The peripheral blood volume influenced by various external factors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ittner, A.; Scheibe, J.; Stoll, W.

1982-01-01

The dependence of the peripheral blood volume upon various exogenous factors was studied in male sports students using /sup 113m/InCl. The results obtained revealed that whole-body exertions and local muscular activity produce an increase of the blood volume in the lower extremities associated with increased blood circulation. The passive measures applied caused also an increase of the blood volume, but not in all of the subjects examined. Isometric concentrations led to a highly significant reduction of the peripheral blood volume. The scintigraphic method for the visualization of the blood volume in peripheral regions of the body can be regarded as suitable for the study of hemodynamics and for the substantiation of the efficiency of measures promoting restoration. (author)

Proportional Reasoning Ability and Concepts of Scale: Surface Area to Volume Relationships in Science

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Amy; Jones, Gail

2009-01-01

The "National Science Education Standards" emphasise teaching unifying concepts and processes such as basic functions of living organisms, the living environment, and scale. Scale influences science processes and phenomena across the domains. One of the big ideas of scale is that of surface area to volume. This study explored whether or not there…

The factor structure of the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale and the Social Phobia Scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Heidenreich, Thomas; Schermelleh-Engel, Karin; Schramm, Elisabeth; Hofmann, Stefan G; Stangier, Ulrich

2011-05-01

The Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) and the Social Phobia Scale (SPS) are two compendium measures that have become some of the most popular self-report scales of social anxiety. Despite their popularity, it remains unclear whether it is necessary to maintain two separate scales of social anxiety. The primary objective of the present study was to examine the factor analytic structure of both measures to determine the factorial validity of each scale. For this purpose, we administered both scales to 577 patients at the beginning of outpatient treatment. Analyzing both scales simultaneously, a CFA with two correlated factors showed a better fit to the data than a single factor model. An additional EFA with an oblique rotation on all 40 items using the WLSMV estimator further supported the two factor solution. These results suggest that the SIAS and SPS measure similar, but not identical facets of social anxiety. Thus, our findings provide support to retain the SIAS and SPS as two separate scales. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Volume changes at macro- and nano-scale in epoxy resins studied by PALS and PVT experimental techniques

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Somoza, A. [IFIMAT-UNCentro, Pinto 399, B7000GHG Tandil (Argentina) and CICPBA, Pinto 399, B7000GHG Tandil (Argentina)]. E-mail: asomoza@exa.unicen.edu.ar; Salgueiro, W. [IFIMAT-UNCentro, Pinto 399, B7000GHG Tandil (Argentina); Goyanes, S. [LPMPyMC, Depto. de Fisica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Universitaria, Pabellon I, 1428 Buenos Aires (Argentina); Ramos, J. [Materials and Technology Group, Departamento de Ingenieria Quimica y M. Ambiente, Escuela University Politecnica, Universidad Pais Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, Pz. Europa 1, 20018 Donostia/San Sebastian (Spain); Mondragon, I. [Materials and Technology Group, Departamento de Ingenieria Quimica y M. Ambiente, Escuela University Politecnica, Universidad Pais Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, Pz. Europa 1, 20018 Donostia/San Sebastian (Spain)

2007-02-15

A systematic study on changes in the volumes at macro- and nano-scale in epoxy systems cured with selected aminic hardeners at different pre-cure temperatures is presented. Free- and macroscopic specific-volumes were measured by PALS and pressure-volume-temperature techniques, respectively. An analysis of the relation existing between macro- and nano-scales of the thermosetting networks developed by the different chemical structures is shown. The result obtained indicates that the structure of the hardeners governs the packing of the molecular chains of the epoxy network.

Factors influencing liver and spleen volume changes after donor hepatectomy for living donor liver transplantation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bae, Ji Hee; Ryeom, Hunku; Song, Jung Hup [Kyungpook National University Hospital, Daegu (Korea, Republic of)

2013-11-15

To define the changes in liver and spleen volumes in the early postoperative period after partial liver donation for living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT) and to determine factors that influence liver and spleen volume changes. 27 donors who underwent partial hepatectomy for LDLT were included in this study. The rates of liver and spleen volume change, measured with CT volumetry, were correlated with several factors. The analyzed factors included the indocyanine green (ICG) retention rate at 15 minutes after ICG administration, preoperative platelet count, preoperative liver and splenic volumes, resected liver volume, resected-to-whole liver volume ratio (LV{sub R}/LV{sub W}), resected liver volume to the sum of whole liver and spleen volume ratio [LV{sub R}/(LV{sub W} + SV{sub 0})], and pre and post hepatectomy portal venous pressures. In all hepatectomy donors, the volumes of the remnant liver and spleen were increased (increased rates, 59.5 ± 50.5%, 47.9 ± 22.6%). The increment rate of the remnant liver volume revealed a positive correlation with LV{sub R}/LV{sub W} (r = 0.759, p < 0.01). The other analyzed factors showed no correlation with changes in liver and spleen volumes. The spleen and remnant liver volumes were increased at CT volumetry performed 2 weeks after partial liver donation. Among the various analyzed factors, LV{sub R}/LV{sub W} influences the increment rate of the remnant liver volume.

Effect of residue hematoma volume on inflammation factors in hypertensive intracranial hemorrhage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

You-san ZHANG

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Objectives 　In this study, the relationships of residue hematoma volume to brain edema and inflammation factors were studied after intracerebral hematoma was evacuated with a frameless stereotactic aspiration. Methods 　Eighty-nine patients with hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH were treated by frameless stereotactic aspiration. According to residual volume of the hematoma, the patients were divided into gross-total removal of hematoma (GTRH (≤5ml and sub-total removal of hematoma (STRH (≥10ml groups after the operation. The pre-operative and postoperative data of the patients were compared between the two groups. The pre-operative data included age, sex, hematoma volume, time interval from the ictus to the operation, and Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS scores. The post-operative information included edema grade, level of thromboxane B2 (TXB2, 6-keto-prostaglandin F1α(6-K-PGF1α, tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α and endothelin (ET in hematoma cavity or cerebral spinal fluid (CSF. Results 　There were 46 patients in GTRH group and 43 in STRH group respectively. There was no statistical difference in the pre-operative data between the two groups. The levels of TXB2, 6-K-PGF1α, TNF-αand ET were significantly lower in the GTRH group than in the STRH group at different post-operative time points. There was a significant difference between the two groups. The post-operative CT scan at different time points showed that the brain edema grades were better in the GTRH group than in the STRH group. Conclusions 　GTRH is helpful for decreasing ICH-induced injury to brain tissue, which is related to decreased perihematomal edema formation and secondary injury by coagulation end products activated inflammatory cascade. DOI: 10.11855/j.issn.0577-7402.2016.09.12

Human factors evaluation of teletherapy: Literature review. Volume 5

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Henriksen, K.; Kaye, R.D.; Jones, R. [Hughes Training, Inc., Falls Church, VA (United States); Morisseau, D.S.; Serig, D.L. [Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC (United States). Div. of Systems Technology

1995-07-01

A series of human factors evaluations were undertaken to better understand the contributing factors to human error in the teletherapy environment. Teletherapy is a multidisciplinary methodology for treating cancerous tissue through selective exposure to an external beam of ionizing radiation. A team of human factors specialists, assisted by a panel of radiation oncologists, medical physicists, and radiation therapists, conducted site visits to radiation oncology departments at community hospitals, university centers, and free-standing clinics. A function and task analysis was performed initially to guide subsequent evaluations in the areas of workplace environment, system-user interfaces, procedures, training, and organizational practices. To further acquire an in-depth and up-to-date understanding of the practice of teletherapy in support of these evaluations, a systematic literature review was conducted. Factors that have a potential impact on the accuracy of treatment delivery were of primary concern. The present volume is the literature review. The volume starts with an overview of the multiphased nature of teletherapy, and then examines the requirement for precision, the increasing role of quality assurance, current conceptualizations of human error, and the role of system factors such as the workplace environment, user-system interfaces, procedures, training, and organizational practices.

Human factors evaluation of teletherapy: Literature review. Volume 5

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henriksen, K.; Kaye, R.D.; Jones, R.; Morisseau, D.S.; Serig, D.L.

1995-07-01

A series of human factors evaluations were undertaken to better understand the contributing factors to human error in the teletherapy environment. Teletherapy is a multidisciplinary methodology for treating cancerous tissue through selective exposure to an external beam of ionizing radiation. A team of human factors specialists, assisted by a panel of radiation oncologists, medical physicists, and radiation therapists, conducted site visits to radiation oncology departments at community hospitals, university centers, and free-standing clinics. A function and task analysis was performed initially to guide subsequent evaluations in the areas of workplace environment, system-user interfaces, procedures, training, and organizational practices. To further acquire an in-depth and up-to-date understanding of the practice of teletherapy in support of these evaluations, a systematic literature review was conducted. Factors that have a potential impact on the accuracy of treatment delivery were of primary concern. The present volume is the literature review. The volume starts with an overview of the multiphased nature of teletherapy, and then examines the requirement for precision, the increasing role of quality assurance, current conceptualizations of human error, and the role of system factors such as the workplace environment, user-system interfaces, procedures, training, and organizational practices

Instantaneous equations for multiphase flow in porous media without length-scale restrictions using a non-local averaging volume

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Espinosa-Paredes, Gilberto

2010-01-01

The aim of this paper is to propose a framework to obtain a new formulation for multiphase flow conservation equations without length-scale restrictions, based on the non-local form of the averaged volume conservation equations. The simplification of the local averaging volume of the conservation equations to obtain practical equations is subject to the following length-scale restrictions: d << l << L, where d is the characteristic length of the dispersed phases, l is the characteristic length of the averaging volume, and L is the characteristic length of the physical system. If the foregoing inequality does not hold, or if the scale of the problem of interest is of the order of l, the averaging technique and therefore, the macroscopic theories of multiphase flow should be modified in order to include appropriate considerations and terms in the corresponding equations. In these cases the local form of the averaged volume conservation equations are not appropriate to describe the multiphase system. As an example of the conservation equations without length-scale restrictions, the natural circulation boiling water reactor was consider to study the non-local effects on the thermal-hydraulic core performance during steady-state and transient behaviors, and the results were compared with the classic local averaging volume conservation equations.

Uncertainties in scaling factors for ab initio vibrational zero-point energies

Science.gov (United States)

Irikura, Karl K.; Johnson, Russell D.; Kacker, Raghu N.; Kessel, Rüdiger

2009-03-01

Vibrational zero-point energies (ZPEs) determined from ab initio calculations are often scaled by empirical factors. An empirical scaling factor partially compensates for the effects arising from vibrational anharmonicity and incomplete treatment of electron correlation. These effects are not random but are systematic. We report scaling factors for 32 combinations of theory and basis set, intended for predicting ZPEs from computed harmonic frequencies. An empirical scaling factor carries uncertainty. We quantify and report, for the first time, the uncertainties associated with scaling factors for ZPE. The uncertainties are larger than generally acknowledged; the scaling factors have only two significant digits. For example, the scaling factor for B3LYP/6-31G(d) is 0.9757±0.0224 (standard uncertainty). The uncertainties in the scaling factors lead to corresponding uncertainties in predicted ZPEs. The proposed method for quantifying the uncertainties associated with scaling factors is based upon the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement, published by the International Organization for Standardization. We also present a new reference set of 60 diatomic and 15 polyatomic "experimental" ZPEs that includes estimated uncertainties.

Prognostic Factors for Hormone Sensitive Metastatic Prostate Cancer: Impact of Disease Volume

Science.gov (United States)

Alhanafy, Alshimaa Mahmoud; Zanaty, Fouad; Ibrahem, Reda; Omar, Suzan

2018-04-27

Background and Aim: The optimal management of metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer has been controversial in recent years with introduction of upfront chemohormonal treatment based on results of several Western studies. This changing landscape has renewed interest in the concept “disease volume”, the focus of the present study is the Egyptian patients. Methods: Patients with hormone sensitive metastatic prostate cancer presenting at Menoufia University Hospital, Egypt, during the period from June 2013 to May 2016, were enrolled. All received hormonal treatment. Radiologic images were evaluated and patients were stratified according to their disease volume into high or low, other clinical and pathological data that could affect survival also being collected and analyzed. Results: A total of 128 patients were included, with a median age of 70 years (53.9% ≥70). About 46% had co-morbidities, 62% having high volume disease. During the median follow up period of 28 months about half of the patients progressed and one third received chemotherapy. On univariate analysis, disease volume, performance status (PS), prostate specific antigen level (PSA) and presence of pain at presentation were identified as factors influencing overall survival. Multivariate analysis revealed the independent predictor factors for survival to be PS, PSA and disease volume. The median overall survival with 27 months was high volume versus 49 with low volume disease (hazard ratio 2.1; 95% CI 1.2 - 4.4; P=0.02). Median progression free survival was 19 months in the high volume, as compared with 48 months in the low volume disease patients (hazard ratio, 2.44; 95% CI, 1.42 – 7.4; P=0.009). Conclusions: Disease volume is a reliable predictor of survival which should be incorporated with other important factors as; patient performance status and comorbidities in treatment decision-making. Creative Commons Attribution License

Factors influencing liver and spleen volume changes after donor hepatectomy for living donor liver transplantation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bae, Ji Hee; Ryeom, Hunku; Song, Jung Hup

2013-01-01

To define the changes in liver and spleen volumes in the early postoperative period after partial liver donation for living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT) and to determine factors that influence liver and spleen volume changes. 27 donors who underwent partial hepatectomy for LDLT were included in this study. The rates of liver and spleen volume change, measured with CT volumetry, were correlated with several factors. The analyzed factors included the indocyanine green (ICG) retention rate at 15 minutes after ICG administration, preoperative platelet count, preoperative liver and splenic volumes, resected liver volume, resected-to-whole liver volume ratio (LV R /LV W ), resected liver volume to the sum of whole liver and spleen volume ratio [LV R /(LV W + SV 0 )], and pre and post hepatectomy portal venous pressures. In all hepatectomy donors, the volumes of the remnant liver and spleen were increased (increased rates, 59.5 ± 50.5%, 47.9 ± 22.6%). The increment rate of the remnant liver volume revealed a positive correlation with LV R /LV W (r = 0.759, p R /LV W influences the increment rate of the remnant liver volume.

SCALE: A modular code system for performing standardized computer analyses for licensing evaluation. Miscellaneous -- Volume 3, Revision 4

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Petrie, L.M.; Jordon, W.C. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States); Edwards, A.L. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)]|[Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States)] [and others

1995-04-01

SCALE--a modular code system for Standardized Computer Analyses Licensing Evaluation--has been developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory at the request of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The SCALE system utilizes well-established computer codes and methods within standard analysis sequences that (1) allow an input format designed for the occasional user and/or novice; (2) automate the data processing and coupling between modules, and (3) provide accurate and reliable results. System developments has been directed at problem-dependent cross-section processing and analysis of criticality safety, shielding, heat transfer, and depletion/decay problems. Since the initial release of SCALE in 1980, the code system has been heavily used for evaluation of nuclear fuel facility and package designs. This revision documents Version 4.2 of the system. This manual is divided into three volumes: Volume 1--for the control module documentation, Volume 2--for the functional module documentation, and Volume 3--for the data libraries and subroutine libraries.

SCALE: A modular code system for performing standardized computer analyses for licensing evaluation. Miscellaneous -- Volume 3, Revision 4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petrie, L.M.; Jordon, W.C.; Edwards, A.L.

1995-04-01

SCALE--a modular code system for Standardized Computer Analyses Licensing Evaluation--has been developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory at the request of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The SCALE system utilizes well-established computer codes and methods within standard analysis sequences that (1) allow an input format designed for the occasional user and/or novice; (2) automate the data processing and coupling between modules, and (3) provide accurate and reliable results. System developments has been directed at problem-dependent cross-section processing and analysis of criticality safety, shielding, heat transfer, and depletion/decay problems. Since the initial release of SCALE in 1980, the code system has been heavily used for evaluation of nuclear fuel facility and package designs. This revision documents Version 4.2 of the system. This manual is divided into three volumes: Volume 1--for the control module documentation, Volume 2--for the functional module documentation, and Volume 3--for the data libraries and subroutine libraries

Dither Gyro Scale Factor Calibration: GOES-16 Flight Experience

Science.gov (United States)

Reth, Alan D.; Freesland, Douglas C.; Krimchansky, Alexander

2018-01-01

This poster is a sequel to a paper presented at the 34th Annual AAS Guidance and Control Conference in 2011, which first introduced dither-based calibration of gyro scale factors. The dither approach uses very small excitations, avoiding the need to take instruments offline during gyro scale factor calibration. In 2017, the dither calibration technique was successfully used to estimate gyro scale factors on the GOES-16 satellite. On-orbit dither calibration results were compared to more traditional methods using large angle spacecraft slews about each gyro axis, requiring interruption of science. The results demonstrate that the dither technique can estimate gyro scale factors to better than 2000 ppm during normal science observations.

Neural Correlates of Biased Responses: The Negative Method Effect in the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale Is Associated with Right Amygdala Volume.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yinan; Kong, Feng; Huang, Lijie; Liu, Jia

2016-10-01

Self-esteem is a widely studied construct in psychology that is typically measured by the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). However, a series of cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have suggested that a simple and widely used unidimensional factor model does not provide an adequate explanation of RSES responses due to method effects. To identify the neural correlates of the method effect, we sought to determine whether and how method effects were associated with the RSES and investigate the neural basis of these effects. Two hundred and eighty Chinese college students (130 males; mean age = 22.64 years) completed the RSES and underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Behaviorally, method effects were linked to both positively and negatively worded items in the RSES. Neurally, the right amygdala volume negatively correlated with the negative method factor, while the hippocampal volume positively correlated with the general self-esteem factor in the RSES. The neural dissociation between the general self-esteem factor and negative method factor suggests that there are different neural mechanisms underlying them. The amygdala is involved in modulating negative affectivity; therefore, the current study sheds light on the nature of method effects that are related to self-report with a mix of positively and negatively worded items. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

On the necessary conditions of the regular minimum of the scale factor of the co-moving space

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Agakov, V.G.

1980-01-01

In the framework of homogeneous cosmologic model studied is the behaviour of the comoving space element volume filled with barotropous medium, deprived of energy fluxes. Presented are the necessary conditions at which a regular final minimum of the scale factor of the co-mowing space may take place. It is found that to carry out the above minimum at values of cosmological constant Λ <= 0 the presence of two from three anisotropy factors is necessary. Anisotropy of space deformation should be one of these factors. In case of Λ <= 0 the regular minimum is also possible if all three factors of anisotropy are equal to zero. However if none of the factors of Fsub(i), Asub(ik) anisotropy is equal to zero, the presence of deformation space anisotropy is necessary for final regular minimum appearance

Large-Scale Context-Aware Volume Navigation using Dynamic Insets

KAUST Repository

Al-Awami, Ali

2012-07-01

Latest developments in electron microscopy (EM) technology produce high resolution images that enable neuro-scientists to identify and put together the complex neural connections in a nervous system. However, because of the massive size and underlying complexity of this kind of data, processing, navigation and analysis suffer drastically in terms of time and effort. In this work, we propose the use of state-of- the-art navigation techniques, such as dynamic insets, built on a peta-scale volume visualization framework to provide focus and context-awareness to help neuro-scientists in their mission to analyze, reconstruct, navigate and explore EM neuroscience data.

SCALE: A modular code system for performing standardized computer analyses for licensing evaluation. Control modules -- Volume 1, Revision 4

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Landers, N.F.; Petrie, L.M.; Knight, J.R. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)] [and others

1995-04-01

SCALE--a modular code system for Standardized Computer Analyses Licensing Evaluation--has been developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory at the request of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The SCALE system utilizes well-established computer codes and methods within standard analysis sequences that (1) allow an input format designed for the occasional user and/or novice, (2) automate the data processing and coupling between modules, and (3) provide accurate and reliable results. System development has been directed at problem-dependent cross-section processing and analysis of criticality safety, shielding, heat transfer, and depletion/decay problems. Since the initial release of SCALE in 1980, the code system has been heavily used for evaluation of nuclear fuel facility and package designs. This revision documents Version 4.2 of the system. This manual is divided into three volumes: Volume 1--for the control module documentation, Volume 2--for the functional module documentation, and Volume 3 for the documentation of the data libraries and subroutine libraries.

SCALE: A modular code system for performing standardized computer analyses for licensing evaluation. Control modules -- Volume 1, Revision 4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Landers, N.F.; Petrie, L.M.; Knight, J.R.

1995-04-01

SCALE--a modular code system for Standardized Computer Analyses Licensing Evaluation--has been developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory at the request of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The SCALE system utilizes well-established computer codes and methods within standard analysis sequences that (1) allow an input format designed for the occasional user and/or novice, (2) automate the data processing and coupling between modules, and (3) provide accurate and reliable results. System development has been directed at problem-dependent cross-section processing and analysis of criticality safety, shielding, heat transfer, and depletion/decay problems. Since the initial release of SCALE in 1980, the code system has been heavily used for evaluation of nuclear fuel facility and package designs. This revision documents Version 4.2 of the system. This manual is divided into three volumes: Volume 1--for the control module documentation, Volume 2--for the functional module documentation, and Volume 3 for the documentation of the data libraries and subroutine libraries

Long-term results of preventive embolization of renal angiomyolipomas: evaluation of predictive factors of volume decrease

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hocquelet, A.; Cornelis, F.; Le Bras, Y.; Meyer, M.; Tricaud, E.; Lasserre, A.S.; Grenier, N. [Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Pellegrin, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Urology and Vascular Imaging, Bordeaux (France); Ferriere, J.M.; Robert, G. [Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Pellegrin, Urology Service, Bordeaux (France)

2014-08-15

To evaluate the efficacy of selective arterial embolization (SAE) of angiomyolipomas based on the percentage volume reduction after embolization and to identify predictive factors of volume decrease. Patients receiving prophylactic SAE of renal angiomyolipomas were included retrospectively over 3 years. The volume change after SAE and haemorrhagic or surgical events were recorded. Initial tumour volume, percentage tumour fat content, mean tumour density, embolic agent used, number of angiomyolipomas and tuberous sclerosis disease were evaluated as predictive factors of volume decrease. A total of 19 patients with 39 angiomyolipomas were included with median follow-up of 28 months (interquartile range 21-37 months). All treatments were technically successful (92 % primary and 8 % secondary). No distal bleeding or any increase in size or surgical nephrectomy after SAE was recorded. Mean volume reduction was 72 % (±24 %). Volumes before SAE (R{sup 2} = 0.276; p = 0.001), percentage fat content (R{sup 2} = 0.612; p < 0.0001) and mean angiomyolipoma density (R{sup 2} = 0.536; p < 0.0001) were identified as predictive factors of volume decrease. In multivariate regression, only percentage fat content influenced volume decreases. SAE is an efficient treatment for angiomyolipoma devascularisation and volume reduction. A significant reduction of volume is modulated by the initial volume and tissue composition of the tumour. (orig.)

Scale factor measure method without turntable for angular rate gyroscope

Science.gov (United States)

Qi, Fangyi; Han, Xuefei; Yao, Yanqing; Xiong, Yuting; Huang, Yuqiong; Wang, Hua

2018-03-01

In this paper, a scale factor test method without turntable is originally designed for the angular rate gyroscope. A test system which consists of test device, data acquisition circuit and data processing software based on Labview platform is designed. Taking advantage of gyroscope's sensitivity of angular rate, a gyroscope with known scale factor, serves as a standard gyroscope. The standard gyroscope is installed on the test device together with a measured gyroscope. By shaking the test device around its edge which is parallel to the input axis of gyroscope, the scale factor of the measured gyroscope can be obtained in real time by the data processing software. This test method is fast. It helps test system miniaturized, easy to carry or move. Measure quarts MEMS gyroscope's scale factor multi-times by this method, the difference is less than 0.2%. Compare with testing by turntable, the scale factor difference is less than 1%. The accuracy and repeatability of the test system seems good.

Scaling relationships between bed load volumes, transport distances, and stream power in steep mountain channels

Science.gov (United States)

Schneider, Johannes M.; Turowski, Jens M.; Rickenmann, Dieter; Hegglin, Ramon; Arrigo, Sabrina; Mao, Luca; Kirchner, James W.

2014-03-01

Bed load transport during storm events is both an agent of geomorphic change and a significant natural hazard in mountain regions. Thus, predicting bed load transport is a central challenge in fluvial geomorphology and natural hazard risk assessment. Bed load transport during storm events depends on the width and depth of bed scour, as well as the transport distances of individual sediment grains. We traced individual gravels in two steep mountain streams, the Erlenbach (Switzerland) and Rio Cordon (Italy), using magnetic and radio frequency identification tags, and measured their bed load transport rates using calibrated geophone bed load sensors in the Erlenbach and a bed load trap in the Rio Cordon. Tracer transport distances and bed load volumes exhibited approximate power law scaling with both the peak stream power and the cumulative stream energy of individual hydrologic events. Bed load volumes scaled much more steeply with peak stream power and cumulative stream energy than tracer transport distances did, and bed load volumes scaled as roughly the third power of transport distances. These observations imply that large bed load transport events become large primarily by scouring the bed deeper and wider, and only secondarily by transporting the mobilized sediment farther. Using the sediment continuity equation, we can estimate the mean effective thickness of the actively transported layer, averaged over the entire channel width and the duration of individual flow events. This active layer thickness also followed approximate power law scaling with peak stream power and cumulative stream energy and ranged up to 0.57 m in the Erlenbach, broadly consistent with independent measurements.

Distribution of Ωk from the scale-factor cutoff measure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Simone, Andrea; Salem, Michael P.

2010-01-01

Our Universe may be contained in one among a diverging number of bubbles that nucleate within an eternally inflating multiverse. A promising measure to regulate the diverging spacetime volume of such a multiverse is the scale-factor cutoff, one feature of which is bubbles are not rewarded for having a longer duration of slow-roll inflation. Thus, depending on the landscape distribution of the number of e-folds of inflation among bubbles like ours, we might hope to measure spatial curvature. We study a recently proposed cartoon model of inflation in the landscape and find a reasonable chance (about 10%) that the curvature in our Universe is well above the value expected from cosmic variance. Anthropic selection does not strongly select for curvature as small as is observed (relative somewhat larger values), meaning the observational bound on curvature can be used to rule out landscape models that typically give too little inflation.

SparseLeap: Efficient Empty Space Skipping for Large-Scale Volume Rendering

KAUST Repository

Hadwiger, Markus; Al-Awami, Ali K.; Beyer, Johanna; Agus, Marco; Pfister, Hanspeter

2017-01-01

Recent advances in data acquisition produce volume data of very high resolution and large size, such as terabyte-sized microscopy volumes. These data often contain many fine and intricate structures, which pose huge challenges for volume rendering, and make it particularly important to efficiently skip empty space. This paper addresses two major challenges: (1) The complexity of large volumes containing fine structures often leads to highly fragmented space subdivisions that make empty regions hard to skip efficiently. (2) The classification of space into empty and non-empty regions changes frequently, because the user or the evaluation of an interactive query activate a different set of objects, which makes it unfeasible to pre-compute a well-adapted space subdivision. We describe the novel SparseLeap method for efficient empty space skipping in very large volumes, even around fine structures. The main performance characteristic of SparseLeap is that it moves the major cost of empty space skipping out of the ray-casting stage. We achieve this via a hybrid strategy that balances the computational load between determining empty ray segments in a rasterization (object-order) stage, and sampling non-empty volume data in the ray-casting (image-order) stage. Before ray-casting, we exploit the fast hardware rasterization of GPUs to create a ray segment list for each pixel, which identifies non-empty regions along the ray. The ray-casting stage then leaps over empty space without hierarchy traversal. Ray segment lists are created by rasterizing a set of fine-grained, view-independent bounding boxes. Frame coherence is exploited by re-using the same bounding boxes unless the set of active objects changes. We show that SparseLeap scales better to large, sparse data than standard octree empty space skipping.

SparseLeap: Efficient Empty Space Skipping for Large-Scale Volume Rendering

KAUST Repository

Hadwiger, Markus

2017-08-28

Recent advances in data acquisition produce volume data of very high resolution and large size, such as terabyte-sized microscopy volumes. These data often contain many fine and intricate structures, which pose huge challenges for volume rendering, and make it particularly important to efficiently skip empty space. This paper addresses two major challenges: (1) The complexity of large volumes containing fine structures often leads to highly fragmented space subdivisions that make empty regions hard to skip efficiently. (2) The classification of space into empty and non-empty regions changes frequently, because the user or the evaluation of an interactive query activate a different set of objects, which makes it unfeasible to pre-compute a well-adapted space subdivision. We describe the novel SparseLeap method for efficient empty space skipping in very large volumes, even around fine structures. The main performance characteristic of SparseLeap is that it moves the major cost of empty space skipping out of the ray-casting stage. We achieve this via a hybrid strategy that balances the computational load between determining empty ray segments in a rasterization (object-order) stage, and sampling non-empty volume data in the ray-casting (image-order) stage. Before ray-casting, we exploit the fast hardware rasterization of GPUs to create a ray segment list for each pixel, which identifies non-empty regions along the ray. The ray-casting stage then leaps over empty space without hierarchy traversal. Ray segment lists are created by rasterizing a set of fine-grained, view-independent bounding boxes. Frame coherence is exploited by re-using the same bounding boxes unless the set of active objects changes. We show that SparseLeap scales better to large, sparse data than standard octree empty space skipping.

Initial 12-h operative fluid volume is an independent risk factor for pleural effusion after hepatectomy.

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Cheng, Xiang; Wu, Jia-Wei; Sun, Ping; Song, Zi-Fang; Zheng, Qi-Chang

2016-12-01

Pleural effusion after hepatectomy is associated with significant morbidity and prolonged hospital stays. Several studies have addressed the risk factors for postoperative pleural effusion. However, there are no researches concerning the role of the initial 12-h operative fluid volume. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the initial 12-h operative fluid volume during liver resection is an independent risk factor for pleural effusion after hepatectomy. In this study, we retrospectively analyzed clinical data of 470 patients consecutively undergoing elective hepatectomy between January 2011 and December 2012. We prospectively collected and retrospectively analyzed baseline and clinical data, including preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative variables. Univariate and multivariate analyses were carried out to identify whether the initial 12-h operative fluid volume was an independent risk factor for pleural effusion after hepatectomy. The multivariate analysis identified 2 independent risk factors for pleural effusion: operative time [odds ratio (OR)=10.2] and initial 12-h operative fluid volume (OR=1.0003). Threshold effect analyses revealed that the initial 12 h operative fluid volume was positively correlated with the incidence of pleural effusion when the initial 12-h operative fluid volume exceeded 4636 mL. We conclude that the initial 12-h operative fluid volume during liver resection and operative time are independent risk factors for pleural effusion after hepatectomy. Perioperative intravenous fluids should be restricted properly.

Considerations of anthropometric, tissue volume, and tissue mass scaling for improved patient specificity of skeletal S values

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bolch, W.E.; Patton, P.W.; Shah, A.P.; Rajon, D.A.; Jokisch, D.W.

2002-01-01

It is generally acknowledged that reference man (70 kg in mass and 170 cm in height) does not adequately represent the stature and physical dimensions of many patients undergoing radionuclide therapy, and thus scaling of radionuclide S values is required for patient specificity. For electron and beta sources uniformly distributed within internal organs, the mean dose from self-irradiation is noted to scale inversely with organ mass, provided no escape of electron energy occurs at the organ boundaries. In the skeleton, this same scaling approach is further assumed to be correct for marrow dosimetry; nevertheless, difficulties in quantitative assessments of marrow mass in specific skeletal regions of the patient make this approach difficult to implement clinically. Instead, scaling of marrow dose is achieved using various anthropometric parameters that presumably scale in the same proportion. In this study, recently developed three-dimensional macrostructural transport models of the femoral head and humeral epiphysis in three individuals (51-year male, 82-year female, and 86-year female) are used to test the abilities of different anthropometric parameters (total body mass, body surface area, etc.) to properly scale radionuclide S values from reference man models. The radionuclides considered are 33 P, 177 Lu, 153 Sm, 186 Re, 89 Sr, 166 Ho, 32 P, 188 Re, and 90 Y localized in either the active marrow or endosteal tissues of the bone trabeculae. S value scaling is additionally conducted in which the 51-year male subject is assigned as the reference individual; scaling parameters are then expanded to include tissue volumes and masses for both active marrow and skeletal spongiosa. The study concludes that, while no single anthropometric parameter emerges as a consistent scaler of reference man S values, lean body mass is indicated as an optimal scaler when the reference S values are based on 3D transport techniques. Furthermore, very exact patient-specific scaling of

Syringe calibration factors and volume correction factors for the NPL secondary standard radionuclide calibrator

CERN Document Server

Tyler, D K

2002-01-01

The activity assay of a radiopharmaceutical administration to a patient is normally achieved via the use of a radionuclide calibrator. Because of the different geometries and elemental compositions between plastic syringes and glass vials, the calibration factors for syringes may well be significantly different from those for the glass containers. The magnitude of these differences depends on the energies of the emitted photons. For some radionuclides variations have been observed of 70 %, it is therefore important to recalibrate for syringes or use syringe calibration factors. Calibration factors and volume correction factors have been derived for the NPL secondary standard radionuclide calibrator, for a variety of commonly used syringes and needles, for the most commonly used medical radionuclide.

Tumor Volume Reduction Rate After Preoperative Chemoradiotherapy as a Prognostic Factor in Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yeo, Seung-Gu [Center for Colorectal Cancer, Research Institute and Hospital, National Cancer Center, Goyang (Korea, Republic of); Department of Radiation Oncology, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Cheonan (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Dae Yong, E-mail: radiopiakim@hanmail.net [Center for Colorectal Cancer, Research Institute and Hospital, National Cancer Center, Goyang (Korea, Republic of); Park, Ji Won; Oh, Jae Hwan; Kim, Sun Young; Chang, Hee Jin; Kim, Tae Hyun; Kim, Byung Chang; Sohn, Dae Kyung; Kim, Min Ju [Center for Colorectal Cancer, Research Institute and Hospital, National Cancer Center, Goyang (Korea, Republic of)

2012-02-01

Purpose: To investigate the prognostic significance of tumor volume reduction rate (TVRR) after preoperative chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). Methods and Materials: In total, 430 primary LARC (cT3-4) patients who were treated with preoperative CRT and curative radical surgery between May 2002 and March 2008 were analyzed retrospectively. Pre- and post-CRT tumor volumes were measured using three-dimensional region-of-interest MR volumetry. Tumor volume reduction rate was determined using the equation TVRR (%) = (pre-CRT tumor volume - post-CRT tumor volume) Multiplication-Sign 100/pre-CRT tumor volume. The median follow-up period was 64 months (range, 27-99 months) for survivors. Endpoints were disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). Results: The median TVRR was 70.2% (mean, 64.7% {+-} 22.6%; range, 0-100%). Downstaging (ypT0-2N0M0) occurred in 183 patients (42.6%). The 5-year DFS and OS rates were 77.7% and 86.3%, respectively. In the analysis that included pre-CRT and post-CRT tumor volumes and TVRR as continuous variables, only TVRR was an independent prognostic factor. Tumor volume reduction rate was categorized according to a cutoff value of 45% and included with clinicopathologic factors in the multivariate analysis; ypN status, circumferential resection margin, and TVRR were significant prognostic factors for both DFS and OS. Conclusions: Tumor volume reduction rate was a significant prognostic factor in LARC patients receiving preoperative CRT. Tumor volume reduction rate data may be useful for tailoring surgery and postoperative adjuvant therapy after preoperative CRT.

A Confirmatory Factor Analysis of Reilly's Role Overload Scale

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Thiagarajan, Palaniappan; Chakrabarty, Subhra; Taylor, Ronald D.

2006-01-01

In 1982, Reilly developed a 13-item scale to measure role overload. This scale has been widely used, but most studies did not assess the unidimensionality of the scale. Given the significance of unidimensionality in scale development, the current study reports a confirmatory factor analysis of the 13-item scale in two samples. Based on the…

Scaling of Metabolic Scaling within Physical Limits

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Douglas S. Glazier

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Both the slope and elevation of scaling relationships between log metabolic rate and log body size vary taxonomically and in relation to physiological or developmental state, ecological lifestyle and environmental conditions. Here I discuss how the recently proposed metabolic-level boundaries hypothesis (MLBH provides a useful conceptual framework for explaining and predicting much, but not all of this variation. This hypothesis is based on three major assumptions: (1 various processes related to body volume and surface area exert state-dependent effects on the scaling slope for metabolic rate in relation to body mass; (2 the elevation and slope of metabolic scaling relationships are linked; and (3 both intrinsic (anatomical, biochemical and physiological and extrinsic (ecological factors can affect metabolic scaling. According to the MLBH, the diversity of metabolic scaling relationships occurs within physical boundary limits related to body volume and surface area. Within these limits, specific metabolic scaling slopes can be predicted from the metabolic level (or scaling elevation of a species or group of species. In essence, metabolic scaling itself scales with metabolic level, which is in turn contingent on various intrinsic and extrinsic conditions operating in physiological or evolutionary time. The MLBH represents a “meta-mechanism” or collection of multiple, specific mechanisms that have contingent, state-dependent effects. As such, the MLBH is Darwinian in approach (the theory of natural selection is also meta-mechanistic, in contrast to currently influential metabolic scaling theory that is Newtonian in approach (i.e., based on unitary deterministic laws. Furthermore, the MLBH can be viewed as part of a more general theory that includes other mechanisms that may also affect metabolic scaling.

INVESTIGATING THE FACTOR STRUCTURE OF THE BLOG ATTITUDE SCALE

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Zahra SHAHSAVAR

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Due to the wide application of advanced technology in education, many attitude scales have been developed to evaluate learners’ attitudes toward educational tools. However, with the rapid development of emerging technologies, using blogs as one of the Web 2.0 tools is still in its infancy and few blog attitude scales have been developed yet. In view of this need, a lot of researchers like to design a new scale based on their conceptual and theoretical framework of their own study rather than using available scales. The present study reports the design and development of a blog attitude scale (BAS. The researchers developed a pool of items to capture the complexity of the blog attitude trait, selected 29 items in the content analysis, and assigned the scale comprising 29 items to 216 undergraduate students to explore the underlying structure of the BAS. In exploratory factor analysis, three factors were discovered: blog anxiety, blog desirability, and blog self-efficacy; 14 items were excluded. The extracted items were subjected to a confirmatory factor analysis which lent further support to the BAS underpinning structure.

Factor Structure of the Exercise Self-Efficacy Scale

Science.gov (United States)

Cornick, Jessica E.

2015-01-01

The current study utilized exercise self-efficacy ratings from undergraduate students to assess the factor structure of the Self-Efficacy to Regulate Exercise Scale (Bandura, 1997, 2006). An exploratory factor analysis (n = 759) indicated a two-factor model solution and three separate confirmatory factor analyses (n = 1,798) supported this…

Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) and gray matter volume in bipolar disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Poletti, S; Aggio, V; Hoogenboezem, T A; Ambrée, O; de Wit, H; Wijkhuijs, A J M; Locatelli, C; Colombo, C; Arolt, V; Drexhage, H A; Benedetti, F

2017-02-01

Bipolar Disorder (BD) is a severe psychiatric condition characterized by grey matter (GM) volumes reduction. Neurotrophic factors have been suggested to play a role in the neuroprogressive changes during the illness course. In particular peripheral brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been proposed as a potential biomarker related to disease activity and neuroprogression in BD. The aim of our study was to investigate if serum levels of BDNF are associated with GM volumes in BD patients and healthy controls (HC). We studied 36 inpatients affected by a major depressive episode in course of BD type I and 17 HC. Analysis of variance was performed to investigate the effect of diagnosis on GM volumes in the whole brain. Threshold for significance was PBDNF levels compared with HC. Reduced GM volumes in BD patients compared to HC were observed in several brain areas, encompassing the caudate head, superior temporal gyrus, insula, fusiform gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus, and anterior cingulate cortex. The interaction analysis between BDNF levels and diagnosis showed a significant effect in the middle frontal gyrus. HC reported higher BDNF levels associated with higher GM volumes, whereas no association between BDNF and GM volumes was observed in BD. Our study seems to suggest that although the production of BDNF is increased in BD possibly to prevent and repair neural damage, its effects could be hampered by underlying neuroinflammatory processes interfering with the neurodevelopmental role of BDNF. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Scaling wood volume estimates from inventory plots to landscapes with airborne LiDAR in temperate deciduous forest

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Shaun R. Levick

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Monitoring and managing carbon stocks in forested ecosystems requires accurate and repeatable quantification of the spatial distribution of wood volume at landscape to regional scales. Grid-based forest inventory networks have provided valuable records of forest structure and dynamics at individual plot scales, but in isolation they may not represent the carbon dynamics of heterogeneous landscapes encompassing diverse land-management strategies and site conditions. Airborne LiDAR has greatly enhanced forest structural characterisation and, in conjunction with field-based inventories, it provides avenues for monitoring carbon over broader spatial scales. Here we aim to enhance the integration of airborne LiDAR surveying with field-based inventories by exploring the effect of inventory plot size and number on the relationship between field-estimated and LiDAR-predicted wood volume in deciduous broad-leafed forest in central Germany. Results Estimation of wood volume from airborne LiDAR was most robust (R2 = 0.92, RMSE = 50.57 m3 ha−1 ~14.13 Mg C ha−1 when trained and tested with 1 ha experimental plot data (n = 50. Predictions based on a more extensive (n = 1100 plot network with considerably smaller (0.05 ha plots were inferior (R2 = 0.68, RMSE = 101.01 ~28.09 Mg C ha−1. Differences between the 1 and 0.05 ha volume models from LiDAR were negligible however at the scale of individual land-management units. Sample size permutation tests showed that increasing the number of inventory plots above 350 for the 0.05 ha plots returned no improvement in R2 and RMSE variability of the LiDAR-predicted wood volume model. Conclusions Our results from this study confirm the utility of LiDAR for estimating wood volume in deciduous broad-leafed forest, but highlight the challenges associated with field plot size and number in establishing robust relationships between airborne LiDAR and field derived wood volume. We

Scaling wood volume estimates from inventory plots to landscapes with airborne LiDAR in temperate deciduous forest.

Science.gov (United States)

Levick, Shaun R; Hessenmöller, Dominik; Schulze, E-Detlef

2016-12-01

Monitoring and managing carbon stocks in forested ecosystems requires accurate and repeatable quantification of the spatial distribution of wood volume at landscape to regional scales. Grid-based forest inventory networks have provided valuable records of forest structure and dynamics at individual plot scales, but in isolation they may not represent the carbon dynamics of heterogeneous landscapes encompassing diverse land-management strategies and site conditions. Airborne LiDAR has greatly enhanced forest structural characterisation and, in conjunction with field-based inventories, it provides avenues for monitoring carbon over broader spatial scales. Here we aim to enhance the integration of airborne LiDAR surveying with field-based inventories by exploring the effect of inventory plot size and number on the relationship between field-estimated and LiDAR-predicted wood volume in deciduous broad-leafed forest in central Germany. Estimation of wood volume from airborne LiDAR was most robust (R 2  = 0.92, RMSE = 50.57 m 3 ha -1  ~14.13 Mg C ha -1 ) when trained and tested with 1 ha experimental plot data (n = 50). Predictions based on a more extensive (n = 1100) plot network with considerably smaller (0.05 ha) plots were inferior (R 2  = 0.68, RMSE = 101.01 ~28.09 Mg C ha -1 ). Differences between the 1 and 0.05 ha volume models from LiDAR were negligible however at the scale of individual land-management units. Sample size permutation tests showed that increasing the number of inventory plots above 350 for the 0.05 ha plots returned no improvement in R 2 and RMSE variability of the LiDAR-predicted wood volume model. Our results from this study confirm the utility of LiDAR for estimating wood volume in deciduous broad-leafed forest, but highlight the challenges associated with field plot size and number in establishing robust relationships between airborne LiDAR and field derived wood volume. We are moving into a forest management era where

Stabilization of compactification volume in a noncommutative mini-super-phase-space

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khosravi, N.; Sepangi, H.R.; Sheikh-Jabbari, M.M.

2007-01-01

We consider a class of generalized FRW type metrics in the context of higher dimensional Einstein gravity in which the extra dimensions are allowed to have different scale factors. It is shown that noncommutativity between the momenta conjugate to the internal space scale factors controls the power-law behavior of the scale factors in the extra dimensions, taming it to an oscillatory behavior. Hence noncommutativity among the internal momenta of the mini-super-phase-space can be used to explain stabilization of the compactification volume of the internal space in a higher dimensional gravity theory

Using the Karolinska Scales of Personality on male juvenile delinquents: relationships between scales and factor structure.

Science.gov (United States)

Dåderman, Anna M; Hellström, Ake; Wennberg, Peter; Törestad, Bertil

2005-01-01

The aim of the present study was to investigate relationships between scales from the Karolinska Scales of Personality (KSP) and the factor structure of the KSP in a sample of male juvenile delinquents. The KSP was administered to a group of male juvenile delinquents (n=55, mean age 17 years; standard deviation=1.2) from four Swedish national correctional institutions for serious offenders. As expected, the KSP showed appropriate correlations between the scales. Factor analysis (maximum likelihood) arrived at a four-factor solution in this sample, which is in line with previous research performed in a non-clinical sample of Swedish males. More research is needed in a somewhat larger sample of juvenile delinquents in order to confirm the present results regarding the factor solution.

Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Procrastination Assessment Scale for Students

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Ronald D. Yockey

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The relative fit of one- and two-factor models of the Procrastination Assessment Scale for Students (PASS was investigated using confirmatory factor analysis on an ethnically diverse sample of 345 participants. The results indicated that although the two-factor model provided better fit to the data than the one-factor model, neither model provided optimal fit. However, a two-factor model which accounted for common item theme pairs used by Solomon and Rothblum in the creation of the scale provided good fit to the data. In addition, a significant difference by ethnicity was also found on the fear of failure subscale of the PASS, with Whites having significantly lower scores than Asian Americans or Latino/as. Implications of the results are discussed and recommendations made for future work with the scale.

Factor solutions of the Social Phobia Scale (SPS) and the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) in a Swedish population.

Science.gov (United States)

Mörtberg, Ewa; Reuterskiöld, Lena; Tillfors, Maria; Furmark, Tomas; Öst, Lars-Göran

2017-06-01

Culturally validated rating scales for social anxiety disorder (SAD) are of significant importance when screening for the disorder, as well as for evaluating treatment efficacy. This study examined construct validity and additional psychometric properties of two commonly used scales, the Social Phobia Scale and the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale, in a clinical SAD population (n = 180) and in a normal population (n = 614) in Sweden. Confirmatory factor analyses of previously reported factor solutions were tested but did not reveal acceptable fit. Exploratory factor analyses (EFA) of the joint structure of the scales in the total population yielded a two-factor model (performance anxiety and social interaction anxiety), whereas EFA in the clinical sample revealed a three-factor solution, a social interaction anxiety factor and two performance anxiety factors. The SPS and SIAS showed good to excellent internal consistency, and discriminated well between patients with SAD and a normal population sample. Both scales showed good convergent validity with an established measure of SAD, whereas the discriminant validity of symptoms of social anxiety and depression could not be confirmed. The optimal cut-off score for SPS and SIAS were 18 and 22 points, respectively. It is concluded that the factor structure and the additional psychometric properties of SPS and SIAS support the use of the scales for assessment in a Swedish population.

Internal and external quasicrystal inflation center and their scaling factors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Masakova, Z.; Patera, J.; Pelantova, E.

1998-01-01

The properties of quasicrystals of the cut and project type - namely, self-similarities or so-called inflation properties - are studied. A complete description is given for centers of the scaling symmetry of a quasicrystal, and the relevant scaling factors are determined for each 'inflation center'. If the center is a quasicrystal point, it is called an 'internal inflation center'; otherwise, it is an 'external' one. It turns out that, for any quasicrystal point u, the set of appropriate scaling factors is a u-dependent one-dimensional quasicrystal. There are infinitely many scaling factors common to all internal inflation centers. The description of external inflation centers, which are plentiful in any quasicrystal, is a slight modification of a similar description for the interval ones

Identification of the underlying factor structure of the Derriford Appearance Scale 24

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Timothy P. Moss

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Background. The Derriford Appearance Scale24 (DAS24 is a widely used measure of distress and dysfunction in relation to self-consciousness of appearance. It has been used in clinical and research settings, and translated into numerous European and Asian languages. Hitherto, no study has conducted an analysis to determine the underlying factor structure of the scale.Methods. A large (n = 1,265 sample of community and hospital patients with a visible difference were recruited face to face or by post, and completed the DAS24.Results. A two factor solution was generated. An evaluation of the congruence of the factor solutions on each of the the hospital and the community samples using Tucker’s Coefficient of Congruence (rc = .979 and confirmatory factor analysis, which demonstrated a consistent factor structure. A main factor, general self consciousness (GSC, was represented by 18 items. Six items comprised a second factor, sexual and body self-consciousness (SBSC. The SBSC scale demonstrated greater sensitivity and specificity in identifying distress for sexually significant areas of the body.Discussion. The factor structure of the DAS24 facilitates a more nuanced interpretation of scores using this scale. Two conceptually and statistically coherent sub-scales were identified. The SBSC sub-scale offers a means of identifying distress and dysfunction around sexually significant areas of the body not previously possible with this scale.

FACTOR STRUCTURE OF THE BRIEF NEGATIVE SYMPTOM SCALE

OpenAIRE

Strauss, Gregory P.; Hong, L. Elliot; Gold, James M.; Buchanan, Robert W.; McMahon, Robert P.; Keller, William R.; Fischer, Bernard A.; Catalano, Lauren T.; Culbreth, Adam J.; Carpenter, William T.; Kirkpatrick, Brian

2012-01-01

The current study examined the factor structure of the Brief Negative Symptom Scale (BNSS), a next-generation negative symptom rating instrument developed in response to the NIMH-sponsored Consensus Development Conference on Negative Symptoms. Participants included 146 individuals with a DSM-IV diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Principal axis factoring indicated two distinct factors explaining 68.7% of the variance. Similar to previous findings, the factors reflected mot...

Coupled numerical approach combining finite volume and lattice Boltzmann methods for multi-scale multi-physicochemical processes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Li; He, Ya-Ling [Key Laboratory of Thermo-Fluid Science and Engineering of MOE, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an, Shaanxi 710049 (China); Kang, Qinjun [Computational Earth Science Group (EES-16), Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM (United States); Tao, Wen-Quan, E-mail: wqtao@mail.xjtu.edu.cn [Key Laboratory of Thermo-Fluid Science and Engineering of MOE, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an, Shaanxi 710049 (China)

2013-12-15

A coupled (hybrid) simulation strategy spatially combining the finite volume method (FVM) and the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM), called CFVLBM, is developed to simulate coupled multi-scale multi-physicochemical processes. In the CFVLBM, computational domain of multi-scale problems is divided into two sub-domains, i.e., an open, free fluid region and a region filled with porous materials. The FVM and LBM are used for these two regions, respectively, with information exchanged at the interface between the two sub-domains. A general reconstruction operator (RO) is proposed to derive the distribution functions in the LBM from the corresponding macro scalar, the governing equation of which obeys the convection–diffusion equation. The CFVLBM and the RO are validated in several typical physicochemical problems and then are applied to simulate complex multi-scale coupled fluid flow, heat transfer, mass transport, and chemical reaction in a wall-coated micro reactor. The maximum ratio of the grid size between the FVM and LBM regions is explored and discussed. -- Highlights: •A coupled simulation strategy for simulating multi-scale phenomena is developed. •Finite volume method and lattice Boltzmann method are coupled. •A reconstruction operator is derived to transfer information at the sub-domains interface. •Coupled multi-scale multiple physicochemical processes in micro reactor are simulated. •Techniques to save computational resources and improve the efficiency are discussed.

On stability of exponential cosmological solutions with non-static volume factor in the Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ivashchuk, V.D. [VNIIMS, Center for Gravitation and Fundamental Metrology, Moscow (Russian Federation); Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University), Institute of Gravitation and Cosmology, Moscow (Russian Federation)

2016-08-15

A (n + 1)-dimensional gravitational model with Gauss-Bonnet term and a cosmological constant term is considered. When ansatz with diagonal cosmological metrics is adopted, the solutions with an exponential dependence of the scale factors, a{sub i} ∝ exp(v{sup i}t), i = 1,.., n, are analyzed for n > 3. We study the stability of the solutions with non-static volume factor, i.e. K(v) = sum {sub k=1}{sup n} v{sup k} ≠ 0. We prove that under a certain restriction R imposed solutions with K(v) > 0 are stable, while solutions with K(v) < 0 are unstable. Certain examples of stable solutions are presented. We show that the solutions with v{sup 1} = v{sup 2} = v{sup 3} = H > 0 and zero variation of the effective gravitational constant are stable if the restriction R is obeyed. (orig.)

Scaling relations between trabecular bone volume fraction and microstructure at different skeletal sites.

Science.gov (United States)

Räth, Christoph; Baum, Thomas; Monetti, Roberto; Sidorenko, Irina; Wolf, Petra; Eckstein, Felix; Matsuura, Maiko; Lochmüller, Eva-Maria; Zysset, Philippe K; Rummeny, Ernst J; Link, Thomas M; Bauer, Jan S

2013-12-01

In this study, we investigated the scaling relations between trabecular bone volume fraction (BV/TV) and parameters of the trabecular microstructure at different skeletal sites. Cylindrical bone samples with a diameter of 8mm were harvested from different skeletal sites of 154 human donors in vitro: 87 from the distal radius, 59/69 from the thoracic/lumbar spine, 51 from the femoral neck, and 83 from the greater trochanter. μCT images were obtained with an isotropic spatial resolution of 26μm. BV/TV and trabecular microstructure parameters (TbN, TbTh, TbSp, scaling indices ( and σ of α and αz), and Minkowski Functionals (Surface, Curvature, Euler)) were computed for each sample. The regression coefficient β was determined for each skeletal site as the slope of a linear fit in the double-logarithmic representations of the correlations of BV/TV versus the respective microstructure parameter. Statistically significant correlation coefficients ranging from r=0.36 to r=0.97 were observed for BV/TV versus microstructure parameters, except for Curvature and Euler. The regression coefficients β were 0.19 to 0.23 (TbN), 0.21 to 0.30 (TbTh), -0.28 to -0.24 (TbSp), 0.58 to 0.71 (Surface) and 0.12 to 0.16 (), 0.07 to 0.11 (), -0.44 to -0.30 (σ(α)), and -0.39 to -0.14 (σ(αz)) at the different skeletal sites. The 95% confidence intervals of β overlapped for almost all microstructure parameters at the different skeletal sites. The scaling relations were independent of vertebral fracture status and similar for subjects aged 60-69, 70-79, and >79years. In conclusion, the bone volume fraction-microstructure scaling relations showed a rather universal character. © 2013.

Smaller hippocampal volume as a vulnerability factor for the persistence of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

van Rooij, S J H; Kennis, M; Sjouwerman, R; van den Heuvel, M P; Kahn, R S; Geuze, E

2015-10-01

Smaller hippocampal volume has often been observed in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, there is no consensus whether this is a result of stress/trauma exposure, or constitutes a vulnerability factor for the development of PTSD. Second, it is unclear whether hippocampal volume normalizes with successful treatment of PTSD, or whether a smaller hippocampus is a risk factor for the persistence of PTSD. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans and clinical interviews were collected from 47 war veterans with PTSD, 25 healthy war veterans (combat controls) and 25 healthy non-military controls. All veterans were scanned a second time with a 6- to 8-month interval, during which PTSD patients received trauma-focused therapy. Based on post-treatment PTSD symptoms, patients were divided into a PTSD group who was in remission (n = 22) and a group in whom PTSD symptoms persisted (n = 22). MRI data were analysed with Freesurfer. Smaller left hippocampal volume was observed in PTSD patients compared with both control groups. Hippocampal volume of the combat controls did not differ from healthy controls. Second, pre- and post-treatment analyses of the PTSD patients and combat controls revealed reduced (left) hippocampal volume only in the persistent patients at both time points. Importantly, hippocampal volume did not change with treatment. Our findings suggest that a smaller (left) hippocampus is not the result of stress/trauma exposure. Furthermore, hippocampal volume does not increase with successful treatment. Instead, we demonstrate for the first time that a smaller (left) hippocampus constitutes a risk factor for the persistence of PTSD.

Dimensions of assertiveness: factors underlying the college self-expression scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Kipper, D A; Jaffe, Y

1978-02-01

A total of 447 Israeli students, both males and females, from four educational institutions were administered the College Self-expression Scale, a measure of assertiveness. The obtained responses were factor analyzed using the principal axis solution and the varimax rotation method. The results showed four main factors which included 43 of the 50 items of the original scale. These factors were identified as the willingness to take risks in interpersonal interactions, the ability to communicate feelings, setting rules and rectifying injustices, and the presence or absence of a tendency to invoke a self-punitive attitude. The findings were interpreted as adding support to the validity of the scale as a measure of assertiveness.

Beyond factor analysis: Multidimensionality and the Parkinson's Disease Sleep Scale-Revised.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria E Pushpanathan

Full Text Available Many studies have sought to describe the relationship between sleep disturbance and cognition in Parkinson's disease (PD. The Parkinson's Disease Sleep Scale (PDSS and its variants (the Parkinson's disease Sleep Scale-Revised; PDSS-R, and the Parkinson's Disease Sleep Scale-2; PDSS-2 quantify a range of symptoms impacting sleep in only 15 items. However, data from these scales may be problematic as included items have considerable conceptual breadth, and there may be overlap in the constructs assessed. Multidimensional measurement models, accounting for the tendency for items to measure multiple constructs, may be useful more accurately to model variance than traditional confirmatory factor analysis. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that a multidimensional model (a bifactor model is more appropriate than traditional factor analysis for data generated by these types of scales, using data collected using the PDSS-R as an exemplar. 166 participants diagnosed with idiopathic PD participated in this study. Using PDSS-R data, we compared three models: a unidimensional model; a 3-factor model consisting of sub-factors measuring insomnia, motor symptoms and obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA and REM sleep behaviour disorder (RBD symptoms; and, a confirmatory bifactor model with both a general factor and the same three sub-factors. Only the confirmatory bifactor model achieved satisfactory model fit, suggesting that PDSS-R data are multidimensional. There were differential associations between factor scores and patient characteristics, suggesting that some PDSS-R items, but not others, are influenced by mood and personality in addition to sleep symptoms. Multidimensional measurement models may also be a helpful tool in the PDSS and the PDSS-2 scales and may improve the sensitivity of these instruments.

Topologically-based visualization of large-scale volume data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takeshima, Y.; Tokunaga, M.; Fujishiro, I.; Takahashi, S.

2004-01-01

Due to the recent progress in the performance of computing/measurement environments and the advent of ITBL environments, volume datasets have become larger and more complicated. Although computer visualization is one of the tools to analyze such datasets effectively, it is almost impossible to adjust the visualization parameter value by trial and error without taking the feature of a given volume dataset into consideration. In this article, we introduce a scheme of topologically-based volume visualization, which is intended to choose appropriate visualization parameter values automatically through topological volume skeletonization. (author)

Disentangling Wording and Substantive Factors in the Spiritual Well-Being Scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Murray, Aja L; Johnson, Wendy; Gow, Alan J; Deary, Ian J

2015-05-01

We evaluated the extent to which the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS) may help to meet the need for multidimensional, psychometrically sophisticated measures of spiritual and religious traits. Although the various forms of validity of the scale have, for the most part, been supported by psychometric studies, conflicting evidence surrounding its dimensionality has called into question its structural validity. Specifically, numerous authors have suggested that a more appropriate factor structure for the SWBS includes further substantive factors in addition to the 2 factors that the scale was originally intended to measure. In the current study, we attempted to resolve these debates using a combination of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis based investigations in the Lothian Birth Cohort, 1921 study. Our analyses suggested that the additional factors suggested in previous studies may not have reflected substantive constructs; but rather, common variance due to methodological factors.

Boltzmann brains and the scale-factor cutoff measure of the multiverse

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Simone, Andrea; Guth, Alan H.; Linde, Andrei; Noorbala, Mahdiyar; Salem, Michael P.; Vilenkin, Alexander

2010-01-01

To make predictions for an eternally inflating 'multiverse', one must adopt a procedure for regulating its divergent spacetime volume. Recently, a new test of such spacetime measures has emerged: normal observers - who evolve in pocket universes cooling from hot big bang conditions - must not be vastly outnumbered by 'Boltzmann brains' - freak observers that pop in and out of existence as a result of rare quantum fluctuations. If the Boltzmann brains prevail, then a randomly chosen observer would be overwhelmingly likely to be surrounded by an empty world, where all but vacuum energy has redshifted away, rather than the rich structure that we observe. Using the scale-factor cutoff measure, we calculate the ratio of Boltzmann brains to normal observers. We find the ratio to be finite, and give an expression for it in terms of Boltzmann brain nucleation rates and vacuum decay rates. We discuss the conditions that these rates must obey for the ratio to be acceptable, and we discuss estimates of the rates under a variety of assumptions.

Scaling Factor Estimation Using an Optimized Mass Change Strategy, Part 1: Theory

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aenlle, Manuel López; Fernández, Pelayo Fernández; Brincker, Rune

2007-01-01

In natural input modal analysis, only un-scaled mode shapes can be obtained. The mass change method is, in many cases, the simplest way to estimate the scaling factors, which involves repeated modal testing after changing the mass in different points of the structure where the mode shapes are known....... The scaling factors are determined using the natural frequencies and mode shapes of both the modified and the unmodified structure. However, the uncertainty on the scaling factor estimation depends on the modal analysis and the mass change strategy (number, magnitude and location of the masses) used to modify...

FACTOR ANALYSIS OF A SOCIAL SKILLS SCALE FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, H-Y; Lin, C-K

2015-10-01

The objective of this study was to develop a social skills scale for high school students in Taiwan. This study adopted stratified random sampling. A total of 1,729 high school students were included. The students ranged in age from 16 to 18 years. A Social Skills Scale was developed for this study and was designed for classroom teachers to fill out. The test-retest reliability of this scale was tested by Pearson's correlation coefficient. Exploratory factor analysis was used to determine construct validity. The Social Skills Scale had good overall test-retest reliability of .92, and the internal consistency of the five subscales was above .90. The results of the factor analysis showed that the Social Skills Scale covered the five domains of classroom learning skills, communication skills, individual initiative skills, interaction skills, and job-related social skills, and the five factors explained 68.34% of the variance. Thus, the Social Skills Scale had good reliability and validity and would be applicable to and could be promoted for use in schools.

Partial molar volume of n-alcohols at infinite dilution in water calculated by means of scaled particle theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Graziano, Giuseppe

2006-04-07

The partial molar volume of n-alcohols at infinite dilution in water is smaller than the molar volume in the neat liquid phase. It is shown that the formula for the partial molar volume at infinite dilution obtained from the scaled particle theory equation of state for binary hard sphere mixtures is able to reproduce in a satisfactory manner the experimental data over a large temperature range. This finding implies that the packing effects play the fundamental role in determining the partial molar volume at infinite dilution in water also for solutes, such as n-alcohols, forming H bonds with water molecules. Since the packing effects in water are largely related to the small size of its molecules, the latter feature is the ultimate cause of the decrease in partial molar volume associated with the hydrophobic effect.

T3 glottic cancer: an analysis of dose time-volume factors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harwood, A.R.; Beale, F.A.; Cummings, B.J.; Hawkins, N.V.; Keane, T.J.; Rider, W.D.

1980-01-01

This report analyzes dose-time-volume factors in 112 patients with T3N0M0 glottic cancer who were treated with radical radiotherapy with surgery for salvage between 1963 and 1977. 55% of the patients are alive and well 5 years following treatment; 26% died of glottic cancer and 19% died of intercurrent disease. In the 1965 to 1969 time period, 31% died of tumor as compared to 16% in the 1975 to 1977 time period. Overall local control by radiotherapy was 51%; 2/3 of the failures were surgically salvaged. 44% were locally controlled by radiotherapy in the 1965 to 1969 time period and 57% in the 1975 to 1977 time period. Analysis of dose-time-volume factors reveals that the optimal dose is greater than 1700 ret and a minimal volume of 6 x 8 cm should be used. A dose-cure curve for T3 glottic cancer is constructed and compared with the dose complication curve for the larynx and the dose-cure curve for T1N0M0 glottic cancer. A comparison of cure rates between 112 patients treated with radical radiotherapy and surgery for salvage versus 28 patients treated with combined pre-operative irradiation and surgery reveals no difference in the proportion of patients who died of glottic cancer or in the number of patients alive at 5 years following treatment

Detection of atomic scale changes in the free volume void size of three-dimensional colorectal cancer cell culture using positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Axpe, Eneko; Lopez-Euba, Tamara; Castellanos-Rubio, Ainara; Merida, David; Garcia, Jose Angel; Plaza-Izurieta, Leticia; Fernandez-Jimenez, Nora; Plazaola, Fernando; Bilbao, Jose Ramon

2014-01-01

Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) provides a direct measurement of the free volume void sizes in polymers and biological systems. This free volume is critical in explaining and understanding physical and mechanical properties of polymers. Moreover, PALS has been recently proposed as a potential tool in detecting cancer at early stages, probing the differences in the subnanometer scale free volume voids between cancerous/healthy skin samples of the same patient. Despite several investigations on free volume in complex cancerous tissues, no positron annihilation studies of living cancer cell cultures have been reported. We demonstrate that PALS can be applied to the study in human living 3D cell cultures. The technique is also capable to detect atomic scale changes in the size of the free volume voids due to the biological responses to TGF-β. PALS may be developed to characterize the effect of different culture conditions in the free volume voids of cells grown in vitro.

Development of scaling factor prediction method for radionuclide composition in low-level radioactive waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Jin Beak

1995-02-01

Low-level radioactive waste management require the knowledge of the natures and quantities of radionuclides in the immobilized or packaged waste. U. S. NRC rules require programs that measure the concentrations of all relevant nuclides either directly or indirectly by relating difficult-to-measure radionuclides to other easy-to-measure radionuclides with application of scaling factors. Scaling factors previously developed through statistical approach can give only generic ones and have many difficult problem about sampling procedures. Generic scaling factors can not take into account for plant operation history. In this study, a method to predict plant-specific and operational history dependent scaling factors is developed. Realistic and detailed approach are taken to find scaling factors at reactor coolant. This approach begin with fission product release mechanisms and fundamental release properties of fuel-source nuclide such as fission product and transuranic nuclide. Scaling factors at various waste streams are derived from the predicted reactor coolant scaling factors with the aid of radionuclide retention and build up model. This model make use of radioactive material balance within the radioactive waste processing systems. Scaling factors at reactor coolant and waste streams which can include the effects of plant operation history have been developed according to input parameters of plant operation history

Risk Factors Associated with Crash Severity on Low-Volume Rural Roads in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Prato, Carlo Giacomo; Rasmussen, Thomas Kjær; Kaplan, Sigal

2014-01-01

Safety on low-volume rural roads is drawing attention due to the high fatality and severe injury rates in comparison with high-volume roads and the increasing awareness of sustainable rural development among policy makers. This study analyzes the risk factors associated with crash severity on low......-volume rural roads, including crash characteristics, driver attributes and behavior, vehicle type, road features, environmental conditions, distance from the nearest hospital, and zone rurality degree. The data consist of a set of crashes occurred on low-volume rural roads in Denmark between 2007 and 2011...... advantage in accommodating the ordered-response nature of severity while relaxing the proportional odds assumption. Model estimates and pseudoelasticities show that aggravated crash injury severity is significantly associated with (1) alcohol and failure to wear seatbelts, (2) involvement of vulnerable road...

Confirmatory factor analysis of the Drive for Muscularity Scale-S (DMS-S) and Male Body Attitudes Scale-S (MBAS-S) among male university students in Buenos Aires.

Science.gov (United States)

Compte, Emilio J; Sepúlveda, Ana R; de Pellegrin, Yolanda; Blanco, Miriam

2015-06-01

Several studies have demonstrated that men express body dissatisfaction differently than women. Although specific instruments that address body dissatisfaction in men have been developed, only a few have been validated in Latin-American male populations. The aim of this study was to reassess the factor structure of the Spanish versions of the Drive for Muscularity Scale (DMS-S) and the Male Body Attitudes Scale (MBAS-S) in an Argentinian sample. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 423 male students to examine: the factorial structure (confirmatory factor analysis), the internal consistency reliability, and the concurrent, convergent and discriminant validity of both scales. Results replicated the two factor structures for the DMS-S and MBAS-S. Both scales showed excellent levels of internal consistency, and various measures of construct validity indicated that the DMS-S and MBAS-S were acceptable and valid instruments to assess body dissatisfaction in Argentinian males. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Volume-law scaling for the entanglement entropy in spin-1/2 chains

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vitagliano, G; Riera, A; Latorre, J I

2010-01-01

Entanglement entropy obeys area law scaling for typical physical quantum systems. This may naively be argued to follow from the locality of interactions. We show that this is not the case by constructing an explicit simple spin chain Hamiltonian with nearest-neighbor interactions that presents an entanglement volume scaling law. This non-translational model is contrived to have couplings that force the accumulation of singlet bonds across the half-chain. This configuration of the couplings is suggested by real-space renormalization group arguments. Computation of the entanglement entropy is performed by mapping the system to free fermions and diagonalizing numerically its correlation matrix. An analytical relationship between the entanglement entropy and the Frobenius norm of the correlation matrix is also established. Our result is complementary to the known relationship between non-translational invariant, nearest-neighbor interacting Hamiltonians and quantum Merlin-Arthur (QMA)-complete problems.

Factor structure of the Brief Negative Symptom Scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Strauss, Gregory P; Hong, L Elliot; Gold, James M; Buchanan, Robert W; McMahon, Robert P; Keller, William R; Fischer, Bernard A; Catalano, Lauren T; Culbreth, Adam J; Carpenter, William T; Kirkpatrick, Brian

2012-12-01

The current study examined the factor structure of the Brief Negative Symptom Scale (BNSS), a next-generation negative symptom rating instrument developed in response to the NIMH-sponsored Consensus Development Conference on Negative Symptoms. Participants included 146 individuals with a DSM-IV diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Principal axis factoring indicated two distinct factors explaining 68.7% of the variance. Similar to previous findings, the factors reflected motivation and pleasure and emotional expressivity. These findings provide further support for the construct validity of the BNSS, and for the existence of these two negative symptom factors. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

N2O emission hotspots at different spatial scales and governing factors for small scale hotspots

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heuvel, R.N. van den; Hefting, M.M.; Tan, N.C.G.; Jetten, M.S.M.; Verhoeven, J.T.A.

2009-01-01

Chronically nitrate-loaded riparian buffer zones show high N 2 O emissions. Often, a large part of the N 2 O is emitted from small surface areas, resulting in high spatial variability in these buffer zones. These small surface areas with high N 2 O emissions (hotspots) need to be investigated to generate knowledge on the factors governing N 2 O emissions. In this study the N 2 O emission variability was investigated at different spatial scales. Therefore N 2 O emissions from three 32 m 2 grids were determined in summer and winter. Spatial variation and total emission were determined on three different scales (0.3 m 2 , 0.018 m 2 and 0.0013 m 2 ) at plots with different levels of N 2 O emissions. Spatial variation was high at all scales determined and highest at the smallest scale. To test possible factors inducing small scale hotspots, soil samples were collected for slurry incubation to determine responses to increased electron donor/acceptor availability. Acetate addition did increase N 2 O production, but nitrate addition failed to increase total denitrification or net N 2 O production. N 2 O production was similar in all soil slurries, independent of their origin from high or low emission soils, indicating that environmental conditions (including physical factors like gas diffusion) rather than microbial community composition governed N 2 O emission rates

Fuzzy Regression Prediction and Application Based on Multi-Dimensional Factors of Freight Volume

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Mengting; Li, Cheng

2018-01-01

Based on the reality of the development of air cargo, the multi-dimensional fuzzy regression method is used to determine the influencing factors, and the three most important influencing factors of GDP, total fixed assets investment and regular flight route mileage are determined. The system’s viewpoints and analogy methods, the use of fuzzy numbers and multiple regression methods to predict the civil aviation cargo volume. In comparison with the 13th Five-Year Plan for China’s Civil Aviation Development (2016-2020), it is proved that this method can effectively improve the accuracy of forecasting and reduce the risk of forecasting. It is proved that this model predicts civil aviation freight volume of the feasibility, has a high practical significance and practical operation.

Factors controlling volume errors through 2D gully erosion assessment: guidelines for optimal survey design

Science.gov (United States)

Castillo, Carlos; Pérez, Rafael

2017-04-01

The assessment of gully erosion volumes is essential for the quantification of soil losses derived from this relevant degradation process. Traditionally, 2D and 3D approaches has been applied for this purpose (Casalí et al., 2006). Although innovative 3D approaches have recently been proposed for gully volume quantification, a renewed interest can be found in literature regarding the useful information that cross-section analysis still provides in gully erosion research. Moreover, the application of methods based on 2D approaches can be the most cost-effective approach in many situations such as preliminary studies with low accuracy requirements or surveys under time or budget constraints. The main aim of this work is to examine the key factors controlling volume error variability in 2D gully assessment by means of a stochastic experiment involving a Monte Carlo analysis over synthetic gully profiles in order to 1) contribute to a better understanding of the drivers and magnitude of gully erosion 2D-surveys uncertainty and 2) provide guidelines for optimal survey designs. Owing to the stochastic properties of error generation in 2D volume assessment, a statistical approach was followed to generate a large and significant set of gully reach configurations to evaluate quantitatively the influence of the main factors controlling the uncertainty of the volume assessment. For this purpose, a simulation algorithm in Matlab® code was written, involving the following stages: - Generation of synthetic gully area profiles with different degrees of complexity (characterized by the cross-section variability) - Simulation of field measurements characterised by a survey intensity and the precision of the measurement method - Quantification of the volume error uncertainty as a function of the key factors In this communication we will present the relationships between volume error and the studied factors and propose guidelines for 2D field surveys based on the minimal survey

Factor structure of the Body Appreciation Scale among Malaysian women.

Science.gov (United States)

Swami, Viren; Chamorro-Premuzic, Tomas

2008-12-01

The present study examined the factor structure of a Malay version of the Body Appreciation Scale (BAS), a recently developed scale for the assessment of positive body image that has been shown to have a unidimensional structure in Western settings. Results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses based on data from community sample of 591 women in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, failed to support a unidimensional structure for the Malay BAS. Results of a confirmatory factor analysis suggested two stable factors, which were labelled 'General Body Appreciation' and 'Body Image Investment'. Multi-group analysis showed that the two-factor structure was invariant for both Malaysian Malay and Chinese women, and that there were no significant ethnic differences on either factor. Results also showed that General Body Appreciation was significant negatively correlated with participants' body mass index. These results are discussed in relation to possible cross-cultural differences in positive body image.

Increased volume of distribution for recombinant activated factor VII and longer plasma-derived factor VII half-life may explain their long lasting prophylactic effect.

Science.gov (United States)

Mathijssen, Natascha C J; Masereeuw, Rosalinde; Holme, Pal Andre; van Kraaij, Marian G J; Laros-van Gorkom, Britta A P; Peyvandi, Flora; van Heerde, Waander L

2013-08-01

Prophylaxis with plasma-derived or recombinant activated factor VII is beneficial in severe factor VII deficiency. To understand why prophylactic treatment with both products is efficacious, we conducted a pharmacokinetic study. Ten factor VII deficient patients were treated with either recombinant activated (20 μg/kg) or plasma-derived (25 IU/kg) factor VII in a cross-over design. Pharmacokinetic parameters were analyzed through activated factor VII activity, factor VII clotting activity, and factor VII antigen levels on depicted time points. Factor VII activity half-lifes, determined by non-compartmental and one-compartmental analysis (results in brackets), were shorter for recombinant activated (1.4h; 0.7h) than for plasma-derived factor VII (6.8h; 3.2h); both recombinant activated (5.1h; 2.1h and plasma-derived factor VII (5.8h; 3.2h) resulted in longer half-lives of factor VII antigen. Activated factor VII half-lives (based on activated factor VII activity levels) were significantly higher compared to factor VII clotting activity (1.6h; 0.9h). Volumes of distribution were significantly higher for activated factor VII (236 ml/kg; 175 ml/kg, measured by activated factor VII) as compared to plasma-derived factor VII (206 ml/kg; 64 ml/kg, measured by factor FVII activity), suggesting a plasma- and extracellular fluid distribution for recombinant activated factor VII. Recombinant activated factor VII showed significantly shorter half-lifes than plasma-derived factor VII. Volumes of distribution were significantly higher for treatment with recombinant activated factor VII. The longer half-life for plasma-derived factor VII, compared to recombinant activated factor VII, and the increased volume of distribution for recombinant activated factor VII, compared to plasma-derived factor VII may further elucidate the beneficial effect of prophylactic treatment of both products. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Factors Affecting Canagliflozin-Induced Transient Urine Volume Increase in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

Science.gov (United States)

Tanaka, Hiroyuki; Takano, Kazuhiko; Iijima, Hiroaki; Kubo, Hajime; Maruyama, Nobuko; Hashimoto, Toshio; Arakawa, Kenji; Togo, Masanori; Inagaki, Nobuya; Kaku, Kohei

2017-02-01

Sodium glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors exhibit diuretic activity, which is a possible mechanism underlying the cardiovascular benefit of these inhibitors. However, the osmotic diuresis-induced increase in urine volume, and the risk of dehydration have been of concern with SGLT2 inhibitor treatment. This study aimed to investigate the mechanism underlying SGLT2 inhibitor canagliflozin-induced diuresis in Japanese type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients. Thirteen T2DM patients received a daily oral dose of 100 mg canagliflozin before breakfast for 6 days. Blood and urine samples were collected at predetermined time points. The primary endpoint was evaluation of correlations between changes from baseline in urine volume and factors that are known to affect urine volume and between actual urine volume and these factors. Canagliflozin transiently increased urine volume and urinary sodium excretion on Day 1 with a return to baseline levels thereafter. Canagliflozin administration increased urinary glucose excretion, which was sustained during repeated-dose administration. Plasma atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and N-terminal pro-b-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels decreased, while plasma renin activity increased. On Day 1 of treatment, changes in sodium and potassium excretion were closely correlated with changes in urine output. A post hoc multiple regression analysis showed changes in sodium excretion and water intake as factors that affected urine volume change at Day 1. Furthermore, relative to that at baseline, canagliflozin decreased blood glucose throughout the day and increased plasma total GLP-1 after breakfast. Canagliflozin induced transient sodium excretion and did not induce water intake at Day 1; hence, natriuresis rather than glucose-induced osmotic diuresis may be a major factor involved in the canagliflozin-induced transient increase in urine output. In addition, canagliflozin decreased plasma ANP and NT-proBNP levels and

The Euler anomaly and scale factors in Liouville/Toda CFTs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Balasubramanian, Aswin [Theory Group, Department of Physics, University of Texas at Austin,2515 Speedway Stop C1608, Austin, TX 78712-1197 (United States)

2014-04-22

The role played by the Euler anomaly in the dictionary relating sphere partition functions of four dimensional theories of class S and two dimensional non rational CFTs is clarified. On the two dimensional side, this involves a careful treatment of scale factors in Liouville/Toda correlators. Using ideas from tinkertoy constructions for Gaiotto duality, a framework is proposed for evaluating these scale factors. The representation theory of Weyl groups plays a critical role in this framework.

A Factor Analytic Study of the Internet Usage Scale

Science.gov (United States)

Monetti, David M.; Whatley, Mark A.; Hinkle, Kerry T.; Cunningham, Kerry T.; Breneiser, Jennifer E.; Kisling, Rhea

2011-01-01

This study developed an Internet Usage Scale (IUS) for use with adolescent populations. The IUS is a 26-item scale that measures participants' beliefs about how their Internet usage impacts their behavior. The sample for this study consisted of 947 middle school students. An exploratory factor analysis with varimax rotation was conducted on the…

Feelings about culture scales: development, factor structure, reliability, and validity.

Science.gov (United States)

Maffini, Cara S; Wong, Y Joel

2015-04-01

Although measures of cultural identity, values, and behavior exist in the multicultural psychological literature, there is currently no measure that explicitly assesses ethnic minority individuals' positive and negative affect toward culture. Therefore, we developed 2 new measures called the Feelings About Culture Scale--Ethnic Culture and Feelings About Culture Scale--Mainstream American Culture and tested their psychometric properties. In 6 studies, we piloted the measures, conducted factor analyses to clarify their factor structure, and examined reliability and validity. The factor structure revealed 2 dimensions reflecting positive and negative affect for each measure. Results provided evidence for convergent, discriminant, criterion-related, and incremental validity as well as the reliability of the scales. The Feelings About Culture Scales are the first known measures to examine both positive and negative affect toward an individual's ethnic culture and mainstream American culture. The focus on affect captures dimensions of psychological experiences that differ from cognitive and behavioral constructs often used to measure cultural orientation. These measures can serve as a valuable contribution to both research and counseling by providing insight into the nuanced affective experiences ethnic minority individuals have toward culture. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Hunger and thirst numeric rating scales are not valid estimates for gastric content volumes: a prospective investigation in healthy children.

Science.gov (United States)

Buehrer, Sabin; Hanke, Ursula; Klaghofer, Richard; Fruehauf, Melanie; Weiss, Markus; Schmitz, Achim

2014-03-01

A rating scale for thirst and hunger was evaluated as a noninvasive, simple and commonly available tool to estimate preanesthetic gastric volume, a surrogate parameter for the risk of perioperative pulmonary aspiration, in healthy volunteer school age children. Numeric scales with scores from 0 to 10 combined with smileys to rate thirst and hunger were analyzed and compared with residual gastric volumes as measured by magnetic resonance imaging and fasting times in three settings: before and for 2 h after drinking clear fluid (group A, 7 ml/kg), before and for 4 vs 6 h after a light breakfast followed by clear fluid (7 ml/kg) after 2 vs 4 h (crossover, group B), and before and for 1 h after drinking clear fluid (crossover, group C, 7 vs 3 ml/kg). In 30 children aged 6.4-12.8 (median 9.8) years, participating on 1-5 (median two) study days, 496 sets of scores and gastric volumes were determined. Large inter- and intra-individual variations were seen at baseline and in response to fluid and food intake. Significant correlations were found between hunger and thirst ratings in all groups, with children generally being more hungry than thirsty. Correlations between scores and duration of fasting or gastric residual volumes were poor to moderate. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed that thirst and hunger rating scales cannot predict gastric content. Hunger and thirst scores vary considerably inter- and intra-individually and cannot predict gastric volume, nor do they correlate with fasting times in school age children. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Success Factors of Large Scale ERP Implementation in Thailand

OpenAIRE

Rotchanakitumnuai; Siriluck

2010-01-01

The objectives of the study are to examine the determinants of ERP implementation success factors of ERP implementation. The result indicates that large scale ERP implementation success consist of eight factors: project management competence, knowledge sharing, ERP system quality , understanding, user involvement, business process re-engineering, top management support, organization readiness.

Correlation among body height, intelligence, and brain gray matter volume in healthy children.

Science.gov (United States)

Taki, Yasuyuki; Hashizume, Hiroshi; Sassa, Yuko; Takeuchi, Hikaru; Asano, Michiko; Asano, Kohei; Kotozaki, Yuka; Nouchi, Rui; Wu, Kai; Fukuda, Hiroshi; Kawashima, Ryuta

2012-01-16

A significant positive correlation between height and intelligence has been demonstrated in children. Additionally, intelligence has been associated with the volume of gray matter in the brains of children. Based on these correlations, we analyzed the correlation among height, full-scale intelligence quotient (IQ) and gray matter volume applying voxel-based morphometry using data from the brain magnetic resonance images of 160 healthy children aged 5-18 years of age. As a result, body height was significantly positively correlated with brain gray matter volume. Additionally, the regional gray matter volume of several regions such as the bilateral prefrontal cortices, temporoparietal region, and cerebellum was significantly positively correlated with body height and that the gray matter volume of several of these regions was also significantly positively correlated with full-scale intelligence quotient (IQ) scores after adjusting for age, sex, and socioeconomic status. Our results demonstrate that gray and white matter volume may mediate the correlation between body height and intelligence in healthy children. Additionally, the correlations among gray and white matter volume, height, and intelligence may be at least partially explained by the effect of insulin-like growth factor-1 and growth hormones. Given the importance of the effect of environmental factors, especially nutrition, on height, IQ, and gray matter volume, the present results stress the importance of nutrition during childhood for the healthy maturation of body and brain. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Scale factor duality for conformal cyclic cosmologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Silva, University Camara da; Lima, A.L. Alves; Sotkov, G.M. [Departamento de Física - CCE,Universidade Federal de Espirito Santo, 29075-900, Vitoria ES (Brazil)

2016-11-16

The scale factor duality is a symmetry of dilaton gravity which is known to lead to pre-big-bang cosmologies. A conformal time version of the scale factor duality (SFD) was recently implemented as a UV/IR symmetry between decelerated and accelerated phases of the post-big-bang evolution within Einstein gravity coupled to a scalar field. The problem investigated in the present paper concerns the employment of the conformal time SFD methods to the construction of pre-big-bang and cyclic extensions of these models. We demonstrate that each big-bang model gives rise to two qualitatively different pre-big-bang evolutions: a contraction/expansion SFD model and Penrose’s Conformal Cyclic Cosmology (CCC). A few examples of SFD symmetric cyclic universes involving certain gauged Kähler sigma models minimally coupled to Einstein gravity are studied. We also describe the specific SFD features of the thermodynamics and the conditions for validity of the generalized second law in the case of Gauss-Bonnet (GB) extension of these selected CCC models.

Scale factor duality for conformal cyclic cosmologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silva, University Camara da; Lima, A.L. Alves; Sotkov, G.M.

2016-01-01

The scale factor duality is a symmetry of dilaton gravity which is known to lead to pre-big-bang cosmologies. A conformal time version of the scale factor duality (SFD) was recently implemented as a UV/IR symmetry between decelerated and accelerated phases of the post-big-bang evolution within Einstein gravity coupled to a scalar field. The problem investigated in the present paper concerns the employment of the conformal time SFD methods to the construction of pre-big-bang and cyclic extensions of these models. We demonstrate that each big-bang model gives rise to two qualitatively different pre-big-bang evolutions: a contraction/expansion SFD model and Penrose’s Conformal Cyclic Cosmology (CCC). A few examples of SFD symmetric cyclic universes involving certain gauged Kähler sigma models minimally coupled to Einstein gravity are studied. We also describe the specific SFD features of the thermodynamics and the conditions for validity of the generalized second law in the case of Gauss-Bonnet (GB) extension of these selected CCC models.

Scale for positive aspects of caregiving experience: development, reliability, and factor structure.

Science.gov (United States)

Kate, N; Grover, S; Kulhara, P; Nehra, R

2012-06-01

OBJECTIVE. To develop an instrument (Scale for Positive Aspects of Caregiving Experience [SPACE]) that evaluates positive caregiving experience and assess its psychometric properties. METHODS. Available scales which assess some aspects of positive caregiving experience were reviewed and a 50-item questionnaire with a 5-point rating was constructed. In all, 203 primary caregivers of patients with severe mental disorders were asked to complete the questionnaire. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, cross-language reliability, split-half reliability, and face validity were evaluated. Principal component factor analysis was run to assess the factorial validity of the scale. RESULTS. The scale developed as part of the study was found to have good internal consistency, test-retest reliability, cross-language reliability, split-half reliability, and face validity. Principal component factor analysis yielded a 4-factor structure, which also had good test-retest reliability and cross-language reliability. There was a strong correlation between the 4 factors obtained. CONCLUSION. The SPACE developed as part of this study has good psychometric properties.

Factor analysis of Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised in developmentally disabled persons.

Science.gov (United States)

Di Nuovo, Santo F; Buono, Serafino

2006-12-01

The results of previous studies on the factorial structure of Wechsler Intelligence Scales are somewhat inconsistent across normal and pathological samples. To study specific clinical groups, such as developmentally disabled persons, it is useful to examine the factor structure in appropriate samples. A factor analysis was carried out using the principal component method and the Varimax orthogonal rotation on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-R) in a sample of 203 developmentally disabled persons, with a mean age of 25 years 4 months. Developmental disability ranged from mild to moderate. Partially contrasting with previous studies on normal samples, results found a two-factor solution. Wechsler's traditional Verbal and Performance scales seems to be more appropriate for this sample than the alternative three-factor solution.

Factor validation of the portuguese version of the social skills scale of the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria João Seabra-Santos

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The assessment of preschoolers’ social skills represents a topic of growing importance in research recently developed in the field. The purpose of this article is to present confirmatory factor analyses studies for the Social Skills scale of the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales – Second Edition (PKBS-2, a behavior rating scale that evaluates social skills and problem behaviors, adapted and validated for Portuguese preschool children. The 34 items of the Social Skills scale, distributed on three subscales (Social Cooperation/Adjustment, Social Interaction/Empathy and Social Independence/Assertiveness, were grouped into item-parcels. Model adjustment was analyzed for the total sample (N = 2000 and the analyses were replicated for the subsamples collected in the home (n = 1000 and school settings (n = 1000. The factor structure was very stable for the three samples, with high internal consistency levels and correlations between parcels/scales. The results highlight the utility/validity of the Social Skills scale of the PKBS-2 (Portuguese version.

Quantitative grain-scale ferroic domain volume fractions and domain switching strains from three-dimensional X-ray diffraction data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Oddershede, Jette; Majkut, Marta; Caosyd, Qinghua

2015-01-01

A method for the extension of the three-dimensional X-ray diffraction technique to allow the extraction of domain volume fractions in polycrystalline ferroic materials is presented. This method gives access to quantitative domain volume fractions of hundreds of independent embedded grains within...... are applied to tetragonal coarse-grained Ba0.88Ca0.12Zr0.06Ti0.94O3 and rhombohedral fine-grained (0.82)Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3–(0.18)Bi0.5K0.5TiO3 electroceramic materials. The fitted volume fraction information is used to calculate grain-scale non-180° ferroelectric domain switching strains. The absolute errors...

Factor Analysis of the Brazilian Version of UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale

Science.gov (United States)

Sediyama, Cristina Y. N.; Moura, Ricardo; Garcia, Marina S.; da Silva, Antonio G.; Soraggi, Carolina; Neves, Fernando S.; Albuquerque, Maicon R.; Whiteside, Setephen P.; Malloy-Diniz, Leandro F.

2017-01-01

Objective: To examine the internal consistency and factor structure of the Brazilian adaptation of the UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale. Methods: UPPS is a self-report scale composed by 40 items assessing four factors of impulsivity: (a) urgency, (b) lack of premeditation; (c) lack of perseverance; (d) sensation seeking. In the present study 384 participants (278 women and 106 men), who were recruited from schools, universities, leisure centers and workplaces fulfilled the UPPS scale. An exploratory factor analysis was performed by using Varimax factor rotation and Kaiser Normalization, and we also conducted two confirmatory analyses to test the independency of the UPPS components found in previous analysis. Results: Results showed a decrease in mean UPPS total scores with age and this analysis showed that the youngest participants (below 30 years) scored significantly higher than the other groups over 30 years. No difference in gender was found. Cronbach’s alpha, results indicated satisfactory values for all subscales, with similar high values for the subscales and confirmatory factor analysis indexes also indicated a poor model fit. The results of two exploratory factor analysis were satisfactory. Conclusion: Our results showed that the Portuguese version has the same four-factor structure of the original and previous translations of the UPPS. PMID:28484414

Factor Analysis of the Brazilian Version of UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leandro F. Malloy-Diniz

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Objective: To examine the internal consistency and factor structure of the Brazilian adaptation of the UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale.Methods: UPPS is a self-report scale composed by 40 items assessing four factors of impulsivity: (a urgency, (b lack of premeditation; (c lack of perseverance; (d sensation seeking. In the present study 384 participants (278 women and 106 men, who were recruited from schools, universities, leisure centers and workplaces fulfilled the UPPS scale. An exploratory factor analysis was performed by using Varimax factor rotation and Kaiser Normalization, and we also conducted two confirmatory analyses to test the independency of the UPPS components found in previous analysis.Results: Results showed a decrease in mean UPPS total scores with age and this analysis showed that the youngest participants (below 30 years scored significantly higher than the other groups over 30 years. No difference in gender was found. Cronbach’s alpha, results indicated satisfactory values for all subscales, with similar high values for the subscales and confirmatory factor analysis indexes also indicated a poor model fit. The results of two exploratory factor analysis were satisfactory.Conclusion: Our results showed that the Portuguese version has the same four-factor structure of the original and previous translations of the UPPS.

Factor Analysis of the Brazilian Version of UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Sediyama, Cristina Y N; Moura, Ricardo; Garcia, Marina S; da Silva, Antonio G; Soraggi, Carolina; Neves, Fernando S; Albuquerque, Maicon R; Whiteside, Setephen P; Malloy-Diniz, Leandro F

2017-01-01

Objective: To examine the internal consistency and factor structure of the Brazilian adaptation of the UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale. Methods: UPPS is a self-report scale composed by 40 items assessing four factors of impulsivity: (a) urgency, (b) lack of premeditation; (c) lack of perseverance; (d) sensation seeking. In the present study 384 participants (278 women and 106 men), who were recruited from schools, universities, leisure centers and workplaces fulfilled the UPPS scale. An exploratory factor analysis was performed by using Varimax factor rotation and Kaiser Normalization, and we also conducted two confirmatory analyses to test the independency of the UPPS components found in previous analysis. Results: Results showed a decrease in mean UPPS total scores with age and this analysis showed that the youngest participants (below 30 years) scored significantly higher than the other groups over 30 years. No difference in gender was found. Cronbach's alpha, results indicated satisfactory values for all subscales, with similar high values for the subscales and confirmatory factor analysis indexes also indicated a poor model fit. The results of two exploratory factor analysis were satisfactory. Conclusion: Our results showed that the Portuguese version has the same four-factor structure of the original and previous translations of the UPPS.

Self-Compassion Scale: IRT Psychometric Analysis, Validation, and Factor Structure – Slovak Translation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Júlia Halamová

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The present study verifies the psychometric properties of the Slovak version of the Self-Compassion Scale through item response theory, factor-analysis, validity analyses and norm development. The surveyed sample consisted of 1,181 participants (34% men and 66% women with a mean age of 30.30 years (SD = 12.40. Two general factors (Self-compassionate responding and Self-uncompassionate responding were identified, whereas there was no support for a single general factor of the scale and six subscales. The results of the factor analysis were supported by an independent sample of 676 participants. Therefore, the use of total score for the whole scale would be inappropriate. In Slovak language the Self-Compassion Scale should be used in the form of two general subscales (Self-compassionate responding and Self-uncompassionate responding. In line with our theoretical assumptions, we obtained relatively high Spearman’s correlation coefficients between the Self-Compassion Scale and related external variables, demonstrating construct validity for the scale. To sum up, the Slovak translation of The Self-Compassion Scale is a reliable and valid instrument that measures Self-compassionate responding and Self-uncompassionate responding.

Validity and factor structure of the bodybuilding dependence scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, D; Hale, B

2004-04-01

To investigate the factor structure, validity, and reliability of the bodybuilding dependence scale and to investigate differences in bodybuilding dependence between men and women and competitive and non-competitive bodybuilders. Seventy two male competitive bodybuilders, 63 female competitive bodybuilders, 87 male non-competitive bodybuilders, and 63 non-competitive female bodybuilders completed the bodybuilding dependence scale (BDS), the exercise dependence questionnaire (EDQ), and the muscle dysmorphia inventory (MDI). Confirmatory factor analysis of the BDS supported a three factor model of bodybuilding dependence, consisting of social dependence, training dependence, and mastery dependence (Q = 3.16, CFI = 0.98, SRMR = 0.04). Internal reliability of all three subscales was high (Cronbach's alpha = 0.92, 0.92, and 0.93 respectively). Significant (pbodybuilders scored significantly (pbodybuilders. However, there were no significant sex differences on any of the BDS subscales (p>0.05). The three factor BDS appears to be a reliable and valid measure of bodybuilding dependence. Symptoms of bodybuilding dependence are more prevalent in competitive bodybuilders than non-competitive ones, but there are no significant sex differences in bodybuilding dependence.

SCALE: A modular code system for performing standardized computer analyses for licensing evaluation. Functional modules F1--F8 -- Volume 2, Part 1, Revision 4

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Greene, N.M.; Petrie, L.M.; Westfall, R.M.; Bucholz, J.A.; Hermann, O.W.; Fraley, S.K. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)

1995-04-01

SCALE--a modular code system for Standardized Computer Analyses Licensing Evaluation--has been developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory at the request of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The SCALE system utilizes well-established computer codes and methods within standard analysis sequences that (1) allow an input format designed for the occasional user and/or novice, (2) automate the data processing and coupling between modules, and (3) provide accurate and reliable results. System development has been directed at problem-dependent cross-section processing and analysis of criticality safety, shielding, heat transfer, and depletion/decay problems. Since the initial release of SCALE in 1980, the code system has been heavily used for evaluation of nuclear fuel facility and package designs. This revision documents Version 4.2 of the system. The manual is divided into three volumes: Volume 1--for the control module documentation; Volume 2--for functional module documentation; and Volume 3--for documentation of the data libraries and subroutine libraries.

SCALE: A modular code system for performing standardized computer analyses for licensing evaluation. Functional modules F1--F8 -- Volume 2, Part 1, Revision 4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greene, N.M.; Petrie, L.M.; Westfall, R.M.; Bucholz, J.A.; Hermann, O.W.; Fraley, S.K.

1995-04-01

SCALE--a modular code system for Standardized Computer Analyses Licensing Evaluation--has been developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory at the request of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The SCALE system utilizes well-established computer codes and methods within standard analysis sequences that (1) allow an input format designed for the occasional user and/or novice, (2) automate the data processing and coupling between modules, and (3) provide accurate and reliable results. System development has been directed at problem-dependent cross-section processing and analysis of criticality safety, shielding, heat transfer, and depletion/decay problems. Since the initial release of SCALE in 1980, the code system has been heavily used for evaluation of nuclear fuel facility and package designs. This revision documents Version 4.2 of the system. The manual is divided into three volumes: Volume 1--for the control module documentation; Volume 2--for functional module documentation; and Volume 3--for documentation of the data libraries and subroutine libraries

CT- and MRI-based volumetry of resected liver specimen: Comparison to intraoperative volume and weight measurements and calculation of conversion factors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karlo, C.; Reiner, C.S.; Stolzmann, P.; Breitenstein, S.; Marincek, B.; Weishaupt, D.; Frauenfelder, T.

2010-01-01

Objective: To compare virtual volume to intraoperative volume and weight measurements of resected liver specimen and calculate appropriate conversion factors to reach better correlation. Methods: Preoperative (CT-group, n = 30; MRI-group, n = 30) and postoperative MRI (n = 60) imaging was performed in 60 patients undergoing partial liver resection. Intraoperative volume and weight of the resected liver specimen was measured. Virtual volume measurements were performed by two readers (R1,R2) using dedicated software. Conversion factors were calculated. Results: Mean intraoperative resection weight/volume: CT: 855 g/852 mL; MRI: 872 g/860 mL. Virtual resection volume: CT: 960 mL(R1), 982 mL(R2); MRI: 1112 mL(R1), 1115 mL(R2). Strong positive correlation for both readers between intraoperative and virtual measurements, mean of both readers: CT: R = 0.88(volume), R = 0.89(weight); MRI: R = 0.95(volume), R = 0.92(weight). Conversion factors: 0.85(CT), 0.78(MRI). Conclusion: CT- or MRI-based volumetry of resected liver specimen is accurate and recommended for preoperative planning. A conversion of the result is necessary to improve intraoperative and virtual measurement correlation. We found 0.85 for CT- and 0.78 for MRI-based volumetry the most appropriate conversion factors.

Structure of Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale: Three-factor solution

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Blatný, Marek; Urbánek, Tomáš; Osecká, Terezie

2006-01-01

Roč. 48, č. 4 (2006), s. 371-378 ISSN 0039-3320 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z70250504 Keywords : Rosenberg Self - Esteem Scale * confirmatory factor analysis * adolescents Subject RIV: AN - Psychology Impact factor: 0.410, year: 2006

An inter-battery factor analysis of the comrey personality scales and the 16 personality factor questionnaire

OpenAIRE

Gideon P. de Bruin

2000-01-01

The scores of 700 Afrikaans-speaking university students on the Comrey Personality Scales and the 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire were subjected to an inter-battery factor analysis. This technique uses only the correlations between two sets of variables and reveals only the factors that they have in common. Three of the Big Five personality factors were revealed, namely Extroversion, Neuroticism and Conscientiousness. However, the Conscientiousness factor contained a relatively strong uns...

Is orbital volume associated with eyeball and visual cortex volume in humans?

Science.gov (United States)

Pearce, Eiluned; Bridge, Holly

2013-01-01

In humans orbital volume increases linearly with absolute latitude. Scaling across mammals between visual system components suggests that these larger orbits should translate into larger eyes and visual cortices in high latitude humans. Larger eyes at high latitudes may be required to maintain adequate visual acuity and enhance visual sensitivity under lower light levels. To test the assumption that orbital volume can accurately index eyeball and visual cortex volumes specifically in humans. Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) techniques are employed to measure eye and orbit (n = 88) and brain and visual cortex (n = 99) volumes in living humans. Facial dimensions and foramen magnum area (a proxy for body mass) were also measured. A significant positive linear relationship was found between (i) orbital and eyeball volumes, (ii) eyeball and visual cortex grey matter volumes and (iii) different visual cortical areas, independently of overall brain volume. In humans the components of the visual system scale from orbit to eye to visual cortex volume independently of overall brain size. These findings indicate that orbit volume can index eye and visual cortex volume in humans, suggesting that larger high latitude orbits do translate into larger visual cortices.

The factor structure of the self-directed learning readiness scale | de ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The factor structure of the Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (SDLRS) was investigated for Afrikaans and English-speaking first-year university students. Five factors were extracted and rotated to oblique simple structure for both groups. Four of the five factors were satisfactorily replicated. The fifth factor appeared to ...

SCALE: A modular code system for performing standardized computer analyses for licensing evaluation. Functional modules F9--F16 -- Volume 2, Part 2, Revision 4

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

West, J.T.; Hoffman, T.J.; Emmett, M.B.; Childs, K.W.; Petrie, L.M.; Landers, N.F.; Bryan, C.B.; Giles, G.E. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)

1995-04-01

SCALE--a modular code system for Standardized Computer Analyses Licensing Evaluation--has been developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory at the request of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The SCALE system utilizes well-established computer codes and methods within standard analysis sequences that (1) allow an input format designed for the occasional user and/or novice, (2) automate the data processing and coupling between modules, and (3) provide accurate and reliable results. System development has been directed at problem-dependent cross-section processing and analysis of criticality safety, shielding, heat transfer, and depletion/decay problems. Since the initial release of SCALE in 1980, the code system has been heavily used for evaluation of nuclear fuel facility and package designs. This revision documents Version 4.2 of the system. The manual is divided into three volumes: Volume 1--for the control module documentation, Volume 2--for functional module documentation; and Volume 3--for documentation of the data libraries and subroutine libraries. This volume discusses the following functional modules: MORSE-SGC; HEATING 7.2; KENO V.a; JUNEBUG-II; HEATPLOT-S; REGPLOT 6; PLORIGEN; and OCULAR.

SCALE: A modular code system for performing standardized computer analyses for licensing evaluation. Functional modules F9--F16 -- Volume 2, Part 2, Revision 4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

West, J.T.; Hoffman, T.J.; Emmett, M.B.; Childs, K.W.; Petrie, L.M.; Landers, N.F.; Bryan, C.B.; Giles, G.E.

1995-04-01

SCALE--a modular code system for Standardized Computer Analyses Licensing Evaluation--has been developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory at the request of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The SCALE system utilizes well-established computer codes and methods within standard analysis sequences that (1) allow an input format designed for the occasional user and/or novice, (2) automate the data processing and coupling between modules, and (3) provide accurate and reliable results. System development has been directed at problem-dependent cross-section processing and analysis of criticality safety, shielding, heat transfer, and depletion/decay problems. Since the initial release of SCALE in 1980, the code system has been heavily used for evaluation of nuclear fuel facility and package designs. This revision documents Version 4.2 of the system. The manual is divided into three volumes: Volume 1--for the control module documentation, Volume 2--for functional module documentation; and Volume 3--for documentation of the data libraries and subroutine libraries. This volume discusses the following functional modules: MORSE-SGC; HEATING 7.2; KENO V.a; JUNEBUG-II; HEATPLOT-S; REGPLOT 6; PLORIGEN; and OCULAR

Periodic Verification of the Scaling Factor for Radwastes in Korean NPPs - 13294

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Yong Joon; Ahn, Hong Joo; Song, Byoung Chul; Song, Kyuseok [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, P.O. Box 105, Yuseong, Daejeon, 305-330 (Korea, Republic of)

2013-07-01

According to the acceptance criteria for a low and intermediate level radioactive waste (LILW) listed in Notice No. 2012-53 of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC), specific concentrations of radionuclides inside a drum has to be identified and quantified. In 5 years of effort, scaling factors were derived through destructive radiochemical analysis, and the dry active waste, spent resin, concentration bottom, spent filter, and sludge drums generated during 2004 ∼ 2008 were evaluated to identify radionuclide inventories. Eventually, only dry active waste among LILWs generated from Korean NPPs were first shipped to a permanent disposal facility on December 2010. For the LILWs generated after 2009, the radionuclides are being radiochemically quantified because the Notice clarifies that the certifications of the scaling factors should be verified biennially. During the operation of NPP, the radionuclides designated in the Notice are formed by neutron activation of primary coolant, reactor structural materials, corrosion products, and fission products released into primary coolant through defects or failures in fuel cladding. Eventually, since the radionuclides released into primary coolant are transported into the numerous auxiliary and support systems connected to primary system, the LILWs can be contaminated, and the radionuclides can have various concentration distributions. Thus, radioactive wastes, such as spent resin and dry active waste generated at various Korean NPP sites, were sampled at each site, and the activities of the regulated radionuclides present in the sample were determined using radiochemical methods. The scaling factors were driven on the basis of the activity ratios between a or β-emitting nuclides and γ-emitting nuclides. The resulting concentrations were directly compared with the established scaling factors' data using statistical methods. In conclusions, the established scaling factors were verified with a reliability

Multi-Scale Factor Analysis of High-Dimensional Brain Signals

KAUST Repository

Ting, Chee-Ming

2017-05-18

In this paper, we develop an approach to modeling high-dimensional networks with a large number of nodes arranged in a hierarchical and modular structure. We propose a novel multi-scale factor analysis (MSFA) model which partitions the massive spatio-temporal data defined over the complex networks into a finite set of regional clusters. To achieve further dimension reduction, we represent the signals in each cluster by a small number of latent factors. The correlation matrix for all nodes in the network are approximated by lower-dimensional sub-structures derived from the cluster-specific factors. To estimate regional connectivity between numerous nodes (within each cluster), we apply principal components analysis (PCA) to produce factors which are derived as the optimal reconstruction of the observed signals under the squared loss. Then, we estimate global connectivity (between clusters or sub-networks) based on the factors across regions using the RV-coefficient as the cross-dependence measure. This gives a reliable and computationally efficient multi-scale analysis of both regional and global dependencies of the large networks. The proposed novel approach is applied to estimate brain connectivity networks using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data. Results on resting-state fMRI reveal interesting modular and hierarchical organization of human brain networks during rest.

Validity and factor structure of the bodybuilding dependence scale

OpenAIRE

Smith, D; Hale, B

2004-01-01

Objectives: To investigate the factor structure, validity, and reliability of the bodybuilding dependence scale and to investigate differences in bodybuilding dependence between men and women and competitive and non-competitive bodybuilders.

Factors affecting volume calculation with single photon emission tomography (SPECT) method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, T.H.; Lee, K.H.; Chen, D.C.P.; Ballard, S.; Siegel, M.E.

1985-01-01

Several factors may influence the calculation of absolute volumes (VL) from SPECT images. The effect of these factors must be established to optimize the technique. The authors investigated the following on the VL calculations: % of background (BG) subtraction, reconstruction filters, sample activity, angular sampling and edge detection methods. Transaxial images of a liver-trunk phantom filled with Tc-99m from 1 to 3 μCi/cc were obtained in 64x64 matrix with a Siemens Rota Camera and MDS computer. Different reconstruction filters including Hanning 20,32, 64 and Butterworth 20, 32 were used. Angular samplings were performed in 3 and 6 degree increments. ROI's were drawn manually and with an automatic edge detection program around the image after BG subtraction. VL's were calculated by multiplying the number of pixels within the ROI by the slice thickness and the x- and y- calibrations of each pixel. One or 2 pixel per slice thickness was applied in the calculation. An inverse correlation was found between the calculated VL and the % of BG subtraction (r=0.99 for 1,2,3 μCi/cc activity). Based on the authors' linear regression analysis, the correct liver VL was measured with about 53% BG subtraction. The reconstruction filters, slice thickness and angular sampling had only minor effects on the calculated phantom volumes. Detection of the ROI automatically by the computer was not as accurate as the manual method. The authors conclude that the % of BG subtraction appears to be the most important factor affecting the VL calculation. With good quality control and appropriate reconstruction factors, correct VL calculations can be achieved with SPECT

Radionuclide analysis and scaling factors verification for LLRW of Taipower Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

King, J.-Y.; Liu, K.-T.; Chen, S.-C.; Chang, T.-M.; Pung, T.-C.; Men, L.-C.; Wang, S.-J.

2004-01-01

The Atomic Energy Council of the Republic of China (CAEC) final disposal policy for Low Level Radwaste (LLRW) will be carried on in 1996. Institute of Nuclear Energy Research has the contract to develop the Radionuclide analysis method and to establish the scaling factors for LLRW of Taipower reactors. The radionuclides analyzed including: Co-60, Cs-137, Ce-144, γ-nuclides; H-3, C-14, Fe-55, Ni-59, Ni-63, Sr-90, Nb-94, Tc-99, I-129, Pu-238, Pu-239/240, Pu-241, Am-241, Cm-242, Cm-244 α, β and low energy γ nuclides. 120 samples taken from 21 waste streams were analyzed and the database was collected within 2 years. The scaling factors for different kind of waste streams were computed with weighted log-mean average method. In 1993, the scaling factors for each waste stream has been verified through actual station samples. (author)

Landslide scaling and magnitude-frequency distribution (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Stark, C. P.; Guzzetti, F.

2009-12-01

Landslide-driven erosion is controlled by the scale and frequency of slope failures and by the consequent fluxes of debris off the hillslopes. Here I focus on the magnitude-frequency part of the process and develop a theory of initial slope failure and debris mobilization that reproduces the heavy-tailed distributions (PDFs) observed for landslide source areas and volumes. Landslide rupture propagation is treated as a quasi-static, non-inertial process of simplified elastoplastic deformation with strain weakening; debris runout is not considered. The model tracks the stochastically evolving imbalance of frictional, cohesive, and body forces across a failing slope, and uses safety-factor concepts to convert the evolving imbalance into a series of incremental rupture growth or arrest probabilities. A single rupture is simulated with a sequence of weighted ``coin tosses'' with weights set by the growth probabilities. Slope failure treated in this stochastic way is a survival process that generates asymptotically power-law-tail PDFs of area and volume for rock and debris slides; predicted scaling exponents are consistent with analyses of landslide inventories. The primary control on the shape of the model PDFs is the relative importance of cohesion over friction in setting slope stability: the scaling of smaller, shallower failures, and the size of the most common landslide volumes, are the result of the low cohesion of soil and regolith, whereas the negative power-law tail scaling for larger failures is tied to the greater cohesion of bedrock. The debris budget may be dominated by small or large landslides depending on the scaling of both the PDF and of the depth-length relation. I will present new model results that confirm the hypothesis that depth-length scaling is linear. Model PDF of landslide volumes.

Factor analysis of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale in Parkinson's disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Broen, M P G; Moonen, A J H; Kuijf, M L; Dujardin, K; Marsh, L; Richard, I H; Starkstein, S E; Martinez-Martin, P; Leentjens, A F G

2015-02-01

Several studies have validated the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), and reported adequate reliability and construct validity. However, the factorial validity of the HAMD has not yet been investigated. The aim of our analysis was to explore the factor structure of the HAMD in a large sample of PD patients. A principal component analysis of the 17-item HAMD was performed on data of 341 PD patients, available from a previous cross sectional study on anxiety. An eigenvalue ≥1 was used to determine the number of factors. Factor loadings ≥0.4 in combination with oblique rotations were used to identify which variables made up the factors. Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure (KMO), Cronbach's alpha, Bartlett's test, communality, percentage of non-redundant residuals and the component correlation matrix were computed to assess factor validity. KMO verified the sample's adequacy for factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha indicated a good internal consistency of the total scale. Six factors had eigenvalues ≥1 and together explained 59.19% of the variance. The number of items per factor varied from 1 to 6. Inter-item correlations within each component were low. There was a high percentage of non-redundant residuals and low communality. This analysis demonstrates that the factorial validity of the HAMD in PD is unsatisfactory. This implies that the scale is not appropriate for studying specific symptom domains of depression based on factorial structure in a PD population. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A 100,000 Scale Factor Radar Range.

Science.gov (United States)

Blanche, Pierre-Alexandre; Neifeld, Mark; Peyghambarian, Nasser

2017-12-19

The radar cross section of an object is an important electromagnetic property that is often measured in anechoic chambers. However, for very large and complex structures such as ships or sea and land clutters, this common approach is not practical. The use of computer simulations is also not viable since it would take many years of computational time to model and predict the radar characteristics of such large objects. We have now devised a new scaling technique to overcome these difficulties, and make accurate measurements of the radar cross section of large items. In this article we demonstrate that by reducing the scale of the model by a factor 100,000, and using near infrared wavelength, the radar cross section can be determined in a tabletop setup. The accuracy of the method is compared to simulations, and an example of measurement is provided on a 1 mm highly detailed model of a ship. The advantages of this scaling approach is its versatility, and the possibility to perform fast, convenient, and inexpensive measurements.

A Second-Order Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Moral Distress Scale-Revised for Nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharif Nia, Hamid; Shafipour, Vida; Allen, Kelly-Ann; Heidari, Mohammad Reza; Yazdani-Charati, Jamshid; Zareiyan, Armin

2017-01-01

Moral distress is a growing problem for healthcare professionals that may lead to dissatisfaction, resignation, or occupational burnout if left unattended, and nurses experience different levels of this phenomenon. This study aims to investigate the factor structure of the Persian version of the Moral Distress Scale-Revised in intensive care and general nurses. This methodological research was conducted with 771 nurses from eight hospitals in the Mazandaran Province of Iran in 2017. Participants completed the Moral Distress Scale-Revised, data collected, and factor structure assessed using the construct, convergent, and divergent validity methods. The reliability of the scale was assessed using internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha, Theta, and McDonald's omega coefficients) and construct reliability. Ethical considerations: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. The exploratory factor analysis ( N = 380) showed that the Moral Distress Scale-Revised has five factors: lack of professional competence at work, ignoring ethical issues and patient conditions, futile care, carrying out the physician's orders without question and unsafe care, and providing care under personal and organizational pressures, which explained 56.62% of the overall variance. The confirmatory factor analysis ( N = 391) supported the five-factor solution and the second-order latent factor model. The first-order model did not show a favorable convergent and divergent validity. Ultimately, the Moral Distress Scale-Revised was found to have a favorable internal consistency and construct reliability. The Moral Distress Scale-Revised was found to be a multidimensional construct. The data obtained confirmed the hypothesis of the factor structure model with a latent second-order variable. Since the convergent and divergent validity of the scale were not confirmed in this study, further assessment is necessary in future studies.

A novel correction factor based on extended volume to complement the conformity index.

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, F; Wang, Y; Wu, Y-Z

2012-08-01

We propose a modified conformity index (MCI), based on extended volume, that improves on existing indices by correcting for the insensitivity of previous conformity indices to reference dose shape to assess the quality of high-precision radiation therapy and present an evaluation of its application. In this paper, the MCI is similar to the conformity index suggested by Paddick (CI(Paddick)), but with a different correction factor. It is shown for three cases: with an extended target volume, with an extended reference dose volume and without an extended volume. Extended volume is generated by expanding the original volume by 0.1-1.1 cm isotropically. Focusing on the simulation model, measurements of MCI employ a sphere target and three types of reference doses: a sphere, an ellipsoid and a cube. We can constrain the potential advantage of the new index by comparing MCI with CI(Paddick). The measurements of MCI in head-neck cancers treated with intensity-modulated radiation therapy and volumetric-modulated arc therapy provide a window on its clinical practice. The results of MCI for a simulation model and clinical practice are presented and the measurements are corrected for limited spatial resolution. The three types of MCI agree with each other, and comparisons between the MCI and CI(Paddick) are also provided. The results from our analysis show that the proposed MCI can provide more objective and accurate conformity measurement for high-precision radiation therapy. In combination with a dose-volume histogram, it will be a more useful conformity index.

Transfer factor, lung volumes, resistance and ventilation distribution in healthy adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Verbanck, Sylvia; Van Muylem, Alain; Schuermans, Daniel; Bautmans, Ivan; Thompson, Bruce; Vincken, Walter

2016-01-01

Monitoring of chronic lung disease requires reference values of lung function indices, including putative markers of small airway function, spanning a wide age range.We measured spirometry, transfer factor of the lung for carbon monoxide (TLCO), static lung volume, resistance and ventilation distribution in a healthy population, studying at least 20 subjects per sex and per decade between the ages of 20 and 80 years.With respect to the Global Lung Function Initiative reference data, our subjects had average z-scores for forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC) and FEV1/FVC of -0.12, 0.04 and -0.32, respectively. Reference equations were obtained which could account for a potential dependence of index variability on age and height. This was done for (but not limited to) indices that are pertinent to asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease studies: forced expired volume in 6 s, forced expiratory flow, TLCO, specific airway conductance, residual volume (RV)/total lung capacity (TLC), and ventilation heterogeneity in acinar and conductive lung zones.Deterioration in acinar ventilation heterogeneity and lung clearance index with age were more marked beyond 60 years, and conductive ventilation heterogeneity showed the greatest increase in variability with age. The most clinically relevant deviation from published reference values concerned RV/TLC values, which were considerably smaller than American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society-endorsed reference values. Copyright ©ERS 2016.

Factor Structure of the Social Appearance Anxiety Scale in Turkish Early Adolescents

Science.gov (United States)

Sahin, Ertugrul; Topkaya, Nursel

2015-01-01

Although the Social Appearance Anxiety Scale (SAAS) is most often validated with the use of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on undergraduate students, exploratory factor analysis and multiple factor retention decision criteria necessitate the analysis of underlying factor structure to prevent over and under factoring as well as to reveal…

Scale-4 analysis of pressurized water reactor critical configurations: Volume 5, North Anna Unit 1 Cycle 5

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bowman, S.M.; Suto, T.

1996-10-01

ANSI/ANS 8.1 requires that calculational methods for away-from- reactor (AFR) criticality safety analyses be validated against experiment. This report summarizes part of the ongoing effort to benchmark AFR criticality analysis methods using selected critical configurations from commercial PWRs. Codes and data in the SCALE-4 code system were used. This volume documents the SCALE system analysis of one reactor critical configuration for North Anna Unit 1 Cycle 5. The KENO V.a criticality calculations for the North Anna 1 Cycle 5 beginning-of-cycle model yielded a value for k eff of 1. 0040±0.0005

Macroecological factors shape local-scale spatial patterns in agriculturalist settlements.

Science.gov (United States)

Tao, Tingting; Abades, Sebastián; Teng, Shuqing; Huang, Zheng Y X; Reino, Luís; Chen, Bin J W; Zhang, Yong; Xu, Chi; Svenning, Jens-Christian

2017-11-15

Macro-scale patterns of human systems ranging from population distribution to linguistic diversity have attracted recent attention, giving rise to the suggestion that macroecological rules shape the assembly of human societies. However, in which aspects the geography of our own species is shaped by macroecological factors remains poorly understood. Here, we provide a first demonstration that macroecological factors shape strong local-scale spatial patterns in human settlement systems, through an analysis of spatial patterns in agriculturalist settlements in eastern mainland China based on high-resolution Google Earth images. We used spatial point pattern analysis to show that settlement spatial patterns are characterized by over-dispersion at fine spatial scales (0.05-1.4 km), consistent with territory segregation, and clumping at coarser spatial scales beyond the over-dispersion signals, indicating territorial clustering. Statistical modelling shows that, at macroscales, potential evapotranspiration and topographic heterogeneity have negative effects on territory size, but positive effects on territorial clustering. These relationships are in line with predictions from territory theory for hunter-gatherers as well as for many animal species. Our results help to disentangle the complex interactions between intrinsic spatial processes in agriculturalist societies and external forcing by macroecological factors. While one may speculate that humans can escape ecological constraints because of unique abilities for environmental modification and globalized resource transportation, our work highlights that universal macroecological principles still shape the geography of current human agricultural societies. © 2017 The Author(s).

Macroecological factors explain large-scale spatial population patterns of ancient agriculturalists

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Xu, C.; Chen, B.; Abades, S.; Reino, L.; Teng, S.; Ljungqvist, F.C.; Huang, Z.Y.X.; Liu, X.

2015-01-01

Aim: It has been well demonstrated that the large-scale distribution patterns of numerous species are driven by similar macroecological factors. However, understanding of this topic remains limited when applied to our own species. Here we take a large-scale look at ancient agriculturalist

Magnitude of Myocutaneous Flaps and Factors Associated With Loss of Volume in Oral Cancer Reconstructive Surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Sakamoto, Yuki; Yanamoto, Souichi; Ota, Yoshihide; Furudoi, Shungo; Komori, Takahide; Umeda, Masahiro

2016-03-01

Myocutaneous flaps are often used to repair oral and maxillofacial defects after surgery for oral cancer; however, their volume decreases during the postoperative period. To facilitate treatment planning, the authors measured the extent of such postoperative flap volume loss and identified associated factors in patients who underwent oral reconstruction with myocutaneous flaps. The authors designed and performed a retrospective observational study of patients who underwent reconstructive procedures involving rectus abdominal myocutaneous (RAM) or pectoralis major myocutaneous (PMMC) flaps at Tokai University Hospital, Kobe University Hospital, or Nagasaki University Hospital from April 2009 through March 2013. Flap type and other clinical variables were examined as potential predictors of flap loss. The primary outcome was flap loss at 6 months postoperatively. Correlations between each potential predictor and the primary outcome were examined using multiple regression analysis. The subjects were 75 patients whose oral defects were reconstructed with RAM flaps (n = 57) or PMMC flaps (n = 18). RAM flaps exhibited a mean volume shrinkage of 22% at 6 months postoperatively, which was less than the 27.5% displayed by the PMMC flaps, but the difference was not important. Renal failure, previous surgery of the oral region, postoperative radiotherapy, and postoperative serum albumin level were found to be meaningful risk factors for postoperative flap volume loss. The results of this study suggest that larger flaps should be used in patients who possess these risk factors or are scheduled to undergo postoperative radiotherapy. Future studies should examine the utility of postoperative nutritional management for preventing flap volume loss. Copyright © 2016 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Modified stress intensity factor as a crack growth parameter applicable under large scale yielding conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yasuoka, Tetsuo; Mizutani, Yoshihiro; Todoroki, Akira

2014-01-01

High-temperature water stress corrosion cracking has high tensile stress sensitivity, and its growth rate has been evaluated using the stress intensity factor, which is a linear fracture mechanics parameter. Stress corrosion cracking mainly occurs and propagates around welded metals or heat-affected zones. These regions have complex residual stress distributions and yield strength distributions because of input heat effects. The authors previously reported that the stress intensity factor becomes inapplicable when steep residual stress distributions or yield strength distributions occur along the crack propagation path, because small-scale yielding conditions deviate around those distributions. Here, when the stress intensity factor is modified by considering these distributions, the modified stress intensity factor may be used for crack growth evaluation for large-scale yielding. The authors previously proposed a modified stress intensity factor incorporating the stress distribution or yield strength distribution in front of the crack using the rate of change of stress intensity factor and yield strength. However, the applicable range of modified stress intensity factor for large-scale yielding was not clarified. In this study, the range was analytically investigated by comparison with the J-integral solution. A three-point bending specimen with parallel surface crack was adopted as the analytical model and the stress intensity factor, modified stress intensity factor and equivalent stress intensity factor derived from the J-integral were calculated and compared under large-scale yielding conditions. The modified stress intensity was closer to the equivalent stress intensity factor when compared with the stress intensity factor. If deviation from the J-integral solution is acceptable up to 2%, the modified stress intensity factor is applicable up to 30% of the J-integral limit, while the stress intensity factor is applicable up to 10%. These results showed that

Intraoperative ventilation: incidence and risk factors for receiving large tidal volumes during general anesthesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fernandez-Bustamante Ana

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background There is a growing concern of the potential injurious role of ventilatory over-distention in patients without lung injury. No formal guidelines exist for intraoperative ventilation settings, but the use of tidal volumes (VT under 10 mL/kg predicted body weight (PBW has been recommended in healthy patients. We explored the incidence and risk factors for receiving large tidal volumes (VT > 10 mL/kg PBW. Methods We performed a cross-sectional analysis of our prospectively collected perioperative electronic database for current intraoperative ventilation practices and risk factors for receiving large tidal volumes (VT > 10 mL/kg PBW. We included all adults undergoing prolonged (≥ 4 h elective abdominal surgery and collected demographic, preoperative (comorbidities, intraoperative (i.e. ventilatory settings, fluid administration and postoperative (outcomes information. We compared patients receiving exhaled tidal volumes > 10 mL/kg PBW with those that received 8-10 or Results Ventilatory settings were non-uniform in the 429 adults included in the analysis. 17.5% of all patients received VT > 10 mL/kg PBW. 34.0% of all obese patients (body mass index, BMI, ≥ 30, 51% of all patients with a height T > 10 mL/kg PBW. Conclusions Ventilation with VT > 10 mL/kg PBW is still common, although poor correlation with PBW suggests it may be unintentional. BMI ≥ 30, female gender and height

Causal inference between bioavailability of heavy metals and environmental factors in a large-scale region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Yuqiong; Du, Qingyun; Wang, Qi; Yu, Huanyun; Liu, Jianfeng; Tian, Yu; Chang, Chunying; Lei, Jing

2017-01-01

The causation between bioavailability of heavy metals and environmental factors are generally obtained from field experiments at local scales at present, and lack sufficient evidence from large scales. However, inferring causation between bioavailability of heavy metals and environmental factors across large-scale regions is challenging. Because the conventional correlation-based approaches used for causation assessments across large-scale regions, at the expense of actual causation, can result in spurious insights. In this study, a general approach framework, Intervention calculus when the directed acyclic graph (DAG) is absent (IDA) combined with the backdoor criterion (BC), was introduced to identify causation between the bioavailability of heavy metals and the potential environmental factors across large-scale regions. We take the Pearl River Delta (PRD) in China as a case study. The causal structures and effects were identified based on the concentrations of heavy metals (Zn, As, Cu, Hg, Pb, Cr, Ni and Cd) in soil (0–20 cm depth) and vegetable (lettuce) and 40 environmental factors (soil properties, extractable heavy metals and weathering indices) in 94 samples across the PRD. Results show that the bioavailability of heavy metals (Cd, Zn, Cr, Ni and As) was causally influenced by soil properties and soil weathering factors, whereas no causal factor impacted the bioavailability of Cu, Hg and Pb. No latent factor was found between the bioavailability of heavy metals and environmental factors. The causation between the bioavailability of heavy metals and environmental factors at field experiments is consistent with that on a large scale. The IDA combined with the BC provides a powerful tool to identify causation between the bioavailability of heavy metals and environmental factors across large-scale regions. Causal inference in a large system with the dynamic changes has great implications for system-based risk management. - Causation between the

Risk factors for radiation pneumonitis after stereotactic radiation therapy for lung tumours: clinical usefulness of the planning target volume to total lung volume ratio.

Science.gov (United States)

Ueyama, Tomoko; Arimura, Takeshi; Takumi, Koji; Nakamura, Fumihiko; Higashi, Ryutaro; Ito, Soichiro; Fukukura, Yoshihiko; Umanodan, Tomokazu; Nakajo, Masanori; Koriyama, Chihaya; Yoshiura, Takashi

2018-06-01

To identify risk factors for symptomatic radiation pneumonitis (RP) after stereotactic radiation therapy (SRT) for lung tumours. We retrospectively evaluated 68 lung tumours in 63 patients treated with SRT between 2011 and 2015. RP was graded according to the National Cancer Institute-Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 4.0. SRT was delivered at 7.0-12.0 Gy per each fraction, once daily, to a total of 48-64 Gy (median, 50 Gy). Univariate analysis was performed to assess patient- and treatment-related factors, including age, sex, smoking index (SI), pulmonary function, tumour location, serum Krebs von den Lungen-6 value (KL-6), dose-volume metrics (V5, V10, V20, V30, V40 and VS5), homogeneity index of the planning target volume (PTV), PTV dose, mean lung dose (MLD), contralateral MLD and V2, PTV volume, lung volume and the PTV/lung volume ratio (PTV/Lung). Performance of PTV/Lung in predicting symptomatic RP was also analysed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The median follow-up period was 21 months. 10 of 63 patients (15.9%) developed symptomatic RP after SRT. On univariate analysis, V10, V20, PTV volume and PTV/Lung were significantly associated with occurrence of RP  ≥Grade 2. ROC curves indicated that symptomatic RP could be predicted using PTV/Lung [area under curve (AUC): 0.88, confidence interval (CI: 0.78-0.95), cut-off value: 1.09, sensitivity: 90.0% and specificity: 72.4%]. PTV/Lung is a good predictor of symptomatic RP after SRT. Advances in knowledge: The cases with high PTV/Lung should be carefully monitored with caution for the occurrence of RP after SRT.

Multi-Scale Factor Analysis of High-Dimensional Brain Signals

KAUST Repository

Ting, Chee-Ming; Ombao, Hernando; Salleh, Sh-Hussain

2017-01-01

In this paper, we develop an approach to modeling high-dimensional networks with a large number of nodes arranged in a hierarchical and modular structure. We propose a novel multi-scale factor analysis (MSFA) model which partitions the massive

Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Combined Social Phobia Scale and Social Interaction Anxiety Scale: Support for a Bifactor Model

OpenAIRE

Gomez, Rapson; Watson, Shaun D.

2017-01-01

For the Social Phobia Scale (SPS) and the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) together, this study examined support for a bifactor model, and also the internal consistency reliability and external validity of the factors in this model. Participants (N = 526) were adults from the general community who completed the SPS and SIAS. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of their ratings indicated good support for the bifactor model. For this model, the loadings for all but six items were higher o...

Regional-scale calculation of the LS factor using parallel processing

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Kai; Tang, Guoan; Jiang, Ling; Zhu, A.-Xing; Yang, Jianyi; Song, Xiaodong

2015-05-01

With the increase of data resolution and the increasing application of USLE over large areas, the existing serial implementation of algorithms for computing the LS factor is becoming a bottleneck. In this paper, a parallel processing model based on message passing interface (MPI) is presented for the calculation of the LS factor, so that massive datasets at a regional scale can be processed efficiently. The parallel model contains algorithms for calculating flow direction, flow accumulation, drainage network, slope, slope length and the LS factor. According to the existence of data dependence, the algorithms are divided into local algorithms and global algorithms. Parallel strategy are designed according to the algorithm characters including the decomposition method for maintaining the integrity of the results, optimized workflow for reducing the time taken for exporting the unnecessary intermediate data and a buffer-communication-computation strategy for improving the communication efficiency. Experiments on a multi-node system show that the proposed parallel model allows efficient calculation of the LS factor at a regional scale with a massive dataset.

Rain Characteristics and Large-Scale Environments of Precipitation Objects with Extreme Rain Volumes from TRMM Observations

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Yaping; Lau, William K M.; Liu, Chuntao

2013-01-01

This study adopts a "precipitation object" approach by using 14 years of Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Precipitation Feature (PF) and National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalysis data to study rainfall structure and environmental factors associated with extreme heavy rain events. Characteristics of instantaneous extreme volumetric PFs are examined and compared to those of intermediate and small systems. It is found that instantaneous PFs exhibit a much wider scale range compared to the daily gridded precipitation accumulation range. The top 1% of the rainiest PFs contribute over 55% of total rainfall and have 2 orders of rain volume magnitude greater than those of the median PFs. We find a threshold near the top 10% beyond which the PFs grow exponentially into larger, deeper, and colder rain systems. NCEP reanalyses show that midlevel relative humidity and total precipitable water increase steadily with increasingly larger PFs, along with a rapid increase of 500 hPa upward vertical velocity beyond the top 10%. This provides the necessary moisture convergence to amplify and sustain the extreme events. The rapid increase in vertical motion is associated with the release of convective available potential energy (CAPE) in mature systems, as is evident in the increase in CAPE of PFs up to 10% and the subsequent dropoff. The study illustrates distinct stages in the development of an extreme rainfall event including: (1) a systematic buildup in large-scale temperature and moisture, (2) a rapid change in rain structure, (3) explosive growth of the PF size, and (4) a release of CAPE before the demise of the event.

The GABRB1 gene is associated with thalamus volume and modulates the association between thalamus volume and intelligence.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Bi; Chen, Chuansheng; Xue, Gui; Lei, Xuemei; Li, Jin; Moyzis, Robert K; Dong, Qi; Lin, Chongde

2014-11-15

The GABRB1 gene encodes the beta 1 subunit of the gamma-aminobutyric acid A receptor (GABA A receptor), which is responsible for mediating inhibitory neurotransmission in the thalamus. Potential relationships between the GABRB1 gene, thalamus volume, and intelligence have been suggested by previous clinical studies, but have not been directly examined among nonclinical samples. The current study collected structural MRI, genetic, and behavioral data from 316 healthy Chinese adults (including 187 females and 129 males), and examined associations between GABRB1 variants, thalamus volume, and intelligence (measured by the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Revised). After controlling for intracranial volume, sex, and age, GABRB1 genetic polymorphism at the SNP rs7435958 had the strongest association with thalamus volume (p = 0.002 and 0.00008 for left and right thalamus volumes, respectively), with GG homozygotes having smaller bilateral thalamus volumes than the other genotypes. Furthermore, there were positive correlations between bilateral thalamus volumes and intelligence, especially for GABRB1 rs7435958 GG female homozygotes (r's = 0.31 and 0.29, p intelligence with left and right thalamus volumes, respectively). This study provides the first evidence for the involvement of the GABRB1 gene in the thalamus structure and their interactive effects on intelligence. Future studies of the thalamus-intelligence associations should consider genetic factors as potential moderators. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Causal inference between bioavailability of heavy metals and environmental factors in a large-scale region.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yuqiong; Du, Qingyun; Wang, Qi; Yu, Huanyun; Liu, Jianfeng; Tian, Yu; Chang, Chunying; Lei, Jing

2017-07-01

The causation between bioavailability of heavy metals and environmental factors are generally obtained from field experiments at local scales at present, and lack sufficient evidence from large scales. However, inferring causation between bioavailability of heavy metals and environmental factors across large-scale regions is challenging. Because the conventional correlation-based approaches used for causation assessments across large-scale regions, at the expense of actual causation, can result in spurious insights. In this study, a general approach framework, Intervention calculus when the directed acyclic graph (DAG) is absent (IDA) combined with the backdoor criterion (BC), was introduced to identify causation between the bioavailability of heavy metals and the potential environmental factors across large-scale regions. We take the Pearl River Delta (PRD) in China as a case study. The causal structures and effects were identified based on the concentrations of heavy metals (Zn, As, Cu, Hg, Pb, Cr, Ni and Cd) in soil (0-20 cm depth) and vegetable (lettuce) and 40 environmental factors (soil properties, extractable heavy metals and weathering indices) in 94 samples across the PRD. Results show that the bioavailability of heavy metals (Cd, Zn, Cr, Ni and As) was causally influenced by soil properties and soil weathering factors, whereas no causal factor impacted the bioavailability of Cu, Hg and Pb. No latent factor was found between the bioavailability of heavy metals and environmental factors. The causation between the bioavailability of heavy metals and environmental factors at field experiments is consistent with that on a large scale. The IDA combined with the BC provides a powerful tool to identify causation between the bioavailability of heavy metals and environmental factors across large-scale regions. Causal inference in a large system with the dynamic changes has great implications for system-based risk management. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All

The influences of the physical-chemical factors on the free-volume relations in polymers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bartos, J.; Kristiak, J.; Kristiakova, K.; Sausa, O.; Bandzuch, P.

1995-01-01

The positron annihilation spectroscopy was used to the study of different physical-chemical factors on the free-volume microstructure of the model polymeric systems [amorphous 1,4-cis-poly(butadiene), amorphous a-tactic and semi-crystal iso-tactic poly(propylene), polycarbonate

Scaling of nuclear modification factors for hadrons and light nuclei

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhou, C.S. [Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Shanghai (China); University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing (China); Ma, Y.G. [Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Shanghai (China); ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai (China); Zhang, S. [Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Shanghai (China)

2016-12-15

The number of constituent quarks (NCQ) scaling for hadrons and the number of constituent nucleons (NCN) scaling for light nuclei are proposed for nuclear modification factors (R{sub cp}) of hadrons and light nuclei, respectively, according to the experimental investigations in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. Based on the coalescence mechanism the scalings are performed for pions and protons at the quark level, and for light nuclei d(anti d) and {sup 3}He at the nucleonic level, respectively, formed in Au+Au and Pb+Pb collisions, and a nice scaling behaviour emerges. The NCQ or NCN scaling law of R{sub cp} can be, respectively, taken as a probe for the quark or nucleon coalescence mechanism for the formation of hadron or light nuclei in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. (orig.)

Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Combined Social Phobia Scale and Social Interaction Anxiety Scale: Support for a Bifactor Model

Science.gov (United States)

Gomez, Rapson; Watson, Shaun D.

2017-01-01

For the Social Phobia Scale (SPS) and the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) together, this study examined support for a bifactor model, and also the internal consistency reliability and external validity of the factors in this model. Participants (N = 526) were adults from the general community who completed the SPS and SIAS. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of their ratings indicated good support for the bifactor model. For this model, the loadings for all but six items were higher on the general factor than the specific factors. The three positively worded items had negligible loadings on the general factor. The general factor explained most of the common variance in the SPS and SIAS, and demonstrated good model-based internal consistency reliability (omega hierarchical) and a strong association with fear of negative evaluation and extraversion. The practical implications of the findings for the utilization of the SPS and SIAS, and the theoretical and clinical implications for social anxiety are discussed. PMID:28210232

Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Combined Social Phobia Scale and Social Interaction Anxiety Scale: Support for a Bifactor Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Gomez, Rapson; Watson, Shaun D

2017-01-01

For the Social Phobia Scale (SPS) and the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) together, this study examined support for a bifactor model, and also the internal consistency reliability and external validity of the factors in this model. Participants ( N = 526) were adults from the general community who completed the SPS and SIAS. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of their ratings indicated good support for the bifactor model. For this model, the loadings for all but six items were higher on the general factor than the specific factors. The three positively worded items had negligible loadings on the general factor. The general factor explained most of the common variance in the SPS and SIAS, and demonstrated good model-based internal consistency reliability (omega hierarchical) and a strong association with fear of negative evaluation and extraversion. The practical implications of the findings for the utilization of the SPS and SIAS, and the theoretical and clinical implications for social anxiety are discussed.

A Confirmatory Factor Analysis on the Attitude Scale of Constructivist Approach for Science Teachers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Evrekli

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Underlining the importance of teachers for the constructivist approach, the present study attempts to develop “Attitude Scale of Construc¬tivist Approach for Science Teachers (ASCAST”. The pre-applications of the scale were administered to a total of 210 science teachers; however, the data obtained from 5 teachers were excluded from the analysis. As a result of the analysis of the data obtained from the pre-applications, it was found that the scale could have a single factor structure, which was tested using the confir¬matory factor analysis. As a result of the initial confirmatory factor analysis, the values of fit were examined and found to be low. Subsequently, by exam¬ining the modification indices, error covariance was added between items 23 and 24 and the model was tested once again. The added error covariance led to a significant improvement in the model, producing values of fit suitable for limit values. Thus, it was concluded that the scale could be employed with a single factor. The explained variance value for the scale developed with a sin¬gle factor structure was calculated to be 50.43% and its reliability was found to be .93. The results obtained suggest that the scale possesses reliable-valid characteristics and could be used in further studies.

Iranian Version of the Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale: Factor Structure and Psychometric Properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Patoo, Mozhgan; Allahyari, Abbas Ali; Moradi, Ali Reza; Payandeh, Mehrdad

2015-01-01

Mental adjustment to cancer is known as a psychological, physical, and psychological health variable among cancer patients. The present study examines the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer scale (Mini-MAC) in a sample of Iranian adults who suffer from cancer. The sample consists of 320 cancer patients selected through non-random convenient sampling procedure from the hospitals and clinics in the cities of Kermanshah and Shiraz in Iran, using the Mini-MAC scale. One hundred of these patients also completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale. Statistical methods used to analyze the data included confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis, discriminate validity, and Cronbach alpha coefficients for internal consistency. Factor analysis confirms five factors in the Mini-MAC. The values of fit indices are within the acceptable range. Significant correlations between the Mini-MAC and other measures also show that this scale has discriminate validity. Alpha coefficients for the subscales are Helplessness/Hopelessness,.94; Cognitive Avoidance.76; Anxious Preoccupation,.90; Fatalism,.77; Fighting Spirit.80; and total scale.84, respectively. The results confirm the five-factor structure of the Persian Mini-MAC scale and also prove that it is a reliable and valid scale. They show that this scale has sufficient power to measure different aspects of mental adjustment in patients with cancer.

Examining the Effect of Reverse Worded Items on the Factor Structure of the Need for Cognition Scale.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xijuan Zhang

Full Text Available Reverse worded (RW items are often used to reduce or eliminate acquiescence bias, but there is a rising concern about their harmful effects on the covariance structure of the scale. Therefore, results obtained via traditional covariance analyses may be distorted. This study examined the effect of the RW items on the factor structure of the abbreviated 18-item Need for Cognition (NFC scale using confirmatory factor analysis. We modified the scale to create three revised versions, varying from no RW items to all RW items. We also manipulated the type of the RW items (polar opposite vs. negated. To each of the four scales, we fit four previously developed models. The four models included a 1-factor model, a 2-factor model distinguishing between positively worded (PW items and RW items, and two 2-factor models, each with one substantive factor and one method factor. Results showed that the number and type of the RW items affected the factor structure of the NFC scale. Consistent with previous research findings, for the original NFC scale, which contains both PW and RW items, the 1-factor model did not have good fit. In contrast, for the revised scales that had no RW items or all RW items, the 1-factor model had reasonably good fit. In addition, for the scale with polar opposite and negated RW items, the factor model with a method factor among the polar opposite items had considerably better fit than the 1-factor model.

Evaluation of small scale laboratory and pot experiments to determine realistic transfer factors for the radionuclides 90Sr, 137Cs, 60Co and 54Mn

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steffens, W.; Fuehr, F.; Mittelstaedt, W.

1980-01-01

Transfer factors for the root uptake of 90 Sr, 137 Cs, 60 Co and 54 Mn were compared using outdoor lysimeters, Kick-Brauckmann experimental pots under greenhouse conditions and Neubauer cups under growth chamber conditions. The uptake was studied in barley, potatoes, sugar beet and salad vegetables grown on either podsolic or loess soil. The transfer factors for these radionuclides under the specific conditions of the small scale Neubauer cup experiments differed greatly from those obtained from the outdoor lysimeter. In the pot experiments, the transfer factors for 90 Sr, 137 Cs and 54 Mn showed less deviation from the lysimeter results especially in crops grown on podsolic soil. For 60 Co, the transfer factors varied for the different crops grown. Transfer factors obtained in pot experiments can only be applicable to a limited extent to field conditions; factors influencing the transfer factors in pot experiments include soil volume, root density, root/shoot ratio, water supply and fertilizer application rate. (UK)

To scale or not to scale

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svendsen, Morten Bo Søndergaard; Christensen, Emil Aputsiaq Flindt; Steffensen, John Fleng

2017-01-01

Conventionally, dynamic energy budget (DEB) models operate with animals that have maintenance rates scaling with their body volume, and assimilation rates scaling with body surface area. However, when applying such criteria for the individual in a population level model, the emergent behaviour...

Testing the Scale Dependence of the Scale Factor $\\sigma_{eff}$ in Double Dijet Production at the LHC

CERN Document Server

Domdey, Svend; Wiedemann, Urs Achim

2010-01-01

The scale factor σ eff is the effective cross section used to characterize the measured rate of inclusive double dijet production in high energy hadron collisions. It is sensitive to the two-parton distributions in the hadronic projectile. In principle, the scale factor depends on the center of mass energy and on the minimal transverse energy of the jets contributing to the double dijet cross section. Here, we point out that proton-proton collisions at the LHC will provide for the first time experimental access to these scale dependences in a logarithmically wide, nominally perturbative kinematic range of minimal transverse energy between 10 GeV and 100 GeV. This constrains the dependence of two-parton distribution functions on parton momentum fractions and parton localization in impact parameter space. Novel information is to be expected about the transverse growth of hadronic distribution functions in the range of semi-hard Bjorken x (0.001 < x < 0.1) and high resolution Q^2. We discuss to what exten...

Factors affecting economies of scale in combined sewer systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Maurer, Max; Wolfram, Martin; Anja, Herlyn

2010-01-01

A generic model is introduced that represents the combined sewer infrastructure of a settlement quantitatively. A catchment area module first calculates the length and size distribution of the required sewer pipes on the basis of rain patterns, housing densities and area size. These results are fed into the sewer-cost module in order to estimate the combined sewer costs of the entire catchment area. A detailed analysis of the relevant input parameters for Swiss settlements is used to identify the influence of size on costs. The simulation results confirm that an economy of scale exists for combined sewer systems. This is the result of two main opposing cost factors: (i) increased construction costs for larger sewer systems due to larger pipes and increased rain runoff in larger settlements, and (ii) lower costs due to higher population and building densities in larger towns. In Switzerland, the more or less organically grown settlement structures and limited land availability emphasise the second factor to show an apparent economy of scale. This modelling approach proved to be a powerful tool for understanding the underlying factors affecting the cost structure for water infrastructures.

Volume corrections factors in the measurement of 99mTc and 123I activities in radionuclide calibrators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Correia, Amanda Ribeiro; Rezende, Eduarda Alexandre; Iwahara, Akira; Oliveira, Antonio Eduardo de; Oliveira, Estela Maria de; Tauhata, Luiz; Chaves, Taina Olivieri

2012-01-01

To determine correction factors for the variation in volume of radiopharmaceuticals in containers of different geometries, comparing the influence of such factors on the determination of 99m Tc and 123 I activity with two types of calibrators - one with ionization chamber and another with Geiger-Mueller (G-M) detector -; and to evaluate calibrators performance in the measurement of 99m Tc and 1 '2 3 I activities. Materials and Methods: Eight calibrators, 10R glass vials, 3 and 5 mL plastic syringes and 99m Tc and 123 I solutions were utilized. The correction factors were determined with basis on practical measurements of the variation in the calibrators' response according to the volume of radionuclide solution in the glass vials. The performance was evaluated according to the acceptance criterion of +- 10% accuracy required by the Brazilian standard. Results: The variation of the calibrators' response according to the variation in radionuclide volume was reasonably greater in the calibrator with G-M detector. It was also greater for 123 I than for 99m Tc. Conclusion: The results confirm that the calibrators' response depends on the radionuclide volume contained in the vials. Such dependence is more critical for the calibrators equipped with G-M detector and for 123 I as compared with 99m Tc. (author)

GENDER DIFFERENTIALS IN FACTORS AFFECTING PERFORMANCE OF SMALL-SCALE ENTERPRISES IN LAGOS STATE – NIGERIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yusuff Olabisi Sherifat

2013-05-01

Full Text Available There is a lack of empirical data segregation on factors affecting gender as the variable of interest. However, previous research had indicated several factors that affect business performances among small-scale enterprise owners. Using feminist theory and a descriptive survey research design, data were collected from fifty (50 small-scale enterprise owners that were purposively chosen across the study area. The findings show that the factors that were significant for female were significantly different from male. For female small scale enterprise owners, marital status (64% Age of Children (68%, Role Model/ advisors (58% were significant factors that affect their business performance. For male small-scale enterprise owners, Friends (70%, a lack of Government support (80%, inability to display innovativeness (78% and Risk-Taking (84% were significant for male. Lack of availability of capital and finances were significant for the two. Other factors that affect performance include friends, inadequate training and business location. Adequate knowledge of factors that affect gender enterprise performance will go a long way in alleviating these problems. Small-scale enterprises should be supported for poverty alleviation, especially among women and for the nation’s economic development

An exponential universal scaling law for the volume pinning force of high temperature superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hampshire, D.P.

1993-01-01

The exponential magnetic field dependence of the critical current density (J c (B,T)) found in many high temperature superconductors, given by: J c (B,T) α(T)exp(-B/β(T)) where α(T) and β(T) are functions of temperature alone, necessarily implies a Universal Scaling Law for the volume pinning force (F p ) of the form: F p /F PMAX exp(+1).(B/β(T)).exp(-B/β(T)). If the Upper Critical Field is not explicitly measured but is artificially determined by smooth extrapolation of J c (B,T) to zero on a linear J c (B,T) vs B plot, this exponential scaling law can be closely approximated by the Kramer dependence given by: F p /F PMAX C.b p .(1-b) q where p = 0.5, q = 2, C ∼ 3.5 and b = B/B C2 (T). The implications for flux pinning studies are discussed. (orig.)

Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Delirium Rating Scale Revised-98 (DRS-R98).

Science.gov (United States)

Thurber, Steven; Kishi, Yasuhiro; Trzepacz, Paula T; Franco, Jose G; Meagher, David J; Lee, Yanghyun; Kim, Jeong-Lan; Furlanetto, Leticia M; Negreiros, Daniel; Huang, Ming-Chyi; Chen, Chun-Hsin; Kean, Jacob; Leonard, Maeve

2015-01-01

Principal components analysis applied to the Delirium Rating Scale-Revised-98 contributes to understanding the delirium construct. Using a multisite pooled international delirium database, the authors applied confirmatory factor analysis to Delirium Rating Scale-Revised-98 scores from 859 adult patients evaluated by delirium experts (delirium, N=516; nondelirium, N=343). Confirmatory factor analysis found all diagnostic features and core symptoms (cognitive, language, thought process, sleep-wake cycle, motor retardation), except motor agitation, loaded onto factor 1. Motor agitation loaded onto factor 2 with noncore symptoms (delusions, affective lability, and perceptual disturbances). Factor 1 loading supports delirium as a single construct, but when accompanied by psychosis, motor agitation's role may not be solely as a circadian activity indicator.

Factor structure of the Japanese Interpersonal Competence Scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Matsudaira, Tomomi; Fukuhara, Taihei; Kitamura, Toshinori

2008-04-01

Assessing social competence is important for clinical and preventive interventions of depression. The aim of the present paper was to examine the factor structure of the Japanese Interpersonal Competence Scale (JICS). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was performed on the survey responses of 730 participants. Simultaneous multigroup analyses were conducted to confirm factor stability across psychological health status and sex differences. Two factors, which represent Perceptive Ability and Self-Restraint, were confirmed to show a moderate correlation. Perceptive Ability involves a more cognitive aspect of social competence, while Self-Restraint involves a more behavioral aspect, both of which are considered to reflect the emotion-based relating style specific to the Japanese people: indulgent dependence (amae) and harmony (wa). In addition, Self-Restraint may be linked to social functioning. Both constructs may confound a respondent's perceived confidence. Despite its shortcomings, the JICS is a unique measure of social competence in the Japanese cultural context.

A Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Structure of Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farahman Farrokhi

2011-06-01

Full Text Available "nObjective: The aim of this study is to explore the confirmatory factor analysis results of the Persian adaptation of Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale (AMAS, proposed by Hopko, Mahadevan, Bare & Hunt. "nMethod: The validity and reliability assessments of the scale were performed on 298 college students chosen randomly from Tabriz University in Iran. The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA was carried out to determine the factor structures of the Persian version of AMAS. "nResults: As expected, the two-factor solution provided a better fit to the data than a single factor. Moreover, multi-group analyses showed that this two-factor structure was invariant across sex. Hence, AMAS provides an equally valid measure for use among college students. "nConclusions:  Brief AMAS demonstrates adequate reliability and validity. The AMAS scores can be used to compare symptoms of math anxiety between male and female students. The study both expands and adds support to the existing body of math anxiety literature.

Strategic Factor Markets Scale Free Resources and Economic Performance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Geisler Asmussen, Christian

2015-01-01

This paper analyzes how scale free resources, which can be acquired by multiple firms simultaneously and deployed against one another in product market competition, will be priced in strategic factor markets, and what the consequences are for the acquiring firms' performance. Based on a game-theo...

Risk Factors for Chronic Subdural Hematoma Recurrence Identified Using Quantitative Computed Tomography Analysis of Hematoma Volume and Density.

Science.gov (United States)

Stavrinou, Pantelis; Katsigiannis, Sotirios; Lee, Jong Hun; Hamisch, Christina; Krischek, Boris; Mpotsaris, Anastasios; Timmer, Marco; Goldbrunner, Roland

2017-03-01

Chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH), a common condition in elderly patients, presents a therapeutic challenge with recurrence rates of 33%. We aimed to identify specific prognostic factors for recurrence using quantitative analysis of hematoma volume and density. We retrospectively reviewed radiographic and clinical data of 227 CSDHs in 195 consecutive patients who underwent evacuation of the hematoma through a single burr hole, 2 burr holes, or a mini-craniotomy. To examine the relationship between hematoma recurrence and various clinical, radiologic, and surgical factors, we used quantitative image-based analysis to measure the hematoma and trapped air volumes and the hematoma densities. Recurrence of CSDH occurred in 35 patients (17.9%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the percentage of hematoma drained and postoperative CSDH density were independent risk factors for recurrence. All 3 evacuation methods were equally effective in draining the hematoma (71.7% vs. 73.7% vs. 71.9%) without observable differences in postoperative air volume captured in the subdural space. Quantitative image analysis provided evidence that percentage of hematoma drained and postoperative CSDH density are independent prognostic factors for subdural hematoma recurrence. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A confirmatory factor analysis of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students in a Chinese sample.

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, Lina; Jin, Yi

2017-02-01

Educational institutions play an important role in encouraging students' engagement with course work. Educators are finding instruments to measure students' engagement in order to develop strategies to improve it. Little is known about the factor structure of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students among Chinese nursing students. The aim of this research was to examine the factor structure of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students via confirmatory factor analysis. The study used a cross-sectional design. A sample of 480 students from a nursing school in one Chinese university completed the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students. Factor analysis was used to analyze the resulting data. The overall results of internal consistency reliability and confirmatory factor analysis provided evidence supporting the reliability and three-factor structure of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students. The total internal consistency reliability coefficients were 0.91. Model comparison tests indicated that an oblique factors model that permitted correlations between pairs of error terms fitted the data better than other first-order models. In addition, due to the three strongly intercorrelated factors, a second-order model was found to fit the data well, providing support for the factorial structure of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students. The findings of confirmatory factor analysis provided evidence supporting the reliability and three-factor structure of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students when evaluated with a Chinese nursing student sample in this study. Thus, it is appropriate to use The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students in for assessing the engagement among Chinese nursing students. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Identification of the key ecological factors influencing vegetation degradation in semi-arid agro-pastoral ecotone considering spatial scales

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Yu; Wang, Qinghui; Fan, Min

2017-11-01

When assessing re-vegetation project performance and optimizing land management, identification of the key ecological factors inducing vegetation degradation has crucial implications. Rainfall, temperature, elevation, slope, aspect, land use type, and human disturbance are ecological factors affecting the status of vegetation index. However, at different spatial scales, the key factors may vary. Using Helin County, Inner-Mongolia, China as the study site and combining remote sensing image interpretation, field surveying, and mathematical methods, this study assesses key ecological factors affecting vegetation degradation under different spatial scales in a semi-arid agro-pastoral ecotone. It indicates that the key factors are different at various spatial scales. Elevation, rainfall, and temperature are identified as crucial for all spatial extents. Elevation, rainfall and human disturbance are key factors for small-scale quadrats of 300 m × 300 m and 600 m × 600 m, temperature and land use type are key factors for a medium-scale quadrat of 1 km × 1 km, and rainfall, temperature, and land use are key factors for large-scale quadrats of 2 km × 2 km and 5 km × 5 km. For this region, human disturbance is not the key factor for vegetation degradation across spatial scales. It is necessary to consider spatial scale for the identification of key factors determining vegetation characteristics. The eco-restoration programs at various spatial scales should identify key influencing factors according their scales so as to take effective measurements. The new understanding obtained in this study may help to explore the forces which driving vegetation degradation in the degraded regions in the world.

Personality Assessment Inventory scale characteristics and factor structure in the assessment of alcohol dependency.

Science.gov (United States)

Schinka, J A

1995-02-01

Individual scale characteristics and the inventory structure of the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; Morey, 1991) were examined by conducting internal consistency and factor analyses of item and scale score data from a large group (N = 301) of alcohol-dependent patients. Alpha coefficients, mean inter-item correlations, and corrected item-total scale correlations for the sample paralleled values reported by Morey for a large clinical sample. Minor differences in the scale factor structure of the inventory from Morey's clinical sample were found. Overall, the findings support the use of the PAI in the assessment of personality and psychopathology of alcohol-dependent patients.

Factor analysis and Mokken scaling of the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire in nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Yami, M; Galdas, P; Watson, R

2018-03-22

To generate an Arabic version of the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire that would be easily understood by Arabic speakers and would be sensitive to Arabic culture. The nursing workforce in Saudi Arabia is undergoing a process of Saudization but there is a need to understand the factors that will help to retain this workforce. No organizational commitment tools exist in Arabic that are specifically designed for health organizations. An Arabic version of the organizational commitment tool could aid Arabic speaking employers to understand their employees' perceptions of their organizations. Translation and back-translation followed by factor analysis (principal components analysis and confirmatory factor analysis) to test the factorial validity and item response theory (Mokken scaling). A two-factor structure was obtained for the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire comprising Factor 1: Value commitment; and Factor 2: Commitment to stay with acceptable reliability measured by internal consistency. A Mokken scale was obtained including items from both factors showing a hierarchy of items running from commitment to the organization and commitment to self. This study shows that the Arabic version of the OCQ retained the established two-factor structure of the original English-language version. Although the two factors - 'value commitment' and 'commitment to stay' - repudiate the original developers' single factor claim. A useful insight into the structure of the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire has been obtained with the novel addition of a hierarchical scale. The Organizational Commitment Questionnaire is now ready to be used with nurses in the Arab speaking world and could be used a tool to measure the contemporary commitment of nursing employees and in future interventions aimed at increasing commitment and retention of valuable nursing staff. © 2018 International Council of Nurses.

Sparse PDF Volumes for Consistent Multi-Resolution Volume Rendering

KAUST Repository

Sicat, Ronell Barrera

2014-12-31

This paper presents a new multi-resolution volume representation called sparse pdf volumes, which enables consistent multi-resolution volume rendering based on probability density functions (pdfs) of voxel neighborhoods. These pdfs are defined in the 4D domain jointly comprising the 3D volume and its 1D intensity range. Crucially, the computation of sparse pdf volumes exploits data coherence in 4D, resulting in a sparse representation with surprisingly low storage requirements. At run time, we dynamically apply transfer functions to the pdfs using simple and fast convolutions. Whereas standard low-pass filtering and down-sampling incur visible differences between resolution levels, the use of pdfs facilitates consistent results independent of the resolution level used. We describe the efficient out-of-core computation of large-scale sparse pdf volumes, using a novel iterative simplification procedure of a mixture of 4D Gaussians. Finally, our data structure is optimized to facilitate interactive multi-resolution volume rendering on GPUs.

Analysis of Multi-Scale Changes in Arable Land and Scale Effects of the Driving Factors in the Loess Areas in Northern Shaanxi, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lina Zhong

2014-04-01

Full Text Available In this study, statistical data on the national economic and social development, including the year-end actual area of arable land, the crop yield per unit area and 10 factors, were obtained for the period between 1980 and 2010 and used to analyze the factors driving changes in the arable land of the Loess Plateau in northern Shaanxi, China. The following areas of arable land, which represent different spatial scales, were investigated: the Baota District, the city of Yan’an, and the Northern Shaanxi region. The scale effects of the factors driving the changes to the arable land were analyzed using a canonical correlation analysis and a principal component analysis. Because it was difficult to quantify the impact of the national government policies on the arable land changes, the contributions of the national government policies to the changes in arable land were analyzed qualitatively. The primary conclusions of the study were as follows: between 1980 and 2010, the arable land area decreased. The trends of the year-end actual arable land proportion of the total area in the northern Shaanxi region and Yan’an City were broadly consistent, whereas the proportion in the Baota District had no obvious similarity with the northern Shaanxi region and Yan’an City. Remarkably different factors were shown to influence the changes in the arable land at different scales. Environmental factors exerted a greater effect for smaller scale arable land areas (the Baota District. The effect of socio-economic development was a major driving factor for the changes in the arable land area at the city and regional scales. At smaller scales, population change, urbanization and socio-economic development affected the crop yield per unit area either directly or indirectly. Socio-economic development and the modernization of agricultural technology had a greater effect on the crop yield per unit area at the large-scales. Furthermore, the qualitative analysis

Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale: Two Factors or Method Effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Tomas, Jose M.; Oliver, Amparo

1999-01-01

Results of a study with 640 Spanish high school students suggest the existence of a global self-esteem factor underlying responses to Rosenberg's (M. Rosenberg, 1965) Self-Esteem Scale, although the inclusion of method effects is needed to achieve a good model fit. Method effects are associated with item wording. (SLD)

Work related injuries and associated factors among small scale ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Objective: This study aims to assess the magnitude of work related injury and associated factors among small scale industrial workers in Mizan-Aman town, Bench Maji Zone, Southwest Ethiopia. Method: A cross-sectional study design was conducted from February to May, 2016. Data was collected using a structured face to ...

Possible Factors that Affect Testis Volume in Varicocele Patients

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Ozay Demiray

2015-06-01

Conclusion: Left varicocele degree is associated with decrease in testis volume. There was no relationship between testis volume and body mass index or smoking habit. Early varicocele diagnosis is important to protect testis volume. [Cukurova Med J 2015; 40(2.000: 233-238

36 CFR 223.36 - Volume determination.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Volume determination. 223.36... Volume determination. (a) Timber sale contracts may provide for volume determination by scaling... the contract or permit provides for the determination of volume by tree measurement and the timber has...

Vibrational frequency scaling factors for correlation consistent basis sets and the methods CC2 and MP2 and their spin-scaled SCS and SOS variants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Friese, Daniel H., E-mail: daniel.h.friese@uit.no [Centre for Theoretical and Computational Chemistry CTCC, Department of Chemistry, University of Tromsø, N-9037 Tromsø (Norway); Törk, Lisa; Hättig, Christof, E-mail: christof.haettig@rub.de [Lehrstuhl für Theoretische Chemie, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, D-44801 Bochum (Germany)

2014-11-21

We present scaling factors for vibrational frequencies calculated within the harmonic approximation and the correlated wave-function methods coupled cluster singles and doubles model (CC2) and Møller-Plesset perturbation theory (MP2) with and without a spin-component scaling (SCS or spin-opposite scaling (SOS)). Frequency scaling factors and the remaining deviations from the reference data are evaluated for several non-augmented basis sets of the cc-pVXZ family of generally contracted correlation-consistent basis sets as well as for the segmented contracted TZVPP basis. We find that the SCS and SOS variants of CC2 and MP2 lead to a slightly better accuracy for the scaled vibrational frequencies. The determined frequency scaling factors can also be used for vibrational frequencies calculated for excited states through response theory with CC2 and the algebraic diagrammatic construction through second order and their spin-component scaled variants.

Factor Structure and Psychometric Properties of the Injection Phobia Scale-Anxiety

Science.gov (United States)

Olatunji, Bunmi O.; Sawchuk, Craig N.; Moretz, Melanie W.; David, Bieke; Armstrong, Thomas; Ciesielski, Bethany G.

2010-01-01

The present investigation examined the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Injection Phobia Scale-Anxiety (IPS-Anx). Principal components analysis of IPS-Anx items in Study 1 (n = 498) revealed a 2-factor structure consisting of Distal Fear and Contact Fear. However, CFA results in Study 2 (n = 567) suggest that a 1-factor…

Individualized adjustments to reference phantom internal organ dosimetry—scaling factors given knowledge of patient external anatomy

Science.gov (United States)

Wayson, Michael B.; Bolch, Wesley E.

2018-04-01

Internal radiation dose estimates for diagnostic nuclear medicine procedures are typically calculated for a reference individual. Resultantly, there is uncertainty when determining the organ doses to patients who are not at 50th percentile on either height or weight. This study aims to better personalize internal radiation dose estimates for individual patients by modifying the dose estimates calculated for reference individuals based on easily obtainable morphometric characteristics of the patient. Phantoms of different sitting heights and waist circumferences were constructed based on computational reference phantoms for the newborn, 10 year-old, and adult. Monoenergetic photons and electrons were then simulated separately at 15 energies. Photon and electron specific absorbed fractions (SAFs) were computed for the newly constructed non-reference phantoms and compared to SAFs previously generated for the age-matched reference phantoms. Differences in SAFs were correlated to changes in sitting height and waist circumference to develop scaling factors that could be applied to reference SAFs as morphometry corrections. A further set of arbitrary non-reference phantoms were then constructed and used in validation studies for the SAF scaling factors. Both photon and electron dose scaling methods were found to increase average accuracy when sitting height was used as the scaling parameter (~11%). Photon waist circumference-based scaling factors showed modest increases in average accuracy (~7%) for underweight individuals, but not for overweight individuals. Electron waist circumference-based scaling factors did not show increases in average accuracy. When sitting height and waist circumference scaling factors were combined, modest average gains in accuracy were observed for photons (~6%), but not for electrons. Both photon and electron absorbed doses are more reliably scaled using scaling factors computed in this study. They can be effectively scaled using sitting

Individualized adjustments to reference phantom internal organ dosimetry-scaling factors given knowledge of patient external anatomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Wayson, Michael B; Bolch, Wesley E

2018-04-13

Internal radiation dose estimates for diagnostic nuclear medicine procedures are typically calculated for a reference individual. Resultantly, there is uncertainty when determining the organ doses to patients who are not at 50th percentile on either height or weight. This study aims to better personalize internal radiation dose estimates for individual patients by modifying the dose estimates calculated for reference individuals based on easily obtainable morphometric characteristics of the patient. Phantoms of different sitting heights and waist circumferences were constructed based on computational reference phantoms for the newborn, 10 year-old, and adult. Monoenergetic photons and electrons were then simulated separately at 15 energies. Photon and electron specific absorbed fractions (SAFs) were computed for the newly constructed non-reference phantoms and compared to SAFs previously generated for the age-matched reference phantoms. Differences in SAFs were correlated to changes in sitting height and waist circumference to develop scaling factors that could be applied to reference SAFs as morphometry corrections. A further set of arbitrary non-reference phantoms were then constructed and used in validation studies for the SAF scaling factors. Both photon and electron dose scaling methods were found to increase average accuracy when sitting height was used as the scaling parameter (~11%). Photon waist circumference-based scaling factors showed modest increases in average accuracy (~7%) for underweight individuals, but not for overweight individuals. Electron waist circumference-based scaling factors did not show increases in average accuracy. When sitting height and waist circumference scaling factors were combined, modest average gains in accuracy were observed for photons (~6%), but not for electrons. Both photon and electron absorbed doses are more reliably scaled using scaling factors computed in this study. They can be effectively scaled using sitting

The Columbia Impairment Scale: Factor Analysis Using a Community Mental Health Sample

Science.gov (United States)

Singer, Jonathan B.; Eack, Shaun M.; Greeno, Catherine M.

2011-01-01

Objective: The objective of this study was to test the factor structure of the parent version of the Columbia Impairment Scale (CIS) in a sample of mothers who brought their children for community mental health (CMH) services (n = 280). Method: Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test the fit of the hypothesized four-factor structure…

Light propagation in optical crystal powders: effects of particle size and volume filling factor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

GarcIa-Ramiro, B; Illarramendi, M A; Aramburu, I; Fernandez, J; Balda, R; Al-Saleh, M

2007-01-01

In this work, we analyse the light propagation in some laser and nonlinear crystal powders. In particular, we study the dependence of the diffusive absorption lengths and the transport lengths on particle size and volume filling factor. The theoretical calculations have been made by assuming a diffusive propagation of light in these materials

A New Scale Factor Adjustment Method for Magnetic Force Feedback Accelerometer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiangqing Huang

2017-10-01

Full Text Available A new and simple method to adjust the scale factor of a magnetic force feedback accelerometer is presented, which could be used in developing a rotating accelerometer gravity gradient instrument (GGI. Adjusting and matching the acceleration-to-current transfer function of the four accelerometers automatically is one of the basic and necessary technologies for rejecting the common mode accelerations in the development of GGI. In order to adjust the scale factor of the magnetic force rebalance accelerometer, an external current is injected and combined with the normal feedback current; they are then applied together to the torque coil of the magnetic actuator. The injected current could be varied proportionally according to the external adjustment needs, and the change in the acceleration-to-current transfer function then realized dynamically. The new adjustment method has the advantages of no extra assembly and ease of operation. Changes in the scale factors range from 33% smaller to 100% larger are verified experimentally by adjusting the different external coefficients. The static noise of the used accelerometer is compared under conditions with and without the injecting current, and the experimental results find no change at the current noise level, which further confirms the validity of the presented method.

A New Scale Factor Adjustment Method for Magnetic Force Feedback Accelerometer.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Xiangqing; Deng, Zhongguang; Xie, Yafei; Li, Zhu; Fan, Ji; Tu, Liangcheng

2017-10-27

A new and simple method to adjust the scale factor of a magnetic force feedback accelerometer is presented, which could be used in developing a rotating accelerometer gravity gradient instrument (GGI). Adjusting and matching the acceleration-to-current transfer function of the four accelerometers automatically is one of the basic and necessary technologies for rejecting the common mode accelerations in the development of GGI. In order to adjust the scale factor of the magnetic force rebalance accelerometer, an external current is injected and combined with the normal feedback current; they are then applied together to the torque coil of the magnetic actuator. The injected current could be varied proportionally according to the external adjustment needs, and the change in the acceleration-to-current transfer function then realized dynamically. The new adjustment method has the advantages of no extra assembly and ease of operation. Changes in the scale factors range from 33% smaller to 100% larger are verified experimentally by adjusting the different external coefficients. The static noise of the used accelerometer is compared under conditions with and without the injecting current, and the experimental results find no change at the current noise level, which further confirms the validity of the presented method.

Scale-up of organic reactions in ball mills: process intensification with regard to energy efficiency and economy of scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Stolle, Achim; Schmidt, Robert; Jacob, Katharina

2014-01-01

The scale-up of the Knoevenagel-condensation between vanillin and barbituric acid carried out in planetary ball mills is investigated from an engineering perspective. Generally, the reaction proceeded in the solid state without intermediate melting and afforded selectively only one product. The reaction has been used as a model to analyze the influence and relationship of different parameters related to operation in planetary ball mills. From the viewpoint of technological parameters the milling ball diameter, dMB, the filling degree with respect to the milling balls' packing, ΦMB,packing, and the filling degree of the substrates with respect to the void volume of the milling balls' packing, ΦGS, have been investigated at different reaction scales. It was found that milling balls with small dMB lead to higher yields within shorter reaction time, treaction, or lower rotation frequency, rpm. Thus, the lower limit is set considering the technology which is available for the separation of the milling balls from the product after the reaction. Regarding ΦMB,packing, results indicate that the optimal value is roughly 50% of the total milling beakers' volume, VB,total, independent of the reaction scale or reaction conditions. Thus, 30% of VB,total are taken by the milling balls. Increase of the initial batch sizes changes ΦGS significantly. However, within the investigated parameter range no negative influence on the yield was observed. Up to 50% of VB,total can be taken over by the substrates in addition to 30% for the total milling ball volume. Scale-up factors of 15 and 11 were realized considering the amount of substrates and the reactor volume, respectively. Beside technological parameters, variables which influence the process itself, treaction and rpm, were investigated also. Variation of those allowed to fine-tune the reaction conditions in order to maximize the yield and minimize the energy intensity.

SWEET CORN FARMING: THE EFFECT OF PRODUCTION FACTOR, EFFICIENCY AND RETURN TO SCALE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dwijatenaya I.B.M.A.

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This research aims to determine the effect of production factors on the sweet corn production, the efficiency of sweet corn farming, and the return to scale of sweet corn production. The sampling technique was taken by proportionate stratified random sampling method with the sample number of 57 people while the analyzer used was the program of Frointer 4.1c. The results show that the production factors of the land farm, seed, and fertilizer have a positive and significant effect on sweet corn production. On the other hand, labor production factors have a positive but not significant effect on sweet corn production. It also found that technical efficiency, price efficiency, and economic efficiency of sweet corn farming in Muara Wis Sub-district of Kutai Kartanegara Regency are not efficient yet. The return to scale of sweet corn yield has an increasing return to scale condition.

Smaller hippocampal volume as a vulnerability factor for the persistence of post-traumatic stress disorder

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Rooij, S J H; Kennis, M; Sjouwerman, R; van den Heuvel, M P; Kahn, R S; Geuze, E

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND: Smaller hippocampal volume has often been observed in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, there is no consensus whether this is a result of stress/trauma exposure, or constitutes a vulnerability factor for the development of PTSD. Second, it is unclear whether

Projective synchronization of time-varying delayed neural network with adaptive scaling factors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghosh, Dibakar; Banerjee, Santo

2013-01-01

Highlights: • Projective synchronization in coupled delayed neural chaotic systems with modulated delay time is introduced. • An adaptive rule for the scaling factors is introduced. • This scheme is highly applicable in secure communication. -- Abstract: In this work, the projective synchronization between two continuous time delayed neural systems with time varying delay is investigated. A sufficient condition for synchronization for the coupled systems with modulated delay is presented analytically with the help of the Krasovskii–Lyapunov approach. The effect of adaptive scaling factors on synchronization are also studied in details. Numerical simulations verify the effectiveness of the analytic results

The Factor Structure of the Spiritual Well-Being Scale in Veterans Experienced Chemical Weapon Exposure.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharif Nia, Hamid; Pahlevan Sharif, Saeed; Boyle, Christopher; Yaghoobzadeh, Ameneh; Tahmasbi, Bahram; Rassool, G Hussein; Taebei, Mozhgan; Soleimani, Mohammad Ali

2018-04-01

This study aimed to determine the factor structure of the spiritual well-being among a sample of the Iranian veterans. In this methodological research, 211 male veterans of Iran-Iraq warfare completed the Paloutzian and Ellison spiritual well-being scale. Maximum likelihood (ML) with oblique rotation was used to assess domain structure of the spiritual well-being. The construct validity of the scale was assessed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), convergent validity, and discriminant validity. Reliability was evaluated with Cronbach's alpha, Theta (θ), and McDonald Omega (Ω) coefficients, intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC), and construct reliability (CR). Results of ML and CFA suggested three factors which were labeled "relationship with God," "belief in fate and destiny," and "life optimism." The ICC, coefficients of the internal consistency, and CR were >.7 for the factors of the scale. Convergent validity and discriminant validity did not fulfill the requirements. The Persian version of spiritual well-being scale demonstrated suitable validity and reliability among the veterans of Iran-Iraq warfare.

Scaling of Health Information Systems in Nigeria and Ethiopia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mengiste, Shegaw Anagaw; Shaw, Vincent; Braa, Jørn

2007-01-01

Systems Programme in Nigeria and Ethiopia, the interdependencies between three spheres are identified as being important in scaling health information systems. The three spheres that are explored are the volume of data collected, human resource factors and access to technology. We draw on concepts from...... the balance. Three flexible standards are identified as being critical strategies to global health information scaling initiatives, namely an essential data set, a scalable process of information systems collection and collation consisting of gateways between paper based systems and hardware and software...

Asymptotic energy scale factors for pseudoscalar meson scattering and charmed meson couplings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thews, R.L.

1977-01-01

Energy scale factors ν 0 for PP → PP scattering amplitudes are related via absence of exotic resonances of ratios of tensor to vector coupling strengths. These same ratios are extracted from FESR's for non-exotic reactions. The scale factors obtained are all of the order of 1.0 GeV 2 or less, indepedent of quantum numbers. This contradicts the expectations of dual amplitudes in which ν 0 =1/α', and trajectory slopes are smaller for charmed mesons. Decay widths for tensor mesons are predicted. An observed SU(3) violation for the ratio A 2 → KantiK/K** → Kπ is shown to be consistent with the FESR results. Charmed meson decays are predicted to be factors of 2 to 3 larger than those predicted by SU(4). (author)

A Study on the Estimation of the Scale Factor for Precise Point Positioning

Science.gov (United States)

Erdogan, Bahattin; Kayacik, Orhan

2017-04-01

Precise Point Positioning (PPP) technique is one of the most important subject in Geomatic Engineering. PPP technique needs only one GNSS receiver and users have preferred it instead of traditional relative positioning technique for several applications. Scientific software has been used for PPP solutions and the software may underestimate the formal errors of the estimated coordinates. The formal errors have major effects on statistical interpretation. Variance-Covariance (VCV) matrix derived from GNSS processing software plays important role for deformation analysis and scientists sometimes need to scale VCV matrix. In this study, 10 continuously operating reference stations have been considered for 11 days dated 2014. All points have been analyzed by Gipsy-OASIS v6.4 scientific software. The solutions were derived for different session durations as 2, 4, 6, 8, 12 and 24 hours to obtain repeatability of the coordinates and analyses were carried out in order to estimate scale factor for Gipsy-OASIS v6.4 PPP results. According to the first results scale factors slightly increase depending on the raises in respect of session duration. Keywords: Precise Point Positioning, Gipsy-OASIS v6.4, Variance-Covariance Matrix, Scale Factor

Passion: Does one scale fit all? Construct validity of two-factor passion scale and psychometric invariance over different activities and languages.

Science.gov (United States)

Marsh, Herbert W; Vallerand, Robert J; Lafrenière, Marc-André K; Parker, Philip; Morin, Alexandre J S; Carbonneau, Noémie; Jowett, Sophia; Bureau, Julien S; Fernet, Claude; Guay, Frédéric; Salah Abduljabbar, Adel; Paquet, Yvan

2013-09-01

The passion scale, based on the dualistic model of passion, measures 2 distinct types of passion: Harmonious and obsessive passions are predictive of adaptive and less adaptive outcomes, respectively. In a substantive-methodological synergy, we evaluate the construct validity (factor structure, reliability, convergent and discriminant validity) of Passion Scale responses (N = 3,571). The exploratory structural equation model fit to the data was substantially better than the confirmatory factor analysis solution, and resulted in better differentiated (less correlated) factors. Results from a 13-model taxonomy of measurement invariance supported complete invariance (factor loadings, factor correlations, item uniquenesses, item intercepts, and latent means) over language (French vs. English; the instrument was originally devised in French, then translated into English) and gender. Strong measurement partial invariance over 5 passion activity groups (leisure, sport, social, work, education) indicates that the same set of items is appropriate for assessing passion across a wide variety of activities--a previously untested, implicit assumption that greatly enhances practical utility. Support was found for the convergent and discriminant validity of the harmonious and obsessive passion scales, based on a set of validity correlates: life satisfaction, rumination, conflict, time investment, activity liking and valuation, and perceiving the activity as a passion.

Factor structure of Bech's version of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale in Brazilian patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J.A.S. Crippa

2002-10-01

Full Text Available The objective of the present study was to evaluate the factor structure of Bech's version of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS, translated into Portuguese. The BPRS was administered to a heterogeneous group of psychiatric inpatients (N = 98 and outpatients (N = 62 in a University Hospital. Each patient was evaluated from one to eight times. The interval between consecutive interviews was one week for the inpatients and one month for the outpatients. The results were submitted to factorial analysis. The internal consistency of the total scale and of each factor was also estimated. Factorial analysis followed by normalized orthogonal rotation (Varimax yielded four factors: Withdrawal-Retardation, Thinking Disorder, Anxious-Depression and Activation. Internal consistency measured by Cronbach's alpha coefficient ranged from 0.766 to 0.879. The data show that the factor structure of the present instrument is similar to that of the American version of the BPRS which contains 18 items, except for the absence of the fifth factor of the latter scale, Hostile-Suspiciousness.

Calibration sets and the accuracy of vibrational scaling factors: A case study with the X3LYP hybrid functional

Science.gov (United States)

Teixeira, Filipe; Melo, André; Cordeiro, M. Natália D. S.

2010-09-01

A linear least-squares methodology was used to determine the vibrational scaling factors for the X3LYP density functional. Uncertainties for these scaling factors were calculated according to the method devised by Irikura et al. [J. Phys. Chem. A 109, 8430 (2005)]. The calibration set was systematically partitioned according to several of its descriptors and the scaling factors for X3LYP were recalculated for each subset. The results show that the scaling factors are only significant up to the second digit, irrespective of the calibration set used. Furthermore, multivariate statistical analysis allowed us to conclude that the scaling factors and the associated uncertainties are independent of the size of the calibration set and strongly suggest the practical impossibility of obtaining vibrational scaling factors with more than two significant digits.

Zooming in and out: Scale dependence of extrinsic and intrinsic factors affecting salt marsh erosion

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Heng; van der Wal, Daphne; Li, Xiangyu; van Belzen, Jim; Herman, Peter M. J.; Hu, Zhan; Ge, Zhenming; Zhang, Liquan; Bouma, Tjeerd J.

2017-07-01

Salt marshes are valuable ecosystems that provide important ecosystem services. Given the global scale of marsh loss due to climate change and coastal squeeze, there is a pressing need to identify the critical extrinsic (wind exposure and foreshore morphology) and intrinsic factors (soil and vegetation properties) affecting the erosion of salt marsh edges. In this study, we quantified rates of cliff lateral retreat (i.e., the eroding edge of a salt marsh plateau) using a time series of aerial photographs taken over four salt marsh sites in the Westerschelde estuary, the Netherlands. In addition, we experimentally quantified the erodibility of sediment cores collected from the marsh edge of these four marshes using wave tanks. Our results revealed the following: (i) at the large scale, wind exposure and the presence of pioneer vegetation in front of the cliff were the key factors governing cliff retreat rates; (ii) at the intermediate scale, foreshore morphology was partially related to cliff retreat; (iii) at the local scale, the erodibility of the sediment itself at the marsh edge played a large role in determining the cliff retreat rate; and (iv) at the mesocosm scale, cliff erodibility was determined by soil properties and belowground root biomass. Thus, both extrinsic and intrinsic factors determined the fate of the salt marsh but at different scales. Our study highlights the importance of understanding the scale dependence of the factors driving the evolution of salt marsh landscapes.

Validation of the Social Appearance Anxiety Scale: Factor, Convergent, and Divergent Validity

Science.gov (United States)

Levinson, Cheri A.; Rodebaugh, Thomas L.

2011-01-01

The Social Appearance Anxiety Scale (SAAS) was created to assess fear of overall appearance evaluation. Initial psychometric work indicated that the measure had a single-factor structure and exhibited excellent internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and convergent validity. In the current study, the authors further examined the factor,…

The effects of intracranial volume adjustment approaches on multiple regional MRI volumes in healthy aging and Alzheimer’s disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olga eVoevodskaya

2014-10-01

Full Text Available In neurodegeneration research, normalization of regional volumes by intracranial volume (ICV is important to estimate the extent of disease-driven atrophy. There is little agreement as to whether raw volumes, volume-to-ICV fractions or regional volumes from which the ICV factor has been regressed out should be used for volumetric brain imaging studies. Using multiple regional cortical and subcortical volumetric measures generated by Freesurfer (51 in total, the main aim of this study was to elucidate the implications of these adjustment approaches. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI data were analyzed from two large cohorts, the population-based PIVUS cohort (N=406, all subjects age 75 and the Alzheimer disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI cohort (N=724. Further, we studied whether the chosen ICV normalization approach influenced the relationship between hippocampus and cognition in the three diagnostic groups of the ADNI cohort (Alzheimer’s disease, mild cognitive impairment and healthy individuals. The ability of raw vs adjusted hippocampal volumes to predict diagnostic status was also assessed. In both cohorts raw volumes correlate positively with ICV, but do not scale directly proportionally with it. The correlation direction is reversed for all volume-to-ICV fractions, except the lateral and third ventricles. Most grey matter fractions are larger in females, while lateral ventricle fractions are greater in males. Residual correction effectively eliminated the correlation between the regional volumes and ICV and removed gender differences. The association between hippocampal volumes and cognition was not altered by ICV normalization. Comparing prediction of diagnostic status using the different approaches, small but significant differences were found. The choice of normalization approach should be carefully considered when designing a volumetric brain imaging study.

Development of radionuclide inventory estimation method using scaling factor for the Korean NPPs: scope and status

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hwang, Ki Ha; Lee, Sang Chul; Kang, Sang Hee; Lee, Kun Jai; Jeong, Chan Woo; Ahn, Sang Myeon; Kim, Tae Wook; Kim, Kyoung Doek; Herr, Y. H.

2003-01-01

Regulations and guidelines for radionuclide waste disposal require detailed information about the characteristics of radioactive waste drums prior to the transport to the disposal sites. Therefore, it is important to know the accurate radionuclide inventory of radioactive waste. However, estimation of radionuclide concentrations on drummed radioactive waste is difficult and unreliable. In order to overcome these difficulties, scaling factors have been used to assess the activities of radionuclides which could not be directly analyzed. A radionuclides assay system has been operated at Korean nuclear power plant (KORI site) since 1996 and consolidated scaling factor concept has played a dominant role in determination of radionuclides concentrations. For corrosion product radionuclides, generic scaling factors were used due to the similar trend and better-characterized properties of Korean analyzed data compared to the worldwide database. It is not easy to use the generic scaling factors for fission product and TRU radionuclides. Thus simple model reflecting the history of the operation of power plant and nuclear fuel condition is applied. However, some problems are still remained. For examples, disparity between the actual and ideal correlation pairs, inaccuracy of analyzed sample values, uncertainty in representative of derived scaling factor values and so on. As a result, the correlation ratios are somewhat dispersive. So it is planned to establish an assay system using more improved scaling factors. In this study, the scope of research is expanded and planned such as following. 1) Considering more assay target nuclides, 2) Considering more target NPPs, 3) More reliable sampling and measurement techniques, 4) Improvement of accuracy and representativeness of derived scaling factor values and 5) Conformation of correlation pairs based on Korean analyzed data. As this study progresses, it is possible to get more accurate and reliable prediction for the information of

Factor Structure and Psychometric Properties of the Work-Family Balance Scale in an Urban Chinese Sample

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Huiping; Yip, Paul S. F.; Chi, Peilian; Chan, Kinsun; Cheung, Yee Tak; Zhang, Xiulan

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the factor structure of the Work-Family Balance Scale (WFBS) and examine its reliability and validity in use in the urban Chinese population. The scale was validated using a sample of 605 urban Chinese residents from 7 cities. Exploratory factor analysis identified two factors: work-family conflict and…

TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION REPORT, SITE PROGRAM DEMONSTRATION TEST: SHIRCO PILOT-SCALE INFRARED INCINERATION SYSTEM ROSE TOWNSHIP DEMODE ROAD SUPERFUND SITE - VOLUME II

Science.gov (United States)

The performance of the Shirco pilot-scale infrared thermal destruction system has been evaluated at the Rose Township, Demode Road Superfund Site and is presented in the report. The waste tested consisted of solvents, organics and heavy metals in an illegal dump site. Volume I gi...

A Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Academic Motivation Scale with Black College Students

Science.gov (United States)

Cokley, Kevin

2015-01-01

The factor structure of the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS) was examined with a sample of 578 Black college students. A confirmatory factor analysis of the AMS was conducted. Results indicated that the hypothesized seven-factor model did not fit the data. Implications for future research with the AMS are discussed.

Factor Structure of the Conflict Tactics Scale 1

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Kaori Baba

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Background: The Conflict Tactics Scale 1 (CTS1 is a widely used self-report measure of abusive attitudes of parents towards children. The factor structure of the CTS1 still remains to be clarified. The aim of this study was to examine the factor structure of the Japanese version of the CTS1 for postpartum women in community settings. Method: The data in this study came from the Okayama and Kumamoto’s study. These were part of a larger survey using longitudinal questionnaire studies conducted in Japan from 2001 to 2002 and in 2011, respectively. In both study sites, the participant mothers were asked to fill in the CTS1 one month after delivery when they attended for check-up at the out-patient clinic. Results: A total of 1,150 questionnaires were collected, excluding the participants with missing values in the CTS1. Finally, 1,078 were included in the statistical analyses. Data of 1,078 women were divided into two parts. In the first halved sample (n=578, an exploratory factor analysis was conducted for the CTS1 items after exluding nine items with extremely low prevalence. It revealed 2-factor or 3-factor models. Then, we conducted a model comparison with the second halved sample (n=500, using confirmatory factor analysis. In terms of goodness-of-fit indeces, the 2-factor model was superior. Its subscales were Reasoning and Psycholosical Aggression. Conclusion: The 2-factor model of the CTS1 consisting of Reasoning and Psychological Aggression was superior to the 3-factor model. This is not inconsistent with the original authors’ theoretical model.

How to ask about patient satisfaction? The visual analogue scale is less vulnerable to confounding factors and ceiling effect than a symmetric Likert scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Voutilainen, Ari; Pitkäaho, Taina; Kvist, Tarja; Vehviläinen-Julkunen, Katri

2016-04-01

To study the effects of scale type (visual analogue scale vs. Likert), item order (systematic vs. random), item non-response and patient-related characteristics (age, gender, subjective health, need for assistance with filling out the questionnaire and length of stay) on the results of patient satisfaction surveys. Although patient satisfaction is one of the most intensely studied issues in the health sciences, research information about the effects of possible instrument-related confounding factors on patient satisfaction surveys is scant. A quasi-experimental design was employed. A non-randomized sample of 150 surgical patients was gathered to minimize possible alterations in care quality. Data were collected in May-September 2014 from one tertiary hospital in Finland using the Revised Humane Caring Scale instrument. New versions of the instrument were created for the present purposes. In these versions, items were either in a visual analogue format or Likert-scaled, in systematic or random order. The data were analysed using an analysis of covariance and a paired samples t-test. The visual analogue scale items were less vulnerable to bias from confounding factors than were the Likert-scaled items. The visual analogue scale also avoided the ceiling effect better than Likert and the time needed to complete the visual analogue scale questionnaire was 28% shorter than that needed to complete the Likert-scaled questionnaire. The present results supported the use of visual analogue scale rather than Likert scaling in patient satisfaction surveys and stressed the need to account for as many potential confounding factors as possible. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A hybrid plasmonic microresonator with high quality factor and small mode volume

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu, Qijing; Chen, Daru; Wu, Genzhu; Peng, Baojin; Xu, Jiancheng

2012-01-01

We propose a novel hybrid plasmonic microcavity which is composed of a silver nanoring and a silica toroidal microcavity. The hybrid mode of the proposed hybrid plasmonic microcavity due to the coupling between the surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) and the dielectric mode is demonstrated with a high quality factor (>1000) and an ultrasmall mode volume (∼0.8 μm 3 ). This microcavity shows great potential in fundamental studies of nonlinear optics and cavity quantum electrodynamics (cQED) and applications in low-threshold plasmonic microlasers. (paper)

Metastatic volume: an old oncologic concept and a new prognostic factor for stage IV melanoma patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Panasiti, V; Curzio, M; Roberti, V; Lieto, P; Devirgiliis, V; Gobbi, S; Naspi, A; Coppola, R; Lopez, T; di Meo, N; Gatti, A; Trevisan, G; Londei, P; Calvieri, S

2013-01-01

The last melanoma staging system of the 2009 American Joint Committee on Cancer takes into account, for stage IV disease, the serum levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and the site of distant metastases. Our aim was to compare the significance of metastatic volume, as evaluated at the time of stage IV melanoma diagnosis, with other clinical predictors of prognosis. We conducted a retrospective multicentric study. To establish which variables were statistically correlated both with death and survival time, contingency tables were evaluated. The overall survival curves were compared using the Kaplan-Meier method. Metastatic volume and number of affected organs were statistically related to death. In detail, patients with a metastatic volume >15 cm(3) had a worse prognosis than those with a volume lower than this value (survival probability at 60 months: 6.8 vs. 40.9%, respectively). The Kaplan-Meier method confirmed that survival time was significantly related to the site(s) of metastases, to elevated LDH serum levels and to melanoma stage according to the latest system. Our results suggest that metastatic volume may be considered as a useful prognostic factor for survival among melanoma patients.

Genetic correlations between brain volumes and the WAIS-III dimensions of verbal comprehension, working memory, perceptual organization, and processing speed

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Posthuma, Daniëlle; Baare, Wim F.C.; Hulshoff Pol, Hilleke E.

2003-01-01

We recently showed that the correlation of gray and white matter volume with full scale IQ and the Working Memory dimension are completely mediated by common genetic factors (Posthuma et al., 2002). Here we examine whether the other WAIS III dimensions (Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Organization......, Processing Speed) are also related to gray and white matter volume, and whether any of the dimensions are related to cerebellar volume. Two overlapping samples provided 135 subjects from 60 extended twin families for whom both MRI scans and WAIS III data were available. All three brain volumes are related...... to Working Memory capacity (r = 0.27). This phenotypic correlation is completely due to a common underlying genetic factor. Processing Speed was genetically related to white matter volume (r(g) = 0.39). Perceptual Organization was both genetically (r(g) = 0.39) and environmentally (r(e) = -0.71) related...

Finite size scaling and lattice gauge theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berg, B.A.

1986-01-01

Finite size (Fisher) scaling is investigated for four dimensional SU(2) and SU(3) lattice gauge theories without quarks. It allows to disentangle violations of (asymptotic) scaling and finite volume corrections. Mass spectrum, string tension, deconfinement temperature and lattice β-function are considered. For appropriate volumes, Monte Carlo investigations seem to be able to control the finite volume continuum limit. Contact is made with Luescher's small volume expansion and possibly also with the asymptotic large volume behavior. 41 refs., 19 figs

Item-level factor analysis of the Self-Efficacy Scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Bunketorp Käll, Lina

2014-03-01

This study explores the internal structure of the Self-Efficacy Scale (SES) using item response analysis. The SES was previously translated into Swedish and modified to encompass all types of pain, not exclusively back pain. Data on perceived self-efficacy in 47 patients with subacute whiplash-associated disorders were derived from a previously conducted randomized-controlled trial. The item-level factor analysis was carried out using a six-step procedure. To further study the item inter-relationships and to determine the underlying structure empirically, the 20 items of the SES were also subjected to principal component analysis with varimax rotation. The analyses showed two underlying factors, named 'social activities' and 'physical activities', with seven items loading on each factor. The remaining six items of the SES appeared to measure somewhat different constructs and need to be analysed further.

Real-time simulation of large-scale floods

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Q.; Qin, Y.; Li, G. D.; Liu, Z.; Cheng, D. J.; Zhao, Y. H.

2016-08-01

According to the complex real-time water situation, the real-time simulation of large-scale floods is very important for flood prevention practice. Model robustness and running efficiency are two critical factors in successful real-time flood simulation. This paper proposed a robust, two-dimensional, shallow water model based on the unstructured Godunov- type finite volume method. A robust wet/dry front method is used to enhance the numerical stability. An adaptive method is proposed to improve the running efficiency. The proposed model is used for large-scale flood simulation on real topography. Results compared to those of MIKE21 show the strong performance of the proposed model.

Cross-Cultural Validation of the Modified Practice Attitudes Scale: Initial Factor Analysis and a New Factor Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Heehoon; Ebesutani, Chad K; Chung, Kyong-Mee; Stanick, Cameo

2018-01-01

The objective of this study was to create the Korean version of the Modified Practice Attitudes Scale (K-MPAS) to measure clinicians' attitudes toward evidence-based treatments (EBTs) in the Korean mental health system. Using 189 U.S. therapists and 283 members from the Korean mental health system, we examined the reliability and validity of the MPAS scores. We also conducted the first exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis on the MPAS and compared EBT attitudes across U.S. and Korean therapists. Results revealed that the inclusion of both "reversed-worded" and "non-reversed-worded" items introduced significant method effects that compromised the integrity of the one-factor MPAS model. Problems with the one-factor structure were resolved by eliminating the "non-reversed-worded" items. Reliability and validity were adequate among both Korean and U.S. therapists. Korean therapists also reported significantly more negative attitudes toward EBTs on the MPAS than U.S. therapists. The K-MPAS is the first questionnaire designed to measure Korean service providers' attitudes toward EBTs to help advance the dissemination of EBTs in Korea. The current study also demonstrated the negative impacts that can be introduced by incorporating oppositely worded items into a scale, particularly with respect to factor structure and detecting significant group differences.

Examination of factor structure for the consumers' responses to the Value Consciousness Scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Conrad, C A; Williams, J R

2000-12-01

The psychometric properties of the Value Consciousness Scale developed by Lichtenstein, Netemeyer, and Burton in 1990 were examined in a retail grocery study (N = 497). Original assessment of scale properties was undertaken using two convenience samples in a nonretail setting and additional scale performance has been documented by the scale authors. This study furthers previous research by (1) examining performance on the items in the retail grocery setting and (2) utilizing an appropriately rigorous sampling procedure. A confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the Value Consciousness Scale does not exhibit unidimensional properties, and one must be cautious if this scale is used in applications of market segmentation until further clarification can be provided.

Age and prostate volume are risk factors for transient urinary incontinence after transurethral enucleation with bipolar for benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Science.gov (United States)

Hirasawa, Yosuke; Kato, Yuji; Fujita, Kiichiro

2018-01-01

To investigate the predictive factors for transient urinary incontinence after transurethral enucleation with bipolar. We retrospectively analyzed the data of 584 patients who underwent transurethral enucleation with bipolar between December 2011 and September 2016 operated by a single surgeon. Urinary incontinence after transurethral enucleation with bipolar was defined as involuntary leakage of urine that required the use of pads. It was evaluated at 1 week, and 1, 3, 6, 12 and 24 months after transurethral enucleation with bipolar. We defined transient urinary incontinence as urinary incontinence persisting up to 1 month after transurethral enucleation with bipolar. Based on independent risk factors identified by a multivariate stepwise logistic regression analysis, a nomogram to predict transient urinary incontinence was developed. Of the 584 patients, 17.3%, 13.5%, 3.1%, 0.41%, and 0% patients had urinary incontinence at 1 week, 1, 3, 6 and 12 months after transurethral enucleation with bipolar, respectively. The mean (±standard error) age was 69.6 ± 0.26 years, estimated prostate volume was 54.7 ± 0.91 cm 3 , operative time was 58.0 ± 1.1 min and the prostate specimen weight was 30.6 ± 0.69 g. On univariate analysis, age, prostate volume estimated by transrectal ultrasonography, prostate-specific antigen, prostate specimen weight, operative time, prostate specimen weight/prostate volume and prostate specimen weight/operative time were significant predictive factors for transient urinary incontinence after transurethral enucleation with bipolar. On multivariate analysis, age (hazard ratio 1.07, P-value = 0.0034) and prostate volume (hazard ratio 1.03, P-value bipolar. Age and prostate volume estimated by transrectal ultrasonography seem to represent significant independent risk factors for transient urinary incontinence after transurethral enucleation with bipolar. This should be well discussed with the patient before surgery. © 2017 The Japanese

Agri-Environmental Resource Management by Large-Scale Collective Action: Determining KEY Success Factors

Science.gov (United States)

Uetake, Tetsuya

2015-01-01

Purpose: Large-scale collective action is necessary when managing agricultural natural resources such as biodiversity and water quality. This paper determines the key factors to the success of such action. Design/Methodology/Approach: This paper analyses four large-scale collective actions used to manage agri-environmental resources in Canada and…

Genetic correlations between brain volumes and the WAIS-III dimensions of verbal comprehension, working memory, perceptual organization, and processing speed

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Posthuma, Daniëlle; Baare, Wim F.C.; Hulshoff Pol, Hilleke E.

2003-01-01

We recently showed that the correlation of gray and white matter volume with full scale IQ and the Working Memory dimension are completely mediated by common genetic factors (Posthuma et al., 2002). Here we examine whether the other WAIS III dimensions (Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Organization...... to Working Memory capacity (r = 0.27). This phenotypic correlation is completely due to a common underlying genetic factor. Processing Speed was genetically related to white matter volume (r(g) = 0.39). Perceptual Organization was both genetically (r(g) = 0.39) and environmentally (r(e) = -0.71) related...

A numerical model of two-phase flow at the micro-scale using the volume-of-fluid method

Science.gov (United States)

Shams, Mosayeb; Raeini, Ali Q.; Blunt, Martin J.; Bijeljic, Branko

2018-03-01

This study presents a simple and robust numerical scheme to model two-phase flow in porous media where capillary forces dominate over viscous effects. The volume-of-fluid method is employed to capture the fluid-fluid interface whose dynamics is explicitly described based on a finite volume discretization of the Navier-Stokes equations. Interfacial forces are calculated directly on reconstructed interface elements such that the total curvature is preserved. The computed interfacial forces are explicitly added to the Navier-Stokes equations using a sharp formulation which effectively eliminates spurious currents. The stability and accuracy of the implemented scheme is validated on several two- and three-dimensional test cases, which indicate the capability of the method to model two-phase flow processes at the micro-scale. In particular we show how the co-current flow of two viscous fluids leads to greatly enhanced flow conductance for the wetting phase in corners of the pore space, compared to a case where the non-wetting phase is an inviscid gas.

Radiation-Induced Rib Fractures After Hypofractionated Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy: Risk Factors and Dose-Volume Relationship

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Asai, Kaori [Department of Clinical Radiology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka (Japan); Shioyama, Yoshiyuki, E-mail: shioyama@radiol.med.kyushu-u.ac.jp [Department of Heavy Particle Therapy and Radiation Oncology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka (Japan); Nakamura, Katsumasa; Sasaki, Tomonari; Ohga, Saiji; Nonoshita, Takeshi [Department of Clinical Radiology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka (Japan); Yoshitake, Tadamasa [Department of Heavy Particle Therapy and Radiation Oncology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka (Japan); Ohnishi, Kayoko [Department of Radiology, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo (Japan); Terashima, Kotaro; Matsumoto, Keiji [Department of Clinical Radiology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka (Japan); Hirata, Hideki [Department of Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka (Japan); Honda, Hiroshi [Department of Clinical Radiology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka (Japan)

2012-11-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to clarify the incidence, the clinical risk factors, and the dose-volume relationship of radiation-induced rib fracture (RIRF) after hypofractionated stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). Methods and Materials: One hundred sixteen patients treated with SBRT for primary or metastatic lung cancer at our institution, with at least 6 months of follow-up and no previous overlapping radiation exposure, were included in this study. To determine the clinical risk factors associated with RIRF, correlations between the incidence of RIRF and the variables, including age, sex, diagnosis, gross tumor volume diameter, rib-tumor distance, and use of steroid administration, were analyzed. Dose-volume histogram analysis was also conducted. Regarding the maximum dose, V10, V20, V30, and V40 of the rib, and the incidences of RIRF were compared between the two groups divided by the cutoff value determined by the receiver operating characteristic curves. Results: One hundred sixteen patients and 374 ribs met the inclusion criteria. Among the 116 patients, 28 patients (46 ribs) experienced RIRF. The estimated incidence of rib fracture was 37.7% at 3 years. Limited distance from the rib to the tumor (<2.0 cm) was the only significant risk factor for RIRF (p = 0.0001). Among the dosimetric parameters used for receiver operating characteristic analysis, the maximum dose showed the highest area under the curve. The 3-year estimated risk of RIRF and the determined cutoff value were 45.8% vs. 1.4% (maximum dose, {>=}42.4 Gy or less), 51.6% vs. 2.0% (V40, {>=}0.29 cm{sup 3} or less), 45.8% vs. 2.2% (V30, {>=}1.35 cm{sup 3} or less), 42.0% vs. 8.5% (V20, {>=}3.62 cm{sup 3} or less), or 25.9% vs. 10.5% (V10, {>=}5.03 cm{sup 3} or less). Conclusions: The incidence of RIRF after hypofractionated SBRT is relatively high. The maximum dose and high-dose volume are strongly correlated with RIRF.

Use of 1–4 interaction scaling factors to control the conformational equilibrium between α-helix and β-strand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pang, Yuan-Ping

2015-01-01

Highlights: • 1–4 interaction scaling factors are used to adjust conformational energy. • This article reports the effects of these factors on protein conformations. • Reducing these factors changes a helix to a strand in molecular dynamics simulation. • Increasing these factors causes the reverse conformational change. • These factors control the conformational equilibrium between helix and strand. - Abstract: 1–4 interaction scaling factors are used in AMBER forcefields to reduce the exaggeration of short-range repulsion caused by the 6–12 Lennard-Jones potential and a nonpolarizable charge model and to obtain better agreements of small-molecule conformational energies with experimental data. However, the effects of these scaling factors on protein secondary structure conformations have not been investigated until now. This article reports the finding that the 1–4 interactions among the protein backbone atoms separated by three consecutive covalent bonds are more repulsive in the α-helix conformation than in two β-strand conformations. Therefore, the 1–4 interaction scaling factors of protein backbone torsions ϕ and ψ control the conformational equilibrium between α-helix and β-strand. Molecular dynamics simulations confirm that reducing the ϕ and ψ scaling factors readily converts the α-helix conformation of AcO-(AAQAA) 3 -NH 2 to a β-strand conformation, and the reverse occurs when these scaling factors are increased. These results suggest that the ϕ and ψ scaling factors can be used to generate the α-helix or β-strand conformation in situ and to control the propensities of a forcefield for adopting secondary structure elements

Factor analysis of the hospital anxiety and depression scale among a Huntington's disease population

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dale, Maria; Maltby, John; Martucci, Rossana

2015-01-01

INTRODUCTION: Depression and anxiety are common in Huntington's disease, a genetic neurodegenerative disorder. There is a need for measurement tools of mood to be validated within a Huntington's disease population. The current study aimed to analyze the factor structure of the Hospital Anxiety...... and Depression Scale in Huntington's disease. METHODS: Data from the European Huntington's Disease Network study REGISTRY 3 were used to undertake a factor analysis of the scale among a sample of 492 Huntington's disease mutation carriers. The sample was randomly divided into two equal subsamples...... support for an eight-item version of the scale to be used as a measure of general distress within Huntington's disease populations. © 2015 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society....

Factors associated with metabolic syndrome and related medical costs by the scale of enterprise in Korea.

Science.gov (United States)

Kong, Hyung-Sik; Lee, Kang-Sook; Yim, Eun-Shil; Lee, Seon-Young; Cho, Hyun-Young; Lee, Bin Na; Park, Jee Young

2013-10-21

The purpose of this study was to identify the risk factors of metabolic syndrome (MS) and to analyze the relationship between the risk factors of MS and medical cost of major diseases related to MS in Korean workers, according to the scale of the enterprise. Data was obtained from annual physical examinations, health insurance qualification and premiums, and health insurance benefits of 4,094,217 male and female workers who underwent medical examinations provided by the National Health Insurance Corporation in 2009. Logistic regression analyses were used to the identify risk factors of MS and multiple regression was used to find factors associated with medical expenditures due to major diseases related to MS. The study found that low-income workers were more likely to work in small-scale enterprises. The prevalence rate of MS in males and females, respectively, was 17.2% and 9.4% in small-scale enterprises, 15.9% and 8.9% in medium-scale enterprises, and 15.9% and 5.5% in large-scale enterprises. The risks of MS increased with age, lower income status, and smoking in small-scale enterprise workers. The medical costs increased in workers with old age and past smoking history. There was also a gender difference in the pattern of medical expenditures related to MS. Health promotion programs to manage metabolic syndrome should be developed to focus on workers who smoke, drink, and do little exercise in small scale enterprises.

Factor structure and concurrent validity of the world assumptions scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Elklit, Ask; Shevlin, Mark; Solomon, Zahava; Dekel, Rachel

2007-06-01

The factor structure of the World Assumptions Scale (WAS) was assessed by means of confirmatory factor analysis. The sample was comprised of 1,710 participants who had been exposed to trauma that resulted in whiplash. Four alternative models were specified and estimated using LISREL 8.72. A correlated 8-factor solution was the best explanation of the sample data. The estimates of reliability of eight subscales of the WAS ranged from .48 to .82. Scores from five subscales correlated significantly with trauma severity as measured by the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire, although the magnitude of the correlations was low to modest, ranging from .08 to -.43. It is suggested that the WAS has adequate psychometric properties for use in both clinical and research settings.

Use of 1–4 interaction scaling factors to control the conformational equilibrium between α-helix and β-strand

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pang, Yuan-Ping, E-mail: pang@mayo.edu

2015-02-06

Highlights: • 1–4 interaction scaling factors are used to adjust conformational energy. • This article reports the effects of these factors on protein conformations. • Reducing these factors changes a helix to a strand in molecular dynamics simulation. • Increasing these factors causes the reverse conformational change. • These factors control the conformational equilibrium between helix and strand. - Abstract: 1–4 interaction scaling factors are used in AMBER forcefields to reduce the exaggeration of short-range repulsion caused by the 6–12 Lennard-Jones potential and a nonpolarizable charge model and to obtain better agreements of small-molecule conformational energies with experimental data. However, the effects of these scaling factors on protein secondary structure conformations have not been investigated until now. This article reports the finding that the 1–4 interactions among the protein backbone atoms separated by three consecutive covalent bonds are more repulsive in the α-helix conformation than in two β-strand conformations. Therefore, the 1–4 interaction scaling factors of protein backbone torsions ϕ and ψ control the conformational equilibrium between α-helix and β-strand. Molecular dynamics simulations confirm that reducing the ϕ and ψ scaling factors readily converts the α-helix conformation of AcO-(AAQAA){sub 3}-NH{sub 2} to a β-strand conformation, and the reverse occurs when these scaling factors are increased. These results suggest that the ϕ and ψ scaling factors can be used to generate the α-helix or β-strand conformation in situ and to control the propensities of a forcefield for adopting secondary structure elements.

Soot temperature and KL factor for biodiesel and diesel spray combustion in a constant volume combustion chamber

KAUST Repository

Zhang, Ji; Jing, Wei; Roberts, William L.; Fang, Tiegang

2013-01-01

This paper presents measurements of the soot temperature and KL factor for biodiesel and diesel combustion in a constant volume chamber using a two-color technique. This technique uses a high-speed camera coupled with two narrowband filters (550. nm

Confirming the Three-Factor Structure of the Disgust Scale-Revised in Eight Countries

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Olatunji, Bunmi O.; Moretz, Melanie W.; Mckay, Dean; Bjorklund, Fredrik; de Jong, Peter J.; Haidt, Jonathan; Hursti, Timo J.; Imada, Sumio; Koller, Silvia; Mancini, Francesco; Page, Andrew C.; Schienle, Anne

The current study evaluates the factor structure of the Disgust Scale-Revised (DS-R) in eight countries: Australia, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United States (N = 2,606). Confirmatory factor analysis is used to compare two different models of the DS-R and to

Verification test of an engineering-scale multi-purpose radwaste incinerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Peiyi; Zhou Lianquan; Ma Mingxie; Qiu Mingcai; Yang Liguo; Li Xiaohai; Zhang Xiaobin; Lu Xiaowu; Dong Jingling; Wang Xujin; Li Chuanlian; Yang Baomin

2002-01-01

The verification test of an engineering-scale multi-purpose radwaste incinerator was implemented. The test items include performance determination for the system when solid wastes (include resins) or spent oil were incinerating and off gas was cleaning, tracer test for determining decontamination factor and 72 h continuos running test. 500 h tests verify the reliability and feasibility of designs of technological process, main structure, instrument control and system safety. The incineration system ran smoothly, devices and instruments worked stably. The specifications such as capacity, volume reduction factor, carbon remainder in ash and decontamination factor all meet the design requirements

Determination of vibration amplitudes and neutron-mechanical scale factors in the PWR nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kostic, Lj.; Heidemann, P.; Runkel, J.

1997-01-01

Displacements of vibrating reactor components which can not be measured by other means during normal reactor operation can be determined through the scale factors from the neutron spectra of signals measured by the standard in-core neutron instrumentation. Neutron-mechanical scale factors are determined for the vibrations of fuel assemblies and reactor pressure vessel/core barrel system using the signals of in-core neutron detectors and accelerometers. (author)

Dynamic Arrest in Charged Colloidal Systems Exhibiting Large-Scale Structural Heterogeneities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haro-Perez, C.; Callejas-Fernandez, J.; Hidalgo-Alvarez, R.; Rojas-Ochoa, L. F.; Castaneda-Priego, R.; Quesada-Perez, M.; Trappe, V.

2009-01-01

Suspensions of charged liposomes are found to exhibit typical features of strongly repulsive fluid systems at short length scales, while exhibiting structural heterogeneities at larger length scales that are characteristic of attractive systems. We model the static structure factor of these systems using effective pair interaction potentials composed of a long-range attraction and a shorter range repulsion. Our modeling of the static structure yields conditions for dynamically arrested states at larger volume fractions, which we find to agree with the experimentally observed dynamics

Seizure Self-Efficacy Scale for Children with Epilepsy: Confirmatory and Exploratory Factor Analysis

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Şerife Tutar Güven

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Aim: In the past few years, the concept of self-efficacy in children with epilepsy has become increasingly important. This study aimed to analyze the psychometric aspects of the Turkish version of the Seizure Self-Efficacy Scale for Children. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional survey. The study data were collected using the Seizure Self-Efficacy Scale for Children and Child Introduction Form. The study sample included 166 children who were between 9 and 17 years of age. The authors assessed the reliability and construct validity of the study data using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA. Results: The original model was not confirmed by the CFA. The analysis tool included 15 items in two factors. Reliability analysis showed that the two factors were acceptable and valid. The tool was valid and reliable for measuring the self-efficacy of epileptic children. The factor structure was derived from and confirmed by the original tool. It was found that the Turkish version of the modified Seizure Self-Efficacy Scale for Children had excellent satisfactory psychometric aspects for a Turkish population. Conclusion: Health professionals can present a more effective drug process and nursing care by identifying and assessing seizure self-efficacy levels in children with epilepsy, and they can make a positive contribution to disease management and the way the child deals with the disease.

Modified projective synchronization with complex scaling factors of uncertain real chaos and complex chaos

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Fang-Fang; Liu Shu-Tang; Yu Wei-Yong

2013-01-01

To increase the variety and security of communication, we present the definitions of modified projective synchronization with complex scaling factors (CMPS) of real chaotic systems and complex chaotic systems, where complex scaling factors establish a link between real chaos and complex chaos. Considering all situations of unknown parameters and pseudo-gradient condition, we design adaptive CMPS schemes based on the speed-gradient method for the real drive chaotic system and complex response chaotic system and for the complex drive chaotic system and the real response chaotic system, respectively. The convergence factors and dynamical control strength are added to regulate the convergence speed and increase robustness. Numerical simulations verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the presented schemes. (general)

Analysis on the restriction factors of the green building scale promotion based on DEMATEL

Science.gov (United States)

Wenxia, Hong; Zhenyao, Jiang; Zhao, Yang

2017-03-01

In order to promote the large-scale development of the green building in our country, DEMATEL method was used to classify influence factors of green building development into three parts, including green building market, green technology and macro economy. Through the DEMATEL model, the interaction mechanism of each part was analyzed. The mutual influence degree of each barrier factor that affects the green building promotion was quantitatively analysed and key factors for the development of green building in China were also finally determined. In addition, some implementation strategies of promoting green building scale development in our country were put forward. This research will show important reference value and practical value for making policies of the green building promotion.

Enabling and challenging factors in institutional reform: The case of SCALE-UP

Science.gov (United States)

Foote, Kathleen; Knaub, Alexis; Henderson, Charles; Dancy, Melissa; Beichner, Robert J.

2016-06-01

While many innovative teaching strategies exist, integration into undergraduate science teaching has been frustratingly slow. This study aims to understand the low uptake of research-based instructional innovations by studying 21 successful implementations of the Student Centered Active Learning with Upside-down Pedagogies (SCALE-UP) instructional reform. SCALE-UP significantly restructures the classroom environment and pedagogy to promote highly active and interactive instruction. Although originally designed for university introductory physics courses, SCALE-UP has spread to many other disciplines at hundreds of departments around the world. This study reports findings from in-depth, open-ended interviews with 21 key contact people involved with successful secondary implementations of SCALE-UP throughout the United States. We defined successful implementations as those who restructured their pedagogy and classroom and sustained and/or spread the change. Interviews were coded to identify the most common enabling and challenging factors during reform implementation and compared to the theoretical framework of Kotter's 8-step Change Model. The most common enabling influences that emerged are documenting and leveraging evidence of local success, administrative support, interaction with outside SCALE-UP user(s), and funding. Many challenges are linked to the lack of these enabling factors including difficulty finding funding, space, and administrative and/or faculty support for reform. Our focus on successful secondary implementations meant that most interviewees were able to overcome challenges. Presentation of results is illuminated with case studies, quotes, and examples that can help secondary implementers with SCALE-UP reform efforts specifically. We also discuss the implications for policy makers, researchers, and the higher education community concerned with initiating structural change.

Factor Structure and Measurement Invariance of the Need-Supportive Teaching Style Scale for Physical Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jing-Dong; Chung, Pak-Kwong

2017-08-01

The purpose of the current study was to examine the factor structure and measurement invariance of a scale measuring students' perceptions of need-supportive teaching (Need-Supportive Teaching Style Scale in Physical Education; NSTSSPE). We sampled 615 secondary school students in Hong Kong, 200 of whom also completed a follow-up assessment two months later. Factor structure of the scale was examined through exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM). Further, nomological validity of the NSTSSPE was evaluated by examining the relationships between need-supportive teaching style and student satisfaction of psychological needs. Finally, four measurement models-configural, metric invariance, scalar invariance, and item uniqueness invariance-were assessed using multiple group ESEM to test the measurement invariance of the scale across gender, grade, and time. ESEM results suggested a three-factor structure of the NSTSSPE. Nomological validity was supported, and weak, strong, and strict measurement invariance of the NSTSSPE was evidenced across gender, grade, and time. The current study provides initial psychometric support for the NSTSSPE to assess student perceptions of teachers' need-supportive teaching style in physical education classes.

Scale-Free Relationships between Social and Landscape Factors in Urban Systems

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Chunzhu Wei

2017-01-01

anthropogenic and natural factors. Moreover, this scale-free behavior of landscape–social relationships challenges the traditional modifiable area unit problem, and provides mechanistic insight into the conflicts and compatibilities between human activities and human-induced land use change.

Factor structure, reliability, and validity of the Levenson's Locus of Control Scale in Iranian infertile people.

Science.gov (United States)

Maroufizadeh, Saman; Omani Samani, Reza; Amini, Payam; Navid, Behnaz

2016-09-01

This study examined psychometric properties of the Levenson's Locus of Control Scale among Iranian infertile patients. In all, 312 infertile patients completed the Levenson's Locus of Control Scale and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. The confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the original three-factor model of Levenson's Locus of Control Scale was adequate ( χ 2 / df = 2.139; goodness-of-fit index = 0.88; root mean square error of approximation = 0.061; and standardized root mean square residual = 0.076). The Cronbach's alpha of the subscales ranged from 0.56 to 0.67. The Levenson's Locus of Control Scale subscales significantly correlated with anxiety and depression, showing an acceptable convergent validity. In conclusion, the Levenson's Locus of Control Scale has adequate reliability and validity and can be used to measure locus of control orientation in Iranian infertile patients.

The factor structure of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale in individuals with traumatic brain injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Schönberger, Michael; Ponsford, Jennie

2010-10-30

There is a lack of validated scales for screening for anxiety and depression in individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). The purpose of this study was to examine the factor structure of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) in individuals with TBI. A total of 294 individuals with TBI (72.1% male; mean age 37.1 years, S.D. 17.5, median post-traumatic amnesia (PTA) duration 17 days) completed the HADS 1 year post-injury. A series of confirmatory factor analyses was conducted to examine the fit of a one-, two- and three-factor solution, with and without controlling for item wording effects (Multi-Trait Multi-Method approach). The one-, two- or three-factor model fit the data only when controlling for negative item wording. The results are in support of the validity of the original anxiety and depression subscales of the HADS and demonstrate the importance of evaluating item wording effects when examining the factor structure of a questionnaire. The results would also justify the use of the HADS as a single scale of emotional distress. However, even though the three-factor solution fit the data, alternative scales should be used if the purpose of the assessment is to measure stress symptoms separately from anxiety and depression. Copyright © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Scaling and parametric studies of condensation oscillation in an in-containment refueling water storage tank

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Jun Hyung; No, Hee Cheon

2001-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to study the condensation oscillation phenomena by steam-jetting into subcooled water through a sparger, implementing a scaling methodology and the similarity correlation between the test facility and model prototype. In additon, the results of this study can provide suitable guidelines for sparger design utilized in the IRWST for the Advanced Passive Reactor 1400 (APR 1400). To corroborate the scaling methodology, various experimental tests were conducted. The scaling-related parameters experimentally considered were water temperatures, mass flux, discharge system volumes, tank sizes, source pressure, steam-jetting directions, and numbers of sparger discharge holes. To preserve the scaling similarity, the thickness of the minimum water volume created by the boundary layer that encloses the steam cavity was found to be equal to the maximum length of the steam cavity formed. Four key scaling parameters were identified and empirically correlated with the maximum amplitude of pressure oscillation. They are as follows: Volume of the steam cavity, flow restriction coefficient, discharge hole area, and density ratio of steam to water. Variations of the oscillation amplitude were small when steam-jetting directions were altered. The concept of a reduction factor was introduced for estimating the oscillation amplitude of the multi-hole sparger with test data from a single-hole sparger

Micro-scale Spatial Clustering of Cholera Risk Factors in Urban Bangladesh.

Science.gov (United States)

Bi, Qifang; Azman, Andrew S; Satter, Syed Moinuddin; Khan, Azharul Islam; Ahmed, Dilruba; Riaj, Altaf Ahmed; Gurley, Emily S; Lessler, Justin

2016-02-01

Close interpersonal contact likely drives spatial clustering of cases of cholera and diarrhea, but spatial clustering of risk factors may also drive this pattern. Few studies have focused specifically on how exposures for disease cluster at small spatial scales. Improving our understanding of the micro-scale clustering of risk factors for cholera may help to target interventions and power studies with cluster designs. We selected sets of spatially matched households (matched-sets) near cholera case households between April and October 2013 in a cholera endemic urban neighborhood of Tongi Township in Bangladesh. We collected data on exposures to suspected cholera risk factors at the household and individual level. We used intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) to characterize clustering of exposures within matched-sets and households, and assessed if clustering depended on the geographical extent of the matched-sets. Clustering over larger spatial scales was explored by assessing the relationship between matched-sets. We also explored whether different exposures tended to appear together in individuals, households, and matched-sets. Household level exposures, including: drinking municipal supplied water (ICC = 0.97, 95%CI = 0.96, 0.98), type of latrine (ICC = 0.88, 95%CI = 0.71, 1.00), and intermittent access to drinking water (ICC = 0.96, 95%CI = 0.87, 1.00) exhibited strong clustering within matched-sets. As the geographic extent of matched-sets increased, the concordance of exposures within matched-sets decreased. Concordance between matched-sets of exposures related to water supply was elevated at distances of up to approximately 400 meters. Household level hygiene practices were correlated with infrastructure shown to increase cholera risk. Co-occurrence of different individual level exposures appeared to mostly reflect the differing domestic roles of study participants. Strong spatial clustering of exposures at a small spatial scale in a cholera endemic

Micro-scale Spatial Clustering of Cholera Risk Factors in Urban Bangladesh.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qifang Bi

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Close interpersonal contact likely drives spatial clustering of cases of cholera and diarrhea, but spatial clustering of risk factors may also drive this pattern. Few studies have focused specifically on how exposures for disease cluster at small spatial scales. Improving our understanding of the micro-scale clustering of risk factors for cholera may help to target interventions and power studies with cluster designs. We selected sets of spatially matched households (matched-sets near cholera case households between April and October 2013 in a cholera endemic urban neighborhood of Tongi Township in Bangladesh. We collected data on exposures to suspected cholera risk factors at the household and individual level. We used intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs to characterize clustering of exposures within matched-sets and households, and assessed if clustering depended on the geographical extent of the matched-sets. Clustering over larger spatial scales was explored by assessing the relationship between matched-sets. We also explored whether different exposures tended to appear together in individuals, households, and matched-sets. Household level exposures, including: drinking municipal supplied water (ICC = 0.97, 95%CI = 0.96, 0.98, type of latrine (ICC = 0.88, 95%CI = 0.71, 1.00, and intermittent access to drinking water (ICC = 0.96, 95%CI = 0.87, 1.00 exhibited strong clustering within matched-sets. As the geographic extent of matched-sets increased, the concordance of exposures within matched-sets decreased. Concordance between matched-sets of exposures related to water supply was elevated at distances of up to approximately 400 meters. Household level hygiene practices were correlated with infrastructure shown to increase cholera risk. Co-occurrence of different individual level exposures appeared to mostly reflect the differing domestic roles of study participants. Strong spatial clustering of exposures at a small spatial scale in a

Factors of honeybee colony performances on sunflower at apiary scale

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Kretzschmar André

2017-11-01

Full Text Available An observatory of honeybee colonies (Apis mellifera, consisting of at least 200 colonies, divided into 10 apiaries of 20 colonies, was monitored for three years on sunflower honeyflow (2015–2017. The purpose of this observatory is to understand which factors control colony performance during sunflower honeyflow in south-western France. From the temporal dynamics of weight gain, statistical analysis reveals a hierarchy of factors. First, variability in apiary scale performance is an image of the effect of resource variability. But, in addition to this primordial factor, two other factors contribute very significantly to performance. On the one hand, the amount of capped brood and the number of bees at the time of the installation of the apiary: these two elements testify to the vitality of the colony. The second remarkable factor is the Varroa load, which strongly penalizes performance beyond a certain threshold. The negative effect of the Varroa load on the colony performance is minimized in case of abondant sunflower honey flow.

Memory function and hippocampal volumes in preterm born very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) young adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Aanes, Synne; Bjuland, Knut Jørgen; Skranes, Jon; Løhaugen, Gro C C

2015-01-15

The hippocampi are regarded as core structures for learning and memory functions, which is important for daily functioning and educational achievements. Previous studies have linked reduction in hippocampal volume to working memory problems in very low birth weight (VLBW; ≤ 1500 g) children and reduced general cognitive ability in VLBW adolescents. However, the relationship between memory function and hippocampal volume has not been described in VLBW subjects reaching adulthood. The aim of the study was to investigate memory function and hippocampal volume in VLBW young adults, both in relation to perinatal risk factors and compared to term born controls, and to look for structure-function relationships. Using Wechsler Memory Scale-III and MRI, we included 42 non-disabled VLBW and 61 control individuals at age 19-20 years, and related our findings to perinatal risk factors in the VLBW-group. The VLBW young adults achieved lower scores on several subtests of the Wechsler Memory Scale-III, resulting in lower results in the immediate memory indices (visual and auditory), the working memory index, and in the visual delayed and general memory delayed indices, but not in the auditory delayed and auditory recognition delayed indices. The VLBW group had smaller absolute and relative hippocampal volumes than the controls. In the VLBW group inferior memory function, especially for the working memory index, was related to smaller hippocampal volume, and both correlated with lower birth weight and more days in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Our results may indicate a structural-functional relationship in the VLBW group due to aberrant hippocampal development and functioning after preterm birth. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Outcomes of visual acuity in carbon ion radiotherapy: Analysis of dose-volume histograms and prognostic factors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hasegawa, Azusa; Mizoe, Jun-etsu; Mizota, Atsushi; Tsujii, Hirohiko

2006-01-01

Purpose: To analyze the tolerance dose for retention of visual acuity in patients with head-and-neck tumors treated with carbon ion radiotherapy. Methods and Materials: From June 1994 to March 2000, 163 patients with tumors in the head and neck or skull base region were treated with carbon ion radiotherapy. Analysis was performed on 54 optic nerves (ONs) corresponding to 30 patients whose ONs had been included in the irradiated volume. These patients showed no evidence of visual impairment due to other factors and had a follow-up period of >4 years. All patients had been informed of the possibility of visual impairment before treatment. We evaluated the dose-complication probability and the prognostic factors for the retention of visual acuity in carbon ion radiotherapy, using dose-volume histograms and multivariate analysis. Results: The median age of 30 patients (14 men, 16 women) was 57.2 years. Median prescribed total dose was 56.0 gray equivalents (GyE) at 3.0-4.0 GyE per fraction per day (range, 48-64 GyE; 16-18 fractions; 4-6 weeks). Of 54 ONs that were analyzed, 35 had been irradiated with max ]) resulting in no visual loss. Conversely, 11 of the 19 ONs (58%) irradiated with >57 GyE (D max ) suffered a decrease of visual acuity. In all of these cases, the ONs had been involved in the tumor before carbon ion radiotherapy. In the multivariate analysis, a dose of 20% of the volume of the ON (D 2 ) was significantly associated with visual loss. Conclusions: The occurrence of visual loss seems to be correlated with a delivery of >60 GyE to 20% of the volume of the ON

Development and analysis of the factor structure of parents' internalized stigma of neurodevelopmental disorder in child scale

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Ananya Mahapatra

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Parents of children suffering from neurodevelopmental disorders, frequently face public stigma which is often internalized and leads to psychological burden. However, there is a lack of data on the perceptions of internalized stigma among parents of children with neurodevelopmental disorders, especially from lower-middle-income countries like India. Aims: This study aims to develop an adapted version of the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness (ISMI scale for use in parents of children suffering from neurodevelopmental disorders and to explore the factor structure of this instrument through exploratory factor analysis (EFA. Settings and Design: A cross-sectional study was conducted in an outpatient setting in a tertiary care hospital in India. Materials and Methods: A total of 105 parents of children suffering from neurodevelopmental disorders (according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition were recruited for the study after screening for psychiatric disorder using Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview version 6.0. A modified 16-item scale was constructed Parents' Internalized Stigma of Neurodevelopmental Disorder in Child (PISNC scale and applied on 105 parents of children suffering from neurodevelopmental disorders, after translation to Hindi and back-translation, in keeping with the World Health Organization's translation-back-translation methodology. Statistical Analysis: EFA was carried out using principal component analysis with orthogonal (varimax rotation. Internal consistency of the Hindi version of the scale was estimated in the form of Cronbach's alpha. Spearman–Brown coefficient and Guttman split-half coefficient were calculated to evaluate the split-half reliability. Results: The initial factor analysis yielded three-factor models with an eigenvalue of >1 and the total variance explained by these factors was 62.017%. The internal consistency of the 16-item scale was 0

Rheology and scaling behavior of swelling clay dispersions | Chaoui ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The microstructure and scaling of rheological properties of colloidal gels of bentonite investigated as a function of volume fraction and strength of interparticle interaction over a range of volume fractions, elastic modulus is well described with a scaling law functions of volume fractions, while the role of interparticle attractions ...

Factor Structure and Validity of the Body Parts Satisfaction Scale: Results from the 1972 Psychology Today Survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Frederick

2014-07-01

Full Text Available In 1972, the first major national study on body image was conducted under the auspices of Psychology Today. Body image was assessed with the Body Parts Satisfaction Scale, which examined the dissatisfaction people experienced with 24 aspects of their bodies. Despite the continued reliance on this scale and reference to the study, data on the factor structure of this measure in a sample of adults have never been published, and citations of the original scale have relied on an unpublished manuscript (Bohrnstedt, 1977. An exploratory factor analysis conducted on 2,013 adults revealed factors for men (Face, Sex Organ, Height, Lower Body, Mid Torso, Upper Torso, Height and women (Face, Sex Organ, Height, Lower Torso, Mid Torso, Extremities, Breast. The factors were weakly to moderately intercorrelated, suggesting the scale can be analyzed by items, by subscales, or by total score. People who reported more dissatisfaction with their body also tended to report lower self-esteem and less comfort interacting with members of the other sex. The analyses provide a useful comparison point for researchers looking to examine gender differences in dissatisfaction with specific aspects of the body, as well as the factor structures linking these items.

Volume and Surface-Enhanced Volume Negative Ion Sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stockli, M P

2013-01-01

H - volume sources and, especially, caesiated H - volume sources are important ion sources for generating high-intensity proton beams, which then in turn generate large quantities of other particles. This chapter discusses the physics and technology of the volume production and the caesium-enhanced (surface) production of H - ions. Starting with Bacal's discovery of the H - volume production, the chapter briefly recounts the development of some H - sources, which capitalized on this process to significantly increase the production of H - beams. Another significant increase was achieved in the 1990s by adding caesiated surfaces to supplement the volume-produced ions with surface-produced ions, as illustrated with other H - sources. Finally, the focus turns to some of the experience gained when such a source was successfully ramped up in H - output and in duty factor to support the generation of 1 MW proton beams for the Spallation Neutron Source. (author)

Identification of flow paths and quantification of return flow volumes and timing at field scale

Science.gov (United States)

Claes, N.; Paige, G. B.; Parsekian, A.

2017-12-01

Flood irrigation, which constitutes a large part of agricultural water use, accounts for a significant amount of the water that is diverted from western streams. Return flow, the portion of the water applied to irrigated areas that returns to the stream, is important for maintaining base flows in streams and ecological function of riparian zones and wetlands hydrologically linked with streams. Prediction of timing and volumes of return flow during and after flood irrigation pose a challenge due to the heterogeneity of pedogenic and soil physical factors that influence vadose zone processes. In this study, we quantify volumes of return flow and potential pathways in the subsurface through a vadose zone flow model that is informed by both hydrological and geophysical observations in a Bayesian setting. We couple a two-dimensional vadose zone flow model through a Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo approach with time lapse ERT, borehole NMR datasets that are collected during and after flood irrigation experiments, and soil physical lab analysis. The combination of both synthetic models and field observations leads to flow path identification and allows for quantification of volumes and timing and associated uncertainties of subsurface return that stems from flood irrigation. The quantification of the impact of soil heterogeneity enables us to translate these results to other sites and predict return flow under different soil physical settings. This is key when managing irrigation water resources and predictions of outcomes of different scenarios have to be evaluated.

The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale: a bifactor answer to a two-factor question?

Science.gov (United States)

McKay, Michael T; Boduszek, Daniel; Harvey, Séamus A

2014-01-01

Despite its long-standing and widespread use, disagreement remains regarding the structure of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). In particular, concern remains regarding the degree to which the scale assesses self-esteem as a unidimensional or multidimensional (positive and negative self-esteem) construct. Using a sample of 3,862 high school students in the United Kingdom, 4 models were tested: (a) a unidimensional model, (b) a correlated 2-factor model in which the 2 latent variables are represented by positive and negative self-esteem, (c) a hierarchical model, and (d) a bifactor model. The totality of results including item loadings, goodness-of-fit indexes, reliability estimates, and correlations with self-efficacy measures all supported the bifactor model, suggesting that the 2 hypothesized factors are better understood as "grouping" factors rather than as representative of latent constructs. Accordingly, this study supports the unidimensionality of the RSES and the scoring of all 10 items to produce a global self-esteem score.

MPCV Exercise Operational Volume Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Godfrey, A.; Humphreys, B.; Funk, J.; Perusek, G.; Lewandowski, B. E.

2017-01-01

In order to minimize the loss of bone and muscle mass during spaceflight, the Multi-purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) will include an exercise device and enough free space within the cabin for astronauts to use the device effectively. The NASA Digital Astronaut Project (DAP) has been tasked with using computational modeling to aid in determining whether or not the available operational volume is sufficient for in-flight exercise.Motion capture data was acquired using a 12-camera Smart DX system (BTS Bioengineering, Brooklyn, NY), while exercisers performed 9 resistive exercises without volume restrictions in a 1g environment. Data were collected from two male subjects, one being in the 99th percentile of height and the other in the 50th percentile of height, using between 25 and 60 motion capture markers. Motion capture data was also recorded as a third subject, also near the 50th percentile in height, performed aerobic rowing during a parabolic flight. A motion capture system and algorithms developed previously and presented at last years HRP-IWS were utilized to collect and process the data from the parabolic flight [1]. These motions were applied to a scaled version of a biomechanical model within the biomechanical modeling software OpenSim [2], and the volume sweeps of the motions were visually assessed against an imported CAD model of the operational volume. Further numerical analysis was performed using Matlab (Mathworks, Natick, MA) and the OpenSim API. This analysis determined the location of every marker in space over the duration of the exercise motion, and the distance of each marker to the nearest surface of the volume. Containment of the exercise motions within the operational volume was determined on a per-exercise and per-subject basis. The orientation of the exerciser and the angle of the footplate were two important factors upon which containment was dependent. Regions where the exercise motion exceeds the bounds of the operational volume have been

Critical factors for assembling a high volume of DNA barcodes

Science.gov (United States)

Hajibabaei, Mehrdad; deWaard, Jeremy R; Ivanova, Natalia V; Ratnasingham, Sujeevan; Dooh, Robert T; Kirk, Stephanie L; Mackie, Paula M; Hebert, Paul D.N

2005-01-01

Large-scale DNA barcoding projects are now moving toward activation while the creation of a comprehensive barcode library for eukaryotes will ultimately require the acquisition of some 100 million barcodes. To satisfy this need, analytical facilities must adopt protocols that can support the rapid, cost-effective assembly of barcodes. In this paper we discuss the prospects for establishing high volume DNA barcoding facilities by evaluating key steps in the analytical chain from specimens to barcodes. Alliances with members of the taxonomic community represent the most effective strategy for provisioning the analytical chain with specimens. The optimal protocols for DNA extraction and subsequent PCR amplification of the barcode region depend strongly on their condition, but production targets of 100K barcode records per year are now feasible for facilities working with compliant specimens. The analysis of museum collections is currently challenging, but PCR cocktails that combine polymerases with repair enzyme(s) promise future success. Barcode analysis is already a cost-effective option for species identification in some situations and this will increasingly be the case as reference libraries are assembled and analytical protocols are simplified. PMID:16214753

Deriving Scaling Factors Using a Global Hydrological Model to Restore GRACE Total Water Storage Changes for China's Yangtze River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Long, Di; Yang, Yuting; Yoshihide, Wada; Hong, Yang; Liang, Wei; Chen, Yaning; Yong, Bin; Hou, Aizhong; Wei, Jiangfeng; Chen, Lu

2015-01-01

This study used a global hydrological model (GHM), PCR-GLOBWB, which simulates surface water storage changes, natural and human induced groundwater storage changes, and the interactions between surface water and subsurface water, to generate scaling factors by mimicking low-pass filtering of GRACE signals. Signal losses in GRACE data were subsequently restored by the scaling factors from PCR-GLOBWB. Results indicate greater spatial heterogeneity in scaling factor from PCR-GLOBWB and CLM4.0 than that from GLDAS-1 Noah due to comprehensive simulation of surface and subsurface water storage changes for PCR-GLOBWB and CLM4.0. Filtered GRACE total water storage (TWS) changes applied with PCR-GLOBWB scaling factors show closer agreement with water budget estimates of TWS changes than those with scaling factors from other land surface models (LSMs) in China's Yangtze River basin. Results of this study develop a further understanding of the behavior of scaling factors from different LSMs or GHMs over hydrologically complex basins, and could be valuable in providing more accurate TWS changes for hydrological applications (e.g., monitoring drought and groundwater storage depletion) over regions where human-induced interactions between surface water and subsurface water are intensive.

Long-term, low-level radwaste volume-reduction strategies. Volume 4. Waste disposal costs. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sutherland, A.A.; Adam, J.A.; Rogers, V.C.; Merrell, G.B.

1984-11-01

Volume 4 establishes pricing levels at new shallow land burial grounds. The following conclusions can be drawn from the analyses described in the preceding chapters: Application of volume reduction techniques by utilities can have a significant impact on the volumes of wastes going to low-level radioactive waste disposal sites. Using the relative waste stream volumes in NRC81 and the maximum volume reduction ratios provided by Burns and Roe, Inc., it was calculated that if all utilities use maximum volume reduction the rate of waste receipt at disposal sites will be reduced by 40 percent. When a disposal site receives a lower volume of waste its total cost of operation does not decrease by the same proportion. Therefore the average cost for a unit volume of waste received goes up. Whether the disposal site operator knows in advance that he will receive a smaller amount of waste has little influence on the average unit cost ($/ft) of the waste disposed. For the pricing algorithm postulated, the average disposal cost to utilities that volume reduce is relatively independent of whether all utilities practice volume reduction or only a few volume reduce. The general effect of volume reduction by utilities is to reduce their average disposal site costs by a factor of between 1.5 to 2.5. This factor is generally independent of the size of the disposal site. The largest absolute savings in disposal site costs when utilities volume reduce occurs when small disposal sites are involved. This results from the fact that unit costs are higher at small sites. Including in the pricing algorithm a factor that penalizes waste generators who contribute larger amounts of the mobile nuclides 3 H, 14 C, 99 Tc, and 129 I, which may be the subject of site inventory limits, lowers unit disposal costs for utility wastes that contain only small amounts of the nuclides and raises unit costs for other utility wastes

The molar hydrodynamic volume changes of factor VIIa due to GlycoPEGylation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Plesner, Bitten; Westh, Peter; Hvidt, Søren

2011-01-01

The effects of GlycoPEGylation on the molar hydrodynamic volume of recombinant human rFVIIa were investigated using rFVIIa and two GlycoPEGylated recombinant human FVIIa derivatives, a linear 10 kDa PEG and a branched 40 kDa PEG, respectively. Molar hydrodynamic volumes were determined by capillary......, that the molar hydrodynamic volume of the conjugated protein is not just an addition of the molar hydrodynamic volume of the PEG and the protein. The molar hydrodynamic volume of the GlycoPEGylated protein is larger than the volume of its composites. These results suggest that both the linear and the branched...

Genetic correlations between brain volumes and the WAIS-III dimensions of verbal comprehension, working memory, perceptual organization, and processing speed

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Posthuma, D.; Baare, W.F.C.; Hulshoff Pol, H.E.; Kahn, R.S.; Boomsma, D.I.; de Geus, E.J.C.

2003-01-01

We recently showed that the correlation of gray and white matter volume with full scale IQ and the Working Memory dimension are completely mediated by common genetic factors (Posthuma et al., 2002). Here we examine whether the other WAIS III dimensions (Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Organization,

Scaling of Haversian canal surface area to secondary osteon bone volume in ribs and limb bones.

Science.gov (United States)

Skedros, John G; Knight, Alex N; Clark, Gunnar C; Crowder, Christian M; Dominguez, Victoria M; Qiu, Shijing; Mulhern, Dawn M; Donahue, Seth W; Busse, Björn; Hulsey, Brannon I; Zedda, Marco; Sorenson, Scott M

2013-06-01

Studies of secondary osteons in ribs have provided a great deal of what is known about remodeling dynamics. Compared with limb bones, ribs are metabolically more active and sensitive to hormonal changes, and receive frequent low-strain loading. Optimization for calcium exchange in rib osteons might be achieved without incurring a significant reduction in safety factor by disproportionally increasing central canal size with increased osteon size (positive allometry). By contrast, greater mechanical loads on limb bones might favor reducing deleterious consequences of intracortical porosity by decreasing osteon canal size with increased osteon size (negative allometry). Evidence of this metabolic/mechanical dichotomy between ribs and limb bones was sought by examining relationships between Haversian canal surface area (BS, osteon Haversian canal perimeter, HC.Pm) and bone volume (BV, osteonal wall area, B.Ar) in a broad size range of mature (quiescent) osteons from adult human limb bones and ribs (modern and medieval) and various adult and subadult non-human limb bones and ribs. Reduced major axis (RMA) and least-squares (LS) regressions of HC.Pm/B.Ar data show that rib and limb osteons cannot be distinguished by dimensional allometry of these parameters. Although four of the five rib groups showed positive allometry in terms of the RMA slopes, nearly 50% of the adult limb bone groups also showed positive allometry when negative allometry was expected. Consequently, our results fail to provide clear evidence that BS/BV scaling reflects a rib versus limb bone dichotomy whereby calcium exchange might be preferentially enhanced in rib osteons. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Factor Structure of the Restricted Academic Situation Scale: Implications for ADHD

Science.gov (United States)

Karama, Sherif; Amor, Leila Ben; Grizenko, Natalie; Ciampi, Antonio; Mbekou, Valentin; Ter-Stepanian, Marina; Lageix, Philippe; Baron, Chantal; Schwartz, George; Joober, Ridha

2009-01-01

Background: To study the factor structure of the Restricted Academic Situation Scale (RASS), a psychometric tool used to assess behavior in children with ADHD, 117 boys and 21 girls meeting "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (4th ed.; "DSM-IV") criteria for ADHD and aged between 6 and 12 years were recruited. Assessments were…

Genetic correlations between brain volumes and the WAIS-III dimensions of verbal comprehension, working memory, perceptual organization, and processing speed.

Science.gov (United States)

Posthuma, Daniëlle; Baaré, Wim F C; Hulshoff Pol, Hilleke E; Kahn, René S; Boomsma, Dorret I; De Geus, Eco J C

2003-04-01

We recently showed that the correlation of gray and white matter volume with full scale IQ and the Working Memory dimension are completely mediated by common genetic factors (Posthuma et al., 2002). Here we examine whether the other WAIS III dimensions (Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Organization, Processing Speed) are also related to gray and white matter volume, and whether any of the dimensions are related to cerebellar volume. Two overlapping samples provided 135 subjects from 60 extended twin families for whom both MRI scans and WAIS III data were available. All three brain volumes are related to Working Memory capacity (r = 0.27). This phenotypic correlation is completely due to a common underlying genetic factor. Processing Speed was genetically related to white matter volume (r(g) = 0.39). Perceptual Organization was both genetically (r(g) = 0.39) and environmentally (r(e) = -0.71) related to cerebellar volume. Verbal Comprehension was not related to any of the three brain volumes. It is concluded that brain volumes are genetically related to intelligence which suggests that genes that influence brain volume may also be important for intelligence. It is also noted however, that the direction of causation (i.e., do genes influence brain volume which in turn influences intelligence, or alternatively, do genes influence intelligence which in turn influences brain volume), or the presence or absence of pleiotropy has not been resolved yet.

Human Resources Management Policies and Practices Scale (HRMPPS: Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gisela Demo

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Given the strategic relevance of Human Resources Management (HRM in organizations and the lack of scientific instruments to measure employees’ perceptions about policies and practices of HRM, this study aimed to validate the Human Resources Management Policies and Practices Scale (HRMPPS through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis using the maximum likelihood method. The study has a quantitative design, but also included qualitative analysis required for the development of a scale. Employees from various organizations composed a sample of 632 people. Scale reliability was assessed by Cronbach’s alpha and Jöreskog’s rho. A sixfactor model was generated showing high-reliability and good fit. Construct validity was provided through convergent and discriminant analyses. The factors were consistent with the literature review and explained about 58% of the construct’s total variance. This study contributes to the scientific production in the area of Human Resources Management since HRMPPS can be used not only in relational studies but also as an evaluation instrument by managers who wish to improve their employees’ well-being as well as organizational outcomes.

Regional frontal gray matter volume associated with executive function capacity as a risk factor for vehicle crashes in normal aging adults.

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Hiroyuki Sakai

Full Text Available Although low executive functioning is a risk factor for vehicle crashes among elderly drivers, the neural basis of individual differences in this cognitive ability remains largely unknown. Here we aimed to examine regional frontal gray matter volume associated with executive functioning in normal aging individuals, using voxel-based morphometry (VBM. To this end, 39 community-dwelling elderly volunteers who drove a car on a daily basis participated in structural magnetic resonance imaging, and completed two questionnaires concerning executive functioning and risky driving tendencies in daily living. Consequently, we found that participants with low executive function capacity were prone to risky driving. Furthermore, VBM analysis revealed that lower executive function capacity was associated with smaller gray matter volume in the supplementary motor area (SMA. Thus, the current data suggest that SMA volume is a reliable predictor of individual differences in executive function capacity as a risk factor for vehicle crashes among elderly persons. The implication of our results is that regional frontal gray matter volume might underlie the variation in driving tendencies among elderly drivers. Therefore, detailed driving behavior assessments might be able to detect early neurodegenerative changes in the frontal lobe in normal aging adults.

Scaling factors for the activity determination of radioactive waste from nuclear power reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Medici, Marcela A.; Piumetti, Elsa H.

2007-01-01

Specific information of the total activity and activity concentration of the radionuclides contained is required for conditioning, transporting and final disposal of radioactive waste. Due to the complexity associated to alpha and beta measurements for these emitters it is worldwide used, particularly in the case of heterogeneous radioactive waste, the Scaling Factor Method. As in other cases, inputs of the results of the analysis of waste samples taking from waste streams are necessary. The Scaling Factor Method is based on the determination of averaged correlations between the activity concentrations of Difficult to Measure (DTM) nuclides (i.e. alpha and beta emitters) and the activity concentration of easy to measure nuclides (i.e. strong gamma emitters) called Key Nuclides (KN). In the application of this method two phases may be identified: in the first one the degree of correlation between averaged activities of DTM and a given KN is verified, and specific Scaling Factors are derived for every DTM radionuclide. In the second stage the total activity and the activity concentration of the selected KN is determined in each waste item and, by applying the SFs obtained previously, the activities of DTM nuclides are calculated. It is concluded that this method is appropriate and cost-effective and it is stressed that it is only applicable while the Nuclear Power Reactor is in operation. (author)

The self-transcendence scale: an investigation of the factor structure among nursing home patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Haugan, Gørill; Rannestad, Toril; Garåsen, Helge; Hammervold, Randi; Espnes, Geir Arild

2012-09-01

Self-transcendence, the ability to expand personal boundaries in multiple ways, has been found to provide well-being. The purpose of this study was to examine the dimensionality of the Norwegian version of the Self-Transcendence Scale, which comprises 15 items. Reed's empirical nursing theory of self-transcendence provided the theoretical framework; self-transcendence includes an interpersonal, intrapersonal, transpersonal, and temporal dimension. Cross-sectional data were obtained from a sample of 202 cognitively intact elderly patients in 44 Norwegian nursing homes. Exploratory factor analysis revealed two and four internally consistent dimensions of self-transcendence, explaining 35.3% (two factors) and 50.7% (four factors) of the variance, respectively. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the hypothesized two- and four-factor models fitted better than the one-factor model (cx (2), root mean square error of approximation, standardized root mean square residual, normed fit index, nonnormed fit index, comparative fit index, goodness-of-fit index, and adjusted goodness-of-fit index). The findings indicate self-transcendence as a multifactorial construct; at present, we conclude that the two-factor model might be the most accurate and reasonable measure of self-transcendence. This research generates insights in the application of the widely used Self-Transcendence Scale by investigating its psychometric properties by applying a confirmatory factor analysis. It also generates new research-questions on the associations between self-transcendence and well-being.

Investigation of the factor structure of the mental, physical and spiritual well-being scale

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diane L. Green

2006-12-01

Full Text Available The importance of mental, physical and spirituality in coping with violence is becoming increasingly recognized. As such, scales measuring these constructs are instrumental in assessment of clients from a holistic and strengths perspective, the foundation of social work. This article examines the factor structure of the Mental, Physical and Spiritual Well-being scale. The MPS is a 30 item, easy to administer, self report measure. The MPS was administered to 175 crime victims to assess whether or not the three factor structure fits the data from the sample. Exploratory statistical procedures were used to reduce data through principle component analysis identified three factors with eigenvalues greater than 1.0 and a cumulative variance of 57%. Recommendations are made for utilizing this brief self-report instrument in assessing victims of crime and training social workers and other practitioners.

Thermodynamic volume and the extended Smarr relation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hyun, Seungjoon; Jeong, Jaehoon; Park, Sang-A; Yi, Sang-Heon [Department of Physics, College of Science, Yonsei University,Seoul 120-749 (Korea, Republic of)

2017-04-10

We continue to explore the scaling transformation in the reduced action formalism of gravity models. As an extension of our construction, we consider the extended forms of the Smarr relation for various black holes, adopting the cosmological constant as the bulk pressure as in some literatures on black holes. Firstly, by using the quasi-local formalism for charges, we show that, in a general theory of gravity, the volume in the black hole thermodynamics could be defined as the thermodynamic conjugate variable to the bulk pressure in such a way that the first law can be extended consistently. This, so called, thermodynamic volume can be expressed explicitly in terms of the metric and field variables. Then, by using the scaling transformation allowed in the reduced action formulation, we obtain the extended Smarr relation involving the bulk pressure and the thermodynamic volume. In our approach, we do not resort to Euler’s homogeneous scaling of charges while incorporating the would-be hairy contribution without any difficulty.

Reliability of the factor structure of the Multidimensional Scale of Interpersonal Reactivity (EMRI

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Nilton S. Formiga

2013-10-01

Full Text Available This study aims to check the internal consistency and factor structure evaluative of the empathy scale in a high school and college sample in the state of Minas Gerais. The instruments that measure empathy can be easily found, however, of the existing, just multidimensional scale of interpersonal reactivity (Emri is the theoretical framework that has far more and better organized, and the scale that is most commonly used to assess this construct. Participated 488 subjects, male and female, with ages from 14-54 years old, distributed in primary and college levels in Patrocínio-MG composed this study sample. The subjects answered the Multidimensional Scale of Interpersonal Reactivity and socio-demographic data. From an equation analysis and structural modeling were observed psychometric indicators that assured the structural consistency of the scale, promoting in the security of the measure theoretical construct of empathy.

[Factor structure validity of the social capital scale used at baseline in the ELSA-Brasil study].

Science.gov (United States)

Souto, Ester Paiva; Vasconcelos, Ana Glória Godoi; Chor, Dora; Reichenheim, Michael E; Griep, Rosane Härter

2016-07-21

This study aims to analyze the factor structure of the Brazilian version of the Resource Generator (RG) scale, using baseline data from the Brazilian Longitudinal Health Study in Adults (ELSA-Brasil). Cross-validation was performed in three random subsamples. Exploratory factor analysis using exploratory structural equation models was conducted in the first two subsamples to diagnose the factor structure, and confirmatory factor analysis was used in the third to corroborate the model defined by the exploratory analyses. Based on the 31 initial items, the model with the best fit included 25 items distributed across three dimensions. They all presented satisfactory convergent validity (values greater than 0.50 for the extracted variance) and precision (values greater than 0.70 for compound reliability). All factor correlations were below 0.85, indicating full discriminative factor validity. The RG scale presents acceptable psychometric properties and can be used in populations with similar characteristics.

Computed Tomography Colonography Technique: The Role of Intracolonic Gas Volume

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Patrick D. McLaughlin

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. Poor distention decreases the sensitivity and specificity of CTC. The total volume of gas administered will vary according to many factors. We aim to determine the relationship between the volume of retained gas at the time of image acquisition and colonic distention and specifically the presence of collapsed bowel segments at CTC. Materials and Methods. All patients who underwent CTC over a 12-month period at a single institution were included in the study. Colonic luminal distention was objectively scored by 2 radiologists using an established 4-point scale. Quantitative analysis of the volume of retained gas at the time of image acquisition was conducted using the threshold 3D region growing function of OsiriX. Results. 108 patients were included for volumetric analysis. Mean retained gas volume was 3.3 L. 35% (38/108 of patients had at least one collapsed colonic segment. Significantly lower gas volumes were observed in the patients with collapsed colonic segments when compared with those with fully distended colons 2.6 L versus 3.5 L (P=0.031. Retained volumes were significantly higher for the 78% of patients with ileocecal reflux at 3.4 L versus 2.6 L without ileocecal reflux (P=0.014. Conclusion. Estimation of intraluminal gas volume at CTC is feasible using image segmentation and thresholding tools. An average of 3.5 L of retained gas was found in diagnostically adequate CTC studies with significantly lower mean gas volume observed in patients with collapsed colonic segments.

The factor structure of the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale for Children and Adolescents: development of a brief version.

Science.gov (United States)

Shachar, Iris; Aderka, Idan M; Gilboa-Schechtman, Eva

2014-06-01

The Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale for Children and Adolescents (LSAS-CA-SR) is a validated instrument for the assessment of social anxiety in youth. The three main objectives of the present study were to (a) examine the factor structure of the LSAS-CA-SR; (b) to validate the factors against relevant personality measures, and (c) to create a brief and reliable version of the questionnaire. A total of 1,362 adolescents completed self-report measures of social anxiety, temperament, character and personality traits. The factor structure was examined using a combination of confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis. The analysis was conducted on both the anxiety and avoidance sub-scales, and identical items for both sub-scales were maintained. Two factors emerged: social interaction and school performance. These factors demonstrated high internal consistency and a significant correlation with relevant self-report measures. A brief version comprised of 14 items was highly correlated (0.96) with the full version. The new factor structure represents advancement over the previous efforts, and holds promise for efficient utilization of the LSAS-CA.

Factor structure and internal reliability of an exercise health belief model scale in a Mexican population

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oscar Armando Esparza-Del Villar

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Mexico is one of the countries with the highest rates of overweight and obesity around the world, with 68.8% of men and 73% of women reporting both. This is a public health problem since there are several health related consequences of not exercising, like having cardiovascular diseases or some types of cancers. All of these problems can be prevented by promoting exercise, so it is important to evaluate models of health behaviors to achieve this goal. Among several models the Health Belief Model is one of the most studied models to promote health related behaviors. This study validates the first exercise scale based on the Health Belief Model (HBM in Mexicans with the objective of studying and analyzing this model in Mexico. Methods Items for the scale called the Exercise Health Belief Model Scale (EHBMS were developed by a health research team, then the items were applied to a sample of 746 participants, male and female, from five cities in Mexico. The factor structure of the items was analyzed with an exploratory factor analysis and the internal reliability with Cronbach’s alpha. Results The exploratory factor analysis reported the expected factor structure based in the HBM. The KMO index (0.92 and the Barlett’s sphericity test (p < 0.01 indicated an adequate and normally distributed sample. Items had adequate factor loadings, ranging from 0.31 to 0.92, and the internal consistencies of the factors were also acceptable, with alpha values ranging from 0.67 to 0.91. Conclusions The EHBMS is a validated scale that can be used to measure exercise based on the HBM in Mexican populations.

Coastal erosion risk assessment using natural and human factors in different scales.

Science.gov (United States)

Alexandrakis, George; Kampanis, Nikolaos

2015-04-01

Climate change, including sea-level rise and increasing storms, raise the threats of coastal erosion. Mitigating and adapting to coastal erosion risks in areas of human interest, like urban areas, culture heritage sites, and areas of economic interest, present a major challenge for society. In this context, decision making needs to be based in reliable risk assessment that includes environmental, social and economic factors. By integrating coastal hazard and risk assessments maps into coastal management plans, risks in areas of interest can be reduced. To address this, the vulnerability of the coast to sea level rise and associated erosion, in terms of expected land loss and socioeconomic importance need to be identified. A holistic risk assessment based in environmental, socioeconomic and economics approach can provide managers information how to mitigate the impact of coastal erosion and plan protection measures. Such an approach needs to consider social, economic and environmental factors, which interactions can be better assessed when distributed and analysed along the geographical space. In this work, estimations of climate change impact to coastline are based on a combination of environmental and economic data analysed in a GIS database. The risk assessment is implemented through the estimation of the vulnerability and exposure variables of the coast in two scales. The larger scale estimates the vulnerability in a regional level, with the use environmental factors with the use of CVI. The exposure variable is estimated by the use of socioeconomic factors. Subsequently, a smaller scale focuses on highly vulnerable beaches with high social and economic value. The vulnerability assessment of the natural processes to the environmental characteristics of the beach is estimated with the use of the Beach Vulnerability Index. As exposure variable, the value of beach width that is capitalized in revenues is implemented through a hedonic pricing model. In this

Neighborhood street scale elements, sedentary time and cardiometabolic risk factors in inactive ethnic minority women.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Rebecca E; Mama, Scherezade K; Adamus-Leach, Heather J

2012-01-01

Cardiometabolic risk factors such as obesity, excess percent body fat, high blood pressure, elevated resting heart rate and sedentary behavior have increased in recent decades due to changes in the environment and lifestyle. Neighborhood micro-environmental, street scale elements may contribute to health above and beyond individual characteristics of residents. To investigate the relationship between neighborhood street scale elements and cardiometabolic risk factors among inactive ethnic minority women. Women (N = 410) completed measures of BMI, percent body fat, blood pressure, resting heart rate, sedentary behavior and demographics. Trained field assessors completed the Pedestrian Environment Data Scan in participants' neighborhoods. Data were collected from 2006-2008. Multiple regression models were conducted in 2011 to estimate the effect of environmental factors on cardiometabolic risk factors. Adjusted regression models found an inverse association between sidewalk buffers and blood pressure, between traffic control devices and resting heart rate, and a positive association between presence of pedestrian crossing aids and BMI (psattractiveness and safety for walking and cycling were related to more time spent in a motor vehicle (psrelationships among micro-environmental, street scale elements that may confer important cardiometabolic benefits and risks for residents. Living in the most attractive and safe neighborhoods for physical activity may be associated with longer times spent sitting in the car.

The Factor Structure and Screening Utility of the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale

Science.gov (United States)

Rodebaugh, Thomas L.; Woods, Carol M.; Heimberg, Richard G.; Liebowitz, Michael R.; Schneier, Franklin R.

2006-01-01

The widely used Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS; R. P. Mattick & J. C. Clarke, 1998) possesses favorable psychometric properties, but questions remain concerning its factor structure and item properties. Analyses included 445 people with social anxiety disorder and 1,689 undergraduates. Simple unifactorial models fit poorly, and models that…

Factor Analytic Validation of the Ford, Wolvin, and Chung Listening Competence Scale

Science.gov (United States)

Mickelson, William T.; Welch, S. A.

2012-01-01

This research begins to independently and quantitatively validate the Ford, Wolvin, and Chung (2000) Listening Competency Scale. Reliability and Confirmatory Factor analyses were conducted on two independent samples. The reliability estimates were found to be below those reported by Ford, Wolvin, and Chung (2000) and below acceptable levels for…

General expressions for the volume of organs in the MIRD-phantom and their use to arrive at an Indian ''reference'' man

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shiv Datta

1982-01-01

The general expressions for the volume of body organs have been developed, when their equations are assumed to be of the same form as in the MIRD phantom. Scaling down is then carried out by introducing factors based on the average weight and height of a group of Indian adult males (workers in various units of Department of Atomic Energy, India). The general expressions for the volume of the body organs will be found handy to use when the actual data of the organs (ratios of the lengths of their axes and the volumes) become available. (author)

Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the French Version of the Anticipatory and Consummatory Interpersonal Pleasure Scale

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Joséphine Chaix

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The Anticipatory and Consummatory Interpersonal Pleasure Scale (ACIPS, a measure specifically designed to assess hedonic capacity for social and interpersonal pleasure, was used to evaluate the presence of social anhedonia in patients as well as the general population. The first goal of this study was to validate the structure of the French version of the ACIPS. The second objective was to verify whether a one, two or three factor solution is most appropriate for the ACIPS scale. The French version of the ACIPS was tested on 263 French-speaking pre-graduate students or professional volunteers. For the confirmatory factor analysis, data were treated as categorical ordinal and all the models were estimated using a robust weighted least squares estimator with adjustments for the mean and variance. Three models were estimated. A one-factor model representing a general undifferentiated “pleasure” latent construct was first tested on the 17 ACIPS items. A two-factor model distinguishing anticipatory-pleasure and consummatory-pleasure was tested next. Finally, a three-factor model including subdomains of intimate social interactions, group social interactions, and social bonding was tested. The one and two-factor models showed a somewhat poor fit to the data. However, the goodness of fit of the three factor model was adequate. These results suggest that individuals who enjoyed interaction in one of these three subdomains were more likely to enjoy doing so in the two other domains. However, on the basis of the comparison between the one and three factor models, these three types of interactions may not be considered as indistinguishable. Rather, they represent distinct and theoretically meaningful dimensions. These results show the French version of the ACIPS is a useful and valid scale to measure the capacity of savoring different kinds of social relationships.

Statistical Analysis of Instantaneous Frequency Scaling Factor as Derived From Optical Disdrometer Measurements At KQ Bands

Science.gov (United States)

Zemba, Michael; Nessel, James; Houts, Jacquelynne; Luini, Lorenzo; Riva, Carlo

2016-01-01

The rain rate data and statistics of a location are often used in conjunction with models to predict rain attenuation. However, the true attenuation is a function not only of rain rate, but also of the drop size distribution (DSD). Generally, models utilize an average drop size distribution (Laws and Parsons or Marshall and Palmer. However, individual rain events may deviate from these models significantly if their DSD is not well approximated by the average. Therefore, characterizing the relationship between the DSD and attenuation is valuable in improving modeled predictions of rain attenuation statistics. The DSD may also be used to derive the instantaneous frequency scaling factor and thus validate frequency scaling models. Since June of 2014, NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) and the Politecnico di Milano (POLIMI) have jointly conducted a propagation study in Milan, Italy utilizing the 20 and 40 GHz beacon signals of the Alphasat TDP#5 Aldo Paraboni payload. The Ka- and Q-band beacon receivers provide a direct measurement of the signal attenuation while concurrent weather instrumentation provides measurements of the atmospheric conditions at the receiver. Among these instruments is a Thies Clima Laser Precipitation Monitor (optical disdrometer) which yields droplet size distributions (DSD); this DSD information can be used to derive a scaling factor that scales the measured 20 GHz data to expected 40 GHz attenuation. Given the capability to both predict and directly observe 40 GHz attenuation, this site is uniquely situated to assess and characterize such predictions. Previous work using this data has examined the relationship between the measured drop-size distribution and the measured attenuation of the link]. The focus of this paper now turns to a deeper analysis of the scaling factor, including the prediction error as a function of attenuation level, correlation between the scaling factor and the rain rate, and the temporal variability of the drop size

[A photographic scale for evaluating facial pores and analysis of factors associated with pore widening in Chengdu].

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Qing; Zhou, Cheng-xia; Meng, Hui-min; Wang, Xi; Li, Li

2010-09-01

To develop a photographic scale for grading widening of pores, and to identify the factors associated with pore widening. People with widened pores were recruited, with photographs taken on their nasal tips, nasal alas and cheeks. A questionnaire survey was undertaken by dermatologists to assess the severity of pore widening. A Cumulative Logit Model was established to identify factors that were associated with pore widening. A total of 115 people participated in the study and 562 photographs were taken. The photographic scale was highly consistent with the clinical judgment. Another 1011 residents aged from 18 to 70 years old in Chengdu were surveyed. The logit model revealed that facial pore widening were associated with gender, age, oily skin, sun protection and anti-aging cosmetic. The photographic scale is reliable and easy to use. Gender, age and oily skin are risk factors, and sun protection and anti-aging cosmetic are protective factors with related to pore widening.

Positive semidefinite tensor factorizations of the two-electron integral matrix for low-scaling ab initio electronic structure.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoy, Erik P; Mazziotti, David A

2015-08-14

Tensor factorization of the 2-electron integral matrix is a well-known technique for reducing the computational scaling of ab initio electronic structure methods toward that of Hartree-Fock and density functional theories. The simplest factorization that maintains the positive semidefinite character of the 2-electron integral matrix is the Cholesky factorization. In this paper, we introduce a family of positive semidefinite factorizations that generalize the Cholesky factorization. Using an implementation of the factorization within the parametric 2-RDM method [D. A. Mazziotti, Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 253002 (2008)], we study several inorganic molecules, alkane chains, and potential energy curves and find that this generalized factorization retains the accuracy and size extensivity of the Cholesky factorization, even in the presence of multi-reference correlation. The generalized family of positive semidefinite factorizations has potential applications to low-scaling ab initio electronic structure methods that treat electron correlation with a computational cost approaching that of the Hartree-Fock method or density functional theory.

Positive semidefinite tensor factorizations of the two-electron integral matrix for low-scaling ab initio electronic structure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hoy, Erik P.; Mazziotti, David A., E-mail: damazz@uchicago.edu [Department of Chemistry and The James Franck Institute, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637 (United States)

2015-08-14

Tensor factorization of the 2-electron integral matrix is a well-known technique for reducing the computational scaling of ab initio electronic structure methods toward that of Hartree-Fock and density functional theories. The simplest factorization that maintains the positive semidefinite character of the 2-electron integral matrix is the Cholesky factorization. In this paper, we introduce a family of positive semidefinite factorizations that generalize the Cholesky factorization. Using an implementation of the factorization within the parametric 2-RDM method [D. A. Mazziotti, Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 253002 (2008)], we study several inorganic molecules, alkane chains, and potential energy curves and find that this generalized factorization retains the accuracy and size extensivity of the Cholesky factorization, even in the presence of multi-reference correlation. The generalized family of positive semidefinite factorizations has potential applications to low-scaling ab initio electronic structure methods that treat electron correlation with a computational cost approaching that of the Hartree-Fock method or density functional theory.

Advantages and disadvantages of 3D ultrasound of thyroid nodules including thin slice volume rendering

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Slapa Rafal

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to assess the advantages and disadvantages of 3D gray-scale and power Doppler ultrasound, including thin slice volume rendering (TSVR, applied for evaluation of thyroid nodules. Methods The retrospective evaluation by two observers of volumes of 71 thyroid nodules (55 benign, 16 cancers was performed using a new TSVR technique. Dedicated 4D ultrasound scanner with an automatic 6-12 MHz 4D probe was used. Statistical analysis was performed with Stata v. 8.2. Results Multiple logistic regression analysis demonstrated that independent risk factors of thyroid cancers identified by 3D ultrasound include: (a ill-defined borders of the nodule on MPR presentation, (b a lobulated shape of the nodule in the c-plane and (c a density of central vessels in the nodule within the minimal or maximal ranges. Combination of features provided sensitivity 100% and specificity 60-69% for thyroid cancer. Calcification/microcalcification-like echogenic foci on 3D ultrasound proved not to be a risk factor of thyroid cancer. Storage of the 3D data of the whole nodules enabled subsequent evaluation of new parameters and with new rendering algorithms. Conclusions Our results indicate that 3D ultrasound is a practical and reproducible method for the evaluation of thyroid nodules. 3D ultrasound stores volumes comprising the whole lesion or organ. Future detailed evaluations of the data are possible, looking for features that were not fully appreciated at the time of collection or applying new algorithms for volume rendering in order to gain important information. Three-dimensional ultrasound data could be included in thyroid cancer databases. Further multicenter large scale studies are warranted.

Scaling Factor Estimation Using Optimized Mass Change Strategy, Part 2: Experimental Results

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fernández, Pelayo Fernández; Aenlle, Manuel López; Garcia, Luis M. Villa

2007-01-01

The mass change method is used to estimate the scaling factors, the uncertainty is reduced when, for each mode, the frequency shift is maximized and the changes in the mode shapes are minimized, which in turn, depends on the mass change strategy chosen to modify the dynamic behavior of the struct...

Analysis of supply chain, scale factor, and optimum plant capacity for the production of ethanol from corn stover

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leboreiro, Jose; Hilaly, Ahmad K.

2013-01-01

A detailed model is used to perform a thorough analysis on ethanol production from corn stover via the dilute acid process. The biomass supply chain cost model accounts for all steps needed to source corn stover including collection, transportation, and storage. The manufacturing cost model is based on work done at NREL; attainable conversions of key process parameters are used to calculate production cost. The choice of capital investment scaling function and scaling parameter has a significant impact on the optimum plant capacity. For the widely used exponential function, the scaling factors are functions of plant capacity. The pre-exponential factor decreases with increasing plant capacity while the exponential factor increases as the plant capacity increases. The use of scaling parameters calculated for small plant capacities leads to falsely large optimum plants; data from a wide range of plant capacities is required to produce accurate results. A mathematical expression to scale capital investment for fermentation-based biorefineries is proposed which accounts for the linear scaling behavior of bio-reactors (such as saccharification vessels and fermentors) as well as the exponential nature of all other plant equipment. Ignoring the linear scaling behavior of bio-reactors leads to artificially large optimum plant capacities. The minimum production cost is found to be in the range of 789–830 $ m −3 which is significantly higher than previously reported. Optimum plant capacities are in the range of 5750–9850 Mg d −1 . The optimum plant capacity and production cost are highly sensitive to farmer participation in biomass harvest for low participation rates. -- Highlights: •A detailed model is used to perform a technoeconomic analysis for the production of ethanol from corn stover. •The capital investment scaling factors were found to be a function of plant capacity. •Bio-reactors (such as saccharification vessels and fermentors) in large size

A carbon emissions reduction index: Integrating the volume and allocation of regional emissions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Jiandong; Cheng, Shulei; Song, Malin; Wu, Yinyin

2016-01-01

Highlights: • We build a carbon emissions reduction index (CERI). • The aim is to quantify the pressure on policymakers to reduce emissions. • Scale-related effects and carbon emissions allocations are included in the CERI. • Different standards of carbon emissions allocations are also considered. • We decompose the Gini coefficient to evaluate the effects of three factors. - Abstract: Given the acceleration of global warming and rising greenhouse gas emissions, all countries are facing the harsh reality of the need to reduce carbon emissions. In this study, we propose an index to quantify the pressure faced by policymakers to reduce such emissions, termed the carbon emissions reduction index. This index allows us to observe the effect of carbon emissions volume on the pressure faced by policymakers and study the impact of optimizing interregional carbon emissions on reducing this pressure. In addition, we account for several carbon emissions standards in constructing the index. We conclude that the variation in the index is likely to be attributable to carbon emissions volume, regional ranking, and population (population can also be replaced by GDP, resource endowment, or other factors). In addition, based on empirical data on the world’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide (China), this study analyzes the evolution of pressure to reduce emissions on a country’s policymakers. The results show that the growing volume and unsuitable allocation of carbon emissions from 1997 to 2012 imposed increasing pressure on the Chinese government in this regard. In addition, reductions in carbon emissions volume and regional ranking are primary factors that impact pressure on policymakers.

Factor structure of the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale for Children and Adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Storch, Eric A; Masia-Warner, Carrie; Heidgerken, Amanda D; Fisher, Paige H; Pincus, Donna B; Liebowitz, Michael R

2006-01-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the factor structure of the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale for Children and Adolescents (LSAS-CA). The LSAS-CA was administered to 225 children and adolescents as a component of various clinical studies. In addition, other measures of psychopathology and impairment were administered to a subgroup of the sample. Confirmatory factor analyses of the social interaction and performance subscales for the anxiety and avoidance ratings yielded poor fit indices. Exploratory factor analysis supported a two-factor solution with a higher order factor for the LSAS-CA anxiety and avoidance ratings. Based on item content, factors were named Social and School Performance. The internal consistency of the factors was high and the convergent and divergent validity was supported vis-à-vis correlations with measures of depression and social anxiety, and clinician ratings of impairment and functioning. Findings suggest that the anxiety and avoidance ratings are best explained by a two-factor solution that measures social anxiety and avoidance in social and school performance interactions. This factor structure appears to be a reliable and valid framework for assessing childhood social phobia.

Unnoticed Post-Void Residual Urine Volume in People with Moderate to Severe Intellectual Disabilities: Prevalence and Risk Factors

Science.gov (United States)

de Waal, K. H.; Tinselboer, B. M.; Evenhuis, H. M.; Penning, C.

2009-01-01

Background: Increased post-void residual urine volume (PVR) is often seen in geriatric populations. People with intellectual disabilities (ID) have risk factors in common with these populations. Aims: To investigate in adults with ID: (1) Feasibility of portable ultrasound bladder scanning; (2) Prevalence of PVR; and (3) Relations with proposed…

A Practical Guide to Assessing Adult Firesetters' Fire-Specific Treatment Needs Using the Four Factor Fire Scales.

Science.gov (United States)

Ó Ciardha, Caoilte; Tyler, Nichola; Gannon, Theresa A

2015-01-01

Practitioners working with offenders who have set fires have access to very few measures examining fire-specific treatment needs (e.g., fire interest, fire attitudes). In this article we examine the new Four Factor Fire Scales (Ó Ciardha et al., 2015), which may be used by practitioners to examine fire-specific treatment needs for offenders who have set deliberate fires. We present a standardized scoring procedure when using these scales, as well as an associated scoring template for practitioner use. Norm data are based on male and female firesetters (n = 378) and nonfiresetters (n = 187) recruited from 19 prison establishments (including six female establishments, one young offender institution) and 12 secure mixed-gender mental health settings. We present a full overview of all data we have collected to date relating to the Four Factor Fire Scales across prison, mental health, and young offending participants. For each population, we present mean scores as well as associated cutoff scores and reliable change indices to aid practitioners in their interpretation of scores. The Four Factor Fire Scales provide professionals working in the area with a robust template for administering, scoring, and interpreting the fire-specific factors currently identified as playing a role in deliberate firesetting behavior. Strengths and limitations of the measure are discussed.

A Two-Factor Model Better Explains Heterogeneity in Negative Symptoms: Evidence from the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Jang, Seon-Kyeong; Choi, Hye-Im; Park, Soohyun; Jaekal, Eunju; Lee, Ga-Young; Cho, Young Il; Choi, Kee-Hong

2016-01-01

Acknowledging separable factors underlying negative symptoms may lead to better understanding and treatment of negative symptoms in individuals with schizophrenia. The current study aimed to test whether the negative symptoms factor (NSF) of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) would be better represented by expressive and experiential deficit factors, rather than by a single factor model, using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Two hundred and twenty individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders completed the PANSS; subsamples additionally completed the Brief Negative Symptom Scale (BNSS) and the Motivation and Pleasure Scale-Self-Report (MAP-SR). CFA results indicated that the two-factor model fit the data better than the one-factor model; however, latent variables were closely correlated. The two-factor model's fit was significantly improved by accounting for correlated residuals between N2 (emotional withdrawal) and N6 (lack of spontaneity and flow of conversation), and between N4 (passive social withdrawal) and G16 (active social avoidance), possibly reflecting common method variance. The two NSF factors exhibited differential patterns of correlation with subdomains of the BNSS and MAP-SR. These results suggest that the PANSS NSF would be better represented by a two-factor model than by a single-factor one, and support the two-factor model's adequate criterion-related validity. Common method variance among several items may be a potential source of measurement error under a two-factor model of the PANSS NSF.

The reasons for betel-quid chewing scale: assessment of factor structure, reliability, and validity.

Science.gov (United States)

Little, Melissa A; Pokhrel, Pallav; Murphy, Kelle L; Kawamoto, Crissy T; Suguitan, Gil S; Herzog, Thaddeus A

2014-06-03

Despite the fact that betel-quid is one of the most commonly used psychoactive substances worldwide and a major risk-factor for head-and-neck cancer incidence and mortality globally, currently no standardized instrument is available to assess the reasons why individuals chew betel-quid. A measure to assess reasons for chewing betel-quid could help researchers and clinicians develop prevention and treatment strategies. In the current study, we sought to develop and evaluate a self-report instrument for assessing the reasons for chewing betel quid which contributes toward the goal of developing effective interventions to reduce betel quid chewing in vulnerable populations. The current study assessed the factor structure, reliability and convergent validity of the Reasons for Betel-quid Chewing Scale (RBCS), a newly developed 10 item measure adapted from several existing "reasons for smoking" scales. The measure was administered to 351 adult betel-quid chewers in Guam. Confirmatory factor analysis of this measure revealed a three factor structure: reinforcement, social/cultural, and stimulation. Further tests revealed strong support for the internal consistency and convergent validity of this three factor measure. The goal of designing an intervention to reduce betel-quid chewing necessitates an understanding of why chewers chew; the current study makes considerable contributions towards that objective.

The Factor Structure and Composite Reliability of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale among Ex-Prisoners

OpenAIRE

Boduszek, Daniel; Hyland, Philip; Dhingra, Katie; Mallett, John

2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to examine the factor structure and composite reliability of the\\ud Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) using a sample of 669 ex-prisoners identified in the National Survey of American Life. Six distinct factor models, with uncorrelated measurement error terms, were specified and tested using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results indicated that the two-factor model consisting of positive and negative latent variables provided a better fit to the data than the al...

Creating Cycling-Friendly Environments for Children: Which Micro-Scale Factors Are Most Important? An Experimental Study Using Manipulated Photographs

Science.gov (United States)

Ghekiere, Ariane; Deforche, Benedicte; Mertens, Lieze; De Bourdeaudhuij, Ilse; Clarys, Peter; de Geus, Bas; Cardon, Greet; Nasar, Jack; Salmon, Jo; Van Cauwenberg, Jelle

2015-01-01

Background Increasing participation in transportation cycling represents a useful strategy for increasing children’s physical activity levels. Knowledge on how to design environments to encourage adoption and maintenance of transportation cycling is limited and relies mainly on observational studies. The current study experimentally investigates the relative importance of micro-scale environmental factors for children’s transportation cycling, as these micro-scale factors are easier to change within an existing neighborhood compared to macro-scale environmental factors (i.e. connectivity, land-use mix, …). Methods Researchers recruited children and their parents (n = 1232) via 45 randomly selected schools across Flanders and completed an online questionnaire which consisted of 1) demographic questions; and 2) a choice-based conjoint (CBC) task. During this task, participants chose between two photographs which we had experimentally manipulated in seven micro-scale environmental factors: type of cycle path; evenness of cycle path; traffic speed; traffic density; presence of speed bumps; environmental maintenance; and vegetation. Participants indicated which route they preferred to (let their child) cycle along. To find the relative importance of these micro-scale environmental factors, we conducted Hierarchical Bayes analyses. Results Type of cycle path emerged as the most important factor by far among both children and their parents, followed by traffic density and maintenance, and evenness of the cycle path among children. Among parents, speed limits and maintenance emerged as second most important, followed by evenness of the cycle path, and traffic density. Conclusion Findings indicate that improvements in micro-scale environmental factors might be effective for increasing children’s transportation cycling, since they increase the perceived supportiveness of the physical environment for transportation cycling. Investments in creating a clearly designated

Neighborhood street scale elements, sedentary time and cardiometabolic risk factors in inactive ethnic minority women.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rebecca E Lee

Full Text Available Cardiometabolic risk factors such as obesity, excess percent body fat, high blood pressure, elevated resting heart rate and sedentary behavior have increased in recent decades due to changes in the environment and lifestyle. Neighborhood micro-environmental, street scale elements may contribute to health above and beyond individual characteristics of residents.To investigate the relationship between neighborhood street scale elements and cardiometabolic risk factors among inactive ethnic minority women.Women (N = 410 completed measures of BMI, percent body fat, blood pressure, resting heart rate, sedentary behavior and demographics. Trained field assessors completed the Pedestrian Environment Data Scan in participants' neighborhoods. Data were collected from 2006-2008. Multiple regression models were conducted in 2011 to estimate the effect of environmental factors on cardiometabolic risk factors.Adjusted regression models found an inverse association between sidewalk buffers and blood pressure, between traffic control devices and resting heart rate, and a positive association between presence of pedestrian crossing aids and BMI (ps<.05. Neighborhood attractiveness and safety for walking and cycling were related to more time spent in a motor vehicle (ps<.05.Findings suggest complex relationships among micro-environmental, street scale elements that may confer important cardiometabolic benefits and risks for residents. Living in the most attractive and safe neighborhoods for physical activity may be associated with longer times spent sitting in the car.

RHEOLOGY AND SCALING BEHAVIOR OF SWELLING CLAY DISPERSIONS

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S. Chaoui

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The microstructure and scaling of rheological properties of colloidal gels of bentonite investigated as a function of volume fraction and strength of interparticle interaction over a range of volume fractions, elastic modulus is well described with a scaling law functions of volume fractions, while the role of interparticle attractions can be accounted for by expressing these rheological properties as (f/fg-1n, where fg captures the strength of particle interaction and n the microstructure. The scaling variable (fp/fpc-1, suggested in percolation theory to describe rheological behavior near percolation transition, acts to collapse G’ data suggesting that along lines of constant (f/fg-1 these gels are rheologically identical.

RHEOLOGY AND SCALING BEHAVIOR OF SWELLING CLAY DISPERSIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. CHAOUI

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The microstructure and scaling of rheological properties of colloidal gels of bentonite investigated as a function of volume fraction and strength of interparticle interaction over a range of volume fractions, elastic modulus is well described with a scaling law functions of volume fractions, while the role of interparticle attractions can be accounted for by expressing these rheological properties as (/g-1n, where g captures the strength of particle interaction and n the microstructure.The scaling variable (p/pc-1, suggested in percolation theory to describe rheological behavior near percolation transition, acts to collapse G’ data suggesting that along lines of constant (/g-1 these gels are rheologically identical.

Confirmatory factor analysis and invariance testing between Blacks and Whites of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control scale.

Science.gov (United States)

LaNoue, Marianna; Harvey, Abby; Mautner, Dawn; Ku, Bon; Scott, Kevin

2015-07-01

The factor structure of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control scale remains in question. Additionally, research on health belief differences between Black and White respondents suggests that the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control scale may not be invariant. We reviewed the literature regarding the latent variable structure of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control scale, used confirmatory factor analysis to confirm the three-factor structure of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control, and analyzed between-group differences in the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control structure and means across Black and White respondents. Our results indicate differences in means and structure, indicating more research is needed to inform decisions regarding whether and how to deploy the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control appropriately.

Psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale: A Rasch rating scale analysis and confirmatory factor analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Pilatti, Angelina; Lozano, Oscar M; Cyders, Melissa A

2015-12-01

The present study was aimed at determining the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale in a sample of college students. Participants were 318 college students (36.2% men; mean age = 20.9 years, SD = 6.4 years). The psychometric properties of this Spanish version were analyzed using the Rasch model, and the factor structure was examined using confirmatory factor analysis. The verification of the global fit of the data showed adequate indexes for persons and items. The reliability estimates were high for both items and persons. Differential item functioning across gender was found for 23 items, which likely reflects known differences in impulsivity levels between men and women. The factor structure of the Spanish version of the UPPS-P replicates previous work with the original UPPS-P Scale. Overall, results suggest that test scores from the Spanish version of the UPPS-P show adequate psychometric properties to accurately assess the multidimensional model of impulsivity, which represents the most exhaustive measure of this construct. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Parametric and scaling studies of condensation oscillation in subcooled water of the in-containment refueling water storage tank

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Jun Hyung; No, Hee Cheon

1999-01-01

Condensation oscillation by jetting the steam into subcooled water through spargers is studied. To provide a suitable guideline for oscillation phenomena in the IRWST of the next generation reactor, scaling methodology is introduced. Through scaling methodology and subsequent tests, it shows that the volume of steam cavity determines the dynamic characteristics of condensation oscillation. The second-order linear differential equation for frequency analysis is derived and its results are compared with those from the test data. Two types of condensation phenomena exist according to steam flow rates. At subsonic jet, condensation interface becomes irregular in shape and upper system volumes affect the dynamic characteristics of condensation oscillation. At sonic jet, a regular steam cavity forms at the exit of discharge holes. Parametric effects and subsequent dynamic responses of the pool tank are investigated through experiments in applicable test ranges. When the temperature of pool water becomes lower, the amplitude becomes larger. Critical parameters are derived from the scaling methodology and are system volume, cavity volume, discharge hole area, and density ration. It is found that system friction factors affect frequency components of condensation oscillation. Oscillations of a steam cavity occur mainly on the face of the axial direction and pressure amplitudes become larger than that of the lateral direction

Increased intracranial volume in Parkinson's disease

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krabbe, Katja; Karlsborg, Merete; Hansen, Andreas

2005-01-01

segmentation and outlining of regions in order to identify regional volume changes that might be useful in the diagnosis of the two diseases. RESULTS: Patients with PD had significantly larger intracranial volumes (ICVs) and significantly smaller putaminal and sustantia nigra volumes than controls. MSA...... patients had significantly smaller substantia nigra and caudate volumes than controls but normal intracranial volume. In both patient groups there was a further trend towards smaller amygdala volumes. DISCUSSION: Increased ICV in PD patients is a new finding that may be explained by genetic factors...

Characterization of decontamination factors for evaporators used in the treatment of low and intermediate level liquid radioactive wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rood, L.B.; Law, C.G. Jr.

1972-01-01

Evaporator decontamination factors were studied as functions of boiloff rate, volume reduction, and feed pH. A bench-scale vertical tube evaporator operating on simulated intermediate level nuclear wastes was used. Decontamination factors were not found to be strong functions of volume reduction or boiloff below vapor velocities of 25 lb/ft 2 -hr. At higher vapor fluxes, splashing was encountered. Foaming occurred at a feed pH of 6 but not at higher values. The presence of radioisotopes in the feed had no effect on evaporator performance

Design of optimal input–output scaling factors based fuzzy PSS using bat algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D.K. Sambariya

2016-06-01

Full Text Available In this article, a fuzzy logic based power system stabilizer (FPSS is designed by tuning its input–output scaling factors. Two input signals to FPSS are considered as change of speed and change in power, and the output signal is considered as a correcting voltage signal. The normalizing factors of these signals are considered as the optimization problem with minimization of integral of square error in single-machine and multi-machine power systems. These factors are optimally determined with bat algorithm (BA and considered as scaling factors of FPSS. The performance of power system with such a designed BA based FPSS (BA-FPSS is compared to that of response with FPSS, Harmony Search Algorithm based FPSS (HSA-FPSS and Particle Swarm Optimization based FPSS (PSO-FPSS. The systems considered are single-machine connected to infinite-bus, two-area 4-machine 10-bus and IEEE New England 10-machine 39-bus power systems for evaluating the performance of BA-FPSS. The comparison is carried out in terms of the integral of time-weighted absolute error (ITAE, integral of absolute error (IAE and integral of square error (ISE of speed response for systems with FPSS, HSA-FPSS and BA-FPSS. The superior performance of systems with BA-FPSS is established considering eight plant conditions of each system, which represents the wide range of operating conditions.

The Factor Structure of Preschool Learning Behaviors Scale Scores in Peruvian Children

Science.gov (United States)

Hahn, Kathryn R.; Schaefer, Barbara A.; Merino, Cesar; Worrell, Frank C.

2009-01-01

The factor structure of the Escala de Conductas de Aprendizaje Preescolar (ECAP), a Spanish translation of the Preschool Learning Behaviors Scale (PLBS), was examined in this study. Children aged 2 to 6 years (N = 328) enrolled in public and private preschools in the Republic of Peru were rated by classroom teachers on the frequency of observable,…

An Evaluation of the Factor Structure of the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale

Science.gov (United States)

Harvey, Bronwyn; Pallant, Julie; Harvey, David

2004-01-01

The purpose of the study was to investigate whether the six-factor structure of the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale could be replicated in a community-based sample. A sample of 255 adult participants (55.7% female, 44.3% male) ranging in age from 18 to 78 (mean = 37.0) completed the questionnaire. Based on the screen test and parallel…

Attitude Toward Ambiguity: Empirically Robust Factors in Self-Report Personality Scales.

Science.gov (United States)

Lauriola, Marco; Foschi, Renato; Mosca, Oriana; Weller, Joshua

2016-06-01

Two studies were conducted to examine the factor structure of attitude toward ambiguity, a broad personality construct that refers to personal reactions to perceived ambiguous stimuli in a variety of context and situations. Using samples from two countries, Study 1 mapped the hierarchical structure of 133 items from seven tolerance-intolerance of ambiguity scales (N = 360, Italy; N = 306, United States). Three major factors-Discomfort with Ambiguity, Moral Absolutism/Splitting, and Need for Complexity and Novelty-were recovered in each country with high replicability coefficients across samples. In Study 2 (N = 405, Italian community sample; N =366, English native speakers sample), we carried out a confirmatory analysis on selected factor markers. A bifactor model had an acceptable fit for each sample and reached the construct-level invariance for general and group factors. Convergent validity with related traits was assessed in both studies. We conclude that attitude toward ambiguity can be best represented a multidimensional construct involving affective (Discomfort with Ambiguity), cognitive (Moral Absolutism/Splitting), and epistemic (Need for Complexity and Novelty) components. © The Author(s) 2015.

Integral emission factors for methane determined using urban flux measurements and local-scale inverse models

Science.gov (United States)

Christen, Andreas; Johnson, Mark; Molodovskaya, Marina; Ketler, Rick; Nesic, Zoran; Crawford, Ben; Giometto, Marco; van der Laan, Mike

2013-04-01

The most important long-lived greenhouse gas (LLGHG) emitted during combustion of fuels is carbon dioxide (CO2), however also traces of the LLGHGs methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) are released, the quantities of which depend largely on the conditions of the combustion process. Emission factors determine the mass of LLGHGs emitted per energy used (or kilometre driven for cars) and are key inputs for bottom-up emission modelling. Emission factors for CH4 are typically determined in the laboratory or on a test stand for a given combustion system using a small number of samples (vehicles, furnaces), yet associated with larger uncertainties when scaled to entire fleets. We propose an alternative, different approach - Can integrated emission factors be independently determined using direct micrometeorological flux measurements over an urban surface? If so, do emission factors determined from flux measurements (top-down) agree with up-scaled emission factors of relevant combustion systems (heating, vehicles) in the source area of the flux measurement? Direct flux measurements of CH4 were carried out between February and May, 2012 over a relatively densely populated, urban surface in Vancouver, Canada by means of eddy covariance (EC). The EC-system consisted of an ultrasonic anemometer (CSAT-3, Campbell Scientific Inc.) and two open-path infrared gas analyzers (Li7500 and Li7700, Licor Inc.) on a tower at 30m above the surface. The source area of the EC system is characterised by a relative homogeneous morphometry (5.3m average building height), but spatially and temporally varying emission sources, including two major intersecting arterial roads (70.000 cars drive through the 50% source area per day) and seasonal heating in predominantly single-family houses (natural gas). An inverse dispersion model (turbulent source area model), validated against large eddy simulations (LES) of the urban roughness sublayer, allows the determination of the spatial area that

Supplier selection or collaboration? Determining factors of performance improvement when outsourcing manufacturing

OpenAIRE

Dabhilkar, Mandar; Bengtsson, Lars; Haartman, Robin von; Åhlström, Pär

2009-01-01

An empirical study was designed to determine factors of performance improvement when outsourcing manufacturing. Findings from a survey of 136 manufacturing plants in Sweden show that most of them achieve their outsourcing motives, but not without trade-offs. Factors of performance improvements such as economies of scale or operations in low-cost countries can improve one performance dimension, such as product cost, yet negatively impact volume flexibility, speed or product innovation. The res...

Smoke emissions in small-scale burning of wood

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tuomi, S.

1993-01-01

The article is based on research carried out in Finland and Sweden on the subject of emissions of smoke in the small-scale burning of wood and the factors affecting it. Due to incomplete combustion, small-scale burning of wood is particularly typified by its emissions of solid particles, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and PAH compounds. Included among factors influencing the volume of emissions are the load imposed on the heating device, the manner in which the fuel is fed into the firebox, fuel quality, and heating device structure. Emissions have been found to be at their minimum in connection with heating systems based on accumulators. Emissions can be significantly reduced by employing state-of-the-art technology, appropriate ways of heating and by dry fuel. A six-year bioenergy research programme was launched early in 1993 in Finland. All leading research institutions and enterprises participate in this programme. Reduction of emissions has been set as the central goal in the part dealing with small-scale burning of wood. Application of catalytic combustion in Finnish-made heating devices is one of the programmes development targets. Up to this date, the emissions produced in the small-scale burning of wood are not mentioned in official regulations pertaining to approved heating devices. In Sweden tar emissions are applied as a measure of the environmental impact imposed by heating devices

Investigation of the factor structure of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale--Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV): exploratory and higher order factor analyses.

Science.gov (United States)

Canivez, Gary L; Watkins, Marley W

2010-12-01

The present study examined the factor structure of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale--Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV; D. Wechsler, 2008a) standardization sample using exploratory factor analysis, multiple factor extraction criteria, and higher order exploratory factor analysis (J. Schmid & J. M. Leiman, 1957) not included in the WAIS-IV Technical and Interpretation Manual (D. Wechsler, 2008b). Results indicated that the WAIS-IV subtests were properly associated with the theoretically proposed first-order factors, but all but one factor-extraction criterion recommended extraction of one or two factors. Hierarchical exploratory analyses with the Schmid and Leiman procedure found that the second-order g factor accounted for large portions of total and common variance, whereas the four first-order factors accounted for small portions of total and common variance. It was concluded that the WAIS-IV provides strong measurement of general intelligence, and clinical interpretation should be primarily at that level.

Sustainability Risk Evaluation for Large-Scale Hydropower Projects with Hybrid Uncertainty

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Weiyao Tang

2018-01-01

Full Text Available As large-scale hydropower projects are influenced by many factors, risk evaluations are complex. This paper considers a hydropower project as a complex system from the perspective of sustainability risk, and divides it into three subsystems: the natural environment subsystem, the eco-environment subsystem and the socioeconomic subsystem. Risk-related factors and quantitative dimensions of each subsystem are comprehensively analyzed considering uncertainty of some quantitative dimensions solved by hybrid uncertainty methods, including fuzzy (e.g., the national health degree, the national happiness degree, the protection of cultural heritage, random (e.g., underground water levels, river width, and fuzzy random uncertainty (e.g., runoff volumes, precipitation. By calculating the sustainability risk-related degree in each of the risk-related factors, a sustainable risk-evaluation model is built. Based on the calculation results, the critical sustainability risk-related factors are identified and targeted to reduce the losses caused by sustainability risk factors of the hydropower project. A case study at the under-construction Baihetan hydropower station is presented to demonstrate the viability of the risk-evaluation model and to provide a reference for the sustainable risk evaluation of other large-scale hydropower projects.

[Evaluation of tidal volume delivered by ventilators during volume-controlled ventilation].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Juan; Yan, Yong; Cao, Desen

2014-12-01

To study the ways which ensure the delivery of enough tidal volume to patients under various conditions close to the demand of the physician. The volume control ventilation model was chosen, and the simulation lung type was active servo lung ASL 5000 or Michigan lung 1601. The air resistance, air compliance and lung type in simulation lungs were set. The tidal volume was obtained from flow analyzer PF 300. At the same tidal volume, the displaying values of tidal volume of E5, Servo i, Evital 4, and Evital XL ventilators with different lung types of patient, compliance of gas piping, leakage, gas types, etc. were evaluated. With the same setting tidal volume of a same ventilator, the tidal volume delivered to patients was different with different lung types of patient, compliance of gas piping, leakage, gas types, etc. Reducing compliance and increasing resistance of the patient lungs caused high peak airway pressure, the tidal volume was lost in gas piping, and the tidal volume be delivered to the patient lungs was decreased. If the ventilator did not compensate to leakage, the tidal volume delivered to the patient lungs was decreased. When the setting gas type of ventilator did not coincide with that applying to the patient, the tidal volume be delivered to the patient lungs might be different with the setting tidal volume of ventilator. To ensure the delivery of enough tidal volume to patients close to the demand of the physician, containable factors such as the compliance of gas piping, leakage, and gas types should be controlled.

SAFETY FACTOR SCALING OF ENERGY TRANSPORT IN L-MODE PLASMAS ON THE DIII-D TOKAMAK

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

PETTY, C.C.; KINSEY, J.E.; LUCE, T.C.

2003-01-01

OAK-B135 The scaling of energy transport with safety factor (q) at fixed magnetic shear has been measured on the DIII-D tokamak [Nucl. Fusion 42, 614 (2002)] for low confinement (L) mode discharges. At constant density, temperature, and toroidal magnetic field strength, such that the toroidal dimensionless parameters other than q are held fixed, the one-fluid thermal diffusivity is found to scale like χ ∝ q 0.84±0.15 , with the ion channel having a stronger q dependence than the electron channel in the outer half of the plasma. The measured q scaling is in good agreement with the predicted scaling by the GLF23 transport model for the ion temperature gradient and trapped electron modes, but it is significantly weaker than the inferred scaling from empirically-derived confinement scaling relations

Atherosclerotic plaque volume and composition in symptomatic carotid arteries assessed with multidetector CT angiography; relationship with severity of stenosis and cardiovascular risk factors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rozie, S.; Weert, T.T. de; Monye, C. de; Homburg, P.J.; Tanghe, H.L.J.; Lugt, A. van der; Dippel, D.W.J.

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the volume and the composition of atherosclerotic plaque in symptomatic carotid arteries and to investigate the relationship between these plaque features and the severity of stenosis and the presence of cardiovascular risk factors. One hundred patients with cerebrovascular symptoms underwent CT angiography. We measured plaque volume (PV) and the relative contribution of plaque components (calcifications, fibrous tissue, and lipid) in the symptomatic artery. The contribution of different components was measured as the number of voxels within defined ranges of HU values (calcification >130 HU, fibrous tissue 60-130 HU, lipid core <60 HU). Fifty-seven patients had atherosclerotic plaque in the symptomatic carotid artery. The severity of stenosis and PV were moderately correlated. Age and smoking were independently related to PV. Patients with hypercholesterolemia had significantly less lipid and more calcium in their plaques than patients without hypercholesterolemia. Other cardiovascular risk factors were not significantly related to PV or plaque composition. Luminal stenosis of the carotid artery partly reflects the amount of atherosclerotic carotid disease. Plaque volume and plaque composition are associated with cardiovascular risk factors. (orig.)

Atherosclerotic plaque volume and composition in symptomatic carotid arteries assessed with multidetector CT angiography; relationship with severity of stenosis and cardiovascular risk factors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rozie, S.; Weert, T.T. de; Monye, C. de; Homburg, P.J.; Tanghe, H.L.J.; Lugt, A. van der [Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Departments of Radiology, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Dippel, D.W.J. [Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Department of Neurology, PO Box 2040, Rotterdam (Netherlands)

2009-09-15

The purpose of this study was to examine the volume and the composition of atherosclerotic plaque in symptomatic carotid arteries and to investigate the relationship between these plaque features and the severity of stenosis and the presence of cardiovascular risk factors. One hundred patients with cerebrovascular symptoms underwent CT angiography. We measured plaque volume (PV) and the relative contribution of plaque components (calcifications, fibrous tissue, and lipid) in the symptomatic artery. The contribution of different components was measured as the number of voxels within defined ranges of HU values (calcification >130 HU, fibrous tissue 60-130 HU, lipid core <60 HU). Fifty-seven patients had atherosclerotic plaque in the symptomatic carotid artery. The severity of stenosis and PV were moderately correlated. Age and smoking were independently related to PV. Patients with hypercholesterolemia had significantly less lipid and more calcium in their plaques than patients without hypercholesterolemia. Other cardiovascular risk factors were not significantly related to PV or plaque composition. Luminal stenosis of the carotid artery partly reflects the amount of atherosclerotic carotid disease. Plaque volume and plaque composition are associated with cardiovascular risk factors. (orig.)

Determination of clothing microclimate volume

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Daanen, Hein; Hatcher, Kent; Havenith, George

2005-01-01

The average air layer thickness between human skin and clothing is an important factor in heat transfer. The trapped volume between skin and clothing is an estimator for everage air layer thickness. Several techniques are available to determine trapped volume. This study investigates the reliability

High-power linearly-polarized operation of a cladding-pumped Yb fibre laser using a volume Bragg grating for wavelength selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Jelger, P; Wang, P; Sahu, J K; Laurell, F; Clarkson, W A

2008-06-23

In this work a volume Bragg grating is used as a wavelength selective element in a high-power cladding-pumped Yb-doped silica fiber laser. The laser produced 138 W of linearly-polarized single-spatial-mode output at 1066 nm with a relatively narrow linewidth of 0.2 nm for approximately 202 W of launched pump power at 976 nm. The beam propagation factor (M(2)) for the output beam was determined to be 1.07. Thermal limitations of volume Bragg gratings are discussed in the context of power scaling for fiber lasers.

Refining and validating the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale and the Social Phobia Scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Carleton, R Nicholas; Collimore, Kelsey C; Asmundson, Gordon J G; McCabe, Randi E; Rowa, Karen; Antony, Martin M

2009-01-01

The Social Interaction Anxiety Scale and Social Phobia Scale are companion measures for assessing symptoms of social anxiety and social phobia. The scales have good reliability and validity across several samples, however, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses have yielded solutions comprising substantially different item content and factor structures. These discrepancies are likely the result of analyzing items from each scale separately or simultaneously. The current investigation sets out to assess items from those scales, both simultaneously and separately, using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses in an effort to resolve the factor structure. Participants consisted of a clinical sample (n 5353; 54% women) and an undergraduate sample (n 5317; 75% women) who completed the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale and Social Phobia Scale, along with additional fear-related measures to assess convergent and discriminant validity. A three-factor solution with a reduced set of items was found to be most stable, irrespective of whether the items from each scale are assessed together or separately. Items from the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale represented one factor, whereas items from the Social Phobia Scale represented two other factors. Initial support for scale and factor validity, along with implications and recommendations for future research, is provided. (c) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Comparison of Hippocampal Volume in Dementia Subtypes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vijayakumar, Avinash; Vijayakumar, Abhishek

2012-01-01

Aims. To examine the relationship between different types of dementia and hippocampal volume. Methods. Hippocampal volume was measured using FL3D sequence magnetic resonance imaging in 26 Alzheimer's, vascular dementia, mixed dementia, and normal pressure hydrocephalus patients and 15 healthy controls and also hippocampal ratio, analyzed. Minimental scale was used to stratify patients on cognitive function impairments. Results. Hippocampal volume and ratio was reduced by 25% in Alzheimer's disease, 21% in mixed dementia, 11% in vascular dementia and 5% in normal pressure hydrocephalus in comparison to control. Also an asymmetrical decrease in volume of left hippocampus was noted. The severity of dementia increased in accordance to decreasing hippocampal volume. Conclusion. Measurement in hippocampal volume may facilitate in differentiating different types of dementia and in disease progression. There was a correlation between hippocampal volume and severity of cognitive impairment

Factor Structure of the Acute Stress Disorder Scale in a Sample of Hurricane Katrina Evacuees

Science.gov (United States)

Edmondson, Donald; Mills, Mary Alice; Park, Crystal L.

2010-01-01

Acute stress disorder (ASD) is a poorly understood and controversial diagnosis (A. G. Harvey & R. A. Bryant, 2002). The present study used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to test the factor structure of the most widely used self-report measure of ASD, the Acute Stress Disorder Scale (R. A. Bryant, M. L. Moulds, & R. M. Guthrie, 2000),…

More Thoughts on AG-SG Comparisons and SG Scale Factor Determinations

Science.gov (United States)

Crossley, David; Calvo, Marta; Rosat, Severine; Hinderer, Jacques

2018-03-01

We revisit a number of details that arise when doing joint AG-SG (absolute gravimeter-superconducting gravimeter) calibrations, focusing on the scale factor determination and the AG mean value that derives from the offset. When fitting SG data to AG data, the choice of which time span to use for the SG data can make a difference, as well as the inclusion of a trend that might be present in the fitting. The SG time delay has only a small effect. We review a number of options discussed recently in the literature on whether drops or sets provide the most accurate scale factor, and how to reject drops and sets to get the most consistent result. Two effects are clearly indicated by our tests, one being to smooth the raw SG 1 s (or similar sampling interval) data for times that coincide with AG drops, the other being a second pass in processing to reject residual outliers after the initial fit. Although drops can usefully provide smaller SG calibration errors compared to using set data, set values are more robust to data problems but one has to use the standard error to avoid large uncertainties. When combining scale factor determinations for the same SG at the same station, the expected gradual reduction of the error with each new experiment is consistent with the method of conflation. This is valid even when the SG data acquisition system is changed, or different AG's are used. We also find a relationship between the AG mean values obtained from SG to AG fits with the traditional short-term AG (`site') measurements usually done with shorter datasets. This involves different zero levels and corrections in the AG versus SG processing. Without using the Micro-g FG5 software it is possible to use the SG-derived corrections for tides, barometric pressure, and polar motion to convert an AG-SG calibration experiment into a site measurement (and vice versa). Finally, we provide a simple method for AG users who do not have the FG5-software to find an internal FG5 parameter that

More Thoughts on AG-SG Comparisons and SG Scale Factor Determinations

Science.gov (United States)

Crossley, David; Calvo, Marta; Rosat, Severine; Hinderer, Jacques

2018-05-01

We revisit a number of details that arise when doing joint AG-SG (absolute gravimeter-superconducting gravimeter) calibrations, focusing on the scale factor determination and the AG mean value that derives from the offset. When fitting SG data to AG data, the choice of which time span to use for the SG data can make a difference, as well as the inclusion of a trend that might be present in the fitting. The SG time delay has only a small effect. We review a number of options discussed recently in the literature on whether drops or sets provide the most accurate scale factor, and how to reject drops and sets to get the most consistent result. Two effects are clearly indicated by our tests, one being to smooth the raw SG 1 s (or similar sampling interval) data for times that coincide with AG drops, the other being a second pass in processing to reject residual outliers after the initial fit. Although drops can usefully provide smaller SG calibration errors compared to using set data, set values are more robust to data problems but one has to use the standard error to avoid large uncertainties. When combining scale factor determinations for the same SG at the same station, the expected gradual reduction of the error with each new experiment is consistent with the method of conflation. This is valid even when the SG data acquisition system is changed, or different AG's are used. We also find a relationship between the AG mean values obtained from SG to AG fits with the traditional short-term AG (`site') measurements usually done with shorter datasets. This involves different zero levels and corrections in the AG versus SG processing. Without using the Micro-g FG5 software it is possible to use the SG-derived corrections for tides, barometric pressure, and polar motion to convert an AG-SG calibration experiment into a site measurement (and vice versa). Finally, we provide a simple method for AG users who do not have the FG5-software to find an internal FG5 parameter that

Fed batch fermentation scale up in the production of recombinant streptokinase

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Salvador Losada-Nerey

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Due to the high international demand of the recombinant streptokinase (Skr produced at the National Center for Bioproducts (BioCen, it was necessary to increase the production capacity of the drug, since the current production volume does not cover the demand. A scale up of the process of fermentation of the recombinant streptokinase was made using a fed batch culture, from the bank scale towards a 300L fermenter. The scaling criteria used were: the intensive variables of the process, the relationships of volumes of the fermentation medium and inoculum, the volumetric coefficient of oxygen transfer and air volume to liquid flow relationship which were kept constant. With this scale up procedure it was possible to reproduce the results obtained at the bank scale of and to double the biomass production volume with the same equipment, fulfilling all the quality requirements of the product and to cover the current demand of the market. Techno-economic indicators demonstrated the feasibility of this option.

Human Factors, Habitability and Environmental Health and the Human Integration Design Handbook. Volume 2

Science.gov (United States)

Houbec, Keith; Tillman, Barry; Connolly, Janis

2010-01-01

For decades, Space Life Sciences and NASA as an Agency have considered NASA-STD-3000, Man-Systems Integration Standards, a significant contribution to human spaceflight programs and to human-systems integration in general. The document has been referenced in numerous design standards both within NASA and by organizations throughout the world. With research program and project results being realized, advances in technology and new information in a variety of topic areas now available, the time arrived to update this extensive suite of requirements and design information. During the past several years, a multi-NASA center effort has been underway to write the update to NASA-STD-3000 with standards and design guidance that would be applicable to all future human spaceflight programs. NASA-STD-3001 - Volumes 1 and 2 - and the Human Integration Design Handbook (HIDH) were created. Volume 1, Crew Health, establishes NASA s spaceflight crew health standards for the pre-flight, in-flight, and post-flight phases of human spaceflight. Volume 2, Human Factors, Habitability and Environmental Health, focuses on the requirements of human-system integration and how the human crew interacts with other systems, and how the human and the system function together to accomplish the tasks for mission success. The HIDH is a compendium of human spaceflight history and knowledge, and provides useful background information and research findings. And as the HIDH is a stand-alone companion to the Standards, the maintenance of the document has been streamlined. This unique and flexible approach ensures that the content is current and addresses the fundamental advances of human performance and human capabilities and constraints research. Current work focuses on the development of new sections of Volume 2 and collecting updates to the HIDH. The new sections in development expand the scope of the standard and address mission operations and support operations. This effort is again collaboration

Factor Structure, Validity, Reliability and Normalization of the Adult Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Scale in Iranian Sample

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nafiseh Tabatabaei

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Background and Objectives: Researches on attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder indicated that this common disorder would not be resolved with age and continues into adulthood. This study was carried out with the objective of validation and normalization of diagnostic scale of adult attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder scale in Iranian sample. Methods: This study was performed as a psychometric study on the patients (1400 to 1600 cases referred to two psychiatry and neurology clinics in Tehran in the autumn and winter of 2014. Among these patients, 301 persons were selected by purposeful non-random sampling according to the sample size formula based on ratio or two-value variable (patient and non-patient and related questionnaire was administered to them. Cronbach's alpha, Spearman- Brown, and Guttmann’s coefficients was used to evaluate concurrent validity and reliability and exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis in order to assess the construct validity. Results: In this study, Cronbach's alpha of the total scale was 0.88 and for the subscales of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity were 0.82, 0.72, 0.67, respectively. The correlation coefficients between the mentioned scale and adult attention deficit/hyperactivity questionnaire (Wender Utah was obtained 0.59, and between the subscales and the Wender Utah questionnaire, were 0.56, 0.49, and 0.40, respectively, which all three were significant (p<0/01. Confirmatory factor analysis results showed that this scale has three factors and two goodness-of-fit indices. Conclusion: The results of this study revealed that specialists can diagnose and treat the patients using this diagnostic scale.

Use of Hi-resolution data for evaluating accuracy of traffic volume counts collected by microwave sensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David K. Chang

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Over the past few years, the Utah Department of Transportation has developed the signal performance metrics (SPMs system to evaluate the performance of signalized intersections dynamically. This system currently provides data summaries for several performance measures, one of them being turning movement counts collected by microwave sensors. As this system became public, there was a need to evaluate the accuracy of the data placed on the SPMs. A large-scale data collection was carried out to meet this need. Vehicles in the Hi-resolution data from microwave sensors were matched with the vehicles by ground-truth volume count data. Matching vehicles from the microwave sensor data and the ground-truth data manually collected required significant effort. A spreadsheet-based data analysis procedure was developed to carry out the task. A mixed model analysis of variance was used to analyze the effects of the factors considered on turning volume count accuracy. The analysis found that approach volume level and number of approach lanes would have significant effect on the accuracy of turning volume counts but the location of the sensors did not significantly affect the accuracy of turning volume counts. In addition, it was found that the location of lanes in relation to the sensor did not significantly affect the accuracy of lane-by-lane volume counts. This indicated that accuracy analysis could be performed by using total approach volumes without comparing specific turning counts, that is, left-turn, through and right-turn movements. In general, the accuracy of approach volume counts collected by microwave sensors were within the margin of error that traffic engineers could accept. The procedure taken to perform the analysis and a summary of accuracy of volume counts for the factor combinations considered are presented in this paper.

Volume reduction of reactor wastes by spray drying

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gay, R.L.; Grantham, L.F.; McKenzie, D.E.

1983-01-01

Three simulated low-level reactor wastes were dried using a spray dryer-baghouse system. The three aqueous feedstocks were sodium sulfate waste characteristic of a BWR, boric acid waste characteristic of a PWR, and a waste mixture of ion exchange resins and filter aid. These slurries were spiked with nonradioactive iron, cobalt, and manganese (representing corrosion products) and nonradioactive cesium and iodine (representing fission products). The throughput for the 2.1-m-diameter spray dryer and baghouse system was 160-180 kg/h, which is comparable to the requirements for a full-scale commercial installation. A free-flowing, dry product was produced in all of the tests. The volume reduction factor ranged from 2.5 to 5.8; the baghouse decontamination factor was typically in the range of 10 3 to 10 4 . Using an overall system decontamination factor of 10 6 , the activity of the off-gas was calculated to be one to two orders of magnitude less than the nuclide release limit of the major active species, Cs-137

Factor structure of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fifth Edition: Exploratory factor analyses with the 16 primary and secondary subtests.

Science.gov (United States)

Canivez, Gary L; Watkins, Marley W; Dombrowski, Stefan C

2016-08-01

The factor structure of the 16 Primary and Secondary subtests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fifth Edition (WISC-V; Wechsler, 2014a) standardization sample was examined with exploratory factor analytic methods (EFA) not included in the WISC-V Technical and Interpretive Manual (Wechsler, 2014b). Factor extraction criteria suggested 1 to 4 factors and results favored 4 first-order factors. When this structure was transformed with the Schmid and Leiman (1957) orthogonalization procedure, the hierarchical g-factor accounted for large portions of total and common variance while the 4 first-order factors accounted for small portions of total and common variance; rendering interpretation at the factor index level less appropriate. Although the publisher favored a 5-factor model where the Perceptual Reasoning factor was split into separate Visual Spatial and Fluid Reasoning dimensions, no evidence for 5 factors was found. It was concluded that the WISC-V provides strong measurement of general intelligence and clinical interpretation should be primarily, if not exclusively, at that level. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Factor structure and gender stability in the multidimensional condom attitudes scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Starosta, Amy J; Berghoff, Christopher R; Earleywine, Mitch

2015-06-01

Sexually transmitted infections continue to trouble the United States and can be attenuated through increased condom use. Attitudes about condoms are an important multidimensional factor that can affect sexual health choices and have been successfully measured using the Multidimensional Condom Attitudes Scale (MCAS). Such attitudes have the potential to vary between men and women, yet little work has been undertaken to identify if the MCAS accurately captures attitudes without being influenced by underlying gender biases. We examined the factor structure and gender invariance on the MCAS using confirmatory factor analysis and item response theory, within-subscale differential item functioning analyses. More than 770 participants provided data via the Internet. Results of differential item functioning analyses identified three items as differentially functioning between the genders, and removal of these items is recommended. Findings confirmed the previously hypothesized multidimensional nature of condom attitudes and the five-factor structure of the MCAS even after the removal of the three problematic items. In general, comparisons across genders using the MCAS seem reasonable from a methodological standpoint. Results are discussed in terms of improving sexual health research and interventions. © The Author(s) 2014.

On the dimensionality of the stress-related growth scale: one, three, or seven factors?

Science.gov (United States)

Roesch, Scott C; Rowley, Anthony A; Vaughn, Allison A

2004-06-01

We examined the factorial validity and dimensionality of the Stress-Related Growth Scale (SRGS; Park, Cohen, & Murch, 1996) using a large multiethnic sample (n = 1,070). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses suggested that a multidimensional representation of the SRGS fit better than a unidimensional representation. Specifically, we cross-validated both a 3-factor model and a 7-factor model using confirmatory factor analysis and were shown to be invariant across gender and ethnic groups. The 3-factor model was represented by global dimensions of growth that included rational/mature thinking, affective/emotional growth, and religious/spiritual growth. We replicated the 7-factor model of Armeli, Gunthert, and Cohen (2001) and it represented more specific components of growth such as Self-Understanding and Treatment of Others. However, some factors of the 7-factor model had questionable internal consistency and were strongly intercorrelated, suggesting redundancy. The findings support the notion that the factor structure of both the original 1-factor and revised 7-factor models are unstable and that the 3-factor model developed in this research has more reliable psychometric properties and structure.

Factor substitution, and economies of scale and utilisation in Kuwait's crude oil industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Mutairi, Naief; Burney, Nadeem A.

2002-01-01

The cost structure of the crude oil industry in Kuwait has been examined, with specific focus on factor substitution, and economies of scale and utilisation. This has been done by estimating translog cost functions, both long-run and short-run, using time-series data covering the period from 1976 to 1996. The results indicate that the implied production structure is non-homothetic, and the pattern of scale effect is labour saving, but capital and material using. The evidence also supports the presence of an induced exogenous technical change, which is non-neutral (labour and capital using, and material saving). The elasticity of substitution between capital and labour is positive, implying that the two inputs are substitute. The results also indicate the existence of diseconomies of scale in the production of crude oil, but no economies or diseconomies of utilisation

Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the School-Based Assessment Evaluation Scale Among Teachers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nor Hasnida Che Md. Ghazali

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The school-based assessment (SBA system is a holistic assessment system that is conducted in schools by subject teachers in assessing the students cognitive (intellect, affective (emotional and spiritual and psychomotor (physical aspects. It is in line with the National Philosophy of Education and the Standards-based School Curriculum in Malaysia. In order to evaluate the implementation of SBA, a measurement scale was validated. Questionnaire was used as an instrument for data collection. 776 primary and secondary school teachers were selected as respondents using stratified random sampling. The data was analyzed with SPSS and AMOS version 18. The aim of this paper was to explore different factor structures of the SBA evaluation scale by using the second-order Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Results indicated that the SBA evaluation model was a valid and reliable scale. The input measurement model was validated with two factors (personnel qualifications and physical infrastructure, process measurement model was validated with six factors (‘attitude’, ‘understanding’, ‘skills’, ‘challenges’, ‘moderation’ and ‘monitoring’ and product measurement model was validated with two factors (‘students’ attitude’ and ‘students’ motivation’. This study provides support for using a valid instrument in evaluating the implementation of SBA in schools. Furthermore, the CFA procedures used supported the conceptual framework set out earlier. Thus, it presents clearly the importance of the evaluation process of any education system to follow all the dimensions outlined in the evaluation model proposed by Daniel Stufflebeam.       Sistem Penilaian Berbasis Sekolah (SBA adalah sistem penilaian holistik yang dilakukan di sekolah-sekolah oleh guru mata pelajaran dalam menilai kognitif (kecerdasan, afektif (emosional dan spiritual dan psikomotorik (fisik siswa. Hal ini sejalan dengan Filsafat Pendidikan Nasional dan Kurikulum

Constraints on muscle performance provide a novel explanation for the scaling of posture in terrestrial animals.

Science.gov (United States)

Usherwood, James R

2013-08-23

Larger terrestrial animals tend to support their weight with more upright limbs. This makes structural sense, reducing the loading on muscles and bones, which is disproportionately challenging in larger animals. However, it does not account for why smaller animals are more crouched; instead, they could enjoy relatively more slender supporting structures or higher safety factors. Here, an alternative account for the scaling of posture is proposed, with close parallels to the scaling of jump performance. If the costs of locomotion are related to the volume of active muscle, and the active muscle volume required depends on both the work and the power demanded during the push-off phase of each step (not just the net positive work), then the disproportional scaling of requirements for work and push-off power are revealing. Larger animals require relatively greater active muscle volumes for dynamically similar gaits (e.g. top walking speed)-which may present an ultimate constraint to the size of running animals. Further, just as for jumping, animals with shorter legs and briefer push-off periods are challenged to provide the power (not the work) required for push-off. This can be ameliorated by having relatively long push-off periods, potentially accounting for the crouched stance of small animals.

Body Appreciation Scale: Evaluation of the Factor Structure and Psychometric Properties among Male and Female Turkish University Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Orkide BAKALIM

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The Body Appreciation Scale (BAS was developed by Avalos, Tylka & Wood-Barcalow (2005 to determine body appreciation. The present study examined the factor structure of the BAS among Turkish women and men university students. For this purpose, confirmatory factor analysis (competing model analysis was conducted to evaluate the factor structure the BAS. Results from the confirmatory factor analysis on 741 university student (431 women; 310 men suggested that a two-factor model with four items deleted represents an adequate description of the data, and best of the factor model proposed. In terms of convergent validity of the scale a negative and significant correlation was found between body appreciation and social appearance anxiety for women and men samples. The Turkish version of the BAS demonstrated adequate internal consistency and composite reliability. Finally, findings from t-test analysis showed that the BAS scores did not differ according to gender.

Fine scale spatial variability of microbial pesticide degradation in soil: scales, controlling factors, and implications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dechesne, Arnaud; Badawi, N.; Aamand, Jens

2014-01-01

across pesticide classes: they include some soil characteristics (pH) and some agricultural management practices (pesticide application, tillage), while other potential controlling factors have more conflicting effects depending on the site or the pesticide. Evidence demonstrating the importance......Pesticide biodegradation is a soil microbial function of critical importance for modern agriculture and its environmental impact. While it was once assumed that this activity was homogeneously distributed at the field scale, mounting evidence indicates that this is rarely the case. Here, we...... critically examine the literature on spatial variability of pesticide biodegradation in agricultural soil. We discuss the motivations, methods, and main findings of the primary literature. We found significant diversity in the approaches used to describe and quantify spatial heterogeneity, which complicates...

Relative sensitivities of DCE-MRI pharmacokinetic parameters to arterial input function (AIF) scaling.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xin; Cai, Yu; Moloney, Brendan; Chen, Yiyi; Huang, Wei; Woods, Mark; Coakley, Fergus V; Rooney, William D; Garzotto, Mark G; Springer, Charles S

2016-08-01

Dynamic-Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging (DCE-MRI) has been used widely for clinical applications. Pharmacokinetic modeling of DCE-MRI data that extracts quantitative contrast reagent/tissue-specific model parameters is the most investigated method. One of the primary challenges in pharmacokinetic analysis of DCE-MRI data is accurate and reliable measurement of the arterial input function (AIF), which is the driving force behind all pharmacokinetics. Because of effects such as inflow and partial volume averaging, AIF measured from individual arteries sometimes require amplitude scaling for better representation of the blood contrast reagent (CR) concentration time-courses. Empirical approaches like blinded AIF estimation or reference tissue AIF derivation can be useful and practical, especially when there is no clearly visible blood vessel within the imaging field-of-view (FOV). Similarly, these approaches generally also require magnitude scaling of the derived AIF time-courses. Since the AIF varies among individuals even with the same CR injection protocol and the perfect scaling factor for reconstructing the ground truth AIF often remains unknown, variations in estimated pharmacokinetic parameters due to varying AIF scaling factors are of special interest. In this work, using simulated and real prostate cancer DCE-MRI data, we examined parameter variations associated with AIF scaling. Our results show that, for both the fast-exchange-limit (FXL) Tofts model and the water exchange sensitized fast-exchange-regime (FXR) model, the commonly fitted CR transfer constant (K(trans)) and the extravascular, extracellular volume fraction (ve) scale nearly proportionally with the AIF, whereas the FXR-specific unidirectional cellular water efflux rate constant, kio, and the CR intravasation rate constant, kep, are both AIF scaling insensitive. This indicates that, for DCE-MRI of prostate cancer and possibly other cancers, kio and kep may be more suitable imaging

Measuring chronic condition self-management in an Australian community: factor structure of the revised Partners in Health (PIH) scale.

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Smith, David; Harvey, Peter; Lawn, Sharon; Harris, Melanie; Battersby, Malcolm

2017-01-01

To evaluate the factor structure of the revised Partners in Health (PIH) scale for measuring chronic condition self-management in a representative sample from the Australian community. A series of consultations between clinical groups underpinned the revision of the PIH. The factors in the revised instrument were proposed to be: knowledge of illness and treatment, patient-health professional partnership, recognition and management of symptoms and coping with chronic illness. Participants (N = 904) reporting having a chronic illness completed the revised 12-item scale. Two a priori models, the 4-factor and bi-factor models were then evaluated using Bayesian confirmatory factor analysis (BCFA). Final model selection was established on model complexity, posterior predictive p values and deviance information criterion. Both 4-factor and bi-factor BCFA models with small informative priors for cross-loadings provided an acceptable fit with the data. The 4-factor model was shown to provide a better and more parsimonious fit with the observed data in terms of substantive theory. McDonald's omega coefficients indicated that the reliability of subscale raw scores was mostly in the acceptable range. The findings showed that the PIH scale is a relevant and structurally valid instrument for measuring chronic condition self-management in an Australian community. The PIH scale may help health professionals to introduce the concept of self-management to their patients and provide assessment of areas of self-management. A limitation is the narrow range of validated PIH measurement properties to date. Further research is needed to evaluate other important properties such as test-retest reliability, responsiveness over time and content validity.

Geometry of lengths, areas, and volumes two-dimensional spaces, volume 1

CERN Document Server

Cannon, James W

2017-01-01

This is the first of a three volume collection devoted to the geometry, topology, and curvature of 2-dimensional spaces. The collection provides a guided tour through a wide range of topics by one of the twentieth century's masters of geometric topology. The books are accessible to college and graduate students and provide perspective and insight to mathematicians at all levels who are interested in geometry and topology. The first volume begins with length measurement as dominated by the Pythagorean Theorem (three proofs) with application to number theory; areas measured by slicing and scaling, where Archimedes uses the physical weights and balances to calculate spherical volume and is led to the invention of calculus; areas by cut and paste, leading to the Bolyai-Gerwien theorem on squaring polygons; areas by counting, leading to the theory of continued fractions, the efficient rational approximation of real numbers, and Minkowski's theorem on convex bodies; straight-edge and compass constructions, giving c...

Scale-invariant gravity: geometrodynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anderson, Edward; Barbour, Julian; Foster, Brendan; Murchadha, Niall O

2003-01-01

We present a scale-invariant theory, conformal gravity, which closely resembles the geometrodynamical formulation of general relativity (GR). While previous attempts to create scale-invariant theories of gravity have been based on Weyl's idea of a compensating field, our direct approach dispenses with this and is built by extension of the method of best matching w.r.t. scaling developed in the parallel particle dynamics paper by one of the authors. In spatially compact GR, there is an infinity of degrees of freedom that describe the shape of 3-space which interact with a single volume degree of freedom. In conformal gravity, the shape degrees of freedom remain, but the volume is no longer a dynamical variable. Further theories and formulations related to GR and conformal gravity are presented. Conformal gravity is successfully coupled to scalars and the gauge fields of nature. It should describe the solar system observations as well as GR does, but its cosmology and quantization will be completely different

FACTOR-ANALYSIS OF THE LEVEL OF EXPRESSED EMOTION SCALE, A QUESTIONNAIRE INTENDED TO MEASURE PERCEIVED EXPRESSED EMOTION

NARCIS (Netherlands)

GERLSMA, C; VANDERLUBBE, PM; VANNIEUWENHUIZEN, C

When the factor structure and psychometric qualities of the Level of Expressed Emotion scale, an instrument intended to assess patient's perceptions of expressed emotion, were evaluated, three moderately intercorrelated factors emerged, with good internal consistency; these were lack of emotional

Measurement, variation, and scaling of osteocyte lacunae: a case study in birds.

Science.gov (United States)

D'Emic, Michael D; Benson, Roger B J

2013-11-01

Basic issues surrounding osteocyte biology are still poorly understood, including the variability of osteocyte morphology within and among bones, individuals, and species. Several studies have suggested that the volume or shape of osteocytes (or their lacunae) is related to bone and/or organismal growth rate or metabolism, but the nature of this relationship, if any, is unclear. Furthermore, several studies have linked osteocyte lacuna volume with genome size or growth rate and suggested that osteocyte lacuna volume is unrelated to body size. Herein the scaling of osteocyte lacuna volume with body mass, growth and basal metabolic rates, genome size, and red blood cell size is examined using a broad sample of extant birds within a phylogenetic framework. Over 12,000 osteocyte lacuna axes were measured in a variety of bones from 34 avian and four non-avian dinosaur species. Osteocyte lacunae in parallel-fibered bone are scalene ellipsoids; their morphology and volume cannot be reliably estimated from any single thin section, and using a prolate ellipsoid model to estimate osteocyte lacuna volume results in a substantial (ca. 2-7 times) underestimate relative to true lacunar volume. Orthogonal thin sections reveal that in birds, even when only observing parallel-fibered, primary, cortical bone, intra-skeletal variation in osteocyte lacuna volume and shape is very high (volumes vary by a factor of 5.4 among different bones), whereas variation among homologous bones of the same species is low (1.2-44%; mean=12%). Ordinary and phylogenetically informed bivariate and multiple regressions demonstrate that in birds, osteocyte volume scales significantly but weakly with body mass and mass-specific basal metabolic rate and moderately with genome size, but not with erythrocyte size. Avian whole-body growth rate and osteocyte lacuna volume are weakly and inversely related. Finally, we present the first three-dimensionally calculated osteocyte volumes for several non

Analysis of increasing trend of mortgage volume in the Czech Republic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petra Střelcová

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is an empirical analysis of mortgage volume in the Czech Republic and factors identification of the increasing trend of the mortgage volume in the period from 2001 to 2007. Firstly, analysis of quarterly time series of mortgage volume and average mortgage rate are performed. Consequently, causality between mortgage volume and average mortgage rate is analysed. The morgage rate is the most important factor for economic subjects decision of residential investment. Afterwards, it is analysed causality between mortgage volume and selected factors via multiple regression analysis. Based on this analysis, influencing factors for multiple regression analysis describing mortgage volume are selected. Our empirical analysis validate the causality between mortgage volume and mortgage rate, unemployment rate and price level of real estates. Part of this paper is also economic eduction of causality and estimation of expect progress of mortgage volume especially in connection with present economic and business recession.

Renormalization and factorization scale analysis of b-barb production in antiproton-proton collisions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chyla, Jiri

2003-01-01

There is a sizable and systematic discrepancy between experimental data on the b-barb production in , p-barp, γp and γγ collisions and existing theoretical calculations within perturbative QCD. Before interpreting this discrepancy as a signal of new physics, it is important to understand quantitatively the ambiguities of conventional calculations. In this paper the uncertainty coming from renormalization and factorization scale dependence of finite order perturbation calculations of the total cross section of b-barb production in p-barp collisions is discussed in detail. It is shown that the mentioned discrepancy is reduced significantly if these scales are fixed via the Principle of Minimal Sensitivity. (author)

Amygdala Volume in Offspring from Multiplex for Alcohol Dependence Families: The Moderating Influence of Childhood Environment and 5-HTTLPR Variation.

Science.gov (United States)

Hill, Shirley Y; Wang, Shuhui; Carter, Howard; McDermott, Michael D; Zezza, Nicholas; Stiffler, Scott

2013-12-12

The increased susceptibility for developing alcohol dependence seen in offspring from families with alcohol dependence may be related to structural and functional differences in brain circuits that influence emotional processing. Early childhood environment, genetic variation in the serotonin transporter-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) of the SLCA4 gene and allelic variation in the Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) gene have each been reported to be related to volumetric differences in the temporal lobe especially the amygdala. Magnetic resonance imaging was used to obtain amygdala volumes for 129 adolescent/young adult individuals who were either High-Risk (HR) offspring from families with multiple cases of alcohol dependence (N=71) or Low-Risk (LR) controls (N=58). Childhood family environment was measured prospectively using age-appropriate versions of the Family Environment Scale during a longitudinal follow-up study. The subjects were genotyped for Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) Val66Met and the serotonin transporter polymorphism (5-HTTLPR). Two family environment scale scores (Cohesion and Conflict), genotypic variation, and their interaction were tested for their association with amygdala volumes. Personal and prenatal exposure to alcohol and drugs were considered in statistical analyses in order to more accurately determine the effects of familial risk group differences. Amygdala volume was reduced in offspring from families with multiple alcohol dependent members in comparison to offspring from control families. High-Risk offspring who were carriers of the S variant of the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism had reduced amygdala volume in comparison to those with an LL genotype. Larger amygdala volume was associated with greater family cohesion but only in Low-Risk control offspring. Familial risk for alcohol dependence is an important predictor of amygdala volume even when removing cases with significant personal exposure and covarying for

Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21): Factor Structure in Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitation.

Science.gov (United States)

Randall, Diane; Thomas, Matt; Whiting, Diane; McGrath, Andrew

To confirm the construct validity of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) by investigating the fit of published factor structures in a sample of adults with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (posttraumatic amnesia > 24 hours). Archival data from 504 patient records at the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Unit at Liverpool Hospital, Australia. Participants were aged between 16 and 71 years and were engaged in a specialist rehabilitation program. The DASS-21. Two of the 6 models had adequate fit using structural equation modeling. The data best fit Henry and Crawford's quadripartite model, which comprised a Depression, Anxiety and Stress factor, as well as a General Distress factor. The data also adequately fit Lovibond and Lovibond's original 3-factor model, and the internal consistencies of each factor were very good (α = 0.82-0.90). This study confirms the structure and construct validity of the DASS-21 and provides support for its use as a screening tool in traumatic brain injury rehabilitation.

Evaluation of stratification factors and score-scales in clinical trials of treatment of clinical mastitis in dairy cows.

Science.gov (United States)

Hektoen, L; Ødegaard, S A; Løken, T; Larsen, S

2004-05-01

There is often a need to reduce sample size in clinical trials due to practical limitations and ethical considerations. Better comparability between treatment groups by use of stratification in the design, and use of continuous outcome variables in the evaluation of treatment results, are two methods that can be used in order to achieve this. In this paper the choice of stratification factors in trials of clinical mastitis in dairy cows is investigated, and two score-scales for evaluation of clinical mastitis are introduced. The outcome in 57 dairy cows suffering from clinical mastitis and included in a clinical trial comparing homeopathic treatment, placebo and a standard antibiotic treatment is investigated. The strata of various stratification factors are compared across treatments to determine which other factors influence outcome. The two score scales, measuring acute and chronic mastitis symptoms, respectively, are evaluated on their ability to differentiate between patients classified from clinical criteria as responders or non-responders to treatment. Differences were found between the strata of the factors severity of mastitis, lactation number, previous mastitis this lactation and bacteriological findings. These factors influence outcome of treatment and appear relevant as stratification factors in mastitis trials. Both score scales differentiated between responders and non-responders to treatment and were found useful for evaluation of mastitis and mastitis treatment.

Critical human-factors issues in nuclear-power regulation and a recommended comprehensive human-factors long-range plan. Critical discussion of human factors areas of concern

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hopkins, C.O.; Snyder, H.L.; Price, H.E.; Hornick, R.J.; Mackie, R.R.; Smillie, R.J.; Sugarman, R.C.

1982-08-01

This comprehensive long-range human factors plan for nuclear reactor regulation was developed by a Study Group of the Human Factors Society, Inc. This Study Group was selected by the Executive Council of the Society to provide a balanced, experienced human factors perspective to the applications of human factors scientific and engineering knowledge to nuclear power generation. The report is presented in three volumes. Volume 1 contains an Executive Summary of the 18-month effort and its conclusions. Volume 2 summarizes all known nuclear-related human factors activities, evaluates these activities wherever adequate information is available, and describes the recommended long-range (10-year) plan for human factors in regulation. Volume 3 elaborates upon each of the human factors issues and areas of recommended human factors involvement contained in the plan, and discusses the logic that led to the recommendations

The intrinsic scale of Quantum Chromo Dynamics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sommer, Rainer [DESY (Germany). Neumann Inst. for Computing

2016-11-01

We are presently checking that the necessarily finite size of the simulated grid does not affect the decay constants at the level of our precision and we are connecting the coupling at the smallest scale μ to the decay constants through simulations at matching grid spacings. In the summer 2016 we will be able to put the SuperMUC results and the analysis of the running coupling together and present our high quality result at the summer conferences on particle physics. It will represent a milestone in lattice QCD: the scales μ reached are an order of magnitude higher than ever before in the three-flavour theory. Consequently the α{sup 2} correction is truly small for the first time. In addition there is full control of the continuum limit. The large volume simulations were carried out in a GAUSS project on both SuperMUC and Juqueen, using the most suitable architecture for each grid size. The many smaller volume simulations were done at HLRN with a much smaller number of cores per simulation. The combination of these supercomputing resources is essential for carrying out such a challenging project. Once there is again a jump in compute resources by a factor of order 10, we would like to simulate the 4-flavour theory in a way where the decoupling of the heaviest quark from the low-energy physics is used.

Examination of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale factor structure and longitudinal relationships with functioning in early psychosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Best, Michael W; Grossman, Michael; Oyewumi, L Kola; Bowie, Christopher R

2016-04-01

We examined the factor structure of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) in early-episode psychosis and its relationships with functioning at baseline and follow-up. A total of 240 consecutive admissions to an early intervention in psychosis clinic were assessed at intake to the program with the PANSS, Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) and Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale (SOFAS). Seventy individuals were reassessed at follow-up. A maximum likelihood factor analysis was conducted on baseline PANSS scores and the ability of each factor to predict baseline and follow-up GAF and SOFAS was examined. A five-factor model with varimax rotation was the best fit to our data and was largely congruent with factors found previously. The negative symptom factor was the best predictor of GAF and SOFAS at baseline and follow-up. Negative symptoms are the best symptomatic predictor of functioning in individuals with early psychosis and are an important treatment target to improve recovery. © 2014 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Factors influencing electric utility expansion. Volume II

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Masud, E. [ed.

1977-01-01

This report, Vol. 2, submitted by the General Electric Co., identifies factors that should be considered in planning interconnected systems and discusses how these factors relate to one another. The objective is to identify all the factors and classify them by their use and importance in arriving at a decision. Chapter 2 discusses the utility system and its system behavior characteristics, emphasizing behavior that affects the planning of the bulk-power generation and transmission system. Chapter 3 introduces interconnection planning by discussing the new system characteristics brought to operation and planning. Forty-two factors associated with cost, reliability, constraints, and coordination are related to each other by factor trees. Factor trees display the relationship of one factor such as reliability to more-detailed factors which in turn are further related to individual characteristics of facilities. These factor trees provide a structure to the presentation. A questionnaire including the 42 factors was completed by 52 system planners from utility companies and government authorities. The results of these questionnaires are tabulated and presented with pertinent discussion of each factor. Chapter 4 deals with generation planning, recognizing the existence of interconnections. Chapter 5 addresses transmission planning, questions related to reliability and cost measures and constraints, and factors related to both analytical techniques and planning procedures. The chapter ends with a discussion of combined generation-transmission planning. (MCW)

Elevated post-void residual volume in a geriatric post-hip fracture assessment in women-associated factors and risk of mortality.

Science.gov (United States)

Nuotio, Maria S; Luukkaala, Tiina; Tammela, Teuvo

2018-04-09

Multiple factors contribute to elevated post-void residual urine volumes (PVR), but they may indicate detrusor underactivity (DU), especially in older women. The aim here was to examine factors associated with and prognostic significance of elevated PVR in a geriatric post-hip fracture assessment in a female population. Consecutive female hip fracture patients (n = 409) aged 65 years and older were included. PVR was measured by bladder scanner. PVR of 160 ml or more was deemed elevated. Age-adjusted univariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the association of the domains of the comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) with elevated PVR. Cox proportional hazards model was used to determine the age-adjusted association of an elevated PVR with 1-year mortality. Of the patients, 64 (15.6%) had elevated PVR. Having urinary or fecal incontinence, difficulties in physical activities of daily living, malnutrition, poor performance on Timed Up and Go and Elderly Mobility Scale were significantly associated with elevated PVR. Difficulties in instrumental activities of daily living, renal dysfunction, constipation, polypharmacy, nocturia, cognitive impairment and depressive mood were not associated with elevated PVR. Elevated PVR significantly increased the risk of mortality 1 year post hip fracture. Elevated PVR is relatively common in older female hip fracture patients and associated with physical functioning, malnutrition and risk of mortality. Even though a causal relationship cannot be confirmed, the findings may suggest a relationship between DU and physical frailty. PVR deserves to be included in the CGA of frail older patients including women.

Spectral damping scaling factors for shallow crustal earthquakes in active tectonic regions

Science.gov (United States)

Rezaeian, Sanaz; Bozorgnia, Yousef; Idriss, I.M.; Campbell, Kenneth; Abrahamson, Norman; Silva, Walter

2012-01-01

Ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs) for elastic response spectra, including the Next Generation Attenuation (NGA) models, are typically developed at a 5% viscous damping ratio. In reality, however, structural and non-structural systems can have damping ratios other than 5%, depending on various factors such as structural types, construction materials, level of ground motion excitations, among others. This report provides the findings of a comprehensive study to develop a new model for a Damping Scaling Factor (DSF) that can be used to adjust the 5% damped spectral ordinates predicted by a GMPE to spectral ordinates with damping ratios between 0.5 to 30%. Using the updated, 2011 version of the NGA database of ground motions recorded in worldwide shallow crustal earthquakes in active tectonic regions (i.e., the NGA-West2 database), dependencies of the DSF on variables including damping ratio, spectral period, moment magnitude, source-to-site distance, duration, and local site conditions are examined. The strong influence of duration is captured by inclusion of both magnitude and distance in the DSF model. Site conditions are found to have less significant influence on DSF and are not included in the model. The proposed model for DSF provides functional forms for the median value and the logarithmic standard deviation of DSF. This model is heteroscedastic, where the variance is a function of the damping ratio. Damping Scaling Factor models are developed for the “average” horizontal ground motion components, i.e., RotD50 and GMRotI50, as well as the vertical component of ground motion.

Interaction between BDNF rs6265 Met allele and low family cohesion is associated with smaller left hippocampal volume in pediatric bipolar disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeni, Cristian Patrick; Mwangi, Benson; Cao, Bo; Hasan, Khader M; Walss-Bass, Consuelo; Zunta-Soares, Giovana; Soares, Jair C

2016-01-01

Genetic and environmental factors are implicated in the onset and evolution of pediatric bipolar disorder, and may be associated to structural brain abnormalities. The aim of our study was to assess the impact of the interaction between the Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) rs6265 polymorphism and family functioning on hippocampal volumes of children and adolescents with bipolar disorder, and typically-developing controls. We evaluated the family functioning cohesion subscale using the Family Environment Scale-Revised, genotyped the BDNF rs6265 polymorphism, and performed structural brain imaging in 29 children and adolescents with bipolar disorder, and 22 healthy controls. We did not find significant differences between patients with BD or controls in left or right hippocampus volume (p=0.44, and p=0.71, respectively). However, we detected a significant interaction between low scores on the cohesion subscale and the presence of the Met allele at BNDF on left hippocampal volume of patients with bipolar disorder (F=3.4, p=0.043). None of the factors independently (BDNF Val66Met, cohesion scores) was significantly associated with hippocampal volume differences. small sample size, cross-sectional study. These results may lead to a better understanding of the impact of the interaction between genes and environment factors on brain structures associated to bipolar disorder and its manifestations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Conceptual elaboration versus direct lexical access in WAIS-similarities: differential effects of white-matter lesions and gray matter volumes.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernaeus, Sven-Erik; Hellström, Åke

2017-09-18

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) subscale Similarities have been classified as a test of either verbal comprehension or of inductive reasoning. The reason may be that items divide into two categories. We tested the hypothesis of heterogeneity of items in WAIS-Similarities. Consecutive patients at a memory clinic and healthy controls participated in the study. White-matter hyperintensities (WMHs) and normalized temporal lobe volumes were measured based on Magnetic resonance Imaging (MRI), and tests of verbal memory and attention were used in addition to WAIS-Similarities to collect behavioural data. Factor analysis supported the hypothesis that two factors are involved in the performance of WAIS-similarities: (1) semiautomatic lexical access and (2) conceptual elaboration. These factors were highly correlated but provided discriminative diagnostic information: In logistic regression analyses, scores of the lexical access factor and of the conceptual elaboration factor discriminated patients with mild cognitive impairment from Alzheimer's disease patients and from healthy controls, respectively. High scores of WMH, indicating periventricular white-matter lesions, predicted factor scores of direct lexical access but not those of conceptual elaboration, which were predicted only by medial and lateral temporal lobe volumes.

Process innovations to minimize waste volumes at Savannah River

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doherty, J.P.

1986-01-01

In 1983 approximately 1.6 x 10 3 m 3 (427,000 gallons) of radioactive salt solution were decontaminated in a full-scale demonstration. The cesium decontamination factor (DF) was in excess of 4 x 10 4 vs. a goal of 1 x 10 4 . Data from this test were combined with pilot data and used to design the permanent facilities currently under construction. Startup of the Salt Decontamination Process is scheduled for 1987 and will decontaminate 2 x 10 4 m 3 (5.2 million gallons) of radioactive salt solution and generate 2 x 10 3 m 3 (520,000 gallons) of concentrated and washed precipitate per year. The Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) will begin processing this concentrate in the Precipitate Hydrolysis Process starting in 1989. Laboratory data using simulated salt solution and nonradioactive cesium are being used to design this process. A 1/5-scale pilot plant is under construction and will be used to gain large-scale operating experience using nonradioactive simulants. This pilot plant is scheduled to startup in early 1987. The incentives to reduce the volume of waste that must be treated are self-evident. At Savannah River process development innovations to minimize the DWPF feed volumes have directly improved the economics of the process. The integrity of the final borosilicate glass water form has not been compromised by these developments. Many of the unit operations are familiar to chemical engineers and were put to use in a unique environment. As a result, tax dollars have been saved, and the objective of safely disposing of the nation's high-level defense waste has moved forward

Personality factors in recently diagnosed multiple sclerosis patients: a preliminary investigation with the NEO-FFI scale

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aline Braz de Lima

2015-03-01

Full Text Available This article describes some prevalent personality dimensions of recently diagnosed multiple sclerosis patients. A sample of 33 female recently diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS was assessed with the NEO-FFI personality scale. Beck depression (BDI and anxiety (BAI scales were also used. No significant levels of anxiety or depression were identified in this group. As for personality factors, conscientiousness was the most common factor found, whereas openness to experience was the least observed. Literature on the relationship between personality and MS is scarce and there are no Brazilian studies on this subject. Some personality traits might complicate or facilitate the experience of living with a chronic, disabling and uncertain neurological condition such as MS.

Infarct volume predicts critical care needs in stroke patients treated with intravenous thrombolysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Faigle, Roland; Marsh, Elisabeth B.; Llinas, Rafael H.; Urrutia, Victor C. [Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Baltimore, MD (United States); Wozniak, Amy W. [Johns Hopkins University, Department of Biostatistics, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD (United States)

2014-10-26

Patients receiving intravenous thrombolysis with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (IVT) for ischemic stroke are monitored in an intensive care unit (ICU) or a comparable unit capable of ICU interventions due to the high frequency of standardized neurological exams and vital sign checks. The present study evaluates quantitative infarct volume on early post-IVT MRI as a predictor of critical care needs and aims to identify patients who may not require resource intense monitoring. We identified 46 patients who underwent MRI within 6 h of IVT. Infarct volume was measured using semiautomated software. Logistic regression and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis were used to determine factors associated with ICU needs. Infarct volume was an independent predictor of ICU need after adjusting for age, sex, race, systolic blood pressure, NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS), and coronary artery disease (odds ratio 1.031 per cm{sup 3} increase in volume, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 1.004-1.058, p = 0.024). The ROC curve with infarct volume alone achieved an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.766 (95 % CI 0.605-0.927), while the AUC was 0.906 (95 % CI 0.814-0.998) after adjusting for race, systolic blood pressure, and NIHSS. Maximum Youden index calculations identified an optimal infarct volume cut point of 6.8 cm{sup 3} (sensitivity 75.0 %, specificity 76.7 %). Infarct volume greater than 3 cm{sup 3} predicted need for critical care interventions with 81.3 % sensitivity and 66.7 % specificity. Infarct volume may predict needs for ICU monitoring and interventions in stroke patients treated with IVT. (orig.)

Infarct volume predicts critical care needs in stroke patients treated with intravenous thrombolysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faigle, Roland; Marsh, Elisabeth B.; Llinas, Rafael H.; Urrutia, Victor C.; Wozniak, Amy W.

2015-01-01

Patients receiving intravenous thrombolysis with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (IVT) for ischemic stroke are monitored in an intensive care unit (ICU) or a comparable unit capable of ICU interventions due to the high frequency of standardized neurological exams and vital sign checks. The present study evaluates quantitative infarct volume on early post-IVT MRI as a predictor of critical care needs and aims to identify patients who may not require resource intense monitoring. We identified 46 patients who underwent MRI within 6 h of IVT. Infarct volume was measured using semiautomated software. Logistic regression and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis were used to determine factors associated with ICU needs. Infarct volume was an independent predictor of ICU need after adjusting for age, sex, race, systolic blood pressure, NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS), and coronary artery disease (odds ratio 1.031 per cm 3 increase in volume, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 1.004-1.058, p = 0.024). The ROC curve with infarct volume alone achieved an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.766 (95 % CI 0.605-0.927), while the AUC was 0.906 (95 % CI 0.814-0.998) after adjusting for race, systolic blood pressure, and NIHSS. Maximum Youden index calculations identified an optimal infarct volume cut point of 6.8 cm 3 (sensitivity 75.0 %, specificity 76.7 %). Infarct volume greater than 3 cm 3 predicted need for critical care interventions with 81.3 % sensitivity and 66.7 % specificity. Infarct volume may predict needs for ICU monitoring and interventions in stroke patients treated with IVT. (orig.)

Orthogonal Higher Order Structure and Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the French Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-III)

Science.gov (United States)

Golay, Philippe; Lecerf, Thierry

2011-01-01

According to the most widely accepted Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) model of intelligence measurement, each subtest score of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Adults (3rd ed.; WAIS-III) should reflect both 1st- and 2nd-order factors (i.e., 4 or 5 broad abilities and 1 general factor). To disentangle the contribution of each factor, we applied a…

Factor analysis of the scale of prodromal symptoms: differentiating between negative and depression symptoms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Klaassen, Rianne M. C.; Velthorst, Eva; Nieman, Dorien H.; de Haan, Lieuwe; Becker, Hiske E.; Dingemans, Peter M.; van de Fliert, J. Reinaud; van der Gaag, Mark; Linszen, Don H.

2011-01-01

This study examines the ability of the Scale of Prodromal Symptoms (SOPS) to differentiate between negative and depression symptoms in a young help-seeking ultrahigh risk (UHR) group. SOPS data of 77 help-seeking patients at UHR for psychosis were analyzed with an exploratory factor analysis. The

Validation of the Single-Factor Model of the Relationship Assessment Scale among Married and Cohabiting Persons from Monterrey, Mexico

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José Moral de la Rubia

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The study of intimate partner relationships is particularly important because this union is the foundation of the family. Satisfaction with the relationship can be defined as the overall attitude to the relationship and the partner. The Hendrick's Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS is a instrument commonly used to assess the construct. Previous research papers have showed that this scale has high internal consistency and a single-factor structure. Although there are validation studies of the RAS, these studies used inappropriate statistical techniques to analyze its Likert-type items, and to determine the number of factors; likewise, its factor invariance across sex has not been previously contrasted. Therefore, this study posed the following research questions: Does the RAS have consistent and discriminating items? Basing the analysis on a polychoric correlation matrix, what is its level of internal consistency? How many factors emerge using rigorous empirical methods? Is the single-factor model invariant across sex? In order to answer these research questions, we used a random route probability sampling in this instrument validation study of the RAS. The sample was extracted from the population of married couples or the ones living in consensual union in Monterrey, Mexico. There were 431 female and 376 male participants in the study. The RAS’ items were consistent and discriminative. The internal consistency of the scale was excellent in the whole sample (ordinal α = .93, as well as among female (ordinal α = .94 and male participants (ordinal α = .92. Horn's parallel analysis and Velicer's  minimum average partial test suggested a one factor solution. Moreover, the single-factor model (with one correlation between the residuals of the two negatively worded items had a close fit to the data, and its properties of invariance across sex were very acceptable by the Unweighted Least Squares method. We conclude that the scale shows internal

Exploratory factor structure of the neurological evaluation scale in black africans with first episode schizophrenia

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Akin Ojagbemi

2016-03-01

Full Text Available While the organization of neurological soft signs (NSS in schizophrenia into Sensory integration, Motor coordination, and Motor sequencing, is functionally ‘meaningful’, it has not been confirmed by empirical methods such as factor analysis. Data on the exploratory factor analysis of the Neurological Evaluation scale in Black Africans with first episode schizophrenia are presented in this report. Data on the confirmatory factor structure of NSS in this population as well as their interpretation can be found in the work by Ojagbemi et al. (2015 [7].

Factor Structure, Validity and Reliability of the Revised Version of Skin Picking Scale

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Mehdi Rabiei

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Background: The purpose of this study was to examine the factor structure, validity and reliability of the Skin Picking Scale-Revised Version. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive and validation study, participants were 550 (250 male and 300 female of the University of Isfahan were selected randomly from 15000 students. In order to examine the factor structure of the SPS-R we conducted both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and Cronbach's alpha. Results: Convergent validity of SPS-R with YBOCS-BDD, OCI-R and DASS 21-item were r=0.45, r=0.51 and r=0.70 (p<0.001. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed two factors, one assessing impairment and the other symptom severity (4 items each. These factors could determine 58.1% of the variance. The Cronbach's alpha for the two factors were above 0.88. Also, results were shown to possess good psychometric properties, as well as discriminant validity and classification accuracy, in both clinical and community populations. Conclusion: It can be concluded that this instrument is a useful measure for assess skin-picking disorder symptoms in clinical assessment.

An accurate calibration method for accelerometer nonlinear scale factor on a low-cost three-axis turntable

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pan, Jianye; Zhang, Chunxi; Cai, Qingzhong

2014-01-01

Strapdown inertial navigation system (SINS) requirements are very demanding on gyroscopes and accelerometers as well as on calibration. To improve the accuracy of SINS, high-accuracy calibration is needed. Adding the accelerometer nonlinear scale factor into the model and reducing estimation errors is essential for improving calibration methods. In this paper, the inertial navigation error model is simplified, including only velocity and tilt errors. Based on the simplified error model, the relationship between the navigation errors (the rates of change of velocity errors) and the inertial measurement unit (IMU) calibration parameters is presented. A tracking model is designed to estimate the rates of change of velocity errors. With a special calibration procedure consisting of six rotation sequences, the accelerometer nonlinear scale factor errors can be computed by the estimates of the rates of change of velocity errors. Simulation and laboratory test results show that the accelerometer nonlinear scale factor can be calibrated with satisfactory accuracy on a low-cost three-axis turntable in several minutes. The comparison with the traditional calibration method highlights the superior performance of the proposed calibration method without precise orientation control. In addition, the proposed calibration method saves a lot of time in comparison with the multi-position calibration method. (paper)

Small-scale, joule-heated melting of Savannah River Plant waste glass. I. Factors affecting large-scale vitrification tests

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Plodinec, M.J.; Chismar, P.H.

1979-10-01

A promising method of immobilizing SRP radioactive waste solids is incorporation in borosilicate glass. In the reference vitrification process, called joule-heated melting, a mixture of glass frit and calcined waste is heated by passage of an electric current. Two problems observed in large-scale tests are foaming and formation of an insoluble slag. A small joule-heated melter was designed and built to study problems such as these. This report describes the melter, identifies factors involved in foaming and slag formation, and proposes ways to overcome these problems

Factor Structure of a Multidimensional Gender Identity Scale in a Sample of Chinese Elementary School Children

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Lu Yu

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This study examined the factor structure of a scale based on the four-dimensional gender identity model (Egan and Perry, 2001 in 726 Chinese elementary school students. Exploratory factor analyses suggested a three-factor model, two of which corresponded to “Felt Pressure” and “Intergroup Bias” in the original model. The third factor “Gender Compatibility” appeared to be a combination of “Gender Typicality” and “Gender Contentment” in the original model. Follow-up confirmatory factor analysis (CFA indicated that, relative to the initial four-factor structure, the three-factor model fits the current Chinese sample better. These results are discussed in light of cross-cultural similarities and differences in development of gender identity.

SUSY’s Ladder: reframing sequestering at Large Volume

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reece, Matthew [Department of Physics, Harvard University,Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Xue, Wei [Center for Theoretical Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States)

2016-04-07

Theories with approximate no-scale structure, such as the Large Volume Scenario, have a distinctive hierarchy of multiple mass scales in between TeV gaugino masses and the Planck scale, which we call SUSY’s Ladder. This is a particular realization of Split Supersymmetry in which the same small parameter suppresses gaugino masses relative to scalar soft masses, scalar soft masses relative to the gravitino mass, and the UV cutoff or string scale relative to the Planck scale. This scenario has many phenomenologically interesting properties, and can avoid dangers including the gravitino problem, flavor problems, and the moduli-induced LSP problem that plague other supersymmetric theories. We study SUSY’s Ladder using a superspace formalism that makes the mysterious cancelations in previous computations manifest. This opens the possibility of a consistent effective field theory understanding of the phenomenology of these scenarios, based on power-counting in the small ratio of string to Planck scales. We also show that four-dimensional theories with approximate no-scale structure enforced by a single volume modulus arise only from two special higher-dimensional theories: five-dimensional supergravity and ten-dimensional type IIB supergravity. This gives a phenomenological argument in favor of ten dimensional ultraviolet physics which is different from standard arguments based on the consistency of superstring theory.

Prostate specific cancer volume: a significant prognostic factor in prostate cancer patients at intermediate risk of failing radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lankford, S.P.; Pollack, A.; Zagars, G.K.

1996-01-01

Purpose: Although the pretreatment serum prostate specific antigen level (PSAL) is the single most significant predictor of local and biochemical control in prostate cancer patients treated with radiotherapy, it is relatively insensitive for patients with a PSAL in the intermediate range (4-20 ng/ml). PSA density (PSAD) has been shown to be slightly more predictive of outcome than PSAL for this intermediate risk group; however, this improvement is small and of little use clinically. PSA cancer volume (PSACV) is an estimate of cancer volume based on PSA that was recently described by D'Amico and Propert (IJROBP 32:232, 1995) as providing significant and independent prognostic information in addition to PSAL. We report here a detailed comparison between this new prognostic factor, PSAL, and PSAD. Methods and Materials: The records of 356 patients treated with definitive external beam radiotherapy for regionally localized (T1-4, Nx, M0) adenocarcinoma of the prostate were reviewed. Each patient had a PSAL, biopsy Gleason score, and pretreatment prostate volume by transrectal ultrasonography. The median PSAL was 9.3 ng/ml and 66% had Gleason scores in the 2-6 range. The median radiation dose was 66.0 Gy and the median follow-up for those living was 27 months. PSACV is a calculated parameter that takes into account PSAL (total PSA), ultrasonographic prostate volume (estimate of PSA from benign epithelium), and Gleason grade (estimate of PSA per tumor volume). The median PSACV was 1.43 cc. Biochemical failure was defined as increases in two consecutive follow-up PSA levels, one increase by a factor > 1.5, or an absolute increase of > 1 ng/ml. Local failure was defined as a cancer-positive prostate biopsy, usually undertaken because of evidence of biochemical failure. Results: The distributions of PSACV and PSAL were similar and, when normalized by log-transformation, were highly correlated (p 4 cc, as compared to those with a PSACV ≤ 0.5 cc, was over 30%. Conclusion

Cerebellar volume in patients with dementia Volume cerebelar em pacientes com demência

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Leonardo Baldaçara

2011-01-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the cerebellar volume of subjects at different stages of Alzheimer's disease and to investigate whether volume reductions in this structure are related to cognitive decline. METHOD: Ninety-six subjects from an epidemiological study were submitted to a magnetic resonance imaging scan and evaluated using the Mini-Mental State Examination and the Functional Activities Questionnaire. Subjects were divided into five groups according to the Clinical Dementia Rating scale. Twenty-six subjects from the original group who had no dementia diagnosis at baseline were re-evaluated for the onset of dementia after two years. RESULTS: The volumes of the cerebellar hemispheres, posterior cerebellar lobe, vermis and temporal lobe were found to be reduced as a function of the severity of the disease. There were significant positive correlations between the volume of the temporal lobe and cerebellum and the language, attention, and total scores in the Mini-Mental State Examination and the Functional Activities Questionnaire. A logistic regression analysis demonstrated that reduced temporal lobe, posterior cerebellar lobe and vermal volume at baseline is a risk factor for the onset of dementia. CONCLUSION: This is the first study demonstrating that reduced cerebellar volume is already apparent at the predementia stage. The results of this study support the involvement of the cerebellum in the progression of dementia. Whereas the cerebellum might not be directly associated with the origin of Alzheimer's disease, it may provide useful information related to its prognosis.OBJETIVO: O objetivo deste estudo foi examinar o volume cerebelar em indivíduos em diferentes fases da doença de Alzheimer e investigar se sua redução estaria relacionada com o declínio cognitivo. MÉTODO: Noventa e seis indivíduos de um estudo epidemiológico foram submetidos à ressonância magnética e avaliados por meio do Mini Exame do Estado

Cerebellar volume in patients with dementia Volume cerebelar em pacientes com demência

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leonardo Baldaçara

2011-06-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the cerebellar volume of subjects at different stages of Alzheimer's disease and to investigate whether volume reductions in this structure are related to cognitive decline. METHOD: Ninety-six subjects from an epidemiological study were submitted to a magnetic resonance imaging scan and evaluated using the Mini-Mental State Examination and the Functional Activities Questionnaire. Subjects were divided into five groups according to the Clinical Dementia Rating scale. Twenty-six subjects from the original group who had no dementia diagnosis at baseline were re-evaluated for the onset of dementia after two years. RESULTS: The volumes of the cerebellar hemispheres, posterior cerebellar lobe, vermis and temporal lobe were found to be reduced as a function of the severity of the disease. There were significant positive correlations between the volume of the temporal lobe and cerebellum and the language, attention, and total scores in the Mini-Mental State Examination and the Functional Activities Questionnaire. A logistic regression analysis demonstrated that reduced temporal lobe, posterior cerebellar lobe and vermal volume at baseline is a risk factor for the onset of dementia. CONCLUSION: This is the first study demonstrating that reduced cerebellar volume is already apparent at the predementia stage. The results of this study support the involvement of the cerebellum in the progression of dementia. Whereas the cerebellum might not be directly associated with the origin of Alzheimer's disease, it may provide useful information related to its prognosis.OBJETIVO: O objetivo deste estudo foi examinar o volume cerebelar em indivíduos em diferentes fases da doença de Alzheimer e investigar se sua redução estaria relacionada com o declínio cognitivo. MÉTODO: Noventa e seis indivíduos de um estudo epidemiológico foram submetidos à ressonância magnética e avaliados por meio do Mini Exame do Estado

Experimental verification of the statistical theories of scaling factor effect in fatigue fracture of steel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Svistun, R.P.; Babej, Yu.I.; Tkachenko, N.N.

1976-01-01

Statistical theories of the scale effect in the fatigue failure of 40KH18N9T, 10 and 20 steels have been verified. The theories are shown to be not invariably suitable for a satisfactory exlanation of the fatigue strength of the samples with respect to their dimensions. One of the main reasons for displaying the scale effect in the process of steel fatigue is the sample self-heating, i.e. a temperature factor which in many cases overlaps a statistical one

Experimental verification of the statistical theories of scaling factor effect in fatigue fracture of steel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Svistun, R P; Babei, Yu I; Tkachenko, N N [AN Ukrainskoj SSR, Lvov. Fiziko-Mekhanicheskij Inst.; L' vovskij Lesotekhnicheskij Inst. (Ukrainian SSR))

1976-01-01

Statistical theories of the scale effect in the fatigue failure of 40KH18N9T, 10 and 20 steels have been verified. The theories are shown to be not invariably suitable for a satisfactory exlanation of the fatigue strength of the samples with respect to their dimensions. One of the main reasons for displaying the scale effect in the process of steel fatigue is the sample self-heating, i.e. a temperature factor which in many cases overlaps a statistical one.

A prospective study of breast anthropomorphic measurements, volume and ptosis in 605 Asian patients with breast cancer or benign breast disease.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nai-Si Huang

Full Text Available The current study aims to summarize breast anthropomorphic measurement features in Chinese patients with breast diseases and to investigate their potential correlations with demographic factors.Fifteen breast anthropomorphic parameters of 605 Chinese female patients were collected prospectively. Breast ptosis status was scaled by two methods and breast volume was calculated according to a modified formula of BREAST-V.Among 1210 breasts, the average breast volume was 340.0±109.1 ml (91.8-919.2 ml. The distance from the nipple to the inframammary fold was 7.5±1.6 cm in the standing position. The width of the breast base was 14.3±1.4 cm (8.5-23.5 cm. The incidence of breast ptosis was 22.8% (274/1204, of which 37 (23.5% and 79 (31.7% women had severe ptosis assessed by different criteria. Increased height (OR[odds ratio] = 1.500, P<0.001, post-menopausal status (OR = 1.463, P = 0.02, increased BMI, breastfeeding for 7-12 months (OR = 1.882, P = 0.008 and more than one year (OR = 2.367, P = 0.001 were risk factors for an increased breast volume. Post-menopausal status (OR = 2.390, P<0.001 and OR = 2.621, P<0.001 for different scales, BMI≥24.7 kg/m2 (OR = 3.149, P<0.001 and OR = 2.495, P = 0.002, breastfeeding for 7-12 months (OR = 4.136, P = 0.004 and OR = 4.010, P = 0.002, and breastfeeding for more than one year (OR = 6.934, P<0.001 and OR = 6.707, P<0.001 were independent risk factors for breast ptosis.The current study provides anthropomorphic measurements data of Chinese women with breast diseases, which are useful for cosmetic and reconstructive breast surgery decisions. Post-menopausal status, increased BMI, and breastfeeding for more than six months were independent risk factors for both increased breast volume and breast ptosis.

Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Serum Levels and Hippocampal Volume in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia due to Alzheimer Disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Borba, Ericksen Mielle; Duarte, Juliana Avila; Bristot, Giovana; Scotton, Ellen; Camozzato, Ana Luiza; Chaves, Márcia Lorena Fagundes

2016-01-01

Hippocampal atrophy is a recognized biomarker of Alzheimer disease (AD) pathology. Serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) reduction has been associated with neurodegeneration. We aimed to evaluate BDNF serum levels and hippocampal volume in clinical AD (dementia and mild cognitive impairment [MCI]). Participants were 10 patients with MCI and 13 with dementia due to AD as well as 10 healthy controls. BDNF serum levels were determined by ELISA and volumetric measures with NeuroQuant®. MCI and dementia patients presented lower BDNF serum levels than healthy participants; dementia patients presented a smaller hippocampal volume than MCI patients and healthy participants. The findings support that the decrease in BDNF might start before the establishment of neuronal injury expressed by the hippocampal reduction.

On the predictivity of pore-scale simulations: estimating uncertainties with multilevel Monte Carlo

KAUST Repository

Icardi, Matteo

2016-02-08

A fast method with tunable accuracy is proposed to estimate errors and uncertainties in pore-scale and Digital Rock Physics (DRP) problems. The overall predictivity of these studies can be, in fact, hindered by many factors including sample heterogeneity, computational and imaging limitations, model inadequacy and not perfectly known physical parameters. The typical objective of pore-scale studies is the estimation of macroscopic effective parameters such as permeability, effective diffusivity and hydrodynamic dispersion. However, these are often non-deterministic quantities (i.e., results obtained for specific pore-scale sample and setup are not totally reproducible by another “equivalent” sample and setup). The stochastic nature can arise due to the multi-scale heterogeneity, the computational and experimental limitations in considering large samples, and the complexity of the physical models. These approximations, in fact, introduce an error that, being dependent on a large number of complex factors, can be modeled as random. We propose a general simulation tool, based on multilevel Monte Carlo, that can reduce drastically the computational cost needed for computing accurate statistics of effective parameters and other quantities of interest, under any of these random errors. This is, to our knowledge, the first attempt to include Uncertainty Quantification (UQ) in pore-scale physics and simulation. The method can also provide estimates of the discretization error and it is tested on three-dimensional transport problems in heterogeneous materials, where the sampling procedure is done by generation algorithms able to reproduce realistic consolidated and unconsolidated random sphere and ellipsoid packings and arrangements. A totally automatic workflow is developed in an open-source code [2015. https://bitbucket.org/micardi/porescalemc.], that include rigid body physics and random packing algorithms, unstructured mesh discretization, finite volume solvers

Training volume and body composition as risk factors for developing jumper's knee among young elite volleyball players.

Science.gov (United States)

Visnes, H; Bahr, R

2013-10-01

Training volume and body composition have been suggested as risk factors for jumper's knee among athletic youth, but research is lacking. The aim of this 4-year prospective cohort study was to examine the relationship between training and competition load, body composition, and risk for developing jumper's knee. Participants are elite volleyball players, aged 16-18 years. Training and competition load was recorded continuously and body composition semiannually. Jumper's knee was diagnosed on a standardized clinical examination. We recruited 141 healthy students (69 males and 72 females), and 28 developed jumper's knee (22 boys and six girls). In a multivariate analyses, boys had three to four times higher risk compared with girls. Volleyball training had an odds ratio (OR) 1.72 (1.18-2.53) for every extra hour trained, and match exposure was the strongest sports-related predictor for developing jumper's knee with an OR of 3.88 (1.80-8.40) for every extra set played per week. We did not detect any significant differences between the groups in body composition at the time of inclusion or in the change of body composition during the study period. Conclusion, male gender, a high volume of volleyball training and match exposure were risk factors for developing jumper's knee. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Identification of Heat Transfer Resistance of Scale Deposit on theEvaporator of Radioactive Waste Management Installation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zainus-Salimin

2000-01-01

Identification of heat transfer resistance of scale deposit from fixedhardness of liquid waste in the form of CaSO 4 and MgSO 4 ratio 2:1 has beendone on the evaporation system of Serpong Nuclear Facilities fordetermination of the quality of heat transfer obstruction from heating sourceto solution. Evaporation simulation of solution containing hardness withconcentration 0.5; 1; 2; and 2.5% mass were done on the stainless steelcontainer of 1 / volume with electrical heater in which a stainless-steeltube is put down on the base container. After 24, 168, 336, 504 and 672 hoursevaporation process it is obtained the thickness of scale deposit on thesurface of tube for determining the fouling factor. Heat transfer resistanceof scale deposit from 672 hours evaporation of solution 2.5% concentrationhampered heat transfer, the value of fouling factor be superior to limitsvalue of 0.000515 hours.m 2 . o C/kcal.The fouling factor from the evaporationof solution of 0.5; 1; and 2% concentration during 672 hours be inferior tolimits value. (author)

Recurrence interval analysis of trading volumes.

Science.gov (United States)

Ren, Fei; Zhou, Wei-Xing

2010-06-01

We study the statistical properties of the recurrence intervals τ between successive trading volumes exceeding a certain threshold q. The recurrence interval analysis is carried out for the 20 liquid Chinese stocks covering a period from January 2000 to May 2009, and two Chinese indices from January 2003 to April 2009. Similar to the recurrence interval distribution of the price returns, the tail of the recurrence interval distribution of the trading volumes follows a power-law scaling, and the results are verified by the goodness-of-fit tests using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS) statistic, the weighted KS statistic and the Cramér-von Mises criterion. The measurements of the conditional probability distribution and the detrended fluctuation function show that both short-term and long-term memory effects exist in the recurrence intervals between trading volumes. We further study the relationship between trading volumes and price returns based on the recurrence interval analysis method. It is found that large trading volumes are more likely to occur following large price returns, and the comovement between trading volumes and price returns is more pronounced for large trading volumes.

Identification of risk factors for post-endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography pancreatitis in a high volume center.

Science.gov (United States)

Phillip, Veit; Schwab, Miriam; Haf, David; Algül, Hana

2017-01-01

Pancreatitis is the most common complication of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). Several patients´ or procedure related risk factors for post-ERCP pancreatitis (PEP) have been suggested. The aim of this study was to validate the risk factors for PEP in a high-volume center. All patients undergoing first time ERCP at a tertiary referral center between December 2010 and October 2013 were retrospectively included. PEP was defined according to the Atlanta Classification. 344 patients were included in the final analysis. The risk to develop PEP was increased in patients with chronic pancreatitis (odds ratio 3.7) and after inadvertent cannulation of the pancreatic duct (odds ratio 2.2), which occurred in 26.5% of the patients. Inadvertent cannulation occurred significantly more frequently in patients with difficult cannulation of the papilla duodeni major (odds ratio 12.7; passociated with an increased risk for difficult cannulation (odds ratio 3.0). Inadvertent cannulation of the pancreatic duct is a procedure related risk factor for PEP. Measurements on preventing inadvertent cannulation of the pancreatic duct should be established and studies on prophylactic measurements should focus particularly on patients with inadvertent cannulation of the pancreatic duct.

Comparison of cadmium and chromium bioconcentration factors between scaled and scale less fish species: common carp and sutchi (striped catfish

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sideh Zainab Abedi

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Background: Water-borne, indissoluble heavy metals are bioaccumulated in fish (human food source. In this research, chromium (Cr and cadmium (Cd bioconcentration factors (BCFs in the skin, gills, scales, livers and muscles of two widely-consumed fish species, scaled common carp Cyprinus carpio and scaleless catfish Pangasius hypophthalmus were compared. Material and Methods: Lethal concentrations of Cd and Cr (64.89 & 7.46, and 84.8 & 17.05 mg/L for the catfish and carp, respectively were determined during 96 hrs (96 h LC50, and the fishes were exposed for 15 days. Then the tissue samples were chemically digested and the contents of Cd and Cr were determined using atomic absorption. Results: Total contents of Cr and Cd in the catfish's tissues were 2286.11 & 360.73, and those of Cr & Cd in carp were 734.71 & 725.67 μg/g.dw (excluding the scales, respectively. Metal concentrations in the water residues (day 15 revealed lower Cr and Cd (0.059 & 0.0036 mg/L in the catfish than those in the carp media (0.1 & 0.0412 mg/L, respectively. In common carp, BCF of Cd was as liver > skin > gills > muscle > scales, and those in the catfish marked as liver>muscle >gills >skin. The BCF of Cr in common carp ranked as gills>liver>skin>scales>muscle, and the catfish showing a BCF pattern of Cr as liver> muscle>skin>gills. Conclusion: This study signifies that small amounts of cadmium and chromium with high BCFs especially in the muscles of scale less fish (catfish threat consumers’ health.

Time varying, multivariate volume data reduction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ahrens, James P [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Fout, Nathaniel [UC DAVIS; Ma, Kwan - Liu [UC DAVIS

2010-01-01

Large-scale supercomputing is revolutionizing the way science is conducted. A growing challenge, however, is understanding the massive quantities of data produced by large-scale simulations. The data, typically time-varying, multivariate, and volumetric, can occupy from hundreds of gigabytes to several terabytes of storage space. Transferring and processing volume data of such sizes is prohibitively expensive and resource intensive. Although it may not be possible to entirely alleviate these problems, data compression should be considered as part of a viable solution, especially when the primary means of data analysis is volume rendering. In this paper we present our study of multivariate compression, which exploits correlations among related variables, for volume rendering. Two configurations for multidimensional compression based on vector quantization are examined. We emphasize quality reconstruction and interactive rendering, which leads us to a solution using graphics hardware to perform on-the-fly decompression during rendering. In this paper we present a solution which addresses the need for data reduction in large supercomputing environments where data resulting from simulations occupies tremendous amounts of storage. Our solution employs a lossy encoding scheme to acrueve data reduction with several options in terms of rate-distortion behavior. We focus on encoding of multiple variables together, with optional compression in space and time. The compressed volumes can be rendered directly with commodity graphics cards at interactive frame rates and rendering quality similar to that of static volume renderers. Compression results using a multivariate time-varying data set indicate that encoding multiple variables results in acceptable performance in the case of spatial and temporal encoding as compared to independent compression of variables. The relative performance of spatial vs. temporal compression is data dependent, although temporal compression has the

Factor Structure, Reliability and Measurement Invariance of the Alberta Context Tool and the Conceptual Research Utilization Scale, for German Residential Long Term Care

Science.gov (United States)

Hoben, Matthias; Estabrooks, Carole A.; Squires, Janet E.; Behrens, Johann

2016-01-01

We translated the Canadian residential long term care versions of the Alberta Context Tool (ACT) and the Conceptual Research Utilization (CRU) Scale into German, to study the association between organizational context factors and research utilization in German nursing homes. The rigorous translation process was based on best practice guidelines for tool translation, and we previously published methods and results of this process in two papers. Both instruments are self-report questionnaires used with care providers working in nursing homes. The aim of this study was to assess the factor structure, reliability, and measurement invariance (MI) between care provider groups responding to these instruments. In a stratified random sample of 38 nursing homes in one German region (Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar), we collected questionnaires from 273 care aides, 196 regulated nurses, 152 allied health providers, 6 quality improvement specialists, 129 clinical leaders, and 65 nursing students. The factor structure was assessed using confirmatory factor models. The first model included all 10 ACT concepts. We also decided a priori to run two separate models for the scale-based and the count-based ACT concepts as suggested by the instrument developers. The fourth model included the five CRU Scale items. Reliability scores were calculated based on the parameters of the best-fitting factor models. Multiple-group confirmatory factor models were used to assess MI between provider groups. Rather than the hypothesized ten-factor structure of the ACT, confirmatory factor models suggested 13 factors. The one-factor solution of the CRU Scale was confirmed. The reliability was acceptable (>0.7 in the entire sample and in all provider groups) for 10 of 13 ACT concepts, and high (0.90–0.96) for the CRU Scale. We could demonstrate partial strong MI for both ACT models and partial strict MI for the CRU Scale. Our results suggest that the scores of the German ACT and the CRU Scale for nursing

Ice thickness measurements and volume estimates for glaciers in Norway

Science.gov (United States)

Andreassen, Liss M.; Huss, Matthias; Melvold, Kjetil; Elvehøy, Hallgeir; Winsvold, Solveig H.

2014-05-01

Whereas glacier areas in many mountain regions around the world now are well surveyed using optical satellite sensors and available in digital inventories, measurements of ice thickness are sparse in comparison and a global dataset does not exist. Since the 1980s ice thickness measurements have been carried out by ground penetrating radar on many glaciers in Norway, often as part of contract work for hydropower companies with the aim to calculate hydrological divides of ice caps. Measurements have been conducted on numerous glaciers, covering the largest ice caps as well as a few smaller mountain glaciers. However, so far no ice volume estimate for Norway has been derived from these measurements. Here, we give an overview of ice thickness measurements in Norway, and use a distributed model to interpolate and extrapolate the data to provide an ice volume estimate of all glaciers in Norway. We also compare the results to various volume-area/thickness-scaling approaches using values from the literature as well as scaling constants we obtained from ice thickness measurements in Norway. Glacier outlines from a Landsat-derived inventory from 1999-2006 together with a national digital elevation model were used as input data for the ice volume calculations. The inventory covers all glaciers in mainland Norway and consists of 2534 glaciers (3143 glacier units) covering an area of 2692 km2 ± 81 km2. To calculate the ice thickness distribution of glaciers in Norway we used a distributed model which estimates surface mass balance distribution, calculates the volumetric balance flux and converts it into thickness using the flow law for ice. We calibrated this model with ice thickness data for Norway, mainly by adjusting the mass balance gradient. Model results generally agree well with the measured values, however, larger deviations were found for some glaciers. The total ice volume of Norway was estimated to be 275 km3 ± 30 km3. From the ice thickness data set we selected

Manufacturing Cost Analysis for YSZ-Based FlexCells at Pilot and Full Scale Production Scales

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Scott Swartz; Lora Thrun; Robin Kimbrell; Kellie Chenault

2011-05-01

Significant reductions in cell costs must be achieved in order to realize the full commercial potential of megawatt-scale SOFC power systems. The FlexCell designed by NexTech Materials is a scalable SOFC technology that offers particular advantages over competitive technologies. In this updated topical report, NexTech analyzes its FlexCell design and fabrication process to establish manufacturing costs at both pilot scale (10 MW/year) and full-scale (250 MW/year) production levels and benchmarks this against estimated anode supported cell costs at the 250 MW scale. This analysis will show that even with conservative assumptions for yield, materials usage, and cell power density, a cost of $35 per kilowatt can be achieved at high volume. Through advancements in cell size and membrane thickness, NexTech has identified paths for achieving cell manufacturing costs as low as $27 per kilowatt for its FlexCell technology. Also in this report, NexTech analyzes the impact of raw material costs on cell cost, showing the significant increases that result if target raw material costs cannot be achieved at this volume.

Validation of the Spanish version of the Drive for Muscularity Scale (DMS) among males: Confirmatory factor analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Sepulveda, Ana R; Parks, Melissa; de Pellegrin, Yolanda; Anastasiadou, Dimitra; Blanco, Miriam

2016-04-01

Drive for Muscularity (DM) has been shown to be a relevant construct for measuring and understanding male body image. For this reason, it is important to have reliable and valid instruments with which to measure DM, and to date no such instruments exist in Spain. This study analyzes the psychometric and structural properties of the Drive for Muscularity Scale (DMS) in a sample of Spanish adolescent males (N=212), with the aim of studying the structural validity of the scale by using a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), as well as analyzing the internal consistency and construct (convergent and discriminant) and concurrent validity of the instrument. After testing three models, results indicated that the best structure was a two-dimensional model, with the factors of muscularity-oriented body image (MBI) and muscularity behavior (MB). The scale showed good internal consistency (α=.90) and adequate construct validity. Furthermore, significant associations were found between DM and increased difficulties in emotional regulation (rho=.37) and low self-esteem (rho=-.19). Findings suggest that the two-factor structure may be used when assessing drive for muscularity among adolescent males in Spain. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ischemic Volume and Neurological Deficit: Correlation of Computed Tomography Perfusion with the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale Score in Acute Ischemic Stroke.

Science.gov (United States)

Furlanis, Giovanni; Ajčević, Miloš; Stragapede, Lara; Lugnan, Carlo; Ridolfi, Mariana; Caruso, Paola; Naccarato, Marcello; Ukmar, Maja; Manganotti, Paolo

2018-04-30

The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) is the most adopted stroke patients' evaluation tool in emergency settings to assess the severity of stroke and to determine the patients' eligibility for specific treatments. Computed tomography perfusion (CTP) is crucial to identify salvageable tissue that can benefit from the reperfusion treatment. The aim of this study is to identify the relation between the NIHSS scores and the hypoperfused volumes evaluated by CTP in patients with hyperacute ischemic stroke. This retrospective study was conducted on 105 patients with ischemic stroke who underwent NIHSS assessment and CTP in the hyperacute phase. Hypoperfused volume was evaluated by CTP maps processed with semi-automatic algorithm. An analysis was conducted to determine the degree of correlation between the NIHSS scores and the ischemic lesion volumes and to investigate the relation between the anterior and the posterior circulation strokes, as well as between the right and the left hemispheric strokes. A significant correlation was found between ischemic volume and NIHSS score at baseline (r = .82; P correlation was identified in the anterior circulation stroke (r = .76; P correlated for the left and the right hemispheric strokes (r = .83 and .81; P correlation between the baseline NIHSS score and the ischemic volume estimated by CTP. We confirmed that NIHSS is a reliable predictor of perfusion deficits in acute ischemic stroke. CTP allows fast imaging assessment in the hyperacute phase. The results highlight the importance of these diagnostic tools in the assessment of stroke severity and in acute decision-making. Copyright © 2018 National Stroke Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Contaminated metallic melt volume reduction testing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deichman, J.L.

1981-01-01

Laboratory scale metallic melts (stainless steel) were accomplished in support of Decontamination and Decommissioning's (D and D) contaminated equipment volume reduction and Low-Level Lead Site Waste programs. Six laboratory scale melts made with contaminated stainless steel provided data that radionuclide distribution can be predicted when proper temperature rates and ranges are employed, and that major decontamination occurs with the use of designed slagging materials. Stainless steel bars were contaminated with plutonium, cobalt, cesium and europium. This study was limited to stainless steel, however, further study is desirable to establish data for other metals and alloys. This study represents a positive beginning in defining the feasibility of economical volume reduction or conversion from TRU waste forms to LLW forms for a large portion of approximately 50 thousand tons of contaminated metal waste now being stored at Hanford underground or in deactivated facilities

Factor Structure of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children: Fourth Edition in Children with ADHD.

Science.gov (United States)

Thaler, Nicholas S; Barchard, Kimberly A; Parke, Elyse; Jones, W Paul; Etcoff, Lewis M; Allen, Daniel N

2015-12-01

Recent evidence suggests that the factor structure of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) is better explained by a five-factor model rather than the four-factor model in the standardization sample. The current study examined the WISC-IV's factor structure in a sample of children with ADHD. Participants included 314 children and adolescents who were diagnosed with ADHD. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted on the 10 core subtests of the WISC-IV, and three models were examined including two based on Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory. A five-factor model consisting of Gc, Gf, Gv, Gsm, and Gs factors provided the best fit for the data. The Perceptual Reasoning factor identified in the original four-factor model split into the two CHC factors, Gf and Gv, and cross-loaded the Symbol Search subtest onto the Gv factor. A five-factor model based on CHC theory provided superior fit for the WISC-IV in children with ADHD, as has been found with the standardization sample. © The Author(s) 2012.

Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Dutch Version of the Wechsler Memory Scale-Fourth Edition (WMS-IV-NL)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bouman, Z.; Hendriks, M.P.; Kerkmeer, M.C.; Kessels, R.P.C.; Aldenkamp, A.P.

2015-01-01

The latent factor structure of the Dutch version of the Wechsler Memory Scale-Fourth Edition (WMS-IV-NL) was examined with a series of confirmatory factor analyses. As part of the Dutch standardization, 1,188 healthy participants completed the WMS-IV-NL. Four models were tested for the Adult Battery

The Relation between Cosmological Redshift and Scale Factor for Photons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tian, Shuxun, E-mail: tshuxun@mail.bnu.edu.cn [Department of Astronomy, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875 (China); Department of Physics, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072 (China)

2017-09-10

The cosmological constant problem has become one of the most important ones in modern cosmology. In this paper, we try to construct a model that can avoid the cosmological constant problem and have the potential to explain the apparent late-time accelerating expansion of the universe in both luminosity distance and angular diameter distance measurement channels. In our model, the core is to modify the relation between cosmological redshift and scale factor for photons. We point out three ways to test our hypothesis: the supernova time dilation; the gravitational waves and its electromagnetic counterparts emitted by the binary neutron star systems; and the Sandage–Loeb effect. All of this method is feasible now or in the near future.

Evaluating the Factor Validity of the Children's Organizational Skills Scale in Youth with ADHD.

Science.gov (United States)

Molitor, Stephen J; Langberg, Joshua M; Evans, Steven W; Dvorsky, Melissa R; Bourchtein, Elizaveta; Eddy, Laura D; Smith, Zoe R; Oddo, Lauren E

2017-06-01

Children and adolescents with ADHD often have difficulties with organization, time management, and planning (OTMP) skills, and these skills are a common target of intervention. A limited array of tools for measuring these abilities in youth is available, and one of the most prominent measures is the Children's Organizational Skills Scale (COSS). Although the COSS fills an important need, a replication of the COSS factor structure outside of initial measure development has not been conducted in any population. Given that the COSS is frequently used in ADHD research, the current study evaluated the factor structure of the parent-rated COSS in a sample ( N = 619) of adolescents with ADHD. Results indicated that the original factor structure could be replicated, although the use of item parcels appeared to affect model fit statistics. An alternative bi-factor model was also tested that did not require the use of parcels, with results suggesting similar model fit in comparison to the original factor structure. Exploratory validity tests indicated that the domain-general factor of the bi-factor model appears related to broad executive functioning abilities.

The molar hydrodynamic volume changes of factor VIIa due to GlycoPEGylation.

Science.gov (United States)

Plesner, Bitten; Westh, Peter; Hvidt, Søren; Nielsen, Anders D

2011-06-01

The effects of GlycoPEGylation on the molar hydrodynamic volume of recombinant human rFVIIa were investigated using rFVIIa and two GlycoPEGylated recombinant human FVIIa derivatives, a linear 10kDa PEG and a branched 40kDa PEG, respectively. Molar hydrodynamic volumes were determined by capillary viscometry and mass spectrometry. The intrinsic viscosities of rFVIIa, its two GlycoPEGylated compounds, and of linear 8kDa, 10kDa, 20kDa and branched 40kDa PEG polymers were determined. The measured intrinsic viscosity of rFVIIa is 6.0mL/g, while the intrinsic viscosities of 10kDa PEG-rFVIIa and 40kDa PEG-rFVIIa are 29.5mL/g and 79.0mL/g, respectively. The intrinsic viscosities of the linear PEG polymers are 20, 22.6 and 41.4mL/g for 8, 10, and 20kDa, respectively, and 61.1mL/g for the branched 40kDa PEG. From the results of the intrinsic viscosity and MALDI-TOF measurements it is evident, that the molar hydrodynamic volume of the conjugated protein is not just an addition of the molar hydrodynamic volume of the PEG and the protein. The molar hydrodynamic volume of the GlycoPEGylated protein is larger than the volume of its composites. These results suggest that both the linear and the branched PEG are not wrapped around the surface of rFVIIa but are chains that are significantly stretched out when attached to the protein. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Spatial Distribution of Stony Desertification and Key Influencing Factors on Different Sampling Scales in Small Karst Watersheds

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Zhenming; Zhou, Yunchao; Wang, Shijie

2018-01-01

Karst areas are typical ecologically fragile areas, and stony desertification has become the most serious ecological and economic problems in these areas worldwide as well as a source of disasters and poverty. A reasonable sampling scale is of great importance for research on soil science in karst areas. In this paper, the spatial distribution of stony desertification characteristics and its influencing factors in karst areas are studied at different sampling scales using a grid sampling method based on geographic information system (GIS) technology and geo-statistics. The rock exposure obtained through sampling over a 150 m × 150 m grid in the Houzhai River Basin was utilized as the original data, and five grid scales (300 m × 300 m, 450 m × 450 m, 600 m × 600 m, 750 m × 750 m, and 900 m × 900 m) were used as the subsample sets. The results show that the rock exposure does not vary substantially from one sampling scale to another, while the average values of the five subsamples all fluctuate around the average value of the entire set. As the sampling scale increases, the maximum value and the average value of the rock exposure gradually decrease, and there is a gradual increase in the coefficient of variability. At the scale of 150 m × 150 m, the areas of minor stony desertification, medium stony desertification, and major stony desertification in the Houzhai River Basin are 7.81 km2, 4.50 km2, and 1.87 km2, respectively. The spatial variability of stony desertification at small scales is influenced by many factors, and the variability at medium scales is jointly influenced by gradient, rock content, and rock exposure. At large scales, the spatial variability of stony desertification is mainly influenced by soil thickness and rock content. PMID:29652811

Spatial Distribution of Stony Desertification and Key Influencing Factors on Different Sampling Scales in Small Karst Watersheds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhenming Zhang

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Karst areas are typical ecologically fragile areas, and stony desertification has become the most serious ecological and economic problems in these areas worldwide as well as a source of disasters and poverty. A reasonable sampling scale is of great importance for research on soil science in karst areas. In this paper, the spatial distribution of stony desertification characteristics and its influencing factors in karst areas are studied at different sampling scales using a grid sampling method based on geographic information system (GIS technology and geo-statistics. The rock exposure obtained through sampling over a 150 m × 150 m grid in the Houzhai River Basin was utilized as the original data, and five grid scales (300 m × 300 m, 450 m × 450 m, 600 m × 600 m, 750 m × 750 m, and 900 m × 900 m were used as the subsample sets. The results show that the rock exposure does not vary substantially from one sampling scale to another, while the average values of the five subsamples all fluctuate around the average value of the entire set. As the sampling scale increases, the maximum value and the average value of the rock exposure gradually decrease, and there is a gradual increase in the coefficient of variability. At the scale of 150 m × 150 m, the areas of minor stony desertification, medium stony desertification, and major stony desertification in the Houzhai River Basin are 7.81 km2, 4.50 km2, and 1.87 km2, respectively. The spatial variability of stony desertification at small scales is influenced by many factors, and the variability at medium scales is jointly influenced by gradient, rock content, and rock exposure. At large scales, the spatial variability of stony desertification is mainly influenced by soil thickness and rock content.

Spatial Distribution of Stony Desertification and Key Influencing Factors on Different Sampling Scales in Small Karst Watersheds.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Zhenming; Zhou, Yunchao; Wang, Shijie; Huang, Xianfei

2018-04-13

Karst areas are typical ecologically fragile areas, and stony desertification has become the most serious ecological and economic problems in these areas worldwide as well as a source of disasters and poverty. A reasonable sampling scale is of great importance for research on soil science in karst areas. In this paper, the spatial distribution of stony desertification characteristics and its influencing factors in karst areas are studied at different sampling scales using a grid sampling method based on geographic information system (GIS) technology and geo-statistics. The rock exposure obtained through sampling over a 150 m × 150 m grid in the Houzhai River Basin was utilized as the original data, and five grid scales (300 m × 300 m, 450 m × 450 m, 600 m × 600 m, 750 m × 750 m, and 900 m × 900 m) were used as the subsample sets. The results show that the rock exposure does not vary substantially from one sampling scale to another, while the average values of the five subsamples all fluctuate around the average value of the entire set. As the sampling scale increases, the maximum value and the average value of the rock exposure gradually decrease, and there is a gradual increase in the coefficient of variability. At the scale of 150 m × 150 m, the areas of minor stony desertification, medium stony desertification, and major stony desertification in the Houzhai River Basin are 7.81 km², 4.50 km², and 1.87 km², respectively. The spatial variability of stony desertification at small scales is influenced by many factors, and the variability at medium scales is jointly influenced by gradient, rock content, and rock exposure. At large scales, the spatial variability of stony desertification is mainly influenced by soil thickness and rock content.

Factor structure of the Childhood Autism Rating Scale as per DSM-5.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Eun-Young; Kim, Joungmin

2016-02-01

The DSM-5 recently proposed new diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Although many new or updated tools have been developed since the DSM-IV was published in 1994, the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) has been used consistently in ASD diagnosis and research due to its technical adequacy, cost-effectiveness, and practicality. Additionally, items in the CARS did not alter following the release of the revised DSM-IV because the CARS factor structure was found to be consistent with the revised criteria after factor analysis. For that reason, in this study confirmatory factor analysis was used to identify the factor structure of the CARS. Participants (n = 150) consisted of children with an ASD diagnosis or who met the criteria for broader autism or emotional/behavior disorder with comorbid disorders such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, bipolar disorder, intellectual or developmental disabilities. Previous studies used one-, two-, and four-factor models, all of which we examined to confirm the best-fit model on confirmatory factor analysis. Appropriate comparative fit indices and root mean square errors were obtained for all four models. The two-factor model, based on DSM-5 criteria, was the most valid and reliable. The inter-item consistency of the CARS was 0.926 and demonstrated adequate reliability, thereby supporting the validity and reliability of the two-factor model of CARS. Although CARS was developed prior to the introduction of DSM-5, its psychometric properties, conceptual relevance, and flexible administration procedures support its continued role as a screening device in the diagnostic decision-making process. © 2015 Japan Pediatric Society.

Validation of the Social Appearance Anxiety Scale: factor, convergent, and divergent validity.

Science.gov (United States)

Levinson, Cheri A; Rodebaugh, Thomas L

2011-09-01

The Social Appearance Anxiety Scale (SAAS) was created to assess fear of overall appearance evaluation. Initial psychometric work indicated that the measure had a single-factor structure and exhibited excellent internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and convergent validity. In the current study, the authors further examined the factor, convergent, and divergent validity of the SAAS in two samples of undergraduates. In Study 1 (N = 323), the authors tested the factor structure, convergent, and divergent validity of the SAAS with measures of the Big Five personality traits, negative affect, fear of negative evaluation, and social interaction anxiety. In Study 2 (N = 118), participants completed a body evaluation that included measurements of height, weight, and body fat content. The SAAS exhibited excellent convergent and divergent validity with self-report measures (i.e., self-esteem, trait anxiety, ethnic identity, and sympathy), predicted state anxiety experienced during the body evaluation, and predicted body fat content. In both studies, results confirmed a single-factor structure as the best fit to the data. These results lend additional support for the use of the SAAS as a valid measure of social appearance anxiety.

Improvements in scaling of counter-current imbibition recovery curves using a shape factor including permeability anisotropy

Science.gov (United States)

Abbasi, Jassem; Sarafrazi, Shiva; Riazi, Masoud; Ghaedi, Mojtaba

2018-02-01

Spontaneous imbibition is the main oil production mechanism in the water invaded zone of a naturally fractured reservoir (NFR). Different scaling equations have been presented in the literature for upscaling of core scale imbibition recovery curves to field scale matrix blocks. Various scale dependent parameters such as gravity effects and boundary influences are required to be considered in the upscaling process. Fluid flow from matrix blocks to the fracture system is highly dependent on the permeability value in the horizontal and vertical directions. The purpose of this study is to include permeability anisotropy in the available scaling equations to improve the prediction of imbibition assisted oil production in NFRs. In this paper, a commercial reservoir simulator was used to obtain imbibition recovery curves for different scenarios. Then, the effect of permeability anisotropy on imbibition recovery curves was investigated, and the weakness of the existing scaling equations for anisotropic rocks was demonstrated. Consequently, an analytical shape factor was introduced that can better scale all the curves related to anisotropic matrix blocks.

Hollow Fiber Membrane Contactors for CO2 Capture: Modeling and Up-Scaling to CO2 Capture for an 800 MWe Coal Power Station

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kimball Erin

2014-11-01

Full Text Available A techno-economic analysis was completed to compare the use of Hollow Fiber Membrane Modules (HFMM with the more conventional structured packing columns as the absorber in amine-based CO2 capture systems for power plants. In order to simulate the operation of industrial scale HFMM systems, a two-dimensional model was developed and validated based on results of a laboratory scale HFMM. After successful experiments and validation of the model, a pilot scale HFMM was constructed and simulated with the same model. The results of the simulations, from both sizes of HFMM, were used to assess the feasibility of further up-scaling to a HFMM system to capture the CO2 from an 800 MWe power plant. The system requirements – membrane fiber length, total contact surface area, and module volume – were determined from simulations and used for an economic comparison with structured packing columns. Results showed that a significant cost reduction of at least 50% is required to make HFMM competitive with structured packing columns. Several factors for the design of industrial scale HFMM require further investigation, such as the optimal aspect ratio (module length/diameter, membrane lifetime, and casing material and shape, in addition to the need to reduce the overall cost. However, HFMM were also shown to have the advantages of having a higher contact surface area per unit volume and modular scale-up, key factors for applications requiring limited footprints or flexibility in configuration.

Dissecting variation in biomass conversion factors across China's forests: implications for biomass and carbon accounting.

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Yunjian; Zhang, Xiaoquan; Wang, Xiaoke; Ren, Yin

2014-01-01

Biomass conversion factors (BCFs, defined as the ratios of tree components (i.e. stem, branch, foliage and root), as well as aboveground and whole biomass of trees to growing stock volume, Mg m-3) are considered as important parameters in large-scale forest biomass carbon estimation. To date, knowledge of possible sources of the variation in BCFs is still limited at large scales. Using our compiled forest biomass dataset of China, we presented forest type-specific values of BCFs, and examined the variation in BCFs in relation to forest type, stand development and environmental factors (climate and soil fertility). BCFs exhibited remarkable variation across forest types, and also were significantly related to stand development (especially growing stock volume). BCFs (except Stem BCF) had significant relationships with mean annual temperature (MAT) and mean annual precipitation (MAP) (Pforest carbon estimates, we should apply values of BCFs for a specified forest type, and also consider climatic and edaphic effects, especially climatic effect, in developing predictive models of BCFs (except Stem BCF).

Waste volume reduction factors for potential 242-A evaporator feed

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sederburg, J.P.

1995-01-01

Double-shell tank (DST) storage space requirements have been shown to be highly dependent on the end point of 242-A operations. Consequences to the DST of various waste volumes, and concentrations, are evaluated. Only waste streams that are currently planned to be stored in the DST system before the year 2004 are discussed. As of January 1, 1995, approximately 27-million L (7.2-million gal) of dilute wastes are stored in the DSTs available for evaporator processing. Waste streams planned to be transferred to the DSTs before December 31, 2004, are identified. The DST volume for storing slurry from these wastes is presented in this document. At a final slurry specific gravity of -1.35, 22.5-million L (5.93-million gal) of DST space would be needed on December 31, 2004, to store the product from evaporator processing of these feedstocks. The expected volume needed if the resultant slurry were concentrated to the traditional double-shell slurry feed (DSSF) phase boundary (a specific gravity of ∼1.5) would be 17.7-million L (4.67-million gal). An additional 4.8-million L (1.26-million gal) is therefore needed if these wastes are concentrated to a specific gravity of 1.35 instead of the DSSF limit

Development of new geomagnetic storm ground response scaling factors for utilization in hazard assessments

Science.gov (United States)

Pulkkinen, A. A.; Bernabeu, E.; Weigel, R. S.; Kelbert, A.; Rigler, E. J.; Bedrosian, P.; Love, J. J.

2017-12-01

Development of realistic storm scenarios that can be played through the exposed systems is one of the key requirements for carrying out quantitative space weather hazards assessments. In the geomagnetically induced currents (GIC) and power grids context, these scenarios have to quantify the spatiotemporal evolution of the geoelectric field that drives the potentially hazardous currents in the system. In response to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) order 779, a team of scientists and engineers that worked under the auspices of North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), has developed extreme geomagnetic storm and geoelectric field benchmark(s) that use various scaling factors that account for geomagnetic latitude and ground structure of the locations of interest. These benchmarks, together with the information generated in the National Space Weather Action Plan, are the foundation for the hazards assessments that the industry will be carrying out in response to the FERC order and under the auspices of the National Science and Technology Council. While the scaling factors developed in the past work were based on the best available information, there is now significant new information available for parts of the U.S. pertaining to the ground response to external geomagnetic field excitation. The significant new information includes the results magnetotelluric surveys that have been conducted over the past few years across the contiguous US and results from previous surveys that have been made available in a combined online database. In this paper, we distill this new information in the framework of the NERC benchmark and in terms of updated ground response scaling factors thereby allowing straightforward utilization in the hazard assessments. We also outline the path forward for improving the overall extreme event benchmark scenario(s) including generalization of the storm waveforms and geoelectric field spatial patterns.

Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Serum Levels and Hippocampal Volume in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia due to Alzheimer Disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ericksen Mielle Borba

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Background/Aims: Hippocampal atrophy is a recognized biomarker of Alzheimer disease (AD pathology. Serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF reduction has been associated with neurodegeneration. We aimed to evaluate BDNF serum levels and hippocampal volume in clinical AD (dementia and mild cognitive impairment [MCI]. Methods: Participants were 10 patients with MCI and 13 with dementia due to AD as well as 10 healthy controls. BDNF serum levels were determined by ELISA and volumetric measures with NeuroQuant®. Results: MCI and dementia patients presented lower BDNF serum levels than healthy participants; dementia patients presented a smaller hippocampal volume than MCI patients and healthy participants. Discussion: The findings support that the decrease in BDNF might start before the establishment of neuronal injury expressed by the hippocampal reduction.