, silver scab, common scab, cracks and growth cracks. A 3-CCD line-scan camera inspects the potatoes in flight as they pass under the camera. The use of mirrors to obtain a 360-degree view of the potato and the lack of product holders guarantee a full view of the potato. To achieve the required capacity of 12 tons/hour, 11 SHARC Digital Signal Processors perform the image processing and classification tasks. The total capacity of the system is about 50 potatoes/sec. The color segmentation procedure uses Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) in combination with a Mahalanobis distance classifier to classify the pixels. The procedure for the detection of misshapen potatoes uses a Fourier based shape classification technique. Features such as area, eccentricity and central moments are used to discriminate between similar colored defects. Experiments with red and yellow skin-colored potatoes have shown that the system is robust and consistent in its classification.

  8. The use of statistical methodology to determine the accuracy of grading within a diabetic retinopathy screening programme.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oke, J L; Stratton, I M; Aldington, S J; Stevens, R J; Scanlon, P H

    2016-07-01

    We aimed to use longitudinal data from an established screening programme with good quality assurance and quality control procedures and a stable well-trained workforce to determine the accuracy of grading in diabetic retinopathy screening. We used a continuous time-hidden Markov model with five states to estimate the probability of true progression or regression of retinopathy and the conditional probability of an observed grade given the true grade (misclassification). The true stage of retinopathy was modelled as a function of the duration of diabetes and HbA1c . The modelling dataset consisted of 65 839 grades from 14 187 people. The median number [interquartile range (IQR)] of examinations was 5 (3, 6) and the median (IQR) interval between examinations was 1.04 (0.99, 1.17) years. In total, 14 227 grades (21.6%) were estimated as being misclassified, 10 592 (16.1%) represented over-grading and 3635 (5.5%) represented under-grading. There were 1935 (2.9%) misclassified referrals, 1305 were false-positive results (2.2%) and 630 were false-negative results (11.0%). Misclassification of background diabetic retinopathy as no detectable retinopathy was common (3.4% of all grades) but rarely preceded referable maculopathy or retinopathy. Misclassification between lower grades of retinopathy is not uncommon but is unlikely to lead to significant delays in referring people for sight-threatening retinopathy. © 2015 The Authors. Diabetic Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Diabetes UK.

  9. Concurrent validation of a pressure pain threshold scale for individuals with myofascial pain syndrome and fibromyalgia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheatham, Scott W; Kolber, Morey J; Mokha, G Monique; Hanney, William J

    2018-02-01

    Manual pressure palpation is an examination technique used in the classification of myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) and fibromyalgia (FM). Currently, there are no validated systems for classifying results. A valid and reliable pressure pain threshold scale (PPTS) may provide a means for clinicians to grade, document, and report findings. The purpose of this investigation was to validate a PPTS in individuals diagnosed with MPS and FM. Intra-rater reliability, concurrent validity, minimum cut-off value, and patient responses were evaluated. Eighty-four participants who met the inclusion criteria were placed into three groups of 28 ( N = 84): MPS, FM, and asymptomatic controls. All participants underwent a two-part testing session using the American College of Rheumatology criteria for classifying FM. Part-1 consisted of manual palpation with a digital pressure sensor for pressure consistency and part 2 consisted of algometry. For each tender point (18 total), participants graded tenderness using the visual analog scale (VAS) while the examiner concurrently graded response using a five-point PPTS. The PPTS had good intra-rater reliability (ICC ≥ .88). A moderate to excellent relationship was found between the PPTS and VAS for all groups with the digital pressure sensor and algometer ( ρ  ≥ .61). A minimum cut-off value of 2 on the PPTS differentiated participants with MPS and FM from asymptomatic controls. The results provide preliminary evidence validating the PPTS for individuals with MPS and FM. Future research should further study the clinimetric properties of the PPTS with other chronic pain and orthopedic conditions. 2c. ClinicalTrials.gov registration No. NCT02802202.

  10. Mechanical behaviour of Astm A 297 grade Hp joints welded using different processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Emygdio, Paulo Roberto Oliveira; Zeemann, Annelise; Almeida, Luiz Henrique de

    1996-01-01

    The influence of different arc welding processes on mechanical behaviour was studied for cast heat resistant stainless steel welded joints, in the as welded conditions. ASTM A 297 grade HP with niobium and niobium/titanium additions were welded following three different welding procedures, using shielded metal arc welding gas tungsten arc welding and plasma arc welding, in six welded joints. The welded joint mechanical behaviour was evaluated by ambient temperature and 870 deg C tensile tests; and creep tests at 900 deg C and 50 MPa. Mechanical test results showed that the welding procedure qualification following welding codes is not suitable for high temperature service applications. (author)

  11. Validation of the G.LAB MD2200 wrist blood pressure monitor according to the European Society of Hypertension, the British Hypertension Society, and the International Organization for Standardization Protocols.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Ze-Yu; Zhang, Qing-Han; Ye, Xiao-Lei; Liu, Da-Peng; Cheng, Kang; Zhang, Chun-Hai; Wan, Yi

    2017-04-01

    To validate the G.LAB MD2200 automated wrist blood pressure (BP) monitors according to the European Society of Hypertension International Protocol (ESH-IP) revision 2010, the British Hypertension Society (BHS), and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 81060-2:2013 protocols. The device was assessed on 33 participants according to the ESH requirements and was then tested on 85 participants according to the BHS and ISO 81060-2:2013 criteria. The validation procedures and data analysis followed the protocols precisely. The G.LAB MD2200 devices passed all parts of ESH-IP revision 2010 for both systolic and diastolic BP, with a device-observer difference of 2.15±5.51 and 1.51±5.16 mmHg, respectively. The device achieved A/A grading for the BHS protocol and it also fulfilled the criteria of ISO 81060-2:2013, with mean differences of systolic and diastolic BP between the device and the observer of 2.19±5.21 and 2.11±4.70 mmHg, respectively. The G.LAB MD2200 automated wrist BP monitor passed the ESH-IP revision 2010 and the ISO 81060-2:2013 protocol, and achieved the A/A grade of the BHS protocol, which can be recommended for self-measurement in the general population.

  12. GRADE Equity Guidelines 3

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Welch, Vivian A; Akl, Elie A; Pottie, Kevin

    2017-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: The aim of this paper is to describe a conceptual framework for how to consider health equity in the GRADE (Grading Recommendations Assessment and Development Evidence) guideline development process. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: Consensus-based guidance developed by the GRADE working grou...

  13. The validation of evacuation simulation models through the analysis of behavioural uncertainty

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lovreglio, Ruggiero; Ronchi, Enrico; Borri, Dino

    2014-01-01

    Both experimental and simulation data on fire evacuation are influenced by a component of uncertainty caused by the impact of the unexplained variance in human behaviour, namely behavioural uncertainty (BU). Evacuation model validation studies should include the study of this type of uncertainty during the comparison of experiments and simulation results. An evacuation model validation procedure is introduced in this paper to study the impact of BU. This methodology is presented through a case study for the comparison between repeated experimental data and simulation results produced by FDS+Evac, an evacuation model for the simulation of human behaviour in fire, which makes use of distribution laws. - Highlights: • Validation of evacuation models is investigated. • Quantitative evaluation of behavioural uncertainty is performed. • A validation procedure is presented through an evacuation case study

  14. State Token Petri Net modeling method for formal verification of computerized procedure including operator's interruptions of procedure execution flow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Yun Goo; Seong, Poong Hyun

    2012-01-01

    The Computerized Procedure System (CPS) is one of the primary operating support systems in the digital Main Control Room. The CPS displays procedure on the computer screen in the form of a flow chart, and displays plant operating information along with procedure instructions. It also supports operator decision making by providing a system decision. A procedure flow should be correct and reliable, as an error would lead to operator misjudgement and inadequate control. In this paper we present a modeling for the CPS that enables formal verification based on Petri nets. The proposed State Token Petri Nets (STPN) also support modeling of a procedure flow that has various interruptions by the operator, according to the plant condition. STPN modeling is compared with Coloured Petri net when they are applied to Emergency Operating Computerized Procedure. A converting program for Computerized Procedure (CP) to STPN has been also developed. The formal verification and validation methods of CP with STPN increase the safety of a nuclear power plant and provide digital quality assurance means that are needed when the role and function of the CPS is increasing.

  15. Cost-effectiveness of decompression according to Gill versus instrumented spondylodesis in the treatment of sciatica due to low grade spondylolytic spondylolisthesis: A prospective randomised controlled trial [NTR1300

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    M.P. Arts (Mark); M.J.T. Verstegen (Marco); R. Brand (René); B.W. Koes (Bart); M.E. van den Akker-van Marle (Elske); W.C. Peul (Wilco)

    2008-01-01

    textabstractBackground. Nerve root decompression with instrumented spondylodesis is the most frequently performed surgical procedure in the treatment of patients with symptomatic low-grade spondylolytic spondylolisthesis. Nerve root decompression without instrumented fusion, i.e. Gill's procedure,

  16. Validity of two recently-proposed prognostic grading indices for lung, gastro-intestinal, breast and renal cell cancer patients with radiosurgically-treated brain metastases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamamoto, Masaaki; Serizawa, Toru; Sato, Yasunori; Kawabe, Takuya; Higuchi, Yoshinori; Nagano, Osamu; Barfod, Bierta E; Ono, Junichi; Kasuya, Hidetoshi; Urakawa, Yoichi

    2013-02-01

    We tested the validity of two prognostic indices for stereotactic radiosurgically (SRS)-treated patients with brain metastases (BMs) from five major original cancer categories. The two indices are Diagnosis-Specific Graded Prognostic Assessment (DS-GPA) and our Modified Recursive Partitioning Analysis (RPA). Forty-six hundred and eight BM patients underwent gamma knife SRS during the 1998-2011 period. Primary cancer categories were non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC, 2827 patients), small cell lung cancer (SCLC, 460), gastro-intestinal cancer (GIC, 582), breast cancer (BC, 547) and renal cell cancer (RCC, 192). There were statistically significant survival differences among patients stratified into four groups based on the DS-GPA systems (p failed to reach statistical significance with this system. There were, however, statistically significant MST differences (p < 0.001) among the three groups without overlapping of 95 % CIs between any two pairs of groups with the Modified RPA system in all five categories. The DS-GPA system is applicable to our set of patients with NSCLC only. However, the Modified RPA system was shown to be applicable to patients with five primary cancer categories. This index should be considered when designing future clinical trials involving BM patients.

  17. The use of Career Growth Scale in Chinese nurses: Validity and reliability

    OpenAIRE

    Jingying Liu; Jipeng Yang; Yanhui Liu; Yang Yang; Hongfu Zhang

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: To test the validity and reliability of a modified Career Growth Scale (CGS) to assess nurse career growth. Method: A cross-sectional design was used to analyze the use of the CGS to survey 600 full-time registered nurses from Grade A hospitals in Tianjin. Results: A modified scale we called Career Growth of Nurse Scale (CGNS) is acceptable, valid, and reliable for the evaluation of nurse career growth in Chinese hospitals. This scale measured three main factors (career goal, c...

  18. Graded tensor calculus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Scheunert, M.

    1982-10-01

    We develop a graded tensor calculus corresponding to arbitrary Abelian groups of degrees and arbitrary commutation factors. The standard basic constructions and definitions like tensor products, spaces of multilinear mappings, contractions, symmetrization, symmetric algebra, as well as the transpose, adjoint, and trace of a linear mapping, are generalized to the graded case and a multitude of canonical isomorphisms is presented. Moreover, the graded versions of the classical Lie algebras are introduced and some of their basic properties are described. (orig.)

  19. Neutronics benchmark of a MOX assembly with near-weapons-grade plutonium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Difilippo, F.C.; Fisher, S.E.

    1998-01-01

    One of the proposed ways to dispose of surplus weapons-grade plutonium (Pu) is to irradiate the high-fissile material in light-water reactors in order to reduce the Pu enrichment to the level of spent fuels from commercial reactors. Considerable experience has been accumulated about the behavior of mixed-oxide (MOX) uranium and plutonium fuels for plutonium recycling in commercial reactors, but the experience is related to Pu enrichments typical of spent fuels quite below the values of weapons-grade plutonium. Important decisions related to the kind of reactors to be used for the disposition of the plutonium are going to be based on calculations, so the validation of computational algorithms related to all aspects of the fuel cycle (power distributions, isotopics as function of the burnup, etc.), for weapons-grade isotopics is very important. Analysis of public domain data reveals that the cycle-2 irradiation in the Quad cities boiling-water reactor (BWR) is the most recent US destructive examination. This effort involved the irradiation of five MOX assemblies using 80 and 90% fissile plutonium. These benchmark data were gathered by General Electric under the sponsorship of the Electric Power Research Institute. It is emphasized, however, that global parameters are not the focus of this benchmark, since the five bundles containing MOX fuels did not significantly affect the overall core performance. However, since the primary objective of this work is to compare against measured post-irradiation assembly data, the term benchmark is applied here. One important reason for performing the benchmark on Quad Cities irradiation is that the fissile blends (up to 90%) are higher than reactor-grade and, quite close to, weapons-grade isotopics

  20. Assessing Survival and Grading the Severity of Complications in Octogenarians Undergoing Pulmonary Lobectomy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew Feczko

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. Octogenarians are at increased risk for complications after lung resection. With alternatives such as radiation, understanding the risks of surgery and associated survival are valuable. Data grading the severity of complications and long-term survival in this population is lacking. We reviewed our experience with lobectomy in octogenarians, grading complications using a validated thoracic morbidity and mortality schema. Methods. We retrospectively reviewed consecutive patients aged ≥80 undergoing lobectomy between 2004 and 2012. Demographics, clinical/pathologic stage, complications, recurrence, and mortality were collected. Complications were graded by the Seely thoracic morbidity and mortality model. Results. 45 patients (mean age 82.2 years were analyzed. The majority of patients (28/45, 62% were clinical stage IA/IB. 62% (28/45 of patients experienced a complication. Only 15.6% (7/45 were considered significantly morbid (≥ grade IIIB per the Seely model. Perioperative mortality was 2% and half of patients were living at a follow-up of 53 months. Overall five-year survival was 52%. Conclusions. In carefully selected octogenarians, lobectomy carries a 15.6% rate of significantly morbid complications with encouraging overall survival. These data provide the basis for a more complete discussion with patients regarding lobectomy for lung cancer.

  1. Development of automated operating procedure system using fuzzy colored petri nets for nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Seung Jun; Seong, Poong Hyun

    2004-01-01

    In this work, AuTomated Operating Procedure System (ATOPS) is developed. ATOPS is an automation system for emergency operation of a nuclear power plant (NPP) and it can monitor signals, diagnose statuses, and generate control actions according to corresponding operating procedures without any human operator's help. Main functions of ATOPS are an anomaly detection function and a procedure execution function but only the procedure execution function is implemented in this work because this work is just the first step. In the procedure execution function, operating procedures of NPPs are analyzed and modeled using Fuzzy Colored Petri Nets (FCPN) and executed depending on decision making of the inference engine. In this work, ATOPS prototype is developed to demonstrate its feasibility and it is also validated using the FISA-2/WS simulator. The validation is performed for the cases of a loss of coolant accident (LOCA) and a steam generator tube rupture (SGTR). The simulation results show that ATOPS works correctly in the emergency situations

  2. Validation of questionnaire-reported hearing with medical records: A report from the Swiss Childhood Cancer Survivor Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scheinemann, Katrin; Grotzer, Michael; Kompis, Martin; Kuehni, Claudia E.

    2017-01-01

    Background Hearing loss is a potential late effect after childhood cancer. Questionnaires are often used to assess hearing in large cohorts of childhood cancer survivors and it is important to know if they can provide valid measures of hearing loss. We therefore assessed agreement and validity of questionnaire-reported hearing in childhood cancer survivors using medical records as reference. Procedure In this validation study, we studied 361 survivors of childhood cancer from the Swiss Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (SCCSS) who had been diagnosed after 1989 and had been exposed to ototoxic cancer treatment. Questionnaire-reported hearing was compared to the information in medical records. Hearing loss was defined as ≥ grade 1 according to the SIOP Boston Ototoxicity Scale. We assessed agreement and validity of questionnaire-reported hearing overall and stratified by questionnaire respondents (survivor or parent), sociodemographic characteristics, time between follow-up and questionnaire and severity of hearing loss. Results Questionnaire reports agreed with medical records in 85% of respondents (kappa 0.62), normal hearing was correctly assessed in 92% of those with normal hearing (n = 249), and hearing loss was correctly assessed in 69% of those with hearing loss (n = 112). Sensitivity of the questionnaires was 92%, 74%, and 39% for assessment of severe, moderate and mild bilateral hearing loss; and 50%, 33% and 10% for severe, moderate and mild unilateral hearing loss, respectively. Results did not differ by sociodemographic characteristics of the respondents, and survivor- and parent-reports were equally valid. Conclusions Questionnaires are a useful tool to assess hearing in large cohorts of childhood cancer survivors, but underestimate mild and unilateral hearing loss. Further research should investigate whether the addition of questions with higher sensitivity for mild degrees of hearing loss could improve the results. PMID:28333999

  3. The relationship between self-complexity and depressive symptoms in third and seventh grade children: a short-term longitudinal study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abela, John R Z; Véronneau-McArdle, Marie-Hélène

    2002-04-01

    The goal of this study was to test the diathesis-stress component of Linville's and Morgan and Janoff-Bulman's models of the relationship between self-complexity and depressive symptoms in a sample of third and seventh grade children (P. W. Linville, 1985, 1987; H. J. Morgan & Janoff-Bulman, 1994). The procedure involved an initial assessment of self-complexity and depressive symptoms. The procedure also involved a follow-up assessment, 10 weeks later, in which depressive symptoms and the occurrence of negative events were assessed. Contrary to hypotheses, neither high levels of total nor positive self-complexity served as a buffer against the onset of depressive symptoms following the occurrence of negative events. In line with hypotheses, however, high levels of negative self-complexity interacted with the occurrence of negative events to predict increases in depressive symptoms in seventh but not third grade children.

  4. Feature Extraction for Structural Dynamics Model Validation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Farrar, Charles [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Nishio, Mayuko [Yokohama University; Hemez, Francois [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Stull, Chris [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Park, Gyuhae [Chonnam Univesity; Cornwell, Phil [Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Figueiredo, Eloi [Universidade Lusófona; Luscher, D. J. [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Worden, Keith [University of Sheffield

    2016-01-13

    As structural dynamics becomes increasingly non-modal, stochastic and nonlinear, finite element model-updating technology must adopt the broader notions of model validation and uncertainty quantification. For example, particular re-sampling procedures must be implemented to propagate uncertainty through a forward calculation, and non-modal features must be defined to analyze nonlinear data sets. The latter topic is the focus of this report, but first, some more general comments regarding the concept of model validation will be discussed.

  5. Optimizing a machine learning based glioma grading system using multi-parametric MRI histogram and texture features.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xin; Yan, Lin-Feng; Hu, Yu-Chuan; Li, Gang; Yang, Yang; Han, Yu; Sun, Ying-Zhi; Liu, Zhi-Cheng; Tian, Qiang; Han, Zi-Yang; Liu, Le-De; Hu, Bin-Quan; Qiu, Zi-Yu; Wang, Wen; Cui, Guang-Bin

    2017-07-18

    Current machine learning techniques provide the opportunity to develop noninvasive and automated glioma grading tools, by utilizing quantitative parameters derived from multi-modal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data. However, the efficacies of different machine learning methods in glioma grading have not been investigated.A comprehensive comparison of varied machine learning methods in differentiating low-grade gliomas (LGGs) and high-grade gliomas (HGGs) as well as WHO grade II, III and IV gliomas based on multi-parametric MRI images was proposed in the current study. The parametric histogram and image texture attributes of 120 glioma patients were extracted from the perfusion, diffusion and permeability parametric maps of preoperative MRI. Then, 25 commonly used machine learning classifiers combined with 8 independent attribute selection methods were applied and evaluated using leave-one-out cross validation (LOOCV) strategy. Besides, the influences of parameter selection on the classifying performances were investigated. We found that support vector machine (SVM) exhibited superior performance to other classifiers. By combining all tumor attributes with synthetic minority over-sampling technique (SMOTE), the highest classifying accuracy of 0.945 or 0.961 for LGG and HGG or grade II, III and IV gliomas was achieved. Application of Recursive Feature Elimination (RFE) attribute selection strategy further improved the classifying accuracies. Besides, the performances of LibSVM, SMO, IBk classifiers were influenced by some key parameters such as kernel type, c, gama, K, etc. SVM is a promising tool in developing automated preoperative glioma grading system, especially when being combined with RFE strategy. Model parameters should be considered in glioma grading model optimization.

  6. Analytic Validation of Immunohistochemistry Assays: New Benchmark Data From a Survey of 1085 Laboratories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stuart, Lauren N; Volmar, Keith E; Nowak, Jan A; Fatheree, Lisa A; Souers, Rhona J; Fitzgibbons, Patrick L; Goldsmith, Jeffrey D; Astles, J Rex; Nakhleh, Raouf E

    2017-09-01

    - A cooperative agreement between the College of American Pathologists (CAP) and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was undertaken to measure laboratories' awareness and implementation of an evidence-based laboratory practice guideline (LPG) on immunohistochemical (IHC) validation practices published in 2014. - To establish new benchmark data on IHC laboratory practices. - A 2015 survey on IHC assay validation practices was sent to laboratories subscribed to specific CAP proficiency testing programs and to additional nonsubscribing laboratories that perform IHC testing. Specific questions were designed to capture laboratory practices not addressed in a 2010 survey. - The analysis was based on responses from 1085 laboratories that perform IHC staining. Ninety-six percent (809 of 844) always documented validation of IHC assays. Sixty percent (648 of 1078) had separate procedures for predictive and nonpredictive markers, 42.7% (220 of 515) had procedures for laboratory-developed tests, 50% (349 of 697) had procedures for testing cytologic specimens, and 46.2% (363 of 785) had procedures for testing decalcified specimens. Minimum case numbers were specified by 85.9% (720 of 838) of laboratories for nonpredictive markers and 76% (584 of 768) for predictive markers. Median concordance requirements were 95% for both types. For initial validation, 75.4% (538 of 714) of laboratories adopted the 20-case minimum for nonpredictive markers and 45.9% (266 of 579) adopted the 40-case minimum for predictive markers as outlined in the 2014 LPG. The most common method for validation was correlation with morphology and expected results. Laboratories also reported which assay changes necessitated revalidation and their minimum case requirements. - Benchmark data on current IHC validation practices and procedures may help laboratories understand the issues and influence further refinement of LPG recommendations.

  7. Predictive Validity and Accuracy of Oral Reading Fluency for English Learners

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vanderwood, Michael L.; Tung, Catherine Y.; Checca, C. Jason

    2014-01-01

    The predictive validity and accuracy of an oral reading fluency (ORF) measure for a statewide assessment in English language arts was examined for second-grade native English speakers (NESs) and English learners (ELs) with varying levels of English proficiency. In addition to comparing ELs with native English speakers, the impact of English…

  8. Relationship between colon and kidney: a critical point for percutaneous procedures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atar, Murat; Hatipoglu, Namik Kemal; Soylemez, Haluk; Penbegul, Necmettin; Bozkurt, Yasar; Gumus, Hatice; Sancaktutar, Ahmet Ali; Kuday, Suzan; Bodakci, Mehmet Nuri

    2013-04-01

    The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of anatomical variations of the colon associated with the kidney. A retrospective analysis was performed on 1000 consecutive abdominal computed tomography (CT) scans performed between July 2010 and September 2011. A line parallel to the horizontal plane was drawn through the posterior edge of each kidney at three renal levels: upper, middle and lower pole. The bowel between the psoas muscle and the kidney was determined as the interposition of the colon. The amount of perinephric fat was estimated and graded. The total number of patients undergoing CT scans was 1000 (male/female = 510/490). The mean age of patients was 42.2 years. Seventeen patients (1.7%) had retrorenal colon, of which 12 (1.2%) were on the left side, three (0.3%) on the right side and two (0.2%) were bilateral. Of these 17 cases, 11 were found at the lower, two at the middle and four at the upper pole of the kidney. There was grade I perirenal fat tissue in 13 and grade II in four cases. Interposition of the colon was detected in 32 (3.2%) patients, 30 (3%) on the right and two (0.2%) on the left. The grade of perirenal fat tissue in patients with colon interposition was as follows: 25 patients grade I, six patients grade II and one patient grade III. In accessing the lower pole of the kidney, especially on the left side, the risk of colonic injury should be taken into consideration during percutaneous procedures, regardless of the patient's age and gender.

  9. The validity of using ROC software for analysing visual grading characteristics data: an investigation based on the novel software VGC analyzer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hansson, Jonny; Maansson, Lars Gunnar; Baath, Magnus

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of the present work was to investigate the validity of using single-reader-adapted receiver operating characteristics (ROC) software for analysis of visual grading characteristics (VGC) data. VGC data from four published VGC studies on optimisation of X-ray examinations, previously analysed using ROCFIT, were reanalysed using a recently developed software dedicated to VGC analysis (VGC Analyzer), and the outcomes [the mean and 95 % confidence interval (CI) of the area under the VGC curve (AUC VGC ) and the p-value] were compared. The studies included both paired and non-paired data and were reanalysed both for the fixed-reader and the random-reader situations. The results showed good agreement between the softwares for the mean AUC VGC . For non-paired data, wider CIs were obtained with VGC Analyzer than previously reported, whereas for paired data, the previously reported CIs were similar or even broader. Similar observations were made for the p-values. The results indicate that the use of single-reader-adapted ROC software such as ROCFIT for analysing non-paired VGC data may lead to an increased risk of committing Type I errors, especially in the random-reader situation. On the other hand, the use of ROC software for analysis of paired VGC data may lead to an increased risk of committing Type II errors, especially in the fixed-reader situation. (authors)

  10. Vascular grading of angiogenesis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, S; Grabau, D A; Sørensen, Flemming Brandt

    2000-01-01

    The study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of angiogenesis by vascular grading of primary breast tumours, and to evaluate the prognostic impact of adding the vascular grade to the Nottingham Prognostic Index (NPI). The investigation included 836 patients. The median follow-up time was 11...... years and 4 months. The microvessels were immunohistochemically stained by antibodies against CD34. Angiogenesis was graded semiquantitatively by subjective scoring into three groups according to the expected number of microvessels in the most vascular tumour area. The vascular grading between observers...... for 24% of the patients, who had a shift in prognostic group, as compared to NPI, and implied a better prognostic dissemination. We concluded that the angiogenesis determined by vascular grading has independent prognostic value of clinical relevance for patients with breast cancer....

  11. Vascular grading of angiogenesis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, S; Grabau, D A; Sørensen, Flemming Brandt

    2000-01-01

    The study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of angiogenesis by vascular grading of primary breast tumours, and to evaluate the prognostic impact of adding the vascular grade to the Nottingham Prognostic Index (NPI). The investigation included 836 patients. The median follow-up time was 11...... years and 4 months. The microvessels were immunohistochemically stained by antibodies against CD34. Angiogenesis was graded semiquantitatively by subjective scoring into three groups according to the expected number of microvessels in the most vascular tumour area. The vascular grading between observers...... impact for 24% of the patients, who had a shift in prognostic group, as compared to NPI, and implied a better prognostic dissemination. We concluded that the angiogenesis determined by vascular grading has independent prognostic value of clinical relevance for patients with breast cancer....

  12. Buckling of a stiff thin film on an elastic graded compliant substrate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Zhou; Chen, Weiqiu; Song, Jizhou

    2017-12-01

    The buckling of a stiff film on a compliant substrate has attracted much attention due to its wide applications such as thin-film metrology, surface patterning and stretchable electronics. An analytical model is established for the buckling of a stiff thin film on a semi-infinite elastic graded compliant substrate subjected to in-plane compression. The critical compressive strain and buckling wavelength for the sinusoidal mode are obtained analytically for the case with the substrate modulus decaying exponentially. The rigorous finite element analysis (FEA) is performed to validate the analytical model and investigate the postbuckling behaviour of the system. The critical buckling strain for the period-doubling mode is obtained numerically. The influences of various material parameters on the results are investigated. These results are helpful to provide physical insights on the buckling of elastic graded substrate-supported thin film.

  13. Rapid Generation of Multiple Loci-Engineered Marker-free Poxvirus and Characterization of a Clinical-Grade Oncolytic Vaccinia Virus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zong Sheng Guo

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Recombinant poxviruses, utilized as vaccine vectors and oncolytic viruses, often require manipulation at multiple genetic loci in the viral genome. It is essential for viral vectors to possess no adventitious mutations and no (antibiotic selection marker in the final product for human patients in order to comply with the guidance from the regulatory agencies. Rintoul et al. have previously developed a selectable and excisable marker (SEM system for the rapid generation of recombinant vaccinia virus. In the current study, we describe an improved methodology for rapid creation and selection of recombinant poxviruses with multiple genetic manipulations solely based on expression of a fluorescent protein and with no requirement for drug selection that can lead to cellular stress and the risk of adventitious mutations throughout the viral genome. Using this improved procedure combined with the SEM system, we have constructed multiple marker-free oncolytic poxviruses expressing different cytokines and other therapeutic genes. The high fidelity of inserted DNA sequences validates the utility of this improved procedure for generation of therapeutic viruses for human patients. We have created an oncolytic poxvirus expressing human chemokine CCL5, designated as vvDD-A34R-hCCL5, with manipulations at two genetic loci in a single virus. Finally, we have produced and purified this virus in clinical grade for its use in a phase I clinical trial and presented data on initial in vitro characterization of the virus.

  14. Simple multicomponent batch distillation procedure with a variable reflux policy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. N. García

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes a shortcut procedure for batch distillation simulation with a variable reflux policy. The procedure starts from a shortcut method developed by Sundaram and Evans in 1993 and uses an iterative cycle to calculate the reflux ratio at each moment. The functional relationship between the concentrations at the bottom and the dome is evaluated using the Fenske equation and is complemented with the equations proposed by Underwood and Gilliland. The results of this procedure are consistent with those obtained using a fast method widely validated in the relevant literature.

  15. Clinical and pathological heterogeneity of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hannah P Yang

    Full Text Available Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 (CIN3, the immediate cervical cancer precursor, is a target of cervical cancer prevention. However, less than half of CIN3s will progress to cancer. Routine treatment of all CIN3s and the majority of CIN2s may lead to overtreatment of many lesions that would not progress. To improve our understanding of CIN3 natural history, we performed a detailed characterization of CIN3 heterogeneity in a large referral population in the US.We examined 309 CIN3 cases in the SUCCEED, a large population-based study of women with abnormal cervical cancer screening results. Histology information for 12 individual loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP segments was evaluated for each woman. We performed case-case comparisons of CIN3s to analyze determinants of heterogeneity and screening test performance.CIN3 cases varied substantially by size (1-10 LEEP segments and by presentation with concomitant CIN2 and CIN1. All grades of CINs were equally distributed over the cervical surface. In half of the women, CIN3 lesions were found as multiple distinct lesions on the cervix. Women with large and solitary CIN3 lesions were more likely to be older, have longer sexual activity span, and have fewer multiple high risk HPV infections. Screening frequency, but not HPV16 positivity, was an important predictor of CIN3 size. Large CIN3 lesions were also characterized by high-grade clinical test results.We demonstrate substantial heterogeneity in clinical and pathological presentation of CIN3 in a US population. Time since sexual debut and participation in screening were predictors of CIN3 size. We did not observe a preferential site of CIN3 on the cervical surface that could serve as a target for cervical biopsy. Cervical cancer screening procedures were more likely to detect larger CIN3s, suggesting that CIN3s detected by multiple independent diagnostic tests may represent cases with increased risk of invasion.

  16. Calibration and validation of a model describing complete autotrophic nitrogen removal in a granular SBR system

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vangsgaard, Anna Katrine; Mutlu, Ayten Gizem; Gernaey, Krist

    2013-01-01

    BACKGROUND: A validated model describing the nitritation-anammox process in a granular sequencing batch reactor (SBR) system is an important tool for: a) design of future experiments and b) prediction of process performance during optimization, while applying process control, or during system scale......-up. RESULTS: A model was calibrated using a step-wise procedure customized for the specific needs of the system. The important steps in the procedure were initialization, steady-state and dynamic calibration, and validation. A fast and effective initialization approach was developed to approximate pseudo...... screening of the parameter space proposed by Sin et al. (2008) - to find the best fit of the model to dynamic data. Finally, the calibrated model was validated with an independent data set. CONCLUSION: The presented calibration procedure is the first customized procedure for this type of system...

  17. Human factor analysis related to new symptom based procedures used by control room crews during treatment of emergency states

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Holy, J.

    1999-01-01

    New symptom based emergency procedures have been developed for Nuclear Power Plant Dukovany in the Czech Republic. As one point of the process of verification and validation of the procedures, a specific effort was devoted to detailed analysis of the procedures from human factors and human reliability point of view. The course and results of the analysis are discussed in this article. Although the analyzed procedures have been developed for one specific plant of WWER-440/213 type, most of the presented results may be valid for many other procedures recently developed for semi-automatic control of those technological units which are operated under measurable level of risk. (author)

  18. Procedures for Determining the Performance of Stand-Alone Photovoltaic Systems; TOPICAL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    DeBlasio, R.; Durand, S.; Hansen, R.; Hutchinson, P.; Kroposki, B.; McNutt, P.; Rosenthal, A.; Thomas, M.

    1999-01-01

    This document provides the procedures for determining the performance of stand-alone PV systems. The procedures in this document provide a common approach for evaluating whether a given PV system is suitable to perform the function for which it was designed and manufactured to accomplish, and whether it will provide adequate power to run the load. These procedures cover small stand-alone PV systems. They cover complete outdoor system testing. Test results are valid only for the system that is tested

  19. Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses in Reading-Related Cognitive Component among Grade Four Students in Thailand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liao, Chen-Huei; Kuo, Bor-Chen; Deenang, Exkarach; Mok, Magdalena Mo Ching

    2016-01-01

    This study aimed to investigate the structure and the validity of the cognitive components of reading in Thai, which is a language with a high degree of grapheme-phoneme correspondence. The participants were 1181 fourth-grade students in 29 schools in Thailand, divided into two subsamples for data analysis. Phoneme isolation, rapid colour naming,…

  20. 201Tl-SPECT in low-grade gliomas: diagnostic accuracy in differential diagnosis between tumour recurrence and radionecrosis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gomez-Rio, Manuel; Martinez del Valle Torres, Dolores; Rodriguez-Fernandez, Antonio; Llamas-Elvira, Jose Manuel; Lozano, Simeon Ortega; Font, Carlos Ramos; Lopez Ramirez, Escarlata; Katati, Majed

    2004-01-01

    The aim of this work was to describe the usefulness of a simple 201 Tl single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) technique in the differential diagnosis between tumour recurrence and radionecrosis during the follow-up of patients treated for low-grade gliomas. The study population comprised 84 patients treated for low-grade gliomas who showed suspicion of tumour recurrence during their follow-up. All patients were examined by neuro-anatomical imaging procedures (CT, MRI) and 201 Tl-SPECT. 201 Tl-SPECT images were assessed by visual analysis based only on the information on the prescription form and by estimation of the uptake index (ratio of mean counts in the lesion to those in the contralateral mirror area). Examiners were blinded to the results of other tests. Under these conditions, the neuro-anatomical procedures yielded 26.2% inconclusive reports, with a global diagnostic accuracy of 0.61, a sensitivity of 0.63 and a specificity of 0.59. The global diagnostic accuracy for 201 Tl-SPECT was 0.83, with a sensitivity of 0.88 and a specificity of 0.76. Diagnostic pitfalls were observed in regions with physiological 201 Tl uptake, i.e. the posterior cranial fossa, diencephalon, lateral ventricles and cavernous and longitudinal venous sinuses. An uptake index cut-off value of 1.25 showed a sensitivity of 0.90 and specificity of 0.80 for detection of tumour activity. 201 Tl-SPECT has adequate diagnostic accuracy to be part of routine algorithms in the follow-up of patients with low-grade glioma suspected of tumour recurrence, as an alternative to neuro-anatomical procedures and not solely as a complementary test. (orig.)

  1. Measuring Vocational Preferences: Ranking versus Categorical Rating Procedures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carifio, James

    1978-01-01

    Describes a study to compare the relative validities of ranking v categorical rating procedures for obtaining student vocational preference data in exploratory program assignment situations. Students indicated their vocational program preferences from career clusters, and the frequency of wrong assignments made by each method was analyzed. (MF)

  2. Direct behavior rating as a school-based behavior screener for elementary and middle grades.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chafouleas, Sandra M; Kilgus, Stephen P; Jaffery, Rose; Riley-Tillman, T Chris; Welsh, Megan; Christ, Theodore J

    2013-06-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate how Direct Behavior Rating Single Item Scales (DBR-SIS) involving targets of academically engaged, disruptive, and respectful behaviors function in school-based screening assessment. Participants included 831 students in kindergarten through eighth grades who attended schools in the northeastern United States. Teachers provided behavior ratings for a sample of students in their classrooms on the DBR-SIS, the Behavioral and Emotional Screening System (Kamphaus & Reynolds, 2007), and the Student Risk Screening Scale (Drummond, 1994). Given variations in rating procedures to accommodate scheduling differences across grades, analysis was conducted separately for elementary school and middle school grade levels. Results suggested that the recommended cut scores, the combination of behavior targets, and the resulting conditional probability indices varied depending on grade level grouping (lower elementary, upper elementary, middle). For example, for the lower elementary grade level grouping, a combination of disruptive behavior (cut score=2) and academically engaged behavior (cut score=8) was considered to offer the best balance among indices of diagnostic accuracy, whereas a cut score of 1 for disruptive behavior and 8 for academically engaged behavior were recommended for the upper elementary school grade level grouping and cut scores of 1 and 9, respectively, were suggested for middle school grade level grouping. Generally, DBR-SIS cut scores considered optimal for screening using single or combined targets including academically engaged behavior and disruptive behavior by offering a reasonable balance of indices for sensitivity (.51-.90), specificity (.47-.83), negative predictive power (.94-.98), and positive predictive power (.14-.41). The single target of respectful behavior performed poorly across all grade level groups, and performance of DBR-SIS targets was relatively better in the elementary school than middle

  3. Validation of a paper-disk approach to facilitate the sensory evaluation of bitterness in dairy protein hydrolysates from a newly developed food-grade fractionation system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murray, Niamh M; O'Riordan, Dolores; Jacquier, Jean-Christophe; O'Sullivan, Michael; Cohen, Joshua L; Heymann, Hildegarde; Barile, Daniela; Dallas, David C

    2017-06-01

    Casein-hydrolysates (NaCaH) are desirable functional ingredients, but their bitterness impedes usage in foods. This study sought to validate a paper-disk approach to help evaluate bitterness in NaCaHs and to develop a food-grade approach to separate a NaCaH into distinct fractions, which could be evaluated by a sensory panel. Membrane filtration generated sensory evaluation. Bitterness differences observed in the membrane fractions using this sensory evaluation approach reflected those observed for the same fractions presented as a liquid. The flash-chromatography fractions increased in bitterness with an increase in hydrophobicity, except for the 50% EtOH fraction which had little bitterness. Amino acid analysis of the fractions showed enrichment of different essential amino acids in both the bitter and less bitter fractions. The developed food-grade fractionation system, allowed for a simple and reasonably scaled approach to separating a NaCaH, into physicochemically different fractions that could be evaluated by a sensory panel. The method of sensory evaluation used in this study, in which NaCaH samples are impregnated into paper-disks, provided potential solutions for issues such as sample insolubility and limited quantities of sample. As the impregnated paper-disk samples were dehydrated, their long storage life could also be suitable for sensory evaluations distributed by mail for large consumer studies. The research, in this study, allowed for a greater understanding of the physicochemical basis for bitterness in this NaCaH. As some essential amino acids were enriched in the less bitter fractions, selective removal of bitter fractions could allow for the incorporation of the less bitter NaCaH fractions into food products for added nutritional value, without negatively impacting sensory properties. There is potential for this approach to be applied to other food ingredients with undesirable tastes, such as polyphenols.

  4. Man-in-the-loop validation plan for the Millstone Unit 3 SPDS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blanch, P.M.; Wilkinson, C.D.

    1985-01-01

    This paper describes the man-in-the-loop validation plan for the Millstone Point Unit 3 (MP3) Safety Parameter Display System (SPDS). MP3 is a pressurized water reactor scheduled to load fuel November, 1985. The SPDS is being implemented as part of plant construction. This paper provides an overview of the validation process. Detailed validation procedures, scenarios, and evaluation forms will be incorporated into the validation plan to produce the detailed validation program. The program document will provide all of the new detailed instructions necessary to perform the man-in-the-loop validation

  5. The Relationship of Grade Span in 9th Grade to Math Achievement in High School

    Science.gov (United States)

    West, John; Miller, Mary Lou; Myers, Jim; Norton, Timothy

    2015-01-01

    Purpose, Scope, and Method of Study: The purpose of this study was to determine if a correlation exists between grade span for ninth grade and gains in math achievement test scores in 10th grade and 12th grade. A quantitative, longitudinal, correlational research design was employed to investigate the research questions. The population was high…

  6. Comparing Dropout Predictors for Two State-Level Panels Using Grade 6 and Grade 8 Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Franklin, Bobby J.; Trouard, Stephen B.

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of dropout predictors across time. Two state-level high school graduation panels were selected to begin with the seventh and ninth grades but end at the same time. The first panel (seventh grade) contained 29,554 students and used sixth grade predictors. The second panel (ninth grade)…

  7. To Make Long Character-Marked Cuttings From Low-Grade Yellow-Poplar Lumber - Rip First

    Science.gov (United States)

    Philip A. Araman

    1979-01-01

    Long, character-marked furniture cuttings are easily obtained when low-grade (2A and 2B Common) yellow-poplar lumber is first ripped into strips and then crosscut to remove objectionable defects. Overall yields of character-marked material using this procedure were 78% from 1 Common and 2A Common and 70% from 2B Common yellow-poplar lumber. Furthermore, 82% of the 1...

  8. A Brazilian Portuguese Survey of School Climate: Evidence of Validity and Reliability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bear, George G.; Holst, Bruna; Lisboa, Carolina; Chen, Dandan; Yang, Chunyan; Chen, Fang Fang

    2016-01-01

    This study presents evidence of the validity and reliability of scores for the newly developed Brazilian Portuguese version of the Delaware School Climate Survey-Student (Brazilian DSCS-S). The sample consisted of 378 students, grades 5 through 9, attending four private and three public schools in southern Brazil. Confirmatory factor analyses…

  9. Regulatory perspectives on human factors validation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harrison, F.; Staples, L.

    2001-01-01

    Validation is an important avenue for controlling the genesis of human error, and thus managing loss, in a human-machine system. Since there are many ways in which error may intrude upon system operation, it is necessary to consider the performance-shaping factors that could introduce error and compromise system effectiveness. Validation works to this end by examining, through objective testing and measurement, the newly developed system, procedure or staffing level, in order to identify and eliminate those factors which may negatively influence human performance. It is essential that validation be done in a high-fidelity setting, in an objective and systematic manner, using appropriate measures, if meaningful results are to be obtained, In addition, inclusion of validation work in any design process can be seen as contributing to a good safety culture, since such activity allows licensees to eliminate elements which may negatively impact on human behaviour. (author)

  10. Methods and procedures for the verification and validation of artificial neural networks

    CERN Document Server

    Taylor, Brian J

    2006-01-01

    Neural networks are members of a class of software that have the potential to enable intelligent computational systems capable of simulating characteristics of biological thinking and learning. This volume introduces some of the methods and techniques used for the verification and validation of neural networks and adaptive systems.

  11. Development and Validation of the Consumer Health Activation Index.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolf, Michael S; Smith, Samuel G; Pandit, Anjali U; Condon, David M; Curtis, Laura M; Griffith, James; O'Conor, Rachel; Rush, Steven; Bailey, Stacy C; Kaplan, Gordon; Haufle, Vincent; Martin, David

    2018-04-01

    Although there has been increasing interest in patient engagement, few measures are publicly available and suitable for patients with limited health literacy. We sought to develop a Consumer Health Activation Index (CHAI) for use among diverse patients. Expert opinion, a systematic literature review, focus groups, and cognitive interviews with patients were used to create and revise a potential set of items. Psychometric testing guided by item response theory was then conducted among 301 English-speaking, community-dwelling adults. This included differential item functioning analyses to evaluate item performance across participant health literacy levels. To determine construct validity, CHAI scores were compared to scales measuring similar personality constructs. Associations between the CHAI and physical and mental health established predictive validity. A second study among 9,478 adults was used to confirm CHAI associations with health outcomes. Exploratory factor analyses revealed a single-factor solution with a 10-item scale. The CHAI showed good internal consistency (alpha = 0.81) and moderate test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.53). Reading grade level was found to be at the 6 th grade. Moderate to strong correlations were found with similar constructs (Multidimensional Health Locus of Control, r = 0.38, P measures (depression, r = -0.28, P < 0.001; anxiety, r = -0.22, P < 0.001; and physical functioning, r = 0.22, P < 0.001). In the validation sample, the CHAI was significantly associated with self-reported physical and mental health ( r = 0.31 and 0.32 respectively; both P < 0.001). The CHAI appears to be a valid, reliable, and easily administered tool that can be used to assess health activation among adults, including those with limited health literacy. Future studies should test the tool in actual use and explore further applications.

  12. 7 CFR 810.804 - Grades and grade requirements for mixed grain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 7 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Grades and grade requirements for mixed grain. 810.804 Section 810.804 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) GRAIN INSPECTION, PACKERS AND STOCKYARD ADMINISTRATION (FEDERAL GRAIN INSPECTION SERVICE), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE...

  13. Chromatographic monitoring procedures in laboratory practice

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kaplina, E G; Belova, O I; Lasunina, N A

    1976-01-01

    The Moscow Coke and Chemical Works consist of three plants in combination, viz., the coking plant, the synthetic ammonia plant using coke-oven-gas hydrogen and the oxygen plant. The plant requirements include daily analyses not only of the coke-oven gas but also of a rich gas and an ethylene fraction. The analyses are carried out in VTI-2 apparatus. The analytical data are used to calculate the calorific values and densities of the gases. The time requirements are very considerable and the laboratory has long been engaged in developing and introducing chromatographic procedures for the major constituents of coke-oven gas, rich gas and ethylene fraction. The procedure developed for the coke-oven and rich gases uses two parallel columns, one packed with molecular sieves and the other with grade KSM silica gel. Hydrogen was determined with argon as the carrier gas, and all other constituents with helium. The procedure was time-consuming and complicated. An attempt was made to separate the gases in an LKhM-7a chromatograph with a programme-controlled 50 to 250/sup 0/C heating cycle, but the procedure still had a number of serious defects and could not be recommended for regular quality control. The final variant involved two parallel columns and a procedure based on that in GOST 14920 (''Dry gas. Proximate analysis''). The chromatograph was a type KhL-69 with a 6-way cock in the gas line so that each of the columns could be brought on stream in succession. The analytical column packings were zeolite (in a 2 m column) and diatomaceous brick with 25% n-hexadecane (in a 6 m column).

  14. Reconstructive procedures for segmental resection of bone in giant cell tumors around the knee

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aggarwal Aditya

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Segmental resection of bone in Giant Cell Tumor (GCT around the knee, in indicated cases, leaves a gap which requires a complex reconstructive procedure. The present study analyzes various reconstructive procedures in terms of morbidity and various complications encountered. Materials and Methods: Thirteen cases (M-six and F-seven; lower end femur-six and upper end tibia -seven of GCT around the knee, radiologically either Campanacci Grade II, Grade II with pathological fracture or Grade III were included. Mean age was 25.6 years (range 19-30 years. Resection arthrodesis with telescoping (shortening over intramedullary nail ( n=5, resection arthrodesis with an intercalary allograft threaded over a long intramedullary nail ( n=3 and resection arthrodesis with intercalary fibular autograft and simultaneous limb lengthening ( n=5 were the procedure performed. Results: Shortening was the major problem following resection arthrodesis with telescoping (shortening over intramedullary nail. Only two patients agreed for subsequent limb lengthening. The rest continued to walk with shortening. Infection was the major problem in all cases of resection arthrodesis with an intercalary allograft threaded over a long intramedullary nail and required multiple drainage procedures. Fusion was achieved after two years in two patients. In the third patient the allograft sequestrated. The patient underwent sequestrectomy, telescoping of fragments and ilizarov fixator application with subsequent limb lengthening. The patient was finally given an ischial weight relieving orthosis, 54 months after the index procedure. After resection arthrodesis with intercalary autograft and simultaneous lengthening the resultant gap (~15cm was partially bridged by intercalary nonvascularized dual fibular strut graft (6-7cm and additional corticocancellous bone graft from ipsilateral patella. Simultaneous limb lengthening with a distal tibial corticotomy was performed on an

  15. Compressive strength test for cemented waste forms: validation process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haucz, Maria Judite A.; Candido, Francisco Donizete; Seles, Sandro Rogerio

    2007-01-01

    In the Cementation Laboratory (LABCIM), of the Development Centre of the Nuclear Technology (CNEN/CDTN-MG), hazardous/radioactive wastes are incorporated in cement, to transform them into monolithic products, preventing or minimizing the contaminant release to the environment. The compressive strength test is important to evaluate the cemented product quality, in which it is determined the compression load necessary to rupture the cemented waste form. In LABCIM a specific procedure was developed to determine the compressive strength of cement waste forms based on the Brazilian Standard NBR 7215. The accreditation of this procedure is essential to assure reproductive and accurate results in the evaluation of these products. To achieve this goal the Laboratory personal implemented technical and administrative improvements in accordance with the NBR ISO/IEC 17025 standard 'General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories'. As the developed procedure was not a standard one the norm ISO/IEC 17025 requests its validation. There are some methodologies to do that. In this paper it is described the current status of the accreditation project, especially the validation process of the referred procedure and its results. (author)

  16. Validation of a new bedside echoscopic heart examination resulting in an improvement in echo-lab workflow.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Réant, Patricia; Dijos, Marina; Arsac, Florence; Mignot, Aude; Cadenaule, Fabienne; Aumiaux, Annette; Jimenez, Christine; Dufau, Marilyne; Prévost, Alain; Pillois, Xavier; Fort, Patrick; Roudaut, Raymond; Lafitte, Stéphane

    2011-03-01

    In daily cardiology practice, porters are usually required to transfer inpatients who need an echocardiogram to the echocardiographic department (echo-lab). To assess echo-lab personnel workflow and patient transfer delay by comparing the use of a new, ultraportable, echoscopic, pocket-sized device at the bedside with patient transfer to the echo-lab for conventional transthoracic echocardiography, in patients needing pericardial control after cardiac invasive procedures. After validation of echoscopic capabilities for pericardial effusion, left ventricular function and mitral regurgitation grade compared with conventional echocardiography, we evaluated echo-lab personnel workflow and time to perform bedside echoscopy for pericardial control evaluation after invasive cardiac procedures. This strategy was compared with conventional evaluation at the echo-lab, in terms of personnel workflow, and patients' transfer, waiting and examination times. Concordance between echoscopy and conventional echocardiography for evaluation of pericardial effusion was good (0.97; kappa value 0.86). For left ventricular systolic function and mitral regurgitation evaluations, concordances were 0.96 (kappa value 0.90) and 0.96 (kappa value 0.86), respectively. In the second part of the study, the mean total time required in the bedside echoscopy group was 20.3±5.4 mins vs. 66.0±16.4 mins in the conventional echo-lab group (pporters in 100% of cases; 69% of patients needed a wheelchair. The use of miniaturized echoscopic tools for pericardial control after invasive cardiac procedures was feasible and accurate, allowing improvement in echo-lab workflow and avoiding patient waiting time and transfer. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  17. On the optical and microstrain analysis of graded InGaN/GaN MQWs based on plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy

    KAUST Repository

    Mishra, Pawan; Janjua, Bilal; Ng, Tien Khee; Anjum, Dalaver H.; Elafandy, Rami T.; Prabaswara, Aditya; Shen, Chao; Salhi, Abdelmajid; Alyamani, Ahmed Y.; El-Desouki, Munir M.; Ooi, Boon S.

    2016-01-01

    In this paper, c-plane stepped- and graded- InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) are grown using plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PAMBE) by in situ surface stoichiometry monitoring (i-SSM). Such a technique considerably reduces the strain build-up due to indium clustering within and across graded-MQWs; especially for QW closer to the top which results in mitigation of the quantum-confined Stark effect (QCSE). This is validated by a reduced power dependent photoluminescence blueshift of 10 meV in graded-MQWs as compared to a blueshift of 17 meV for stepped-MQWs. We further analyze microstrain within the MQWs, using Raman spectroscopy and geometrical phase analysis (GPA) on high-angle annular dark-field (HAADF)-scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) images of stepped- and graded-MQWs, highlighting the reduction of ~1% strain in graded-MQWs over stepped-MQWs. Our analysis provides direct evidence of the advantage of graded-MQWs for the commercially viable c-plane light-emitting and laser diodes. © 2016 Optical Society of America.

  18. On the optical and microstrain analysis of graded InGaN/GaN MQWs based on plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy

    KAUST Repository

    Mishra, Pawan

    2016-05-23

    In this paper, c-plane stepped- and graded- InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) are grown using plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PAMBE) by in situ surface stoichiometry monitoring (i-SSM). Such a technique considerably reduces the strain build-up due to indium clustering within and across graded-MQWs; especially for QW closer to the top which results in mitigation of the quantum-confined Stark effect (QCSE). This is validated by a reduced power dependent photoluminescence blueshift of 10 meV in graded-MQWs as compared to a blueshift of 17 meV for stepped-MQWs. We further analyze microstrain within the MQWs, using Raman spectroscopy and geometrical phase analysis (GPA) on high-angle annular dark-field (HAADF)-scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) images of stepped- and graded-MQWs, highlighting the reduction of ~1% strain in graded-MQWs over stepped-MQWs. Our analysis provides direct evidence of the advantage of graded-MQWs for the commercially viable c-plane light-emitting and laser diodes. © 2016 Optical Society of America.

  19. Effects of Engineering Design-Based Science on Elementary School Science Students' Engineering Identity Development across Gender and Grade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Capobianco, Brenda M.; Yu, Ji H.; French, Brian F.

    2015-04-01

    The integration of engineering concepts and practices into elementary science education has become an emerging concern for science educators and practitioners, alike. Moreover, how children, specifically preadolescents (grades 1-5), engage in engineering design-based learning activities may help science educators and researchers learn more about children's earliest identification with engineering. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which engineering identity differed among preadolescents across gender and grade, when exposing students to engineering design-based science learning activities. Five hundred fifty preadolescent participants completed the Engineering Identity Development Scale (EIDS), a recently developed measure with validity evidence that characterizes children's conceptions of engineering and potential career aspirations. Data analyses of variance among four factors (i.e., gender, grade, and group) indicated that elementary school students who engaged in the engineering design-based science learning activities demonstrated greater improvements on the EIDS subscales compared to those in the comparison group. Specifically, students in the lower grade levels showed substantial increases, while students in the higher grade levels showed decreases. Girls, regardless of grade level and participation in the engineering learning activities, showed higher scores in the academic subscale compared to boys. These findings suggest that the integration of engineering practices in the science classroom as early as grade one shows potential in fostering and sustaining student interest, participation, and self-concept in engineering and science.

  20. Gliomas: Application of Cumulative Histogram Analysis of Normalized Cerebral Blood Volume on 3 T MRI to Tumor Grading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Hyungjin; Choi, Seung Hong; Kim, Ji-Hoon; Ryoo, Inseon; Kim, Soo Chin; Yeom, Jeong A.; Shin, Hwaseon; Jung, Seung Chai; Lee, A. Leum; Yun, Tae Jin; Park, Chul-Kee; Sohn, Chul-Ho; Park, Sung-Hye

    2013-01-01

    Background Glioma grading assumes significant importance in that low- and high-grade gliomas display different prognoses and are treated with dissimilar therapeutic strategies. The objective of our study was to retrospectively assess the usefulness of a cumulative normalized cerebral blood volume (nCBV) histogram for glioma grading based on 3 T MRI. Methods From February 2010 to April 2012, 63 patients with astrocytic tumors underwent 3 T MRI with dynamic susceptibility contrast perfusion-weighted imaging. Regions of interest containing the entire tumor volume were drawn on every section of the co-registered relative CBV (rCBV) maps and T2-weighted images. The percentile values from the cumulative nCBV histograms and the other histogram parameters were correlated with tumor grades. Cochran’s Q test and the McNemar test were used to compare the diagnostic accuracies of the histogram parameters after the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Using the parameter offering the highest diagnostic accuracy, a validation process was performed with an independent test set of nine patients. Results The 99th percentile of the cumulative nCBV histogram (nCBV C99), mean and peak height differed significantly between low- and high-grade gliomas (P = histogram analysis of nCBV using 3 T MRI can be a useful method for preoperative glioma grading. The nCBV C99 value is helpful in distinguishing high- from low-grade gliomas and grade IV from III gliomas. PMID:23704910