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The ciprofloxacin target AUC : MIC ratio is not reached in hospitalized patients with the recommended dosing regimens.
Haeseker, Michiel; Stolk, Leo; Nieman, Fred; Hoebe, Christian; Neef, Cees; Bruggeman, Cathrien; Verbon, Annelies
The aim of this study was to determine the ciprofloxacin serum concentrations in hospitalized patients and to determine which percentage reached the efficacy target of AUC : MIC > 125. Additionally, the influence of demographic anthropomorphic and clinical parameters on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of ciprofloxacin were investigated. In serum of 80 hospitalized patients ciprofloxacin concentrations were measured with reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. The ciprofloxacin dose was 400-1200 mg day(-1) i.v. in two or three doses depending on renal function and causative bacteria. Pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated with maximum a posteriori Bayesian estimation (MW\\PHARM 3.60). A two compartment open model was used. Mean (± SD) age was 66 (± 17) years, the mean clearance corrected for bodyweight was 0.24 l h(-1) kg(-1) and the mean AUC was 49 mg l(-1) h. Ciprofloxacin clearance and thus AUC were associated with both age and serum creatinine. Of all patients, 21% and 75% of the patients, did not reach the proposed ciprofloxacin AUC : MIC > 125 target with MICs of 0.25 and 0.5 mg l(-1), respectively. A computer simulated increase in the daily dose from 800 mg to 1200 mg, decreased these percentages to 1% and 37%, respectively. A substantial proportion of the hospitalized patients did not reach the target ciprofloxacin AUC : MIC and are suboptimally dosed with recommended doses. Taking into account the increasing resistance to ciprofloxacin worldwide, a ciprofloxacin dose of 1200 mg i.v. daily in patients with normal renal function is necessary to reach the targeted AUC : MIC > 125. © 2012 The Authors. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology © 2012 The British Pharmacological Society.
Predictive value of modeled AUC(AFP-hCG), a dynamic kinetic parameter characterizing serum tumor marker decline in patients with nonseminomatous germ cell tumor.
You, Benoit; Fronton, Ludivine; Boyle, Helen; Droz, Jean-Pierre; Girard, Pascal; Tranchand, Brigitte; Ribba, Benjamin; Tod, Michel; Chabaud, Sylvie; Coquelin, Henri; Fléchon, Aude
The early decline profile of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in patients with nonseminomatous germ cell tumors (NSGCT) treated with chemotherapy may be related to the risk of relapse. We assessed the predictive values of areas under the curve of hCG (AUC(hCG)) and AFP (AUC(AFP)) of modeled concentration-time equations on progression-free survival (PFS). Single-center retrospective analysis of hCG and AFP time-points from 65 patients with IGCCCG intermediate-poor risk NSGCT treated with 4 cycles of bleomycin-etoposide-cisplatin (BEP). To determine AUC(hCG) and AUC(AFP) for D0-D42, AUCs for D0-D7 were calculated using the trapezoid rule and AUCs for D7-D42 were calculated using the mathematic integrals of equations modeled with NONMEM. Combining AUC(AFP) and AUC(hCG) enabled us to define 2 predictive groups: namely, patients with favorable and unfavorable AUC(AFP-hCG). Survival analyses and ROC curves assessed the predictive values of AUC(AFP-hCG) groups regarding progression-free survival (PFS) and compared them with those of half-life (HL) and time-to-normalization (TTN). Mono-exponential models best fit the patterns of marker decreases. Patients with a favorable AUC(AFP-hCG) had a significantly better PFS (100% vs 71.5%, P = .014). ROC curves confirmed the encouraging predictive accuracy of AUC(AFP-hCG) against HL or TTN regarding progression risk (ROC AUCs = 79.6 vs 71.9 and 70.2 respectively). Because of the large number of patients with missing data, multivariate analysis could not be performed. AUC(AFP-hCG) is a dynamic parameter characterizing tumor marker decline in patients with NSGCT during BEP treatment. Its value as a promising predictive factor should be validated. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Abbreviated AUC monitoring of cyclosporine more adequately identified patients at risk for acute rejection during induction of immunosuppressive therapy after kidney transplantation than recommended C2 concentration values.
Troncoso, P; Ortiz, A M; Jara, A; Vilches, S
Monitoring of cyclosporine (CsA) is critical during the induction of immunosuppressive therapy. Although most centers have incorporated C2 levels, our unit still uses an abbreviated AUC model which includes concentrations at C1, C2, and C6 post-dose (AUC(1-6)). The objective of this study was to compare both strategies of CsA monitoring during the first 30 days after kidney transplantation. The study included 89 recipients induced with CsA microemulsion and steroids. AUC(1-6) profiles were performed around days 3, 10, and 30 after transplantation with a target of 5500 to 6000 ng*h/mL considered therapeutic. For comparison purposes, a value of C2 >/= 1500 ng/mL was also considered therapeutic. Mean C2 and AUC(1-6) values were low dated with biopsy-proven acute rejection episodes (BPAR) during the study period. Twenty patients received living donor kidneys and overall there were 46 females. During this period, 253 AUC(1-6) were performed including 44 (17.4%) below the therapeutic range. When the analysis included only C2, 171 (67.6%) were below the therapeutic target (P AUC(1-6) at day 10 discriminated rejectors versus nonrejectors (5645 +/- 1390 and 8221 +/- 2502, respectively; P = .008). C2 was not significantly different at any time in either group. In this study, abbreviated AUC monitoring more adequately identified patients at risk for acute rejection than C2. Recommended C2 concentration levels need to be redefined in our patients.
AUC-Maximizing Ensembles through Metalearning.
LeDell, Erin; van der Laan, Mark J; Petersen, Maya
Area Under the ROC Curve (AUC) is often used to measure the performance of an estimator in binary classification problems. An AUC-maximizing classifier can have significant advantages in cases where ranking correctness is valued or if the outcome is rare. In a Super Learner ensemble, maximization of the AUC can be achieved by the use of an AUC-maximining metalearning algorithm. We discuss an implementation of an AUC-maximization technique that is formulated as a nonlinear optimization problem. We also evaluate the effectiveness of a large number of different nonlinear optimization algorithms to maximize the cross-validated AUC of the ensemble fit. The results provide evidence that AUC-maximizing metalearners can, and often do, out-perform non-AUC-maximizing metalearning methods, with respect to ensemble AUC. The results also demonstrate that as the level of imbalance in the training data increases, the Super Learner ensemble outperforms the top base algorithm by a larger degree.
Cölfen, Helmut; Laue, Thomas M; Wohlleben, Wendel; Schilling, Kristian; Karabudak, Engin; Langhorst, Bradley W; Brookes, Emre; Dubbs, Bruce; Zollars, Dan; Rocco, Mattia; Demeler, Borries
Progress in analytical ultracentrifugation (AUC) has been hindered by obstructions to hardware innovation and by software incompatibility. In this paper, we announce and outline the Open AUC Project. The goals of the Open AUC Project are to stimulate AUC innovation by improving instrumentation, detectors, acquisition and analysis software, and collaborative tools. These improvements are needed for the next generation of AUC-based research. The Open AUC Project combines on-going work from several different groups. A new base instrument is described, one that is designed from the ground up to be an analytical ultracentrifuge. This machine offers an open architecture, hardware standards, and application programming interfaces for detector developers. All software will use the GNU Public License to assure that intellectual property is available in open source format. The Open AUC strategy facilitates collaborations, encourages sharing, and eliminates the chronic impediments that have plagued AUC innovation for the last 20 years. This ultracentrifuge will be equipped with multiple and interchangeable optical tracks so that state-of-the-art electronics and improved detectors will be available for a variety of optical systems. The instrument will be complemented by a new rotor, enhanced data acquisition and analysis software, as well as collaboration software. Described here are the instrument, the modular software components, and a standardized database that will encourage and ease integration of data analysis and interpretation software.
Scalable Nonlinear AUC Maximization Methods
Khalid, Majdi; Ray, Indrakshi; Chitsaz, Hamidreza
The area under the ROC curve (AUC) is a measure of interest in various machine learning and data mining applications. It has been widely used to evaluate classification performance on heavily imbalanced data. The kernelized AUC maximization machines have established a superior generalization ability compared to linear AUC machines because of their capability in modeling the complex nonlinear structure underlying most real world-data. However, the high training complexity renders the kernelize...
Correcting AUC for Measurement Error.
Rosner, Bernard; Tworoger, Shelley; Qiu, Weiliang
Diagnostic biomarkers are used frequently in epidemiologic and clinical work. The ability of a diagnostic biomarker to discriminate between subjects who develop disease (cases) and subjects who do not (controls) is often measured by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). The diagnostic biomarkers are usually measured with error. Ignoring measurement error can cause biased estimation of AUC, which results in misleading interpretation of the efficacy of a diagnostic biomarker. Several methods have been proposed to correct AUC for measurement error, most of which required the normality assumption for the distributions of diagnostic biomarkers. In this article, we propose a new method to correct AUC for measurement error and derive approximate confidence limits for the corrected AUC. The proposed method does not require the normality assumption. Both real data analyses and simulation studies show good performance of the proposed measurement error correction method.
[Terrain gradient effect of ecosystem service value in middle reach of Yangtze River, China].
Yang, Suo Hua; Hu, Shou Geng; Qu, Shi Jin
Using land use data in the year 1995, 2005 and 2014, this study estimated the ecosystem service value (ESV) in each county located in the middle reach of Yangtze River and analyzed its spatiotemporal variation features and terrain gradient effects based on "the equivalent value per unit area of ecosystem services in China". The results showed that ESV in the middle reach of Yangtze River was generally higher in mountainous area but lower in plain region, with an obvious terrain gradient effect. Specifically, the relationship of the relief degree of land surface (RDLS) and the ESV showed significant logarithm function at county scale with a high curve fitting degree of 0.53. The ESV increased from 400.35×10 4 yuan·km -2 to 554.57×10 4 yuan·km -2 with the increasing RDLS (grade 1-5) in 2014. During 1995-2004, the ecosystem service value variation changed from decreasing to stable with the increases of the RDLS. With a perspective of ecosystem service values, the value of food production and waste treatment service value decreased with the increase of the RDLS, while the others increased in general, such as the production of raw materials and gas regulation service value, because of the influences of dynamic land use structure in varied topography and distinct dominant ecosystem services from different land types.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hatem A. Emara
Full Text Available Background: The most critical feature of motor development is the ability to balance the body in sitting or standing. Impaired balance limits a child's ability to recover from unexpected threats to stability. The functional reach test (FRT defines the maximal distance an individual is able to reach forward beyond arm's length in a standing position without loss of balance, taking a step, or touching the wall. The Purpose of this study was to establish the normal values for FRT in Saudi Arabia school children with typical development and to study the correlation of anthropometric measures with FRT values. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Almadinah Almonawarah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A total of 280 children without disabilities aged 6 to 12 years were randomly selected. Functional reach was assessed by having subjects extend their arms to 90 degrees and reach as far forward as they could without taking a step. Reach distance was recorded by noting the beginning and final position of the subject's extended arm parallel to a yard stick attached to the wall. Three successive trials of FRT were performed and the mean of the three trials was calculated. Pearson product moment correlation was used to examine the association of FR to age, and anthropometric measures. Results: Normal mean values of FR ranged from 24.2cm to 33.95cm. Age, height and weight significantly correlate with FRT. Conclusion: The FRT is a feasible test to examine the balance of 6-12 year-old children. FRT may be useful for detecting balance impairment, change in balance performance over time.
Efficient AUC optimization for classification
Calders, T.; Jaroszewicz, S.; Kok, J.N.; Koronacki, J.; Lopez de Mantaras, R.; Matwin, S.; Mladenic, D.; Skowron, A.
In this paper we show an efficient method for inducing classifiers that directly optimize the area under the ROC curve. Recently, AUC gained importance in the classification community as a mean to compare the performance of classifiers. Because most classification methods do not optimize this
Stratospheric ozone chemistry in the Antarctic: what determines the lowest ozone values reached and their recovery?
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
J.-U. Grooß
Full Text Available Balloon-borne observations of ozone from the South Pole Station have been reported to reach ozone mixing ratios below the detection limit of about 10 ppbv at the 70 hPa level by late September. After reaching a minimum, ozone mixing ratios increase to above 1 ppmv on the 70 hPa level by late December. While the basic mechanisms causing the ozone hole have been known for more than 20 yr, the detailed chemical processes determining how low the local concentration can fall, and how it recovers from the minimum have not been explored so far. Both of these aspects are investigated here by analysing results from the Chemical Lagrangian Model of the Stratosphere (CLaMS. As ozone falls below about 0.5 ppmv, a balance is maintained by gas phase production of both HCl and HOCl followed by heterogeneous reaction between these two compounds in these simulations. Thereafter, a very rapid, irreversible chlorine deactivation into HCl can occur, either when ozone drops to values low enough for gas phase HCl production to exceed chlorine activation processes or when temperatures increase above the polar stratospheric cloud (PSC threshold. As a consequence, the timing and mixing ratio of the minimum ozone depends sensitively on model parameters, including the ozone initialisation. The subsequent ozone increase between October and December is linked mainly to photochemical ozone production, caused by oxygen photolysis and by the oxidation of carbon monoxide and methane.
Application of Hill's equation for estimating area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) and use of time to AUC 90% for expressing kinetics of drug disposition.
Cheng, Hsien C
Half life and its derived pharmacokinetic parameters are calculated on an assumption that the terminal phase of drug disposition follows a constant rate of disposition. In reality, this assumption may not necessarily be the case. A new method is needed for analyzing PK parameters if the disposition does not follow a first order PK kinetic. Cumulative area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) is plotted against time to yield a hyperbolic (or sigmoidal) AUC-time relationship curve which is then analyzed by Hill's equation to yield AUC(inf), time to achieving AUC50% (T(AUC50%)) or AUC90% (T(AUC90%)), and the Hill's slope. From these parameters, an AUC-time relationship curve can be reconstructed. Projected plasma concentration can be calculated for any time point. Time at which cumulative AUC reaches 90% (T(AUC90%)) can be used as an indicator for expressing how fast a drug is cleared. Clearance is calculated in a traditional manner (i.v. dose/AUC(inf)), and the volume of distribution is proposed to be calculated at T(AUC50%) (0.5 i.v. dose/plasma concentration at T(AUC50%)). This method of estimating AUC is applicable for both i.v. and oral data. It is concluded that the Hill's equation can be used as an alternative method for estimating AUC and analysis of PK parameters if the disposition does not follow a first order kinetic. T(AUC90%) is proposed to be used as an indicator for expressing how fast a drug is cleared from the system.
Microstructure study of AUC and UO2
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Pan Ying; Gao Dihua; Lu Huaichang
The microstructures of AUC, UO 2 powder and pellets were investigated with metallo-scope, SEM, TEM, XRD, and image analyzer. The influence of the reduction conditions of AUC on the microstructures of UO 2 powder and pellet were studied
Value of social media in reaching and engaging employers in Total Worker Health.
Hudson, Heidi; Hall, Jennifer
To describe the initial use of social media by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Total Worker Health™ (TWH) Program and the University of Iowa Healthier Workforce Center for Excellence (HWCE) Outreach Program. Social media analytics tools and process evaluation methods were used to derive initial insights on the social media strategies used by the NIOSH and the HWCE. The on-line community size for the NIOSH TWH Program indicated 100% growth in 6 months; however, social media platforms have been slow to gain participation among employers. The NIOSH TWH Program and the HWCE Outreach Program have found social media tools as an effective way to expand reach, foster engagement, and gain understanding of audience interests around TWH concepts. More needs to be known about how to best use social media to reach and engage target audiences on issues relevant to TWH.
Negotiating interests or values and reaching integrative agreements: the importance of time pressure and temporary impasses
Harinck, F.; de Dreu, C.K.W.
Negotiation research and theory tends to focus on interests and ignores values. This experiment compared the influence of negotiations about interests with negotiations about values under low or high time pressure. Results showed that (1) individuals got locked into early impasses more often under
Direct AUC optimization of regulatory motifs.
Zhu, Lin; Zhang, Hong-Bo; Huang, De-Shuang
The discovery of transcription factor binding site (TFBS) motifs is essential for untangling the complex mechanism of genetic variation under different developmental and environmental conditions. Among the huge amount of computational approaches for de novo identification of TFBS motifs, discriminative motif learning (DML) methods have been proven to be promising for harnessing the discovery power of accumulated huge amount of high-throughput binding data. However, they have to sacrifice accuracy for speed and could fail to fully utilize the information of the input sequences. We propose a novel algorithm called CDAUC for optimizing DML-learned motifs based on the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC) criterion, which has been widely used in the literature to evaluate the significance of extracted motifs. We show that when the considered AUC loss function is optimized in a coordinate-wise manner, the cost function of each resultant sub-problem is a piece-wise constant function, whose optimal value can be found exactly and efficiently. Further, a key step of each iteration of CDAUC can be efficiently solved as a computational geometry problem. Experimental results on real world high-throughput datasets illustrate that CDAUC outperforms competing methods for refining DML motifs, while being one order of magnitude faster. Meanwhile, preliminary results also show that CDAUC may also be useful for improving the interpretability of convolutional kernels generated by the emerging deep learning approaches for predicting TF sequences specificities. CDAUC is available at: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0BxOW5MtIZbJjNFpCeHlBVWJHeW8 . email@example.com. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: email@example.com
AUK: a simple alternative to the AUC
Kaymak, U.; Ben-David, A.; Potharst, R.
The area under Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve, also known as the AUC-index, is commonly used for ranking the performance of data mining models. The AUC has many merits, such as objectivity and ease of interpretation. However, since it is class indifferent, its usefulness while dealing
AUK: a simple alternative to the AUC
U. Kaymak (Uzay); A. Ben-David (Arie); R. Potharst (Rob)
textabstractThe area under Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve, also known as the AUC-index, is commonly used for ranking the performance of data mining models. The AUC has many merits, such as objectivity and ease of interpretation. However, since it is class indifferent, its usefulness
Application of the piecewise rational quadratic interpolant to the AUC calculation in the bioavailability study.
Akhter, Khalid P; Ahmad, Mahmood; Khan, Shujaat Ali; Ramzan, Munazza; Shafi, Ishrat; Muryam, Burhana; Javed, Zafar; Murtaza, Ghulam
This study presents an application of the piecewise rational quadratic interpolant to the AUC calculation in the bioavailability study. The objective of this work is to find an area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) for multiple doses of salbutamol sulfate sustained release tablets (Ventolin oral tablets SR 8 mg, GSK, Pakistan) in the group of 24 healthy adults by using computational mathematics techniques. Following the administration of 4 doses of Ventolin tablets 12 hourly to 24 healthy human subjects and bioanalysis of obtained plasma samples, plasma drug concentration-time profile was constructed. The approximated AUC was computed by using computational mathematics techniques such as extended rectangular, extended trapezium and extended Simpson's rule and compared with exact value of AUC calculated by using software - Kinetica to find best computational mathematics method that gives AUC values closest to exact. The exact values of AUC for four consecutive doses of Ventolin oral tablets were 150.58, 157.81, 164.41 and 162.78 ngxh/mL while the closest approximated AUC values were 149.24, 157.33, 164.25 and 162.28 ngxh/mL, respectively, as found by extended rectangular rule. The errors in the approximated values of AUC were negligible. It is concluded that all computational tools approximated values of AUC accurately but the extended rectangular rule gives slightly better approximated values of AUC as compared to extended trapezium and extended Simpson's rules.
Valuing environmental externalities from rice-wheat farming in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Lv, Yao; Gu, Shu-zhong [Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101 (China); Guo, Dong-mei [Policy Research Center for Environment and Economy, State Environmental Protection Administration, Beijing 100029 (China)
Environmental externalities generated by agriculture are attracting considerable attention. However, most research has focused either on environmental services that agriculture provides as a distinct ecosystem or the negative environmental impacts that agriculture imposes. Therefore, there is a great need to re-evaluate the all-round environmental roles of agriculture, to optimize environmental performance of agriculture and non-trade concerns in World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations. By valuing the environmental externalities of agriculture, this article aims to heighten awareness of the environmental roles of agriculture to stimulate its implication in agricultural policy-making. The study presents estimates of economic values of environmental externalities from rice-wheat farming system in Zhenjiang, in aspects of greenhouse gas emissions, non-point source pollution, carbon sequestration and water containing capacity. We provide a step-by-step analytic procedure, with each step including measurement of physical dimensions and monetary evaluation. The former is based on a large-scale literature review, which provided a vital foundation for the monetary valuation. The results reveal that the values of greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural land, agricultural non-point source pollution, carbon sequestration by crop and soil, and the flood control function provided by agricultural land are estimated as: - US$3.61 x 10{sup 7} a{sup -1}, - US$4.59 x 10{sup 6} a{sup -1}, + US$2.30 x 10{sup 9} a{sup -1} and + US$2.21 x 10{sup 7} a{sup -1}, respectively. The net value of environmental externalities is as high as + US$2.28 x 10{sup 9} a{sup -1}, representing 17.87% of local GDP and 4.12 times the total agricultural output value in 2006. The results suggest that crops and soil in Zhenjiang are the most important carbon sinks, and that agriculture in Zhenjiang has huge positive environmental externalities, although both greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural
News at Nine: The value of near-real time data for reaching mass media
Allen, J.; Ward, K.; Simmon, R. B.; Carlowicz, M. J.; Scott, M.; Przyborski, P. D.; Voiland, A. P.
NASA's Earth Observatory (EO) is an online publication featuring NASA Earth science news and images. Since its inception in 1999, the EO team has relied heavily on near-real time satellite data to publish imagery of breaking news events, such as volcanoes, floods, fires, and dust storms. Major news outlets (Associated Press, The Weather Channel, CNN, etc.) have regularly republished Earth Observatory imagery in their coverage of events. Because of the nature of modern 24-hour news cycle, media almost always want near-real time coverage; providing it depends heavily on rapid data turnaround, user-friendly data systems, and fast data access. We will discuss how we use near-real time data and provide examples of how data systems have been transformed in the past 13 years. We will offer some thoughts on best practices (from the view of a user) in expedited data systems and the positive effect of those practices on public awareness of our content.. Finally, we will share how we work with science teams to see the potential stories in their data and the value of providing the data in a timely fashionAcquired October 9, 2010, this natural-color image shows the toxic sludge spill from an alumina plant in southern Hungary.
Evaluation of a Novel Glucose Area Under the Curve (AUC) Monitoring System: Comparison with the AUC by Continuous Glucose Monitoring.
Ugi, Satoshi; Maegawa, Hiroshi; Morino, Katsutaro; Nishio, Yoshihiko; Sato, Toshiyuki; Okada, Seiki; Kikkawa, Yasuo; Watanabe, Toshihiro; Nakajima, Hiromu; Kashiwagi, Atsunori
Management of postprandial hyperglycemia is a key aspect in diabetes treatment. We developed a novel system to measure glucose area under the curve (AUC) using minimally invasive interstitial fluid extraction technology (MIET) for simple monitoring of postprandial glucose excursions. In this study, we evaluated the relationship between our system and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) by comparing glucose AUC obtained using MIET with that obtained using CGM for a long duration. Twenty diabetic inpatients wearing a CGM system were enrolled. For MIET measurement, a plastic microneedle array was applied to the skin as pretreatment, and hydrogels were placed on the pretreated area to collect interstitial fluid. Hydrogels were replaced every 2 or 4 hours and AUC was predicted on the basis of glucose and sodium ion levels. AUC predicted by MIET correlated well with that measured by CGM (r=0.93). Good performances of both consecutive 2- and 4-hour measurements were observed (measurement error: 11.7%±10.2% for 2 hours and 11.1%±7.9% for 4 hours), indicating the possibility of repetitive measurements up to 8 hours. The influence of neither glucose fluctuation nor average glucose level over the measurement accuracy was observed through 8 hours. Our system showed good relationship with AUC values from CGM up to 8 hours, indicating that single pretreatment can cover a large portion of glucose excursion in a day. These results indicated possibility of our system to contribute to convenient monitoring of glucose excursions for a long duration.
Limited Sampling Strategy for the Prediction of Area Under the Curve (AUC) of Statins: Reliability of a Single Time Point for AUC Prediction for Pravastatin and Simvastatin.
Srinivas, N R
Statins are widely prescribed medicines and are also available in fixed dose combinations with other drugs to treat several chronic ailments. Given the safety issues associated with statins it may be important to assess feasibility of a single time concentration strategy for prediction of exposure (area under the curve; AUC). The peak concentration (Cmax) was used to establish relationship with AUC separately for pravastatin and simvastatin using published pharmacokinetic data. The regression equations generated for statins were used to predict the AUC values from various literature references. The fold difference of the observed divided by predicted values along with correlation coefficient (r) were used to judge the feasibility of the single time point approach. Both pravastatin and simvastatin showed excellent correlation of Cmax vs. AUC values with r value ≥ 0.9638 (pAUC predictions and >81% of the predicted values were in a narrower range of >0.75-fold but AUC values showed excellent correlation for pravastatin (r=0.9708, n=115; pAUC predictions. On the basis of the present work, it is feasible to develop a single concentration time point strategy that coincides with Cmax occurrence for both pravastatin and simvastatin from a therapeutic drug monitoring perspective. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.
Decomposition and reduction of AUC in hydrogen
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Ge Qingren; Kang Shifang; Zhou Meng
AUC (Ammonium Uranyl Carbonate) conversion processes have been adopted extensively in nuclear fuel cycle. The kinetics investigation of these processes, however, has not yet been reported in detail at the published literatures. In the present work, the decomposition kinetics of AUC in hydrogen has been determined by non-isothermal method. DSC curves are solved with computer by Ge Qingren method. The results show that the kinetics obeys Avrami-Erofeev equation within 90% conversion. The apparent activation energy and preexponent are found to be 113.0 kJ/mol and 7.11 x 10 11 s -1 respectively. The reduction kinetics of AUC decomposition product in hydrogen at the range of 450 - 600 deg C has been determined by isothermal thermogravimetric method. The results show that good linear relationship can be obtained from the plot of conversion vs time, and that the apparent activation energy is found to be 113.9 kJ/mol. The effects of particle size and partial pressure of hydrogen are examined in reduction of AUC decomposition product. The reduction mechanism and the structure of particle are discussed according to the kinetics behaviour and SEM (scanning electron microscope) photograph
[Atypical urothelial cells (AUC): A Bethesda-derived wording applicable to urinary cytopathology].
Piaton, Eric; Advenier, Anne-Sophie; Benaïm, Gilles; Petrucci, Myriam Decaussin; Lechevallier, Florence Mege; Ruffion, Alain
To investigate (1) whether sparse nuclear atypias involving deep urothelial cells have a diagnostic or prognostic value in urinary cytology, and (2) whether the terms atypical urothelial cells "of undetermined significance" (AUC-US) or "cannot exclude high grade" (AUC-H) might be used to standardize urinary cytology reports. Atypical urothelial cells (AUC) were defined as deep cells with nuclear abnormalities (increased N/C ratio, eccentric nucleus, hyperchromatism and/or irregular shape) in small number not allowing their categorization as malignant, high grade. We studied 435 urinary samples from 126 patients with AUC at any step of their clinical history, followed up over a 10-year period (1999-2009). Every case was compared with histopathology within 6 months and to long term follow-up including cystoscopy and histopathology combined. A total of 183 AUC was recorded. AUC were associated with negative, benign or low grade histological results in 36 of 106 cases (33.9 %) within 6 months, but a high grade was simultaneously documented in 70 cases (66 %). AUC preceded high-grade lesions in 66 cases (36.1 % of all AUC) in a mean interval of 10.5±12.0 months. Overall, AUC were associated with or predictive of high-grade lesions in 135 cases (73.8 %). AUC have a diagnostic and prognostic value. Applying the terms AUC-US and AUC-H to urinary cytopathology reports would allow, as for the Bethesda system for cervical or vaginal cytologic diagnoses, better appreciation of the risk of progression to high grade tumours in cases with atypias. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
Evaluation of a Novel Glucose Area Under the Curve (AUC Monitoring System: Comparison with the AUC by Continuous Glucose Monitoring
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Satoshi Ugi
Full Text Available BackgroundManagement of postprandial hyperglycemia is a key aspect in diabetes treatment. We developed a novel system to measure glucose area under the curve (AUC using minimally invasive interstitial fluid extraction technology (MIET for simple monitoring of postprandial glucose excursions. In this study, we evaluated the relationship between our system and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM by comparing glucose AUC obtained using MIET with that obtained using CGM for a long duration.MethodsTwenty diabetic inpatients wearing a CGM system were enrolled. For MIET measurement, a plastic microneedle array was applied to the skin as pretreatment, and hydrogels were placed on the pretreated area to collect interstitial fluid. Hydrogels were replaced every 2 or 4 hours and AUC was predicted on the basis of glucose and sodium ion levels.ResultsAUC predicted by MIET correlated well with that measured by CGM (r=0.93. Good performances of both consecutive 2- and 4-hour measurements were observed (measurement error: 11.7%±10.2% for 2 hours and 11.1%±7.9% for 4 hours, indicating the possibility of repetitive measurements up to 8 hours. The influence of neither glucose fluctuation nor average glucose level over the measurement accuracy was observed through 8 hours.ConclusionOur system showed good relationship with AUC values from CGM up to 8 hours, indicating that single pretreatment can cover a large portion of glucose excursion in a day. These results indicated possibility of our system to contribute to convenient monitoring of glucose excursions for a long duration.
Estimation of AUC or Partial AUC under Test-Result-Dependent Sampling.
Wang, Xiaofei; Ma, Junling; George, Stephen; Zhou, Haibo
The area under the ROC curve (AUC) and partial area under the ROC curve (pAUC) are summary measures used to assess the accuracy of a biomarker in discriminating true disease status. The standard sampling approach used in biomarker validation studies is often inefficient and costly, especially when ascertaining the true disease status is costly and invasive. To improve efficiency and reduce the cost of biomarker validation studies, we consider a test-result-dependent sampling (TDS) scheme, in which subject selection for determining the disease state is dependent on the result of a biomarker assay. We first estimate the test-result distribution using data arising from the TDS design. With the estimated empirical test-result distribution, we propose consistent nonparametric estimators for AUC and pAUC and establish the asymptotic properties of the proposed estimators. Simulation studies show that the proposed estimators have good finite sample properties and that the TDS design yields more efficient AUC and pAUC estimates than a simple random sampling (SRS) design. A data example based on an ongoing cancer clinical trial is provided to illustrate the TDS design and the proposed estimators. This work can find broad applications in design and analysis of biomarker validation studies.
AucPR: An AUC-based approach using penalized regression for disease prediction with high-dimensional omics data
Yu, Wenbao; Park, Taesung
Motivation It is common to get an optimal combination of markers for disease classification and prediction when multiple markers are available. Many approaches based on the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) have been proposed. Existing works based on AUC in a high-dimensional context depend mainly on a non-parametric, smooth approximation of AUC, with no work using a parametric AUC-based approach, for high-dimensional data. Results We propose an AUC-based approach u...
CA-125 AUC as a predictor for epithelial ovarian cancer relapse.
Mano, António; Falcão, Amílcar; Godinho, Isabel; Santos, Jorge; Leitão, Fátima; de Oliveira, Carlos; Caramona, Margarida
The aim of the present work was to evaluate the usefulness of CA-125 normalized in time area under the curve (CA-125 AUC) to signalise epithelial ovarian cancer relapse. Data from a hundred and eleven patients were submitted to two different approaches based on CA-125 AUC increase values to predict patient relapse. In Criterion A total CA-125 AUC normalized in time value (AUC(i)) was compared with the immediately previous one (AUC(i-1)) using the formulae AUC(i) > or = F * AUC(i-1) (several F values were tested) to find the appropriate close related increment associated to patient relapse. In Criterion B total CA-125 AUC normalised in time was calculated and several cut-off values were correlated with patient relapse prediction capacity. In Criterion A the best accuracy was achieved with a factor (F) of 1.25 (increment of 25% from the previous status), while in Criterion B the best accuracies were achieved with cut-offs of 25, 50, 75 and 100 IU/mL. The mean lead time to relapse achieved with Criterion A was 181 days, while with Criterion B they were, respectively, 131, 111, 63 and 11 days. Based on our results we believe that conjugation and sequential application of both criteria in patient relapse detection should be highly advisable. CA-125 AUC rapid burst in asymptomatic patients should be firstly evaluated using Criterion A with a high accuracy (0.85) and with a substantial mean lead time to relapse (181 days). If a negative answer was obtained then Criterion B should performed to confirm the absence of relapse.
AucPR: an AUC-based approach using penalized regression for disease prediction with high-dimensional omics data.
Yu, Wenbao; Park, Taesung
It is common to get an optimal combination of markers for disease classification and prediction when multiple markers are available. Many approaches based on the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) have been proposed. Existing works based on AUC in a high-dimensional context depend mainly on a non-parametric, smooth approximation of AUC, with no work using a parametric AUC-based approach, for high-dimensional data. We propose an AUC-based approach using penalized regression (AucPR), which is a parametric method used for obtaining a linear combination for maximizing the AUC. To obtain the AUC maximizer in a high-dimensional context, we transform a classical parametric AUC maximizer, which is used in a low-dimensional context, into a regression framework and thus, apply the penalization regression approach directly. Two kinds of penalization, lasso and elastic net, are considered. The parametric approach can avoid some of the difficulties of a conventional non-parametric AUC-based approach, such as the lack of an appropriate concave objective function and a prudent choice of the smoothing parameter. We apply the proposed AucPR for gene selection and classification using four real microarray and synthetic data. Through numerical studies, AucPR is shown to perform better than the penalized logistic regression and the nonparametric AUC-based method, in the sense of AUC and sensitivity for a given specificity, particularly when there are many correlated genes. We propose a powerful parametric and easily-implementable linear classifier AucPR, for gene selection and disease prediction for high-dimensional data. AucPR is recommended for its good prediction performance. Beside gene expression microarray data, AucPR can be applied to other types of high-dimensional omics data, such as miRNA and protein data.
78 FR 47427 - AUC, LLC Reno Creek, In Situ
... NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket No. 040-09092; NRC-2013-0164] AUC, LLC Reno Creek, In Situ... October 3, 2012, AUC submitted a license application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC... provided the first time that a document is referenced. The AUC License Application request and additional...
Hydrodynamic Modeling and Its Application in AUC.
Rocco, Mattia; Byron, Olwyn
The hydrodynamic parameters measured in an AUC experiment, s(20,w) and D(t)(20,w)(0), can be used to gain information on the solution structure of (bio)macromolecules and their assemblies. This entails comparing the measured parameters with those that can be computed from usually "dry" structures by "hydrodynamic modeling." In this chapter, we will first briefly put hydrodynamic modeling in perspective and present the basic physics behind it as implemented in the most commonly used methods. The important "hydration" issue is also touched upon, and the distinction between rigid bodies versus those for which flexibility must be considered in the modeling process is then made. The available hydrodynamic modeling/computation programs, HYDROPRO, BEST, SoMo, AtoB, and Zeno, the latter four all implemented within the US-SOMO suite, are described and their performance evaluated. Finally, some literature examples are presented to illustrate the potential applications of hydrodynamics in the expanding field of multiresolution modeling. © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Effects of RoHs and REACH regulations on firm-level production and export, and the role of global value chains : the cases of Malaysia and Vietnam
Otsuki, Tsunehiro; Honda, Keiichiro; Michida, Etsuyo; Nabeshima, Kaoru; Ueki, Yasushi
This paper uses firm-level data to examine the impact of foreign chemical safety regulations such as RoHS and REACH on the production costs and export performance of firms in Malaysia and Vietnam. This paper also investigates the role of global value chains in enhancing the likelihood that a firm complies with RoHS and REACH. We find that in addition to the initial setup costs for compliance, EU RoHS (REACH) implementation imposes on firms additional variable production costs by requiring add...
The fabrication process of ceramic grade UO2 powder via fluorid system AUC and the treatment on AUC precipitation filtrate
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Liu Jinhong; Xu Kui; Li Zhiwan; Yi Wei; Tang Yueming; Li Guangrong; Lei Maolin; Cui Chuanjiang
It is described about the technology of fabricating AUC powder by Circum-fluence Precipitation Reactor with Gas (CPRG) from UF 6 hydrolyzed liquid, manufacturing nuclear pure ceramic grade UO 2 powder via fluorid system AUC process with fluidized bed method, recovering U(VI) with ion exchange resin, depositing fluorin in an outflow of effusion wastewater from the ion exchange using calces. The primary control parameters on the fabricating AUC powder is study, it is discussed to character difference of AUC powder between fluorid system and nitrate. Result show that the composing the manufacture AUC powder is invariable by CORG, and that the AUC quality is consistent, and that by decomposition and reduction of AUC and stabilization of UO 2 powder with fluidized bed, through optimum technological parameters, the excellent UO 2 powder is obtained on the quality. (authors)
Suitability of the AUC Ratio as an Indicator of the Pharmacokinetic Advantage in HIPEC.
Mas-Fuster, Maria Isabel; Ramon-Lopez, Amelia; Lacueva, Javier; Más-Serrano, Patricio; Nalda-Molina, Ricardo
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) ratio as an optimal indicator of the pharmacokinetic advantage during hyperthermic intraperitoneal perioperative chemotherapy. The impact on the AUC ratio on the variables related to the calculation of systemic drug exposure, instillation time, and peripheral drug distribution was evaluated through simulations as well as through a retrospective analysis of studies published in the literature. Both model simulations and the retrospective analysis showed that the 3 variables evaluated had an impact on the AUC ratio value if the complete systemic exposure was not fully considered. However, when that complete systemic exposure was considered, none of these variables affected the AUC ratio value. AUC ratio is not a characteristic parameter of a drug if the calculated systemic drug exposure is not complete. Thus, AUC ratio is not valid for comparing the pharmacokinetic advantage of 2 drugs, and it should not be employed to prove whether a drug can be used in hyperthermic intraperitoneal perioperative chemotherapy safely with regard to toxicity. As an alternative, the study of the absorption rate constant and the bioavailability are proposed as the true and independent parameters that reflect the amount of drug absorbed. Copyright © 2018 American Pharmacists Association®. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
The AUK : a simple alternative to the AUC
Kaymak, U.; Ben-David, A.; Potharst, R.
The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, also known as the AUC-index, is commonly used for ranking the performance of data mining models. The AUC has various merits, such as ease of interpretation. However, since it is class indifferent, its usefulness while dealing with
Highly Stable [C60AuC60]+/- Dumbbells.
Goulart, Marcelo; Kuhn, Martin; Martini, Paul; Chen, Lei; Hagelberg, Frank; Kaiser, Alexander; Scheier, Paul; Ellis, Andrew M
Ionic complexes between gold and C 60 have been observed for the first time. Cations and anions of the type [Au(C 60 ) 2 ] +/- are shown to have particular stability. Calculations suggest that these ions adopt a C 60 -Au-C 60 sandwich-like (dumbbell) structure, which is reminiscent of [XAuX] +/- ions previously observed for much smaller ligands. The [Au(C 60 ) 2 ] +/- ions can be regarded as Au(I) complexes, regardless of whether the net charge is positive or negative, but in both cases, the charge transfer between the Au and C 60 is incomplete, most likely because of a covalent contribution to the Au-C 60 binding. The C 60 -Au-C 60 dumbbell structure represents a new architecture in fullerene chemistry that might be replicable in synthetic nanostructures.
Support for higher ciprofloxacin AUC 24/MIC targets in treating Enterobacteriaceae bloodstream infection.
Zelenitsky, Sheryl A; Ariano, Robert E
Given concerns regarding optimal therapy for serious Gram-negative infections, the goal was to characterize the pharmacodynamics of ciprofloxacin in the context of treating bloodstream infection. Data were collected from the medical records of 178 clinical cases. Blood isolates were retrieved and ciprofloxacin MICs were measured. Forty-two cases in which ciprofloxacin was initiated within 24 h of the positive blood culture were used in the pharmacodynamic analysis. Significant factors with regard to treatment failure were low ciprofloxacin AUC(24)/MIC (P AUC(24) (P = 0.01). AUC(24)/MIC (P = 0.012) and MIC (P = 0.019) were significant variables in multivariate analyses; however, only the former remained significant (P = 0.038) after excluding two cases with ciprofloxacin-resistant isolates. An AUC(24)/MIC breakpoint of 250 was most significant, with cure rates of 91.4% (32/35) and 28.6% (2/7) in patients with values above and below this threshold, respectively (P = 0.001). The risk of ciprofloxacin treatment failure was 27.8 times (95% confidence interval, 2.1-333) greater in those not achieving an AUC(24)/MIC >or=250 (P = 0.011). Monte Carlo simulation of 5000 study subjects predicted that 0.88 of the population would achieve an AUC(24)/MIC >or=250 with standard-dose ciprofloxacin (400 mg intravenously every 12 h). This study confirms the pharmacodynamic parameters of ciprofloxacin that are important for optimizing the treatment of serious infections, particularly the benefits of achieving an AUC(24)/MIC >or=250, rather than the conventional target of >or=125. It also shows the relevance of dose selection in optimizing target attainment, with important differences among pathogens, even those with MICs within the susceptible range.
Intranasal Pharmacokinetic Data for Triptans Such as Sumatriptan and Zolmitriptan Can Render Area Under the Curve (AUC) Predictions for the Oral Route: Strategy Development and Application.
Srinivas, Nuggehally R; Syed, Muzeeb
Limited pharmacokinetic sampling strategy may be useful for predicting the area under the curve (AUC) for triptans and may have clinical utility as a prospective tool for prediction. Using appropriate intranasal pharmacokinetic data, a Cmax vs. AUC relationship was established by linear regression models for sumatriptan and zolmitriptan. The predictions of the AUC values were performed using published mean/median Cmax data and appropriate regression lines. The quotient of observed and predicted values rendered fold-difference calculation. The mean absolute error (MAE), mean positive error (MPE), mean negative error (MNE), root mean square error (RMSE), correlation coefficient (r), and the goodness of the AUC fold prediction were used to evaluate the two triptans. Also, data from the mean concentration profiles at time points of 1 hour (sumatriptan) and 3 hours (zolmitriptan) were used for the AUC prediction. The Cmax vs. AUC models displayed excellent correlation for both sumatriptan (r = .9997; P AUCs (83%-85%) were within 0.76-1.25-fold difference using the regression model. The prediction of AUC values for sumatriptan or zolmitriptan using the concentration data that reflected the Tmax occurrence were in the proximity of the reported values. In summary, the Cmax vs. AUC models exhibited strong correlations for sumatriptan and zolmitriptan. The usefulness of the prediction of the AUC values was established by a rigorous statistical approach.
Purification of ADU and high-molybdenum AUC by recrystallization
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Tan Huanchang; Wen Jinfeng
The ADU was converted to AUC by preparing pulp with (NH 4 ) 2 CO 3 concentrated solution, and then the prepared AUC (high-molybdenum AUC) crystals were dissolved with hot soft water for dissolution, and after filtration or clarification and scrubbing of the residue, and the clarified solution was digested and the obtained pulp was thickened and the thickened pulp was converted and recrystallized by adding (NH 4 ) 2 CO 3 concentrated solution. The crystals were washed and filtrated, and then the high-purity AUC crystals were prepared. The laboratory and pilot-plant scale experiments showed that the presented purification process was feasible with the solvent extraction step eliminated, so the chemicals consumption would be considerably decreased and the environmental pollution would be lowered. It is easy to realize the process in practice
Bayesian approach to estimate AUC, partition coefficient and drug targeting index for studies with serial sacrifice design.
Wang, Tianli; Baron, Kyle; Zhong, Wei; Brundage, Richard; Elmquist, William
The current study presents a Bayesian approach to non-compartmental analysis (NCA), which provides the accurate and precise estimate of AUC 0 (∞) and any AUC 0 (∞) -based NCA parameter or derivation. In order to assess the performance of the proposed method, 1,000 simulated datasets were generated in different scenarios. A Bayesian method was used to estimate the tissue and plasma AUC 0 (∞) s and the tissue-to-plasma AUC 0 (∞) ratio. The posterior medians and the coverage of 95% credible intervals for the true parameter values were examined. The method was applied to laboratory data from a mice brain distribution study with serial sacrifice design for illustration. Bayesian NCA approach is accurate and precise in point estimation of the AUC 0 (∞) and the partition coefficient under a serial sacrifice design. It also provides a consistently good variance estimate, even considering the variability of the data and the physiological structure of the pharmacokinetic model. The application in the case study obtained a physiologically reasonable posterior distribution of AUC, with a posterior median close to the value estimated by classic Bailer-type methods. This Bayesian NCA approach for sparse data analysis provides statistical inference on the variability of AUC 0 (∞) -based parameters such as partition coefficient and drug targeting index, so that the comparison of these parameters following destructive sampling becomes statistically feasible.
Guidance to Achieve Accurate Aggregate Quantitation in Biopharmaceuticals by SV-AUC.
Arthur, Kelly K; Kendrick, Brent S; Gabrielson, John P
The levels and types of aggregates present in protein biopharmaceuticals must be assessed during all stages of product development, manufacturing, and storage of the finished product. Routine monitoring of aggregate levels in biopharmaceuticals is typically achieved by size exclusion chromatography (SEC) due to its high precision, speed, robustness, and simplicity to operate. However, SEC is error prone and requires careful method development to ensure accuracy of reported aggregate levels. Sedimentation velocity analytical ultracentrifugation (SV-AUC) is an orthogonal technique that can be used to measure protein aggregation without many of the potential inaccuracies of SEC. In this chapter, we discuss applications of SV-AUC during biopharmaceutical development and how characteristics of the technique make it better suited for some applications than others. We then discuss the elements of a comprehensive analytical control strategy for SV-AUC. Successful implementation of these analytical control elements ensures that SV-AUC provides continued value over the long time frames necessary to bring biopharmaceuticals to market. © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Limited sampling strategy models for estimating the AUC of gliclazide in Chinese healthy volunteers.
Huang, Ji-Han; Wang, Kun; Huang, Xiao-Hui; He, Ying-Chun; Li, Lu-Jin; Sheng, Yu-Cheng; Yang, Juan; Zheng, Qing-Shan
The aim of this work is to reduce the cost of required sampling for the estimation of the area under the gliclazide plasma concentration versus time curve within 60 h (AUC0-60t ). The limited sampling strategy (LSS) models were established and validated by the multiple regression model within 4 or fewer gliclazide concentration values. Absolute prediction error (APE), root of mean square error (RMSE) and visual prediction check were used as criterion. The results of Jack-Knife validation showed that 10 (25.0 %) of the 40 LSS based on the regression analysis were not within an APE of 15 % using one concentration-time point. 90.2, 91.5 and 92.4 % of the 40 LSS models were capable of prediction using 2, 3 and 4 points, respectively. Limited sampling strategies were developed and validated for estimating AUC0-60t of gliclazide. This study indicates that the implementation of an 80 mg dosage regimen enabled accurate predictions of AUC0-60t by the LSS model. This study shows that 12, 6, 4, 2 h after administration are the key sampling times. The combination of (12, 2 h), (12, 8, 2 h) or (12, 8, 4, 2 h) can be chosen as sampling hours for predicting AUC0-60t in practical application according to requirement.
Study of stripping cristallization processus of AUC with ammonium carbonate
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Chegrouche, Salah.
This study is concerned with direct crystallization of ammonium uranyl carbonate (AUC) from a uranium loaded organic phase (30% TBP in kerosene), with ammonium carbonate (NH 4 ) 2 CO 3 . The effects of operating conditions ((NH 4 ) 2 CO 3 concentration, flow-ratio, residence time, temperature) on the physical properties of AUC crystals (particle size distribution, specific surface, density...) are reported. All products were identified (both by chemical analysis, X-Ray diffraction) as being ammonium uranyl carbonate crystals (AUC). The results show that a high phase ratio and (NH 4 ) 2 CO 3 concentration favor the formation of fine AUC grains and aggregates. This is due mainly to the high concentration of NH + 4 in the system which leads to a high solution supersaturation and consequently to a rapid formation rate of crystal (germination). The reverse phenomenon is observed at low phase ratio and (NH 4 ) 2 CO 3 concentration, where germination and crystal growth are slow and the product is mainly monocrystal. In the intermediate range, a mixture of polycrystal and aggregates is obtained. Residence and temperature are also shown to have an effect on the processes (the effect of time being more important than temperature). In the course of this study a bench-scale stripper-crystallizer was developped and operated successfully. (author). tables, graphs
Sintering of uranium dioxide obtained by continuous precipitation of AUC
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Amaya, C.D.; Sterba, M.E.; Russo, D.O.
The Nuclear Materials Division in Bariloche Atomic Center evaluates the ceramic behaviour of UO 2 powders obtained from continuously precipitated and reduced AUC (Ammonium Uranyl Tri Carbonate). An analysis is made of powder characteristics (particle morphology and size distribution and specific area) on behaviour of UO 2 during sintering (compaction, sintering, pore and grain microstructure, etc.). 1 ref
Max-AUC feature selection in computer-aided detection of polyps in CT colonography.
Xu, Jian-Wu; Suzuki, Kenji
We propose a feature selection method based on a sequential forward floating selection (SFFS) procedure to improve the performance of a classifier in computerized detection of polyps in CT colonography (CTC). The feature selection method is coupled with a nonlinear support vector machine (SVM) classifier. Unlike the conventional linear method based on Wilks' lambda, the proposed method selected the most relevant features that would maximize the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), which directly maximizes classification performance, evaluated based on AUC value, in the computer-aided detection (CADe) scheme. We presented two variants of the proposed method with different stopping criteria used in the SFFS procedure. The first variant searched all feature combinations allowed in the SFFS procedure and selected the subsets that maximize the AUC values. The second variant performed a statistical test at each step during the SFFS procedure, and it was terminated if the increase in the AUC value was not statistically significant. The advantage of the second variant is its lower computational cost. To test the performance of the proposed method, we compared it against the popular stepwise feature selection method based on Wilks' lambda for a colonic-polyp database (25 polyps and 2624 nonpolyps). We extracted 75 morphologic, gray-level-based, and texture features from the segmented lesion candidate regions. The two variants of the proposed feature selection method chose 29 and 7 features, respectively. Two SVM classifiers trained with these selected features yielded a 96% by-polyp sensitivity at false-positive (FP) rates of 4.1 and 6.5 per patient, respectively. Experiments showed a significant improvement in the performance of the classifier with the proposed feature selection method over that with the popular stepwise feature selection based on Wilks' lambda that yielded 18.0 FPs per patient at the same sensitivity level.
Discrepancy in Vancomycin AUC/MIC Ratio Targeted Attainment Based upon the Susceptibility Testing in Staphylococcus aureus.
Eum, Seenae; Bergsbaken, Robert L; Harvey, Craig L; Warren, J Bryan; Rotschafer, John C
This study demonstrated a statistically significant difference in vancomycin minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for Staphylococcus aureus between a common automated system (Vitek 2) and the E-test method in patients with S. aureus bloodstream infections. At an area under the serum concentration time curve (AUC) threshold of 400 mg∙h/L, we would have reached the current Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA)/American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP)/Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists (SIDP) guideline suggested AUC/MIC target in almost 100% of patients while using the Vitek 2 MIC data; however, we could only generate 40% target attainment while using E-test MIC data ( p AUC of 450 mg∙h/L or greater was required to achieve 100% target attainment using either Vitek 2 or E-test MIC results.
Comparison of 3 estimation methods of mycophenolic acid AUC based on a limited sampling strategy in renal transplant patients.
Hulin, Anne; Blanchet, Benoît; Audard, Vincent; Barau, Caroline; Furlan, Valérie; Durrbach, Antoine; Taïeb, Fabrice; Lang, Philippe; Grimbert, Philippe; Tod, Michel
A significant relationship between mycophenolic acid (MPA) area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) and the risk for rejection has been reported. Based on 3 concentration measurements, 3 approaches have been proposed for the estimation of MPA AUC, involving either a multilinear regression approach model (MLRA) or a Bayesian estimation using either gamma absorption or zero-order absorption population models. The aim of the study was to compare the 3 approaches for the estimation of MPA AUC in 150 renal transplant patients treated with mycophenolate mofetil and tacrolimus. The population parameters were determined in 77 patients (learning study). The AUC estimation methods were compared in the learning population and in 73 patients from another center (validation study). In the latter study, the reference AUCs were estimated by the trapezoidal rule on 8 measurements. MPA concentrations were measured by liquid chromatography. The gamma absorption model gave the best fit. In the learning study, the AUCs estimated by both Bayesian methods were very similar, whereas the multilinear approach was highly correlated but yielded estimates about 20% lower than Bayesian methods. This resulted in dosing recommendations differing by 250 mg/12 h or more in 27% of cases. In the validation study, AUC estimates based on the Bayesian method with gamma absorption model and multilinear regression approach model were, respectively, 12% higher and 7% lower than the reference values. To conclude, the bicompartmental model with gamma absorption rate gave the best fit. The 3 AUC estimation methods are highly correlated but not concordant. For a given patient, the same estimation method should always be used.
Optimal Combinations of Diagnostic Tests Based on AUC.
Huang, Xin; Qin, Gengsheng; Fang, Yixin
When several diagnostic tests are available, one can combine them to achieve better diagnostic accuracy. This article considers the optimal linear combination that maximizes the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC); the estimates of the combination's coefficients can be obtained via a nonparametric procedure. However, for estimating the AUC associated with the estimated coefficients, the apparent estimation by re-substitution is too optimistic. To adjust for the upward bias, several methods are proposed. Among them the cross-validation approach is especially advocated, and an approximated cross-validation is developed to reduce the computational cost. Furthermore, these proposed methods can be applied for variable selection to select important diagnostic tests. The proposed methods are examined through simulation studies and applications to three real examples. © 2010, The International Biometric Society.
Carboplatin AUC 10 for IGCCCG good prognosis metastatic seminoma.
Tookman, Laura; Rashid, Sukaina; Matakidou, Athena; Phillips, Melissa; Wilson, Peter; Ansell, Wendy; Jamal-Hanjani, Mariam; Chowdhury, Simon; Harland, Stephen; Sarwar, Naveed; Oliver, Timothy; Powles, Thomas; Shamash, Jonathan
Metastatic seminoma is a highly curable disease. Standard treatment comprises of combination chemotherapy. The short- and long-term toxicities of this treatment are increasingly recognised and the possibility of over treatment in such a curable disease should be considered. We have therefore assessed the use of single agent carboplatin at a dose of AUC 10 in patients with good prognosis metastatic seminoma. Patients with good prognosis metastatic seminoma treated with carboplatin (AUC 10) were identified at our institution and affiliated institutions. Treatment was three weekly for a total of three or four cycles. Outcome and toxicities were analysed. With a median follow-up of 36 months, 61 patients in total were treated with carboplatin AUC 10, all good prognosis by the IGCCCG criteria. Forty-eight percent had stage IIA/IIB disease and 52% had greater than stage IIB disease. Thirty-one patients (51%) had a complete response following treatment. Three-year survival was 96.3% with a three-year progression free survival of 93.2%. The main treatment toxicity was haematological with 46% having grade 3, 24% having grade 4 neutropenia and 54% experiencing grade 3/4 thrombocytopenia. There were no treatment related deaths. Single agent carboplatin at a dose of AUC 10 is an effective treatment for good prognosis metastatic seminoma. The outcome compares favourably to previously published outcomes of combination chemotherapy. Although haematological toxicity is a concern, single agent carboplatin treatment for good prognosis metastatic seminoma could be considered a treatment option and is associated with less toxicity than combination regimens currently used.
Traffic days '95 at AUC. Conference report. Vol. 1
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Lohmann-Hansen, A.
Volume one of Traffic days '95 at AUC (Aalborg University, Denmark) contains 28 papers presented at the conference held on August 21 - 22, 1995, at Aalborg University in Jutland, Denmark. The papers in this volume are ranged under the general headings of: The road to sustainable transport, the evaluation of traffic and infrastructure planning - decision-making procedures, traffic and the environment in towns, railways, traffic information + signals, and environmental conditions relative to shipping
The Goodness of Covariance Selection Problem from AUC Bounds
Khajavi, Navid Tafaghodi; Kuh, Anthony
We conduct a study of graphical models and discuss the quality of model selection approximation by formulating the problem as a detection problem and examining the area under the curve (AUC). We are specifically looking at the model selection problem for jointly Gaussian random vectors. For Gaussian random vectors, this problem simplifies to the covariance selection problem which is widely discussed in literature by Dempster [1]. In this paper, we give the definition for the correlation appro...
Precise determination of protein extinction coefficients under native and denaturing conditions using SV-AUC.
Hoffmann, Andreas; Grassl, Kerstin; Gommert, Janine; Schlesak, Christian; Bepperling, Alexander
The accurate determination of protein concentration is an important though non-trivial task during the development of a biopharmaceutical. The fundamental prerequisite for this is the availability of an accurate extinction coefficient. Common approaches for the determination of an extinction coefficient for a given protein are either based on the theoretical prediction utilizing the amino acid sequence or the photometric determination combined with a measurement of absolute protein concentration. Here, we report on an improved SV-AUC based method utilizing an analytical ultracentrifuge equipped with absorbance and Rayleigh interference optics. Global fitting of datasets helped to overcome some of the obstacles encountered with the traditional method employing synthetic boundary cells. Careful calculation of dn/dc values taking glycosylation and solvent composition into account allowed the determination of the extinction coefficients of monoclonal antibodies and an Fc-fusion protein under native as well as under denaturing conditions. An intra-assay precision of 0.9% and an accuracy of 1.8% compared to the theoretical value was achieved for monoclonal antibodies. Due to the large number of data points of a single dataset, no meaningful difference between the ProteomeLab XL-I and the new Optima AUC platform could be observed. Thus, the AUC-based approach offers a precise, convenient and versatile alternative to conventional methods like total amino acid analysis (AAA).
The production of sinterable UO2 from AUC
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Chang, I.S.; Do, J.B.; Choi, Y.D.; Park, M.H.; Yun, H.H.; Kim, E.H.; Kim, Y.W.
Fluidization, feeding and discharging, and mixing of fine particles (-up to 40μ in diameter) in fluidized bed reactor has been examined. The degree of conversion has been estimated using the kinetic data differential scanning colorimetry(DSC) and thermogravimetic analysis (TGA) of ammonium uranyl carbonate (AUC) and residence time distribution data. Satisfactory operation is obtained with a sintered ceramic distributor and filters. The reactor equilvalent to approximately 1.1-1.3 stages. Thermal analysis of AUC in hydrogen atmosphere shows that the decomposition of AUC to UO 3 at 200degC is followed by reduction of UO 3 to UO 2 in two steps in the range between 400degC and 500degC and the complete conversion to UO 2 takes two minutes at 550degC. The overall conversion of above 99.5% in the fluidized bed reactor is estimated with 40 minutes of a mean particle residence time at 600degC. (Author)
Relationship between the clinical efficacy and AUC/MIC of intravenous ciprofloxacin in Japanese patients with intraabdominal infections.
Ohki, Emiko; Yamagishi, Yuka; Mikamo, Hiroshige
The efficacy of fluoroquinolones (FQs) correlates with the pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK-PD) parameter, AUC/MIC. To our knowledge, however, no prospective studies have reported the relationship between FQ efficacy and PK-PD parameters in intraabdominal infection; therefore, we prospectively investigated the relationship between the efficacy of intravenous ciprofloxacin (CPFX IV) and PK-PD parameters. The study included 16 patients diagnosed with peritonitis between 2006 and 2008: 14 patients infected with a single organism and 2 patients infected with more than one organism. Each patient was treated with CPFX IV (300 mg twice daily). The response rate was 56% (9 responders and 7 non-responders). Non-responders were infected with Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Bacteroides fragilis (6 patients were infected with a single organism and 1 with more than one organism). Plasma drug concentrations were measured 1 h and 2 or 4 h after administration of CPFX IV. AUC for 24 h (AUC(0-24))/MIC values was calculated. The range of AUC(0-24)/MIC values in responders [95.3-3628.4 (geometric mean, 521.6)] was significantly different from that in non-responders [7.0-45.2 (geometric mean, 16.5)] (p = 0.001). The target AUC/MIC value of CPFX IV would be considered to be 45-95 in patients with peritonitis.
Bhiwandi, P; Campbell, M; Potts, M
The 1994 International Conference on Population and Development proposed increasing contraceptive couple protection from 550 million in 1995 to 880 million in 2015. The task for family planning (FP) programs is to provide access to services for, sometimes, inaccessible rural populations. FP need based on desire for no more children has ranged from under 20% in Senegal to almost 80% in Peru. Socioeconomic development was found not to be a prerequisite for fertility change. Gender inequalities in education and social autonomy must be changed. FP access is very important among women with a disadvantaged background or among women unsure about FP. Bangladesh is a good example of a country with increased contraceptive prevalence despite low income. The rule of thumb is that contraception increases of 15% contribute to a drop in family size of about one child. Program effectiveness is related to a variety of factors: contraceptive availability at many locations, acceptable price of contraception, delivery of the oral contraceptives without prescriptions, and other strategies. FP is a service not a medical treatment. A range of methods must be promoted and available from a range of facilities. Contraceptive use is dependent on the woman's stage in her lifecycle and is dependent on informed choice. Community-based distribution systems are effective, whereas free distribution by poorly-trained field workers is not always very effective because patient payment of all or part of the cost assures quality and freedom of choice. Effective programs for underprivileged groups involve aggressive, easy to manage programs that can be replicated rapidly. FP serves a useful function in depressing maternal mortality among the poor in Africa, who have no access to quality health services. Social marketing is an effective strategy for reaching remote areas. Political will and robust management are necessary commodities.
78 FR 51753 - AUC, LLC Reno Creek, In Situ Project, New Source Material License Application
... NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket No. 040-09092; [NRC-2013-0164] AUC, LLC Reno Creek, In Situ..., AUC, LLC (AUC) submitted to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) an application for a new... and operation, and decommissioning of AUC's proposed in-situ uranium recovery (ISR, also known as in...
The impact of composite AUC estimates on the prediction of systemic exposure in toxicology experiments.
Sahota, Tarjinder; Danhof, Meindert; Della Pasqua, Oscar
Current toxicity protocols relate measures of systemic exposure (i.e. AUC, Cmax) as obtained by non-compartmental analysis to observed toxicity. A complicating factor in this practice is the potential bias in the estimates defining safe drug exposure. Moreover, it prevents the assessment of variability. The objective of the current investigation was therefore (a) to demonstrate the feasibility of applying nonlinear mixed effects modelling for the evaluation of toxicokinetics and (b) to assess the bias and accuracy in summary measures of systemic exposure for each method. Here, simulation scenarios were evaluated, which mimic toxicology protocols in rodents. To ensure differences in pharmacokinetic properties are accounted for, hypothetical drugs with varying disposition properties were considered. Data analysis was performed using non-compartmental methods and nonlinear mixed effects modelling. Exposure levels were expressed as area under the concentration versus time curve (AUC), peak concentrations (Cmax) and time above a predefined threshold (TAT). Results were then compared with the reference values to assess the bias and precision of parameter estimates. Higher accuracy and precision were observed for model-based estimates (i.e. AUC, Cmax and TAT), irrespective of group or treatment duration, as compared with non-compartmental analysis. Despite the focus of guidelines on establishing safety thresholds for the evaluation of new molecules in humans, current methods neglect uncertainty, lack of precision and bias in parameter estimates. The use of nonlinear mixed effects modelling for the analysis of toxicokinetics provides insight into variability and should be considered for predicting safe exposure in humans.
A modified Wald interval for the area under the ROC curve (AUC) in diagnostic case-control studies.
Kottas, Martina; Kuss, Oliver; Zapf, Antonia
The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, referred to as the AUC, is an appropriate measure for describing the overall accuracy of a diagnostic test or a biomarker in early phase trials without having to choose a threshold. There are many approaches for estimating the confidence interval for the AUC. However, all are relatively complicated to implement. Furthermore, many approaches perform poorly for large AUC values or small sample sizes. The AUC is actually a probability. So we propose a modified Wald interval for a single proportion, which can be calculated on a pocket calculator. We performed a simulation study to compare this modified Wald interval (without and with continuity correction) with other intervals regarding coverage probability and statistical power. The main result is that the proposed modified Wald intervals maintain and exploit the type I error much better than the intervals of Agresti-Coull, Wilson, and Clopper-Pearson. The interval suggested by Bamber, the Mann-Whitney interval without transformation and also the interval of the binormal AUC are very liberal. For small sample sizes the Wald interval with continuity has a comparable coverage probability as the LT interval and higher power. For large sample sizes the results of the LT interval and of the Wald interval without continuity correction are comparable. If individual patient data is not available, but only the estimated AUC and the total sample size, the modified Wald intervals can be recommended as confidence intervals for the AUC. For small sample sizes the continuity correction should be used.
Combining large number of weak biomarkers based on AUC.
Yan, Li; Tian, Lili; Liu, Song
Combining multiple biomarkers to improve diagnosis and/or prognosis accuracy is a common practice in clinical medicine. Both parametric and non-parametric methods have been developed for finding the optimal linear combination of biomarkers to maximize the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), primarily focusing on the setting with a small number of well-defined biomarkers. This problem becomes more challenging when the number of observations is not order of magnitude greater than the number of variables, especially when the involved biomarkers are relatively weak. Such settings are not uncommon in certain applied fields. The first aim of this paper is to empirically evaluate the performance of existing linear combination methods under such settings. The second aim is to propose a new combination method, namely, the pairwise approach, to maximize AUC. Our simulation studies demonstrated that the performance of several existing methods can become unsatisfactory as the number of markers becomes large, while the newly proposed pairwise method performs reasonably well. Furthermore, we apply all the combination methods to real datasets used for the development and validation of MammaPrint. The implication of our study for the design of optimal linear combination methods is discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A new mathematical approach for the estimation of the AUC and its variability under different experimental designs in preclinical studies.
Navarro-Fontestad, Carmen; González-Álvarez, Isabel; Fernández-Teruel, Carlos; Bermejo, Marival; Casabó, Vicente Germán
The aim of the present work was to develop a new mathematical method for estimating the area under the curve (AUC) and its variability that could be applied in different preclinical experimental designs and amenable to be implemented in standard calculation worksheets. In order to assess the usefulness of the new approach, different experimental scenarios were studied and the results were compared with those obtained with commonly used software: WinNonlin® and Phoenix WinNonlin®. The results do not show statistical differences among the AUC values obtained by both procedures, but the new method appears to be a better estimator of the AUC standard error, measured as the coverage of 95% confidence interval. In this way, the new proposed method demonstrates to be as useful as WinNonlin® software when it was applicable. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Intranasal Pharmacokinetic Data for Triptans Such as Sumatriptan and Zolmitriptan Can Render Area Under the Curve (AUC) Predictions for the Oral Route: Strategy Development and Application
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Srinivas, Nuggehally R.; Syed, Muzeeb
Limited pharmacokinetic sampling strategy may be useful for predicting the area under the curve (AUC) for triptans and may have clinical utility as a prospective tool for prediction. Using appropriate intranasal pharmacokinetic data, a Cmax vs. AUC relationship was established by linear regression...... models for sumatriptan and zolmitriptan. The predictions of the AUC values were performed using published mean/median Cmax data and appropriate regression lines. The quotient of observed and predicted values rendered fold-difference calculation. The mean absolute error (MAE), mean positive error (MPE......), mean negative error (MNE), root mean square error (RMSE), correlation coefficient (r), and the goodness of the AUC fold prediction were used to evaluate the two triptans. Also, data from the mean concentration profiles at time points of 1 hour (sumatriptan) and 3 hours (zolmitriptan) were used...
Crystallization characteristics of ammonium uranyl carbonate (AUC) in ammonium carbonate solutions
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kim, T.J.; Jeong, K.C.; Park, J.H.; Chang, I.S.; Choi, C.S.
Ammonium carbonate solutions with an excessive amount of NH 3 were produced in a commercial AUC (ammonium uranyl carbonate) conversion plant. In this study the AUC crystals, precipitated with uranyl nitrate and ammonium carbonate solutions prepared in the laboratory, were characterized to determine the feasibility of recycling ammonium carbonate solution. The AUC crystals were easily agglomerated with the increasing concentration of CO 3 2- and mole ratio of NH 4 + /CO 3 2- in ammonium carbonate solution. Effects of a mixing system for the solution in the AUC crystallizer and the feed location of the solution onthe agglomeration of AUC crystals were also studied along with the effects of agglomerated AUC powders on UO 2 powders. Finally, the feasibility of manufacturing UO 2 fuel with a sintered pellet density of 10.52 g/cm 3 , using the AUC powders generated in this experiment, was demonstrated. (orig.)
Diagnostic terminology for urinary cytology reports including the new subcategories 'atypical urothelial cells of undetermined significance' (AUC-US) and 'cannot exclude high grade' (AUC-H).
Piaton, E; Decaussin-Petrucci, M; Mege-Lechevallier, F; Advenier, A-S; Devonec, M; Ruffion, A
We studied whether atypical, non-superficial urothelial cells (AUC) could be separated into new subcategories including AUC 'of undetermined significance' (AUC-US) and 'cannot exclude high grade'' (AUC-H) in order to help to standardize urine cytopathology reports, as it is widely accepted in the Bethesda system for gynaecological cytopathology. We investigated whether AUC-US and AUC-H, defined by distinctive cytological criteria, might be separated with statistical significance according to actual diagnosis and follow-up data. A series of 534 cyto-histological comparisons taken in 139 patients, including 221 AUC at various steps of their clinical history was studied. There were 513 (96.1%) postcystoscopy and 469 (87.8%) ThinPrep® liquid-based specimens (95.9% and 89.1% of AUC cases, respectively). Patients viewed between 1999 and 2011 had histological control in a 0- to 6-months delay and were followed-up during an additional 5.9 ± 9.2 (0- to 56-) months period. The 221 AUC represented 0.8-2% of the specimens viewed during the study period. Among AUC-H cases, 70 out of 185 (37.8%) matched with high-grade lesions, compared with 3 of 38 (8.3%) of AUC-US cases (P = 0.0003). Conservatively treated patients with AUC-H more frequently developed high-grade lesions than those with AUC-US (54.1% versus 16.7%, P = 0.0007) with a 17.6-months mean delay. Nuclear hyperchromasia, a nuclear to cytoplasm (N/C) ratio > 0.7 and the combination of both were the more informative diagnostic criteria, all with P < 0.01. We conclude that the new subcategories could help to standardize urine cytopathology reports and contribute to the patient's management, provided it is validated by multicentric studies. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
NCC-AUC: an AUC optimization method to identify multi-biomarker panel for cancer prognosis from genomic and clinical data.
Zou, Meng; Liu, Zhaoqi; Zhang, Xiang-Sun; Wang, Yong
In prognosis and survival studies, an important goal is to identify multi-biomarker panels with predictive power using molecular characteristics or clinical observations. Such analysis is often challenged by censored, small-sample-size, but high-dimensional genomic profiles or clinical data. Therefore, sophisticated models and algorithms are in pressing need. In this study, we propose a novel Area Under Curve (AUC) optimization method for multi-biomarker panel identification named Nearest Centroid Classifier for AUC optimization (NCC-AUC). Our method is motived by the connection between AUC score for classification accuracy evaluation and Harrell's concordance index in survival analysis. This connection allows us to convert the survival time regression problem to a binary classification problem. Then an optimization model is formulated to directly maximize AUC and meanwhile minimize the number of selected features to construct a predictor in the nearest centroid classifier framework. NCC-AUC shows its great performance by validating both in genomic data of breast cancer and clinical data of stage IB Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). For the genomic data, NCC-AUC outperforms Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Support Vector Machine-based Recursive Feature Elimination (SVM-RFE) in classification accuracy. It tends to select a multi-biomarker panel with low average redundancy and enriched biological meanings. Also NCC-AUC is more significant in separation of low and high risk cohorts than widely used Cox model (Cox proportional-hazards regression model) and L1-Cox model (L1 penalized in Cox model). These performance gains of NCC-AUC are quite robust across 5 subtypes of breast cancer. Further in an independent clinical data, NCC-AUC outperforms SVM and SVM-RFE in predictive accuracy and is consistently better than Cox model and L1-Cox model in grouping patients into high and low risk categories. In summary, NCC-AUC provides a rigorous optimization framework to
Study On Precipitation Of UO2 Ex-AUC Powder. Part I: Precipitation Of AUC By (NH4)2CO3 From Uranyl Fluoride Solution
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Nguyen Trong Hung; Le Ba Thuan; Do Van Khoai; Nguyen Thanh Thuy; Nguyen Van Tung
In this paper, Ammonium Uranyl Carbonate (AUC) powders were prepared by precipitation method in solution. UO 2 F 2 /HF, ammonium carbonate (AC), and ammonium hydroxide solution were used as precursors for precipitation. The influence of C/U ratio (mol/mol), AC concentration (g/L), reaction temperature ( o C), on characteristics of AUC powders was also investigated. Then, the synthesized AUC powders were analyzed (to define) phase composition (X-ray), fluorine content, morphology (by SEM), and specific surface area (BET). (author)
AUC-based biomarker ensemble with an application on gene scores predicting low bone mineral density.
Zhao, X G; Dai, W; Li, Y; Tian, L
The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC), long regarded as a 'golden' measure for the predictiveness of a continuous score, has propelled the need to develop AUC-based predictors. However, the AUC-based ensemble methods are rather scant, largely due to the fact that the associated objective function is neither continuous nor concave. Indeed, there is no reliable numerical algorithm identifying optimal combination of a set of biomarkers to maximize the AUC, especially when the number of biomarkers is large. We have proposed a novel AUC-based statistical ensemble methods for combining multiple biomarkers to differentiate a binary response of interest. Specifically, we propose to replace the non-continuous and non-convex AUC objective function by a convex surrogate loss function, whose minimizer can be efficiently identified. With the established framework, the lasso and other regularization techniques enable feature selections. Extensive simulations have demonstrated the superiority of the new methods to the existing methods. The proposal has been applied to a gene expression dataset to construct gene expression scores to differentiate elderly women with low bone mineral density (BMD) and those with normal BMD. The AUCs of the resulting scores in the independent test dataset has been satisfactory. Aiming for directly maximizing AUC, the proposed AUC-based ensemble method provides an efficient means of generating a stable combination of multiple biomarkers, which is especially useful under the high-dimensional settings. firstname.lastname@example.com. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Use of partial AUC to demonstrate bioequivalence of Zolpidem Tartrate Extended Release formulations.
Lionberger, Robert A; Raw, Andre S; Kim, Stephanie H; Zhang, Xinyuan; Yu, Lawrence X
FDA's bioequivalence recommendation for Zolpidem Tartrate Extended Release Tablets is the first to use partial AUC (pAUC) metrics for determining bioequivalence of modified-release dosage forms. Modeling and simulation studies were performed to aid in understanding the need for pAUC measures and also the proper pAUC truncation times. Deconvolution techniques, In Vitro/In Vivo Correlations, and the CAT (Compartmental Absorption and Transit) model were used to predict the PK profiles for zolpidem. Models were validated using in-house data submitted to the FDA. Using dissolution profiles expressed by the Weibull model as input for the CAT model, dissolution spaces were derived for simulated test formulations. The AUC(0-1.5) parameter was indicative of IR characteristics of early exposure and effectively distinguished among formulations that produced different pharmacodynamic effects. The AUC(1.5-t) parameter ensured equivalence with respect to the sustained release phase of Ambien CR. The variability of AUC(0-1.5) is higher than other PK parameters, but is reasonable for use in an equivalence test. In addition to the traditional PK parameters of AUCinf and Cmax, AUC(0-1.5) and AUC(1.5-t) are recommended to provide bioequivalence measures with respect to label indications for Ambien CR: onset of sleep and sleep maintenance.
[Successful cyclosporine treatment in 2 patients with refractory CIDP, involving monitoring of both AUC(0-4h) and trough levels].
Takeuchi, Akiko; Shirai, Shinichi; Horiuchi, Kazuhiro; Takahashi, Ikuko; Matsushima, Masaaki; Hirotani, Makoto; Kano, Takahiro; Yabe, Ichiro; Matumoto, Akihisa; Sasaki, Hidenao
Cyclosporine A (CYA) treatment has been reported to be probably useful for patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) that is resistant to conventional treatment. Although several studies have shown that appropriate area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) monitoring of CYA levels results in improved outcomes for refractory nephrotic syndrome patients, the importance of using AUC analysis for CIDP remains unclear. In this study, we measured both trough and AUC from 0 to 4 h (AUC(0-4 h)) levels of CYA in 2 patients with CIDP and compared the findings for the clinical parameters. On the basis of the CYA dosing recommendations for patients with nephrotic syndrome, we used a CYA concentration of 150 ng/ml for the trough level and an AUC(0-4 h) value of 2,500 ng/(ml·h). Patient 1 showed a significant increase in grip strength and a prolonged remission period. Patient 2 showed improvement in the modified Rankin scale and manual muscle test (MMT) scores. Monitoring both AUC(0-4 h) and trough levels of CYA seems to be a better option than monitoring the trough level alone because it leads to improved estimation of the efficacy and safety of CYA treatment in the case of CIDP patients.
Vancomycin AUC/MIC and Corresponding Troughs in a Pediatric Population.
Kishk, Omayma A; Lardieri, Allison B; Heil, Emily L; Morgan, Jill A
Adult guidelines suggest an area under the curve/minimum inhibitory concentration (AUC/MIC) > 400 corresponds to a vancomycin trough serum concentration of 15 to 20 mg/L for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections, but obtaining these troughs in children are difficult. The primary objective of this study was to assess the likelihood that 15 mg/kg of vancomycin every 6 hours in a child achieves an AUC/MIC > 400. This retrospective chart review included pediatric patients >2 months to AUCs were calculated four times using three pharmacokinetic methods. A total of 36 patients with 99 vancomycin trough serum concentrations were assessed. Baseline characteristics were similar between groups. For troughs in group 1 (n = 55), the probability of achieving an AUC/MIC > 400 ranged from 16.4% to 90.9% with a median trough concentration of 11.4 mg/L, while in group 2 (n = 44) the probability of achieving AUC/MIC > 400 ranged from 15.9% to 54.5% with mean trough concentration of 9.2 mg/L. The AUC/MICs were not similar between the different pharmacokinetic methods used; however, a trapezoidal equation (Method A) yielded the highest correlation coefficient (r 2 = 0.59). When dosing every 6 hours, an AUC/MIC of 400 correlated to a trough serum concentration of 11 mg/L. The probability of achieving an AUC/MIC > 400 using only a trough serum concentration and an MIC with patients receiving 15 mg/kg every 6 hours is variable based on the method used to calculate the AUC. An AUC/MIC of 400 in children correlated to a trough concentration of 11 mg/L using a trapezoidal Method to calculate AUC.
Evaluating the predictive abilities of community occupancy models using AUC while accounting for imperfect detection
Zipkin, Elise F.; Grant, Evan H. Campbell; Fagan, William F.
The ability to accurately predict patterns of species' occurrences is fundamental to the successful management of animal communities. To determine optimal management strategies, it is essential to understand species-habitat relationships and how species habitat use is related to natural or human-induced environmental changes. Using five years of monitoring data in the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, Maryland, USA, we developed four multi-species hierarchical models for estimating amphibian wetland use that account for imperfect detection during sampling. The models were designed to determine which factors (wetland habitat characteristics, annual trend effects, spring/summer precipitation, and previous wetland occupancy) were most important for predicting future habitat use. We used the models to make predictions of species occurrences in sampled and unsampled wetlands and evaluated model projections using additional data. Using a Bayesian approach, we calculated a posterior distribution of receiver operating characteristic area under the curve (ROC AUC) values, which allowed us to explicitly quantify the uncertainty in the quality of our predictions and to account for false negatives in the evaluation dataset. We found that wetland hydroperiod (the length of time that a wetland holds water) as well as the occurrence state in the prior year were generally the most important factors in determining occupancy. The model with only habitat covariates predicted species occurrences well; however, knowledge of wetland use in the previous year significantly improved predictive ability at the community level and for two of 12 species/species complexes. Our results demonstrate the utility of multi-species models for understanding which factors affect species habitat use of an entire community (of species) and provide an improved methodology using AUC that is helpful for quantifying the uncertainty in model predictions while explicitly accounting for
Clinical usefulness of limited sampling strategies for estimating AUC of proton pump inhibitors.
Niioka, Takenori
Cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2C19 (CYP2C19) genotype is regarded as a useful tool to predict area under the blood concentration-time curve (AUC) of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). In our results, however, CYP2C19 genotypes had no influence on AUC of all PPIs during fluvoxamine treatment. These findings suggest that CYP2C19 genotyping is not always a good indicator for estimating AUC of PPIs. Limited sampling strategies (LSS) were developed to estimate AUC simply and accurately. It is important to minimize the number of blood samples because of patient's acceptance. This article reviewed the usefulness of LSS for estimating AUC of three PPIs (omeprazole: OPZ, lansoprazole: LPZ and rabeprazole: RPZ). The best prediction formulas in each PPI were AUC(OPZ)=9.24 x C(6h)+2638.03, AUC(LPZ)=12.32 x C(6h)+3276.09 and AUC(RPZ)=1.39 x C(3h)+7.17 x C(6h)+344.14, respectively. In order to optimize the sampling strategy of LPZ, we tried to establish LSS for LPZ using a time point within 3 hours through the property of pharmacokinetics of its enantiomers. The best prediction formula using the fewest sampling points (one point) was AUC(racemic LPZ)=6.5 x C(3h) of (R)-LPZ+13.7 x C(3h) of (S)-LPZ-9917.3 x G1-14387.2×G2+7103.6 (G1: homozygous extensive metabolizer is 1 and the other genotypes are 0; G2: heterozygous extensive metabolizer is 1 and the other genotypes are 0). Those strategies, plasma concentration monitoring at one or two time-points, might be more suitable for AUC estimation than reference to CYP2C19 genotypes, particularly in the case of coadministration of CYP mediators.
How to interpret a small increase in AUC with an additional risk prediction marker: decision analysis comes through.
Baker, Stuart G; Schuit, Ewoud; Steyerberg, Ewout W; Pencina, Michael J; Vickers, Andrew; Vickers, Andew; Moons, Karel G M; Mol, Ben W J; Lindeman, Karen S
An important question in the evaluation of an additional risk prediction marker is how to interpret a small increase in the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Many researchers believe that a change in AUC is a poor metric because it increases only slightly with the addition of a marker with a large odds ratio. Because it is not possible on purely statistical grounds to choose between the odds ratio and AUC, we invoke decision analysis, which incorporates costs and benefits. For example, a timely estimate of the risk of later non-elective operative delivery can help a woman in labor decide if she wants an early elective cesarean section to avoid greater complications from possible later non-elective operative delivery. A basic risk prediction model for later non-elective operative delivery involves only antepartum markers. Because adding intrapartum markers to this risk prediction model increases AUC by 0.02, we questioned whether this small improvement is worthwhile. A key decision-analytic quantity is the risk threshold, here the risk of later non-elective operative delivery at which a patient would be indifferent between an early elective cesarean section and usual care. For a range of risk thresholds, we found that an increase in the net benefit of risk prediction requires collecting intrapartum marker data on 68 to 124 women for every correct prediction of later non-elective operative delivery. Because data collection is non-invasive, this test tradeoff of 68 to 124 is clinically acceptable, indicating the value of adding intrapartum markers to the risk prediction model. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
On the validity of time-dependent AUC estimators.
Schmid, Matthias; Kestler, Hans A; Potapov, Sergej
Recent developments in molecular biology have led to the massive discovery of new marker candidates for the prediction of patient survival. To evaluate the predictive value of these markers, statistical tools for measuring the performance of survival models are needed. We consider estimators of discrimination measures, which are a popular approach to evaluate survival predictions in biomarker studies. Estimators of discrimination measures are usually based on regularity assumptions such as the proportional hazards assumption. Based on two sets of molecular data and a simulation study, we show that violations of the regularity assumptions may lead to over-optimistic estimates of prediction accuracy and may therefore result in biased conclusions regarding the clinical utility of new biomarkers. In particular, we demonstrate that biased medical decision making is possible even if statistical checks indicate that all regularity assumptions are satisfied. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: firstname.lastname@example.com.
Probing the electronic structure and Au–C chemical bonding in AuC2− and AuC2 using high-resolution photoelectron spectroscopy
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
León, Iker; Yang, Zheng; Wang, Lai-Sheng
We report photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) and high-resolution PE imaging of AuC 2 − at a wide range of photon energies. The ground state of AuC 2 − is found to be linear (C ∞v , 1 Σ + ) with a …8π 4 4δ 4 17σ 2 9π 4 18σ 2 valence configuration. Detachments from all the five valence orbitals of the ground state of AuC 2 − are observed at 193 nm. High-resolution PE images are obtained in the energy range from 830 to 330 nm, revealing complicated vibronic structures from electron detachment of the 18σ, 9π, and 17σ orbitals. Detachment from the 18σ orbital results in the 2 Σ + ground state of neutral AuC 2 , which, however, is bent due to strong vibronic coupling with the nearby 2 Π state from detachment of a 9π electron. The 2 Σ + – 2 Π vibronic and spin-orbit coupling results in complicated vibronic structures for the 2 Σ + and 2 Π 3/2 states with extensive bending excitations. The electron affinity of AuC 2 is measured accurately to be 3.2192(7) eV with a ground state bending frequency of 195(6) cm −1 . The first excited state ( 2 A′) of AuC 2 , corresponding to the 2 Π 3/2 state at the linear geometry, is only 0.0021 eV above the ground state ( 2 A′) and has a bending frequency of 207(6) cm −1 . The 2 Π 1/2 state, 0.2291 eV above the ground state, is linear with little geometry change relative to the anion ground state. The detachment of the 17σ orbital also results in complicated vibronic structures, suggesting again a bent state due to possible vibronic coupling with the lower 2 Π state. The spectrum at 193 nm shows the presence of a minor species with less than 2% intensity relative to the ground state of AuC 2 − . High-resolution data of the minor species reveal several vibrational progressions in the Au–C stretching mode, which are assigned to be from the metastable 3 Π 2,1,0 spin-orbit excited states of AuC 2 − to the 2 Π 3/2,1/2 spin-orbit states of neutral AuC 2 . The spin-orbit splittings of the 3 Π and 2 �
Discrimination measures for survival outcomes: connection between the AUC and the predictiveness curve.
Viallon, Vivian; Latouche, Aurélien
Finding out biomarkers and building risk scores to predict the occurrence of survival outcomes is a major concern of clinical epidemiology, and so is the evaluation of prognostic models. In this paper, we are concerned with the estimation of the time-dependent AUC--area under the receiver-operating curve--which naturally extends standard AUC to the setting of survival outcomes and enables to evaluate the discriminative power of prognostic models. We establish a simple and useful relation between the predictiveness curve and the time-dependent AUC--AUC(t). This relation confirms that the predictiveness curve is the key concept for evaluating calibration and discrimination of prognostic models. It also highlights that accurate estimates of the conditional absolute risk function should yield accurate estimates for AUC(t). From this observation, we derive several estimators for AUC(t) relying on distinct estimators of the conditional absolute risk function. An empirical study was conducted to compare our estimators with the existing ones and assess the effect of model misspecification--when estimating the conditional absolute risk function--on the AUC(t) estimation. We further illustrate the methodology on the Mayo PBC and the VA lung cancer data sets. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.
Vancomycin AUC/MIC ratio and 30-day mortality in patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia.
Holmes, Natasha E; Turnidge, John D; Munckhof, Wendy J; Robinson, J Owen; Korman, Tony M; O'Sullivan, Matthew V N; Anderson, Tara L; Roberts, Sally A; Warren, Sanchia J C; Gao, Wei; Howden, Benjamin P; Johnson, Paul D R
A ratio of the vancomycin area under the concentration-time curve to the MIC (AUC/MIC) of ≥ 400 has been associated with clinical success when treating Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia, and this target was recommended by recently published vancomycin therapeutic monitoring consensus guidelines for treating all serious S. aureus infections. Here, vancomycin serum trough levels and vancomycin AUC/MIC were evaluated in a "real-world" context by following a cohort of 182 patients with S. aureus bacteremia (SAB) and analyzing these parameters within the critical first 96 h of vancomycin therapy. The median vancomycin trough level at this time point was 19.5 mg/liter. There was a significant difference in vancomycin AUC/MIC when using broth microdilution (BMD) compared with Etest MIC (medians of 436.1 and 271.5, respectively; P AUC/MIC of ≥ 400 using BMD was not associated with lower 30-day all-cause or attributable mortality from SAB (P = 0.132 and P = 0.273, respectively). However, an alternative vancomycin AUC/MIC of >373, derived using classification and regression tree analysis, was associated with reduced mortality (P = 0.043) and remained significant in a multivariable model. This study demonstrated that we obtained vancomycin trough levels in the target therapeutic range early during the course of therapy and that obtaining a higher vancomycin AUC/MIC (in this case, >373) within 96 h was associated with reduced mortality. The MIC test method has a significant impact on vancomycin AUC/MIC estimation. Clinicians should be aware that the current target AUC/MIC of ≥ 400 was derived using the reference BMD method, so adjustments to this target need to be made when calculating AUC/MIC ratio using other MIC testing methods.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The Reach Address Database (RAD) stores the reach address of each Water Program feature that has been linked to the underlying surface water features (streams,...
Dual Incorporation of the in vitro Data (IC50) and in vivo (Cmax) Data for the Prediction of Area Under the Curve (AUC) for Statins using Regression Models Developed for Either Pravastatin or Simvastatin.
Srinivas, N R
Linear regression models utilizing a single time point (Cmax) has been reported for pravastatin and simvastatin. A new model was developed for the prediction of AUC of statins that utilized the slopes of the above 2 models, with pharmacokinetic (Cmax) and a pharmacodynamic (IC50 value) components for the statins. The prediction of AUCs for various statins (pravastatin, atorvastatin, simvastatin and rosuvastatin) was carried out using the newly developed dual pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic model. Generally, the AUC predictions were contained within 0.5 to 2-fold difference of the observed AUC suggesting utility of the new models. The root mean square error predictions wereAUC for statins. Such a new concept as described in the work may have utility in both drug discovery and development stages. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.
Analysis of flux standards in a fluized bed for AUC - UO2 convertion
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Juanico, L.E.; Clausse, A.; Guido Lavalle, G.
One of the fuel cycle stages is the convertion (reduction) of ammonium uranyl carbonate (AUC) in UO 2 which, after being directly compacted, allows pellet obtainment acquire the correct density to be used as nuclear fuel during sintering. AUC's reduction in UO 2 is made on a fluidized bed in which AUC powder going into the upper part at a countercurrent to the gas flux (superheated steam), is converted into UO 2 ; after the reaction, UO 2 is collected at the lower part of the reactor. (Author) [es
Different truncation methods of AUC between Japan and the EU for bioequivalence assessment: influence on the regulatory judgment.
Oishi, Masayo; Chiba, Koji; Fukushima, Takashi; Tomono, Yoshiro; Suwa, Toshio
In regulatory guidelines for bioequivalence (BE) assessment, the definitions of AUC for primary assessment are different in ICH countries, i.e., AUC from zero to the last sampling point (AUCall) in Japan, AUC from zero to infinity (AUCinf) or AUC from zero to the last measurable point (AUClast) in the US, and AUClast in the EU. To assure sufficient accuracy of truncated AUC for BE assessment, the ratio of truncated AUC (AUCall or AUClast) to AUCinf should be more than 80% both in Japanese and EU guidelines. We investigated how the difference in the definition of truncated AUC affects BE assessment of sustained release (SR) formulation. Our simulation result demonstrated that AUCall/AUCinf could be ≥80% despite AUClast/AUCinf being AUC affected the judgment of validity of truncated AUC for BE assessment, and AUCall could fail to detect the substantially different in vivo dissolution profile of generic drugs with SR formulation from the original drug.
Valdes, C
Guatemala's family planning (FP) programs are innovative but contraceptive use is only 23%. Total fertility is 5.3 children/woman, and the 9.5 million population will double in 23 years. The problem is poverty and illiteracy among rural residents removed from health services. 80% live in poverty and 80% are illiterate. Government effort is devoted to combating diseases such as diarrhea so there are few funds for implementing a comprehensive population policy. There is support within the national government but FP lacks priority status. APROFAM's goals are to use innovative marketing methods to inform the rural population who lack access to and knowledge about FP. Service delivery is constrained by the difficulty in reaching remote areas where 4 out of 10 indigenous Guatemalans live. Infant mortality can reach as high as 200/1000 live births. Population growth has slowed, and APROFAM plans to reach 16,000 more in the future. Promotions are conducted in several languages and aired on radio, television, and in the print media. It has been found that market research is the most effective strategy in reaching indigenous families. APROFAM has also been effective in upgrading service facilities through training, client surveys, and setting improved clinic standards. Breastfeeding, training, and voluntary sterilization programs contribute to the primary care effort. The example is given of Paulina Lebron from a very poor area who has learned how to space her children and thus improve the standard of living for her family. Eventually, she convinced herself and her family that sterilization was necessary, and now the couple enjoy the bliss of newlyweds without fear of pregnancy.
Preparation and characterization of antibacterial Au/C core-shell composite
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Gao Yanhong [Department of Chemistry and Institute of Nanochemistry, Jinan University, 601 Huangpudadaoxi Road, Guangzhou 510632, Guangdong (China); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou 510300, Guangdong (China); Zhang Nianchun [Department of Chemistry and Institute of Nanochemistry, Jinan University, 601 Huangpudadaoxi Road, Guangzhou 510632, Guangdong (China); Zhong Yuwen [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou 510300, Guangdong (China); Cai Huaihong [Department of Chemistry and Institute of Nanochemistry, Jinan University, 601 Huangpudadaoxi Road, Guangzhou 510632, Guangdong (China); Liu Yingliang, E-mail: email@example.com [Department of Chemistry and Institute of Nanochemistry, Jinan University, 601 Huangpudadaoxi Road, Guangzhou 510632, Guangdong (China)
An environment-friendly oxidation-reduction method was used to prepare Au/C core-shell composite using carbon as core and gold as shell. The chemical structures and morphologies of Au/C core-shell composite and carbon sphere were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscope, energy dispersion X-ray spectrometry (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The antibacterial properties of the Au/C core-shell composite against Escherichia coli (E. coli), Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Candida albicans (C. albicans) were examined by the disk diffusion assay and minimal inhibition concentration (MIC) methods. In addition, antibacterial ability of Au/C core-shell composite was observed by atomic force microscope. Results demonstrated that gold homogeneously supported on the surface of carbon spheres without aggregation and showed efficient antibacterial abilities.
Balancing vancomycin efficacy and nephrotoxicity: should we be aiming for trough or AUC/MIC?
Patel, Karisma; Crumby, Ashley S; Maples, Holly D
Sixty years later, the question that still remains is how to appropriately utilize vancomycin in the pediatric population. The Infectious Diseases Society of America published guidelines in 2011 that provide guidance for dosing and monitoring of vancomycin in adults and pediatrics. However, goal vancomycin trough concentrations of 15-20 μg/mL for invasive infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus were based primarily on adult pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data that achieved an area under the curve to minimum inhibitory concentration ratio (AUC/MIC) of ≥400. Recent pediatric literature shows that vancomycin trough concentrations needed to achieve the target AUC/MIC are different than the adult goal troughs cited in the guidelines. This paper addresses several thoughts, including the role of vancomycin AUC/MIC in dosing strategies and safety monitoring, consistency in laboratory reporting, and future directions for calculating AUC/MIC in pediatrics.
Utility of the AAOS Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC) for Pediatric Supracondylar Humerus Fractures in Clinical Practice.
Ibrahim, Talal; Hegazy, Abdelsalam; Abulhail, Safa I S; Ghomrawi, Hassan M K
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) recently developed an Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC) for pediatric supracondylar humerus fractures (PSHF). The AUC is intended to improve quality of care by informing surgeon decision making. The aim of our study was to cross-reference the management of operatively treated PSHF with the AAOS-published AUC. The AUC for PSHF include 220 patient scenarios, based on different combinations of 6 factors. For each patient scenario, 8 treatment options are evaluated as "appropriate," "maybe appropriate," and "rarely appropriate." We retrospectively reviewed the medical charts and radiographs of all operatively treated PSHF at our hospital from January 2013 to December 2014 and determined the appropriateness of the treatment. Over the study period, 94 children (mean age: 5.2 y; 51 male, 43 female) were admitted with PSHF and underwent a surgical procedure (type IIA: 7, type IIB: 14, type III: 70, flexion type: 3). Only 8 of the 220 scenarios were observed in our patient cohort. The most frequent scenario was represented by a type III fracture, palpable distal pulse, no nerve injury, closed soft-tissue envelope, no radius/ulna fracture, and typical swelling. Of the 94 fractures, the AUC was "appropriate" for 84 cases and "maybe appropriate" for 9 cases. There was only 1 case of "rarely appropriate" management. Closed reduction with lateral pinning and immobilization was the most prevalent treatment option (58.5%). The rate of appropriateness was not affected by the operating surgeon. However, the definition of a case as emergent had a significant impact on the rate of appropriateness. Application of the AUC to actual clinical data was relatively simple. The majority of operatively treated PSHF (89.4%) were managed appropriately. With the introduction of electronic medical charts, an AUC application becomes attractive and easy for orthopaedic surgeons to utilize in clinical practice. However, validity studies of the AUC in
AUC-Maximized Deep Convolutional Neural Fields for Protein Sequence Labeling.
Wang, Sheng; Sun, Siqi; Xu, Jinbo
Deep Convolutional Neural Networks (DCNN) has shown excellent performance in a variety of machine learning tasks. This paper presents Deep Convolutional Neural Fields (DeepCNF), an integration of DCNN with Conditional Random Field (CRF), for sequence labeling with an imbalanced label distribution. The widely-used training methods, such as maximum-likelihood and maximum labelwise accuracy, do not work well on imbalanced data. To handle this, we present a new training algorithm called maximum-AUC for DeepCNF. That is, we train DeepCNF by directly maximizing the empirical Area Under the ROC Curve (AUC), which is an unbiased measurement for imbalanced data. To fulfill this, we formulate AUC in a pairwise ranking framework, approximate it by a polynomial function and then apply a gradient-based procedure to optimize it. Our experimental results confirm that maximum-AUC greatly outperforms the other two training methods on 8-state secondary structure prediction and disorder prediction since their label distributions are highly imbalanced and also has similar performance as the other two training methods on solvent accessibility prediction, which has three equally-distributed labels. Furthermore, our experimental results show that our AUC-trained DeepCNF models greatly outperform existing popular predictors of these three tasks. The data and software related to this paper are available at https://github.com/realbigws/DeepCNF_AUC.
An extension of the receiver operating characteristic curve and AUC-optimal classification.
Takenouchi, Takashi; Komori, Osamu; Eguchi, Shinto
While most proposed methods for solving classification problems focus on minimization of the classification error rate, we are interested in the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, which provides more information about classification performance than the error rate does. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) is a natural measure for overall assessment of a classifier based on the ROC curve. We discuss a class of concave functions for AUC maximization in which a boosting-type algorithm including RankBoost is considered, and the Bayesian risk consistency and the lower bound of the optimum function are discussed. A procedure derived by maximizing a specific optimum function has high robustness, based on gross error sensitivity. Additionally, we focus on the partial AUC, which is the partial area under the ROC curve. For example, in medical screening, a high true-positive rate to the fixed lower false-positive rate is preferable and thus the partial AUC corresponding to lower false-positive rates is much more important than the remaining AUC. We extend the class of concave optimum functions for partial AUC optimality with the boosting algorithm. We investigated the validity of the proposed method through several experiments with data sets in the UCI repository.
The cross-validated AUC for MCP-logistic regression with high-dimensional data.
Jiang, Dingfeng; Huang, Jian; Zhang, Ying
We propose a cross-validated area under the receiving operator characteristic (ROC) curve (CV-AUC) criterion for tuning parameter selection for penalized methods in sparse, high-dimensional logistic regression models. We use this criterion in combination with the minimax concave penalty (MCP) method for variable selection. The CV-AUC criterion is specifically designed for optimizing the classification performance for binary outcome data. To implement the proposed approach, we derive an efficient coordinate descent algorithm to compute the MCP-logistic regression solution surface. Simulation studies are conducted to evaluate the finite sample performance of the proposed method and its comparison with the existing methods including the Akaike information criterion (AIC), Bayesian information criterion (BIC) or Extended BIC (EBIC). The model selected based on the CV-AUC criterion tends to have a larger predictive AUC and smaller classification error than those with tuning parameters selected using the AIC, BIC or EBIC. We illustrate the application of the MCP-logistic regression with the CV-AUC criterion on three microarray datasets from the studies that attempt to identify genes related to cancers. Our simulation studies and data examples demonstrate that the CV-AUC is an attractive method for tuning parameter selection for penalized methods in high-dimensional logistic regression models.
Long Term Measurement of the Vapor Pressure of Gold in the Au-C System
Copland, Evan H.
Incorporating the {Au(s,l) + graphite} reference in component activity measurements made with the multiple effusion-cell vapor source mass spectrometry (multicell KEMS) technique provides a fixed temperature defining ITS-90 (T(sub mp)(Au) = 1337.33K) and a systematic method to check accuracy. Over a 2 year period delta H sub(298)Au was determined by the 2nd and 3rd law methods in 25 separate experiments and were in the ranges 362.2 plus or minus 3.3 kJmol(sup -1) and 367.8 plus or minus 1.1 kJmol(sup -1), respectively. This 5 kJmol-1 discrepancy is transferred directly to the measured activities. This is unacceptable and the source of this discrepancy needs to be understood and corrected. Accepting the 2nd law value increases p(Au) by about 50 percent, brings the 2nd and 3rd law values into agreement and removes the T dependence in the 3rd law values. While compelling, there is no way to independently determine instrument sensitivities, S(sub Au), with T in a single experiment with KEMS. This lack of capability is stopping a deeper understanding of this problem. In addition, the Au-C phase diagram suggests a eutectic invariant reaction: L-Au(4.7at%C) = FCC-Au(0.08at%C) + C(graphite) at T(sub e) approximately 1323K. This high C concentration in Au(l) must reduce p(Au) in equilibrium with {Au(s,l) + graphite} and raises some critical questions about the Gibbs free energy functions of Au(s,l) and the Au fixed point (T(sub mp)(Au) = 1337.33K) which is always measured in graphite.
Alternative methods for CYP2D6 phenotyping: comparison of dextromethorphan metabolic ratios from AUC, single point plasma, and urine.
Chen, Rui; Wang, Haotian; Shi, Jun; Hu, Pei
CYP2D6 is a high polymorphic enzyme. Determining its phenotype before CYP2D6 substrate treatment can avoid dose-dependent adverse events or therapeutic failures. Alternative phenotyping methods of CYP2D6 were compared to aluate the appropriate and precise time points for phenotyping after single-dose and ultiple-dose of 30-mg controlled-release (CR) dextromethorphan (DM) and to explore the antimodes for potential sampling methods. This was an open-label, single and multiple-dose study. 21 subjects were assigned to receive a single dose of CR DM 30 mg orally, followed by a 3-day washout period prior to oral administration of CR DM 30 mg every 12 hours for 6 days. Metabolic ratios (MRs) from AUC∞ after single dosing and from AUC0-12h at steady state were taken as the gold standard. The correlations of metabolic ratios of DM to dextrorphan (MRDM/DX) values based on different phenotyping methods were assessed. Linear regression formulas were derived to calculate the antimodes for potential sample methods. In the single-dose part of the study statistically significant correlations were found between MRDM/DX from AUC∞ and from serial plasma points from 1 to 30 hours or from urine (all p-values < 0.001). In the multiple-dose part, statistically significant correlations were found between MRDM/DX from AUC0-12h on day 6 and MRDM/DX from serial plasma points from 0 to 36 hours after the last dosing (all p-values < 0.001). Based on reported urinary antimode and linear regression analysis, the antimodes of AUC and plasma points were derived to profile the trend of antimodes as the drug concentrations changed. MRDM/DX from plasma points had good correlations with MRDM/DX from AUC. Plasma points from 1 to 30 hours after single dose of 30-mg CR DM and any plasma point at steady state after multiple doses of CR DM could potentially be used for phenotyping of CYP2D6.
Asymptotic distribution of ∆AUC, NRIs, and IDI based on theory of U-statistics.
Demler, Olga V; Pencina, Michael J; Cook, Nancy R; D'Agostino, Ralph B
The change in area under the curve (∆AUC), the integrated discrimination improvement (IDI), and net reclassification index (NRI) are commonly used measures of risk prediction model performance. Some authors have reported good validity of associated methods of estimating their standard errors (SE) and construction of confidence intervals, whereas others have questioned their performance. To address these issues, we unite the ∆AUC, IDI, and three versions of the NRI under the umbrella of the U-statistics family. We rigorously show that the asymptotic behavior of ∆AUC, NRIs, and IDI fits the asymptotic distribution theory developed for U-statistics. We prove that the ∆AUC, NRIs, and IDI are asymptotically normal, unless they compare nested models under the null hypothesis. In the latter case, asymptotic normality and existing SE estimates cannot be applied to ∆AUC, NRIs, or IDI. In the former case, SE formulas proposed in the literature are equivalent to SE formulas obtained from U-statistics theory if we ignore adjustment for estimated parameters. We use Sukhatme-Randles-deWet condition to determine when adjustment for estimated parameters is necessary. We show that adjustment is not necessary for SEs of the ∆AUC and two versions of the NRI when added predictor variables are significant and normally distributed. The SEs of the IDI and three-category NRI should always be adjusted for estimated parameters. These results allow us to define when existing formulas for SE estimates can be used and when resampling methods such as the bootstrap should be used instead when comparing nested models. We also use the U-statistic theory to develop a new SE estimate of ∆AUC. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Excellent AUC for joint fluid cytology in the detection/exclusion of hip and knee prosthetic joint infection.
Gallo, Jiri; Juranova, Jarmila; Svoboda, Michal; Zapletalova, Jana
The aim of this study was to evaluate the characteristics of synovial fluid (SF) white cell count (SWCC) and neutrophil/lymphocyte percentage in the diagnosis of prosthetic joint infection (PJI) for particular threshold values. This was a prospective study of 391 patients in whom SF specimens were collected before total joint replacement revisions. SF was aspirated before joint capsule incision. The PJI diagnosis was based only on non-SF data. Receiver operating characteristic plots were constructed for the SWCC and differential counts of leukocytes in aspirated fluid. Logistic binomic regression was used to distinguish infected and non-infected cases in the combined data. PJI was diagnosed in 78 patients, and aseptic revision in 313 patients. The areas (AUC) under the curve for the SWCC, the neutrophil and lymphocyte percentages were 0.974, 0.962, and 0.951, respectively. The optimal cut-off for PJI was 3,450 cells/μL, 74.6% neutrophils, and 14.6% lymphocytes. Positive likelihood ratios for the SWCC, neutrophil and lymphocyte percentages were 19.0, 10.4, and 9.5, respectively. Negative likelihood ratios for the SWCC, neutrophil and lymphocyte percentages were 0.06, 0.076, and 0.092, respectively. Based on AUC, the present study identified cut-off values for the SWCC and differential leukocyte count for the diagnosis of PJI. The likelihood ratio for positive/negative SWCCs can significantly change the pre-test probability of PJI.
AUC versus peak-trough dosing of vancomycin: applying new pharmacokinetic paradigms to an old drug.
Brown, Daniel L; Lalla, Christina D; Masselink, Andrew J
To compare and contrast the pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic foundations of traditional "peak-trough" vancomycin dosing methods versus newer "area under the curve" (AUC) strategies. To propose a new AUC-based dosing chart for empirically determining an initial vancomycin dosing regimen designed to achieve a desired AUC24 using the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), creatinine clearance (CrCl), and vancomycin clearance (ClVanco). Peak-trough vancomycin dosing is designed to achieve a Cpeak of 20-40 mg/L and a Ctrough of 10-15 or 15-20 mg/L, depending on the severity of the infection and the nature of the pathogen. New treatment guidelines for vancomycin suggest that therapy should achieve an AUC24/MIC of ≥400. AUC-based vancomycin dosing derives the daily dose from ClVanco, MIC, and the desired AUC24/MIC, without consideration of the patient's weight. A vancomycin dosing chart is proposed that estimates ClVanco using the following formula developed by Matzke et al: ClVanco in L/h = [(CrClmL/min × 0.689) + 3.66] × 0.06, which simplifies to (CrClmL/min × 0.41) + 0.22. Two levels of dosing are included-high dose (Ctrough: 15-20 mg/L) and moderate dose (Ctrough: 10-15 mg/L). Although the chart has not been validated clinically, it represents the product of standard dosing equations that are used to determine a starting dosing regimen based on well-established vancomycin pharmacokinetic parameters. An understanding of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic principles, including the relevance of AUC in relation to MIC, enables clinicians to make the best use of vancomycin dosing options. The proposed dosing chart is pharmacokinetically valid but has yet to be applied clinically. It provides a foundation for further study of how clinicians can determine an optimal AUC-based starting vancomycin dosing regimen without having to derive ClVanco or AUC24.
Teratology testing under REACH.
Barton, Steve
REACH guidelines may require teratology testing for new and existing chemicals. This chapter discusses procedures to assess the need for teratology testing and the conduct and interpretation of teratology tests where required.
Popular culture reflects both the interests of and the issues affecting the general public. As concerns regarding climate change and its impacts grow, is it permeating into popular culture and reaching that global audience?
Higher capecitabine AUC in elderly patients with advanced colorectal cancer (SWOGS0030).
Louie, S G; Ely, B; Lenz, H-J; Albain, K S; Gotay, C; Coleman, D; Raghavan, D; Shields, A F; Gold, P J; Blanke, C D
The aging process is accompanied by physiological changes including reduced glomerular filtration and hepatic function, as well as changes in gastric secretions. To investigate what effect would aging have on the disposition of capecitabine and its metabolites, the pharmacokinetics between patients ≥70 years and AUC) was accompanied by reduction in capecitabine clearance in ≥70 years patients (PAUCs between the two age groups, suggesting that carboxylesterase and cytidine deaminase (CDA) activity was similar between the two age groups. These results suggest that metabolic enzymes involved in converting capecitabine metabolites are not altered by age. An elevation in capecitabine Cmax and reduction in clearance was seen in females, where capecitabine AUC was 40.3% higher in women. Elevation of DFUR Cmax (45%) and AUC (46%) (PAUC was observed in patients ≥70 years when compared with younger patients who were >60 years.
Peak Measurement for Vancomycin AUC Estimation in Obese Adults Improves Precision and Lowers Bias.
Pai, Manjunath P; Hong, Joseph; Krop, Lynne
Vancomycin area under the curve (AUC) estimates may be skewed in obese adults due to weight-dependent pharmacokinetic parameters. We demonstrate that peak and trough measurements reduce bias and improve the precision of vancomycin AUC estimates in obese adults ( n = 75) and validate this in an independent cohort ( n = 31). The precision and mean percent bias of Bayesian vancomycin AUC estimates are comparable between covariate-dependent ( R 2 = 0.774, 3.55%) and covariate-independent ( R 2 = 0.804, 3.28%) models when peaks and troughs are measured but not when measurements are restricted to troughs only ( R 2 = 0.557, 15.5%). Copyright © 2017 American Society for Microbiology.
Study of secular equilibrium reinstatement on UO2 pellets manufactured by AUC route
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Carnaval, João Paulo R.; Beltran, Dalton J.M.C.; Oliveira, Carlos A.
The fuel assemblies manufactured by INB for Angra-1 power plant has axial blanket fuel rods which must be inspected due the columns formed by different enrichment pellets. The equipment used for inspection is built with a group of BGO scintillators detectors which measurement principle is based on the absorption of gamma rays emitted from Uranium decay. The commercial grade UF 6 used by INB is stored into cylinders type 30B. The uranium inside these cylinders is in secular equilibrium before the processing. It has been found that the AUC route causes the loss of that equilibrium because the UF 6 is volatilized from the cylinder and the uranium daughters remain in the container. As AUC is converted to powder and pellets, the secular equilibrium is restored through time. The purpose of this work is to present a study of the secular equilibrium reinstatement on UO 2 pellets manufactured by AUC route before being inspected on Rod Scanner. (author)
Why Does Rebalancing Class-Unbalanced Data Improve AUC for Linear Discriminant Analysis?
Xue, Jing-Hao; Hall, Peter
Many established classifiers fail to identify the minority class when it is much smaller than the majority class. To tackle this problem, researchers often first rebalance the class sizes in the training dataset, through oversampling the minority class or undersampling the majority class, and then use the rebalanced data to train the classifiers. This leads to interesting empirical patterns. In particular, using the rebalanced training data can often improve the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for the original, unbalanced test data. The AUC is a widely-used quantitative measure of classification performance, but the property that it increases with rebalancing has, as yet, no theoretical explanation. In this note, using Gaussian-based linear discriminant analysis (LDA) as the classifier, we demonstrate that, at least for LDA, there is an intrinsic, positive relationship between the rebalancing of class sizes and the improvement of AUC. We show that the largest improvement of AUC is achieved, asymptotically, when the two classes are fully rebalanced to be of equal sizes.
Dried blood spot measurement: application in tacrolimus monitoring using limited sampling strategy and abbreviated AUC estimation.
Cheung, Chi Yuen; van der Heijden, Jaques; Hoogtanders, Karin; Christiaans, Maarten; Liu, Yan Lun; Chan, Yiu Han; Choi, Koon Shing; van de Plas, Afke; Shek, Chi Chung; Chau, Ka Foon; Li, Chun Sang; van Hooff, Johannes; Stolk, Leo
Dried blood spot (DBS) sampling and high-performance liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry have been developed in monitoring tacrolimus levels. Our center favors the use of limited sampling strategy and abbreviated formula to estimate the area under concentration-time curve (AUC(0-12)). However, it is inconvenient for patients because they have to wait in the center for blood sampling. We investigated the application of DBS method in tacrolimus level monitoring using limited sampling strategy and abbreviated AUC estimation approach. Duplicate venous samples were obtained at each time point (C(0), C(2), and C(4)). To determine the stability of blood samples, one venous sample was sent to our laboratory immediately. The other duplicate venous samples, together with simultaneous fingerprick blood samples, were sent to the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands. Thirty six patients were recruited and 108 sets of blood samples were collected. There was a highly significant relationship between AUC(0-12), estimated from venous blood samples, and fingerprick blood samples (r(2) = 0.96, P AUC(0-12) strategy as drug monitoring.
An alternative approach to calculating Area-Under-the-Curve (AUC) in delay discounting research.
Borges, Allison M; Kuang, Jinyi; Milhorn, Hannah; Yi, Richard
Applied to delay discounting data, Area-Under-the-Curve (AUC) provides an atheoretical index of the rate of delay discounting. The conventional method of calculating AUC, by summing the areas of the trapezoids formed by successive delay-indifference point pairings, does not account for the fact that most delay discounting tasks scale delay pseudoexponentially, that is, time intervals between delays typically get larger as delays get longer. This results in a disproportionate contribution of indifference points at long delays to the total AUC, with minimal contribution from indifference points at short delays. We propose two modifications that correct for this imbalance via a base-10 logarithmic transformation and an ordinal scaling transformation of delays. These newly proposed indices of discounting, AUClog d and AUCor d, address the limitation of AUC while preserving a primary strength (remaining atheoretical). Re-examination of previously published data provides empirical support for both AUClog d and AUCor d . Thus, we believe theoretical and empirical arguments favor these methods as the preferred atheoretical indices of delay discounting. © 2016 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.
Characterisation and compaction behaviour of UO2 powder prepared from ADU and AUC
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Rachmawati, M.
UO 2 powder prepared from ADU and AUC route process are characterised primarily in terms of compaction and sintering behaviour. Scientific understanding of the phenomena will give useful information leading to processing and product improvement. The investigation has been done by characterising the particle size/shape distribution using SEM and compacting the powder at 4 and 5.4 tons/cm 2 . The behaviour of the powder under compaction is observed by characterizing the pellet length, green density, microstructure, and the compression strength using micrometer SEM, and Universal Testing Machine. The results of the experiment show that the UO 2 powder ex-AUC has particles of spherical type and separate individually which provide the flowable characteristic, important for the die filling aspect during compaction step. The UO 2 powder ex-ADU is more or less agglomerated and contains very fine particles causing the difficulty in pressing. Therefore the green density resulted from UO 2 ex-AUC (6.415 g/cm 3 ) is higher than UO 2 powder of UO 2 ex-ADU (6.117 g/cm 3 . UO 2 at lower pressure (4 tons/cm 3 ) the compression strength ex-AUC green pellet (47.144 kgf) is lower than UO 2 ex-ADU (63,364 kgf), and at higher temperature the compression strength of ex-AUC (92.86 kgf) is higher than UO 2 ex-ADU (82.664 kgf). It is suggested that UO 2 ex-ADU has to be precompacted and granulated in order to increase its flowability so that the pellet length can easily be controlled during pressing (improve reproducibility). (author)
Determination of uranium content and its impurities in the AUC and UO2 powders
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Boybul; Arif Nugroho
The analysis of uranium (U) content and its impurities in the ammonium uranyl carbonate (AUC) and uranium dioxide (UO 2 ) produced from research reactor fuel element production installation, PT. BATAN Teknologi have been carried out. Uranium content in the powders was analyzed by potentiometric titration methods and impurity contents was analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) and by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). The purpose of this study was to determine of impurity elements in the AUC and UO 2 powder resulting from the production process if it meets the required specifications. It is reported that U content in the AUC is 48.62 wt% and that in the UO 2 is 88.08 wt%. The precision and accuracy analysis of the U content is 0,235% and 0,151%. In case of impurities in the AUC powders, it is reported that the analytical results of Zn, Ni, Cd, Co, Mn, Mg, Fe, Cu and Cr at 10.15 ppm, 1.12 ppm, not detection, not detection, not detection, 0.30 ppm, 216.07 ppm, not detection, and 31.36 ppm, respectively, while that UO 2 are 11.31 ppm, 72.14 ppm, not detection, not detection, 6.25 ppm, 8.65 ppm, 298.24 ppm, 12.75 ppm and 32, 23 ppm. The U and impurity contents in both the AUC and UO 2 fulfill the specification of nuclear fuel for RSG-GAS research reactor. (author)
An AUC-based permutation variable importance measure for random forests.
Janitza, Silke; Strobl, Carolin; Boulesteix, Anne-Laure
The random forest (RF) method is a commonly used tool for classification with high dimensional data as well as for ranking candidate predictors based on the so-called random forest variable importance measures (VIMs). However the classification performance of RF is known to be suboptimal in case of strongly unbalanced data, i.e. data where response class sizes differ considerably. Suggestions were made to obtain better classification performance based either on sampling procedures or on cost sensitivity analyses. However to our knowledge the performance of the VIMs has not yet been examined in the case of unbalanced response classes. In this paper we explore the performance of the permutation VIM for unbalanced data settings and introduce an alternative permutation VIM based on the area under the curve (AUC) that is expected to be more robust towards class imbalance. We investigated the performance of the standard permutation VIM and of our novel AUC-based permutation VIM for different class imbalance levels using simulated data and real data. The results suggest that the new AUC-based permutation VIM outperforms the standard permutation VIM for unbalanced data settings while both permutation VIMs have equal performance for balanced data settings. The standard permutation VIM loses its ability to discriminate between associated predictors and predictors not associated with the response for increasing class imbalance. It is outperformed by our new AUC-based permutation VIM for unbalanced data settings, while the performance of both VIMs is very similar in the case of balanced classes. The new AUC-based VIM is implemented in the R package party for the unbiased RF variant based on conditional inference trees. The codes implementing our study are available from the companion website: http://www.ibe.med.uni-muenchen.de/organisation/mitarbeiter/070_drittmittel/janitza/index.html.
What is the evidence status of Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC)? Insight from a matching exercise with the guidelines for echocardiography.
Fonseca, R; Negishi, K; Marwick, T H
There is interest in adapting the American Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC) for transthoracic echocardiography to Australian practice. We matched 90 of 98 AUC with the guidelines (53 appropriate, 12 sometimes appropriate, 25 rarely appropriate), but eight lacked any match. Among the matched criteria, 76 (82%) indications were concordant with the guidelines. A stronger evidence base would be desirable to settle these discrepancies before Australian adoption of AUC. © 2015 Royal Australasian College of Physicians.
The Relationship Between Vancomycin Trough Concentrations and AUC/MIC Ratios in Pediatric Patients: A Qualitative Systematic Review.
Tkachuk, Stacey; Collins, Kyle; Ensom, Mary H H
In adults, the area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) divided by the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) is associated with better clinical and bacteriological response to vancomycin in patients with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus who achieve target AUC/MIC ≥ 400. This target is often extrapolated to pediatric patients despite the lack of similar evidence. The impracticalities of calculating the AUC in practice means vancomycin trough concentrations are used to predict the AUC/MIC. This review aimed to determine the relationship between vancomycin trough concentrations and AUC/MIC in pediatric patients. We searched the MEDLINE and Embase databases, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials using the medical subject heading (MeSH) terms vancomycin and AUC and pediatric* or paediatric*. Articles were included if they were published in English and reported a relationship between vancomycin trough concentrations and AUC/MIC. Of 122 articles retrieved, 11 met the inclusion criteria. One trial reported a relationship between vancomycin trough concentrations, AUC/MIC, and clinical outcomes but was likely underpowered. Five studies found troughs 6-10 mg/l were sufficient to attain an AUC/MIC > 400 in most general hospitalized pediatric patients. One study in patients undergoing cardiothoracic surgery found a trough of 18.4 mg/l achieved an AUC/MIC > 400. Two oncology studies reported troughs ≥ 15 mg/l likely attained an AUC/MIC ≥ 400. In critical care patients: one study found a trough of 9 mg/l did not attain the AUC/MIC target; another found 7 mg/l corresponded to an AUC/MIC of 400. Potential vancomycin targets varied based on the population studied but, for general hospitalized pediatric patients, troughs of 6-10 mg/l are likely sufficient to achieve AUC/MIC ≥ 400. For MIC ≥ 2 mg/l, higher troughs are likely necessary to achieve an AUC/MIC ≥ 400. More
Ariyaratne, A T
Embodied in the child survival revolution are ideological, methodological, and organizational innovations aimed at radical change in the condition of the world's children as rapidly as possible. In countries such as Sri Lanka, child survival and health for all by the year 2000 often seem to be impossible goals, given the tumultuous socioeconomic and political conditions. In Sri Lanka, the quality of life has been eroded, not enhanced, by the importation of Western technology and managerial capitalism and the destruction of indigenous processes. The chaos and violence that have been brought into the country have made it difficult to reach the poor children, women, and refugees in rural areas with primary health care interventions. Sri Lanka's unreachable--the decision making elites--have blocked access to the unreached--the urban and rural poor. If governments are to reach the unreached, they must remove the obstacles to a people-centered, community development process. It is the people themselves, and the institutions of their creation, that can reach the children amidst them in greatest need. To achieve this task, local communities must be provided with basic human rights, the power to make decisions that affect their lives, necessary resources, and appropriate technologies. Nongovernmental organizations can play a crucial role as bridges between the unreached and the unreachable by promoting community empowerment, aiding in the formation of networks of community organizations, and establishing linkages with government programs. If the ruling elites in developing countries can be persuaded to accommodate the needs and aspirations of those who, to date, have been excluded from the development process, the child survival revolution can be a nonviolent one.
Solar Hydrogen Reaching Maturity
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Rongé Jan
Full Text Available Increasingly vast research efforts are devoted to the development of materials and processes for solar hydrogen production by light-driven dissociation of water into oxygen and hydrogen. Storage of solar energy in chemical bonds resolves the issues associated with the intermittent nature of sunlight, by decoupling energy generation and consumption. This paper investigates recent advances and prospects in solar hydrogen processes that are reaching market readiness. Future energy scenarios involving solar hydrogen are proposed and a case is made for systems producing hydrogen from water vapor present in air, supported by advanced modeling.
New graphic AUC-based method to estimate overall survival benefit: pomalidomide reanalysis.
Fenix-Caballero, S; Diaz-Navarro, J; Prieto-Callejero, B; Rios-Sanchez, E; Alegre-del Rey, E J; Borrero-Rubio, J M
Difference in median survival is an erratic measure and sometimes does not provide a good assessment of survival benefit. The aim of this study was to reanalyse the overall survival benefit of pomalidomide from pivotal clinical trial using a new area under curve (AUC)-based method. In the pivotal trial, pomalidomide plus low-dose dexamethasone showed a significant survival benefit over high-dose dexamethasone, with a difference between medians of 4.6 months. The new AUC method applied to the survival curves, obtained an overall survival benefit of 2.6 months for the pomalidomide treatment. This average difference in OS was calculated for the 61.5% of patients for whom the time to event is reliable enough. This 2-month differential would have major clinical and pharmacoeconomic implications, on both cost-effectiveness studies and on the willingness of the healthcare systems to pay for this treatment. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
[The Academy of Trauma Surgery (AUC). Service provider and management organization of the DGU].
Sturm, J A; Hoffmann, R
At the beginning of this century the German Trauma Society (DGU) became extensively active with an initiative on quality promotion, development of quality assurance and transparency regarding treatment of the severely injured. A white book on "Medical care of the severely injured" was published, focusing on the requirements on structural quality and especially procedural quality. The impact of the white book was immense and a trauma network with approved trauma centers, structured and graded for their individual trauma care performance, was developed. In order to monitor and document the required quality of care, a registry was needed. Furthermore, for cooperation within the trauma networks innovative methods for digital transfer of radiological images and patient documents became necessary. Finally, the auditing criteria for trauma centers had and still have to be completed with advanced medical education and training programs. In order to realize the implementation of such a broad spectrum of economically relevant and increasingly complex activities the Academy of Trauma Surgery (AUC) was established as a subsidiary of the DGU in 2004. The AUC currently has four divisions: 1) networks and health care structures, 2) registries and research management, 3) telemedicine, 4) medical education and training, all of which serve the goal of the initiative. The AUC is a full service provider and management organization in compliance with the statutes of the DGU. According to these statutes the business operations of the AUC also cover projects for numerous groups of patients, projects for the joint society the German Society for Orthopedics and Trauma (DGOU) as well as other medical institutions. This article describes the success stories of the trauma network (TraumaNetzwerk DGU®), the TraumaRegister DGU®, the telecooperation platform TKmed®, the new and fast-growing orthogeriatric center initiative (AltersTraumaZentrum DGU®) and the division of medical education and
The impact of new partial AUC parameters for evaluating the bioequivalence of prolonged-release formulations.
Boily, Michaël; Dussault, Catherine; Massicotte, Julie; Guibord, Pascal; Lefebvre, Marc
To demonstrate bioequivalence (BE) between two prolonged-release (PR) drug formulations, single dose studies under fasting and fed state as well as at least one steady-state study are currently required by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Recently, however, there have been debates regarding the relevance of steady-state studies. New requirements in single-dose investigations have also been suggested by the EMA to address the absence of a parameter that can adequately assess the equivalence of the shape of the curves. In the draft guideline issued in 2013, new partial area under the curve (pAUC) pharmacokinetic (PK) parameters were introduced to that effect. In light of these potential changes, there is a need of supportive clinical evidence to evaluate the impact of pAUCs on the evaluation of BE between PR formulations. In this retrospective analysis, it was investigated whether the newly defined parameters were associated with an increase in discriminatory ability or a change in variability compared to the conventional PK parameters. Among the single dose studies that met the requirements already in place, 20% were found unable to meet the EMA's new requirements in regards to the pAUC PK parameters. When pairing fasting and fed studies for a same formulation, the failure rate increased to 40%. In some cases, due to the high variability of these parameters, an increase of the sample size would be required to prove BE. In other cases however, the pAUC parameters demonstrated a robust ability to detect differences between the shapes of the curves of PR formulations. The present analysis should help to better understand the impact of the upcoming changes in European regulations on PR formulations and in the design of future BE studies. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Novel HPTLC and UV-AUC analyses: For simple, economical, and rapid determination of Zileuton racemate
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Saurabh B. Ganorkar
Full Text Available Novel, simple, rapid and reliable High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatographic (HPTLC and UV-spectroscopic area under curve (UV-AUC methods were developed and validated for the analysis of zileuton racemate in bulk and in in-house tablet formulation. HPTLC quantitation of zileuton was done by UV detection at 260 nm and analysis was performed on (20 × 10 cm aluminium sheets precoated with silica gel 60-F254 (E. Merck as stationary phase and toluene–methanol–glacial acetic acid (3.5:1.5:0.1 v/v as mobile phase. Quantitation by HPTLC method was performed over the concentration range of 200–1200 ng/band. The HPTLC method resulted into a compact and well resolved band for zileuton at retention factor (Rf of 0.51 ± 0.02. Linear regression analysis data for calibration of HPTLC method represented a good linear relationship with regression coefficient; r2 = 0.997. UV-AUC method was developed using sodium lauryl sulphate (0.05 M as a hydrotropic agent to enhance water solubility and area was determined at a wavelength range in between 248.40 and 271.0 nm. Correlation coefficient for UV-AUC analysis was found to be r2 = 0.999. The developed UV-AUC method depicted a fine linear relationship for zileuton racemate in a concentration range of 2–12 μg/mL. Both the developed methods were validated for precision, robustness, ruggedness, accuracy, sensitivity as per guidelines laid by the International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH. Statistical analysis proved that the developed methods were precise, robust, sensitive and accurate and can be used effectively for the analysis of zileuton in bulk and pharmaceutical formulations.
Stable Au-C bonds to the substrate for fullerene-based nanostructures
Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database
Chutora, Taras; López, Roso Redondo Jesús R.; De La Torre Cerdeño, Bruno; Švec, Martin; Jelínek, Pavel; Vázquez, Héctor
Roč. 8, č. 1 (2017), s. 1073-1079 ISSN 2190-4286 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA15-19672S Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : Au-C bonds * density functional theory (DFT) * fullerenes * scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) * sputtering Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism OBOR OECD: Condensed matter physics (including formerly solid state physics, supercond.) Impact factor: 3.127, year: 2016
Study of secular equilibrium reinstatement on UO{sub 2} pellets manufactured by AUC route
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Carnaval, João Paulo R.; Beltran, Dalton J.M.C.; Oliveira, Carlos A., E-mail: email@example.com, E-mail: email@example.com, E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com [Indústrias Nucleares do Brasil S.A. (INB), Resende, RJ (Brazil)
The fuel assemblies manufactured by INB for Angra-1 power plant has axial blanket fuel rods which must be inspected due the columns formed by different enrichment pellets. The equipment used for inspection is built with a group of BGO scintillators detectors which measurement principle is based on the absorption of gamma rays emitted from Uranium decay. The commercial grade UF{sub 6} used by INB is stored into cylinders type 30B. The uranium inside these cylinders is in secular equilibrium before the processing. It has been found that the AUC route causes the loss of that equilibrium because the UF{sub 6} is volatilized from the cylinder and the uranium daughters remain in the container. As AUC is converted to powder and pellets, the secular equilibrium is restored through time. The purpose of this work is to present a study of the secular equilibrium reinstatement on UO{sub 2} pellets manufactured by AUC route before being inspected on Rod Scanner. (author)
Determination of parameters dissolution of yellow-cake. Production of uranyl nitrate - Gas precipitation of AUC
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Mellah, A.
The different stages of the purification cycle of yellow-cakes have been studied thoroughly in order to obtain an ammonium uranyl carbonate (AUC) as an intermediate product of uranium dioxide (UO 2 ). The optimal parameters of yellow-cake dissolution, filtration, extraction by solvent, scrubbing and stripping were determined. An original program of thermodynamic calculation was developed for the determination of the free energies of yellow-cake dissolution reactions. Different numerical methods were used to determine the kinetic constant, the reaction order and correlation equations of uranyl nitrate density as a function of U and H + concentrations, before and after the extraction cycle. For the first time, Algerian filteraids were used for the filtration of uranyl nitrate solutions with satisfactory results. A laboratory designed installation enabled the precipitation of AUC by injection of ammonia and carbon dioxide gases. Interesting results have been obtained and further investigations should be carried out in order to optimize all the paremeters of the gas precipitation of AUC
An effect of re-extraction crystallization parameters on physical and chemical properties of AUC
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Yahi, Boussad
This study is concerned with direct cristallization of ammonium uranyl carbonate (AUC) from a uranium loaded organic phase (30% TBP in kerosene), with ammonium carbonate (NH4)2 CO3. The effects of operating conditions (NH4)2 CO3 concentration, flowration residence time, temperature on the physical properties of AUC crystals (particle size distribution, specific area, density..) are reported. All products were identified (both by chemical analysis, X-Ray diffraction) as being ammonium uranyl ratio and (NH4)2 CO3 concentration favor the formation of fine AUC grains and aggregates. This is due mainly to the high concentration of (NH4)+ in the system which leads to a high solution supersaturation and consequently to a rapid formation rate of crystal (germination). The reverse phenomenon is observed at low phase ratio and (NH4)2 CO3 concentration, where germination and crystal growth ara slow and the product is mainly monocrystal. In the intermediate range, a mixture of polycrystal and aggregates is obtained. Residence time and temperature are also shown to have an effect on the processes (the effect of time being more important than temperature)
Mathematical modeling of antibody drug conjugates with the target and tubulin dynamics to predict AUC.
Byun, Jong Hyuk; Jung, Il Hyo
Antibody drug conjugates (ADCs)are one of the most recently developed chemotherapeutics to treat some types of tumor cells. They consist of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), linkers, and potent cytotoxic drugs. Unlike common chemotherapies, ADCs combine selectively with a target at the surface of the tumor cell, and a potent cytotoxic drug (payload) effectively prevents microtubule polymerization. In this work, we construct an ADC model that considers both the target of antibodies and the receptor (tubulin) of the cytotoxic payloads. The model is simulated with brentuximab vedotin, one of ADCs, and used to investigate the pharmacokinetic (PK) characteristics of ADCs in vivo. It also predicts area under the curve (AUC) of ADCs and the payloads by identifying the half-life. The results show that dynamical behaviors fairly coincide with the observed data and half-life and capture AUC. Thus, the model can be used for estimating some parameters, fitting experimental observations, predicting AUC, and exploring various dynamical behaviors of the target and the receptor. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Survival associated pathway identification with group Lp penalized global AUC maximization
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Liu Zhenqiu
Full Text Available Abstract It has been demonstrated that genes in a cell do not act independently. They interact with one another to complete certain biological processes or to implement certain molecular functions. How to incorporate biological pathways or functional groups into the model and identify survival associated gene pathways is still a challenging problem. In this paper, we propose a novel iterative gradient based method for survival analysis with group Lp penalized global AUC summary maximization. Unlike LASSO, Lp (p 1. We first extend Lp for individual gene identification to group Lp penalty for pathway selection, and then develop a novel iterative gradient algorithm for penalized global AUC summary maximization (IGGAUCS. This method incorporates the genetic pathways into global AUC summary maximization and identifies survival associated pathways instead of individual genes. The tuning parameters are determined using 10-fold cross validation with training data only. The prediction performance is evaluated using test data. We apply the proposed method to survival outcome analysis with gene expression profile and identify multiple pathways simultaneously. Experimental results with simulation and gene expression data demonstrate that the proposed procedures can be used for identifying important biological pathways that are related to survival phenotype and for building a parsimonious model for predicting the survival times.
BROOKHAVEN: Proton goal reached
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
On March 30 the 35-year old Alternating Gradient Synchrotron (AGS) exceeded its updated design goal of 6 x 10 13 protons per pulse (ppp), by accelerating 6.3 x 10 13 ppp, a world record intensity. This goal was set 11 years ago and achieving it called for the construction of a new booster and the reconstruction of much of the AGS. The booster was completed in 1991, and reached its design intensity of 1.5 x 10 13 ppp in 1993. The AGS reconstruction was finished in 1994, and by July of that year the AGS claimed a new US record intensity for a proton synchrotron of 4 x 10 13 ppp, using four booster pulses. Reaching the design intensity was scheduled for 1995. In 1994, the AGS had seemed to be solidly limited to 4 x 10 13 ppp, but in 1995 the operations crew, working on their own in the quiet of the owl shift, steadily improved the intensity, regularly setting new records, much to the bemusement of the machine physicists. The physicists, however, did contribute. A second harmonic radiofrequency cavity in the booster increased the radiofrequency bucket area for capture, raising the booster intensity from 1.7 to 2.1 x 10 13 ppp. In the AGS, new radiofrequency power supplies raised the available voltage from 8 to 13 kV, greatly enhancing the beam loading capabilities of the system. A powerful new transverse damping system successfully controlled instabilities that otherwise would have destroyed the beam in less than a millisecond. Also in the AGS, 35th harmonic octupole resonances were found
BROOKHAVEN: Proton goal reached
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
On March 30 the 35-year old Alternating Gradient Synchrotron (AGS) exceeded its updated design goal of 6 x 10{sup 13} protons per pulse (ppp), by accelerating 6.3 x 10{sup 13} ppp, a world record intensity. This goal was set 11 years ago and achieving it called for the construction of a new booster and the reconstruction of much of the AGS. The booster was completed in 1991, and reached its design intensity of 1.5 x 10{sup 13} ppp in 1993. The AGS reconstruction was finished in 1994, and by July of that year the AGS claimed a new US record intensity for a proton synchrotron of 4 x 10{sup 13} ppp, using four booster pulses. Reaching the design intensity was scheduled for 1995. In 1994, the AGS had seemed to be solidly limited to 4 x 10{sup 13} ppp, but in 1995 the operations crew, working on their own in the quiet of the owl shift, steadily improved the intensity, regularly setting new records, much to the bemusement of the machine physicists. The physicists, however, did contribute. A second harmonic radiofrequency cavity in the booster increased the radiofrequency bucket area for capture, raising the booster intensity from 1.7 to 2.1 x 10{sup 13} ppp. In the AGS, new radiofrequency power supplies raised the available voltage from 8 to 13 kV, greatly enhancing the beam loading capabilities of the system. A powerful new transverse damping system successfully controlled instabilities that otherwise would have destroyed the beam in less than a millisecond. Also in the AGS, 35th harmonic octupole resonances were found.
How to interpret a small increase in AUC with an additional risk prediction marker: decision analysis comes through
Baker, Stuart G.; Schuit, Ewoud; Steyerberg, Ewout W.; Pencina, Michael J.; Vickers, Andrew; Vickers, Andew; Moons, Karel G. M.; Mol, Ben W. J.; Lindeman, Karen S.
An important question in the evaluation of an additional risk prediction marker is how to interpret a small increase in the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Many researchers believe that a change in AUC is a poor metric because it increases only slightly with the
Preparation and characterization of Fe3O4@Au-C225 composite targeted nanoparticles for MRI of human glioma.
Ge, Yaoqi; Zhong, Yuejiao; Ji, Guozhong; Lu, Qianling; Dai, Xinyu; Guo, Zhirui; Zhang, Peng; Peng, Gang; Zhang, Kangzhen; Li, Yuntao
To study the characterization of Fe3O4@Au-C225 composite targeted MNPs. Fe3O4@Au-C225 was prepared by the absorption method. The immunosorbent assay was used to evaluate its absorption efficiency at C225 Fc. ZETA SIZER3000 laser particle size analyzer, ultraviolet photometer and its characteristics were analyzed by VSM. the targeting effect of Fe3O4@Au-C225 composite targeted MNPs on U251 cells in vitro were detected by 7.0 Tesla Micro-MR; and subcutaneous transplanted human glioma in nude mice were performed the targeting effect in vivo after tail vein injection of Fe3O4@Au-C225 composite targeted MNPs by MRI. The self-prepared Fe3O4@Au composite MNPs can adsorb C225 with high efficiency of adsorption so that Fe3O4@Au-C225 composite targeted MNPs were prepared successfully. Fe3O4@Au-C225 composite targeted MNPs favorably targeted human glioma cell line U251 in vitro; Fe3O4@Au-C225 composite targeted MNPs have good targeting ability to xenografted glioma on nude mice in vivo, and can be traced by MRI. The Fe3O4@Au-C225 composite targeted MNPs have the potential to be used as a tracer for glioma in vivo.
Baker, Mariah; Rosenthal, L.; Gaughan, A.; Hopkins, E.
Strawbridge Observatory at Haverford College is home to a undergraduate-led public observing program. Our program holds ~once monthly public events throughout the academic year that take advantage of eyepiece observing on our 16-inch and 12-inch telescopes as well as of the classroom, library, and projection system. These resources allow us to organize a variety of astronomy related activities that are engaging for individuals of all ages: accessible student talks, current film screenings and even arts and crafts for the families who attend with young children. These events aim to spark curiosity in others about scientific discovery and about the remarkable nature of the world in which we live. In addition to exciting local families about astronomy, this program has excited Haverford students from a range of disciplines about both science and education. Being entirely student led means that we are able to take the initiative in planning, coordinating and running all events, fostering an atmosphere of collaboration, experimentation and commitment amongst our volunteers. Additionally, this program is one of the few at Haverford that regularly reaches beyond the campus walls to promote and build relationships with the outside community. In light of this, our program presents a distinctive and enlightening opportunity for student volunteers: we get to use our scientific backgrounds to educate a general audience, while also learning from them about how to communicate and inspire in others the excitement we feel about the subject of astronomy. The work on this project has been supported by NSF AST-1151462.
Lewis-Fernández, Roberto; Raggio, Greer A.; Gorritz, Magdaliz; Duan, Naihua; Marcus, Sue; Cabassa, Leopoldo J.; Humensky, Jennifer; Becker, Anne E.; Alarcón, Renato D.; Oquendo, María A.; Hansen, Helena; Like, Robert C.; Weiss, Mitchell; Desai, Prakash N.; Jacobsen, Frederick M.; Foulks, Edward F.; Primm, Annelle; Lu, Francis; Kopelowicz, Alex; Hinton, Ladson; Hinton, Devon E.
Growing awareness of health and health care disparities highlights the importance of including information about race, ethnicity, and culture (REC) in health research. Reporting of REC factors in research publications, however, is notoriously imprecise and unsystematic. This article describes the development of a checklist to assess the comprehensiveness and the applicability of REC factor reporting in psychiatric research publications. The 16-itemGAP-REACH© checklist was developed through a rigorous process of expert consensus, empirical content analysis in a sample of publications (N = 1205), and interrater reliability (IRR) assessment (N = 30). The items assess each section in the conventional structure of a health research article. Data from the assessment may be considered on an item-by-item basis or as a total score ranging from 0% to 100%. The final checklist has excellent IRR (κ = 0.91). The GAP-REACH may be used by multiple research stakeholders to assess the scope of REC reporting in a research article. PMID:24080673
The creation of the world's largest sandstone cavern, not a small feat! At the bottom, cave-in preventing steel mesh can be seen clinging to the top of the tunnel. The digging of UX-15, the cavern that will house ATLAS, reached the upper ceiling of LEP on October 10th. The breakthrough which took place nearly 100 metres underground occurred precisely on schedule and exactly as planned. But much caution was taken beforehand to make the LEP breakthrough clean and safe. To prevent the possibility of cave-ins in the side tunnels that will eventually be attached to the completed UX-15 cavern, reinforcing steel mesh was fixed into the walls with bolts. Obviously no people were allowed in the LEP tunnels below UX-15 as the breakthrough occurred. The area was completely evacuated and fences were put into place to keep all personnel out. However, while personnel were being kept out of the tunnels below, this has been anything but the case for the work taking place up above. With the creation of the world's largest...
Treatment of the effluent generated in conversion process of auc by precipitation
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Carvalho, E.F.U. de; Santos, L.R. dos; Riella, H.G.
The purpose of this study is to provide a description for the treatment of generating effluent from Ammonium Uranyl Carbonate-AUC IPEN/CNEN-SP. This procedure describes the uranium recovery (200 mlU/1) by means of its precipitation with hidrogen peroxide at 50 0 C, pH 8,5 where results a yellow powder thought to be UO 4 2NH 3 2HF and a NH 4 F solution with an uranium concentration of 6-7mgU/1. The powder resulted was characterized by chemical analysis and X- Ray difraction techniques. (author) [pt
Thermal Analysis of the Decomposition of Ammonium Uranyl Carbonate (AUC) in Different Atmospheres
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Hälldahl, L.; Sørensen, Ole Toft
The intermediate products formed during thermal decomposition of ammonium uranyl carbonate (AUC) in different atmospheres, (air, helium and hydrogen) have been determined by thermal analysis, (TG, and DTA) and X-ray analysis. The endproducts observed are U3O8 and UO2 in air/He and hydrogen, respe......, respectively. The following intermediate products were observed in all atmospheres: http://www.sciencedirect.com.globalproxy.cvt.dk/cache/MiamiImageURL/B6THV-44K80TV-FB-1/0?wchp=dGLzVlz-zSkWW X-ray diffraction analysis showed that these phases were amorphous....
Statement to commencement ceremony at American University in Cairo (AUC). 9 February 2006, Cairo, Egypt
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
ElBaradei, M
In its statement to Commencement Ceremony At American University in Cairo (AUC) the Director General of the IAEA reminisced about his life - the twists and turns it had taken, and the lessons he had learned along the way. His messages to the students was to keep thinking and learning, be ready for opportunity when it comes, treat others with the understanding that we are all part of one human family, live your own life, and take joy in it, be proud of your heritage and engage fully in the future of Egypt.
Statement to commencement ceremony at American University in Cairo (AUC). 9 February 2006, Cairo, Egypt
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
ElBaradei, M.
In its statement to Commencement Ceremony At American University in Cairo (AUC) the Director General of the IAEA reminisced about his life - the twists and turns it had taken, and the lessons he had learned along the way. His messages to the students was to keep thinking and learning, be ready for opportunity when it comes, treat others with the understanding that we are all part of one human family, live your own life, and take joy in it, be proud of your heritage and engage fully in the future of Egypt
Effect of Truncating AUC at 12, 24 and 48 hr When Evaluating the Bioequivalence of Drugs with a Long Half-Life.
Moreno, Isabel; Ochoa, Dolores; Román, Manuel; Cabaleiro, Teresa; Abad-Santos, Francisco
Bioequivalence studies of drugs with a long half-life require long periods of time for pharmacokinetic sampling. The latest update of the European guideline allows the area under the curve (AUC) truncated at 72 hr to be used as an alternative to AUC0-t as the primary parameter. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of truncating the AUC at 48, 24 and 12 hr on the acceptance of the bioequivalence criterion as compared with truncation at 72 hr in bioequivalence trials. The effect of truncated AUC on the within-individual coefficient of variation (CVw) and on the ratio of the formulations was also analysed. Twenty-eight drugs were selected from bioequivalence trials. Pharmacokinetic data were analysed using WinNonLin 2.0 based on the trapezoidal method. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to obtain the ratios and 90% confidence intervals for AUC at different time-points. The degree of agreement of AUC0-72 in relation to AUC0-48 and AUC0-24, according to the Landis and Koch classification, was 'almost perfect'. Statistically significant differences were observed when the CVw of AUC truncated at 72, 48 and 24 hr was compared with the CVw of AUC0-12. There were no statistically significant differences in the AUC ratio at any time-point. Compared to AUC0-72, Pearson's correlation coefficient for mean AUC, AUC ratio and AUC CVw was worse for AUC0-12 than AUC0-24 or AUC0-48. These preliminary results could suggest that AUC truncation at 24 or 48 hr is adequate to determine whether two formulations are bioequivalent. © 2015 Nordic Association for the Publication of BCPT (former Nordic Pharmacological Society).
AUC-Guided Vancomycin Dosing in Adolescent Patients With Suspected Sepsis.
Lanke, Shankar; Yu, Tian; Rower, Joseph E; Balch, Alfred H; Korgenski, E Kent; Sherwin, Catherine M
Vancomycin is a first-line treatment for β-lactam-resistant Gram-positive bacterial infections. Understanding the pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) characteristics of vancomycin in an adolescent population is of clinical importance in this often overlooked pediatric population. This retrospective study investigated vancomycin PK-PD in an adolescent cohort (12 to 18 years of age) of 463 patients (57% male, 81% white) admitted to the Intermountain Healthcare System between January 2006 and December 2013. Population PK modeling was performed in NONMEM 7.3. Vancomycin PK was well described with a 1-compartment model that identified both body weight (WT) and creatinine clearance (CRCL) as covariates significantly impacting vancomycin disposition. The model was then utilized to determine dosing strategies that achieved the targeted area under the 24-hour time curve vs minimum inhibitory concentration (AUC 0-24 /MIC) ratio of ≥400. Additionally, these data were correlated with minimum steady-state concentrations (C ss,min ) to find an acceptable target trough concentration range in adolescents. This analysis demonstrated that C ss,min ranging from 10 to 12.5 mg/L were highly predictive of achieving an AUC 0-24 /MIC ≥400 when the MIC was ≤1 mg/L. These results suggest that the target trough concentration for adolescents may be lower than that for adults. © 2016, The American College of Clinical Pharmacology.
Rocker: Open source, easy-to-use tool for AUC and enrichment calculations and ROC visualization.
Lätti, Sakari; Niinivehmas, Sanna; Pentikäinen, Olli T
Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve with the calculation of area under curve (AUC) is a useful tool to evaluate the performance of biomedical and chemoinformatics data. For example, in virtual drug screening ROC curves are very often used to visualize the efficiency of the used application to separate active ligands from inactive molecules. Unfortunately, most of the available tools for ROC analysis are implemented into commercially available software packages, or are plugins in statistical software, which are not always the easiest to use. Here, we present Rocker, a simple ROC curve visualization tool that can be used for the generation of publication quality images. Rocker also includes an automatic calculation of the AUC for the ROC curve and Boltzmann-enhanced discrimination of ROC (BEDROC). Furthermore, in virtual screening campaigns it is often important to understand the early enrichment of active ligand identification, for this Rocker offers automated calculation routine. To enable further development of Rocker, it is freely available (MIT-GPL license) for use and modifications from our web-site (http://www.jyu.fi/rocker).
Conservation reaches new heights.
Pepall, J; Khanal, P
The conservation program with the management assistance of the Woodlands Mountain Institute in 2 contiguous parks, the Mount Everest National Park in Nepal and the Qomolangma Nature Reserve in China, in 2 countries is described. The focus is on conservation of the complex ecosystem with sustainable development by showing local people how to benefit from the park without environmental damage. Cultural diversity is as important as biological diversity. The area has been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site with the "last pure ecological seed" of the Himalayas. The regional geography and culture are presented. Population growth has impacted natural resources through overgrazing, cultivation of marginal land, and deforestation; future plans to build a dam and road bordering the nature reserve pose other threats. Proposed management plans for the Makalu-Barun Nature Park (established in November 1991) and Conservation Area include a division of the park into nature reserve areas free of human activity, protected areas which permit traditional land use, and special sites and trail for tourists and religious pilgrims. The conservation area will act as a buffer for the park and provide economic opportunities; further subdivisions include land use for biodiversity protection, community forest and pasture, agroforestry, and agriculture and settlement. Efforts will be made to increase the welfare of women and local people; proposed projects include the introduction of higher milk-producing animals for stall feeding. Also proposed is a cultural and natural history museum. 70% of the project's resources will be directed to local community participation in consultation and park maintenance. The project is a model of how conservation and protection of natural resources can coexist with local economic development and participation; an integration of preservation of biological diversity, mountain wisdom, and the value of local people as resources for conservation.
Nitrofurantoin safety and effectiveness in treating acute uncomplicated cystitis (AUC) in hospitalized adults with renal insufficiency: antibiotic stewardship implications.
Cunha, B A; Cunha, C B; Lam, B; Giuga, J; Chin, J; Zafonte, V F; Gerson, S
Nitrofurantoin remains a key oral antibiotic stewardship program (ASP) option in the treatment of acute uncomplicated cystitis (AUC) due to multi-drug resistant (MDR) Gram negative bacilli (GNB). However, there have been concerns regarding decreased nitrofurantoin efficacy with renal insufficiency. In our experience over the past three decades, nitrofurantoin has been safe and effective in treating AUC in hospitalized adults with renal insufficiency. Accordingly, we retrospectively reviewed our recent experience treating AUC in hospitalized adults with decreased renal function (CrCl AUC due to MDR GNB uropathogens, these results have important ASP implications. Currently, nitfurantoin is not recommended if CrCl < 60 ml/min. In our experience, used appropriately against susceptible uropathogens, nitrofurantoin was highly effective in nearly all patients with CrCl = 30-60 ml/min., and only failed in two patients due to renal insufficiency (CrCl < 30 ml/ml).
Simple Decision-Analytic Functions of the AUC for Ruling Out a Risk Prediction Model and an Added Predictor.
Baker, Stuart G
When using risk prediction models, an important consideration is weighing performance against the cost (monetary and harms) of ascertaining predictors. The minimum test tradeoff (MTT) for ruling out a model is the minimum number of all-predictor ascertainments per correct prediction to yield a positive overall expected utility. The MTT for ruling out an added predictor is the minimum number of added-predictor ascertainments per correct prediction to yield a positive overall expected utility. An approximation to the MTT for ruling out a model is 1/[P (H(AUC model )], where H(AUC) = AUC - {½ (1-AUC)} ½ , AUC is the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and P is the probability of the predicted event in the target population. An approximation to the MTT for ruling out an added predictor is 1 /[P {(H(AUC Model:2 ) - H(AUC Model:1 )], where Model 2 includes an added predictor relative to Model 1. The latter approximation requires the Tangent Condition that the true positive rate at the point on the ROC curve with a slope of 1 is larger for Model 2 than Model 1. These approximations are suitable for back-of-the-envelope calculations. For example, in a study predicting the risk of invasive breast cancer, Model 2 adds to the predictors in Model 1 a set of 7 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Based on the AUCs and the Tangent Condition, an MTT of 7200 was computed, which indicates that 7200 sets of SNPs are needed for every correct prediction of breast cancer to yield a positive overall expected utility. If ascertaining the SNPs costs $500, this MTT suggests that SNP ascertainment is not likely worthwhile for this risk prediction.
Innovative preparation of Au/C by replication of gold-containing mesoporous silica catalysts
Kerdi, Fatmé
A new strategy, based on the nanocasting concept, has been used to prepare gold nanoparticles (NPs) highly dispersed in meso-structured carbons. Gold is first introduced in various functionalized mesostructured silicas (MCM-48 and SBA-15) and particles are formed inside the porosity upon reduction of Au 3+ cations. Silica pores are then impregnated with a carbon precursor and the composite material is heated at 900°C under vacuum. Silica is then removed by acid leaching, leading to partially encapsulated gold particles in mesoporous carbon. Carbon prevents aggregation of gold particles at high temperature, both the mean size and distribution being similar to those observed in silica. However, while Au@SiO2 exhibit significant catalytic activity in the aerobic oxidation of trans-stilbene in the liquid phase, its Au@C mesostructured replica is quite inactive. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Optimal high b-value for diffusion weighted MRI in diagnosing high risk prostate cancers in the peripheral zone.
Agarwal, Harsh K; Mertan, Francesca V; Sankineni, Sandeep; Bernardo, Marcelino; Senegas, Julien; Keupp, Jochen; Daar, Dagane; Merino, Maria; Wood, Bradford J; Pinto, Peter A; Choyke, Peter L; Turkbey, Baris
To retrospectively determine the optimal b-value(s) of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) associated with intermediate-high risk cancer in the peripheral zone (PZ) of the prostate. Forty-two consecutive patients underwent multi b-value (16 evenly spaced b-values between 0 and 2000 s/mm 2 ) DWI along with multi-parametric MRI (MP-MRI) of the prostate at 3 Tesla followed by trans-rectal ultrasound/MRI fusion guided targeted biopsy of suspicious lesions detected at MP-MRI. Computed DWI images up to a simulated b-value of 4000 s/mm 2 were also obtained using a pair of b-values (b = 133 and 400 or 667 or 933 s/mm 2 ) from the multi b-value DWI. The contrast ratio of average intensity of the targeted lesions and the background PZ was determined. Receiver operator characteristic curves and the area under the curve (AUCs) were obtained for separating patients eligible for active surveillance with low risk prostate cancers from intermediate-high risk prostate cancers as per the cancer of the prostate risk assessment (CAPRA) scoring system. The AUC first increased then decreased with the increase in b-values reaching maximum at b = 1600 s/mm 2 (0.74) with no statistically significant different AUC of DWI with b-values 1067-2000 s/mm 2 . The AUC of computed DWI increased then decreased with the increase in b-values reaching a maximum of 0.75 around b = 2000 s/mm 2 . There was no statistically significant difference between the AUC of optimal acquired DWI and either of optimal computed DWI. The optimal b-value for acquired DWI in differentiating intermediate-high from low risk prostate cancers in the PZ is b = 1600 s/mm 2 . The computed DWI has similar performance as that of acquired DWI with the optimal performance around b = 2000 s/mm 2 . 4 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2017;45:125-131. © 2016 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.
Exploration of analysis methods for diagnostic imaging tests: problems with ROC AUC and confidence scores in CT colonography.
Mallett, Susan; Halligan, Steve; Collins, Gary S; Altman, Doug G
Different methods of evaluating diagnostic performance when comparing diagnostic tests may lead to different results. We compared two such approaches, sensitivity and specificity with area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (ROC AUC) for the evaluation of CT colonography for the detection of polyps, either with or without computer assisted detection. In a multireader multicase study of 10 readers and 107 cases we compared sensitivity and specificity, using radiological reporting of the presence or absence of polyps, to ROC AUC calculated from confidence scores concerning the presence of polyps. Both methods were assessed against a reference standard. Here we focus on five readers, selected to illustrate issues in design and analysis. We compared diagnostic measures within readers, showing that differences in results are due to statistical methods. Reader performance varied widely depending on whether sensitivity and specificity or ROC AUC was used. There were problems using confidence scores; in assigning scores to all cases; in use of zero scores when no polyps were identified; the bimodal non-normal distribution of scores; fitting ROC curves due to extrapolation beyond the study data; and the undue influence of a few false positive results. Variation due to use of different ROC methods exceeded differences between test results for ROC AUC. The confidence scores recorded in our study violated many assumptions of ROC AUC methods, rendering these methods inappropriate. The problems we identified will apply to other detection studies using confidence scores. We found sensitivity and specificity were a more reliable and clinically appropriate method to compare diagnostic tests.
Predictive performance of three practical approaches for grapefruit juice-induced 2-fold or greater increases in AUC of concomitantly administered drugs.
Takahashi, M; Onozawa, S; Ogawa, R; Uesawa, Y; Echizen, H
Clinical pharmacists have a challenging task when answering patients' question about whether they can take specific drugs with grapefruit juice (GFJ) without risk of drug interaction. To identify the most practicable method for predicting clinically relevant changes in plasma concentrations of orally administered drugs caused by the ingestion of GFJ, we compared the predictive performance of three methods using data obtained from the literature. We undertook a systematic search of drug interactions associated with GFJ using MEDLINE and the Metabolism & Transport Drug Interaction Database (DIDB version 4.0). We considered an elevation of the area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) of 2 or greater relative to the control value [AUC ratio (AUCR) ≥ 2.0] as a clinically significant interaction. The data from 74 drugs (194 data sets) were analysed. When the reported information of CYP3A involvement in the metabolism of a drug of interest was adopted as a predictive criterion for GFJ-drug interaction, the performance assessed by positive predictive value (PPV) was low (0.26), but that assessed by negative predictive value (NPV) and sensitivity was high (1.00 for both). When the reported oral bioavailability of ≤ 0.1 was used as a criterion, the PPV improved to 0.50 with an acceptable NPV of 0.81, but sensitivity was reduced to 0.21. When the reported AUCR was ≥ 10 after co-administration of a typical CYP3A inhibitor, the corresponding values were 0.64, 0.79 and 0.19, respectively. We consider that an oral bioavailability of ≤ 0.1 or an AUCR of ≥ 10 caused by a CYP3A inhibitor of a drug of interest may be a practical prediction criterion for avoiding significant interactions with GFJ. Information about the involvement of CYP3A in their metabolism should also be taken into account for drugs with narrow therapeutic ranges. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Reaching ignition in the tokamak
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Furth, H.P.
This review covers the following areas: (1) the physics of burning plasmas, (2) plasma physics requirements for reaching ignition, (3) design studies for ignition devices, and (4) prospects for an ignition project
Development of AUC-based process at BARC for production of free-flowing and sinterable UO2 powder
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Keni, V.S.; Ghosh, S.K.; Ganguly, C.; Majumdar, S.
Ammonium uranium carbonate (AUC) process has been developed and industrially used in Germany for preparation of free-flowing and sinterable UO 2 powder for fabrication of UO 2 fuel pellets for light water reactors (LWR). Efforts are underway at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) for developing AUC-based process which would yield free-flowing UO 2 powder suitable for direct pelletisation and sintering to very high density (> 96% T.D.) UO 2 fuel pellets for pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs) in India. The first phase of this work has been completed jointly by Chemical Engineering Division (ChED) and Radiometallurgy Division (RMD) in batches of 1.5 kg. It was possible to fabricate UO 2 pellets of density 93-95% T.D. on a reproducible basis. At ChED, process parameters have been optimised for fabrication of AUC with suitable physical properties in batches of 1.5 kg (U), starting with nuclear pure uranyl nitrate solution. At RMD calcination parameters of AUC was optimised in batches of 500 g for obtaining free-flowing UO 2 powder, suitable for direct pelletisation and sintering. The pelletisation and sintering have been carried out at Radiometallurgy Division in batches of 1-1.5 kg. The maximum achievable density of UO 2 pellets has been in the range of 95.5-96% T.D. (author). 11 refs
Validation of limited sampling models (LSM) for estimating AUC in therapeutic drug monitoring - is a separate validation group required?
Proost, J. H.
Objective: Limited sampling models (LSM) for estimating AUC in therapeutic drug monitoring are usually validated in a separate group of patients, according to published guidelines. The aim of this study is to evaluate the validation of LSM by comparing independent validation with cross-validation
Best single time point correlations with AUC for cyclosporine and tacrolimus in HIV-infected kidney and liver transplant recipients.
Frassetto, Lynda A; Tan-Tam, Clara C; Barin, Burc; Browne, Matt; Wolfe, Alan R; Stock, Peter G; Roland, Michelle; Benet, Leslie Z
Interactions between antiretrovirals (ARVs) and transplant immunosuppressant agents (IS) among HIV-infected transplant recipients may lead to lack of efficacy or toxicity. In transplant recipients not infected with HIV, tacrolimus (TAC) trough levels (C0) or cyclosporine (CsA) drawn at C0 or 2 hours after dosing (C2) correlate with drug exposure (area under the curve [AUC]/dose) and outcomes. Because of ARV-IS interactions in HIV-infected individuals, and the high rate of rejection in these subjects, this study investigated the correlations between IS concentrations and exposure to determine the best method to monitor immunosuppressant levels. This study prospectively studied 50 HIV-infected transplant recipients undergoing kidney or liver transplantation evaluating the pharmacokinetics of the IS in 150 studies over time after transplantation (weeks 2 to 4, 12, 28, 52, and 104). IS levels were measured with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and AUC calculated using WinNonlin 9.0. Correlation analyses were run on SAS 9.2. CsA concentration at C4 correlated better with AUC than C0 or C2, and over time TAC concentration correlated better at C0 or C2. It is suggested that C0 is acceptable for TAC monitoring, but poor predictability will occur at C0 with CsA. The low correlation of C0 with CsA AUC could be responsible for the higher rejection rates on CsA that has been reported in these subjects.
The Impact of AUC-Based Monitoring on Pharmacist-Directed Vancomycin Dose Adjustments in Complicated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infection.
Stoessel, Andrew M; Hale, Cory M; Seabury, Robert W; Miller, Christopher D; Steele, Jeffrey M
This study aimed to assess the impact of area under the curve (AUC)-based vancomycin monitoring on pharmacist-initiated dose adjustments after transitioning from a trough-only to an AUC-based monitoring method at our institution. A retrospective cohort study of patients treated with vancomycin for complicated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection between November 2013 and December 2016 was conducted. The frequency of pharmacist-initiated dose adjustments was assessed for patients monitored via trough-only and AUC-based approaches for trough ranges: 10 to 14.9 mg/L and 15 to 20 mg/L. Fifty patients were included: 36 in the trough-based monitoring and 14 in the AUC-based-monitoring group. The vancomycin dose was increased in 71.4% of patients when troughs were 10 to 14.9 mg/L when a trough-only approach was used and in only 25% of patients when using AUC estimation ( P = .048). In the AUC group, the dose was increased only when AUC/minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) AUC/MIC ≥400. The AUC-based monitoring did not significantly increase the frequency of dose reductions when trough concentrations were 15 to 20 mg/L (AUC: 33.3% vs trough: 4.6%; P = .107). The AUC-based monitoring resulted in fewer patients with dose adjustments when trough levels were 10 to 14.9 mg/L. The AUC-based monitoring has the potential to reduce unnecessary vancomycin exposure and warrants further investigation.
Evaluation of limited sampling models for prediction of oral midazolam AUC for CYP3A phenotyping and drug interaction studies.
Mueller, Silke C; Drewelow, Bernd
The area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) after oral midazolam administration is commonly used for cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A phenotyping studies. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate a limited sampling strategy for the prediction of AUC with oral midazolam. A total of 288 concentration-time profiles from 123 healthy volunteers who participated in four previously performed drug interaction studies with intense sampling after a single oral dose of 7.5 mg midazolam were available for evaluation. Of these, 45 profiles served for model building, which was performed by stepwise multiple linear regression, and the remaining 243 datasets served for validation. Mean prediction error (MPE), mean absolute error (MAE) and root mean squared error (RMSE) were calculated to determine bias and precision The one- to four-sampling point models with the best coefficient of correlation were the one-sampling point model (8 h; r (2) = 0.84), the two-sampling point model (0.5 and 8 h; r (2) = 0.93), the three-sampling point model (0.5, 2, and 8 h; r (2) = 0.96), and the four-sampling point model (0.5,1, 2, and 8 h; r (2) = 0.97). However, the one- and two-sampling point models were unable to predict the midazolam AUC due to unacceptable bias and precision. Only the four-sampling point model predicted the very low and very high midazolam AUC of the validation dataset with acceptable precision and bias. The four-sampling point model was also able to predict the geometric mean ratio of the treatment phase over the baseline (with 90 % confidence interval) results of three drug interaction studies in the categories of strong, moderate, and mild induction, as well as no interaction. A four-sampling point limited sampling strategy to predict the oral midazolam AUC for CYP3A phenotyping is proposed. The one-, two- and three-sampling point models were not able to predict midazolam AUC accurately.
Dosing algorithm to target a predefined AUC in patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma receiving high dose methotrexate.
Joerger, Markus; Ferreri, Andrés J M; Krähenbühl, Stephan; Schellens, Jan H M; Cerny, Thomas; Zucca, Emanuele; Huitema, Alwin D R
There is no consensus regarding optimal dosing of high dose methotrexate (HDMTX) in patients with primary CNS lymphoma. Our aim was to develop a convenient dosing algorithm to target AUC(MTX) in the range between 1000 and 1100 µmol l(-1) h. A population covariate model from a pooled dataset of 131 patients receiving HDMTX was used to simulate concentration-time curves of 10,000 patients and test the efficacy of a dosing algorithm based on 24 h MTX plasma concentrations to target the prespecified AUC(MTX) . These data simulations included interindividual, interoccasion and residual unidentified variability. Patients received a total of four simulated cycles of HDMTX and adjusted MTX dosages were given for cycles two to four. The dosing algorithm proposes MTX dose adaptations ranging from +75% in patients with MTX C(24) 12 µmol l(-1). The proposed dosing algorithm resulted in a marked improvement of the proportion of patients within the AUC(MTX) target between 1000 and 1100 µmol l(-1) h (11% with standard MTX dose, 35% with the adjusted dose) and a marked reduction of the interindividual variability of MTX exposure. A simple and practical dosing algorithm for HDMTX has been developed based on MTX 24 h plasma concentrations, and its potential efficacy in improving the proportion of patients within a prespecified target AUC(MTX) and reducing the interindividual variability of MTX exposure has been shown by data simulations. The clinical benefit of this dosing algorithm should be assessed in patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL). © 2011 The Authors. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology © 2011 The British Pharmacological Society.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
G. W. L. Gresik
Full Text Available The goal of RECORDS (Reaching Recording Data Technologies is the digital capturing of buildings and cultural heritage objects in hard-to-reach areas and the combination of data. It is achieved by using a modified crane from film industry, which is able to carry different measuring systems. The low-vibration measurement should be guaranteed by a gyroscopic controlled advice that has been , developed for the project. The data were achieved by using digital photography, UV-fluorescence photography, infrared reflectography, infrared thermography and shearography. Also a terrestrial 3D laser scanner and a light stripe topography scanner have been used The combination of the recorded data should ensure a complementary analysis of monuments and buildings.
Records Reaching Recording Data Technologies
Gresik, G. W. L.; Siebe, S.; Drewello, R.
The goal of RECORDS (Reaching Recording Data Technologies) is the digital capturing of buildings and cultural heritage objects in hard-to-reach areas and the combination of data. It is achieved by using a modified crane from film industry, which is able to carry different measuring systems. The low-vibration measurement should be guaranteed by a gyroscopic controlled advice that has been , developed for the project. The data were achieved by using digital photography, UV-fluorescence photography, infrared reflectography, infrared thermography and shearography. Also a terrestrial 3D laser scanner and a light stripe topography scanner have been used The combination of the recorded data should ensure a complementary analysis of monuments and buildings.
Spectroscopic Identification of the Au-C Bond Formation upon Electroreduction of an Aryl Diazonium Salt on Gold.
Guo, Limin; Ma, Lipo; Zhang, Yelong; Cheng, Xun; Xu, Ye; Wang, Jin; Wang, Erkang; Peng, Zhangquan
Electroreduction of aryl diazonium salts on gold can produce organic films that are more robust than their analogous self-assembled monolayers formed from chemical adsorption of organic thiols on gold. However, whether the enhanced stability is due to the Au-C bond formation remains debated. In this work, we report the electroreduction of an aryl diazonium salt of 4,4'-disulfanediyldibenzenediazonium on gold forming a multilayer of Au-(Ar-S-S-Ar) n , which can be further degraded to a monolayer of Au-Ar-S - by electrochemical cleavage of the S-S moieties within the multilayer. By conducting an in situ surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopic study of both the multilayer formation/degradation and the monolayer reduction/oxidation processes, coupled to density functional theory calculations, we provide compelling evidence that an Au-C bond does form upon electroreduction of aryl diazonium salts on gold and that the enhanced stability of the electrografted organic films is due to the Au-C bond being intrinsically stronger than the Au-S bond for a given phenylthiolate compound by ca. 0.4 eV.
Proposal for a Revised Programme of Studies at the Faculty of Engineering, Ondo State University Using the Pedagogical Model at AUC as Reference
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Jørgensen, Mogens B.; Borch, Ole; Esan, A. A.
by AUC Staff. It will, of course, remain a requirement that minimum requirements laid down by the National Universities Commission are met. This was taken into account when preparing the proposal. The report is seen as a first important step towards the introduction of the AUC pedagogical model at OSUA...
Long-reach manipulators for decommissioning
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Webster, D.A.; Challinor, S.F.
A survey of redundant facilities at Sellafield has identified that in many cases the conventional means of deploying remote handling equipment are not appropriate and that novel means must be employed. However, decommissioning is not a value adding activity and so expensive one off designs must be avoided. The paper will describe BNFL's approach to the synthesis from proprietary parts of a manipulator which can lift 3 te at a horizontal reach of over 5 metres and yet can still perform the dextrous manipulation necessary to remove small items. It will also cover the development of the manipulator control systems and the adaption of commercial handtools to be manipulator friendly. (author)
REACH and nanomaterials: current status
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Alessandrelli, Maria; Di Prospero Fanghella, Paola; Polci, Maria Letizia; Castelli, Stefano; Pettirossi, Flavio
New challenges for regulators are emerging about a specific assessment and appropriate management of the potential risks of nanomaterials. In the framework of European legislation on chemicals, Regulation (EC) No. 1907/2006 REACH aims to ensure the safety of human health and the environment through the collection of information on the physico-chemical characteristics of the substances and on their profile (eco) toxicological and the identification of appropriate risk management linked to 'exposure to these substances without impeding scientific progress and the competitiveness of industry. In order to cover the current shortage of information on the safety of nanomaterials and tackle the acknowledged legal vacuum, are being a rich activities, carried out both by regulators both by stake holders, and discussions on the proposals for adapting the European regulatory framework for chemicals . The European Commission is geared to strengthen the REACH Regulation by means of updates of its annexes. The importance of responding to the regulatory requirements has highlighted the need for cooperation between European organizations, scientists and industries to promote and ensure the safe use of nanomaterials. [it
Arnold, Vanessa D.; Roach, Terry D.
Writing letters to elected officials and letters to the editor helps students articulate their thoughts based on sound evidence and valid reasoning, avoiding "sounding off" and emotional appeals. Writing skills, critical thinking, and civic values are reinforced. (SK)
Reconstrucción de las redes sociales: el caso de las FARC, el ELN y las ACCU-AUC
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Plata Caviedes, Juan Camilo
Full Text Available It is explored a strategy to analyze the press releases made by the FARC, the ELN, and the ACCU-AUC. It is based on the minimal grammatical structure: Subject- Action - Object. Using this grammatical triplet, the network of connections are built up; and then, some of the Social Network Analysis tools are applied to it. Some mechanisms related with these structural properties are identified: a To define for each actor a distinctive set of relationships; b the part is different from the whole; c the emphasized topics do the work of putting near a set of nodes.
David, L
The distant shores of Mars were reached by numerous U.S. and Russian spacecraft throughout the 1960s to mid 1970s. Nearly 20 years have passed since those successful missions which orbited and landed on the Martian surface. Two Soviet probes headed for the planet in July, 1988, but later failed. In August 1993, the U.S. Mars Observer suddenly went silent just three days before it was to enter orbit around the planet and was never heard from again. In late 1996, there will be renewed activity on the launch pads with three probes departing for the red planet: 1) The U.S. Mars Global Surveyor will be launched in November on a Delta II rocket and will orbit the planet for global mapping purposes; 2) Russia's Mars '96 mission, scheduled to fly in November on a Proton launcher, consists of an orbiter, two small stations which will land on the Martian surface, and two penetrators that will plow into the terrain; and finally, 3) a U.S. Discovery-class spacecraft, the Mars Pathfinder, has a December launch date atop a Delta II booster. The mission features a lander and a microrover that will travel short distances over Martian territory. These missions usher in a new phase of Mars exploration, setting the stage for an unprecedented volley of spacecraft that will orbit around, land on, drive across, and perhaps fly at low altitudes over the planet.
Metasurface holograms reaching 80% efficiency.
Zheng, Guoxing; Mühlenbernd, Holger; Kenney, Mitchell; Li, Guixin; Zentgraf, Thomas; Zhang, Shuang
Surfaces covered by ultrathin plasmonic structures--so-called metasurfaces--have recently been shown to be capable of completely controlling the phase of light, representing a new paradigm for the design of innovative optical elements such as ultrathin flat lenses, directional couplers for surface plasmon polaritons and wave plate vortex beam generation. Among the various types of metasurfaces, geometric metasurfaces, which consist of an array of plasmonic nanorods with spatially varying orientations, have shown superior phase control due to the geometric nature of their phase profile. Metasurfaces have recently been used to make computer-generated holograms, but the hologram efficiency remained too low at visible wavelengths for practical purposes. Here, we report the design and realization of a geometric metasurface hologram reaching diffraction efficiencies of 80% at 825 nm and a broad bandwidth between 630 nm and 1,050 nm. The 16-level-phase computer-generated hologram demonstrated here combines the advantages of a geometric metasurface for the superior control of the phase profile and of reflectarrays for achieving high polarization conversion efficiency. Specifically, the design of the hologram integrates a ground metal plane with a geometric metasurface that enhances the conversion efficiency between the two circular polarization states, leading to high diffraction efficiency without complicating the fabrication process. Because of these advantages, our strategy could be viable for various practical holographic applications.
Use of partial AUC (PAUC) to evaluate bioequivalence--a case study with complex absorption: methylphenidate.
Fourie Zirkelbach, Jeanne; Jackson, Andre J; Wang, Yaning; Schuirmann, Donald J
Methylphenidate modified-release products produce early and late peak concentrations critical for treatment of morning and afternoon symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Standard bioequivalence (BE) criteria cannot be applied to these products. The performance of partial area under the drug concentration-time curve (PAUC), Cmax and AUCINF to assess BE were independently evaluated for two products. A two-stage analysis was performed on plasma data for two methylphenidate modified-release products (Product 1 and 2). Simulations using the fitted parameters determined how changes in fast absorption rate constant (K0Fast) and fraction available (F1) affected curve shape and BE determination using Cmax, AUCINF and PAUC. The sensitivity of the mean PAUC(test)/PAUC(reference) ratios to changes in K0Fast(test) are product dependent. Product 1 mean PAUC(test)/PAUC(reference) ratios for PAUC0-4h are more responsive to both decreases and increases in K0Fast(test) than Product 2. Product 2 showed a greater response in the mean PAUC(test)/PAUC(reference) ratio for PAUC0-4h when the K0Fast(test) is decreased and less response as the value is increased. PAUC estimated curve shape is sensitive to changes in absorption and are product specific, and may require a new PAUC metric for each drug. A non-product specific metric to assess curve shape is warranted.
Assessment of diagnostic value of tumor markers for colorectal neoplasm by logistic regression and ROC curve
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Ping, G.
Full text: Objective: To assess the diagnostic value of CEA CA199 and CA50 for colorectal neoplasm by logistic regression and ROC curve. Methods: The subjects include 75 patients of colorectal cancer, 35 patients of benign intestinal disease and 49 health controls. CEA CA199 and CA50 are measured by CLIA ECLIA and IRMA respectively. The area under the curve (AUC) of CEA CA 199 CA50 and logistic regression results are compared. [Result] In the cancer-benign group, the AUC of CA50 is larger than the AUC of CA199 Compared with the AUC of combination of CEA CA199 and CA50 (0.604),the AUC of combination of CEA and CA50 (0.875) is larger and it is also larger than any other AUC of CEA CA199 or CA50 alone. In the cancerhealth group, the AUC of combination of CEA CA199 and CA50 is larger than any other AUC of CEA CA199 or CA50 alone. No matter in the cancer-benign group or cancerhealth group. The AUC of CEA is larger than the AUC of CA199 or CA50. Conclusion: CEA is useful in the diagnosis of colorectal cancer. In the process of differential diagnosis, the combination of CEA and CA50 can give more information, while the combination of three tumor markers does not perform well. Furthermore, as a statistical method, logistic regression can improve the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity. (author)
Obtainment of UO{sub 2} ex AUC (ammonium uranyl carbonate) from uranyl fluoride; Obtencion de UO{sub 2} ex AUC (carbonato de uranil amonio) partiendo de fluoruro de uranilo
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Fuente, M de la; Gonzalez, A G; Gonzalez Scardaone, S; Perez de Perel, L; Marajofsky, A [Comision Nacional de Energia Atomica, San Martin (Argentina). Unidad de Actividad Combustibles Nucleares
It is proposed the production of enriched UO{sub 2} powder starting from UF6 with the desired isotopic concentration in order to avoid the possible segregation inconveniences that take place in the mixture of enriched and natural UO{sub 2} powders. In this work is shown the feasibility of obtaining powders with direct sinterability, through the precipitation of uranyl fluoride solutions (UF{sub 6} hydrolysis). The AUC is a crystalline forerunner used in the powder production line. A simulated hydrolyzed UF{sub 6} solution was obtained by means of the dissolution of UO{sub 3} with FH acid. The precipitation operation was carried out in a discontinuous operation device, with simultaneous pumping. The precipitating media is achieved by adding simultaneously NH{sub 3} (g) and CO{sub 2} (g), using ejector nozzles during precipitation. Mother waters pH during precipitation stay between 8.5 and 9.2 and the temperature of operation is around 323 K. The AUC calcination, reduction and passivation took place during the same operation. The reduction was carried out at three different temperatures, 823 K, 933 K and 1003 K in H{sub 2} reducing atmosphere. The passivation was carried out at 343 K. The main problem of this process is free fluorine that could remain in the powder. It would inhibit its use as nuclear fuel, since the international specifications do not tolerate more than 20 mg/kg. However, the determinations carried out in all the cases, showed that it was completely eliminated during calcination. The ex AUC UO{sub 2} powders obtained from solution of F{sub 2} (UO{sub 2}) were fluoride free, showed specific areas within specification and good sinterability. Therefore it is possible to fabricate enriched powders using a humid process from F{sub 6}U, to be used without problems of segregation due to the origin of the powder mix in PWR fuels type (CAREM). (author). 3 figs.
Local epidemiology and resistance profiles in acute uncomplicated cystitis (AUC) in women: a prospective cohort study in an urban urological ambulatory setting.
Seitz, Michael; Stief, Christian; Waidelich, Raphaela
Acute uncomplicated cystitis (AUC) is a common ailment in the urological setting. Guidelines for urinary tract infections are based on large-scale multi-centre, epidemiological and international studies. The objective of this observational study was to establish whether the results of a multi-centre study on the resistance profile of Escherichia coli (E. coli) in patients with AUC could be directly applied to an urological practice in a major European city or whether there are divergences in the resistance profile. An observational study was applied prospectively to 502 patients with AUC between January 2015 and January 2017). Personal data were anonymised. Exclusion criteria were the patient's age (AUC should therefore only be treated with TRS, CIP and AMC after a susceptibility test has been carried out.
Mycophenolic acid AUC in Thai kidney transplant recipients receiving low dose mycophenolate and its association with UGT2B7 polymorphisms.
Pithukpakorn, Manop; Tiwawanwong, Tiwat; Lalerd, Yupaporn; Assawamakin, Anunchai; Premasathian, Nalinee; Tasanarong, Adis; Thongnoppakhun, Wanna; Vongwiwatana, Attapong
Despite use of a lower mycophenolate dose in Thai kidney transplant patients, acceptable graft and patient outcomes can be achieved. We therefore examined the pharmacokinetics of mycophenolic acid (MPA) by area under the curve (AUC) and investigated genetic contribution in mycophenolate metabolism in this population. Kidney transplant recipients with stable graft function who were receiving mycophenolate mofetil 1,000 mg/d in combination with either cyclosporine or tacrolimus, and prednisolone were studied. The MPA concentration was measured by fluorescence polarization immunoassay (FPIA), at predose and 1, 1.5, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 hours after dosing. Genetic polymorphisms in UGT1A8, UGT1A9, and UGT2B7 were examined by denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC)-based single-base extension (SBE) analysis. A total 138 patients were included in study. The mean AUC was 39.49 mg-h/L (28.39-89.58 mg-h/L), which was in the therapeutic range. The correlation between the predose MPA concentration and AUC was poor. The mean AUC in the tacrolimus group was higher than that in the cyclosporine group. Polymorphisms in UGT2B7 showed significant association with AUC. Most of our patients with reduced mycophenolate dose had the AUC within the therapeutic range. Genetic polymorphisms in UGT2B7 may play a role in MPA metabolism in Thai kidney transplant patients.
Innovative Route to Prepare of Au/C Catalysts by Replication of Gold-containing Mesoporous Silicas
Kerdi, Fatmé
Gold-catalyzed aerobic epoxidations in the liquid phase are generally performed in low-polarity solvents, in which conventional oxide-supported catalysts are poorly dispersed. To improve the wettability of the catalytic powder and, thus, the efficiency of the catalyst, gold nanoparticles (NPs) have been dispersed on meso-structured carbons. Gold is first introduced in functionalized mesostructured silica and particles are formed inside the porosity. Silica pores are then impregnated with a carbon precursor and the composite material is heated at 900 °C under vacuum or nitrogen. Silica is then removed by acid leaching, leading to partially encapsulated gold particles in mesoporous carbon. Carbon prevents aggregation of gold particles at high temperature, both the mean size and distribution being similar to those observed in silica. However, while Au@SiO2 exhibit significant catalytic activity in the aerobic oxidation of trans-stilbene in the liquid phase, its Au@C mesostructured replica is quite inactive.
Functional reach and lateral reach tests adapted for aquatic physical therapy
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ana Angélica Ribeiro de Lima
Full Text Available Abstract Introduction: Functional reach (FR and lateral reach (LR tests are widely used in scientific research and clinical practice. Assessment tools are useful in assessing subjects with greater accuracy and are usually adapted according to the limitations of each condition. Objective: To adapt FR and LR tests for use in an aquatic environment and assess the performance of healthy young adults. Methods: We collected anthropometric data and information on whether the participant exercised regularly or not. The FR and LR tests were adapted for use in an aquatic environment and administered to 47 healthy subjects aged 20-30 years. Each test was repeated three times. Results: Forty-one females and six males were assessed. The mean FR test score for men was 24.06 cm, whereas the mean value for right lateral reach (RLR was 10.94 cm and for left lateral reach (LLR was 9.78 cm. For females, the mean FR score was 17.57 cm, while the mean values for RLR was 8.84cm and for LLR was 7.76 cm. Men performed better in the FR (p < 0.001 and RLR tests than women (p = 0.037. Individuals who exercised regularly showed no differences in performance level when compared with their counterparts. Conclusion: The FR and LR tests were adapted for use in an aquatic environment. Males performed better on the FR and RLR tests, when compared to females. There was no correlation between the FR and LR tests and weight, height, Body Mass Index (BMI, foot length or length of the dominant upper limb.
LHC Report: reaching high intensity
Jan Uythoven
After both beams having been ramped to their full energy of 6.5 TeV, the last two weeks saw the beam commissioning process advancing on many fronts. An important milestone was achieved when operators succeeded in circulating a nominal-intensity bunch. During the operation, some sudden beam losses resulted in beam dumps at top energy, a problem that needed to be understood and resolved. In 2015 the LHC will be circulating around 2800 bunches in each beam and each bunch will contain just over 1 x 1011 protons. Until a few days ago commissioning was taking place with single bunches of 5 x 109 protons. The first nominal bunch with an intensity of 1 x 1011 protons was injected on Tuesday, 21 April. In order to circulate such a high-intensity bunch safely, the whole protection system must be working correctly: collimators, which protect the aperture, are set at preliminary values known as coarse settings; all kicker magnets for injecting and extracting the beams are commissioned with beam an...
Prognostic Value of Quantitative Stress Perfusion Cardiac Magnetic Resonance.
Sammut, Eva C; Villa, Adriana D M; Di Giovine, Gabriella; Dancy, Luke; Bosio, Filippo; Gibbs, Thomas; Jeyabraba, Swarna; Schwenke, Susanne; Williams, Steven E; Marber, Michael; Alfakih, Khaled; Ismail, Tevfik F; Razavi, Reza; Chiribiri, Amedeo
This study sought to evaluate the prognostic usefulness of visual and quantitative perfusion cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) ischemic burden in an unselected group of patients and to assess the validity of consensus-based ischemic burden thresholds extrapolated from nuclear studies. There are limited data on the prognostic value of assessing myocardial ischemic burden by CMR, and there are none using quantitative perfusion analysis. Patients with suspected coronary artery disease referred for adenosine-stress perfusion CMR were included (n = 395; 70% male; age 58 ± 13 years). The primary endpoint was a composite of cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, aborted sudden death, and revascularization after 90 days. Perfusion scans were assessed visually and with quantitative analysis. Cross-validated Cox regression analysis and net reclassification improvement were used to assess the incremental prognostic value of visual or quantitative perfusion analysis over a baseline clinical model, initially as continuous covariates, then using accepted thresholds of ≥2 segments or ≥10% myocardium. After a median 460 days (interquartile range: 190 to 869 days) follow-up, 52 patients reached the primary endpoint. At 2 years, the addition of ischemic burden was found to increase prognostic value over a baseline model of age, sex, and late gadolinium enhancement (baseline model area under the curve [AUC]: 0.75; visual AUC: 0.84; quantitative AUC: 0.85). Dichotomized quantitative ischemic burden performed better than visual assessment (net reclassification improvement 0.043 vs. 0.003 against baseline model). This study was the first to address the prognostic benefit of quantitative analysis of perfusion CMR and to support the use of consensus-based ischemic burden thresholds by perfusion CMR for prognostic evaluation of patients with suspected coronary artery disease. Quantitative analysis provided incremental prognostic value to visual assessment and
ALMA Telescope Reaches New Heights
ball at a distance of nine miles, and to keep their smooth reflecting surfaces accurate to less than the thickness of a human hair. Once the transporter reached the high plateau it carried the antenna to a concrete pad -- a docking station with connections for power and fiber optics -- and positioned it with an accuracy of a small fraction of an inch. The transporter is guided by a laser steering system and, just like some cars, also has ultrasonic collision detectors. These sensors ensure the safety of the state-of-the-art antennas as the transporter drives them across what will soon be a rather crowded plateau. Ultimately, ALMA will have at least 66 antennas distributed over about 200 pads, spread over distances of up to 11.5 miles and operating as a single, giant telescope. Even when ALMA is fully operational, the transporters will be used to move the antennas between pads to reconfigure the telescope for different kinds of observations. This first ALMA antenna at the high site will soon be joined by others, and the ALMA team looks forward to making their first observations from the Chajnantor plateau. They plan to link three antennas by early 2010, and to make the first scientific observations with ALMA in the second half of 2011. ALMA will help astronomers answer important questions about our cosmic origins. The telescope will observe the Universe using light with millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths, between infrared light and radio waves in the electromagnetic spectrum. Light at these wavelengths comes from some of the coldest, and from some of the most distant objects in the cosmos. These include cold clouds of gas and dust where new stars are being born, or remote galaxies towards the edge of the observable universe. The Universe is relatively unexplored at submillimeter wavelengths, as the telescopes need extremely dry atmospheric conditions, such as those at Chajnantor, and advanced detector technology. The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array
Assessment of diagnostic value of various tumors markers (CEA, CA199, CA50) for colorectal neoplasm with logistic regression and ROC curve
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Gu Ping; Huang Gang; Han Yuan
Objective: To assess the diagnostic value of CEA, CA199 and CA50 for colorectal neoplasm by logistic regression and ROC curve. Methods: Serum CEA (with CLIA), CA199 (with ECLIA) and CA50 (with IRMA) levels were measured in 75 patients with colorectal cancer, 35 patients with benign colorectal disorders and 49 controls. The area under the ROC curve (AUC)s of CEA, CA199, CA50 from logistic regression results were compared. Results: In the cancer-benign disorder group, the AUC of CA50 was larger than the AUC of CA199. AUC of combined CEA, CA50 was largest: not only larger than any AUC of CEA, CA50, CA199 alone but also larger than the AUC of the combined three markers (0.875 vs 0.604). In cancer-control group, the AUC of combination of CEA, CA199 and CA50 was larger than any AUC of CEA, CA199 or CA50 alone. Both in the cancer-benign disorder group or cancer-control group, the AUC of CEA was larger than the AUC of CA199 or CA50. Conclusion: CEA is of definite value in the diagnosis of colorectal cancer. For differential diagnosis, the combination of CEA and CA50 can give more information, while the combination of three tumor markers is less helpful. As an advanced statistical method, logistic regression can improve the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity. (authors)
Operational Reach: Is Current Army Doctrine Adequate?
National Research Council Canada - National Science Library
Heintzelman, Scott
The term operational reach, an element of operational design, is new to U.S. Army doctrine. Operational reach is not found in the previous edition of the Army's basic operational doctrine, Field Manual...
Stream Habitat Reach Summary - NCWAP [ds158
California Natural Resource Agency — The Stream Habitat - NCWAP - Reach Summary [ds158] shapefile contains in-stream habitat survey data summarized to the stream reach level. It is a derivative of the...
Carbonated water (CW) process waste reuse for ammonium-uranyl-carbonate (AUC) production and its gains on the environmental, economic and social aspects
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Carnaval, Joao Paulo R.; Santos, Rafael D. dos; Barbosa, Rodrigo A.; Lauer, Sergio
In the INB nuclear fuel cycle, the pellets production is based on UO 2 powder made by AUC (Ammonium-Uranyl-Carbonate) route. AUC formation occurs by fluidising of UF 6 , NH 3 and CO 2 in a vase containing usually pure water, and this exothermal reaction has AUC as direct product. The mass formed is filtered, washed with CW, washed again with methano solution, dried with air and conducted to the fluidized bed furnace, to be converted to UO 2 powder. At this point, the dried AUC decompounds to UO 3 , NH 3 and C0 2 , these 2 gases are absorbed at the gases washer, formin go the carbonated water (CW), whit is basically a (NH 4 ) 2 CO 3 solution. The UO 2+x is reduced and stabilized to UO 2 powder, which is conducted to pellets production. During the process, a considerable amount of this aqueous waste is generated and goes for effluent treatment. After that, the solution is sent for spray-dryer for power formation, and stock. This treatment demands equipment, energy and time, representing considerable costs of the company beyond the human risks involved on the drying step. The purpose of this work is to present a study of the carbonated water use as substitute of pure water in the AUC formation step. At this point, tests were made varying the CW loads for the AUC precipitation, and the control was made by the UO 2 powder properties. The carbonated water used for AUC precipitation has been tested at several levels and the results has demonstrated full viability to become a definitive process step (INB, Resende site). It has been demonstrated the great resources economy caused by the waste reuse and the guarantee product quality. This represents such an environmental gain and also economic and social aspects got improved. (author)
Carbonated water (CW) process waste reuse for ammonium-uranyl-carbonate (AUC) production and its gains on the environmental, economic and social aspects
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Carnaval, Joao Paulo R.; Santos, Rafael D. dos; Barbosa, Rodrigo A.; Lauer, Sergio, E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com, E-mail: email@example.com, E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com, E-mail: email@example.com [Industias Nucleares do Brasil S.A. (INB), Resende, RJ (Brazil)
In the INB nuclear fuel cycle, the pellets production is based on UO{sub 2} powder made by AUC (Ammonium-Uranyl-Carbonate) route. AUC formation occurs by fluidising of UF{sub 6}, NH{sub 3} and CO{sub 2} in a vase containing usually pure water, and this exothermal reaction has AUC as direct product. The mass formed is filtered, washed with CW, washed again with methano solution, dried with air and conducted to the fluidized bed furnace, to be converted to UO{sub 2} powder. At this point, the dried AUC decompounds to UO{sub 3}, NH{sub 3} and C0{sub 2}, these 2 gases are absorbed at the gases washer, formin go the carbonated water (CW), whit is basically a (NH{sub 4}){sub 2}CO{sub 3} solution. The UO{sub 2+x} is reduced and stabilized to UO{sub 2} powder, which is conducted to pellets production. During the process, a considerable amount of this aqueous waste is generated and goes for effluent treatment. After that, the solution is sent for spray-dryer for power formation, and stock. This treatment demands equipment, energy and time, representing considerable costs of the company beyond the human risks involved on the drying step. The purpose of this work is to present a study of the carbonated water use as substitute of pure water in the AUC formation step. At this point, tests were made varying the CW loads for the AUC precipitation, and the control was made by the UO{sub 2} powder properties. The carbonated water used for AUC precipitation has been tested at several levels and the results has demonstrated full viability to become a definitive process step (INB, Resende site). It has been demonstrated the great resources economy caused by the waste reuse and the guarantee product quality. This represents such an environmental gain and also economic and social aspects got improved. (author)
Diagnostic value of multidetector computed tomography for renal sinus fat invasion in renal cell carcinoma patients
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kim, Cherry; Choi, Hyuck Jae; Cho, Kyoung-Sik
Objective: Although renal sinus fat invasion has prognostic significance in patients with renal cell carcinomas (RCCs), there are no previous studies about the value of multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) about this issue in the current literature. Materials and methods: A total of 863 consecutive patients (renal sinus fat invasion in 110 patients (12.7%)) from single institutions with surgically-confirmed renal cell carcinoma who underwent MDCT between 2010 and 2012 were included in this study. The area under the curves (AUCs) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to compare diagnostic performance. Reference standard was pathologic examination. Weighted κ statistics were used to measure the level of interobserver agreement. Multivariate logistic regression model was used to find the predictors for renal sinus fat invasion. Image analysis was first performed with axial-only CT images. A second analysis was then performed with both axial and coronal CT images. A qualitative analysis was then conducted by two reviewers who reached consensus regarding tumor size, decreased perfusion, tumor margin, vessel displacement, and lymph node metastasis. The reference standard was pathologic evaluation. Results: The AUCs of the ROC analysis were 0.881 and 0.922 for axial-only images and 0.889 and 0.902 for combined images in both readers. The AUC of tumor size was 0.884, a similar value to that of the reviewers. In multivariate analysis, tumor size, a linear-nodular or nodular type of fat infiltration, and an irregular tumor margin were independent predicting factors for perinephric fat invasion. Conclusion: MDCT shows relatively high diagnostic performance in detecting perinephric fat invasion of RCC but suffers from a relatively low PPV related to low prevalence of renal sinus fat invasion. Applying tumor size alone we could get similar diagnostic performance to those of radiologists. Tumor size, fat infiltration with a nodular appearance, and
Are Vancomycin Trough Concentrations of 15 to 20 mg/L Associated With Increased Attainment of an AUC/MIC ≥ 400 in Patients With Presumed MRSA Infection?
Hale, Cory M; Seabury, Robert W; Steele, Jeffrey M; Darko, William; Miller, Christopher D
To determine whether there is an association between higher vancomycin trough concentrations and attainment of a calculated area under the concentration-time curve (AUC)/minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ≥400. A retrospective analysis was conducted among vancomycin-treated adult patients with a positive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) culture. Attainment of a calculated AUC/MIC ≥400 was compared between patients with troughs in the reference range of 15 to 20 mg/L and those with troughs in the following ranges: 20 mg/L. Nephrotoxicity was assessed as a secondary outcome based on corrected average vancomycin troughs over 10 days of treatment. Overall, 226 patients were reviewed and 100 included. Relative to troughs ≥10, patients with vancomycin troughs AUC/MIC ≥400 (odds ratio [OR] 0.27, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.01-0.75). No difference was found in the attainment of an AUC/MIC ≥400 in patients with troughs of 10 to 14.9 mg/L and >20 mg/L when compared to patients with troughs of 15 to 20 mg/L. The mean corrected average vancomycin trough was higher in patients developing nephrotoxicity compared to those who did not (19.5 vs 14.5 mg/L, P AUC/MIC target relative to troughs of 10 to 14.9 mg/L but may increase nephrotoxicity risk.
REACH: impact on the US cosmetics industry?
Pouillot, Anne; Polla, Barbara; Polla, Ada
The Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and restriction of Chemicals (REACH) is a recent European regulation on chemical substances meant to protect human health and the environment. REACH imposes the "precautionary principle" where additional data and definitive action are required when uncertainty is identified. The cosmetics industry is only partially concerned by REACH: while the stages of registration and evaluation apply to cosmetics, those of authorization and restriction most likely will not, as cosmetic ingredients are already subject to regulation by various agencies and directives. REACH has potential benefits to the industry including the possibility of reassuring consumers and improving their image of chemicals and cosmetics. However, REACH also has potential disadvantages, mainly with regard to impeding innovation. The American cosmetics industry will be affected by REACH, because all US manufacturers who export substances to Europe will have to fully comply with REACH.
Proposing the Use of Partial AUC as an Adjunctive Measure in Establishing Bioequivalence Between Deltoid and Gluteal Administration of Long-Acting Injectable Antipsychotics.
Lee, Lik Hang N; Choi, Charles; Gershkovich, Pavel; Barr, Alasdair M; Honer, William G; Procyshyn, Ric M
The maximum plasma concentration (C max ) and the area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) are commonly used to establish bioequivalence between two formulations of the same oral medication. Similarly, these pharmacokinetic parameters have also been used to establish bioequivalence between two sites of administration for the same injectable formulation. However, these conventional methods of establishing bioequivalence are of limited use when comparing modified-release formulations of a drug, particularly those with rates of absorption that are amenable to change with the site of injection. Inherent differences in the rate of absorption can result in clinically significant differences in early exposure and drug response. Here, we propose the use of the partial AUC (pAUC) as a measure of early exposure to aid in the assessment of bioequivalence between the gluteal and the deltoid site of administration for long-acting injectable antipsychotics.
Has Athletic Performance Reached its Peak?
Berthelot, Geoffroy; Sedeaud, Adrien; Marck, Adrien; Antero-Jacquemin, Juliana; Schipman, Julien; Saulière, Guillaume; Marc, Andy; Desgorces, François-Denis; Toussaint, Jean-François
Limits to athletic performance have long been a topic of myth and debate. However, sport performance appears to have reached a state of stagnation in recent years, suggesting that the physical capabilities of humans and other athletic species, such as greyhounds and thoroughbreds, cannot progress indefinitely. Although the ultimate capabilities may be predictable, the exact path for the absolute maximal performance values remains difficult to assess and relies on technical innovations, sport regulation, and other parameters that depend on current societal and economic conditions. The aim of this literature review was to assess the possible plateau of top physical capabilities in various events and detail the historical backgrounds and sociocultural, anthropometrical, and physiological factors influencing the progress and regression of athletic performance. Time series of performances in Olympic disciplines, such as track and field and swimming events, from 1896 to 2012 reveal a major decrease in performance development. Such a saturation effect is simultaneous in greyhound, thoroughbred, and frog performances. The genetic condition, exhaustion of phenotypic pools, economic context, and the depletion of optimal morphological traits contribute to the observed limitation of physical capabilities. Present conditions prevailing, we approach absolute physical limits and endure a continued period of world record scarcity. Optional scenarios for further improvements will mostly depend on sport technology and modification competition rules.
The Internet and the Global Reach of EU law
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Kuner, Christopher Barth
and learning; international negotiation; coercion and conditionality; and blocking recognition of third country legal measures. The EU's actions in exercising its global reach implicate important normative issues, such as distinguishing between the furtherance of core EU legal values and the advancement...
Toxicological comments to the discussion about REACH.
Greim, Helmut; Arand, Michael; Autrup, Herman; Bolt, Hermann M; Bridges, James; Dybing, Erik; Glomot, Rémi; Foa, Vito; Schulte-Hermann, Rolf
It is the ultimate goal of the intended REACH process (Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals) of the European Union to identify substances of hazardous properties and to evaluate the risks of human and environmental exposure. During the last few months there has been a controversial discussion as to what extent in vitro studies and consideration of structure activity relationship provide sufficient information to waive repeated exposure studies. Industry as well as certain regulatory agencies or NGOs support this approach and propose that repeated dose studies may only be required beyond 100 t/a. From a toxicological point of view it has to be stressed that this discussion primarily considers the cost reduction and protection of animals, whereas protection of human health and the environment are secondary. In vitro studies only allow identification of specific hazardous properties which can be detected by the specific test system. Moreover, appropriate information on the dose response of adverse effects, identification of thresholds and NOELs that are essential for risk characterization cannot be obtained from these studies. Consequently, identification of all relevant hazardous properties and endpoints of adverse effects can only be determined in the intact animal by repeated dose studies such as 28-day or 90-day studies. In the absence of such information the hazard identification is incomplete and there is no basis for appropriate risk assessment of human exposure. Thus, any waiving of repeated dose studies in animals bears the probability of unforeseen effects in case of acute or continuous human exposure. From this the undersigning European Toxicologists conclude: 1. The intention of REACH is to identify hazardous properties in order that a reliable risk assessment can be made and measures taken to deal with chemicals posing a significant risk. 2. The recent debate has centered on ways in which the well established in vivo methods for risk
REACH: Evaluation Report and Executive Summary
Sibieta, Luke
REACH is a targeted reading support programme designed to improve reading accuracy and comprehension in pupils with reading difficulties in Years 7 and 8. It is based on research by the Centre for Reading and Language at York and is delivered by specially trained teaching assistants (TAs). This evaluation tested two REACH interventions, one based…
[Safe and effective administration of carboplatin-based chemotherapy in a patient undergoing hemodialysis with cancer of unknown primary by monitoring observed AUC of carboplatin-a case report].
Kondo, Masahiro; Kuroda, Junko; Ikai, Yoshitomo; Hayashi, Rumiko; Uegaki, Shiori; Yoshida, Tatsuya; Yoshida, Atsuhiro; Komatsu, Hirokazu; Kimura, Kazunori
Here we report a case of successful treatment with combination chemotherapy of carboplatin(CBDCA)and paclitaxel for a patient undergoing hemodialysis(HD)with cancer of unknown primary, conducted by monitoring the observed AUC of ultrafilterable CBDCA. CBDCA was administered at a dose of 125 mg on day 1 in each course, an amount which had been calculated by the Calvert formula(GFR: 0, target AUC: 5). HD was started at a point in time one hour after the completion of each CBDCA administration, and performed for 5 hours in each course. Blood samples were collected during the first 3 courses of chemotherapy to measure the plasma concentration of free-platinum. The observed AUCs(o-AUC)of CBDCA in the first, second and third courses were 3. 03, 3. 44 and 3. 50mg·min/mL, respectively. The o-AUC in the first course was lower than that in the second course. The o-AUC in the second course was nearly equal to that in the third course, while each o-AUC was below the target AUC(t-AUC). Partial response was achieved after two courses of the CBDCA and paclitaxel combination chemotherapy, with adverse events of Grade 3 neutropenia and Grade 3 peripheral neuropathy observed in each course after the second course of chemotherapy. o-AUC of CBDCA administered to HD patients can not only be below t-AUC, as in this case, but also oppositely above t-AUC in cases with different doses of CBDCA or HD settings. Our results suggest that the monitoring of o-AUC of CBDCA is useful when practicing CBDCA-based chemotherapy safely and effectively in cancer patients undergoing HD.
The database for reaching experiments and models.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ben Walker
Full Text Available Reaching is one of the central experimental paradigms in the field of motor control, and many computational models of reaching have been published. While most of these models try to explain subject data (such as movement kinematics, reaching performance, forces, etc. from only a single experiment, distinct experiments often share experimental conditions and record similar kinematics. This suggests that reaching models could be applied to (and falsified by multiple experiments. However, using multiple datasets is difficult because experimental data formats vary widely. Standardizing data formats promises to enable scientists to test model predictions against many experiments and to compare experimental results across labs. Here we report on the development of a new resource available to scientists: a database of reaching called the Database for Reaching Experiments And Models (DREAM. DREAM collects both experimental datasets and models and facilitates their comparison by standardizing formats. The DREAM project promises to be useful for experimentalists who want to understand how their data relates to models, for modelers who want to test their theories, and for educators who want to help students better understand reaching experiments, models, and data analysis.
Enhancing US Operational Reach in Southeast Asia
National Research Council Canada - National Science Library
Hitchcock, David
.... While this treat continues to exist, the US Pacific Command (PACOM) must also pursue a neat term methodology to expand its operational reach and ability to respond to contingencies throughout the East Asian littoral, especially within Southeast Asia...
Reaching the Overlooked Student in Physical Education
Esslinger, Keri; Esslinger, Travis; Bagshaw, Jarad
This article describes the use of live action role-playing, or "LARPing," as a non-traditional activity that has the potential to reach students who are not interested in traditional physical education.
Compact muon solenoid magnet reaches full field
Scientist of the U.S. Department of Energy in Fermilab and collaborators of the US/CMS project announced that the world's largest superconducting solenoid magnet has reached full field in tests at CERN. (1 apge)
Development of a high-throughput in vitro assay using a novel Caco-2/rat hepatocyte system for the prediction of oral plasma area under the concentration versus time curve (AUC) in rats.
Cheng, K-C; Li, Cheng; Hsieh, Yunsheng; Montgomery, Diana; Liu, Tongtong; White, Ronald E
Previously, we have shown that a novel Caco-2/human hepatocyte system is a useful model for the prediction of oral bioavailability in humans. In this study, we attempted to use a similar system in a high-throughput screening mode for the selection of new compound entities (NCE) in drug discovery. A total of 72 compounds randomly selected from three different chemotypes were dosed orally in rats. In vivo plasma area under the concentration versus time curve (AUC) from 0-6 h of the parent compound was determined. The same compounds were also tested in the Caco-2/rat hepatocyte system. In vitro AUC from 0-3 h in the Caco-2 rat hepatocyte system was determined. The predictive usefulness of the Caco-2/rat hepatocyte system was evaluated by comparing the in vivo plasma AUC and the in vitro AUC. Linear regression analysis showed a reasonable correlation (R2 = 0.5) between the in vivo AUC and the in vitro AUC. Using 0.4 microM h in vivo AUC as a cut-off, compounds were categorized as either low or high AUC. The in vitro AUC successfully matched the corresponding in vivo category for sixty-three out of seventy-two compounds. The results presented in this study suggest that the Caco-2/rat hepatocyte system may be used as a high-throughput screen in drug discovery for pharmacokinetic behaviors of compounds in rats.
Valuing Essays: Essaying Values
Badley, Graham
The essay regularly comes under attack. It is criticised for being rigidly linear rather than flexible and reflective. I first challenge this view by examining reasons why the essay should be valued as an important genre. Secondly, I propose that in using the essay form students and academics necessarily exemplify their own critical values. Essays…
Do working environment interventions reach shift workers?
Nabe-Nielsen, Kirsten; Jørgensen, Marie Birk; Garde, Anne Helene; Clausen, Thomas
Shift workers are exposed to more physical and psychosocial stressors in the working environment as compared to day workers. Despite the need for targeted prevention, it is likely that workplace interventions less frequently reach shift workers. The aim was therefore to investigate whether the reach of workplace interventions varied between shift workers and day workers and whether such differences could be explained by the quality of leadership exhibited at different times of the day. We used questionnaire data from 5361 female care workers in the Danish eldercare sector. The questions concerned usual working hours, quality of leadership, and self-reported implementation of workplace activities aimed at stress reduction, reorganization of the working hours, and participation in improvements of working procedures or qualifications. Compared with day workers, shift workers were less likely to be reached by workplace interventions. For example, night workers less frequently reported that they had got more flexibility (OR 0.5; 95 % CI 0.3-0.7) or that they had participated in improvements of the working procedures (OR 0.6; 95 % CI 0.5-0.8). Quality of leadership to some extent explained the lack of reach of interventions especially among fixed evening workers. In the light of the evidence of shift workers' stressful working conditions, we suggest that future studies focus on the generalizability of results of the present study and on how to reach this group and meet their needs when designing and implementing workplace interventions.
Guiding Warfare to Reach Sustainable Peace
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Vestenskov, David; Drewes, Line
The conference report Guiding Warfare to Reach Sustainable Peace constitutes the primary outcome of the conference It is based on excerpts from the conference presenters and workshop discussions. Furthermore, the report contains policy recommendations and key findings, with the ambition of develo......The conference report Guiding Warfare to Reach Sustainable Peace constitutes the primary outcome of the conference It is based on excerpts from the conference presenters and workshop discussions. Furthermore, the report contains policy recommendations and key findings, with the ambition...... of developing best practices in the education and implementation of IHL in capacity building of security forces....
Do working environment interventions reach shift workers?
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Nabe-Nielsen, Kirsten; Jørgensen, Marie Birk; Garde, Anne Helene
PURPOSE: Shift workers are exposed to more physical and psychosocial stressors in the working environment as compared to day workers. Despite the need for targeted prevention, it is likely that workplace interventions less frequently reach shift workers. The aim was therefore to investigate whether...... the reach of workplace interventions varied between shift workers and day workers and whether such differences could be explained by the quality of leadership exhibited at different times of the day. METHODS: We used questionnaire data from 5361 female care workers in the Danish eldercare sector...
Hidden Hydride Transfer as a Decisive Mechanistic Step in the Reactions of the Unligated Gold Carbide [AuC]+ with Methane under Ambient Conditions.
Li, Jilai; Zhou, Shaodong; Schlangen, Maria; Weiske, Thomas; Schwarz, Helmut
The reactivity of the cationic gold carbide [AuC] + (bearing an electrophilic carbon atom) towards methane has been studied using Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS). The product pairs generated, that is, Au + /C 2 H 4 , [Au(C 2 H 2 )] + /H 2 , and [C 2 H 3 ] + /AuH, point to the breaking and making of C-H, C-C, and H-H bonds under single-collision conditions. The mechanisms of these rather efficient reactions have been elucidated by high-level quantum-chemical calculations. As a major result, based on molecular orbital and NBO-based charge analysis, an unprecedented hydride transfer from methane to the carbon atom of [AuC] + has been identified as a key step. Also, the origin of this novel mechanistic scenario has been addressed. The mechanistic insights derived from this study may provide guidance for the rational design of carbon-based catalysts. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.
Reaching Reluctant Students: Insights from Torey Hayden.
Marlowe, Mike
Illustrates principles of reaching students who fight or avoid adults by using examples drawn from the writings of Torey Hayden. Presents ten concepts that can serve as guidelines for building relationships with resistant children, and gives excerpts from Hayden's works to illustrate each concept. Demonstrates how books provide teachers with…
ATLAS Barrel Toroid magnet reached nominal field
 On 9 November the barrel toroid magnet reached its nominal field of 4 teslas, with an electrical current of 21 000 amperes (21 kA) passing through the eight superconducting coils as shown on this graph
Inactivation of Parietal Reach Region Affects Reaching But Not Saccade Choices in Internally Guided Decisions.
Christopoulos, Vassilios N; Bonaiuto, James; Kagan, Igor; Andersen, Richard A
The posterior parietal cortex (PPC) has traditionally been considered important for awareness, spatial perception, and attention. However, recent findings provide evidence that the PPC also encodes information important for making decisions. These findings have initiated a running argument of whether the PPC is critically involved in decision making. To examine this issue, we reversibly inactivated the parietal reach region (PRR), the area of the PPC that is specialized for reaching movements, while two monkeys performed a memory-guided reaching or saccade task. The task included choices between two equally rewarded targets presented simultaneously in opposite visual fields. Free-choice trials were interleaved with instructed trials, in which a single cue presented in the peripheral visual field defined the reach and saccade target unequivocally. We found that PRR inactivation led to a strong reduction of contralesional choices, but only for reaches. On the other hand, saccade choices were not affected by PRR inactivation. Importantly, reaching and saccade movements to single instructed targets remained largely intact. These results cannot be explained as an effector-nonspecific deficit in spatial attention or awareness, since the temporary "lesion" had an impact only on reach choices. Hence, the PPR is a part of a network for reach decisions and not just reach planning. There has been an ongoing debate on whether the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) represents only spatial awareness, perception, and attention or whether it is also involved in decision making for actions. In this study we explore whether the parietal reach region (PRR), the region of the PPC that is specialized for reaches, is involved in the decision process. We inactivated the PRR while two monkeys performed reach and saccade choices between two targets presented simultaneously in both hemifields. We found that inactivation affected only the reach choices, while leaving saccade choices intact
Improving exposure scenario definitions within REACH
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Lee, Jihyun; Pizzol, Massimo; Thomsen, Marianne
In recent years, the paradigm of chemical management system has changed from being toxicity oriented and media based to being risk oriented and receptor based. This trend is evident not only regarding environmental quality standards, but also for industrial chemical regulations. Political...... instruments to support a precautionary chemicals management system and to protect receptor's health have also been increasing. Since 2007, the European Union adopted REACH (the Regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals): REACH makes industry responsible for assessing...... and managing the risks posed by industrial chemicals and providing appropriate safety information to their users (EC, 2007). However, to ensure a high level of protection of human health and the environment, there is a need to consider 'aggregate exposure' including background exposures from environment which...
Does workplace health promotion reach shift workers?
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Nabe-Nielsen, Kirsten; Garde, Anne Helene; Clausen, Thomas
OBJECTIVES: One reason for health disparities between shift and day workers may be that workplace health promotion does not reach shift workers to the same extent as it reaches day workers. This study aimed to investigate the association between shift work and the availability of and participation...... in workplace health promotion. METHODS: We used cross-sectional questionnaire data from a large representative sample of all employed people in Denmark. We obtained information on the availability of and participation in six types of workplace health promotion. We also obtained information on working hours, ie......). RESULTS: In the general working population, fixed evening and fixed night workers, and employees working variable shifts including night work reported a higher availability of health promotion, while employees working variable shifts without night work reported a lower availability of health promotion...
Olefins and chemical regulation in Europe: REACH.
Penman, Mike; Banton, Marcy; Erler, Steffen; Moore, Nigel; Semmler, Klaus
REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) is the European Union's chemical regulation for the management of risk to human health and the environment (European Chemicals Agency, 2006). This regulation entered into force in June 2007 and required manufacturers and importers to register substances produced in annual quantities of 1000 tonnes or more by December 2010, with further deadlines for lower tonnages in 2013 and 2018. Depending on the type of registration, required information included the substance's identification, the hazards of the substance, the potential exposure arising from the manufacture or import, the identified uses of the substance, and the operational conditions and risk management measures applied or recommended to downstream users. Among the content developed to support this information were Derived No-Effect Levels or Derived Minimal Effect Levels (DNELs/DMELs) for human health hazard assessment, Predicted No Effect Concentrations (PNECs) for environmental hazard assessment, and exposure scenarios for exposure and risk assessment. Once registered, substances may undergo evaluation by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) or Member State authorities and be subject to requests for additional information or testing as well as additional risk reduction measures. To manage the REACH registration and related activities for the European olefins and aromatics industry, the Lower Olefins and Aromatics REACH Consortium was formed in 2008 with administrative and technical support provided by Penman Consulting. A total of 135 substances are managed by this group including 26 individual chemical registrations (e.g. benzene, 1,3-butadiene) and 13 categories consisting of 5-26 substances. This presentation will describe the content of selected registrations prepared for 2010 in addition to the significant post-2010 activities. Beyond REACH, content of the registrations may also be relevant to other European activities, for
Performance reach in the LHC for 2012
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Arduini, G.
Based on the 2011 experience and Machine Development study results, the performance reach of the LHC with 25 and 50 ns beams will be addressed for operation at 3.5 and 4 TeV. The possible scrubbing scenarios and potential intensity limitations resulting from vacuum, heating will be taken into account wherever possible. The paper mainly covers the performance of the two high luminosity regions in IR1 and IR5. (author)
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Sørensen, Asger
parts of business ethics given prominence to especially one term, namely `value'. The question that interests me is the following: What does the articulation of ethics and morality in terms of values mean for ethics and morality as such. Or, to put the question in a more fashionably way: What......As a social scientist of ethics and morality, Luhmann has noticed the ethical wave that has recently swept across the western world, and states that this particular kind of wave seems to have a wavelength of about one hundred years (cf. Luhmann 1989: 9 ff.). Even though the frequency...... and the regularity of such a phenomenon is both hard to verify and, if true, difficult to explain, it seems fair to say that since the Enlightenment, an approaching fin-de-siecle has brought an increased interest in matters concerning morality and ethics.1 The present peak has in public-political discourse and some...
Long-term follow-up and salvage surgery in patients with T2N0M0 squamous cell carcinoma of the glottic larynx who received concurrent chemoradiation therapy with carboplatin (CBDCA) - AUC 1.5 vs AUC 2.0.
Furusaka, Tohru; Matsuda, Hiroshi; Saito, Tsutomu; Katsura, Yoshihisa; Ikeda, Minoru
Patients who received concurrent chemoradiation therapy with carboplatin were followed up on a long-term basis. In 25 patients treated with carboplatin at an AUC of 2.0 mg/ml, the complete response (CR), 10-year survival, and 10-year larynx preservation rates were 96.0%, 91.1%, and 75.2%, respectively, and the safety margin for partial laryngectomy was 4 mm from the gross tumor. To perform long-term follow-up of the therapeutic outcomes of concurrent chemoradiation therapy and salvage surgery to determine the additive and synergistic effects of anticancer drugs combined with chemoradiotherapy. Fifty male patients (aged 33-76 years) with untreated T2N0M0 squamous cell carcinoma of the glottic larynx were included. Carboplatin was intravenously administered once a week for 4 weeks. Radiotherapy was delivered by an external beam of 4 MV linac X-ray (total = 66 Gy). The AUC 1.5 combination group showed overall response, CR, 5-year survival, 10-year survival, 5-year larynx preservation, and 10-year larynx preservation rates of 100.0%, 68.0%, 83.4%, 77.0%, 75.2%, and 75.2%, respectively. The AUC 2.0 combination group showed corresponding rates of 100%, 96.0%, 95.7%, 91.1%, 82.9%, and 72.7%, respectively. The most common side effects of grade 3 or more were leukopenia, neutropenia, and mucositis (stomatitis), and all were reversible. Thirteen patients (52.0%) in the AUC 1.5 combination group and nine patients (36.0%) in the AUC 2.0 combination group required salvage surgery. Histologically, concurrent chemoradiation therapy with carboplatin caused more severe cancer tissue degeneration. Pathological examinations indicated that the safety margin for partial laryngectomy was 4 mm from the gross tumor.
Modeling the UO2 ex-AUC pellet process and predicting the fuel rod temperature distribution under steady-state operating condition
Hung, Nguyen Trong; Thuan, Le Ba; Thanh, Tran Chi; Nhuan, Hoang; Khoai, Do Van; Tung, Nguyen Van; Lee, Jin-Young; Jyothi, Rajesh Kumar
Modeling uranium dioxide pellet process from ammonium uranyl carbonate - derived uranium dioxide powder (UO2 ex-AUC powder) and predicting fuel rod temperature distribution were reported in the paper. Response surface methodology (RSM) and FRAPCON-4.0 code were used to model the process and to predict the fuel rod temperature under steady-state operating condition. Fuel rod design of AP-1000 designed by Westinghouse Electric Corporation, in these the pellet fabrication parameters are from the study, were input data for the code. The predictive data were suggested the relationship between the fabrication parameters of UO2 pellets and their temperature image in nuclear reactor.
Riparian Vegetation Mapping Along the Hanford Reach
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
During the biological survey and inventory of the Hanford Site conducted in the mid-1990s (1995 and 1996), preliminary surveys of the riparian vegetation were conducted along the Hanford Reach. These preliminary data were reported to The Nature Conservancy (TNC), but were not included in any TNC reports to DOE or stakeholders. During the latter part of FY2001, PNNL contracted with SEE Botanical, the parties that performed the original surveys in the mid 1990s, to complete the data summaries and mapping associated with the earlier survey data. Those data sets were delivered to PNNL and the riparian mapping by vegetation type for the Hanford Reach is being digitized during the first quarter of FY2002. These mapping efforts provide the information necessary to create subsequent spatial data layers to describe the riparian zone according to plant functional types (trees, shrubs, grasses, sedges, forbs). Quantification of the riparian zone by vegetation types is important to a number of DOE'S priority issues including modeling contaminant transport and uptake in the near-riverine environment and the determination of ecological risk. This work included the identification of vegetative zones along the Reach by changes in dominant plant species covering the shoreline from just to the north of the 300 Area to China Bar near Vernita. Dominant and indicator species included Agropyron dasytachyudA. smithii, Apocynum cannabinum, Aristida longiseta, Artemisia campestris ssp. borealis var scouleriana, Artemisa dracunculus, Artemisia lindleyana, Artemisia tridentata, Bromus tectorum, Chrysothamnus nauseosus, Coreopsis atkinsoniana. Eleocharis palustris, Elymus cinereus, Equisetum hyemale, Eriogonum compositum, Juniperus trichocarpa, Phalaris arundinacea, Poa compressa. Salk exigua, Scirpus acutus, Solidago occidentalis, Sporobolus asper,and Sporobolus cryptandrus. This letter report documents the data received, the processing by PNNL staff, and additional data gathered in FY2002
Luminosity performance reach after LS1
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Herr, W.
Based on past experience (2010/2011), in particular expected limitations from beam-beam effects, and taking into account the expected beam quality from the LHC injectors, the peak and integrated luminosity at top energy is discussed for different scenarios (e.g. bunch spacing, beta*). In particular it will be shown which are the key parameters to reach the nominal luminosity and it is also shown that peak luminosities two times larger than nominal (or higher) are possible. Possible test in 2012 are discussed
City Reach Code Technical Support Document
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Athalye, Rahul A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Chen, Yan [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Zhang, Jian [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Liu, Bing [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Frankel, Mark [New Buildings Inst., Portland, OR (United States); Lyles, Mark [New Buildings Inst., Portland, OR (United States)
This report describes and analyzes a set of energy efficiency measures that will save 20% energy over ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2013. The measures will be used to formulate a Reach Code for cities aiming to go beyond national model energy codes. A coalition of U.S. cities together with other stakeholders wanted to facilitate the development of voluntary guidelines and standards that can be implemented in stages at the city level to improve building energy efficiency. The coalition's efforts are being supported by the U.S. Department of Energy via Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and in collaboration with the New Buildings Institute.
Can donated media placements reach intended audiences?
Cooper, Crystale Purvis; Gelb, Cynthia A; Chu, Jennifer; Polonec, Lindsey
Donated media placements for public service announcements (PSAs) can be difficult to secure, and may not always reach intended audiences. Strategies used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Screen for Life: National Colorectal Cancer Action Campaign (SFL) to obtain donated media placements include producing a diverse mix of high-quality PSAs, co-branding with state and tribal health agencies, securing celebrity involvement, monitoring media trends to identify new distribution opportunities, and strategically timing the release of PSAs. To investigate open-ended recall of PSAs promoting colorectal cancer screening, CDC conducted 12 focus groups in three U.S. cities with men and women either nearing age 50 years, when screening is recommended to begin, or aged 50-75 years who were not in compliance with screening guidelines. In most focus groups, multiple participants recalled exposure to PSAs promoting colorectal cancer screening, and most of these individuals reported having seen SFL PSAs on television, in transit stations, or on the sides of public buses. Some participants reported exposure to SFL PSAs without prompting from the moderator, as they explained how they learned about the disease. Several participants reported learning key campaign messages from PSAs, including that colorectal cancer screening should begin at age 50 years and screening can find polyps so they can be removed before becoming cancerous. Donated media placements can reach and educate mass audiences, including millions of U.S. adults who have not been screened appropriately for colorectal cancer.
Efficacy of REACH Forgiveness across cultures.
Lin, Yin; Worthington, Everett L; Griffin, Brandon J; Greer, Chelsea L; Opare-Henaku, Annabella; Lavelock, Caroline R; Hook, Joshua N; Ho, Man Yee; Muller, Holly
This study investigates the efficacy of the 6-hour REACH Forgiveness intervention among culturally diverse undergraduates. Female undergraduates (N = 102) and foreign extraction (46.2%) and domestic (43.8%) students in the United States were randomly assigned to immediate treatment or waitlist conditions. Treatment efficacy and the effect of culture on treatment response were assessed using measures of emotional and decisional forgiveness across 3 time periods. Students in the treatment condition reported greater improvement in emotional forgiveness, but not decisional forgiveness, relative to those in the waitlist condition. Gains were maintained at a 1-week follow-up. Although culture did not moderate the effect of treatment, a main effect of culture on emotional forgiveness and marginally significant interaction effect of culture on decisional forgiveness were found. The REACH Forgiveness intervention was efficacious for college students from different cultural backgrounds when conducted in the United States. However, some evidence may warrant development of culturally adapted forgiveness interventions. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Application of multi-SNP approaches Bayesian LASSO and AUC-RF to detect main effects of inflammatory-gene variants associated with bladder cancer risk.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Evangelina López de Maturana
Full Text Available The relationship between inflammation and cancer is well established in several tumor types, including bladder cancer. We performed an association study between 886 inflammatory-gene variants and bladder cancer risk in 1,047 cases and 988 controls from the Spanish Bladder Cancer (SBC/EPICURO Study. A preliminary exploration with the widely used univariate logistic regression approach did not identify any significant SNP after correcting for multiple testing. We further applied two more comprehensive methods to capture the complexity of bladder cancer genetic susceptibility: Bayesian Threshold LASSO (BTL, a regularized regression method, and AUC-Random Forest, a machine-learning algorithm. Both approaches explore the joint effect of markers. BTL analysis identified a signature of 37 SNPs in 34 genes showing an association with bladder cancer. AUC-RF detected an optimal predictive subset of 56 SNPs. 13 SNPs were identified by both methods in the total population. Using resources from the Texas Bladder Cancer study we were able to replicate 30% of the SNPs assessed. The associations between inflammatory SNPs and bladder cancer were reexamined among non-smokers to eliminate the effect of tobacco, one of the strongest and most prevalent environmental risk factor for this tumor. A 9 SNP-signature was detected by BTL. Here we report, for the first time, a set of SNP in inflammatory genes jointly associated with bladder cancer risk. These results highlight the importance of the complex structure of genetic susceptibility associated with cancer risk.
An exposure-response analysis based on rifampin suggests CYP3A4 induction is driven by AUC: an in vitro investigation.
Chang, Cheng; Yang, Xin; Fahmi, Odette A; Riccardi, Keith A; Di, Li; Obach, R Scott
1. Induction is an important mechanism contributing to drug-drug interactions. It is most commonly evaluated in the human hepatocyte assay over 48-h or 72-h incubation period. However, whether the overall exposure (i.e. Area Under the Curve (AUC) or C ave ) or maximum exposure (i.e. C max ) of the inducer is responsible for the magnitude of subsequent induction has not been thoroughly investigated. Additionally, in vitro induction assays are typically treated as static systems, which could lead to inaccurate induction potency estimation. Hence, European Medicines Agency (EMA) guidance now specifies quantitation of drug levels in the incubation. 2. This work treated the typical in vitro evaluation of rifampin induction as an in vivo system by generating various target engagement profiles, measuring free rifampin concentration over 3 d of incubation and evaluating the impact of these factors on final induction response. 3. This rifampin-based analysis demonstrates that the induction process is driven by time-averaged target engagement (i.e. AUC-driven). Additionally, depletion of rifampin in the incubation medium over 3 d as well as non-specific/specific binding were observed. 4. These findings should help aid the discovery of clinical candidates with minimal induction liability and further expand our knowledge in the quantitative translatability of in vitro induction assays.
Ammonium uranyl carbonate (AUC) based process of simultaneous partitioning and reconversion for uranium and plutonium in fast breeder reactors (FBRs) fuel reprocessing
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Govindan, P.; Palamalai, A.; Vijayan, K.S.; Subba Rao, R.V.; Venkataraman, M.; Natarajan, R.
Ammonium uranyl carbonate (AUC) based process of simultaneous partitioning and reconversion for uranium and plutonium is developed for the recovery of uranium and plutonium present in spent fuel of fast breeder reactors (FBRs). Effect of pH on the solubility of carbonates of uranium and plutonium in ammonium carbonate medium is studied. Effect of mole ratios of uranium and plutonium as a function of uranium and plutonium concentration at pH 8.0-8.5 for effective separation of uranium and plutonium to each other is studied. Feasibility of reconversion of plutonium in carbonate medium is also studied. The studies indicate that uranium is selectively precipitated as AUC at pH 8.0-8.5 by adding ammonium carbonate solution leaving plutonium in the filtrate. Plutonium in the filtrate after acidified with concentrated nitric acid could also be precipitated as carbonate at pH 6.5-7.0 by adding ammonium carbonate solution. A flow sheet is proposed and evaluated for partitioning and reconversion of uranium and plutonium simultaneously in the FBR fuel reprocessing. (author)
Dynamical coupling of PBPK/PD and AUC-based toxicity models for arsenic in tilapia Oreochromis mossambicus from blackfoot disease area in Taiwan
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Liao, C.-M.; Liang, H.-M.; Chen, B.-C.; Singh Sher; Tsai, J.-W.; Chou, Y.-H.; Lin, W.-T.
A physiologically based pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic (PBPK/PD) models were developed for arsenic (As) in tilapia Oreochromis mossambicus from blackfoot disease area in Taiwan. The PBPK/PD model structure consisted of muscle, gill, gut wall, alimentary canal, and liver, which were interconnected by blood circulation. We integrate the target organ concentrations and dynamic response describing uptake, metabolism, and disposition of As and the associated area-under-curve (AUC)-based toxicological dynamics following an acute exposure. The model validations were compared against the field observations from real tilapia farms and previously published uptake/depuration experimental data, indicating that predicted and measured As concentrations in major organs of tilapia were in good agreement. The model was utilized to reasonably simulate and construct a dose-dependent dynamic response between mortality effect and equilibrium target organ concentrations. Model simulations suggest that tilapia gills may serve as a surrogate sensitive biomarker of short-term exposure to As. This integrated As PBPK/PD/AUC model quantitatively estimates target organ concentration and dynamic response in tilapia and is a strong framework for future waterborne metal model development and for refining a biologically-based risk assessment for exposure of aquatic species to waterborne metals under a variety of scenarios. - Integrated toxicity models can identify dynamic responses of fish to arsenic
Dynamical coupling of PBPK/PD and AUC-based toxicity models for arsenic in tilapia Oreochromis mossambicus from blackfoot disease area in Taiwan
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Liao, C.-M. [Ecotoxicological Modeling Center, Department of Bioenvironmental Systems Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan 10617 (China)]. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com; Liang, H.-M. [Ecotoxicological Modeling Center, Department of Bioenvironmental Systems Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan 10617 (China); Chen, B.-C. [Department of Post-Modern Agriculture, Mingdao University, Changhua, Taiwan 52345 (China); Singh Sher [Center of Genomics Medicine, School of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan 10617 (China); Tsai, J.-W. [Ecotoxicological Modeling Center, Department of Bioenvironmental Systems Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan 10617 (China); Chou, Y.-H. [Ecotoxicological Modeling Center, Department of Bioenvironmental Systems Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan 10617 (China); Lin, W.-T. [Environment Change Research Center, Academia Sinica, Nankang, Taipei, Taiwan 11517 (China)
A physiologically based pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic (PBPK/PD) models were developed for arsenic (As) in tilapia Oreochromis mossambicus from blackfoot disease area in Taiwan. The PBPK/PD model structure consisted of muscle, gill, gut wall, alimentary canal, and liver, which were interconnected by blood circulation. We integrate the target organ concentrations and dynamic response describing uptake, metabolism, and disposition of As and the associated area-under-curve (AUC)-based toxicological dynamics following an acute exposure. The model validations were compared against the field observations from real tilapia farms and previously published uptake/depuration experimental data, indicating that predicted and measured As concentrations in major organs of tilapia were in good agreement. The model was utilized to reasonably simulate and construct a dose-dependent dynamic response between mortality effect and equilibrium target organ concentrations. Model simulations suggest that tilapia gills may serve as a surrogate sensitive biomarker of short-term exposure to As. This integrated As PBPK/PD/AUC model quantitatively estimates target organ concentration and dynamic response in tilapia and is a strong framework for future waterborne metal model development and for refining a biologically-based risk assessment for exposure of aquatic species to waterborne metals under a variety of scenarios. - Integrated toxicity models can identify dynamic responses of fish to arsenic.
AUC/MIC Pharmacodynamic Target Is Not a Good Predictor of Vancomycin Efficacy in Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Experimental Endocarditis.
Castañeda, Ximena; García-de-la-Mària, Cristina; Gasch, Oriol; Pericas, Juan M; Armero, Yolanda; Soy, Dolors; García-González, Javier; Falces, Carlos; Ninot, Salvador; Almela, Manel; Ambrosioni, Juan; Quintana, Eduardo; Vidal, Barbara; Fuster, David; Llopis, Jaume; Soto, Sara; Moreno, Asuncion; Marco, Francesc; Miró, Jose M
The aim of this in vivo study was to compare the efficacy of vancomycin at standard doses (VAN-SD) to that of VAN at adjusted doses (VAN-AD) in achieving a VAN area under the curve/MIC ratio (AUC/MIC) of ≥400 against three methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains with different microdilution VAN MICs in an experimental endocarditis model. The valve vegetation bacterial counts after 48 h of VAN therapy were compared, and no differences were observed between the two treatment groups for any of the three strains tested. Overall, for VAN-SD and VAN-AD, the rates of sterile vegetations were 15/45 (33.3%) and 21/49 (42.8%) ( P = 0.343), while the medians (interquartile ranges [IQRs]) for log 10 CFU/g of vegetation were 2 (0 to 6.9) and 2 (0 to 4.5) ( P = 0.384), respectively. In conclusion, this VAN AUC/MIC pharmacodynamic target was not a good predictor of vancomycin efficacy in MRSA experimental endocarditis. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Microbiology.
Riparian Vegetation Mapping Along the Hanford Reach
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
During the biological survey and inventory of the Hanford Site conducted in the mid-1990s (1995 and 1996), preliminary surveys of the riparian vegetation were conducted along the Hanford Reach. These preliminary data were reported to The Nature Conservancy (TNC), but were not included in any TNC reports to DOE or stakeholders. During the latter part of FY2001, PNNL contracted with SEE Botanical, the parties that performed the original surveys in the mid 1990s, to complete the data summaries and mapping associated with the earlier survey data. Those data sets were delivered to PNNL and the riparian mapping by vegetation type for the Hanford Reach is being digitized during the first quarter of FY2002. These mapping efforts provide the information necessary to create subsequent spatial data layers to describe the riparian zone according to plant functional types (trees, shrubs, grasses, sedges, forbs). Quantification of the riparian zone by vegetation types is important to a number of DOE'S priority issues including modeling contaminant transport and uptake in the near-riverine environment and the determination of ecological risk. This work included the identification of vegetative zones along the Reach by changes in dominant plant species covering the shoreline from just to the north of the 300 Area to China Bar near Vernita. Dominant and indicator species included Agropyron dasytachyudA. smithii, Apocynum cannabinum, Aristida longiseta, Artemisia campestris ssp. borealis var scouleriana, Artemisa dracunculus, Artemisia lindleyana, Artemisia tridentata, Bromus tectorum, Chrysothamnus nauseosus, Coreopsis atkinsoniana. Eleocharis palustris, Elymus cinereus, Equisetum hyemale, Eriogonum compositum, Juniperus trichocarpa, Phalaris arundinacea, Poa compressa. Salk exigua, Scirpus acutus, Solidago occidentalis, Sporobolus asper,and Sporobolus cryptandrus. This letter report documents the data received, the processing by PNNL staff, and additional data gathered in FY
Reach and get capability in a computing environment
Bouchard, Ann M [Albuquerque, NM; Osbourn, Gordon C [Albuquerque, NM
A reach and get technique includes invoking a reach command from a reach location within a computing environment. A user can then navigate to an object within the computing environment and invoke a get command on the object. In response to invoking the get command, the computing environment is automatically navigated back to the reach location and the object copied into the reach location.
Unified communication to reach vulnerable mothers.
Tezcan, B; Von Rege, I; Henkson, H; Oteng-Ntim, E
The feasibility of using a mobile text to reach vulnerable patient groups was assessed in this study. A total of 121 pregnant or postnatal women were randomly asked to complete a questionnaire. The questionnaire was given to them in the antenatal clinic, postnatal ward, antenatal ward or in the day assessment unit at St Thomas' Hospital, London. The forms were collected and analysed using an Excel database. The results of this survey show that mobile technology is readily available for 97% of the obstetric population. In mothers from vulnerable groups and in mothers from deprived areas, 61% possessed 3rd generation mobile technology. The majority of mothers surveyed wanted their care supplemented by the use of their mobile phones.
Validity of an Interactive Functional Reach Test.
Galen, Sujay S; Pardo, Vicky; Wyatt, Douglas; Diamond, Andrew; Brodith, Victor; Pavlov, Alex
Videogaming platforms such as the Microsoft (Redmond, WA) Kinect(®) are increasingly being used in rehabilitation to improve balance performance and mobility. These gaming platforms do not have built-in clinical measures that offer clinically meaningful data. We have now developed software that will enable the Kinect sensor to assess a patient's balance using an interactive functional reach test (I-FRT). The aim of the study was to test the concurrent validity of the I-FRT and to establish the feasibility of implementing the I-FRT in a clinical setting. The concurrent validity of the I-FRT was tested among 20 healthy adults (mean age, 25.8±3.4 years; 14 women). The Functional Reach Test (FRT) was measured simultaneously by both the Kinect sensor using the I-FRT software and the Optotrak Certus(®) 3D motion-capture system (Northern Digital Inc., Waterloo, ON, Canada). The feasibility of implementing the I-FRT in a clinical setting was assessed by performing the I-FRT in 10 participants with mild balance impairments recruited from the outpatient physical therapy clinic (mean age, 55.8±13.5 years; four women) and obtaining their feedback using a NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) questionnaire. There was moderate to good agreement between FRT measures made by the two measurement systems. The greatest agreement between the two measurement system was found with the Kinect sensor placed at a distance of 2.5 m [intraclass correlation coefficient (2,k)=0.786; PNASA/TLX questionnaire. FRT measures made using the Kinect sensor I-FRT software provides a valid clinical measure that can be used with the gaming platforms.
Valuing the Accreditation Process
Bahr, Maria
The value of the National Association for Developmental Education (NADE) accreditation process is far-reaching. Not only do students and programs benefit from the process, but also the entire institution. Through data collection of student performance, analysis, and resulting action plans, faculty and administrators can work cohesively towards…
ESO telbib: Linking In and Reaching Out
Grothkopf, U.; Meakins, S.
Measuring an observatory's research output is an integral part of its science operations. Like many other observatories, ESO tracks scholarly papers that use observational data from ESO facilities and uses state-of-the-art tools to create, maintain, and further develop the Telescope Bibliography database (telbib). While telbib started out as a stand-alone tool mostly used to compile lists of papers, it has by now developed into a multi-faceted, interlinked system. The core of the telbib database is links between scientific papers and observational data generated by the La Silla Paranal Observatory residing in the ESO archive. This functionality has also been deployed for ALMA data. In addition, telbib reaches out to several other systems, including ESO press releases, the NASA ADS Abstract Service, databases at the CDS Strasbourg, and impact scores at Altmetric.com. We illustrate these features to show how the interconnected telbib system enhances the content of the database as well as the user experience.
Using New Media to Reach Broad Audiences
Gay, P. L.
The International Year of Astronomy New Media Working Group (IYA NMWG) has a singular mission: To flood the Internet with ways to learn about astronomy, interact with astronomers and astronomy content, and socially network with astronomy. Within each of these areas, we seek to build lasting programs and partnerships that will continue beyond 2009. Our weapon of choice is New Media. It is often easiest to define New Media by what it is not. Television, radio, print and their online redistribution of content are not New Media. Many forms of New Media start as user provided content and content infrastructures that answer that individual's creative whim in a way that is adopted by a broader audience. Classic examples include Blogs and Podcasts. This media is typically distributed through content specific websites and RSS feeds, which allow syndication. RSS aggregators (iTunes has audio and video aggregation abilities) allow subscribers to have content delivered to their computers automatically when they connect to the Internet. RSS technology is also being used in such creative ways as allowing automatically updating Google-maps that show the location of someone with an intelligent GPS system, and in sharing 100 word microblogs from anyone (Twitters) through a single feed. In this poster, we outline how the IYA NMWG plans to use New Media to reach target primary audiences of astronomy enthusiasts, image lovers, and amateur astronomers, as well as secondary audiences, including: science fiction fans, online gamers, and skeptics.
Media perspective - new opportunities for reaching audiences
Haswell, Katy
The world of media is experiencing a period of extreme and rapid change with the rise of internet television and the download generation. Many young people no longer watch standard TV. Instead, they go on-line, talking to friends and downloading pictures, videos, music clips to put on their own websites and watch/ listen to on their laptops and mobile phones. Gone are the days when TV controllers determined what you watched and when you watched it. Now the buzzword is IPTV, Internet Protocol Television, with companies such as JOOST offering hundreds of channels on a wide range of subjects, all of which you can choose to watch when and where you wish, on your high-def widescreen with stereo surround sound at home or on your mobile phone on the train. This media revolution is changing the way organisations get their message out. And it is encouraging companies such as advertising agencies to be creative about new ways of accessing audiences. The good news is that we have fresh opportunities to reach young people through internet-based media and material downloaded through tools such as games machines, as well as through the traditional media. And it is important for Europlanet to make the most of these new and exciting developments.
LEP Dismantling Reaches Half-Way Stage
LEP's last superconducting module leaves its home port... Just seven months into the operation, LEP dismantling is forging ahead. Two of the eight arcs which form the tunnel have already been emptied and the last of the accelerator's radiofrequency (RF) cavities has just been raised to the surface. The 160 people working on LEP dismantling have reason to feel pleased with their progress. All of the accelerator's 72 superconducting RF modules have already been brought to the surface, with the last one being extracted on 2nd May. This represents an important step in the dismantling process, as head of the project, John Poole, explains. 'This was the most delicate part of the project, because the modules are very big and they could only come out at one place', he says. The shaft at point 1.8 through which the RF cavity modules pass is 18 metres in diameter, while each module is 11.5 metres long. Some modules had to travel more than 10 kilometres to reach the shaft. ... is lifted up the PM 1.8 shaft, after a m...
CAST reaches milestone but keeps on searching
CERN Courier (september 2011 issue)
After eight years of searching for the emission of a dark matter candidate particle, the axion, from the Sun, the CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST) has fulfilled its original physics programme. Members of the CAST collaboration in July, together with dipole-based helioscope. CAST, the world's most sensitive axion helioscope, points a recycled prototype LHC dipole magnet at the Sun at dawn and dusk, looking for the conversion of axions to X-rays. It incorporates four state-of-the-art X-ray detectors: three Micromegas detectors and a pn-CCD imaging camera attached to a focusing X-ray telescope that was recovered from the German space programme (see CERN Courier April 2010). Over the years, CAST has operated with the magnet bores - the location of the axion conversion - in different conditions: first in vacuum, covering axion masses up to 20 meV/c2, and then with a buffer gas (4He and later 3He) at various densities, finally reaching the goal of 1.17 eV/c2 on 22 ...
Important ATLAS Forward Calorimeter Milestone Reached
Loch, P.
The ATLAS Forward Calorimeter working group has reached an important milestone in the production of their detectors. The mechanical assembly of the first electromagnetic module (FCal1C) has been completed at the University of Arizona on February 25, 2002, only ten days after the originally scheduled date. The photo shows the University of Arizona FCal group in the clean room, together with the assembled FCal1C module. The module consists of a stack of 18 round copper plates, each about one inch thick. Each plate is about 90 cm in diameter, and has 12260 precision-drilled holes in it, to accommodate the tube/rod electrode assembly. The machining of the plates, which was done at the Science Technology Center (STC) at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada, required high precision to allow for easy insertion of the electrode copper tube. The plates have been carefully cleaned at the University of Arizona, to remove any machining residue and metal flakes. This process alone took about eleven weeks. Exactly 122...
Estimation of chloroform inhalation dose by other routes based on the relationship of area under the blood concentration-time curve (AUC)-inhalation dose to chloroform distribution in the blood of rats.
Take, Makoto; Takeuchi, Tetsuya; Haresaku, Mitsuru; Matsumoto, Michiharu; Nagano, Kasuke; Yamamoto, Seigo; Takamura-Enya, Takeji; Fukushima, Shoji
The present study investigated the time-course changes of concentration of chloroform (CHCl3) in the blood during and after exposure of male rats to CHCl3 by inhalation. Increasing the dose of CHCl3 in the inhalation exposed groups caused a commensurate increase in the concentration of CHCl3 in the blood and the area under the blood concentration-time curve (AUC). There was good correlation (r = 0.988) between the inhalation dose and the AUC/kg body weight. Based on the AUC/kg body weight-inhalation dose curve and the AUC/kg body weight after oral administration, inhalation equivalent doses of orally administered CHCl3 were calculated. Calculation of inhalation equivalent doses allows the body burden due to CHCl3 by inhalation exposure and oral exposure to be directly compared. This type of comparison facilitates risk assessment in humans exposed to CHCl3 by different routes. Our results indicate that when calculating inhalation equivalent doses of CHCl3, it is critical to include the AUC from the exposure period in addition to the AUC after the end of the exposure period. Thus, studies which measure the concentration of volatile organic compounds in the blood during the inhalation exposure period are crucial. The data reported here makes an important contribution to the physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) database of CHCl3 in rodents.
Increased oral AUC of baicalin in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats due to the increased activity of intestinal beta-glucuronidase.
Liu, Li; Deng, Yuan-Xiong; Liang, Yan; Pang, Xiao-Yan; Liu, Xiao-Dong; Liu, Yao-Wu; Yang, Jian-Song; Xie, Lin; Wang, Guang-Ji
The purpose of the study was to investigate the pharmacokinetics of baicalin, a major bioactive component of Scutellariae radix, in diabetic conditions. The 4-week diabetic rats were induced by intraperitoneal administration of streptozotocin. Plasma concentrations of baicalin were measured following oral (200 mg/kg) or intravenous (12 mg/kg) administration. Everted intestinal transport, intestinal mucosal metabolism of baicalin and intestinal beta-glucuronidase activity were also investigated. It was found that the diabetic condition significantly increased the exposure of baicalin following oral doses (AUC 100.77 +/- 4.16 microg x h/mL in diabetic rats vs. 48.48 +/- 7.94 microg x h/mL in normal rats). In contrast, the diabetic condition significantly decreased the exposure of baicalin following intravenous doses (AUC 11.20 +/- 2.28 microg x h/mL in diabetic rats vs. 18.02 +/- 3.45 microg x h/mL in normal rats). We also found lower apparent permeability coefficients of baicalin in the ileum of diabetic rats (8.43 x 10 (-6) +/- 2.40 x 10 (-6) cm/s in diabetic rats vs. 5.21 x 10 (-5) +/- 1.55 x 10 (-5) cm/s in normal rats). Further studies showed that the diabetic condition enhanced the hydrolysis of baicalin to baicalein in intestinal mucosal, accompanied by an increase of beta-glucuronidase activity. All these results suggested that the higher oral exposure of baicalin in diabetic rats did not result from the decreased hepatic metabolism or increased intestinal absorption of baicalin. The enhancement of intestinal beta-glucuronidase activity may partly account for the higher exposure of baicalin in diabetic rats after oral administration. Copyright Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart . New York.
Planning of the Extended Reach well Dieksand 2; Planung der Extended Reach Bohrung Dieksand 2
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Frank, U.; Berners, H. [RWE-DEA AG, Hamburg (Germany). Drilling Team Mittelplate und Dieksand; Hadow, A.; Klop, G.; Sickinger, W. [Wintershall AG Erdoelwerke, Barnstdorf (Germany); Sudron, K.
The Mittelplate oil field is located 7 km offshore the town of Friedrichskoog. Reserves are estimated at 30 million tonnes of oil. At a production rate of 2,500 t/d, it will last about 33 years. The transport capacity of the offshore platform is limited, so that attempts were made to enhance production by constructing the extended reach borehole Dieksand 2. Details are presented. (orig.) [Deutsch] Das Erdoelfeld Mittelplate liegt am suedlichen Rand des Nationalparks Schleswig Holsteinisches Wattenmeer, ca. 7000 m westlich der Ortschaft Friedrichskoog. Die gewinnbaren Reserven betragen ca. 30 Millionen t Oel. Bei einer Foerderkapazitaet von 2.500 t/Tag betraegt die Foerderdauer ca. 33 Jahre. Aufgrund der begrenzten Transportkapazitaeten von der Insel, laesst sich durch zusaetzliche Bohrungen von der kuenstlichen Insel Mittelplate keine entscheidende Erhoehung der Foerderkapazitaet erzielen. Ab Sommer 1996 wurde erstmals die Moeglichkeit der Lagerstaettenerschliessung von Land untersucht. Ein im Mai 1997 in Hamburg etabliertes Drilling Team wurde mit der Aufgabe betraut, die Extended Reach Bohrung Dieksand 2 zu planen und abzuteufen. Die Planungsphasen fuer die Extended Reach Bohrung Dieksand 2 wurden aufgezeigt. Die fuer den Erfolg einer Extended Reach Bohrung wichtigen Planungsparameter wurden erlaeutert. Es wurden Wege gezeigt, wie bei diesem Projekt technische und geologische Risiken in der Planung mit beruecksichtigt und nach Beginn der Bohrung weiter bearbeitet werden koennen. (orig.)
Adaptive mixed reality rehabilitation improves quality of reaching movements more than traditional reaching therapy following stroke.
Duff, Margaret; Chen, Yinpeng; Cheng, Long; Liu, Sheng-Min; Blake, Paul; Wolf, Steven L; Rikakis, Thanassis
Adaptive mixed reality rehabilitation (AMRR) is a novel integration of motion capture technology and high-level media computing that provides precise kinematic measurements and engaging multimodal feedback for self-assessment during a therapeutic task. We describe the first proof-of-concept study to compare outcomes of AMRR and traditional upper-extremity physical therapy. Two groups of participants with chronic stroke received either a month of AMRR therapy (n = 11) or matched dosing of traditional repetitive task therapy (n = 10). Participants were right handed, between 35 and 85 years old, and could independently reach to and at least partially grasp an object in front of them. Upper-extremity clinical scale scores and kinematic performances were measured before and after treatment. Both groups showed increased function after therapy, demonstrated by statistically significant improvements in Wolf Motor Function Test and upper-extremity Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) scores, with the traditional therapy group improving significantly more on the FMA. However, only participants who received AMRR therapy showed a consistent improvement in kinematic measurements, both for the trained task of reaching to grasp a cone and the untrained task of reaching to push a lighted button. AMRR may be useful in improving both functionality and the kinematics of reaching. Further study is needed to determine if AMRR therapy induces long-term changes in movement quality that foster better functional recovery.
Can coronal hole spicules reach coronal temperatures?
Madjarska, M. S.; Vanninathan, K.; Doyle, J. G.
Aims: The present study aims to provide observational evidence of whether coronal hole spicules reach coronal temperatures. Methods: We combine multi-instrument co-observations obtained with the SUMER/SoHO and with the EIS/SOT/XRT/Hinode. Results: The analysed three large spicules were found to be comprised of numerous thin spicules that rise, rotate, and descend simultaneously forming a bush-like feature. Their rotation resembles the untwisting of a large flux rope. They show velocities ranging from 50 to 250 kms-1. We clearly associated the red- and blue-shifted emissions in transition region lines not only with rotating but also with rising and descending plasmas. Our main result is that these spicules although very large and dynamic, are not present in the spectral lines formed at temperatures above 300 000 K. Conclusions: In this paper we present the analysis of three Ca ii H large spicules that are composed of numerous dynamic thin spicules but appear as macrospicules in lower resolution EUV images. We found no coronal counterpart of these and smaller spicules. We believe that the identification of phenomena that have very different origins as macrospicules is due to the interpretation of the transition region emission, and especially the He ii emission, wherein both chromospheric large spicules and coronal X-ray jets are present. We suggest that the recent observation of spicules in the coronal AIA/SDO 171 Å and 211 Å channels probably comes from the existence of transition region emission there. Movie is available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org
When Does the Warmest Water Reach Greenland?
Grist, J. P.; Josey, S. A.; Boehme, L.; Meredith, M. P.; Laidre, K. L.; Heide-Jørgensen, M. P.; Kovacs, K. M.; Lydersen, C.; Davidson, F. J. M.; Stenson, G. B.; Hammill, M. O.; Marsh, R.; Coward, A.
The warmest water reaching the east and west coast of Greenland is found between 200 and 600 m, in the warm Atlantic Water Layer (WL). Temperature changes within the WL have been highlighted as a possible cause of accelerated melting of tidewater glaciers and therefore are an important consideration for understanding global sea level rise. However, a limited number of winter observations of the WL have prohibited determining its seasonal variability. To address this, temperature data from Argo profiling floats, a range of sources within the World Ocean Database, and unprecedented coverage from marine-mammal borne sensors have been analyzed for the period 2002-2011. A significant seasonal range in temperature ( 1-2°C) is found in the warm layer, in contrast to most of the surrounding ocean. The magnitude of the seasonal cycle is thus comparable with the 1990s warming that was associated with an increased melt rate in a marine terminating glacier of West Greenland. The phase of the seasonal cycle exhibits considerable spatial variability; with high-resolution ocean model trajectory analysis suggesting it is determined by the time taken for waters to be advected from the subduction site in the Irminger Basin. For western Greenland, the annual temperature maximum occurs near or after the turn of the calendar year. This is significant because a recent study suggested that it is in the non-summer months when fjord-shelf exchanges allow the WL to most strongly influence glacier melt rate. However this is also the time of the year when the WL is least well observed. It is therefore clear that year-round subsurface temperature measurements are still required for a complete description of the WL seasonality, and in particular to ensure that the ice-melting potential of the WL is not underestimated.
Reaching remote areas in Latin America.
Jaimes, R
Poor communities in remote and inaccessible areas tend to not only be cut off from family planning education and services, but they are also deprived of basic primary health care services. Efforts to bring family planning to such communities and populations should therefore be linked with other services. The author presents three examples of programs to bring effective family planning services to remote communities in Central and South America. Outside of the municipal center in the Tuxtlas region of Mexico, education and health levels are low and people live according to ancient customs. Ten years ago with the help of MEXFAM, the IPPF affiliate in Mexico, two social promoters established themselves in the town of Catemaco to develop a community program of family planning and health care offering education and prevention to improve the quality of people's lives. Through their health brigades taking health services to towns without an established health center, the program has influenced an estimated 100,000 people in 50 villages and towns. The program also has a clinic. In Guatemala, the Family Welfare Association (APROFAM) gave bicycles to 240 volunteer health care workers to facilitate their outreach work in rural areas. APROFAM since 1988 has operated an integrated program to treat intestinal parasites and promote family planning in San Lucas de Toliman, an Indian town close to Lake Atitlan. Providing health care to more than 10,000 people, the volunteer staff has covered the entire department of Solola, reaching each family in the area. Field educators travel on motorcycles through the rural areas of Guatemala coordinating with the health volunteers the distribution of contraceptives at the community level. The Integrated Project's Clinic was founded in 1992 and currently carries out pregnancy and Pap tests, as well as general lab tests. Finally, Puna is an island in the middle of the Gulf of Guayaquil, Ecuador. Women on the island typically have 10
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Beck Jørgensen, Torben; Rutgers, Mark R.
administration is approached in terms of processes guided or restricted by public values and as public value creating: public management and public policy-making are both concerned with establishing, following and realizing public values. To study public values a broad perspective is needed. The article suggest......This article provides the introduction to a symposium on contemporary public values research. It is argued that the contribution to this symposium represent a Public Values Perspective, distinct from other specific lines of research that also use public value as a core concept. Public...... a research agenda for this encompasing kind of public values research. Finally the contributions to the symposium are introduced....
Reference values for electrooculography
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Barrientos Castanno, Alberto; Herrera Mora, Maritza; Garcia Baez, Obel
Obtain electrooculographic reference values based on the patterns set by the Standardization Committee of the International Society for Clinical Electrophysiology of Vision (ISCEV). the lowest amplitude values of the potential ranged between 388 and 882 μv in the dark phase. The light peak was obtained between 9 and 10 minutes, and during this phase the potential reached an amplitude ranging between 808 and 1 963 μv. This amplitude variability may be related to the fact that the test was conducted without pupillary mydriasis. The reference value obtained for Arden index was 1,55 to 2,87
Decoding Grasping Movements from the Parieto-Frontal Reaching Circuit in the Nonhuman Primate.
Nelissen, Koen; Fiave, Prosper Agbesi; Vanduffel, Wim
Prehension movements typically include a reaching phase, guiding the hand toward the object, and a grip phase, shaping the hand around it. The dominant view posits that these components rely upon largely independent parieto-frontal circuits: a dorso-medial circuit involved in reaching and a dorso-lateral circuit involved in grasping. However, mounting evidence suggests a more complex arrangement, with dorso-medial areas contributing to both reaching and grasping. To investigate the role of the dorso-medial reaching circuit in grasping, we trained monkeys to reach-and-grasp different objects in the dark and determined if hand configurations could be decoded from functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) responses obtained from the reaching and grasping circuits. Indicative of their established role in grasping, object-specific grasp decoding was found in anterior intraparietal (AIP) area, inferior parietal lobule area PFG and ventral premotor region F5 of the lateral grasping circuit, and primary motor cortex. Importantly, the medial reaching circuit also conveyed robust grasp-specific information, as evidenced by significant decoding in parietal reach regions (particular V6A) and dorsal premotor region F2. These data support the proposed role of dorso-medial "reach" regions in controlling aspects of grasping and demonstrate the value of complementing univariate with more sensitive multivariate analyses of functional MRI (fMRI) data in uncovering information coding in the brain.
Naturalness reach of the large hadron collider in minimal supergravity
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Allanach, B.C.; Hetherington, J.P.J.; Parker, M.A.; Webber, B.R.
We re-analyse the prospects of discovering supersymmetry at the LHC, in order to re-express coverage in terms of a fine-tuning parameter and to extend the analysis to scalar masses (m 0 ) above 2 TeV. We use minimal supergravity (mSUGRA) unification assumptions for the SUSY breaking parameters. Such high values of m 0 have recently been found to have a focus point, leading to relatively low fine-tuning. In addition, improvements in the simulations since the last study mean that this region no longer lacks radiative electroweak symmetry breaking. The best fine tuning reach is found in a mono-leptonic channel, where for μ>0, A 0 =0 and tan β=10 (corresponding to the focus point), all points in mSUGRA with m 0 0 , mSUGRA does not evade detection provided the gaugino mass parameter M 1/2 < 460 GeV. (author)
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Pedro A. López-Miñarro
Full Text Available This study compares the forward reach score, spine and pelvis postures, and hamstring criterion-related validity (concurrent validity between the sit-and-reach test (SR and the back-saver sit-and-reach test (BS. Seventy-six men (mean age ± SD: 23.45 ± 3.96 years and 67 women (mean age ± SD: 23.85 ± 5.36 years were asked to perform three trials of SR, BS left (BSl, right (BSr, and passive straight leg raise (PSLR right and left (hamstring criterion measure in a randomized order. The thoracic, lumbar, and pelvis angles (measured with a Uni-level inclinometer and forward reach scores were recorded once the subjects reached forward as far as possible without flexing the knees. A repeated measure ANOVA was performed followed by Bonferroni´s post hoc test. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to define the relationships between SR and BS scores with respect to PSLR. In both men and women, the thoracic angle in BS was significantly greater than in SR (p<0.016. However, no significant differences were found between the tests in lumbar angle, pelvic angle, and forward reach scores. The concurrent validity of the forward reach score as a measure of hamstring extensibility was moderate in women (0.66 0. 76 and weak to moderate in men (0.51 0.59. The concurrent validity was slightly higher in SR than in BS, although no significant differences between the correlation values were observed. There were significant differences in the thoracic angle between the SR and BS, but not in the forward reach score. There was no difference in concurrent validity between the two tests. However, the traditional SR was preferred because it reached better concurrent validity than the BS
MRI diagnosis of ACL bundle tears: value of oblique axial imaging
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Ng, Alex W.H.; Griffith, James F.; Hung, Esther H.Y. [Chinese University of Hong Kong, Department of Imaging and Interventional Radiology, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong SAR (China); Law, Kan Yip; Yung, Patrick S.H. [Chinese University of Hong Kong, Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong SAR (China)
To investigate the diagnostic accuracy of oblique axial intermediate weighting MR imaging in detecting partial thickness anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) bundle tears. The study protocol was approved by the institutional ethics committee. Sixty-one subjects (43 male, 18 female; mean age 27.4 years; range 9 to 57 years) with clinically suspected ACL tear or meniscal tear between September 2009 and January 2011 were studied with MRI and arthroscopy. Detection of partial tear for the ACL as a whole and for each ACL bundle by protocol A (standard orthogonal sequences) and protocol B (standard orthogonal sequences plus oblique axial intermediate weighted imaging) was compared in a blinded fashion. Performance characteristics for protocol A and protocol B were compared using sensitivity, specificity, accuracy and ROC curves. A two-tailed p value of <0.05 indicated statistical significance. Fifteen (24.6%) normal, 15 (24.6%) partial and 31 complete tears were diagnosed by arthroscopy. Sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of protocol A for the diagnosis of partial tear of the ACL was 33%, 87% and 74%, while for protocol B the values were 87%, 87% and 87% respectively. The area under the curve (AUC) for the diagnosis of partial ACL tear and individual bundle tear was higher for protocol B, although this difference did not reach statistical significance (p > 0.05). The addition of oblique axial imaging to standard MR imaging improves diagnostic accuracy for detecting partial tears of the ACL as well as individual bundle tears of the ACL. (orig.)
Preparation of Pt Au/C and Pt Au Bi/C electrocatalysts using electron beam irradiation for ethanol electro-oxidation in alkaline medium
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Silva, Dionisio F.; Geraldes, Adriana N.; Cardoso, Elisangela S.Z.; Gomes, Thiago B.; Linardi, Marcelo; Oliveira Neto, Almir; Spinace, Estevam V.
Pt Au/C (50:50) and PtAuBi/C electrocatalysts with Pt:Au:Bi atomic ratios of 50:40:10, 50:30:20 and 50:10:40 were prepared in water/2-propanol using electron beam irradiation. The materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and the electro-oxidation of ethanol was studied by chronoamperometry at room temperature. The X-ray diffraction measurements for all electrocatalysts prepared showed four peaks, which are associated with the planes of the face-centered cubic (fcc) structure characteristic of Pt and Pt alloys. For PtAuBi/C it was also observed the presence of a mixture of BiPt alloys and bismuth phases. The average crystallite sizes for Pt/C, PtAu/C, PtAuBi/C (50:40:10), PtAuBi/C (50:30:20) and PtAuBi/C (50:10:40) were in the range of 2.0 - 4.0 nm. The activity of the electrocatalysts for ethanol oxidation in alkaline medium showed that PtAuBi/C (50:40:10) had a higher performance for ethanol oxidation compared to others electrocatalysts prepared. (author)
Preparation of Pt Au/C and Pt Au Bi/C electrocatalysts using electron beam irradiation for ethanol electro-oxidation in alkaline medium
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Silva, Dionisio F.; Geraldes, Adriana N.; Cardoso, Elisangela S.Z.; Gomes, Thiago B.; Linardi, Marcelo; Oliveira Neto, Almir; Spinace, Estevam V., E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)
Pt Au/C (50:50) and PtAuBi/C electrocatalysts with Pt:Au:Bi atomic ratios of 50:40:10, 50:30:20 and 50:10:40 were prepared in water/2-propanol using electron beam irradiation. The materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and the electro-oxidation of ethanol was studied by chronoamperometry at room temperature. The X-ray diffraction measurements for all electrocatalysts prepared showed four peaks, which are associated with the planes of the face-centered cubic (fcc) structure characteristic of Pt and Pt alloys. For PtAuBi/C it was also observed the presence of a mixture of BiPt alloys and bismuth phases. The average crystallite sizes for Pt/C, PtAu/C, PtAuBi/C (50:40:10), PtAuBi/C (50:30:20) and PtAuBi/C (50:10:40) were in the range of 2.0 - 4.0 nm. The activity of the electrocatalysts for ethanol oxidation in alkaline medium showed that PtAuBi/C (50:40:10) had a higher performance for ethanol oxidation compared to others electrocatalysts prepared. (author)
Guaranteed performance in reaching mode of sliding mode ...
Indian Academy of Sciences (India)
R. Narasimhan (Krishtel eMaging) 1461 1996 Oct 15 13:05:22
addresses the design of constant plus proportional rate reaching law-based SMC for second-order ... Reaching mode; sliding mode controlled systems; output tracking ... The uncertainty in the input distribution function g is expressed as.
Nanomaterials under REACH. Nanosilver as a case study
Pronk MEJ; Wijnhoven SWP; Bleeker EAJ; Heugens EHW; Peijnenburg WJGM; Luttik R; Hakkert BC; SEC; SIR; LER
Om de risico's van nanomaterialen te kunnen inschatten en beheersen, zijn enkele aanpassingen nodig in de Europese chemicalienwetgeving REACH. De gegevens over stoffen waar REACH standaard om vraagt, zijn namelijk onvoldoende om de specifieke eigenschappen van nanomaterialen te bepalen. Hetzelfde
Reaching Adolescents and Youth in Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau
African Journals Online (AJOL)
AJRH Managing Editor
typical profile of individuals in contact with peer educators or attending youth ... being reached (versus not reached) by programs ... characteristics in order to serve groups that may be ... places for counseling services but the frequency of.
that individualistic employees in individualistic organizations and collectivistic employees in collectivistic organizations show greater job...with Parsons' causal assumption, in the nineties values were recognized on top of the cultural control –values control norms which in turn control...determines intention which may end in behavior. 7 Defining Human Values Cross- cultural theories on values emerged in the 80s developed by three main
Reaching Hard-to-Reach Individuals: Nonselective Versus Targeted Outbreak Response Vaccination for Measles
Minetti, Andrea; Hurtado, Northan; Grais, Rebecca F.; Ferrari, Matthew
Current mass vaccination campaigns in measles outbreak response are nonselective with respect to the immune status of individuals. However, the heterogeneity in immunity, due to previous vaccination coverage or infection, may lead to potential bias of such campaigns toward those with previous high access to vaccination and may result in a lower-than-expected effective impact. During the 2010 measles outbreak in Malawi, only 3 of the 8 districts where vaccination occurred achieved a measureable effective campaign impact (i.e., a reduction in measles cases in the targeted age groups greater than that observed in nonvaccinated districts). Simulation models suggest that selective campaigns targeting hard-to-reach individuals are of greater benefit, particularly in highly vaccinated populations, even for low target coverage and with late implementation. However, the choice between targeted and nonselective campaigns should be context specific, achieving a reasonable balance of feasibility, cost, and expected impact. In addition, it is critical to develop operational strategies to identify and target hard-to-reach individuals. PMID:24131555
Vocational Interests and Basic Values.
Sagiv, Lilach
Study 1 (n=97) provided evidence of the correlation of Holland's model of vocational interests with Schwartz' theory of basic values. Realistic career interests did not correlate with values. Study 2 (n=545) replicated these findings, showing a better match for individuals who had reached a career decision in counseling than for the undecided.…
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
In making calculations for the purposes of radiation protection, numerical values for parameters used in the calculations are selected. In some cases, data directly applicable to the set of conditions for which the calculations are to be made are unavailable. Therefore, the selection of the values for these parameters may be based on more general data available from the literature or other sources. These values may be referred to as 'default values', that is, values used in default of those based on directly applicable data. The following policy will be applied by Atomic Energy Control Board (AECB) staff in reviewing the radiation protection aspects of submissions associated with licensing, in participating with other organizations in the development of codes and standards, and in any other work which relies to some extent on using default values
Added value of multiphase CTA imaging for thrombus perviousness assessment
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Santos, E.M.M. [Academic Medical Center, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Physics, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Erasmus Medical Center, Department of Medical Informatics, Rotterdam (Netherlands); D' Esterre, C.D.; Najm, M.; Goyal, M.; Demchuk, A.M.; Menon, B.K. [University of Calgary, Departments of Neurosciences, Radiology and Community Health Sciences, Calgary (Canada); Treurniet, K.M.; Majoie, C.B. [Academic Medical Center, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Niessen, W.J. [Erasmus Medical Center, Department of Medical Informatics, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Delft (Netherlands); Marquering, H.A. [Academic Medical Center, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Physics, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Academic Medical Center, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Mandzia, Jennifer; Fainardi, Enrico; Rubiera, Marta; Khaw, Alexander V.; Zini, Andrea; Shankar, JJ.; Collaboration: PRove-IT investigators
Thrombus perviousness has been associated with favorable functional outcome in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients. Measuring thrombus perviousness on CTA may be suboptimal due to potential delay in contrast agent arrival in occluded arteries at the moment of imaging. Dynamic sequences acquired over time can potentially overcome this issue. We investigate if dynamic CTA has added value in assessing thrombus perviousness. Prospectively collected image data of AIS patients with proven occlusion of the anterior or posterior circulation with thin-slice multi-phase CTA (MCTA) and non-contrast CT were co-registered (n = 221). Thrombus attenuation increase (TAI; a perviousness measure) was measured for the arterial, venous, and delayed phase of the MCTA and time-invariant CTAs (TiCTA). Associations with favorable clinical outcome (90-day mRS ≤ 2) were assessed using univariate and multivariable regressions and calculating areas under receiver operating curves (AUC). TAI determined from the arterial phase CTA was superior in the association with favorable outcome with OR = 1.21 per 10 HU increase (95%CI 1.04-1.41, AUC 0.62, p = 0.014) compared to any other phase (venous 1.14(95%CI 1.01-1.30, AUC 0.58, p = 0.033), delayed 1.046(95%CI 0.919-1.19, AUC 0.53, p = 0.50)), and TiCTA 1.15(95%CI 1.02-1.30, AUC 0.60, p = 0.022). In the multivariable model, only TAI on arterial phase was significantly associated with favorable outcome (aOR 1.59, 95%CI 1.04-2.43, p = 0.032). Association between TAI with functional outcome was optimal on arterial-phase CTA such that dynamic CTA imaging has no additional benefits in current thrombus perviousness assessment, thereby suggesting that the delay of contrast arrival at the clot is a key variable for patient functional outcome. (orig.)
Sliding Mode Tracking Control of Manipulator Based on the Improved Reaching Law
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Wei-Na ZHAI
Full Text Available Due to the mechanical hand often have serious uncertainty, as the state in which the different and external changes, also its parameters are changing, this is very adverse to achieve precise control. In this paper, the traditional sliding mode variable structure was improved, the sign function is replaced by saturated function based on the double power reaching law, by adjusting the values of e1, e2, a, b, g and k to effectively improve the manipulator joint reaching speed, track expected trajectory fast and shorten the system response time. Finally, the method is used for simulation of manipulator trajectory tracking, compared to two reaching law control algorithms. The simulation results show that the control algorithm has good dynamic performance, which can effectively restrain the chattering and quickly track the desired trajectory. Therefore, the improved reaching law can effectively improve the performance of robotic manipulator.
Action plans can interact to hinder or facilitate reach performance.
Fournier, Lisa R; Wiediger, Matthew D; Taddese, Ezana F
Executing a reach action can be delayed while retaining another action in working memory (WM) if the two action plans partly overlap rather than do not overlap. This delay (partial repetition cost) occurs when reach responses are under cognitive control. In this study, we investigated whether facilitation (a partial repetition benefit) occurs when reach responses are automatic. We also examined whether the hemisphere controlling the limb or selection of the preferred limb (based on a free-reach task) influences reach performance when the actions partly overlap. Left- and right-handers reached to different stimulus locations to the left and right of body midline with their ipsilateral hand while maintaining an action plan in WM that required the same or the different hand. The results showed a partial repetition benefit for spatially compatible reaches to left and right stimulus locations far from the body midline, but not for those near the body midline. Also, no partial repetition cost was found at any of the stimulus-reach locations. This indicates that automatic reach responses that partly overlap with an action plan maintained in WM are not delayed, but instead can be facilitated (partial repetition benefit). The roles of hemisphere and reach-hand preference in action control and the importance of the degree of feature overlap in obtaining a partial repetition benefit (and cost) are discussed.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Asness, Clifford S.; Liew, John M.; Pedersen, Lasse Heje
premium. Following these episodes, the value strategy has (1) high average returns; (2) low market betas, but high betas to a global value factor; (3) deteriorating fundamentals; (4) negative news sentiment; (5) selling pressure; (6) increased limits to arbitrage; and (7) increased arbitrage activity...
John H. Beuter; Ralph J. Alig
This issue of the journal of Forestry is devoted to articles about forestland values. Viewed broadly, natural resources and humans are our two basic resources. An expression of the importance of land as a foundation for forest ecosystems is forestland value. Our attitudes about land and the forest ecosystems that they support have changed considerably in recent years....
Real-time well condition monitoring in extended reach wells
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Kucs, R.; Spoerker, H.F. [OMV Austria Exploration and Production GmbH, Gaenserndorf (Austria); Thonhauser, G. [Montanuniversitaet Leoben (Austria)
Ever rising daily operating cost for offshore operations make the risk of running into drilling problems due to torque and drag developments in extended reach applications a growing concern. One option to reduce cost related to torque and drag problems can be to monitor torque and drag trends in real time without additional workload on the platform drilling team. To evaluate observed torque or drag trends it is necessary to automatically recognize operations and to have a 'standard value' to compare the measurements to. The presented systematic approach features both options - fully automated operations recognition and real time analysis. Trends can be discussed between rig- and shore-based teams, and decisions can be based on up to date information. Since the system is focused on visualization of real-time torque and drag trends, instead of highly complex and repeated simulations, calculation time is reduced by comparing the real-time rig data against predictions imported from a commercial drilling engineering application. The system allows reacting to emerging stuck pipe situations or developing cuttings beds long before the situations become severe enough to result in substantial lost time. The ability to compare real-time data with historical data from the same or other wells makes the system a valuable tool in supporting a learning organization. The system has been developed in a joint research initiative for field application on the development of an offshore heavy oil field in New Zealand. (orig.)
Naturalness Reach of the Large Hadron Collider in Minimal Supergravity
Allanach, B.C.; Parker, Michael Andrew; Webber, B.R.
We re-analyse the prospects of discovering supersymmetry at the LHC, in order to re-express coverage in terms of a fine-tuning parameter and to extend the analysis to scalar masses (m_0) above 2 TeV. We use minimal supergravity (mSUGRA) unification assumptions for the SUSY breaking parameters. Such high values of m_0 have recently been found to have a focus point, leading to relatively low fine-tuning. In addition, improvements in the simulations since the last study mean that this region no longer lacks radiative electroweak symmetry breaking. The best fine tuning reach is found in a mono-leptonic channel, where for mu>0, A_0=0 and tan beta=10 (corresponding to the focus point), all points in mSUGRA with m_0 < 4000 GeV, with a fine tuning measure up to 300 (570) are covered by the search, where the definition of fine-tuning excludes (includes) the contribution from the top Yukawa coupling. Even for arbitrarily high m_0, mSUGRA does not evade detection provided the gaugino mass parameter M_{1/2} < 460 G...
The effect of the nonhuman external regulator's answer-until-correct (AUC) versus knowledge-of-result (KR) task feedback on children's behavioral regulation during learning tasks
Agina, Adel Masaud; Agina, Adel M.; Kommers, Petrus A.M.; Steehouder, M.F.
The present study was conducted to shed a new light on the nonhuman's external regulation effect on children's behavioral regulation through investigating the effect of the computer's task feedback answer-until-correct (AUC) versus knowledge-of-result (KR) with 40 preschool children (boys/girls)
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Sløk-Madsen, Stefan Kirkegaard; Christensen, Jesper
The world over classrooms in business schools are being taught that corporate values can impact performance. The argument is typically that culture matter more than strategy plans and culture can be influenced and indeed changed by a shared corporate value set. While the claim seems intuitively a...... a unique contribution to the effects of investment in shared company values, and to whether agent rationality can be fundamentally changed by committed organizational efforts....
The Diagnostic Value of Gastrin-17 Detection in Atrophic Gastritis
Wang, Xu; Ling, Li; Li, Shanshan; Qin, Guiping; Cui, Wei; Li, Xiang; Ni, Hong
Abstract A meta-analysis was performed to assess the diagnostic value of gastrin-17 (G-17) for the early detection of chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG). An extensive literature search was performed, with the aim of selecting publications that reported the accuracy of G-17 in predicting CAG, in the following databases: PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, Chinese Biological Medicine, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, and VIP. To assess the diagnostic value of G-17, the following statistics were estimated and described: sensitivity, specificity, diagnostic odds ratios (DOR), summary receiver operating characteristic curves, area under the curve (AUC), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Thirteen studies that met the inclusion criteria were included in this meta-analysis, comprising 894 patients and 1950 controls. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of these studies were 0.48 (95% CI: 0.45–0.51) and 0.79 (95% CI: 0.77–0.81), respectively. The DOR was 5.93 (95% CI: 2.93–11.99), and the AUC was 0.82. G-17 may have potential diagnostic value because it has good specificity and a moderate DOR and AUC for CAG. However, more studies are needed to improve the sensitivity of this diagnostic tool in the future. PMID:27149493
Reach/frequency for printed media: Personal probabilities or models
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Mortensen, Peter Stendahl
The author evaluates two different ways of estimating reach and frequency of plans for printed media. The first assigns reading probabilities to groups of respondents and calculates reach and frequency by simulation. the second estimates parameters to a model for reach/frequency. It is concluded ...... and estiamtes from such models are shown to be closer to panel data. the problem, however, is to get valid input for such models from readership surveys. Means for this are discussed....
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Rasmussen, Majken Kirkegaard; Petersen, Marianne Graves
Stereotypic presumptions about gender affect the design process, both in relation to how users are understood and how products are designed. As a way to decrease the influence of stereotypic presumptions in design process, we propose not to disregard the aspect of gender in the design process......, as the perspective brings valuable insights on different approaches to technology, but instead to view gender through a value lens. Contributing to this perspective, we have developed Value Representations as a design-oriented instrument for staging a reflective dialogue with users. Value Representations...
Hybrid RSOA and fibre raman amplified long reach feeder link for WiMAX-on-fibre
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Amaya Fernández, Ferney Orlando; Martinez, Javier; Yu, Xianbin
A distributed fibre Raman amplified long reach optical access feeder link using a reflective semiconductor optical amplifier in the remote base station is experimentally demonstrated for supporting WiMAXover- fibre transmission. The measured values for the error vector magnitude for quadrature...
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Walsh, Matthew
Paper presented in the symposium "What's It All Worth? Material Possessions and Value in Past Societies" at 22nd Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists, Vilnius, Lithuania.......Paper presented in the symposium "What's It All Worth? Material Possessions and Value in Past Societies" at 22nd Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists, Vilnius, Lithuania....
Factors associated with reaching or not reaching target HbA1c after initiation of basal or premixed insulin in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Scheen, A J; Schmitt, H; Jiang, H H; Ivanyi, T
To evaluate factors associated with reaching or not reaching target glycated haemoglobin (HbA 1c ) levels by analysing the respective contributions of fasting hyperglycaemia (FHG), also referred to as basal hyperglycaemia, vs postprandial hyperglycaemia (PHG) before and after initiation of a basal or premixed insulin regimen in patients with type 2 diabetes. This post-hoc analysis of insulin-naïve patients in the DURABLE study randomised to receive either insulin glargine or insulin lispro mix 25 evaluated the percentages of patients achieving a target HbA 1c of <7.0% (<53mmol/mol) per baseline HbA 1c quartiles, and the effect of each insulin regimen on the relative contributions of PHG and FHG to overall hyperglycaemia. Patients had comparable demographic characteristics and similar HbA 1c and FHG values at baseline in each HbA 1c quartile regardless of whether they reached the target HbA 1c . The higher the HbA 1c quartile, the greater was the decrease in HbA 1c , but also the smaller the percentage of patients achieving the target HbA 1c . HbA 1c and FHG decreased more in patients reaching the target, resulting in significantly lower values at endpoint in all baseline HbA 1c quartiles with either insulin treatment. Patients not achieving the target HbA 1c had slightly higher insulin doses, but lower total hypoglycaemia rates. Smaller decreases in FHG were associated with not reaching the target HbA 1c , suggesting a need to increase basal or premixed insulin doses to achieve targeted fasting plasma glucose and improve patient response before introducing more intensive prandial insulin regimens. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
Should these potential CMR substances have been registered under REACH?
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Wedebye, Eva Bay; Nikolov, Nikolai Georgiev; Dybdahl, Marianne
(Q)SAR models were applied to screen around 68,000 REACH pre-registered substances for CMR properties (carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction). Predictions from 14 relevant models were combined to reach overall calls for C, M and R. Combining predictions may reduce "noise" and increase...
Public Value: rethinking value creation
Meynhardt, Timo; Gomez, Peter; Strathoff, Pepe; Hermann, Carolin
Managers might refute public criticism of their business as an attitude of taking everything for granted in a saturated society, but ignoring Public Value aspects can threaten the success of new products and even the survival of entire firms.
Digital image analysis supports a nuclear-to-cytoplasmic ratio cutoff value of 0.5 for atypical urothelial cells.
Hang, Jen-Fan; Charu, Vivek; Zhang, M Lisa; VandenBussche, Christopher J
An elevated nuclear-to-cytoplasmic (N:C) ratio of ≥0.5 is a required criterion for the diagnosis of atypical urothelial cells (AUC) in The Paris System for Reporting Urinary Cytology. To validate the N:C ratio cutoff value and its predictive power for high-grade urothelial carcinoma (HGUC), the authors retrospectively reviewed the urinary tract cytology specimens of 15 cases of AUC with HGUC on follow-up (AUC-HGUC) and 33 cases of AUC without HGUC on follow-up (AUC-N-HGUC). The number of atypical cells in each case was recorded, and each atypical cell was photographed and digitally examined to calculate the nuclear size and N:C ratio. On average, the maximum N:C ratios of atypical cells were significantly different between the AUC-HGUC and AUC-N-HGUC cohorts (0.53 vs 0.43; P =.00009), whereas the maximum nuclear sizes of atypical cells (153.43 μM 2 vs 201.47 μM 2 ; P = .69) and the number of atypical cells per case (10.13 vs 7.88; P = .12) were not found to be significantly different. Receiver operating characteristic analysis demonstrated that the maximum N:C ratio alone had high discriminatory capacity (area under the curve, 79.19%; 95% confidence interval, 64.19%-94.19%). The optimal maximum N:C ratio threshold was 0.486, giving a sensitivity of 73.3% and a specificity of 84.8% for predicting HGUC on follow-up. The identification of AUC with an N:C ratio >0.486 has a high predictive power for HGUC on follow-up in AUC specimens. This justifies using the N:C ratio as a required criterion for the AUC category. Individual laboratories using different cytopreparation methods may require independent validation of the N:C ratio cutoff value. Cancer Cytopathol 2017;125:710-6. © 2017 American Cancer Society. © 2017 American Cancer Society.
Solid expandable systems put deepwater targets within reach
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Perez-Roca, Eduardo [Enventure Global Technology L.L.C., Houston, TX (United States). Latin America; Fristch, Jerry [Enventure Global Technology L.L.C., Houston, TX (United States)
Enabling technologies that take drilling operations to deeper objectives have made a significant impact on the practicality of many projects, especially deep water offshore targets. Increasing vertical depth and lateral reach requires adequate hole size to attain the desired objectives of the well bore. Solid expandable technology can maintain and retain hole size to address both the physical limitations and the economic feasibility of deep water operations. With each and every casing point, the potential for adequate hole size at total depth (TD) decreases. Solid expandable open hole liners and single-diameter systems reduce and eliminate, respectively, the well bore tapering that dictates hole size at TD and subsequent completion size. Successful mitigation of this tapering, whether through the entire well bore or through select zones, enables operators to gain access to previously unreachable reserves. Solid expandable systems have proven to be reliable and effective with over 1,000 installations in a myriad of conditions and environments worldwide. To date, over 115 of those applications have been in deep water environments. The current operating envelope for solid expandable systems include the deepest installation at {approx}28,750 ft (8,763 m) and the longest at 6,867 ft (2,083 m) in water depth over 3,150 ft (960 m). This record-length application consisted of an open hole liner installed and expanded in a single run. This paper will discuss the effectiveness of solid expandable systems in deep water operations and how the technology brings value to offshore projects especially when planned into the initial design. Case histories will be used to further illustrate the features, advantages, and benefits of expandable technology. In addition, this paper will examine the state of the solid expandable technology and its continuing evolution to provide even more drilling solutions. (author)
An investigation of the neural circuits underlying reaching and reach-to-grasp movements: from planning to execution.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Chiara eBegliomini
Full Text Available Experimental evidence suggests the existence of a sophisticated brain circuit specifically dedicated to reach-to-grasp planning and execution, both in human and non human primates (Castiello, 2005. Studies accomplished by means of neuroimaging techniques suggest the hypothesis of a dichotomy between a reach-to-grasp circuit, involving the intraparietal area (AIP, the dorsal and ventral premotor cortices (PMd and PMv - Castiello and Begliomini, 2008; Filimon, 2010 and a reaching circuit involving the medial intraparietal area (mIP and the Superior Parieto-Occipital Cortex (SPOC (Culham et al., 2006. However, the time course characterizing the involvement of these regions during the planning and execution of these two types of movements has yet to be delineated. A functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI study has been conducted, including reach-to grasp and reaching only movements, performed towards either a small or a large stimulus, and Finite Impulse Response model (FIR - Henson, 2003 was adopted to monitor activation patterns from stimulus onset for a time window of 10 seconds duration. Data analysis focused on brain regions belonging either to the reaching or to the grasping network, as suggested by Castiello & Begliomini (2008.Results suggest that reaching and grasping movements planning and execution might share a common brain network, providing further confirmation to the idea that the neural underpinnings of reaching and grasping may overlap in both spatial and temporal terms (Verhagen et al., 2013.
Proprioceptive body illusions modulate the visual perception of reaching distance.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Agustin Petroni
Full Text Available The neurobiology of reaching has been extensively studied in human and non-human primates. However, the mechanisms that allow a subject to decide-without engaging in explicit action-whether an object is reachable are not fully understood. Some studies conclude that decisions near the reach limit depend on motor simulations of the reaching movement. Others have shown that the body schema plays a role in explicit and implicit distance estimation, especially after motor practice with a tool. In this study we evaluate the causal role of multisensory body representations in the perception of reachable space. We reasoned that if body schema is used to estimate reach, an illusion of the finger size induced by proprioceptive stimulation should propagate to the perception of reaching distances. To test this hypothesis we induced a proprioceptive illusion of extension or shrinkage of the right index finger while participants judged a series of LEDs as reachable or non-reachable without actual movement. Our results show that reach distance estimation depends on the illusory perceived size of the finger: illusory elongation produced a shift of reaching distance away from the body whereas illusory shrinkage produced the opposite effect. Combining these results with previous findings, we suggest that deciding if a target is reachable requires an integration of body inputs in high order multisensory parietal areas that engage in movement simulations through connections with frontal premotor areas.
Environmental stressors afflicting tailwater stream reaches across the United States
Miranda, Leandro E.; Krogman, R. M.
The tailwater is the reach of a stream immediately below an impoundment that is hydrologically, physicochemically and biologically altered by the presence and operation of a dam. The overall goal of this study was to gain a nationwide awareness of the issues afflicting tailwater reaches in the United States. Specific objectives included the following: (i) estimate the percentage of reservoirs that support tailwater reaches with environmental conditions suitable for fish assemblages throughout the year, (ii) identify and quantify major sources of environmental stress in those tailwaters that do support fish assemblages and (iii) identify environmental features of tailwater reaches that determine prevalence of key fish taxa. Data were collected through an online survey of fishery managers. Relative to objective 1, 42% of the 1306 reservoirs included in this study had tailwater reaches with sufficient flow to support a fish assemblage throughout the year. The surface area of the reservoir and catchment most strongly delineated reservoirs maintaining tailwater reaches with or without sufficient flow to support a fish assemblage throughout the year. Relative to objective 2, major sources of environmental stress generally reflected flow variables, followed by water quality variables. Relative to objective 3, zoogeography was the primary factor discriminating fish taxa in tailwaters, followed by a wide range of flow and water quality variables. Results for objectives 1–3 varied greatly among nine geographic regions distributed throughout the continental United States. Our results provide a large-scale view of the effects of reservoirs on tailwater reaches and may help guide research and management needs.
Proximal and distal adjustments of reaching behavior in preterm infants.
de Toledo, Aline Martins; Soares, Daniele de Almeida; Tudella, Eloisa
The authors aimed to investigate proximal and distal adjustments of reaching behavior and grasping in 5-, 6-, and 7-month-old preterm infants. Nine low-risk preterm and 10 full-term infants participated. Both groups showed the predominance of unimanual reaching, an age-related increase in the frequency of vertical-oriented and open hand movement, and also an increase in successful grasping from 6 to 7 months. The frequency of open hand was higher in the preterm group at 6 months. Intrinsic restrictions imposed by prematurity did not seem to have impaired reaching performance of preterm infants throughout the months of age.
Peer Support for the Hardly Reached: A Systematic Review.
Sokol, Rebeccah; Fisher, Edwin
Health disparities are aggravated when prevention and care initiatives fail to reach those they are intended to help. Groups can be classified as hardly reached according to a variety of circumstances that fall into 3 domains: individual (e.g., psychological factors), demographic (e.g., socioeconomic status), and cultural-environmental (e.g., social network). Several reports have indicated that peer support is an effective means of reaching hardly reached individuals. However, no review has explored peer support effectiveness in relation to the circumstances associated with being hardly reached or across diverse health problems. To conduct a systematic review assessing the reach and effectiveness of peer support among hardly reached individuals, as well as peer support strategies used. Three systematic searches conducted in PubMed identified studies that evaluated peer support programs among hardly reached individuals. In aggregate, the searches covered articles published from 2000 to 2015. Eligible interventions provided ongoing support for complex health behaviors, including prioritization of hardly reached populations, assistance in applying behavior change plans, and social-emotional support directed toward disease management or quality of life. Studies were excluded if they addressed temporally isolated behaviors, were limited to protocol group classes, included peer support as the dependent variable, did not include statistical tests of significance, or incorporated comparison conditions that provided appreciable social support. We abstracted data regarding the primary health topic, categorizations of hardly reached groups, program reach, outcomes, and strategies employed. We conducted a 2-sample t test to determine whether reported strategies were related to reach. Forty-seven studies met our inclusion criteria, and these studies represented each of the 3 domains of circumstances assessed (individual, demographic, and cultural-environmental). Interventions
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Kobbelgaard, Cecilie Elisabeth
"Add Value – kend din kunde" er et brætspil, som giver både offentlige og private virksomheder unikke muligheder for at forbedre deres service overfor kunderne. Spillet giver, på en alternativ og handlingsorienteret måde, mulighed for at blive skarpere på kundeoplevelsen – hvor er der værdi...... at hente, og hvor kan der spares på tid og ressourcer? Dette samtidig med, at kunderne får den oplevelse og service, de forventer. Når I spiller "Add Value – kend din kunde" sættes der fokus på Jeres kundeservice ud fra kundens perspektiv, og det er i alle Jeres kontaktflader med kunden. Lige fra kunden...
Tisdell, Clement A.
This paper outlines the significance of the concept of conservation value and discusses ways in which it is determined paying attention to views stemming from utilitarian ethics and from deontological ethics. The importance of user costs in relation to economic decisions about the conservation and use of natural resources is emphasised. Particular attention is given to competing views about the importance of conserving natural resources in order to achieve economic sustainability. This then l...
PNW River Reach Files -- 1:100k Watercourses (arcs)
Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission — This feature class includes the ARC features from the 2001 version of the PNW River Reach files Arc/INFO coverage. Separate, companion feature classes are also...
PNW River Reach Files -- 1:100k Waterbodies (polygons)
Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission — This feature class includes the POLYGON waterbody features from the 2001 version of the PNW River Reach files Arc/INFO coverage. Separate, companion feature classes...
Stream Habitat Reach Summary - North Coast [ds63
California Natural Resource Agency — The shapefile is based on habitat unit level data summarized at the stream reach level. The database represents salmonid stream habitat surveys from 645 streams of...
LTRM Fish Sampling Strata, UMRS La Grange Reach
Department of the Interior — The data set includes delineation of sampling strata for the six study reaches of the UMRR Programâs LTRM element. Separate strata coverages exist for each of the...
LTRM Water Quality Sampling Strata, UMRS La Grange Reach
Department of the Interior — The data set includes delineation of sampling strata for the six study reaches of the UMRR Programâs LTRM element. Separate strata coverages exist for each of the...
The Added Value of Medical Testing in Underwriting Life Insurance.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jan Bronsema
Full Text Available In present-day life-insurance medical underwriting practice the risk assessment starts with a standard health declaration (SHD. Indication for additional medical screening depends predominantly on age and amount of insured capital. From a medical perspective it is questionable whether there is an association between the level of insured capital and medical risk in terms of mortality. The aim of the study is to examine the prognostic value of parameters from the health declaration and application form on extra mortality based on results from additional medical testing.A history register-based cohort study was conducted including about 15.000 application files accepted between 2007 and 2010. Blood pressure, lipids, cotinine and glucose levels were used as dependent variables in logistic regression models. Resampling validation was applied using 250 bootstrap samples to calculate area under the curves (AUC's. The AUC was used to discriminate between persons with and without at least 25% extra mortality.BMI and the overall assessment of the health declaration by an insurance physician or medical underwriter showed the strongest discrimination in multivariable analysis. Including all variables at minimum cut-off levels resulted in an AUC of 0.710 while by using a model with BMI, the assessment of the health declaration and gender, the AUC was 0.708. Including all variables at maximum cut-off levels lead to an AUC of 0.743 while a model with BMI, the assessment of the health declaration and age resulted in an AUC of 0.741.The outcome of this study shows that BMI and the overall assessment of the health declaration were the dominant variables to discriminate between applicants for life-insurance with and without at least 25 percent extra mortality. The variable insured capital set by insurers as factor for additional medical testing could not be established in this study population. The indication for additional medical testing at underwriting life
Decoding natural reach-and-grasp actions from human EEG
Schwarz, Andreas; Ofner, Patrick; Pereira, Joana; Ioana Sburlea, Andreea; Müller-Putz, Gernot R.
Objective. Despite the high number of degrees of freedom of the human hand, most actions of daily life can be executed incorporating only palmar, pincer and lateral grasp. In this study we attempt to discriminate these three different executed reach-and-grasp actions utilizing their EEG neural correlates. Approach. In a cue-guided experiment, 15 healthy individuals were asked to perform these actions using daily life objects. We recorded 72 trials for each reach-and-grasp condition and from a no-movement condition. Main results. Using low-frequency time domain features from 0.3 to 3 Hz, we achieved binary classification accuracies of 72.4%, STD ± 5.8% between grasp types, for grasps versus no-movement condition peak performances of 93.5%, STD ± 4.6% could be reached. In an offline multiclass classification scenario which incorporated not only all reach-and-grasp actions but also the no-movement condition, the highest performance could be reached using a window of 1000 ms for feature extraction. Classification performance peaked at 65.9%, STD ± 8.1%. Underlying neural correlates of the reach-and-grasp actions, investigated over the primary motor cortex, showed significant differences starting from approximately 800 ms to 1200 ms after the movement onset which is also the same time frame where classification performance reached its maximum. Significance. We could show that it is possible to discriminate three executed reach-and-grasp actions prominent in people's everyday use from non-invasive EEG. Underlying neural correlates showed significant differences between all tested conditions. These findings will eventually contribute to our attempt of controlling a neuroprosthesis in a natural and intuitive way, which could ultimately benefit motor impaired end users in their daily life actions.
Apparent diffusion coefficient in the analysis of prostate cancer: determination of optimal b-value pair to differentiate normal from malignant tissue.
Adubeiro, Nuno; Nogueira, Maria Luísa; Nunes, Rita G; Ferreira, Hugo Alexandre; Ribeiro, Eduardo; La Fuente, José Maria Ferreira
Determining optimal b-value pair for differentiation between normal and prostate cancer (PCa) tissues. Forty-three patients with diagnosis or PCa symptoms were included. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) was estimated using minimum and maximum b-values of 0, 50, 100, 150, 200, 500s/mm2 and 500, 800, 1100, 1400, 1700 and 2000s/mm2, respectively. Diagnostic performances were evaluated when Area-under-the-curve (AUC)>95%. 15 of the 35 b-values pair surpassed this AUC threshold. The pair (50, 2000s/mm2) provided the highest AUC (96%) with ADC cutoff 0.89×10- 3 mm 2 /s, sensitivity 95.5%, specificity 93.2% and accuracy 94.4%. The best b-value pair was b=50, 2000s/mm2. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
RiverCare communication strategy for reaching beyond
Cortes Arevalo, Juliette; den Haan, Robert Jan; Berends, Koen; Leung, Nick; Augustijn, Denie; Hulscher, Suzanne J. M. H.
Effectively communicating river research to water professionals and researchers working in multiple disciplines or organizations is challenging. RiverCare studies the mid-term effects of innovative river interventions in the Netherlands to improve river governance and sustainable management. A total of 21 researchers working at 5 universities are part of the consortium, which also includes research institutes, consultancies, and water management authorities. RiverCare results do not only benefit Dutch river management, but can also provide useful insights to challenges abroad. Dutch partner organizations actively involved in RiverCare are our direct users. However, we want to reach water professionals from the Netherlands and beyond. To communicate with and disseminate to these users, we set up a communication strategy that includes the following approaches : (1) Netherlands Centre of River studies (NCR) website to announce activities post news, not limited to RiverCare; (2) A RiverCare newsletter that is published twice per year to update about our progress and activities; (3) A multimedia promotional providing a 'first glance' of RiverCare. It consists of four video episodes and an interactive menu; (4) An interactive knowledge platform to provide access, explain RiverCare results and gather feedback about the added value and potential use of these results; and (5) A serious gaming environment titled Virtual River where actors can play out flood scaling intervention and monitoring strategies to assess maintenance scenarios. The communication strategy and related approaches are being designed and developed during the project. We use participatory methods and systematic evaluation to understand communication needs and to identify needs for improvement. As a first step, RiverCare information is provided via the NCR website. The active collaboration with the NCR is important to extend communication efforts beyond the RiverCare consortium and after the program ends
REACH: next step to a sound chemicals management.
Van der Wielen, Arnold
REACH is the new European Regulation for Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals. It entered into force on 1st June 2007 to streamline and improve the former legislative framework on new and on existing chemical substances of the European Union. Companies which manufacture or import more than 1 tonne of a substance per year will be required to register the substance at the new EU Chemicals Agency located in Helsinki. REACH places greater responsibility on industry to manage the risks that chemicals may pose to the health and the environment and to provide safety information that will be passed down the supply chain. In principle, REACH applies to all chemicals as such, as components in preparations and as used in articles. REACH is a radical step forward in the EU chemicals management. The onus will move from the authorities to industry. In addition, REACH will allow the further evaluation of substances where there are grounds for concern, foresees an authorisation system for the use of substances of very high concern and a system of restrictions, where applicable, for substances of concern. The Authorisation system will require companies to switch progressively to safer alternatives where a suitable alternative exists. Current use restrictions will remain under REACH system.
The Cognition of Maximal Reach Distance in Parkinson's Disease
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Satoru Otsuki
Full Text Available This study aimed to investigate whether the cognition of spatial distance in reaching movements was decreased in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD and whether this cognition was associated with various symptoms of PD. Estimated and actual maximal reaching distances were measured in three directions in PD patients and healthy elderly volunteers. Differences between estimated and actual measurements were compared within each group. In the PD patients, the associations between "error in cognition" of reaching distance and "clinical findings" were also examined. The results showed that no differences were observed in any values regardless of dominance of hand and severity of symptoms. The differences between the estimated and actual measurements were negatively deviated in the PD patients, indicating that they tended to underestimate reaching distance. "Error in cognition" of reaching distance correlated with the items of posture in the motor section of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale. This suggests that, in PD patients, postural deviation and postural instability might affect the cognition of the distance from a target object.
Adaptation of reach-to-grasp movement in response to force perturbations.
Rand, M K; Shimansky, Y; Stelmach, G E; Bloedel, J R
This study examined how reach-to-grasp movements are modified during adaptation to external force perturbations applied on the arm during reach. Specifically, we examined whether the organization of these movements was dependent upon the condition under which the perturbation was applied. In response to an auditory signal, all subjects were asked to reach for a vertical dowel, grasp it between the index finger and thumb, and lift it a short distance off the table. The subjects were instructed to do the task as fast as possible. The perturbation was an elastic load acting on the wrist at an angle of 105 deg lateral to the reaching direction. The condition was modified by changing the predictability with which the perturbation was applied in a given trial. After recording unperturbed control trials, perturbations were applied first on successive trials (predictable perturbations) and then were applied randomly (unpredictable perturbations). In the early predictable perturbation trials, reach path length became longer and reaching duration increased. As more predictable perturbations were applied, the reach path length gradually decreased and became similar to that of control trials. Reaching duration also decreased gradually as the subjects adapted by exerting force against the perturbation. In addition, the amplitude of peak grip aperture during arm transport initially increased in response to repeated perturbations. During the course of learning, it reached its maximum and thereafter slightly decreased. However, it did not return to the normal level. The subjects also adapted to the unpredictable perturbations through changes in both arm transport and grasping components, indicating that they can compensate even when the occurrence of the perturbation cannot be predicted during the inter-trial interval. Throughout random perturbation trials, large grip aperture values were observed, suggesting that a conservative aperture level is set regardless of whether the
Economic interpretation of environmental flow regime downstream diverted river reaches.
Gorla, Lorenzo; Perona, Paolo
Water demand for hydropower production is increasing together with the consciousness of the importance of riparian ecosystems and biodiversity. Some Cantons in Switzerland and other alpine regions in Austria and in Sud Tirol (Italy) started replacing the inadequate concept of Minimum Flow Requirement (MFR) with a dynamic one, by releasing a fix percentage of the total inflow (e.g. 25 %) to the environment. In the same direction Perona et al. (in revision) mathematically formulated a method particularly suitable for small hydropower plants, handling the environment as a non-traditional water use, which competes with exploitators. This model uses the Principle of Equal Marginal Utility (PEMU) as optimal water allocation rule for generating like-natural flow releases while maximizing the aggregate economic benefit of all uses (Gorla and Perona, in revision). In this paper we show how redistribution policies can be interpreted in terms of PEMU, particularly we focus at traditional water repartition rules, such as the MFR, but also to dynamic ones like proportional redistribution. For the first case we show both ecological and economical arguments suggesting its inappropriateness; in the second case we highlight explicit points of strength and weakness, and suggest ways of improvement. For example the flow release allocation rule can be changed from inflow-independent ones (e.g., proportional redistribution), to inflow-dependent ones (e.g., non-proportional). The latters, having fewer constraints, can generally lead to better both ecological and economical performances. A class of simple functions, based on the PEMU, is then proposed as a suitable solution in run-of-river or small hydropower plants. Each water repartition policy underlies an ecosystem monetization. We explicit the value of the ecosystem health underlying each policy by means of the PEMU under a few assumptions, and discuss how the theoretic efficient redistribution law obtained by our approach is
Memory-guided reaching in a patient with visual hemiagnosia.
Cornelsen, Sonja; Rennig, Johannes; Himmelbach, Marc
The two-visual-systems hypothesis (TVSH) postulates that memory-guided movements rely on intact functions of the ventral stream. Its particular importance for memory-guided actions was initially inferred from behavioral dissociations in the well-known patient DF. Despite of rather accurate reaching and grasping movements to visible targets, she demonstrated grossly impaired memory-guided grasping as much as impaired memory-guided reaching. These dissociations were later complemented by apparently reversed dissociations in patients with dorsal damage and optic ataxia. However, grasping studies in DF and optic ataxia patients differed with respect to the retinotopic position of target objects, questioning the interpretation of the respective findings as a double dissociation. In contrast, the findings for reaching errors in both types of patients came from similar peripheral target presentations. However, new data on brain structural changes and visuomotor deficits in DF also questioned the validity of a double dissociation in reaching. A severe visuospatial short-term memory deficit in DF further questioned the specificity of her memory-guided reaching deficit. Therefore, we compared movement accuracy in visually-guided and memory-guided reaching in a new patient who suffered a confined unilateral damage to the ventral visual system due to stroke. Our results indeed support previous descriptions of memory-guided movements' inaccuracies in DF. Furthermore, our data suggest that recently discovered optic-ataxia like misreaching in DF is most likely caused by her parieto-occipital and not by her ventral stream damage. Finally, multiple visuospatial memory measurements in HWS suggest that inaccuracies in memory-guided reaching tasks in patients with ventral damage cannot be explained by visuospatial short-term memory or perceptual deficits, but by a specific deficit in visuomotor processing. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Diagnostic and Prognostic Value of Long-Axis Strain and Myocardial Contraction Fraction Using Standard Cardiovascular MR Imaging in Patients with Nonischemic Dilated Cardiomyopathies.
Arenja, Nisha; Riffel, Johannes H; Fritz, Thomas; André, Florian; Aus dem Siepen, Fabian; Mueller-Hennessen, Matthias; Giannitsis, Evangelos; Katus, Hugo A; Friedrich, Matthias G; Buss, Sebastian J
Purpose To assess the utility of established functional markers versus two additional functional markers derived from standard cardiovascular magnetic resonance (MR) images for their incremental diagnostic and prognostic information in patients with nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (NIDCM). Materials and Methods Approval was obtained from the local ethics committee. MR images from 453 patients with NIDCM and 150 healthy control subjects were included between 2005 and 2013 and were analyzed retrospectively. Myocardial contraction fraction (MCF) was calculated by dividing left ventricular (LV) stroke volume by LV myocardial volume, and long-axis strain (LAS) was calculated from the distances between the epicardial border of the LV apex and the midpoint of a line connecting the origins of the mitral valve leaflets at end systole and end diastole. Receiver operating characteristic curve, Kaplan-Meier method, Cox regression, and classification and regression tree (CART) analyses were performed for diagnostic and prognostic performances. Results LAS (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC] = 0.93, P < .001) and MCF (AUC = 0.92, P < .001) can be used to discriminate patients with NIDCM from age- and sex-matched control subjects. A total of 97 patients reached the combined end point during a median follow-up of 4.8 years. In multivariate Cox regression analysis, only LV ejection fraction (EF) and LAS independently indicated the combined end point (hazard ratio = 2.8 and 1.9, respectively; P < .001 for both). In a risk stratification approach with classification and regression tree analysis, combined LV EF and LAS cutoff values were used to stratify patients into three risk groups (log-rank test, P < .001). Conclusion Cardiovascular MR-derived MCF and LAS serve as reliable diagnostic and prognostic markers in patients with NIDCM. LAS, as a marker for longitudinal contractile function, is an independent parameter for outcome and offers incremental
Diagnostic value of ST-segment deviations during cardiac exercise stress testing: Systematic comparison of different ECG leads and time-points.
Puelacher, Christian; Wagener, Max; Abächerli, Roger; Honegger, Ursina; Lhasam, Nundsin; Schaerli, Nicolas; Prêtre, Gil; Strebel, Ivo; Twerenbold, Raphael; Boeddinghaus, Jasper; Nestelberger, Thomas; Rubini Giménez, Maria; Hillinger, Petra; Wildi, Karin; Sabti, Zaid; Badertscher, Patrick; Cupa, Janosch; Kozhuharov, Nikola; du Fay de Lavallaz, Jeanne; Freese, Michael; Roux, Isabelle; Lohrmann, Jens; Leber, Remo; Osswald, Stefan; Wild, Damian; Zellweger, Michael J; Mueller, Christian; Reichlin, Tobias
Exercise ECG stress testing is the most widely available method for evaluation of patients with suspected myocardial ischemia. Its major limitation is the relatively poor accuracy of ST-segment changes regarding ischemia detection. Little is known about the optimal method to assess ST-deviations. A total of 1558 consecutive patients undergoing bicycle exercise stress myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) were enrolled. Presence of inducible myocardial ischemia was adjudicated using MPI results. The diagnostic value of ST-deviations for detection of exercise-induced myocardial ischemia was systematically analyzed 1) for each individual lead, 2) at three different intervals after the J-point (J+40ms, J+60ms, J+80ms), and 3) at different time points during the test (baseline, maximal workload, 2min into recovery). Exercise-induced ischemia was detected in 481 (31%) patients. The diagnostic accuracy of ST-deviations was highest at +80ms after the J-point, and at 2min into recovery. At this point, ST-amplitude showed an AUC of 0.63 (95% CI 0.59-0.66) for the best-performing lead I. The combination of ST-amplitude and ST-slope in lead I did not increase the AUC. Lead I reached a sensitivity of 37% and a specificity of 83%, with similar sensitivity to manual ECG analysis (34%, p=0.31) but lower specificity (90%, pST-deviations is highest when evaluated at +80ms after the J-point, and at 2min into recovery. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
McMillan, John; Walker, Simon; Hope, Tony
This article argues that hope is of value in clinical ethics and that it can be important for clinicians to be sensitive to both the risks of false hope and the importance of retaining hope. However, this sensitivity requires an understanding of the complexity of hope and how it bears on different aspects of a well-functioning doctor-patient relationship. We discuss hopefulness and distinguish it, from three different kinds of hope, or 'hopes for', and then relate these distinctions back to differing accounts of autonomy. This analysis matters because it shows how an overly narrow view of the ethical obligations of a clinician to their patient, and autonomy, might lead to scenarios where patients regret the choices they make.
Biología reproductiva de Convolvulus chilensis (Convolvulaceae en una población de Aucó (centro-norte de Chile Reproductive biology of Convolvulus chilensis (Convolvulaceae in a population of Aucó (north-central Chile
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Lorena H. Suárez
Full Text Available Convolvulus chilensis es una hierba perenne, única representante endémica de la familia Convolvulaceae en Chile. Se estudió el sistema de reproducción, fenología, morfología y longevidad floral de C. chilensis en una población natural ubicada en la localidad de Aucó, dentro de la Reserva Nacional Las Chinchillas, IV Región, Chile. Se montó un experimento de polinización controlada considerando los tratamientos de polinización natural, polinización cruzada, autopolinización manual, autopolinización automática y apomixis, evaluándose su efecto sobre la formación de frutos y el número de semillas producidas por fruto. Adicionalmente, se compararon los siguientes atributos de la progenie según tipo de polinización (autopolinización o polinización cruzada: peso de semilla, germinación, altura y número de hojas de plántulas de ocho semanas en condiciones de invernadero. Se encontró que C. chilensis es una especie autocompatible, parcialmente autógama (capaz de autopolinizarse sin mediador y parcialmente apomíctica (capaz de producir semillas sin participación de gameto masculino. La longevidad floral fue estimada en 5,25 h. Durante este período, aproximadamente en 1,5 h hay disponibilidad de polen en los estambres. El período de floración se extiende por 22 semanas (agosto a enero. El tratamiento de apomixis presentó el menor porcentaje de formación de frutos y la menor cantidad de semillas por flor en comparación a los tratamientos de polinización natural, cruzada manual, autopolinización automática y autopolinización manual, los cuales no mostraron diferencias entre sí en ambos atributos. El tipo de polinización (autopolinización o polinización cruzada no afecta el desempeño de la progenie en los atributos de semilla y plántula evaluadosThe perennial herb Convolvulus chilensis is the only endemic species of the Convolvulaceae in Chile. The breeding system, phenology, morphology and floral longevity of C
Implementing Target Value Design.
Alves, Thais da C L; Lichtig, Will; Rybkowski, Zofia K
An alternative to the traditional way of designing projects is the process of target value design (TVD), which takes different departure points to start the design process. The TVD process starts with the client defining an allowable cost that needs to be met by the design and construction teams. An expected cost in the TVD process is defined through multiple interactions between multiple stakeholders who define wishes and others who define ways of achieving these wishes. Finally, a target cost is defined based on the expected profit the design and construction teams are expecting to make. TVD follows a series of continuous improvement efforts aimed at reaching the desired goals for the project and its associated target value cost. The process takes advantage of rapid cycles of suggestions, analyses, and implementation that starts with the definition of value for the client. In the traditional design process, the goal is to identify user preferences and find solutions that meet the needs of the client's expressed preferences. In the lean design process, the goal is to educate users about their values and advocate for a better facility over the long run; this way owners can help contractors and designers to identify better solutions. This article aims to inform the healthcare community about tools and techniques commonly used during the TVD process and how they can be used to educate and support project participants in developing better solutions to meet their needs now as well as in the future.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Bogdan Cosmin Gomoi
Full Text Available When taking into consideration the issue of defining the "fair value" concept, those less experimented in the area often fall in the "price trap", which is considered as an equivalent of the fair value of financial structures. This valuation basis appears as a consequence of the trial to provide an "accurate image" by the financial statements and, also, as an opportunity for the premises offered by the activity continuing principle. The specialized literature generates ample controversies regarding the "fair value" concept and the "market value" concept. The paper aims to debate this issue, taking into account various opinions.
[The REACH legislation: the consumer and environment protection perspective].
Gundert-Remy, Ursula
REACH has been initiated with the aim of improving existing legislation. In order to assist in the interpretation of the REACH legislation, guidance documents have been developed, which have only lately become available. According to the REACH annexes and supported by guidance documents, waiving of test requirements will be possible, thus, opening the possibility that under REACH no new (eco)toxicological data will be required. Concerning products, a guidance document was released in April 2008 stating that the substance concentration threshold of 0.1 % (w/w) applies to the article as produced or imported and it does not relate to the homogeneous materials or parts of an article, but relates to the article as such (i.e., as produced or imported). Hence, notification will not be required for many products containing chemicals with properties which place them on the candidate list for authorization. In summary, it is at present not foreseeable whether the expected benefit of the REACH legislation will materialise for the environment and for the health of consumers and at the work place.
REACH-related substitution within the Danish printing industry
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Larsen, Henrik Fred; Bøg, Carsten; Markussen, Helene
are running a substitution project. A major part of the work has been mapping the presence of chemicals which are potential candidates for substitution (e.g. PBT, CMR, vPvB, EDS) within the Danish printing industry. The mapping comprises a combination of a literature study and an investigation of the actual......The accomplishment of the EU REACH regulation will most probably promote substitution within sectors handling a lot of different chemicals like the printing industry. With the aim of being at the cutting edge of this development the Danish EPA together with the Danish printing industry and IPU...... fulfil one or more of the criteria (e.g. CMR, EDS) for the REACH Annex XIV candidate list (authorisation). The paper presents the results of the mapping of chemical candidates and the first results of the actual substitutions. Keywords: REACH, chemicals, substitution, printing industry....
Bärnighausen, Till; Bloom, David E; Cafiero-Fonseca, Elizabeth T; O'Brien, Jennifer Carroll
Vaccination has led to remarkable health gains over the last century. However, large coverage gaps remain, which will require significant financial resources and political will to address. In recent years, a compelling line of inquiry has established the economic benefits of health, at both the individual and aggregate levels. Most existing economic evaluations of particular health interventions fail to account for this new research, leading to potentially sizable undervaluation of those interventions. In line with this new research, we set forth a framework for conceptualizing the full benefits of vaccination, including avoided medical care costs, outcome-related productivity gains, behavior-related productivity gains, community health externalities, community economic externalities, and the value of risk reduction and pure health gains. We also review literature highlighting the magnitude of these sources of benefit for different vaccinations. Finally, we outline the steps that need to be taken to implement a broad-approach economic evaluation and discuss the implications of this work for research, policy, and resource allocation for vaccine development and delivery.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hernán Ceballos
Full Text Available Breeding cassava relies on several selection stages (single row trial-SRT; preliminary; advanced; and uniform yield trials - UYT. This study uses data from 14 years of evaluations. From more than 20,000 genotypes initially evaluated only 114 reached the last stage. The objective was to assess how the data at SRT could be used to predict the probabilities of genotypes reaching the UYT. Phenotypic data from each genotype at SRT was integrated into the selection index (SIN used by the cassava breeding program. Average SIN from all the progenies derived from each progenitor was then obtained. Average SIN is an approximation of the breeding value of each progenitor. Data clearly suggested that some genotypes were better progenitors than others (e.g. high number of their progenies reaching the UYT, suggesting important variation in breeding values of progenitors. However, regression of average SIN of each parental genotype on the number of their respective progenies reaching UYT resulted in a negligible coefficient of determination (r2 = 0.05. Breeding value (e.g. average SIN at SRT was not efficient predicting which genotypes were more likely to reach the UYT stage. Number of families and progenies derived from a given progenitor were more efficient predicting the probabilities of the progeny from a given parent reaching the UYT stage. Large within-family genetic variation tends to mask the true breeding value of each progenitor. The use of partially inbred progenitors (e.g. S1 or S2 genotypes would reduce the within-family genetic variation thus making the assessment of breeding value more accurate. Moreover, partial inbreeding of progenitors can improve the breeding value of the original (S0 parental material and sharply accelerate genetic gains. For instance, homozygous S1 genotypes for the dominant resistance to cassava mosaic disease could be generated and selected. All gametes from these selected S1 genotypes would carry the desirable allele
Composite Coiled Tubing for Extended Reach in Horizontal Oil Wells
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Costache, Andrei; Berggreen, Christian
Conventional steel coiled tubing cannot reach along the entire length of very long horizontal oil wells. A lighter and more buoyant coiled tube is made possible using composite materials. The high stiffness to weight ratio of fiber reinforced polymers, coupled with a lower coefficient of friction......, has the potential of greatly extending the reach in horizontal oil wells. This study shows how to design composite coiled tubing and gives a comprehensive discussion about the most influential parameters. Several solutions, using glass-fiber and carbon are considered. Finite element models are used...
Telerobotic operation of structurally flexible, long-reach manipulators
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kwon, D.S.; Hwang, D.H.; Babcock, S.M.
As a part of the Department of Energy's Environmental Restoration and Waste Management Program, long-reach manipulators are being considered for the retrieval of waste from large storage tanks. Long-reach manipulators may have characteristics significantly different from those of typical industrial robots because of the flexibility of long links needed to cover the large workspace. To avoid structural vibrations during operation, control algorithms employing various types of shaping filters were investigated. A new approach that uses embedded simulation was developed and compared with others. In the new approach, generation of joint trajectories considering link flexibility was also investigated
Measurement of environmental radiation exposure rates from Vernita, Hanford Reach, and Richland area shores. Addendum 1
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Cooper, A.T.
Environmental radiation exposure rate measurements are taken on and around the Hanford Site for Pacific Northwest Laboratory's Hanford Site Surface Environmental Surveillance Project. In 1992, environmental radiation exposure rate measurements were taken from shoreline and island areas ranging from Vernita, along the Hanford Reach, down to the Richland Pumphouse. Measurements were taken primarily at locations known or expected to have elevated exposure rates as determined by examination of aerial photographs depicting radiation exposure measurements. Results from the 1992 survey indicated radiation exposure rates taken from the Hanford Reach area were elevated in comparison to the measurements taken from the Vernita area with ranges of 8 to 28 μR/hr and 4 to 11 μR/hr, respectively. In January 1994, additional shoreline radiation exposure rate measurements were taken from the Vernita, Hanford Reach, and Richland areas to determine the relationship of radiation exposure rates along the Richland area shores when compared to Vernita and Hanford Reach area exposure rates (measurements along the Richland area were not collected during the 1992 survey). This report discusses the 1994 results and is an addendum to the report that discussed the 1992 survey. An analysis of variance indicated a significant location interaction at a p-value of 0.0014. To determine differences between paried locations a post-hoc comparison of location means was performed on log transformed data using the Scheffacute e's F-test. This test indicated a significant difference between Hanford Reach and Richland area means with a mean difference of 0.075 /μR/hr and a p-value of 0.0014. No significant difference was found between Hanford Reach and Vernita area means: The mean difference was 0.031 μR/hr and the p-value was 0.3138. No significant difference was found between Vernita and Richland area means with a mean difference of 0.044 μR/hr and a p-value of 0.1155
Robot-assisted reaching exercise promotes arm movement recovery in chronic hemiparetic stroke: a randomized controlled pilot study
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Rymer W Zev
Full Text Available Abstract Background and purpose Providing active assistance to complete desired arm movements is a common technique in upper extremity rehabilitation after stroke. Such active assistance may improve recovery by affecting somatosensory input, motor planning, spasticity or soft tissue properties, but it is labor intensive and has not been validated in controlled trials. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of robotically administered active-assistive exercise and compare those with free reaching voluntary exercise in improving arm movement ability after chronic stroke. Methods Nineteen individuals at least one year post-stroke were randomized into one of two groups. One group performed 24 sessions of active-assistive reaching exercise with a simple robotic device, while a second group performed a task-matched amount of unassisted reaching. The main outcome measures were range and speed of supported arm movement, range, straightness and smoothness of unsupported reaching, and the Rancho Los Amigos Functional Test of Upper Extremity Function. Results and discussion There were significant improvements with training for range of motion and velocity of supported reaching, straightness of unsupported reaching, and functional movement ability. These improvements were not significantly different between the two training groups. The group that performed unassisted reaching exercise improved the smoothness of their reaching movements more than the robot-assisted group. Conclusion Improvements with both forms of exercise confirmed that repeated, task-related voluntary activation of the damaged motor system is a key stimulus to motor recovery following chronic stroke. Robotically assisting in reaching successfully improved arm movement ability, although it did not provide any detectable, additional value beyond the movement practice that occurred concurrently with it. The inability to detect any additional value of robot-assisted reaching
Normative data of Modified Functional Reach Test in younger and middle-aged North Eastern Indian population
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Priyanka Singh
Full Text Available Background and Purpose: The modified functional reach test (MFRT is the objective measure for dynamic sitting balance. It quantifies sitting balance in two directions: Forward and lateral reach. So, the purpose of the study was to 1 provide clinical reference value and 2 examine the factors that may influence the anthropometrics measures. Materials and Methods: A total of 200 apparently healthy subjects participated in this descriptive study. All subjects were divided in two groups: Younger (20-39 yr and middle-aged (40-59 yr. After anthropometric measurement, all subjects performed test by reaching forward and lateral with a closed fist while sitting. MFRT was taken with 3 trials with 15 sec break in between. Results: The mean score of the forward and lateral reach of right and left in group 1 was higher compared to group 2. The normative value of forward reach in group 1 was 34.05 ± 9.03 cm; for lateral reach right and left, it was 18.2 ± 5.26 cm and 17.32 ± 5.21 cm, respectively. For group 2, normative values for forward reach, lateral right and left were 25.18 ± 5.71 cm, 14.02 ± 3.98 cm and 13.53 ± 4.25 cm, respectively. There was no significant correlation of forward and lateral reach measures with the anthropometric characteristics in both the groups, except trunk length and BMI in group 1, which was significantly correlated ( P < 0.001. Conclusion: This study provides clinical reference value for younger and middle age group subjects while anthropometrics do not affect performance except trunk length and BMI in younger age group.
Task-dependent vestibular feedback responses in reaching
Keyser, J.; Medendorp, W.P.; Selen, L.P.J.
When reaching for an earth-fixed object during self-rotation, the motor system should appropriately integrate vestibular signals and sensory predictions to compensate for the intervening motion and its induced inertial forces. While it is well established that this integration occurs rapidly, it is
Reaching the Unreached - Special Emphasis on the Communication ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
This paper provides an overview of the existing communication component in the Expanded Program on Immunisation (EPI) training in Zambia and critically analyses the need for a humane touch in the communication process so as to reach the target audience effectively. Interpersonal Communication (IPC) in Zambia has ...
Shaping of Reach-to-Grasp Kinematics by Intentions
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Egmose, Ida; Køppe, Simo
is primarily associated with transporting the hand to the object (i.e., extrinsic object properties), the decelerating part of the reach is used as a preparation for object manipulation (i.e., prepare the grasp or the subsequent action), and the grasp is associated with manipulating the object's intrinsic...
Recognition for reaching the most vulnerable populations in Burkina ...
International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)
Recognition for reaching the most vulnerable populations in Burkina Faso. 07 novembre 2016. An IDRC supported project was recognized for its efforts to improve health service provision and the monitoring of pregnant women, new mothers, children, and people living with HIV in Burkina Faso's Nouna district. Dr Maurice ...
Object Permanence, Reaching, and Locomotion in Infants Who Are Blind.
Ross, S.; Tobin, M. J.
The literature on the effects of congenital blindness on infants' development of motor functions and concepts of object permanence is reviewed. The article questions the idea that infants must first develop an object concept before sound clues alone will elicit reaching. Possible interventions to redress the effects of congenital blindness on…
Reaching an understanding innovations in how we view reading assessment
Sabatini, John; O'Reilly, Tenaha
Reaching an Understanding: Innovations in How We View Reading Assessment builds upon the editors previous book Measuring Up: Advances in How We Assess Reading Ability by representing some early attempts to apply theory to help guide the development of new assessments and measurement models.
Nanshan Aluminum Reached Strategic Cooperation with CSR Corporation Limited
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
As a key supplier of aluminum profiles and aluminum plate,sheet and trip products for CSR Corporation Limited,Nanshan Aluminum will join hands with CSR Corporation Limited to reach strategic cooperation.On January 5,Nanshan Aluminum signed strategic cooperation agreement with CSR Sifang Locomotive&Rolling; Stock Co.,Ltd,both
An Assessment of EU 2020 Strategy: Too Far to Reach?
Colak, Mehmet Selman; Ege, Aylin
In 2010, EU adopted a new growth strategy which includes three growth priorities and five headline targets to be reached by 2020. The aim of this paper is to investigate the current performance of the EU member and candidate states in achieving these growth priorities and the overall strategy target by allocating the headline targets into the…
Development of postural adjustments during reaching in infants with CP
Hadders-Algra, M; van der Fits, IBM; Stremmelaar, EF; Touwen, BCL
The development of postural adjustments during reaching movements was longitudinally studied in seven infants with cerebral palsy (CP) between 4 and 18 months of age. Five infants developed spastic hemiplegia, one spastic tetraplegia, and one spastic tetraplegia with athetosis. Each assessment
Evaluation of the Implementation of the Reaching Every District ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
ABSTRACT. Background: In 2003, the Government of Zambia in collaboration with implementing partners in immunisation introduced the Reaching Every District. (RED) strategy to improve immunization coverage. The aim of this study is to evaluate the implementation of the. RED strategy in Lusaka district. Methods: A ...
Reach for the Stars: Visions for Literacy Coaching Programs
DeFord, Diane
This brief by the Literacy Coaching Clearinghouse is about reaching for the stars--stories of vision and commitment from educators in small and large schools. Everyone knows of people who are held up as "visionaries" throughout history: Leonardo Da Vinci, Mahatma Gandhi, Jules Verne, Thomas Edison, Susan Anthony, or John Dewey, to name a few. The…
Advanced reach tool (ART) : Development of the mechanistic model
Fransman, W.; Tongeren, M. van; Cherrie, J.W.; Tischer, M.; Schneider, T.; Schinkel, J.; Kromhout, H.; Warren, N.; Goede, H.; Tielemans, E.
This paper describes the development of the mechanistic model within a collaborative project, referred to as the Advanced REACH Tool (ART) project, to develop a tool to model inhalation exposure for workers sharing similar operational conditions across different industries and locations in Europe.
Reaching the Summit: Deaf Adults as Essential Partners in Education
Bourne-Firl, Bridgetta
How do we reach the summit in terms of supporting the best transition possible for each young deaf or hard of hearing individual in the United States? Should professionals who are hearing work alone to succeed with deaf and hard of hearing students? No matter how good the intention, if we want deaf and hard of hearing students to transition from…
Reaching the Millennium Development Goals : Mauritania Should Care
Magnoli Bocchi, Alessandro; Pontara, Nicola; Fall, Khayar; Tejada, Catalina M.; Gallego Cuervo, Pablo
Mauritania is a resource-rich developing country. As many other African nations, it will not reach most of the Millennium Development Goals, unless the authorities commit to accelerating progress. To succeed by 2015, the government needs to: mobilize additional financial resources, introduce policy changes at the sector level, and strengthen the links between strategic objectives and the b...
Patterns of arm muscle activation involved in octopus reaching movements.
Gutfreund, Y; Flash, T; Fiorito, G; Hochner, B
The extreme flexibility of the octopus arm allows it to perform many different movements, yet octopuses reach toward a target in a stereotyped manner using a basic invariant motor structure: a bend traveling from the base of the arm toward the tip (Gutfreund et al., 1996a). To study the neuronal control of these movements, arm muscle activation [electromyogram (EMG)] was measured together with the kinematics of reaching movements. The traveling bend is associated with a propagating wave of muscle activation, with maximal muscle activation slightly preceding the traveling bend. Tonic activation was occasionally maintained afterward. Correlation of the EMG signals with the kinematic variables (velocities and accelerations) reveals that a significant part of the kinematic variability can be explained by the level of muscle activation. Furthermore, the EMG level measured during the initial stages of movement predicts the peak velocity attained toward the end of the reaching movement. These results suggest that feed-forward motor commands play an important role in the control of movement velocity and that simple adjustment of the excitation levels at the initial stages of the movement can set the velocity profile of the whole movement. A simple model of octopus arm extension is proposed in which the driving force is set initially and is then decreased in proportion to arm diameter at the bend. The model qualitatively reproduces the typical velocity profiles of octopus reaching movements, suggesting a simple control mechanism for bend propagation in the octopus arm.
How infants' reaches reveal principles of sensorimotor decision making
Dineva, Evelina; Schöner, Gregor
In Piaget's classical A-not-B-task, infants repeatedly make a sensorimotor decision to reach to one of two cued targets. Perseverative errors are induced by switching the cue from A to B, while spontaneous errors are unsolicited reaches to B when only A is cued. We argue that theoretical accounts of sensorimotor decision-making fail to address how motor decisions leave a memory trace that may impact future sensorimotor decisions. Instead, in extant neural models, perseveration is caused solely by the history of stimulation. We present a neural dynamic model of sensorimotor decision-making within the framework of Dynamic Field Theory, in which a dynamic instability amplifies fluctuations in neural activation into macroscopic, stable neural activation states that leave memory traces. The model predicts perseveration, but also a tendency to repeat spontaneous errors. To test the account, we pool data from several A-not-B experiments. A conditional probabilities analysis accounts quantitatively how motor decisions depend on the history of reaching. The results provide evidence for the interdependence among subsequent reaching decisions that is explained by the model, showing that by amplifying small differences in activation and affecting learning, decisions have consequences beyond the individual behavioural act.
Advanced REACH tool: A Bayesian model for occupational exposure assessment
McNally, K.; Warren, N.; Fransman, W.; Entink, R.K.; Schinkel, J.; Van Tongeren, M.; Cherrie, J.W.; Kromhout, H.; Schneider, T.; Tielemans, E.
This paper describes a Bayesian model for the assessment of inhalation exposures in an occupational setting; the methodology underpins a freely available web-based application for exposure assessment, the Advanced REACH Tool (ART). The ART is a higher tier exposure tool that combines disparate
On stiffening cables of a long reach manipulator
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Wang, S.L.; Santiago, P.
A long reach manipulator will be used for waste remediation in large underground storage tanks. The manipulator's slenderness makes it flexible and difficult to control. A low-cost and effective method to enhance the manipulator's stiffness is proposed in this research by using suspension cables. These cables can also be used to accurately measure the position of the manipulator's wrist
Challenges of extension workers in reaching rural women farmers in ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
The study examined the challenges of extension workers in reaching rural women farmers in Enugu State Nigeria. Questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample size of 52 extension workers. Data were analyzed using percentage, mean statistic, chart and factor analysis. Results revealed that training and visit ...
Quality, Reach, and Impact of Open Scholarly Publishing in Latin ...
International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)
Quality, Reach, and Impact of Open Scholarly Publishing in Latin America. Better understanding Open Access of scholarly research will help determine how it contributes to the greater circulation of knowledge and disseminating research in Latin America. Open Access (defined as unrestricted access to articles published in ...
Diagnostic value of T1 and T2 * relaxation times and off-resonance saturation effects in the evaluation of Achilles tendinopathy by MRI at 3T.
Grosse, Ulrich; Syha, Roland; Hein, Tobias; Gatidis, Sergios; Grözinger, Gerd; Schabel, Christoph; Martirosian, Petros; Schick, Fritz; Springer, Fabian
To evaluate and compare the diagnostic value of T1 , T2 * relaxation times and off-resonance saturation ratios (OSR) in healthy controls and patients with different clinical and morphological stages of Achilles tendinopathy. Forty-two healthy Achilles tendons and 34 tendons of 17 patients with symptomatic and asymptomatic tendinopathy were investigated clinically with conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences on a 3T whole-body MR scanner and a dynamic ultrasound examination. In addition, T1 and T2 * relaxation times were assessed using an ultrashort echo time (UTE) imaging sequence with flip angle and echo time variation. For the calculation of OSR values a Gaussian off-resonance saturation pulse (frequency offset: 750-5000 Hz) was used. The diagnostic value of the derived MR values was assessed and compared using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. ROC curves demonstrate the highest overall test performance for OSR values at 2000 Hz off-resonance in differentiating slightly (OSR-2000 [AUC: 0.930] > T2 * [AUC: 0.884] > T1 [AUC: 0.737]) and more severe pathologically altered tendon areas (OSR-2000 [AUC: 0.964] > T2 * [AUC: 0.917] > T1 [AUC: 0.819]) from healthy ones. OSR values at a frequency offset of 2000 Hz demonstrated a better sensitivity and specificity for detecting mild and severe stages of tendinopathy compared to T2 * and particularly when compared to T1 relaxation times. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Amplified Erosion above Waterfalls and Oversteepened Bedrock Reaches
Haviv, I.; Enzel, Y.; Whipple, K. X.; Zilberman, E.; Stone, J.; Matmon, A.; Fifield, K. L.
Although waterfalls are abundant along steep bedrock channels, none of the conventional erosion laws can predict incision at the lip of a waterfall where flow is non-uniform and bed slope can be vertical. Considering the expected increase in flow velocity and shear stress at the lip of a vertical waterfall we determine erosion amplification at a waterfall lip as: Elip/Enormal= (1+0.4/Fr2)3n, where Fr is the Froude number and n ranges between 0.5-1.7. This amplification expression suggests that erosion at the lip could be as much as 2-5 times higher than normally expected in a setting with identical hydraulic geometry. It also demonstrates that a freefall is expected to amplify upstream incision rates even when the flow approaching the waterfall is highly supercritical. Utilizing this erosion amplification expression in numerical simulations in conjunction with a standard detachment-limited incision model we demonstrate its impact on reach-scale morphology above waterfalls. These simulations indicate that amplified erosion at the lip of a waterfall can trigger the formation of an oversteepened reach whose length is longer than the flow acceleration zone, provided incision velocity (Vi) at the edge of the flow acceleration zone is higher than the retreat velocity of the waterfall face. Such an oversteepened reach is expected to be more pronounced when Vi increases with increasing slope. The simulations also suggest that oversteepening can eventually lead to quasi steady-state gradients upstream from a waterfall provided Vi decreases with increasing slope. Flow acceleration above waterfalls can thus account, at least partially, for oversteepened bedrock reaches that are prevalent above waterfalls. Such reaches have been reported for the escarpments of southeast Australia, western Dead Sea, and at Niagara Falls. Using the cosmogenic isotope 36Cl we demonstrate that Vi upstream of a waterfall at the Dead Sea western escarpment is high enough for freefall
Task-dependent vestibular feedback responses in reaching.
Keyser, Johannes; Medendorp, W Pieter; Selen, Luc P J
When reaching for an earth-fixed object during self-rotation, the motor system should appropriately integrate vestibular signals and sensory predictions to compensate for the intervening motion and its induced inertial forces. While it is well established that this integration occurs rapidly, it is unknown whether vestibular feedback is specifically processed dependent on the behavioral goal. Here, we studied whether vestibular signals evoke fixed responses with the aim to preserve the hand trajectory in space or are processed more flexibly, correcting trajectories only in task-relevant spatial dimensions. We used galvanic vestibular stimulation to perturb reaching movements toward a narrow or a wide target. Results show that the same vestibular stimulation led to smaller trajectory corrections to the wide than the narrow target. We interpret this reduced compensation as a task-dependent modulation of vestibular feedback responses, tuned to minimally intervene with the task-irrelevant dimension of the reach. These task-dependent vestibular feedback corrections are in accordance with a central prediction of optimal feedback control theory and mirror the sophistication seen in feedback responses to mechanical and visual perturbations of the upper limb. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Correcting limb movements for external perturbations is a hallmark of flexible sensorimotor behavior. While visual and mechanical perturbations are corrected in a task-dependent manner, it is unclear whether a vestibular perturbation, naturally arising when the body moves, is selectively processed in reach control. We show, using galvanic vestibular stimulation, that reach corrections to vestibular perturbations are task dependent, consistent with a prediction of optimal feedback control theory. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.
Bimanual reach to grasp movements after cervical spinal cord injury.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Laura Britten
Full Text Available Injury to the cervical spinal cord results in bilateral deficits in arm/hand function reducing functional independence and quality of life. To date little research has been undertaken to investigate control strategies of arm/hand movements following cervical spinal cord injury (cSCI. This study aimed to investigate unimanual and bimanual coordination in patients with acute cSCI using 3D kinematic analysis as they performed naturalistic reach to grasp actions with one hand, or with both hands together (symmetrical task, and compare this to the movement patterns of uninjured younger and older adults. Eighteen adults with a cSCI (mean 61.61 years with lesions at C4-C8, with an American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA grade B to D and 16 uninjured younger adults (mean 23.68 years and sixteen uninjured older adults (mean 70.92 years were recruited. Participants with a cSCI produced reach-to-grasp actions which took longer, were slower, and had longer deceleration phases than uninjured participants. These differences were exacerbated during bimanual reach-to-grasp tasks. Maximal grasp aperture was no different between groups, but reached earlier by people with cSCI. Participants with a cSCI were less synchronous than younger and older adults but all groups used the deceleration phase for error correction to end the movement in a synchronous fashion. Overall, this study suggests that after cSCI a level of bimanual coordination is retained. While there seems to be a greater reliance on feedback to produce both the reach to grasp, we observed minimal disruption of the more impaired limb on the less impaired limb. This suggests that bimanual movements should be integrated into therapy.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Gjerris, Mickey; Gaiani, S.
and is one of the important contributors to climate change, simply seems wrong. Here we discuss three questions in relation of this almost self-evident fact: (1) different definitions of food waste and the difficulties in reaching a global definition, how desirable it might be; (2) different ways......Food waste is one of the most discussed subjects within food production in recent years. Throwing food away at a time when almost 900 million humans live in hunger and it is becoming more and more clear that food production draws on limited resources of eg. agricultural land and fresh water...... of preventing food waste from the individual to the international level and the importance of examining the values behind different strategies; and (3) ethical challenges in relation to food waste and the opportunity to utilize the indignation that many feel when confronted with food waste to re...
A phase I study of PRO131921, a novel anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody in patients with relapsed/refractory CD20+ indolent NHL: correlation between clinical responses and AUC pharmacokinetics.
Casulo, Carla; Vose, Julie M; Ho, William Y; Kahl, Brad; Brunvand, Mark; Goy, Andre; Kasamon, Yvette; Cheson, Bruce; Friedberg, Jonathan W
PRO131921 is a third-generation, humanized anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody with increased antibody-dependent cytotoxicity and complement-dependent cytotoxicity compared to rituximab. In this phase I study, PRO131921 was administered as a single agent to patients with CD20+, relapsed or refractory, indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) who had been treated with a prior rituximab-containing regimen. The primary aim of this study was safety and tolerability of PRO131921. The secondary aim of the study, and focus of this report, was to determine the pharmacokinetics (PK) profile of PRO131921 and establish a correlation between drug exposure and clinical efficacy. Patients were treated with PRO131921 by intravenous infusion weekly for 4 weeks and the dose was escalated based on safety in a 3+3 design. Twenty-four patients were treated with PRO131921 at doses from 25mg/m(2) to 800 mg/m(2). Analysis of PK data demonstrated a correlation between higher normalized drug exposure (normalized AUC) and tumor shrinkage (p = .0035). Also, normalized AUC levels were higher among responders and subjects displaying tumor shrinkage versus subjects progressing or showing no regression (p = 0.030). In conclusion, PRO131921 demonstrated clinical activity in rituximab-relapsed and refractory indolent NHL patients. The observation that higher normalized AUC may be associated with improved clinical responses has potential implications in future trials of monoclonal antibody-based therapies, and emphasizes the importance of early PK studies to optimize antibody efficacy. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Fair value assessment – valences and limitations
Cozma Ighian Diana; Nistor Cristina Silvia
In recent years, FASB and IASB have intensified research on fair value measurements and planned to further expand the scope of applicability of fair value measurements. However, organizations responsible for formulating the principles, enterprises, social bodies and academia are locked in a dispute over the advantages and disadvantages of fair value measurements, and no consensus has been reached yet. This paper explores the arguments for and against fair value and tries to find out whether a...
The value of intratumoral heterogeneity of (18)F-FDG uptake to differentiate between primary benign and malignant musculoskeletal tumours on PET/CT.
Nakajo, Masatoyo; Nakajo, Masayuki; Jinguji, Megumi; Fukukura, Yoshihiko; Nakabeppu, Yoshiaki; Tani, Atsushi; Yoshiura, Takashi
The cumulative standardized uptake value (SUV)-volume histogram (CSH) was reported to be a novel way to characterize heterogeneity in intratumoral tracer uptake. This study investigated the value of fluorine-18 fludeoxyglucose ((18)F-FDG) intratumoral heterogeneity in comparison with SUV to discriminate between primary benign and malignant musculoskeletal (MS) tumours. The subjects comprised 85 pathologically proven MS tumours. The area under the curve of CSH (AUC-CSH) was used as a heterogeneity index, with lower values corresponding with increased heterogeneity. As 22 tumours were indiscernible on (18)F-FDG positron emission tomography, maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), mean standardized uptake value (SUVmean) and AUC-CSH were obtained in 63 positive tumours. The Mann-Whitney U test and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis were used for analyses. The difference between benign (n = 35) and malignant tumours (n = 28) was significant in AUC-CSH (p = 0.004), but not in SUVmax (p = 0.168) and SUVmean (p = 0.879). The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy for diagnosing malignancy were 61%, 66% and 64% for SUVmax (optical threshold value, >6.9), 54%, 60% and 57% for SUVmean (optical threshold value, >3) and 61%, 86% and 75% for AUC-CSH (optical threshold value, ≤0.42), respectively. The area under the ROC curve was significantly higher in AUC-CSH (0.71) than SUVmax (0.60) (p = 0.018) and SUVmean (0.51) (p = 0.005). The heterogeneity index, AUC-CSH, has a higher diagnostic accuracy than SUV analysis in differentiating between primary benign and malignant MS tumours, although it is not sufficiently high enough to obviate histological analysis. AUC-CSH can assess the heterogeneity of (18)F-FDG uptake in primary benign and malignant MS tumours, with significantly greater heterogeneity associated with malignant MS tumours. AUC-CSH is more diagnostically accurate than SUV analysis in differentiating between benign and
Translating the REACH Caregiver Intervention for Use by Area Agency on Aging Personnel: the REACH OUT Program
Burgio, Louis D.; Collins, Irene B.; Schmid, Bettina; Wharton, Tracy; McCallum, Debra; DeCoster, Jamie
Purpose: The aim of this study was to translate the evidence-based Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer's Caregiver Health (REACH) II intervention for use in 4 Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs). A secondary aim was to examine possible moderators of treatment outcome. Design and Methods: We used a quasi-experimental pre-post treatment design with no…
Redesigning Schools to Reach Every Student with Excellent Teachers: Change Management--Key Theories to Consider when Extending Reach
Barrett, Sharon Kebschull
As schools, their teachers, and outside facilitators redesign jobs and incorporate technology to extend the reach of excellent teachers to more students and develop an Opportunity Culture for all, choosing the right school models is just one part of the task. The human experience--and experience in education--says that even perfect design will not…
Perceiver as polar planimeter: Direct perception of jumping, reaching, and jump-reaching affordances for the self and others.
Thomas, Brandon J; Hawkins, Matthew M; Nalepka, Patrick
Runeson (Scandanavian Journal of Psychology 18:172-179, 1977) suggested that the polar planimeter might serve as an informative model system of perceptual mechanism. The key aspect of the polar planimeter is that it registers a higher order property of the environment without computational mediation on the basis of lower order properties, detecting task-specific information only. This aspect was posited as a hypothesis for the perception of jumping and reaching affordances for the self and another person. The findings supported this hypothesis. The perception of reaching while jumping significantly differed from an additive combination of jump-without-reaching and reach-without-jumping perception. The results are consistent with Gibson's (The senses considered as perceptual systems, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, MA; Gibson, The senses considered as perceptual systems, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, MA, 1966; The ecological approach to visual perception, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, MA; Gibson, The ecological approach to visual perception, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, MA, 1979) theory of information-that aspects of the environment are specified by patterns in energetic media.
Simulation of Columbia River Floods in the Hanford Reach
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Waichler, Scott R.; Serkowski, John A.; Perkins, William A.; Richmond, Marshall C.
Columbia River water elevations and flows in the Hanford Reach affect the environment and facilities along the shoreline, including movement of contaminants in groundwater, fish habitat, and infrastructure subject to flooding. This report describes the hydraulic simulation of hypothetical flood flows using the best available topographic and bathymetric data for the Hanford Reach and the Modular Aquatic Simulation System in 1 Dimension (MASS1) hydrodynamic model. The MASS1 model of the Hanford Reach was previously calibrated to field measurements of water surface elevations. The current model setup can be used for other studies of flow, water levels, and temperature in the Reach. The existing MASS1 channel geometry and roughness and other model configuration inputs for the Hanford Reach were used for this study, and previous calibration and validation results for the model are reprinted here for reference. The flood flows for this study were simulated by setting constant flow rates obtained from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for the Columbia, Snake, and Yakima Rivers, and a constant water level at McNary Dam, and then running the model to steady state. The discharge levels simulated were all low-probability events; for example, a 100-year flood is one that would occur on average every 100 years, or put another way, in any given year there is a 1% chance that a discharge of that level or higher will occur. The simulated floods and their corresponding Columbia River discharges were 100-year (445,000 cfs), 500-year (520,000 cfs), and the USACE-defined Standard Project Flood (960,000 cfs). The resulting water levels from the steady-state floods can be viewed as "worst case" outcomes for the respective discharge levels. The MASS1 output for water surface elevations was converted to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 and projected across the channel and land surface to enable mapping of the floodplain for each scenario. Floodplain maps show that for
Reach-to-grasp movement as a minimization process.
Yang, Fang; Feldman, Anatol G
It is known that hand transport and grasping are functionally different but spatially coordinated components of reach-to-grasp (RTG) movements. As an extension of this notion, we suggested that body segments involved in RTG movements are controlled as a coherent ensemble by a global minimization process associated with the necessity for the hand to reach the motor goal. Different RTG components emerge following this process without pre-programming. Specifically, the minimization process may result from the tendency of neuromuscular elements to diminish the spatial gap between the actual arm-hand configuration and its virtual (referent) configuration specified by the brain. The referent configuration is specified depending on the object shape, localization, and orientation. Since the minimization process is gradual, it can be interrupted and resumed following mechanical perturbations, at any phase during RTG movements, including hand closure. To test this prediction of the minimization hypothesis, we asked subjects to reach and grasp a cube placed within the reach of the arm. Vision was prevented during movement until the hand returned to its initial position. As predicted, by arresting wrist motion at different points of hand transport in randomly selected trials, it was possible to halt changes in hand aperture at any phase, not only during hand opening but also during hand closure. Aperture changes resumed soon after the wrist was released. Another test of the minimization hypothesis was made in RTG movements to an object placed beyond the reach of the arm. It has previously been shown (Rossi et al. in J Physiol 538:659-671, 2002) that in such movements, the trunk motion begins to contribute to hand transport only after a critical phase when the shifts in the referent arm configuration have finished (at about the time when hand velocity is maximal). The minimization rule suggests that when the virtual contribution of the arm to hand transport is completed
Integrated testing strategy (ITS) for bioaccumulation assessment under REACH
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Lombardo, Anna; Roncaglioni, Alessandra; Benfentati, Emilio
in a dossier. REACH promotes the use of alternative methods to replace, refine and reduce the use of animal (eco)toxicity testing. Within the EU OSIRIS project, integrated testing strategies (ITSs) have been developed for the rational use of non-animal testing approaches in chemical hazard assessment. Here we......REACH (registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals) regulation requires that all the chemicals produced or imported in Europe above 1 tonne/year are registered. To register a chemical, physicochemical, toxicological and ecotoxicological information needs to be reported...... present an ITS for evaluating the bioaccumulation potential of organic chemicals. The scheme includes the use of all available data (also the non-optimal ones), waiving schemes, analysis of physicochemical properties related to the end point and alternative methods (both in silico and in vitro). In vivo...
Key Design Requirements for Long-Reach Manipulators
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Kwon, D.S.
Long-reach manipulators differ from industrial robots and teleoperators typically used in the nuclear industry in that the aspect ratio (length to diameter) of links is much greater and link flexibility, as well as joint or drive train flexibility, is likely to be significant. Long-reach manipulators will be required for a variety of applications in the Environmental Restoration and Waste Management Program. While each application will present specific functional, kinematic, and performance requirements, an approach for determining the kinematic applicability and performance characteristics is presented, with a focus on waste storage tank remediation. Requirements are identified, kinematic configurations are considered, and a parametric study of link design parameters and their effects on performance characteristics is presented.
Key design requirements for long-reach manipulators
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kwon, D.S.; March-Leuba, S.; Babcock, S.M.; Hamel, W.R.
Long-reach manipulators differ from industrial robots and teleoperators typically used in the nuclear industry in that the aspect ratio (length to diameter) of links is much greater and link flexibility, as well as joint or drive train flexibility, is likely to be significant. Long-reach manipulators will be required for a variety of applications in the Environmental Restoration and Waste Management Program. While each application will present specific functional kinematic, and performance requirements an approach for determining the kinematic applicability and performance characteristics is presented, with a focus on waste storage tank remediation. Requirements are identified, kinematic configurations are considered, and a parametric study of link design parameters and their effects on performance characteristics is presented
Key Design Requirements for Long-Reach Manipulators
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kwon, D.S.
Long-reach manipulators differ from industrial robots and teleoperators typically used in the nuclear industry in that the aspect ratio (length to diameter) of links is much greater and link flexibility, as well as joint or drive train flexibility, is likely to be significant. Long-reach manipulators will be required for a variety of applications in the Environmental Restoration and Waste Management Program. While each application will present specific functional, kinematic, and performance requirements, an approach for determining the kinematic applicability and performance characteristics is presented, with a focus on waste storage tank remediation. Requirements are identified, kinematic configurations are considered, and a parametric study of link design parameters and their effects on performance characteristics is presented
Using Facebook to Reach People Who Experience Auditory Hallucinations
Crosier, Benjamin Sage; Brian, Rachel Marie; Ben-Zeev, Dror
Background Auditory hallucinations (eg, hearing voices) are relatively common and underreported false sensory experiences that may produce distress and impairment. A large proportion of those who experience auditory hallucinations go unidentified and untreated. Traditional engagement methods oftentimes fall short in reaching the diverse population of people who experience auditory hallucinations. Objective The objective of this proof-of-concept study was to examine the viability of leveraging...
Developing human health exposure scenarios for petroleum substances under REACH
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Carter, M.; De Wilde, P.; Maksimainen, K.; Margary, A.; Money, C.; Pizzella, G.; Svanehav, T.; Tsang, W.; Urbanus, J.; Rohde, A.
This report describes the approaches that were adopted by CONCAWE to prepare the human exposure estimates in the chemical safety assessments of the REACH registration dossiers for petroleum substances based on all applicable regulatory guidance. Separate exposure estimates were developed for workers and for consumers and included inhalation and dermal routes. The complex nature of petroleum substances required various scientifically justified refinements of the regulatory guidance.
The processing of visual and auditory information for reaching movements.
Glazebrook, Cheryl M; Welsh, Timothy N; Tremblay, Luc
Presenting target and non-target information in different modalities influences target localization if the non-target is within the spatiotemporal limits of perceptual integration. When using auditory and visual stimuli, the influence of a visual non-target on auditory target localization is greater than the reverse. It is not known, however, whether or how such perceptual effects extend to goal-directed behaviours. To gain insight into how audio-visual stimuli are integrated for motor tasks, the kinematics of reaching movements towards visual or auditory targets with or without a non-target in the other modality were examined. When present, the simultaneously presented non-target could be spatially coincident, to the left, or to the right of the target. Results revealed that auditory non-targets did not influence reaching trajectories towards a visual target, whereas visual non-targets influenced trajectories towards an auditory target. Interestingly, the biases induced by visual non-targets were present early in the trajectory and persisted until movement end. Subsequent experimentation indicated that the magnitude of the biases was equivalent whether participants performed a perceptual or motor task, whereas variability was greater for the motor versus the perceptual tasks. We propose that visually induced trajectory biases were driven by the perceived mislocation of the auditory target, which in turn affected both the movement plan and subsequent control of the movement. Such findings provide further evidence of the dominant role visual information processing plays in encoding spatial locations as well as planning and executing reaching action, even when reaching towards auditory targets.
Taking family planning services to hard-to-reach populations.
Donovan, P
Interviews were conducted in 1995 among 100 US family planning program personnel who serve hard-to-reach populations, such as drug abusers, prisoners, the disabled, homeless persons, and non-English speaking minorities. Findings indicate that a range of services is available for hard-to-reach groups. Most family planning agencies focus on drug abusers because of the severity of HIV infections and the availability of funding. This article describes the activities of various agencies in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts that serve substance abuse centers with family planning services. One recommendation for a service provider is to present services in an environment where it is safe to talk about a person's needs. One other program offered personal greetings upon arrival and the continuity of having a familiar face to oversee all reproductive and health needs. Programs for prisoners ranged from basic sex education classes to comprehensive reproductive health care. Some prisons offered individual counseling. Some programs were presented in juvenile offender facilities. Outreach to the homeless involved services at homeless shelters, outreach workers who recruited women into traditional family planning clinics, and establishment of nontraditional sites for the homeless and other hard-to-reach persons. One provider's suggestion was to offer services where high-risk women already go for other services. Most services to the disabled target the developmentally disabled rather than the physically disabled. Experience has shown that many professionals working with the disabled do not recognize their clients' sexual needs. Other hard-to-reach groups include women in housing projects and shelters for battered women, welfare applicants, and sex workers. Key to service provision is creating trust, overcoming language and cultural differences, and subsidizing the cost of care.
International reach of tobacco marketing among young children.
Borzekowski, Dina L G; Cohen, Joanna E
Prosmoking messages, delivered through marketing and the media, can reach very young children and influence attitudes and behaviors around smoking. This study examined the reach of tobacco marketing to 5 and 6 year olds in 6 low- and middle-income countries. Researchers worked one-on-one with 5 and 6 year olds in Brazil, China, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Russia (N = 2423). The children were asked to match logos with pictures of products, including 8 logos for cigarette brands. Analyses examined, overall and by country, whether gender, age, location, household use of tobacco, and knowledge of media characters were associated with awareness of cigarette brand logos. Additional analyses considered the relationship between cigarette brand logo awareness and intentions to smoke. Overall, 68% of 5 and 6 year olds could identify at least 1 cigarette brand logo, ranging from 50% in Russia to 86% in China. Across countries, being slightly older and having someone in the household who used tobacco, were significantly associated with greater odds of being able to identify at least 1 cigarette brand logo. The majority of young children from low- and middle-income countries are familiar with cigarette brands. This study's findings suggest that more effective measures are needed to restrict the reach of tobacco marketing.
The German REACH Congress 2016: a workshop report.
Reihlen, Antonia; Jepsen, Dirk; Broschinski, Lutz; Luch, Andreas; Schulte, Agnes
In October 2016, the German REACH Congress was held at the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) in Berlin. Here, the associated improvement made in the fields of consumer protection and the progress in and experiences gained from the implementation of the authorisation procedure were discussed. Several speakers from EU institutions, German authorities, industry, and civil society organisations were invited to present their views. There was a shared consensus that REACH contributes to the advancement of consumer protection against chemical risks, mainly because more and higher quality information on substance-related hazards and potential exposures becomes available. In addition, risk management measures, particularly regarding restrictions on uses, scale down consumer exposures to chemicals. Opportunities for improvements identified at the congress include the quality of registration dossiers and the management of and communication on substances of very high concern (SVHC) that may be present in consumer articles. Although regarded as being in an early implementation phase, the authorisation process was generally found to be operational and progressing well. Criticism was expressed with regard to the consistency of authorisation decisions and the costs and uncertainties related to authorisation applications. Consumer protection legislation consists of several legal provisions which are interlinked. The congress participants agreed that REACH is an important element of this legal framework as it enhances and complements other legal provisions.
Do older adults perceive postural constraints for reach estimation?
Cordova, Alberto; Gabbard, Carl
BACKGROUND/STUDY CONTEXT: Recent evidence indicates that older persons have difficulty mentally representing intended movements. Furthermore, in an estimation of reach paradigm using motor imagery, a form of mental representation, older persons significantly overestimated their ability compared with young adults. The authors tested the notion that older adults may also have difficulty perceiving the postural constraints associated with reach estimation. The authors compared young (Mage = 22 years) and older (Mage = 67) adults on reach estimation while seated and in a more postural demanding standing and leaning forward position. The expectation was a significant postural effect with the standing condition, as evidenced by reduced overestimation. Whereas there was no difference between groups in the seated condition (both overestimated), older adults underestimated whereas the younger group once again overestimated in the standing condition. From one perspective, these results show that older adults do perceive postural constraints in light of their own physical capabilities. That is, that group perceived greater postural demands with the standing posture and elected to program a more conservative strategy, resulting in underestimation.
Distractor interference during a choice limb reaching task.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Matthew Ray
Full Text Available According to action-centered models of attention, the patterns of distractor interference that emerge in selective reaching tasks are related to the time and effort required to resolve a race for activation between competing target and non-target response producing processes. Previous studies have only used unimanual aiming tasks and, as such, only examined the effects of competition that occurs within a limb. The results of studies using unimanual aiming movements often reveal an "ipsilateral effect"--distractors on the same side of space as the effector cause greater interference than distractors on the opposite side of space. The cost of the competition when response selection is between the limbs has yet to be addressed. Participants in the present study executed reaching movements to 1 of 4 (2 left, 2 right possible target locations with and without a distractor. Participants made ipsilateral reaches (left hand to left targets, right hand to right targets. In contrast to studies using unimanual aiming movements, a "contralateral effect" was observed; distractors affording responses for the other hand (in contralateral space caused more interference than distractors affording responses for the same hand. The findings from the present research demonstrate that when certain portions of response planning must be resolved prior to response initiation, distractors that code for that dimension cause the greatest interference.
Why and how to make a REACH registration of combustion ash; Moejligheter vid REACH-registrering av energiaskor
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Loevgren, Linnea; Wik, Ola
The new chemical regulation, REACH (1997/2006/EC), Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and restriction of Chemicals, took effect the 1st of June 2007. The background to this report was the introduction of REACH and the difficulties to understand the implications for ash. The most important consequence of REACH is that all chemical substances that are manufactured, handled and used above one tonne per annum per legal entity shall be registered according to this regulation. The registration includes specifying the chemical, physical, toxicity and ecotoxicity properties of the substance and risk assessing the identified areas of use. The report describes the use of ash in connection to the waste legislation and its planned end-of-waste-criteria, the chemical legislation and the Construction Products Directive. The target audience of this report is companies producing ashes and having a use or seeing a use for its ash. The report describes how to make a REACH registration of ash independent if a company did or did not pre-register ash during 2008. It describes how to change from one ash registration into another if the pre-registration was done for one type of ash but the company changes opinion during the sameness check, i.e. changing SIEF (Appendix A). Taking part in REACH registration projects during 2009-2010 can be advantageous since knowledge and financing are shared. Ash can be REACH registered also in the future but it is important to know that the registration have to be done prior the production and marketing starts. If ash is consider to be a waste the handling is covered by the community and national waste legislation. In Sweden ashes are by and large being regarded as waste, and recycling is risk assessed and permits are given case by case. End-of-waste criteria for different waste material are being elaborated within the EU. Such criteria will among other details cover chemical safety. When a material fulfils the end-of-waste criteria such material
Diagnostic value of soluble CD163 serum levels in patients suspected of meningitis: comparison with CRP and procalcitonin
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Knudsen, Troels Bygum; Larsen, Klaus; Kristiansen, Thomas Birk
The aim of the study was to evaluate and compare the diagnostic value of sCD163 serum levels with CRP and PCT in meningitis and bacterial infection. An observational cohort study was conducted between February 2001 and February 2005. The study population comprised 55 patients suspected of meningi......The aim of the study was to evaluate and compare the diagnostic value of sCD163 serum levels with CRP and PCT in meningitis and bacterial infection. An observational cohort study was conducted between February 2001 and February 2005. The study population comprised 55 patients suspected...... marker for distinguishing bacterial infection from non-bacterial disease (specificity 0.91; sensitivity 0.47). However, the overall diagnostic accuracy of CRP (AUC =0.91) and PCT (AUC =0.87) were superior (p... infection, the AUC of sCD163 (0.83) did not differ significantly from those of CRP or PCT. All markers had AUCs CRP and PCT had high diagnostic value and were superior as markers of bacterial infection compared to s...
The Challenge of Reaching Transparency: 'T-readiness' of Enterprises and Sector Networks
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Melanie Fritz
Full Text Available Discussions on the safety and quality of food as well as growing interest in the sustainability of the production, distribution and consumption of food have contributed to the emergence of 'transparency' as a critical success factor for the food sector. However, reaching transparency for different stakeholders from different backgrounds and cultural identities is a dynamic process which depends on certain capabilities of enterprises and organizations along the food value chain but also on the realization of a fitting communication scheme within the sector. This discussion asks for the identification and utilization of an indicator that could identify deficiencies and support enterprises and the sector in reaching a level of transparency that could serve specified transparency needs.
Challenges (Obstacles in Reaching Leadership Positions – Experiences of Women Professors at Novi Sad University Serbia
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Andrić Marijana Mišić
Full Text Available Underrepresentation of women in leadership positions in universities is a phenomenon present in most countries of the world, with some significant differences. In our work we focused on obstacles that women professors in Novi Sad University (Serbia faced in reaching leadership positions. Analysis is based on qualitative research using a semi structured interview, statistical data and selected secondary sources. Obstacles, mentorship and networking have been researched from an idiographic perspective (reflection and the personal experience of the women at Novi Sad University. Results indicate a significant underrepresentation of women in leadership positions at Novi Sad University. Findings point to a general pattern: the more power and authority the leadership position holds, the scarcer the number of women participating in it. According to interviewees' statements the patriarchal value system makes the leadership positions difficult to attain for women. Interview analysis also suggests additional limiting factors, such as lack of mentorship and inadequate networking, acting as inhibitors in reaching leadership positions.
Access to expert stroke care with telemedicine: REACH MUSC
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Abby Swanson Kazley
Full Text Available Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability, and rtPA can significantly reduce the long-term impact of acute ischemic stroke (AIS if given within 3 hours of symptom onset. South Carolina is located in the stroke belt and has a high rate of stroke and stroke mortality. Many small rural SC hospitals do not maintain the expertise needed to treat AIS patients with rtPA. MUSC is an academic medical center using REACH MUSC telemedicine to deliver stroke care to 15 hospitals in the state, increasing the likelihood of timely treatment with rtPA. The purpose of this study is to determine the increase in access to rtPA through the use of telemedicine for AIS in the general population and in specific segments of the population based on age, gender, race, ethnicity, education, urban/rural residence, poverty, and stroke mortality.We used a retrospective cross-sectional design examining Census data from 2000 and Geographic Information Systems (GIS analysis to identify South Carolina residents that live within 30 or 60 minutes of a Primary Stroke Center (PSC or a REACH MUSC site. We include all South Carolina citizens in our analysis and specifically examine the population's age, gender, race, ethnicity, education, urban/rural residence, poverty, and stroke mortality. Our sample includes 4,012,012 South Carolinians. The main measure is access to expert stroke care at a Primary Stroke Center (PSC or a REACH MUSC hospital within 30 or 60 minutes. We find that without REACH MUSC, only 38% of the population has potential access to expert stroke care in SC within sixty minutes given that most PSCs will maintain expert stroke coverage. REACH MUSC allows 76% of the population to be within sixty minutes of expert stroke care, and 43% of the population to be within 30 minute drive time of expert stroke care. These increases in access are especially significant for groups that have faced disparities in care and high rates of AIS. The use of telemedicine can
Mathematical modelling of a farm enterprise value on the ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Mathematical modelling of a farm enterprise value on the agricultural market with the ... Subsidies in the EU countries reached 45-50% of the value of commodity output ... This financing gap entailed a number of negative consequences.
Facts, values, and journalism.
Gilbert, Susan
At a time of fake news, hacks, leaks, and unverified reports, many people are unsure whom to believe. How can we communicate in ways that make individuals question their assumptions and learn? My colleagues at The Hastings Center and many journalists and scientists are grappling with this question and have, independently, reached the same first step: recognize that facts can't be fully understood without probing their connection to values. "Explaining the basics is important, of course, but we also need to diversify our approach to the coverage of science-particularly as it intersects with the matrix of cultural, religious, social, and political values of our readers," said an article in Undark, an online magazine of science journalism. An editorial in Nature called for scientists to engage directly with citizens in debates over climate change and genome editing, noting that "the ethical issues can be critically dependent on the science, for example, in understanding where the boundaries between non-heritable and heritable genome modifications might be." We're here to help. © 2017 The Hastings Center.
Efficiency and cutoff values of the Voice Activity and Participation Profile for nonteachers and teachers.
Zambon, Fabiana; Moreti, Felipe; Vargas, Aline Cristina Tafarelo; Behlau, Mara
To identify the efficiency characteristics and cutoff values of the dimensions of the Voice Activity and Participation Profile (VAPP) protocol, which discriminates the dysphonic and vocally healthy individuals; to verify if the cutoff values remain the same for a sample of teachers. Efficiency characteristics and cutoff values of VAPP data from 171 subjects were analyzed by receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve: 90 teachers (60 dysphonic and 30 vocally healthy individuals, with a similar mean age, p=0.418) and 81 nonteachers (48 dysphonic and 33 vocally healthy individuals, with a similar mean age, p=0.934). The area under the ROC curve (AUC) and the cutoff values of the total score of VAPP for discriminating the individuals with and without dysphonia are different for the nonteachers and teachers. The nonteachers presented AUC=0.986 (pteachers presented AUC=0.872 (pteachers, being higher for the teachers but with greater sensitivity and specificity for the nonteachers, and can be used to screen large populations with the risk of voice disorders.
Stereotypical reaching movements of the octopus involve both bend propagation and arm elongation.
Hanassy, S; Botvinnik, A; Flash, T; Hochner, B
The bend propagation involved in the stereotypical reaching movement of the octopus arm has been extensively studied. While these studies have analyzed the kinematics of bend propagation along the arm during its extension, possible length changes have been ignored. Here, the elongation profiles of the reaching movements of Octopus vulgaris were assessed using three-dimensional reconstructions. The analysis revealed that, in addition to bend propagation, arm extension movements involve elongation of the proximal part of the arm, i.e., the section from the base of the arm to the propagating bend. The elongations are quite substantial and highly variable, ranging from an average strain along the arm of -0.12 (i.e. shortening) up to 1.8 at the end of the movement (0.57 ± 0.41, n = 64 movements, four animals). Less variability was discovered in an additional set of experiments on reaching movements (0.64 ± 0.28, n = 30 movements, two animals), where target and octopus positions were kept more stationary. Visual observation and subsequent kinematic analysis suggest that the reaching movements can be broadly segregated into two groups. The first group involves bend propagation beginning at the base of the arm and propagating towards the arm tip. In the second, the bend is formed or present more distally and reaching is achieved mainly by elongation and straightening of the segment proximal to the bend. Only in the second type of movements is elongation significantly positively correlated with the distance of the bend from the target. We suggest that reaching towards a target is generated by a combination of both propagation of a bend along the arm and arm elongation. These two motor primitives may be combined to create a broad spectrum of reaching movements. The dynamical model, which recapitulates the biomechanics of the octopus muscular hydrostatic arm, suggests that achieving the observed elongation requires an extremely low ratio of longitudinal to transverse muscle
Role of MRI and added value of diffusion-weighted and gadolinium-enhanced MRI for the diagnosis of local recurrence from rectal cancer.
Molinelli, Valeria; Angeretti, Maria Gloria; Duka, Ejona; Tarallo, Nicola; Bracchi, Elena; Novario, Raffaele; Fugazzola, Carlo
To evaluate whether the addition of gadolinium-enhanced MRI and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) improves T2 sequence performance for the diagnosis of local recurrence (LR) from rectal cancer and to assess which approach is better at formulating this diagnosis among readers with different experience. Forty-three patients with suspected LR underwent pelvic MRI with T2 weighted (T2) sequences, gadolinium fat-suppressed T1 weighted sequences (post-contrast T1), and DWI sequences. Three readers (expert: G, intermediate: E, resident: V) scored the likelihood of LR on T2, T2 + post-contrast T1, T2 + DWI, and T2 + post-contrast T1 + DWI. In total, 18/43 patients had LR; on T2 images, the expert reader achieved an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.916, sensitivity of 88.9%, and specificity of 76%; the intermediate reader achieved values of 0.890, 88.9%, and 48%, respectively, and the resident achieved values of 0.852, 88.9%, and 48%, respectively. DWI significantly improved the AUC value for the expert radiologist by up to 0.999 (p = 0.04), while post-contrast T1 significantly improved the AUC for the resident by up to 0.950 (p = 0.04). For the intermediate reader, both the T2 + DWI AUC and T2 + post-contrast T1 AUC were better than the T2 AUC (0.976 and 0.980, respectively), but with no statistically significant difference. No statistically significant difference was achieved by any of the three readers by comparing either the T2 + DWI AUCs to the T2 + post-contrast T1 AUCs or the AUCs of the two pairs of sequences to those of the combined three sequences. Furthermore, using the T2 sequences alone, all of the readers achieved a fair number of "equivocal" cases: they decreased with the addition of either DWI or post-contrast T1 sequences and, for the two less experienced readers, they decreased even more with the three combined sequences. Both DWI and T1 post-contrast MRI increased diagnostic performance for LR diagnosis compared to T2; however, no
[Application study of qualitatively diagnosing prostate cancer using ultrahigh b-value DWI].
Ji, L B; Lu, Z H; Yao, H H; Cao, Y; Lu, W W; Qian, W X; Wang, X M; Hu, C H
Objective: To explore the value of ultrahigh b-value DWI in diagnosis of prostate cancer. Methods: From October 2015 to October 2016, a total of 84 cases from Affiliated Changshu Hospital of Soochow University(39 cases of prostate cancer with a total of 57 lesions, 45 cases of benign prostate hyperplasia) were examined with T(2)WI, high b-value DWI (b=1 000 s/mm(2)) and ultrahigh b-value DWI (b=2 000 s/mm(2)) .Three image sets were rated respectively based on PI-RADS V2 by two radiologists and the scores were compared with biopsy results.The differences of the area under the ROC curve (AUC) among the three groups of each observer were compared by Z test. Results: The difference of AUC between ultrahigh b-value DWI and T(2)WI in the diagnosis of peripheral and transitional zone cancer was statistically significant between the two observers ( P =0.009 9, 0.008 2, 0.010 8 and 0.004 5 respectively), and there was no significant difference of AUC between ultrahigh b-value DWI and high b-value DWI in the diagnosis of peripheral and transitional zone cancer.The inter-reader agreement was found to be perfect for all lesions, peripheral zone lesions and transition zone lesions at ultrahigh b-value DWI ( kappa values were 0.738, 0.709 and 0.768 respectively). Conclusion: The diagnostic performance of ultrahigh b-value DWI is superior to high b-value DWI and T(2)WI in both peripheral zone and transition zone cancers.
Restoring Maximum Vertical Browsing Reach in Sauropod Dinosaurs.
Paul, Gregory S
The ongoing controversy centered on neck posture and function in sauropod dinosaurs is misplaced for a number of reasons. Because of an absence of pertinent data it is not possible to accurately restore the posture and range of motion in long necked fossil animals, only gross approximations are possible. The existence of a single "neutral posture" in animals with long, slender necks may not exist, and its relationship to feeding habits is weak. Restorations of neutral osteological neck posture based on seemingly detailed diagrams of cervical articulations are not reliable because the pictures are not sufficiently accurate due to a combination of illustration errors, and distortion of the fossil cervicals. This is all the more true because fossil cervical series lack the critical inter-centra cartilage. Maximum vertical reach is more readily restorable and biologically informative for long necked herbivores. Modest extension of 10° between each caudal cervical allowed high shouldered sauropods to raise the cranial portion of their necks to vertical postures that allowed them to reach floral resources far higher than seen in the tallest mammals. This hypothesis is supported by the dorsally extended articulation of the only known co-fused sauropod cervicals. Many sauropods appear to have been well adapted for rearing in order to boost vertical reach, some possessed retroverted pelves that may have allowed them to walk slowly while bipedal. A combination of improved high browsing abilities and sexual selection probably explains the unusually long necks of tall ungulates and super tall sauropods. Anat Rec, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Anat Rec, 300:1802-1825, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Vestibular feedback maintains reaching accuracy during body movement
Reynolds, Raymond F.
Key points Reaching movements can be perturbed by vestibular input, but the function of this response is unclear.Here, we applied galvanic vestibular stimulation concurrently with real body movement while subjects maintained arm position either fixed in space or fixed with respect to their body.During the fixed‐in‐space conditions, galvanic vestibular stimulation caused large changes in arm trajectory consistent with a compensatory response to maintain upper‐limb accuracy in the face of body movement.Galvanic vestibular stimulation responses were absent during the body‐fixed task, demonstrating task dependency in vestibular control of the upper limb.The results suggest that the function of vestibular‐evoked arm movements is to maintain the accuracy of the upper limb during unpredictable body movement, but only when reaching in an earth‐fixed reference frame. Abstract When using our arms to interact with the world, unintended body motion can introduce movement error. A mechanism that could detect and compensate for such motion would be beneficial. Observations of arm movements evoked by vestibular stimulation provide some support for this mechanism. However, the physiological function underlying these artificially evoked movements is unclear from previous research. For such a mechanism to be functional, it should operate only when the arm is being controlled in an earth‐fixed rather than a body‐fixed reference frame. In the latter case, compensation would be unnecessary and even deleterious. To test this hypothesis, subjects were gently rotated in a chair while being asked to maintain their outstretched arm pointing towards either earth‐fixed or body‐fixed memorized targets. Galvanic vestibular stimulation was applied concurrently during rotation to isolate the influence of vestibular input, uncontaminated by inertial factors. During the earth‐fixed task, galvanic vestibular stimulation produced large polarity‐dependent corrections in arm
Optical fiber reach extended FMCW radar for remote respiratory tracking
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Suhr, Lau Frejstrup; Tafur Monroy, Idelfonso; Vegas Olmos, Juan José
Wireless monitoring of human vital signs such as breathing rate is a nonintrusive alternative to contemporary solutions relying on physical contact. To ease the installment, fiber optical transmission is used to extend the reach from the transmitter and receiver circuitry to the antenna subsystem....... In this paper, a frequency modulated carrier wave radar, operating at 25.7–26.6 GHz and utilizing optical fiber extension, was experimentally demonstrated to accurately recover the breathing rate of a human placed 1 m away from the radar antennas....
Family (oikos Evangelism for reaching forward caste Hindus in India
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
DW Fowlkes
Full Text Available This article acknowledges the need for Church Planting Movements among the unreached peoples of India. Of particular concern to this study is the application of Church Planting Movement strategy to forward caste Hindus of India. It is shown that evangelizing households (family or �oikos� evangelism is a New Testament strategy and the most appropriate strategy for reaching forward caste Hindus. It is concluded that Christian disciples remaining within Hindu culture and familial systems hold the potential for the most indigenous approach to evangelizing forward caste Hindus.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Vanessa González Mendoza
Full Text Available The massive growth of Internet and all the possibilities that it offers, have made us beings of instant gratification. The need to know, to be informed, and to communicate at all times, stands above many other things, and rules our daily life. Tools like Twitter provide the citizen a way in which they can express their ideas, either to be heard or to make a change even in the political atmosphere. This article searches to determine the influence and the reach of Twitter in the political activism of a country.
Interaction torque contributes to planar reaching at slow speed
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hoshi Fumihiko
Full Text Available Abstract Background How the central nervous system (CNS organizes the joint dynamics for multi-joint movement is a complex problem, because of the passive interaction among segmental movements. Previous studies have demonstrated that the CNS predictively compensates for interaction torque (INT which is arising from the movement of the adjacent joints. However, most of these studies have mainly examined quick movements, presumably because the current belief is that the effects of INT are not significant at slow speeds. The functional contribution of INT for multijoint movements performed in various speeds is still unclear. The purpose of this study was to examine the contribution of INT to a planer reaching in a wide range of motion speeds for healthy subjects. Methods Subjects performed reaching movements toward five targets under three different speed conditions. Joint position data were recorded using a 3-D motion analysis device (50 Hz. Torque components, muscle torque (MUS, interaction torque (INT, gravity torque (G, and net torque (NET were calculated by solving the dynamic equations for the shoulder and elbow. NET at a joint which produces the joint kinematics will be an algebraic sum of torque components; NET = MUS - G - INT. Dynamic muscle torque (DMUS = MUS-G was also calculated. Contributions of INT impulse and DMUS impulse to NET impulse were examined. Results The relative contribution of INT to NET was not dependent on speed for both joints at every target. INT was additive (same direction to DMUS at the shoulder joint, while in the elbow DMUS counteracted (opposed to INT. The trajectory of reach was linear and two-joint movements were coordinated with a specific combination at each target, regardless of motion speed. However, DMUS at the elbow was opposed to the direction of elbow movement, and its magnitude varied from trial to trial in order to compensate for the variability of INT. Conclusion Interaction torque was important at
Livestock First Reached Southern Africa in Two Separate Events.
Sadr, Karim
After several decades of research on the subject, we now know when the first livestock reached southern Africa but the question of how they got there remains a contentious topic. Debate centres on whether they were brought with a large migration of Khoe-speakers who originated from East Africa; or whether the livestock were traded down-the-line among hunter-gatherer communities; or indeed whether there was a long history of diverse small scale population movements in this part of the world, one or more of which 'infiltrated' livestock into southern Africa. A new analysis of the distribution of stone toolkits from a sizeable sample of sub-equatorial African Later Stone Age sites, coupled with existing knowledge of the distribution of the earliest livestock remains and ceramics vessels, has allowed us to isolate two separate infiltration events that brought the first livestock into southern Africa just over 2000 years ago; one infiltration was along the Atlantic seaboard and another entered the middle reaches of the Limpopo River Basin. These findings agree well with the latest results of genetic research which together indicate that multiple, small-scale infiltrations probably were responsible for bringing the first livestock into southern Africa.
Record reach : ExxonMobil extends its own world record
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Wells, P.
Extended reach drilling (ERD) records are now regularly being broken by ExxonMobil Corporation's Sakhalin project on Russia's east coast. In 2008, an oil well on the coast established a new record by achieving a measured depth of 11,680 meters. The well was punched out by a Texas-based drilling company using the world's largest land-based drilling rig. The use of ERD has reduced the capital and operating costs of the project in addition to reducing its environmental impacts. ERD has been used to drill onshore beneath the seafloor and has eliminated the need for additional offshore structure and pipelines. The horizontal reach of the wells has improved productivity while also avoiding disturbing whale migrations in the region. The rig features a 1.5 million pound load capacity, 3000 horsepower draw-works. The top-drive drilling systems were used to transmit real time data to external locations for further evaluation. Oil and gas is also produced from a gravity-based offshore platform. It was concluded that longer wellbore are now being developed by the corporation in order to drill under the Beaufort Sea. 2 figs.
Reaching the hip-hop generation: Final (symposium proceedings) report
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
The goal of this final (closing) report is to capture the flavor of the symposium held March 1 and 2, 1993 in New York City convened by Motivational Educational Entertainment, Inc. (MEE), a black-owned communications research, consulting, and video production company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The mission of MEE is to understand, reach, and positively affect inner-city youth. Traditional communication approaches from mainstream sources to at-risk youth often don`t account for the unique way youth communicate among themselves and how they relate to the media. This understanding, however, is crucial. To understand youth communication, the people who create and send both entertaining and educational messages to urban youth must be brought into the dialogue. The meeting in New York was intended to provide an important opportunity for senders to meet and evaluate the appropriateness and effectiveness of their messages. In addition, the MEE symposium provided a forum for the continuing public debate about what needs to be done to reach today`s urban teens. Included in this document is a description of symposium goals/objectives, symposium activities, the reaction to and analysis of the symposium, recommendations for future MEE courses of action, and an appendix containing copies of press articles.
Ricin A chain reaches the endoplasmic reticulum after endocytosis
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Liu Qiong; Zhan Jinbiao; Chen Xinhong; Zheng Shu
Ricin is a potent ribosome inactivating protein and now has been widely used for synthesis of immunotoxins. To target ribosome in the mammalian cytosol, ricin must firstly retrograde transport from the endomembrane system to reach the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) where the ricin A chain (RTA) is recognized by ER components that facilitate its membrane translocation to the cytosol. In the study, the fusion gene of enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP)-RTA was expressed with the pET-28a (+) system in Escherichia coli under the control of a T7 promoter. The fusion protein showed a green fluorescence. The recombinant protein can be purified by metal chelated affinity chromatography on a column of NTA. The rabbit anti-GFP antibody can recognize the fusion protein of EGFP-RTA just like the EGFP protein. The cytotoxicity of EGFP-RTA and RTA was evaluated by the MTT assay in HeLa and HEP-G2 cells following fluid-phase endocytosis. The fusion protein had a similar cytotoxicity of RTA. After endocytosis, the subcellular location of the fusion protein can be observed with the laser scanning confocal microscopy and the immuno-gold labeling Electro Microscopy. This study provided important evidence by a visualized way to prove that RTA does reach the endoplasmic reticulum
Recovery of Three Arctic Stream Reaches From Experimental Nutrient Enrichment.
Green, A. C.; Benstead, J. P.; Deegan, L. A.; Peterson, B. J.; Bowden, W. B.; Huryn, A. D.; Slavik, K.; Hershey, A. E.
We examined multi-year patterns in community recovery from experimental low-concentration nutrient (N+P and P only) enrichment in three reaches of two Arctic tundra streams (Kuparuk River and Oksrukuyik Creek) on the North Slope of Alaska (USA). Rates of recovery varied among community components and depended on duration of enrichment (2 to 13 consecutive growing seasons). Biomass and C:P ratio of epilithic algae returned to reference levels rapidly (within 2 years), regardless of enrichment duration. Bryophyte cover, which increased greatly after long-term enrichment (>8 years), recovered to reference levels only after 7 years, when a storm scoured most remnant moss in the recovering reach. Persistence of bryophytes slowed recovery rates of insect taxa that had either been positively (e.g., Ephemerella, most chironomid taxa) or negatively (e.g., Orthocladius rivulorum) affected by this shift in dominant primary producer and its consequence for benthic habitat. Growth of Arctic grayling (adults and young-of-year), the top predator, returned to reference rates within two years. Recovery of these Arctic stream ecosystems from nutrient enrichment was consequently controlled largely by interactions between duration of enrichment and physical disturbance, mediated through physical habitat shifts caused by bryophytes.
Google Hangouts: Leveraging Social Media to Reach the Education Community
Eisenhamer, Bonnie; Summers, Frank; McCallister, Dan; Ryer, Holly
Research shows that educator professional development is most effective when it is sustained and/or when a follow-on component is included to support the learning process. In order to create more comprehensive learning experiences for our workshop participants, the education team at the Space Telescope Science Institute is working collaboratively with scientific staff and other experts to create a follow-on component for our professional development program. The new component utilizes video conferencing platforms, such as Google's Hangouts On Air, to provide educators with content updates and extended learning opportunities in between in-person professional development experiences. The goal is to enhance our professional development program in a cost-effective way while reaching a greater cross-section of educators. Video broadcasts go live on Google+, YouTube, and our website - thus providing access to any user with a web browser. Additionally, the broadcasts are automatically recorded and archived for future viewing on our YouTube channel. This provides educators with anywhere, anytime training that best suits their needs and schedules. This poster will highlight our new Hangouts for educators as well as our cross-departmental efforts to expand the reach of our Hubble Hangouts for the public through a targeted recruitment strategy.
Adaptation to delayed force perturbations in reaching movements.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Noa Levy
Full Text Available Adaptation to deterministic force perturbations during reaching movements was extensively studied in the last few decades. Here, we use this methodology to explore the ability of the brain to adapt to a delayed velocity-dependent force field. Two groups of subjects preformed a standard reaching experiment under a velocity dependent force field. The force was either immediately proportional to the current velocity (Control or lagged it by 50 ms (Test. The results demonstrate clear adaptation to the delayed force perturbations. Deviations from a straight line during catch trials were shifted in time compared to post-adaptation to a non-delayed velocity dependent field (Control, indicating expectation to the delayed force field. Adaptation to force fields is considered to be a process in which the motor system predicts the forces to be expected based on the state that a limb will assume in response to motor commands. This study demonstrates for the first time that the temporal window of this prediction needs not to be fixed. This is relevant to the ability of the adaptive mechanisms to compensate for variability in the transmission of information across the sensory-motor system.
Generalization of unconstrained reaching with hand-weight changes.
Yan, Xiang; Wang, Qining; Lu, Zhengchuan; Stevenson, Ian H; Körding, Konrad; Wei, Kunlin
Studies of motor generalization usually perturb hand reaches by distorting visual feedback with virtual reality or by applying forces with a robotic manipulandum. Whereas such perturbations are useful for studying how the central nervous system adapts and generalizes to novel dynamics, they are rarely encountered in daily life. The most common perturbations that we experience are changes in the weights of objects that we hold. Here, we use a center-out, free-reaching task, in which we can manipulate the weight of a participant's hand to examine adaptation and generalization following naturalistic perturbations. In both trial-by-trial paradigms and block-based paradigms, we find that learning converges rapidly (on a timescale of approximately two trials), and this learning generalizes mostly to movements in nearby directions with a unimodal pattern. However, contrary to studies using more artificial perturbations, we find that the generalization has a strong global component. Furthermore, the generalization is enhanced with repeated exposure of the same perturbation. These results suggest that the familiarity of a perturbation is a major factor in movement generalization and that several theories of the neural control of movement, based on perturbations applied by robots or in virtual reality, may need to be extended by incorporating prior influence that is characterized by the familiarity of the perturbation.
Best Value Procurement - The Practical Approach
Storteboom, Arnoud
Traditional procurement methods leave much room for improving risk management and value creation. However, Best Value Procurement (BVP) is designed to increase project value by mitigating risks and increasing the transparency by underscoring the pre-award phase. This shift in paradigm is reached by following a sequence of elements with the principles of transparency, performance information measuring and contractor clarification. The BVP philosophy is developed in the USA. Following is ...
Reach of the Fermilab Tevatron and CERN LHC for gaugino mediated SUSY breaking models
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Baer, Howard; Belyaev, Alexander; Krupovnickas, Tadas; Tata, Xerxes
In supersymmetric models with gaugino mediated SUSY breaking (gMSB), it is assumed that SUSY breaking on a hidden brane is communicated to the visible brane via gauge superfields which propagate in the bulk. This leads to GUT models where the common gaugino mass m 1/2 is the only soft SUSY breaking term to receive contributions at the tree level. To obtain a viable phenomenology, it is assumed that the gaugino mass is induced at some scale M c beyond the GUT scale, and that additional renormalization group running takes place between M c and M GUT as in a SUSY GUT. We assume an SU(5) SUSY GUT above the GUT scale, and compute the SUSY particle spectrum expected in models with gMSB. We use the Monte Carlo program ISAJET to simulate signals within the gMSB model, and compute the SUSY reach including cuts and triggers appropriate to Fermilab Tevatron and CERN LHC experiments. We find no reach for SUSY by the Tevatron collider in the trilepton channel. At the CERN LHC, values of m 1/2 =1000 (1160) GeV can be probed with 10 (100) fb -1 of integrated luminosity, corresponding to a reach in terms of m g-tilde of 2150 (2500) GeV. The gMSB model and MSUGRA can likely only be differentiated at a linear e + e - collider with sufficient energy to produce sleptons and charginos
Timing of transients: quantifying reaching times and transient behavior in complex systems
Kittel, Tim; Heitzig, Jobst; Webster, Kevin; Kurths, Jürgen
In dynamical systems, one may ask how long it takes for a trajectory to reach the attractor, i.e. how long it spends in the transient phase. Although for a single trajectory the mathematically precise answer may be infinity, it still makes sense to compare different trajectories and quantify which of them approaches the attractor earlier. In this article, we categorize several problems of quantifying such transient times. To treat them, we propose two metrics, area under distance curve and regularized reaching time, that capture two complementary aspects of transient dynamics. The first, area under distance curve, is the distance of the trajectory to the attractor integrated over time. It measures which trajectories are 'reluctant', i.e. stay distant from the attractor for long, or 'eager' to approach it right away. Regularized reaching time, on the other hand, quantifies the additional time (positive or negative) that a trajectory starting at a chosen initial condition needs to approach the attractor as compared to some reference trajectory. A positive or negative value means that it approaches the attractor by this much 'earlier' or 'later' than the reference, respectively. We demonstrated their substantial potential for application with multiple paradigmatic examples uncovering new features.
Facebook as an effective recruitment strategy for mental health research of hard to reach populations
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Rony Kayrouz
Full Text Available Recent reports indicate that Facebook (FB may facilitate recruitment of hard to reach participants into mental health research. The present study aimed to contribute to this emerging literature by exploring recruitment data from a recently completed trial of online treatment for symptoms of anxiety and depression that targeted Arab people. The present study compared traditional recruitment strategies such as media releases, emails, and print advertisements with Facebook strategies including boosting posts, promoting websites, events and FB public fan pages. The main outcomes of interest were the number of started applications and the time and cost per application associated with the FB and traditional recruitment strategies. A target sample of 350 was sought and a total of 81 participants applied to participate over the 42-week recruitment period. Overall, 86% of the resultant applications occurred via FB recruitment and a Poisson regression analysis indicated the FB strategies were more time-effective, recruiting participants 2.5 times faster than the traditional strategies. However, there were no differences in cost-effectiveness for FB ($US37 per participant and traditional strategies ($US40 per participant. The findings of the current study add to existing literature detailing the value of FB recruitment strategies, alongside more traditional strategies, as a way of recruiting hard-to-reach populations for research. However, more research is needed to explore alternative and optimal strategies for the successful recruitment of hard to reach populations via FB and other online social media platforms.
From reaching every district to reaching every community: analysis and response to the challenge of equity in immunization in Cambodia
Chan Soeung, Sann; Grundy, John; Duncan, Richard; Thor, Rasoka; Bilous, Julian B
Background An international review of the Cambodian Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) in 2010 and other data show that despite immunization coverage increases and vaccine preventable diseases incidence reductions, inequities in access to immunization services exist. Utilizing immunization and health systems literature, analysis of global health databases and the EPI review findings, this paper examines the characteristics of immunization access and outcome inequities, and describes proposed longer-term strategic and operational responses to these problems. Findings The national programme has evolved from earlier central and provincial level planning to strengthening routine immunization coverage through the District level 'Reaching Every District Strategy'. However, despite remarkable improvements, the review found over 20% of children surveyed were not fully immunized, primarily from communities where inequities of both access and impact persist. These inequities relate mainly to socio-economic exposures including wealth and education level, population mobility and ethnicity. To address these problems, a shift in strategic and operational response is proposed that will include (a) a re-focus of planning on facility level to detect disadvantaged communities, (b) establishment of monitoring systems to provide detailed information on community access and utilization, (c) development of communication strategies and health networks that enable providers to adjust service delivery according to the needs of vulnerable populations, and (d) securing financial, management and political commitment for 'reaching every community'. Conclusions For Cambodia to achieve its immunization equity objectives and disease reduction goals, a shift of emphasis to health centre and community is needed. This approach will maximize the benefits of new vaccine introduction in the coming 'Decade of Vaccines', plus potentially extend the reach of other life-saving maternal
Reaching the global target to reduce stunting: an investment framework.
Shekar, Meera; Kakietek, Jakub; D'Alimonte, Mary R; Rogers, Hilary E; Eberwein, Julia Dayton; Akuoku, Jon Kweku; Pereira, Audrey; Soe-Lin, Shan; Hecht, Robert
Childhood stunting, being short for one's age, has life-long consequences for health, human capital and economic growth. Being stunted in early childhood is associated with slower cognitive development, reduced schooling attainment and adult incomes decreased by 5-53%. The World Health Assembly has endorsed global nutrition targets including one to reduce the number of stunted children under five by 40% by 2025. The target has been included in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG target 2.2). This paper estimates the cost of achieving this target and develops scenarios for generating the necessary financing. We focus on a key intervention package for stunting (KIPS) with strong evidence of effectiveness. Annual scale-up costs for the period of 2016-25 were estimated for a sample of 37 high burden countries and extrapolated to all low and middle income countries. The Lives Saved Tool was used to model the impact of the scale-up on stunting prevalence. We analysed data on KIPS budget allocations and expenditure by governments, donors and households to derive a global baseline financing estimate. We modelled two financing scenarios, a 'business as usual', which extends the current trends in domestic and international financing for nutrition through 2025, and another that proposes increases in financing from all sources under a set of burden-sharing rules. The 10-year financial need to scale up KIPS is US$49.5 billion. Under 'business as usual', this financial need is not met and the global stunting target is not reached. To reach the target, current financing will have to increase from US$2.6 billion to US$7.4 billion a year on average. Reaching the stunting target is feasible but will require large coordinated investments in KIPS and a supportive enabling environment. The example of HIV scale-up over 2001-11 is instructive in identifying the factors that could drive such a global response to childhood stunting. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University
Transparency of chemical risk assessment data under REACH.
Ingre-Khans, Ellen; Ågerstrand, Marlene; Beronius, Anna; Rudén, Christina
The REACH regulation requires EU manufacturers and importers of substances to register information on the hazard and risk of their substances with the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). Risk management of the substances is based on the provided information. It is known that conclusions on hazard and risk are influenced by expert judgements as well as potential conflict of interests. Thus, it is important that hazard and risk assessments are transparent and can be evaluated by a third party. The aim of this study is to scrutinize the transparency, i.e. the accessibility and comprehensibility, of information on substances registered under REACH. Data on repeated dose toxicity and hazard assessment conclusions were extracted for 60 substances from the REACH registration database available on the ECHA website. The data were compiled in a database for systematically evaluating the transparency of information related to the conclusions on hazard or risk. In addition, chemical safety reports (CSR) were requested from ECHA for five substances. The transparency of information on the hazard and risk of substances was found to be limited for several reasons. First, certain information was removed due to confidentiality and certain fields were not published because they could contain confidential information although the information had not been claimed confidential. Also, the extent to which registrants reported information varied, and the presentation of some data and certain terminology required further clarification. In addition, the data source for the majority of the key and supporting studies could not be identified due to confidentiality. Since registrants are only required to summarise studies, it cannot be verified whether all relevant information from non-public industry reports have been reported. Lastly, certain information related to the hazard and risk assessment were only reported in the CSR which is only available upon request; a time-consuming and work
Positive effects of robotic exoskeleton training of upper limb reaching movements after stroke
This study, conducted in a group of nine chronic patients with right-side hemiparesis after stroke, investigated the effects of a robotic-assisted rehabilitation training with an upper limb robotic exoskeleton for the restoration of motor function in spatial reaching movements. The robotic assisted rehabilitation training was administered for a period of 6 weeks including reaching and spatial antigravity movements. To assess the carry-over of the observed improvements in movement during training into improved function, a kinesiologic assessment of the effects of the training was performed by means of motion and dynamic electromyographic analysis of reaching movements performed before and after training. The same kinesiologic measurements were performed in a healthy control group of seven volunteers, to determine a benchmark for the experimental observations in the patients' group. Moreover degree of functional impairment at the enrolment and discharge was measured by clinical evaluation with upper limb Fugl-Meyer Assessment scale (FMA, 0–66 points), Modified Ashworth scale (MA, 0–60 pts) and active ranges of motion. The robot aided training induced, independently by time of stroke, statistical significant improvements of kinesiologic (movement time, smoothness of motion) and clinical (4.6 ± 4.2 increase in FMA, 3.2 ± 2.1 decrease in MA) parameters, as a result of the increased active ranges of motion and improved co-contraction index for shoulder extension/flexion. Kinesiologic parameters correlated significantly with clinical assessment values, and their changes after the training were affected by the direction of motion (inward vs. outward movement) and position of target to be reached (ipsilateral, central and contralateral peripersonal space). These changes can be explained as a result of the motor recovery induced by the robotic training, in terms of regained ability to execute single joint movements and of improved interjoint coordination of
Positive effects of robotic exoskeleton training of upper limb reaching movements after stroke
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Frisoli Antonio
Full Text Available Abstract This study, conducted in a group of nine chronic patients with right-side hemiparesis after stroke, investigated the effects of a robotic-assisted rehabilitation training with an upper limb robotic exoskeleton for the restoration of motor function in spatial reaching movements. The robotic assisted rehabilitation training was administered for a period of 6 weeks including reaching and spatial antigravity movements. To assess the carry-over of the observed improvements in movement during training into improved function, a kinesiologic assessment of the effects of the training was performed by means of motion and dynamic electromyographic analysis of reaching movements performed before and after training. The same kinesiologic measurements were performed in a healthy control group of seven volunteers, to determine a benchmark for the experimental observations in the patients' group. Moreover degree of functional impairment at the enrolment and discharge was measured by clinical evaluation with upper limb Fugl-Meyer Assessment scale (FMA, 0–66 points, Modified Ashworth scale (MA, 0–60 pts and active ranges of motion. The robot aided training induced, independently by time of stroke, statistical significant improvements of kinesiologic (movement time, smoothness of motion and clinical (4.6 ± 4.2 increase in FMA, 3.2 ± 2.1 decrease in MA parameters, as a result of the increased active ranges of motion and improved co-contraction index for shoulder extension/flexion. Kinesiologic parameters correlated significantly with clinical assessment values, and their changes after the training were affected by the direction of motion (inward vs. outward movement and position of target to be reached (ipsilateral, central and contralateral peripersonal space. These changes can be explained as a result of the motor recovery induced by the robotic training, in terms of regained ability to execute single joint movements and of improved
Attenuating reaches and the regional flood response of an urbanizing drainage basin
Turner-Gillespie, Daniel F.; Smith, James A.; Bates, Paul D.
The Charlotte, North Carolina metropolitan area has experienced extensive urban and suburban growth and sharply increasing trends in the magnitude and frequency of flooding. The hydraulics and hydrology of flood response in the region are examined through a combination of numerical modeling studies and diagnostic analyses of paired discharge observations from upstream-downstream gaging stations. The regional flood response is shown to strongly reflect urbanization effects, which increase flood peaks and decrease response times, and geologically controlled attenuating reaches, which decrease flood peaks and increase lag times. Attenuating reaches are characterized by systematic changes in valley bottom geometry and longitudinal profile. The morphology of the fluvial system is controlled by the bedrock geology, with pronounced changes occurring at or near contacts between intrusive igneous and metamorphic rocks. Analyses of wave celerity and flood peak attenuation over a range of discharge values for an 8.3 km valley bottom section of Little Sugar Creek are consistent with Knight and Shiono's characterization of the variation of flood wave velocity from in-channel conditions to valley bottom full conditions. The cumulative effect of variation in longitudinal profile, expansions and contractions of the valley bottom, floodplain roughness and sub-basin flood response is investigated using a two-dimensional, depth-averaged, finite element hydrodynamic model coupled with a distributed hydrologic model. For a 10.1 km stream reach of Briar Creek, with drainage area ranging from 13 km 2 at the upstream end of the reach to 49 km 2 at the downstream end, it is shown that flood response reflects a complex interplay of hydrologic and hydraulic processes on hillslopes and valley bottoms.
Role of vision in aperture closure control during reach-to-grasp movements.
Rand, Miya K; Lemay, Martin; Squire, Linda M; Shimansky, Yury P; Stelmach, George E
We have previously shown that the distance from the hand to the target at which finger closure is initiated during the reach (aperture closure distance) depends on the amplitude of peak aperture, as well as hand velocity and acceleration. This dependence suggests the existence of a control law according to which a decision to initiate finger closure during the reach is made when the hand distance to target crosses a threshold that is a function of the above movement-related parameters. The present study examined whether the control law is affected by manipulating the visibility of the hand and the target. Young adults made reach-to-grasp movements to a dowel under conditions in which the target or the hand or both were either visible or not visible. Reaching for and grasping a target when the hand and/or target were not visible significantly increased transport time and widened peak aperture. Aperture closure distance was significantly lengthened and wrist peak velocity was decreased only when the target was not visible. Further analysis showed that the control law was significantly different between the visibility-related conditions. When either the hand or target was not visible, the aperture closure distance systematically increased compared to its value for the same amplitude of peak aperture, hand velocity, and acceleration under full visibility. This implies an increase in the distance-related safety margin for grasping when the hand or target is not visible. It has been also found that the same control law can be applied to all conditions, if variables describing hand and target visibility were included in the control law model, as the parameters of the task-related environmental context, in addition to the above movement-related parameters. This suggests that that the CNS utilizes those variables for controlling grasp initiation based on a general control law.
Reaching out to the hard to reach: using a science centre model to deliver public engagement with research.
Gagen, M.; Allton, C.; Bryan, W. A.; O'Leary, M.
Science communication is at an all-time high but public faith in expertise is low. However, within this climate of suspicion, research scientists remain a publicly trusted expert group. While there is both academic and public appetite for Public Engagement with Research (PER), there are barriers to reaching a wide range of publics. Attempts to connect the public with research often end up targeting the `already engaged'; the hard-to-reach remain just that. Engaging scientific curiosity in a wider demographic is crucial to promote scientific curiosity, itself known to profoundly counter the politically motivated reasoning that threatens informed debate around contemporary environmental issues. This requires the creation of opportunities for the public to engage with research in places in which they feel they belong. We report here on an 8 month pilot of a science centre model for PER. Oriel Science (www.orielscience.co.uk) is a research-led science exhibition in Swansea city centre delivering Swansea University's PER and run by academics and student ambassadors. Oriel Science (Oriel is Gallery in Welsh) received 16,000 visitors in 8 months, 40% of whom had no previous interaction with the university or its research and >40% of whom came from socio-economically deprived areas. We report on the public engagement leadership we enabled, working with 18 research groups over 8 months and our achievements in giving a broad range of publics the most direct access to participate in contemporary science.
Rapid Automatic Motor Encoding of Competing Reach Options
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Jason P. Gallivan
Full Text Available Mounting neural evidence suggests that, in situations in which there are multiple potential targets for action, the brain prepares, in parallel, competing movements associated with these targets, prior to implementing one of them. Central to this interpretation is the idea that competing viewed targets, prior to selection, are rapidly and automatically transformed into corresponding motor representations. Here, by applying target-specific, gradual visuomotor rotations and dissociating, unbeknownst to participants, the visual direction of potential targets from the direction of the movements required to reach the same targets, we provide direct evidence for this provocative idea. Our results offer strong empirical support for theories suggesting that competing action options are automatically represented in terms of the movements required to attain them. The rapid motor encoding of potential targets may support the fast optimization of motor costs under conditions of target uncertainty and allow the motor system to inform decisions about target selection.
The long reach of Alzheimer's disease: patients, practice, and policy.
Bynum, Julie P W
The impact of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias reaches well beyond the health care needs of the person with dementia. As dementia inexorably progresses, the patient becomes increasingly dependent on others for basic daily care and routine tasks, a physically safe environment, and protection from exploitation or abuse. Addressing the diverse medical and social care needs of the burgeoning US population with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias requires the adoption of a broad-based policy framework and agenda that explicitly acknowledge the complex and unique needs of people with dementia and the impacts of dementia on caregivers and society at large. Public policies related to social service providers, agencies that provide appropriate housing, financial and legal services, and law enforcement must complement other policies focused on prevention and risk reduction, effective treatment development, and efficient health care delivery.
The contributions of vision and haptics to reaching and grasping
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Kayla Dawn Stone
Full Text Available This review aims to provide a comprehensive outlook on the sensory (visual and haptic contributions to reaching and grasping. The focus is on studies in developing children, normal and neuropsychological populations, and in sensory-deprived individuals. Studies have suggested a right-hand/left-hemisphere specialization for visually-guided grasping and a left-hand/right-hemisphere specialization for haptically-guided object recognition. This poses the interesting possibility that when vision is not available and grasping relies heavily on the haptic system, there is an advantage to use the left hand. We review the evidence for this possibility and dissect the unique contributions of the visual and haptic systems to grasping. We ultimately discuss how the integration of these two sensory modalities shape hand preference.
Undoing Racism Through Genesee County's REACH Infant Mortality Reduction Initiative.
Kruger, Daniel J; Carty, Denise C; Turbeville, Ashley R; French-Turner, Tonya M; Brownlee, Shannon
Genesee County Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health Program (REACH) is a Community-Based Public Health partnership for reducing African American infant mortality rates that hosts the Undoing Racism Workshop (URW). Assess the URW's effectiveness in promoting an understanding of racism, institutional racism, and how issues related to race/ethnicity can affect maternal and infant health. Recent URW participants (n=84) completed brief preassessment and postassessment forms; participants (n=101) also completed an on-line, long-term assessment (LTA). URWs promoted understanding of racism and institutional racism, although they were less effective in addressing racism as related to maternal and infant health. The URWs were most effective in the domains related to their standard content. Additional effort is necessary to customize URWs when utilized for activities beyond their original purpose of community mobilization.
Time to reach a given level of number of neutrons is stochastic analog of reactor period
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Ryazanov, V.V.
In theory and in practice the operation of nuclear reactors to control the safety of the reactor is widely used deterministic value - the period of the reactor. It is proposed along with the period of the reactor using a stochastic analogue of this magnitude - a random amount of time to achieve a given level of a random process for the number of neutrons in the reactor. The paper discusses various features of the behavior of the mean and variance of time to achieve a specified level. This kind of features can be associated with impaired behavior of the reactor system. Introduced the value of time required to reach the level can be used to monitor and improve the safety of nuclear power plants
Reaching common ground: a patient-family-based conceptual framework of quality EOL care.
Howell, Doris; Brazil, Kevin
Improvement in the quality of end-of-life (EOL) care is a priority health care issue since serious deficiencies in quality of care have been reported across care settings. Increasing pressure is now focused on Canadian health care organizations to be accountable for the quality of palliative and EOL care delivered. Numerous domains of quality EOL care upon which to create accountability frameworks are now published, with some derived from the patient/family perspective. There is a need to reach common ground on the domains of quality EOL care valued by patients and families in order to develop consistent performance measures and set priorities for health care improvement. This paper describes a meta-synthesis study to develop a common conceptual framework of quality EOL care integrating attributes of quality valued by patients and their families.
Visuo-proprioceptive interactions during adaptation of the human reach.
Judkins, Timothy; Scheidt, Robert A
We examined whether visual and proprioceptive estimates of transient (midreach) target capture errors contribute to motor adaptation according to the probabilistic rules of information integration used for perception. Healthy adult humans grasped and moved a robotic handle between targets in the horizontal plane while the robot generated springlike loads that varied unpredictably from trial to trial. For some trials, a visual cursor faithfully tracked hand motion. In others, the handle's position was locked and subjects viewed motion of a point-mass cursor driven by hand forces. In yet other trials, cursor feedback was dissociated from hand motion or altogether eliminated. We used time- and frequency-domain analyses to characterize how sensorimotor memories influence performance on subsequent reaches. When the senses were used separately, subjects were better at rejecting physical disturbances applied to the hand than virtual disturbances applied to the cursor. In part, this observation reflected differences in how participants used sensorimotor memories to adapt to perturbations when performance feedback was limited to only proprioceptive or visual information channels. When both vision and proprioception were available to guide movement, subjects processed memories in a manner indistinguishable from the vision-only condition, regardless of whether the cursor tracked the hand faithfully or whether we experimentally dissociated motions of the hand and cursor. This was true even though, on average, perceptual uncertainty in the proprioceptive estimation of movement extent exceeded that of visual estimation by just 47%. In contrast to perceptual tasks wherein vision and proprioception both contribute to an optimal estimate of limb state, our findings support a switched-input, multisensory model of predictive load compensation wherein visual feedback of transient performance errors overwhelmingly dominates proprioception in determining adaptive reach performance.
Prognostic Value of Non-Invasive Fibrosis and Steatosis Tools, Hepatic Venous Pressure Gradient (HVPG and Histology in Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Giada Sebastiani
Full Text Available Non-invasive diagnostic methods for liver fibrosis predict clinical outcomes in viral hepatitis and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD. We specifically evaluated prognostic value of non-invasive fibrosis methods in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH against hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG and liver histology.This was a retrospective cohort study of 148 consecutive patients who met the following criteria: transjugular liver biopsy with HVPG measurement; biopsy-proven NASH; absence of decompensation; AST-to-Platelets Ratio Index (APRI, fibrosis-4 (FIB-4, NAFLD fibrosis score, ultrasound, hepatic steatosis index and Xenon-133 scan available within 6 months from biopsy; a minimum follow-up of 1 year. Outcomes were defined by death, liver transplantation, cirrhosis complications. Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses were employed to estimate incidence and predictors of outcomes, respectively. Prognostic value was expressed as area under the curve (AUC.During a median follow-up of 5 years (interquartile range 3-8, 16.2% developed outcomes, including 7.4% who died or underwent liver transplantation. After adjustment for age, sex, diabetes, the following fibrosis tools predicted outcomes: HVPG >10mmHg (HR=9.60; 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.07-30.12, histologic fibrosis F3-F4 (HR=3.14; 1.41-6.95, APRI >1.5 (HR=5.02; 1.6-15.7, FIB-4 >3.25 (HR=6.33; 1.98-20.2, NAFLD fibrosis score >0.676 (HR=11.9; 3.79-37.4. Prognostic value was as follows: histologic fibrosis stage, AUC=0.85 (95% CI 0.76-0.93; HVPG, AUC=0.81 (0.70-0.91; APRI, AUC=0.89 (0.82-0.96; FIB-4, AUC=0.89 (0.83-0.95; NAFLD fibrosis score, AUC=0.79 (0.69-0.91. Neither histologic steatosis nor non-invasive steatosis methods predicted outcomes (AUC<0.50.Non-invasive methods for liver fibrosis predict outcomes of patients with NASH. They could be used for serial monitoring, risk stratification and targeted interventions.
Use value, exchange value, and resource scarcity
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Stern, D.I.
The literature on natural resource scarcity indicators is reviewed. Scarcity indicators can be classified by what is being measured: value of the resource stock or value of extracted resource commodities; whose value is considered: social vs. private scarcity; and by the mode of valuation considered: exchange value and use value. Prices and rents are common measures of exchange value or indicators of ''exchange scarcity'' and unit costs can be seen as use value indicators or indicators of u se scarcity . The major aim of this paper is to demonstrate the links between productivity indicators such as unit costs and the classical concept of use value. The two classes of indicator relate to John Commons' discussions of scarcity and efficiency, and a marginal vs. a non-marginal approach to value and scarcity. The classical use value concept also has wider relevance for issues of valuation in energy, resource, and environmental policy. (author)
Nueva política europea en productos químicos. REACH New European policy on chemical products. REACH
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Francisco Vargas Marcos
Full Text Available En febrero de 2001, la Comisión Europea publicó el Libro Blanco relativo a la estrategia para la futura política en materia de sustancias y preparados químicos, que se fundamenta en una revisión del sistema comunitario actual de regulación de las sustancias y preparados químicos. Como consecuencia, el 29 de octubre de 2003, la Comisión adoptó la propuesta de Reglamento sobre registro, evaluación, autorización y restricción de las sustancias químicas (REACH. Mediante esta propuesta, además de crearse la Agencia Europea de Sustancias Químicas, se establece el sistema REACH que consta de los siguientes elementos:Registro, que exige a la industria que facilite información sobre sus sustancias con el objeto de conseguir una utilización segura de las mismas.Evaluación, que garantiza que la industria cumple sus obligaciones y evita que se realicen ensayos innecesarios.Autorización de sustancias con propiedades extremadamente preocupantes (CMR, PBT, disruptores endocrinos, etc. para unos usos particulares.Restricción, como red de seguridad para la reducción de riesgos que no hayan sido abordados en las etapas anteriores.Este sistema de recogida de información en varias fases permitirá conocer y reducir los riesgos derivados del uso de unas 30.000 sustancias químicas que se producen/importan en la Unión Europea en cantidad superior a una tonelada/año. La información, una vez validada, se almacenará en una base de datos y podrá utilizarse para el establecimiento de un vínculo causal entre los factores medioambientales y los efectos negativos sobre la salud derivados de la producción y utilización de los productos químicos.In February 2001 the European Commission issued a White Paper on a "Strategy for a future Chemicals Policy" based on a review of the current European Union system for regulating the dangerous substances and preparations. As a result, on 29 October 2003, the Commission endorsed a Proposal for a
Climate Resilience: Outreach and Engagement with Hard to Reach Communities
Baja, K.
Baltimore faces a unique combination of shocks and stresses that cut across social, economic, and environmental sectors. Like many postindustrial cities, Baltimore has experienced a decline in its population - resulting in a lower tax base. These trends have had deleterious effects on the city's ability to attend to much needed infrastructure improvements and human services. Furthermore, Baltimore has an unfortunate history of deliberate racial segregation that is directly responsible for many of the economic and social challenges the City faces today. In addition to considerable social and economic issues, the city is already experiencing negative impacts from climate change. Baltimore is vulnerable to many natural hazards including heavy precipitation, sea level rise, storm surge, and extreme heat. Impacts from hazards and the capacity to adapt to them is not equal across all populations. Low-income residents and communities of color are most vulnerable and lack access to the resources to effectively plan, react and recover. They are also less likely to engage in government processes or input sessions, either due to distrust or ineffective outreach efforts by government employees and partners. This session is focused on sharing best practices and lessons learned from Baltimore's approach to community outreach and engagement as well as its focus on power shifting and relationship building with hard-to-reach communities. Reducing neighborhood vulnerability and strengthening the fabric that holds systems together requires a large number of diverse stakeholders coordinated around resiliency efforts. With the history of deliberate segregation and current disparities it remains critical to build trust, shift power from government to residents, and focus on relationship building. Baltimore City utilized this approach in planning, implementation and evaluation of resiliency work. This session will highlight two plan development processes, several projects, and innovative
Apparent diffusion coefficient maps obtained from high b value diffusion-weighted imaging in the preoperative evaluation of gliomas at 3T: comparison with standard b value diffusion-weighted imaging
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Zeng, Qiang; Ling, Chenhan; Zhang, Jianmin [Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery, Hangzhou, Zhejiang (China); Dong, Fei; Jiang, Biao [Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Hangzhou, Zhejiang (China); Shi, Feina [Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Hangzhou, Zhejiang (China)
To assess whether ADC maps obtained from high b value DWI were more valuable in preoperatively evaluating the grade, Ki-67 index and outcome of gliomas. Sixty-three patients with gliomas, who underwent preoperative multi b value DWI at 3 T, were enrolled. The ADC{sub 1000}, ADC{sub 2000} and ADC{sub 3000} maps were generated. Receiver operating characteristic analyses were conducted to determine the area under the curve (AUC) in differentiating high-grade gliomas (HGG) from low-grade gliomas (LGG). Pearson correlation coefficients (R value) were calculated to investigate the correlation between parameters with the Ki-67 proliferation index. Survival analysis was conducted by using Cox regression. The AUC of the mean ADC{sub 1000} value (0.820) was lower than that of the mean ADC{sub 2000} value (0.847) and mean ADC{sub 3000} value (0.875) in differentiating HGG from LGG. The R value of the mean ADC{sub 1000} value (-0.499) was less negative than that of the mean ADC{sub 2000} value (-0.530) and mean ADC{sub 3000} value (-0.567). The mean ADC{sub 3000} value was an independent prognosis factor for gliomas (p = 0.008), while the mean ADC{sub 1000} and ADC{sub 2000} values were not. ADC maps obtained from high b value DWI might be a better imaging biomarker in the preoperative evaluation of gliomas. (orig.)
The electromagnetic rocket gun - a means to reach ultrahigh velocities
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Winterberg, F.
A novel kind of electromagnetic launcher for the acceleration of multigram-size macroparticles, up to velocities required for impact fusion, is proposed. The novel launcher concept combines the efficiency of a gun with the much higher velocities attainable by a rocket. In the proposed concept a rocket-like projectile is launched inside a gun barrel, drawing its energy from a travelling magnetic wave. The travelling magnetic wave heats and ionizes the exhaust jet of the rocket. As a result, the projectile i propelled both by the recoil from the jet and the magnetic pressure of the travelling magnetic wave. In comparison to magnetic linear accelerators, accelerating either superconducting or ferromagnetic projectiles, the proposed concept has several important advantages. First, the exhaust jet is much longer than the rocket-like projectile and which permits a much longer switching time to turn on the travelling magnetic wave. Second, the proposed concept does not require superconducting projectiles, or projectiles made from expensive ferromagnetic material. Third, unlike in railgun accelerators, the projectile can be kept away from the wall, and thereby can reach much larger velocities. (orig.)
Breakthrough Capability for UVOIR Space Astronomy: Reaching the Darkest Sky
Greenhouse, Matthew A.; Benson, Scott W.; Englander, Jacob; Falck, Robert D.; Fixsen, Dale J.; Gardner, Jonathan P.; Kruk, Jeffery W.; Oleson, Steven R.; Thronson, Harley A.
We describe how availability of new solar electric propulsion (SEP) technology can substantially increase the science capability of space astronomy missions working within the near-UV to far-infrared (UVOIR) spectrum by making dark sky orbits accessible for the first time. We present two case studies in which SEP is used to enable a 700 kg Explorer-class and 7000 kg flagship-class observatory payload to reach an orbit beyond where the zodiacal dust limits observatory sensitivity. The resulting scientific performance advantage relative to a Sun-Earth L2 point (SEL2) orbit is presented and discussed. We find that making SEP available to astrophysics Explorers can enable this small payload program to rival the science performance of much larger long development-time systems. Similarly, we find that astrophysics utilization of high power SEP being developed for the Asteroid Redirect Robotics Mission (ARRM) can have a substantial impact on the sensitivity performance of heavier flagship-class astrophysics payloads such as the UVOIR successor to the James Webb Space Telescope.
Milestone reached for the Big Wheels of the Muon Spectrometer
Sandro Palestini
The assembly and integration of the Big Wheels sectors of the Muon Spectrometer is reaching its conclusion, with only a few sectors of Wheel TGC-A-3 remaining on the assembly stations in building 180. The six trigger chambers (TGCs) wheels and two precision chambers wheels (MDTs) contain in total 104 sectors, which were assembled, equipped with detectors and fully tested over a period of two years. The few remaining Big Wheel sectors still stored in building 180 Most of the sectors left building 180 over the last twelve months, and form the six Wheels currently installed in the ATLAS detector. The remaining two will be installed before the end of the summer. The commitment of the personnel from the many teams who contributed to different parts of the project was essential to its success. In particular, teams coming from countries of different traditions and languages, such as China, Israel, Japan, Pakistan, Russia and USA contributed and collaborated very effectively to the timely completion of the p...
The dipoles reach the half-way mark
With the positioning of the 616th magnet, installation of the LHC dipoles has reached the half-way mark. Only half the dipoles remain to be installed! The 616th dipole out of a total of 1232 was installed at 3 a.m on Wednesday 12 July. Night and day, the tunnel is the setting for a never-ending series of carefully choreographed installation operations. At a rate of around twenty per week, there has been a steady underground flow of dipole magnets, each measuring 15 metres in length and weighing 34 tonnes. 'In order to recover the accumulated delays, installation is proceeding three times faster than planned', confides Claude Hauviller, who is supervising LHC installation. Four dipoles can be transported underground at the same time. It is a real challenge, which the 65-man team responsible for this difficult task faces on a daily basis. This is because there is very little space in the tunnel and there are no passing places for the magnet transport vehicles. The room for manoeuvre can sometimes be measured ...
East-West European economic integration: Difficult to reach target
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
D'Ermo, V.; Manca, S.
The energy sector of Western Europe is now undergoing a slow growth period due largely to the socio-economic upheavals of East and West German unification and the political-economic restructuring of the countries making up Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. This paper evidences this fact by tabling and commenting on 1991-1992 coal, petroleum, natural gas and electric power production/consumption/export statistical data representing energy sector activities in the former COMECON member countries. The poor performance of these countries can be attributed to the effects of energy market liberalization, the restructuring of utility assets, limited production capacities and inflation. It is estimated that the adjustment time to reach economic parity with Western nations will be long but that the waiting period could be shortened through the implementation of technology transfer and financial cooperation programs with the more prosperous countries capable of providing the investment capital and know-how needed for the restructuring of production systems and resource development
How Physics World reaches out in a digital age
Durrani, Matin
Physics World is an award-winning international magazine that exists in print and digital formats. Exploiting the opportunities available with digital publishing and apps, our output has expanded hugely in recent years to include technology-linked focus issues, regional special reports on the likes of China, India, Mexico and Brazil, plus audio, video and interactive material too. This growth in content - and new media for presenting physics - reflects wider changes in communication. People increasingly want to access content in a manner and time of their choosing, seeking out information presented in a way that suits them and their needs. That can be challenging for physics communicators because it means tailoring your message to different audiences and the medium they are using. But it's exciting too as you can reach out to many more people into physics - and in many different ways - than was possible in the past. This talk outlines some principles of good communication, including telling a good story, bearing the reader, viewer or listener in mind, using appropriate media, keeping up with social media, and exploiting the power of video. But with new forms of communication constantly emerging, it's worth remembering there is no one ``right answer''.
Parametric design studies of long-reach manipulators
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kwon, D.S.; March-Leuba, S.; Babcock, S.M.; Burks, B.L.; Hamel, W.R.
A number of different approaches have been studied for remediation of waste storage tanks at various sites. One of the most promising approaches is the use of a high-capacity, long-reach manipulation (LRM) system with a variety of end effectors for dislodging the waste. LRMs may have characteristics significantly different from those of industrial robots due to the long links needed to cover the large workspace. Because link lengths are much greater than their diameters, link flexibility, as well as joint or drive train flexibility, is likely to be significant. LRMs will be required for a variety of applications in the Environmental Restoration and Waste Management Program. While each application will present specific functional, kinematic, and performance requirements, a design approach for determining the kinematic applicability and performance characteristics considering link flexibility is presented with a focus on waste storage tank remediation. This paper addresses key design issues for LRM-based waste retrieval systems. It discusses the effects of parameters such as payload capacity, storage tanks size, and access port diameter on manipulator structural design. The estimated weight, fundamental natural frequency, and static deflection of the manipulator have been calculated for various parameter conditions
Sure start: voices of the 'hard-to-reach'.
Coe, C; Gibson, A; Spencer, N; Stuttaford, M
This research aimed to look in depth at the factors affecting the ability of four Sure Start local programmes, based in a multicultural Midlands city, to engage with 'hard-to-reach' populations. A variety of research strategies and methods were employed. Geographical information systems, participatory research methods and interviews were used in order to understand the extent of the challenge, and hear first hand, why parents may not get involved with Sure Start. The mapping exercise involved collation and mapping of postcode data with respect to boundaries and potential and actual users of Sure Start services. This made possible the identification of any geographical patterning in the distribution of service users and non-users. Participatory research methods were used with parents, enabling them to conduct short interviews within their own communities and make sense of the data collected. Interviews were also conducted with 70 parents across the city, recruited through local schools. The results indicate that parental decisions regarding Sure Start are the product of a complex interaction between numerous factors which may act as either barriers or facilitators to service utilization. The results suggest that a multi-method approach to data collection is useful and appropriate in gaining access to those parents who are non-users of the Sure Start services and enabling their voices to be heard. These findings offer some explanations and insight into the apparent ambivalent attitudes of some families toward Sure Start services. Implications for future practice are discussed.
Muscle synergy extraction during arm reaching movements at different speeds.
Sabzevari, Vahid Reza; Jafari, Amir Homayoun; Boostani, Reza
Muscle synergy is the activation of a group of muscles that contribute to a particular movement. The goal of the present study is to examine the hypothesis that human reaching movements at different speeds share similar muscle synergies and to investigate the kinesiology basis and innervation of muscles. Electromyographic activity from six muscles of the upper limb and shoulder girdle were recorded during three movements at different speeds, i.e. slow, moderate and fast. The effect of window length on the RMS signal of the EMG was analyzed and then EMG envelope signals were decomposed using non-negative matrix factorization. For each of the ten subjects, three synergies were extracted which accounted for at least 99% of the VAF. For each movement, the muscle synergies and muscle activation coefficients of all participants were clustered in to three partitions. Investigation showed a high similarity and dependency of cluster members due to the cosine similarity and mutual information in muscle synergy clustering. For further verification, the EMG envelope signals for all subjects were reconstructed. The results indicated a lower reconstruction error using the center of the muscle synergy clusters in comparison with the average of the activation coefficients, which confirms the current research's hypothesis.
Flow model for open-channel reach or network
Schaffranek, R.W.
Formulation of a one-dimensional model for simulating unsteady flow in a single open-channel reach or in a network of interconnected channels is presented. The model is both general and flexible in that it can be used to simulate a wide range of flow conditions for various channel configurations. It is based on a four-point (box), implicit, finite-difference approximation of the governing nonlinear flow equations with user-definable weighting coefficients to permit varying the solution scheme from box-centered to fully forward. Unique transformation equations are formulated that permit correlation of the unknowns at the extremities of the channels, thereby reducing coefficient matrix and execution time requirements. Discharges and water-surface elevations computed at intermediate locations within a channel are determined following solution of the transformation equations. The matrix of transformation and boundary-condition equations is solved by Gauss elimination using maximum pivot strategy. Two diverse applications of the model are presented to illustrate its broad utility. (USGS)
Reaching for the true overlay in advanced nodes
Koay, Chiew-seng; Hamieh, Bassem; Felix, Nelson; Gaudiello, John
Traditionally, the total measurement uncertainty (TMU) of overlay metrology focuses on dynamic precision, toolinduced-shift, and matching, while rarely examining inaccuracy. However, some researchers have recently shown that measurement inaccuracy can still be large despite optimized small TMU. Moreover, this inaccuracy can consume a significant portion of the overlay budget in the advanced nodes. In addition to qualifying the overlay error of inline wafers, overlay metrology is also used for improving on-product overlay as it provides corrective feedback to the lithography scanner. The accuracy of the correction terms as a result depends directly upon the measurement accuracy. As such, enhanced overlay accuracy will improve the overlay performance of reworked wafers, or subsequently exposed wafers. We have previously shown that a segmented Blossom target is more prone to asymmetry-induced inaccuracy than a nonsegmented target is [1]. Since target segmentation is inevitable for SADP and SAQP patterning processes, their resulting overlay performance leaves a lot to be desired. In our quest to reach for the true overlay, this paper reports our investigations on accuracy enhancement techniques for image-based targets, such as redundancy and self-calibration, and on the use of simulation-optimized scatterometry-based targets.
Over one million followers reached in CERN TweetUp
Katherine Chapman
More than a million followers were reached on Twitter during CERN's first ever "TweetUp". On 25 July, 5 lucky Twitter followers, or "Tweeps" as they are known, visited CERN to take part in events held on the same day with the STS-134 astronauts. The Tweetup gave the online community a chance to ask questions and explore areas of CERN through the eyes of the tweeps, prompting over 1,000 tweets and re-tweets between them in 24 hours. Loic Bommersbach, Lucy McKenna, Astrid Chantelauze (KIT), Nick Howes, Angeliki Kanellopoulou, Maud Ali-Cherif (ESA), Julien Harrod (ESA), Katherine Chapman (CERN), and Simon Bierwald outside the CERN Control Centre. Five winners of a competition announced on Twitter were invited to come to CERN and spend a day behind the scenes, taking part in events organised to celebrate the AMS experiment that was launched in May 2011. The aim was to give tweeps the opportunity to explore CERN and share their experiences, allowi...
Electromyographic activity of beating and reaching during simulated boardsailing.
Buchanan, M; Cunningham, P; Dyson, R J; Hurrion, P D
This study examined the responses of six competitive boardsailors (three males, three females) during laboratory-based simulation tasks while the electromyographic activity of up to 13 muscles was recorded. A sailboard, mounted in a steel frame and resting on a waterbed, allowed simulation of roll and pitch movements. Wind force was simulated by attaching the boom to a weight stack with a hydraulically controlled buffered release phase. The progression of the simulation test was controlled by the sailor copying movements on an edited video of each subject boardsailing on the open water. Analysis of individual pumping movements for mean peak percentage of maximal enveloped voluntary contraction (%MEVC) in 'beating' and 'reaching' showed that muscular activity in the arm (flexor carpi ulnaris, extensor carpi radialis and biceps brachii) was greatest (66-94% MEVC), with considerable activity (58-75% MEVC) in the deltoid and trapezius shoulder muscles, but much less activity in the leg muscles (16-40% MEVC). For the combined upper and lower body muscles there was a significant difference (P reflecting the current dynamic nature of the sport.
Taking OSCE examiner training on the road: reaching the masses.
Reid, Katharine; Smallwood, David; Collins, Margo; Sutherland, Ruth; Dodds, Agnes
To ensure the rigour of objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) in assessing medical students, medical school educators must educate examiners with a view to standardising examiner assessment behaviour. Delivering OSCE examiner training is a necessary yet challenging part of the OSCE process. A novel approach to implementing training for current and potential OSCE examiners was trialled by delivering large-group education sessions at major teaching hospitals. The 'OSCE Roadshow' comprised a short training session delivered in the context of teaching hospital 'Grand Rounds' to current and potential OSCE examiners. The training was developed to educate clinicians about OSCE processes, clarify the examiners' role and required behaviours, and to review marking guides and mark allocation in an effort to standardise OSCE processes and encourage consistency in examiner marking behaviour. A short exercise allowed participants to practise marking a mock OSCE to investigate examiner marking behaviour after the training. OSCE Roadshows at four metropolitan and one rural teaching hospital were well received and well attended by 171 clinicians across six sessions. Unexpectedly, medical students also attended in large numbers ( n= 220). After training, participants' average scores for the mock OSCE clustered closely around the ideal score of 28 (out of 40), and the average scores did not differ according to the levels of clinical experience. The OSCE Roadshow demonstrated the potential of brief familiarisation training in reaching large numbers of current and potential OSCE examiners in a time and cost-effective manner to promote standardisation of OSCE processes.
Can impurities from soil-contaminated coffees reach the cup?
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Tagliaferro, F.S.; De Nadai Fernandes, E.A.; Bacchi, M.A.; Joacir De Franca, E.; Bode, P.
Depending on the harvest conditions, coffee beans can be contaminated by soil when dropped to the ground. It is well known that agricultural soils act as sinks for agrochemicals applied to the crops. While coffee is brewed, substances present in the roasted and ground coffee beans are extracted by hot water, emphasizing the need to assess the possible transfer of impurities from the soil to the beverage. Soil-contaminated samples of roasted coffee beans were split into 2 groups according to the treatments: (a) washed and ground and (b) only ground. Brewing was performed in a household espresso machine for both coffees. The resulting beverage was freeze-dried and the elemental composition determined by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). The mass fractions of the terrigenous elements Fe, La, Sc, Sm and Th in the freeze-dried non-washed coffee beverages were, at least, 2 times higher than in the washed samples. These elements are tracers of the soil, indicating that the impurities from the soil reached the beverage. (author)
Predictive value and construct validity of the work functioning screener-healthcare (WFS-H).
Boezeman, Edwin J; Nieuwenhuijsen, Karen; Sluiter, Judith K
To test the predictive value and convergent construct validity of a 6-item work functioning screener (WFS-H). Healthcare workers (249 nurses) completed a questionnaire containing the work functioning screener (WFS-H) and a work functioning instrument (NWFQ) measuring the following: cognitive aspects of task execution and general incidents, avoidance behavior, conflicts and irritation with colleagues, impaired contact with patients and their family, and level of energy and motivation. Productivity and mental health were also measured. Negative and positive predictive values, AUC values, and sensitivity and specificity were calculated to examine the predictive value of the screener. Correlation analysis was used to examine the construct validity. The screener had good predictive value, since the results showed that a negative screener score is a strong indicator of work functioning not hindered by mental health problems (negative predictive values: 94%-98%; positive predictive values: 21%-36%; AUC:.64-.82; sensitivity: 42%-76%; and specificity 85%-87%). The screener has good construct validity due to moderate, but significant (ppredictive value and good construct validity. Its score offers occupational health professionals a helpful preliminary insight into the work functioning of healthcare workers.
Reaching the parts other methods cannot reach: an introduction to qualitative methods in health and health services research.
Pope, C.; Mays, N.
Qualitative research methods have a long history in the social sciences and deserve to be an essential component in health and health services research. Qualitative and quantitative approaches to research tend to be portrayed as antithetical; the aim of this series of papers is to show the value of a range of qualitative techniques and how they can complement quantitative research.
Expanding the reach of heavy neutrino searches at the LHC
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Andrés Flórez
Full Text Available The observation of neutrino oscillations establishes that neutrinos have non-zero mass and provides one of the more compelling arguments for physics beyond the standard model (SM of particle physics. We present a feasibility study to search for hypothetical Majorana neutrinos (N with TeV scale masses, predicted by extensions of the SM to explain the small but non-zero SM neutrino mass, using vector boson fusion (VBF processes at the 13 TeV LHC. In the context of the minimal Type-I seesaw mechanism (mTISM, the VBF production cross-section of a lepton (ℓ and associated heavy Majorana neutrino (Nℓ surpasses that of the Drell–Yan process at approximately mNℓ=1.4TeV. We consider second and third-generation heavy neutrino (Nμ or Nτ, where ℓ= muon (μ or tau (τ leptons production through VBF processes, with subsequent Nμ and Nτ decays to a lepton and two jets, as benchmark cases to show the effectiveness of the VBF topology for Nℓ searches at the 13 TeV LHC. The requirement of a dilepton pair combined with four jets, two of which are identified as VBF jets with large separation in pseudorapidity and a TeV scale dijet mass, is effective at reducing the SM background. These criteria may provide expected exclusion bounds, at 95% confidence level, of mNℓ<1.7 (2.4 TeV, assuming 100 (1000 fb−1 of 13 TeV data from the LHC and mixing |VℓNℓ|2=1. The use of the VBF topology to search for mNℓ increases the discovery reach at the LHC, with expected significances greater than 5σ (3σ for Nℓ masses up to 1.7 (2.05 TeV using 1000fb−1 of 13 TeV data from the LHC.
Expanding the reach of heavy neutrino searches at the LHC
Flórez, Andrés; Gui, Kaiwen; Gurrola, Alfredo; Patiño, Carlos; Restrepo, Diego
The observation of neutrino oscillations establishes that neutrinos have non-zero mass and provides one of the more compelling arguments for physics beyond the standard model (SM) of particle physics. We present a feasibility study to search for hypothetical Majorana neutrinos (N) with TeV scale masses, predicted by extensions of the SM to explain the small but non-zero SM neutrino mass, using vector boson fusion (VBF) processes at the 13 TeV LHC. In the context of the minimal Type-I seesaw mechanism (mTISM), the VBF production cross-section of a lepton (ℓ) and associated heavy Majorana neutrino (Nℓ) surpasses that of the Drell-Yan process at approximately mNℓ = 1.4TeV. We consider second and third-generation heavy neutrino (Nμ or Nτ, where ℓ= muon (μ) or tau (τ) leptons) production through VBF processes, with subsequent Nμ and Nτ decays to a lepton and two jets, as benchmark cases to show the effectiveness of the VBF topology for Nℓ searches at the 13 TeV LHC. The requirement of a dilepton pair combined with four jets, two of which are identified as VBF jets with large separation in pseudorapidity and a TeV scale dijet mass, is effective at reducing the SM background. These criteria may provide expected exclusion bounds, at 95% confidence level, of mNℓ < 1.7 (2.4) TeV, assuming 100 (1000) fb-1 of 13 TeV data from the LHC and mixing |VℓNℓ|2 = 1. The use of the VBF topology to search for mNℓ increases the discovery reach at the LHC, with expected significances greater than 5σ (3σ) for Nℓ masses up to 1.7 (2.05) TeV using 1000fb-1 of 13 TeV data from the LHC.
Reaching consumers: How the tobacco industry uses email marketing.
Brock, Betsy; Carlson, Samantha C; Moilanen, Molly; Schillo, Barbara A
Tobacco companies are restricted from engaging in many traditional forms of marketing. Direct marketing is one way tobacco companies can reach consumers while complying with regulation and avoiding negative public perception. There is little research on this type of opt-in marketing, which includes mail marketing, email marketing, web marketing, and mobile marketing, and its impact is not well understood. This study examined 6990 tobacco company emails received by individuals living in the state of Minnesota, US between January 2010 and May 2015 to determine email frequency by brand. These emails were gathered as part of ongoing surveillance of tobacco industry direct marketing. A subset of these emails received between October 2014 and May 2015 (n = 1646) were content analyzed to identify the purpose of the email communication along with type of product promoted. Tobacco companies use email to communicate with consumers on a regular basis. This communication was observed to be as frequent as nine times per month. Emails are most commonly used to promote contests (54.1%), content on tobacco company websites (39.1%), and tobacco coupons (15.7%). Email promotion of menthol-flavored tobacco products was common and was associated with promotion of coupons. Emails promoting menthol had a 1.9 times higher prevalence of also promoting coupons (95% CI: 1.52-2.37). Little is known about tobacco company email marketing and this study fills an identified research gap. A deeper understanding of this type of marketing is needed in order to counter tobacco industry messaging and advance tobacco control.
Agreement reached on integrated safeguards in European Union
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Full text: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in cooperation with the European Commission, has reached agreement on arrangements to implement 'integrated safeguards' in all non-nuclear-weapon States of the European Union with significant nuclear activities. 'This important milestone is the result of the constructive common efforts of all parties concerned. It is a clear signal of the importance attributed by the EU and its Member States, as well as the IAEA, to the reinforcement of the nuclear non-proliferation regime,' said Andris Piebalgs, Member of the European Commission in charge of Energy. 'Once we have sufficient confidence that a State' s nuclear activities are purely peaceful, we can apply safeguards measures in a less prescriptive, more customised manner. This reduces the inspection burden on the State and the inspection effort of the IAEA, while enabling the IAEA to maintain the conclusion that all nuclear material has remained in peaceful activities,' said Olli Heinonen, Deputy Director General and Head of IAEA Safeguards Department. Background The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is the main international Treaty prohibiting the spread of nuclear weapons. It entrusts the IAEA to verify that nuclear material is not diverted to nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices through the application of 'safeguards'. IAEA safeguards include comprehensive safeguards agreements and additional protocols that enable the IAEA to conclude that all nuclear material has remained in peaceful activities in a State. Integrated Safeguards refers to the optimum combination of all safeguards measures available to the Agency under comprehensive safeguards agreements and additional protocols to achieve maximum effectiveness and efficiency in meeting the Agency ' s safeguards obligations. In the European Union, nuclear safeguards are implemented on the basis of the Euratom Treaty and trilateral agreements between Euratom, its Member States and the IAEA
The Role of Absorption Cooling for Reaching Sustainable Energy Systems
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Lindmark, Susanne
This thesis focuses on the role and potential of absorption cooling in future energy systems. Two types of energy systems are investigated: a district energy system based on waste incineration and a distributed energy system with natural gas as fuel. In both cases, low temperature waste heat is used as driving energy for the absorption cooling. The main focus is to evaluate the absorption technology in an environmental perspective, in terms of reduced CO{sub 2} emissions. Economic evaluations are also performed. The reduced electricity when using absorption cooling instead of compression cooling is quantified and expressed as an increased net electrical yield. The results show that absorption cooling is an environmentally friendly way to produce cooling as it reduces the use of electrically driven cooling in the energy system and therefore also reduces global CO{sub 2} emissions. In the small-scale trigeneration system the electricity use is lowered with 84 % as compared to cooling production with compression chillers only. The CO{sub 2} emissions can be lowered to 45 CO{sub 2}/MWh{sub c} by using recoverable waste heat as driving heat for absorption chillers. However, the most cost effective cooling solution in a district energy system is a combination between absorption and compression cooling technologies according to the study. Absorption chillers have the potential to be suitable bottoming cycles for power production in distributed systems. Net electrical yields over 55 % may be reached in some cases with gas motors and absorption chillers. This small-scale system for cogeneration of power and cooling shows electrical efficiencies comparable to large-scale power plants and may contribute to reducing peak electricity demand associated with the cooling demand.
Taking OSCE examiner training on the road: reaching the masses
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Katharine Reid
Full Text Available Background: To ensure the rigour of objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs in assessing medical students, medical school educators must educate examiners with a view to standardising examiner assessment behaviour. Delivering OSCE examiner training is a necessary yet challenging part of the OSCE process. A novel approach to implementing training for current and potential OSCE examiners was trialled by delivering large-group education sessions at major teaching hospitals. Methods: The 'OSCE Roadshow' comprised a short training session delivered in the context of teaching hospital 'Grand Rounds' to current and potential OSCE examiners. The training was developed to educate clinicians about OSCE processes, clarify the examiners' role and required behaviours, and to review marking guides and mark allocation in an effort to standardise OSCE processes and encourage consistency in examiner marking behaviour. A short exercise allowed participants to practise marking a mock OSCE to investigate examiner marking behaviour after the training. Results: OSCE Roadshows at four metropolitan and one rural teaching hospital were well received and well attended by 171 clinicians across six sessions. Unexpectedly, medical students also attended in large numbers (n=220. After training, participants' average scores for the mock OSCE clustered closely around the ideal score of 28 (out of 40, and the average scores did not differ according to the levels of clinical experience. Conclusion: The OSCE Roadshow demonstrated the potential of brief familiarisation training in reaching large numbers of current and potential OSCE examiners in a time and cost-effective manner to promote standardisation of OSCE processes.
Integration of QSAR models for bioconcentration suitable for REACH
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Gissi, Andrea; Nicolotti, Orazio; Carotti, Angelo; Gadaleta, Domenico; Lombardo, Anna; Benfenati, Emilio
QSAR (Quantitative Structure Activity Relationship) models can be a valuable alternative method to replace or reduce animal test required by REACH. In particular, some endpoints such as bioconcentration factor (BCF) are easier to predict and many useful models have been already developed. In this paper we describe how to integrate two popular BCF models to obtain more reliable predictions. In particular, the herein presented integrated model relies on the predictions of two among the most used BCF models (CAESAR and Meylan), together with the Applicability Domain Index (ADI) provided by the software VEGA. Using a set of simple rules, the integrated model selects the most reliable and conservative predictions and discards possible outliers. In this way, for the prediction of the 851 compounds included in the ANTARES BCF dataset, the integrated model discloses a R 2 (coefficient of determination) of 0.80, a RMSE (Root Mean Square Error) of 0.61 log units and a sensitivity of 76%, with a considerable improvement in respect to the CAESAR (R 2 = 0.63; RMSE = 0.84 log units; sensitivity 55%) and Meylan (R 2 = 0.66; RMSE = 0.77 log units; sensitivity 65%) without discarding too many predictions (118 out of 851). Importantly, considering solely the compounds within the new integrated ADI, the R 2 increased to 0.92, and the sensitivity to 85%, with a RMSE of 0.44 log units. Finally, the use of properly set safety thresholds applied for monitoring the so called "suspicious" compounds, which are those chemicals predicted in proximity of the border normally accepted to discern non-bioaccumulative from bioaccumulative substances, permitted to obtain an integrated model with sensitivity equal to 100%. - Highlights: • Applying two independent QSAR models for bioconcentration factor increases the prediction. • The concordance of the models is an important component of the integration. • The measurement of the applicability domain improves the prediction. • The use of a
Reaching consumers: How the tobacco industry uses email marketing
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Betsy Brock
Full Text Available Tobacco companies are restricted from engaging in many traditional forms of marketing. Direct marketing is one way tobacco companies can reach consumers while complying with regulation and avoiding negative public perception. There is little research on this type of opt-in marketing, which includes mail marketing, email marketing, web marketing, and mobile marketing, and its impact is not well understood. This study examined 6990 tobacco company emails received by individuals living in the state of Minnesota, US between January 2010 and May 2015 to determine email frequency by brand. These emails were gathered as part of ongoing surveillance of tobacco industry direct marketing. A subset of these emails received between October 2014 and May 2015 (n = 1646 were content analyzed to identify the purpose of the email communication along with type of product promoted. Tobacco companies use email to communicate with consumers on a regular basis. This communication was observed to be as frequent as nine times per month. Emails are most commonly used to promote contests (54.1%, content on tobacco company websites (39.1%, and tobacco coupons (15.7%. Email promotion of menthol-flavored tobacco products was common and was associated with promotion of coupons. Emails promoting menthol had a 1.9 times higher prevalence of also promoting coupons (95% CI: 1.52–2.37. Little is known about tobacco company email marketing and this study fills an identified research gap. A deeper understanding of this type of marketing is needed in order to counter tobacco industry messaging and advance tobacco control.
Impulsivity modulates performance under response uncertainty in a reaching task.
Tzagarakis, C; Pellizzer, G; Rogers, R D
We sought to explore the interaction of the impulsivity trait with response uncertainty. To this end, we used a reaching task (Pellizzer and Hedges in Exp Brain Res 150:276-289, 2003) where a motor response direction was cued at different levels of uncertainty (1 cue, i.e., no uncertainty, 2 cues or 3 cues). Data from 95 healthy adults (54 F, 41 M) were analysed. Impulsivity was measured using the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale version 11 (BIS-11). Behavioral variables recorded were reaction time (RT), errors of commission (referred to as 'early errors') and errors of precision. Data analysis employed generalised linear mixed models and generalised additive mixed models. For the early errors, there was an interaction of impulsivity with uncertainty and gender, with increased errors for high impulsivity in the one-cue condition for women and the three-cue condition for men. There was no effect of impulsivity on precision errors or RT. However, the analysis of the effect of RT and impulsivity on precision errors showed a different pattern for high versus low impulsives in the high uncertainty (3 cue) condition. In addition, there was a significant early error speed-accuracy trade-off for women, primarily in low uncertainty and a 'reverse' speed-accuracy trade-off for men in high uncertainty. These results extend those of past studies of impulsivity which help define it as a behavioural trait that modulates speed versus accuracy response styles depending on environmental constraints and highlight once more the importance of gender in the interplay of personality and behaviour.
Projects as value constellations
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Laursen, Markus
Creating value has been outlined as very central to projects applying the organizational perspective to projects. It has been suggested that value is created in value constellations or project networks, where actors work together to create value. However, research on the value creation process...... in value constellations is scarce, and through an exploratory study of two project networks in a cultural setting we investigate how value is created in value constellations. We outline how each project may be a distinct type of value constellation, one project creates value for the partners of the network...... as a consortium, and the project creates value primarily for others as a facilitator....
Netseva-Porcheva Tatyana
The main aim of the paper is to present the value-based pricing. Therefore, the comparison between two approaches of pricing is made - cost-based pricing and value-based pricing. The 'Price sensitively meter' is presented. The other topic of the paper is the perceived value - meaning of the perceived value, the components of perceived value, the determination of perceived value and the increasing of perceived value. In addition, the best company strategies in matrix 'value-cost' are outlined. .
Radionuclide concentrations in white sturgeons from the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Dauble, D.D.; Poston, T.M.
We summarized radionuclide concentrations in white sturgeons Acipenser transmontanus from the Columbia River during a period when several plutonium-production reactors were operating at the Hanford Site in Washington State and compared these values to those measured several years after reactor shutdown. Studies conducted in the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River during 1953-1955 indicated that high concentrations of radionuclides (as total beta) were present in some internal organs on the external surface of white sturgeons. Average concentrations were about 1,480 Bq/kg for liver and kidney and exceeded 2,200 Bq/kg for fins and scutes. The principal radionuclides in the tissues of white sturgeons from the Hanford Reach during 1963-1967, the peak reactor operation interval, were 32 P, 65 Zn, and 51 Cr. Average concentrations of 32 P in muscle ranged from 925 to 2,109 Bq/kg and were typically two to seven times greater than 65 Zn. Average concentrations of radionuclides were usually in the order of gut contents much-gt carcass > muscle. Studies from 1989 to 1990 showed that radionuclide concentrations had decreased dramatically in white sturgeon tissue since the time of reactor operation. Maximum concentrations for artificial radionuclides ( 90 Sr, 60 Co, 137 Cs) in muscle and cartilage of white sturgeons in the Columbia River had declined to less than 4 Bq/kg. Formerly abundant radionuclides, including 32 P, 65 Zn, and 51 Cr, could not be detected in recent tissue samples. Further, radionuclide tissue burden in populations of sturgeons from the Hanford Reach and the upstream or downstream reference locations did not differ significantly. 34 refs., 3 figs., 4 tabs
In silico models for predicting ready biodegradability under REACH: a comparative study.
Pizzo, Fabiola; Lombardo, Anna; Manganaro, Alberto; Benfenati, Emilio
REACH (Registration Evaluation Authorization and restriction of Chemicals) legislation is a new European law which aims to raise the human protection level and environmental health. Under REACH all chemicals manufactured or imported for more than one ton per year must be evaluated for their ready biodegradability. Ready biodegradability is also used as a screening test for persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) substances. REACH encourages the use of non-testing methods such as QSAR (quantitative structure-activity relationship) models in order to save money and time and to reduce the number of animals used for scientific purposes. Some QSAR models are available for predicting ready biodegradability. We used a dataset of 722 compounds to test four models: VEGA, TOPKAT, BIOWIN 5 and 6 and START and compared their performance on the basis of the following parameters: accuracy, sensitivity, specificity and Matthew's correlation coefficient (MCC). Performance was analyzed from different points of view. The first calculation was done on the whole dataset and VEGA and TOPKAT gave the best accuracy (88% and 87% respectively). Then we considered the compounds inside and outside the training set: BIOWIN 6 and 5 gave the best results for accuracy (81%) outside training set. Another analysis examined the applicability domain (AD). VEGA had the highest value for compounds inside the AD for all the parameters taken into account. Finally, compounds outside the training set and in the AD of the models were considered to assess predictive ability. VEGA gave the best accuracy results (99%) for this group of chemicals. Generally, START model gave poor results. Since BIOWIN, TOPKAT and VEGA models performed well, they may be used to predict ready biodegradability. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Clarifying values: an updated review
Background Consensus guidelines have recommended that decision aids include a process for helping patients clarify their values. We sought to examine the theoretical and empirical evidence related to the use of values clarification methods in patient decision aids. Methods Building on the International Patient Decision Aid Standards (IPDAS) Collaboration's 2005 review of values clarification methods in decision aids, we convened a multi-disciplinary expert group to examine key definitions, decision-making process theories, and empirical evidence about the effects of values clarification methods in decision aids. To summarize the current state of theory and evidence about the role of values clarification methods in decision aids, we undertook a process of evidence review and summary. Results Values clarification methods (VCMs) are best defined as methods to help patients think about the desirability of options or attributes of options within a specific decision context, in order to identify which option he/she prefers. Several decision making process theories were identified that can inform the design of values clarification methods, but no single "best" practice for how such methods should be constructed was determined. Our evidence review found that existing VCMs were used for a variety of different decisions, rarely referenced underlying theory for their design, but generally were well described in regard to their development process. Listing the pros and cons of a decision was the most common method used. The 13 trials that compared decision support with or without VCMs reached mixed results: some found that VCMs improved some decision-making processes, while others found no effect. Conclusions Values clarification methods may improve decision-making processes and potentially more distal outcomes. However, the small number of evaluations of VCMs and, where evaluations exist, the heterogeneity in outcome measures makes it difficult to determine their
The ReACH Collaborative--improving quality home care.
Boyce, Patricia Simino; Pace, Karen B; Lauder, Bonnie; Solomon, Debra A
Research on quality of care has shown that vigorous leadership, clear goals, and compatible incentive systems are critical factors in influencing successful change (Institute of Medicine, 2001). Quality improvement is a complex process, and clinical quality improvement applications are more likely to be effective in organizations that are ready for change and have strong leaders, who are committed to creating and reinforcing a work environment that supports quality goals (Shortell, 1998). Key leadership roles include providing clear and sustained direction, articulating a coherent set of values and incentives to guide group and individual activities, aligning and integrating improvement efforts into organizational priorities, obtaining or freeing up resources to implement improvement activities, and creating a culture of "continuous improvement" that encourages and rewards the pursuit and achievement of shared quality aims (Institute of Medicine, 2001, 70-71). In summary, home health care is a significant and growing sector of the health care system that provides care to millions of vulnerable patients. There seems little doubt that home health agencies want to focus on quality of care issues and provide optimal care to home-based patients. Furthermore, there is a growing awareness of the value for adapting innovative, effective models for improving the culture of home care practice. This awareness stems from the notion that some agencies see quality improvement activities as a way for them to distinguish themselves not only to regulators and customers, but also to meet the cultural and transformational needs to remain viable in a constantly evolving and competitive health care industry.
Predictive value and construct validity of the work functioning screener-healthcare (WFS-H)
Boezeman, Edwin J.; Nieuwenhuijsen, Karen; Sluiter, Judith K.
Objectives: To test the predictive value and convergent construct validity of a 6-item work functioning screener (WFS-H). Methods: Healthcare workers (249 nurses) completed a questionnaire containing the work functioning screener (WFS-H) and a work functioning instrument (NWFQ) measuring the following: cognitive aspects of task execution and general incidents, avoidance behavior, conflicts and irritation with colleagues, impaired contact with patients and their family, and level of energy and motivation. Productivity and mental health were also measured. Negative and positive predictive values, AUC values, and sensitivity and specificity were calculated to examine the predictive value of the screener. Correlation analysis was used to examine the construct validity. Results: The screener had good predictive value, since the results showed that a negative screener score is a strong indicator of work functioning not hindered by mental health problems (negative predictive values: 94%-98%; positive predictive values: 21%-36%; AUC:.64-.82; sensitivity: 42%-76%; and specificity 85%-87%). The screener has good construct validity due to moderate, but significant (pvalue and good construct validity. Its score offers occupational health professionals a helpful preliminary insight into the work functioning of healthcare workers. PMID:27010085
Using Facebook to Reach People Who Experience Auditory Hallucinations.
Crosier, Benjamin Sage; Brian, Rachel Marie; Ben-Zeev, Dror
Auditory hallucinations (eg, hearing voices) are relatively common and underreported false sensory experiences that may produce distress and impairment. A large proportion of those who experience auditory hallucinations go unidentified and untreated. Traditional engagement methods oftentimes fall short in reaching the diverse population of people who experience auditory hallucinations. The objective of this proof-of-concept study was to examine the viability of leveraging Web-based social media as a method of engaging people who experience auditory hallucinations and to evaluate their attitudes toward using social media platforms as a resource for Web-based support and technology-based treatment. We used Facebook advertisements to recruit individuals who experience auditory hallucinations to complete an 18-item Web-based survey focused on issues related to auditory hallucinations and technology use in American adults. We systematically tested multiple elements of the advertisement and survey layout including image selection, survey pagination, question ordering, and advertising targeting strategy. Each element was evaluated sequentially and the most cost-effective strategy was implemented in the subsequent steps, eventually deriving an optimized approach. Three open-ended question responses were analyzed using conventional inductive content analysis. Coded responses were quantified into binary codes, and frequencies were then calculated. Recruitment netted N=264 total sample over a 6-week period. Ninety-seven participants fully completed all measures at a total cost of $8.14 per participant across testing phases. Systematic adjustments to advertisement design, survey layout, and targeting strategies improved data quality and cost efficiency. People were willing to provide information on what triggered their auditory hallucinations along with strategies they use to cope, as well as provide suggestions to others who experience auditory hallucinations. Women, people
Integration of QSAR models for bioconcentration suitable for REACH
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Gissi, Andrea [Laboratory of Chemistry and Environmental Toxicology, IRCCS - Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche "Mario Negri", via Giuseppe La Masa 19, 20156 Milan (Italy); Dipartimento di Farmacia — Scienze del Farmaco, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", via Orabona 4, I-70125 Bari (Italy); Nicolotti, Orazio; Carotti, Angelo; Gadaleta, Domenico [Dipartimento di Farmacia — Scienze del Farmaco, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", via Orabona 4, I-70125 Bari (Italy); Lombardo, Anna [Laboratory of Chemistry and Environmental Toxicology, IRCCS - Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche "Mario Negri", via Giuseppe La Masa 19, 20156 Milan (Italy); Benfenati, Emilio, E-mail: email@example.com [Laboratory of Chemistry and Environmental Toxicology, IRCCS - Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche "Mario Negri", via Giuseppe La Masa 19, 20156 Milan (Italy)
QSAR (Quantitative Structure Activity Relationship) models can be a valuable alternative method to replace or reduce animal test required by REACH. In particular, some endpoints such as bioconcentration factor (BCF) are easier to predict and many useful models have been already developed. In this paper we describe how to integrate two popular BCF models to obtain more reliable predictions. In particular, the herein presented integrated model relies on the predictions of two among the most used BCF models (CAESAR and Meylan), together with the Applicability Domain Index (ADI) provided by the software VEGA. Using a set of simple rules, the integrated model selects the most reliable and conservative predictions and discards possible outliers. In this way, for the prediction of the 851 compounds included in the ANTARES BCF dataset, the integrated model discloses a R{sup 2} (coefficient of determination) of 0.80, a RMSE (Root Mean Square Error) of 0.61 log units and a sensitivity of 76%, with a considerable improvement in respect to the CAESAR (R{sup 2} = 0.63; RMSE = 0.84 log units; sensitivity 55%) and Meylan (R{sup 2} = 0.66; RMSE = 0.77 log units; sensitivity 65%) without discarding too many predictions (118 out of 851). Importantly, considering solely the compounds within the new integrated ADI, the R{sup 2} increased to 0.92, and the sensitivity to 85%, with a RMSE of 0.44 log units. Finally, the use of properly set safety thresholds applied for monitoring the so called "suspicious" compounds, which are those chemicals predicted in proximity of the border normally accepted to discern non-bioaccumulative from bioaccumulative substances, permitted to obtain an integrated model with sensitivity equal to 100%. - Highlights: • Applying two independent QSAR models for bioconcentration factor increases the prediction. • The concordance of the models is an important component of the integration. • The measurement of the applicability domain improves the
Using Facebook to Reach People Who Experience Auditory Hallucinations
Brian, Rachel Marie; Ben-Zeev, Dror
Background Auditory hallucinations (eg, hearing voices) are relatively common and underreported false sensory experiences that may produce distress and impairment. A large proportion of those who experience auditory hallucinations go unidentified and untreated. Traditional engagement methods oftentimes fall short in reaching the diverse population of people who experience auditory hallucinations. Objective The objective of this proof-of-concept study was to examine the viability of leveraging Web-based social media as a method of engaging people who experience auditory hallucinations and to evaluate their attitudes toward using social media platforms as a resource for Web-based support and technology-based treatment. Methods We used Facebook advertisements to recruit individuals who experience auditory hallucinations to complete an 18-item Web-based survey focused on issues related to auditory hallucinations and technology use in American adults. We systematically tested multiple elements of the advertisement and survey layout including image selection, survey pagination, question ordering, and advertising targeting strategy. Each element was evaluated sequentially and the most cost-effective strategy was implemented in the subsequent steps, eventually deriving an optimized approach. Three open-ended question responses were analyzed using conventional inductive content analysis. Coded responses were quantified into binary codes, and frequencies were then calculated. Results Recruitment netted N=264 total sample over a 6-week period. Ninety-seven participants fully completed all measures at a total cost of $8.14 per participant across testing phases. Systematic adjustments to advertisement design, survey layout, and targeting strategies improved data quality and cost efficiency. People were willing to provide information on what triggered their auditory hallucinations along with strategies they use to cope, as well as provide suggestions to others who experience
Chemical placement in heterogeneous and long reach horizontal wells
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Stalker, Robert; Wahid, Fazrie; Graham, Gordon M.
The effective placement of chemical squeeze treatments in heterogeneous wells and long reach horizontal wells has proved a significant challenge, with various factors including heterogeneity, crossflow and pressure gradients between otherwise non-communicating zones within the well, all contributing to an uneven placement of the scale squeeze treatment into the reservoir. Current methods to circumvent these problems often rely on extremely expensive coiled tubing operations, staged diversion (temporary shut off) treatments or by designing treatments to deliberately overdose some zones in order to gain placement in other (e.g. low permeability) zones. Moreover for deepwater sub sea horizontal wells the costs associated with ''spot'' treating along the length of horizontal wells by coil tubing tractor operations can often be prohibitively expensive. For other very near well bore treatments such as acid stimulation a number of self diverting strategies including gelled acid treatments, staged viscoelastic surfactant treatments and foams have been applied in field treatments with some success. However the properties which make such treatments applicable for acid stimulation may also make them inappropriate for bullhead scale squeeze treatments. Recent work by the current authors has however indicated the possible benefits of using modified injection fluids to aid uniform scale inhibitor placement in such wells in order to effect more even placement. In summary this paper will describe the various options available for achieving self diversion and describes the potential drawbacks associated with the viscous placement fluids commonly used for acid simulation techniques. In addition, various simulation packages commonly used for scale related calculations are reviewed and their limitations, primarily due to the inherent assumptions made and input parameters used, for modelling squeeze treatments using such modified fluids are described. The paper
Bibliotherapy in a Library Setting: Reaching out to Vulnerable Youth
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Natalia Tukhareli
Full Text Available Bibliotherapy, as a part of expressive therapy, involves the systematic use of books to help people cope with mental, physical, emotional, or social problems. It has been widely recognized as an approach that holds great promise in helping librarians to better address emotional, behavioural and socials concerns of various groups of people. The benefits of bibliotherapeutic services such as reading groups, expanded readers' advisory, books-on-prescription and information-on-prescription services as well as various outreach programs are well documented in the library literature. On the other hand, health professionals who work in cooperation with educators and librarians share medical records on the healing and consoling power of books. The paper will explore the role of bibliotherapy in a library setting and identify particular bibliotherapeutic schemes to be used when serving people affected by HIV/AIDS. The paper will provide an overview of the library project developed to address educational and recreational needs of the African people living with HIV/AIDS. The project was successfully implemented at the Nkosi's Haven Library in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2010. Although the project targeted all the residents of Nkosi's Haven, the paper will focus mostly on the part of the program developed for children and young adults. The paper will identify psychological and social factors that affect the targeted group of children within the African environment. Particularly, it will highlight a negative effect that stigmatization around the disease has on the lives of the HIV-infected individuals and their families. Within this context, bibliotherapy is seen as an effective way of reaching out and breaking the isolation of people, especially children living with HIV/AIDS. The paper will describe specific activities strategically chosen for the bibliotherapy sessions to provide a channel through which the participants of the program could analyze
Occurrence of Hirudinea species in a post urban reach of a Patagonian mountain stream
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M. Laura Miserendino
Full Text Available Temporal (May 2005 to February 2006 and habitat distribution (pools and riffles of Hirudinea species was analyzed at a post urban reach from Esquel stream (Chubut province, Patagonia, Argentina. Site was located 5.7 km downstream a Waste Treatment Plant. Mean values of nutrients: ammonia, nitrates and soluble reactive phosphate, as well water conductivity, turbidity and total suspended solids indicated physical and organic pollution. Leeches assemblage was composed by the glossiphonids: Helobdella scutifera Blanchard, 1900, H. michaelseni (Blanchard, 1900, H. simplex (Moore, 1911, Helobdella sp., H. hyalina Ringuelet, 1942, H. obscura Ringuelet, 1942 and the semiscolecid Patagoniobdella variabilis (Blanchard, 1900. From these H. hyalina and H. obscura are new records for Chubut province. Helobdella hyalina (810 ind.m-2 and H. simplex (465 ind. m-2 clearly dominated the assemblage at the reach. Only H. simplex displayed a spatial preference being significantly more abundant in pools than in riffle habitats (p<0.001. Species recruitment occurred mostly at September, December and March when juveniles were very abundant. Although several species of Helobdella were able to live in the disturbed section of the stream, only H. simplex and H. hyalina sustained large populations at the site and can be considered as tolerant to organic enrichment. This information is valuable to future studies on stream condition assessment in mountainous areas in Patagonia, and in other areas in which these species are present.
Dry blood spot testing for hepatitis C in people who injected drugs: reaching the populations other tests cannot reach.
Tait, J M; Stephens, Brian P; McIntyre, Paul G; Evans, Morgan; Dillon, John F
The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Dry Blood Spot testing (DBST) for hepatitis C within a geographical area. This is a prospective cohort study of all individuals living in Tayside who had received a hepatitis C virus (HCV) DBST between 2009 and 2011. During the study, 1123 DBSTs were carried out. 946 individuals had one test. 295 (31.2%) of these individuals were HCV antibody positive on their first test. Overall, 94.3% (902/956) individuals returned for the results of their test. During the course of the study 177 individuals were retested and 29 new cases of hepatitis C were detected. 249 individuals attended for further follow-up, and 164 (65.5%) were PCR positive. All 164 PCR-positive individuals were offered referral into specialist HCV services for further assessment. Data showed 62.5% were genotype 3, 65.1% had a low viral load (<600 000 iu/ml) and 77.5% had a Fibroscan score below 7 KPa. To date, 40 have commenced treatment and a further 16 are currently in the assessment period. Overall, we have retained in services or treated 63.6% (105/164) of patients who were initially referred and with effective support mechanisms in place we have achieved sustained viral response rates of 90%. The study has shown that DBST is a complementary technique to conventional venepuncture for the diagnosis of HCV. The majority of patients have low viral loads and low fibrosis scores, so that while this group of patients may be difficult to reach and may be challenging to maintain in therapy, they are easier to cure.
Factores psicosociales que inciden en la reintegración social de tres reclusos con vínculos a los grupos armados ilegales (FARC-EP, UC-ELN y AUC del Centro Penitenciario y Carcelario de Villahermosa
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Tatiana A. Romero Rodríguez
Full Text Available Esta investigación exploró los factores psicosociales que facilitan o dificultan la Reintegración Social en tres sujetos con vínculos a los grupos armados ilegales (FARC-EP, UC-ELN y AUC que se encuentran en el Centro Penitenciario y Carcelario de Villahermosa. Estos factores fueron: percepción del conflicto armado en Colombia y de la dinámica del grupo armado ilegal y del patio. Se utilizó metodología cualitativa con diseño descriptivo-exploratorio, la recolección de información se realizó por medio de entrevistas a profundidad y los participantes fueron tres hombres ubicados en los patios: 2, 4 y 9. La información recolectada se sistematizó por medio del software Ethnograph versión 5.0. Los principales hallazgos fueron: 1 la percepción sobre el conflicto armado contiene elementos estructurales, económicos, culturales que legitiman el mantenimiento del mismo, y 2 se replica la dinámica del grupo armado ilegal en la dinámica grupal al interior de la prisión, teniendo en cuenta esto, se concluye que estos factores dificultan el proceso de reintegración social.
Indigenous environmental values as human values
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Monica Gratani
Full Text Available The claim that in natural resource management (NRM a change from anthropocentric values and ethics to eco-centric ones is necessary to achieve sustainability leads to the search for eco-centric models of relationship with the environment. Indigenous cultures can provide such models; hence, there is the need for multicultural societies to further include their values in NRM. In this article, we investigate the environmental values placed on a freshwater environment of the Wet Tropics by a community of indigenous Australians. We discuss their environmental values as human values, and so as beliefs that guide communities' understanding of how the natural world should be viewed and treated by humans. This perspective represents a step forward in our understanding of indigenous environmental values, and a way to overcome the paradigm of indigenous values as valued biophysical attributes of the environment or processes happening in landscapes. Our results show that the participant community holds biospheric values. Restoring these values in the NRM of the Wet Tropics could contribute to sustainability and environmental justice in the area.
Ulysses(*) reaches the South Pole of the Sun
One of the many investigations being carried out is a search for the Sun's south magnetic pole. As in the case of the Earth, the magnetic pole is offset from the rotation axis, and at some time in September it should sweep directly into line with Ulysses. Just as the polar regions of the Earth were the last to be explored, so it is with the Sun. For more than thirty years spacecraft have investigated the stream of electric particles know as the solar wind. Ulysses, developed by ESA, built by European Industry and flown in collaboration with NASA, is the first to fly through the solar wind coming from the poles. As Ulysses reaches its highest solar latitude of 80.2 degrees on 13 September, European and American researchers will gather at the ESA/ESTEC, the European Space Research and Technology Centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, for a scientific workshop at which they will assess the results from the nine experiments carried by the spacecraft. For the week of the workshop, the ESA/ESTEC conference centre will be transformed into a busy scientific laboratory. The large meeting rooms will be divided into 24 working areas, where the Ulysses experiment teams will take up temporary residence. Bringing a variety of computing equipment with them, the scientists will be able to retrieve the latest data from the spacecraft and perform detailed analyses. The emphasis will be on informality, with exchange of scientific ideas - and data - the key ingredient, leading ultimately to a better understanding of the fascinating information being gathered by Ulysses on its unique exploratory journey. Presentations to the media at ESA/ESTEC will start at 10h00 on 16 September. Media representatives wishing to attend are kindly requested to fill out the attached form and return it - preferably by fax (+126.96.36.199.76.90) - to : ESA Public Relations Division, 8/10, rue Mario Nikis - 75015-PARIS. Note to Television Editors : A video index, containing extensive background material on the
Going deep : new generation of giant rigs extends drillers' reach
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Laverty Wilson, K.
The Eirik Roude, an offshore super rig, arrived in Halifax Harbour from Florida in the summer 2001 for a retrofit before it is sent to work in the rugged environment offshore of Nova Scotia. The drilling platform is a joint venture between PanCanadian Petroleum and Ocean Rig. Is is the most technologically advanced and sophisticated deep water drilling platform in the world and can operate in 3,000 metre deep water for 365 days of the year. It is a fifth-generation semi-submersible rig. It floats on long legs that lower the centre of gravity below surface turbulence to provide a stable work platform even during Atlantic storms. The 110 metre long rig has three mud systems that store 593 cubic metres in mud pits, 1,260 cubic metres in pontoons, and can carry 26,140 barrels of fuel oil, 4,070 barrels of potable water and 13,210 barrels of drilling water. PanCanadian has provided $2 million to the Nova Scotia Community College to teach an appropriate curriculum for the required workforce. It is expected that 120 local workers will be recruited. PanCanadian plans to drill 3 or 4 offshore wells annually for the next 5 years. It is estimated that 700-800 workers will be on site at the peak of the retrofit. In addition, Marathon Oil has contracted the Smedvig-owned West Navion for Nova Scotia work. This vessel is designed to work in depths of up to 2,500 metres and can be upgraded to reach 3,000 metres. Its' dual handling capacity makes it suitable to do drilling and well completion simultaneously, thereby reducing the halts in operations and increasing the drilling efficiency. East Coast governments and trade associations are also committed to make the most of the offshore oil and gas revival, including the development of a petrochemical market. Their goal is to build a world class energy sector while protecting the environment and optimizing the financial, economic and social benefits to Nova Scotians. The Nova Scotia Benefits program requires that oil companies
The differential diagnostic value of serum homocysteine for white coat hypertension
Guo, Shitian; Lin, Hui; Pan, Sunlei; Zhai, Xiaoya; Meng, Liping
Objective To assess the value of serum homocysteine (Hcy) in differential diagnosis of white coat hypertension (WCH). Results In this retrospective study, serum Hcy levels were elevated in hypertensive patients (P < 0.001) compared to WCH patients. Serum Hcy levels were positively correlated with 24-h mean systolic blood pressure, r = 0.1378, P < 0.001. The results of the receiving operating characteristic (ROC) curve showed that the AUC value of Hcy was 0.80 (95% CI, 0.77–0.83), the cut-off ...
Seventh meeting of the Global Alliance to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis: reaching the vision by scaling up, scaling down, and reaching out
This report summarizes the 7th meeting of the Global Alliance to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GAELF), Washington DC, November 18–19, 2012. The theme, "A Future Free of Lymphatic Filariasis: Reaching the Vision by Scaling Up, Scaling Down and Reaching Out", emphasized new strategies and partnerships necessary to reach the 2020 goal of elimination of lymphatic filariasis (LF) as a public-health problem. PMID:24450283
Farmer, Rodney
Identifies major value bases which have been used to teach values in the classroom and outlines a values education program which stresses teaching about values without indoctrination. Based upon the hierarchy of human needs developed by psychologist Abraham Maslow, the program is based upon universal values, basic human needs, and recognition of…
Incremental value of the CT coronary calcium score for the prediction of coronary artery disease
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Genders, Tessa S.S. [Erasmus University Medical Center, Department of Epidemiology, P.O. Box 2040, CA, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Erasmus University Medical Center, Department of Radiology, P.O. Box 2040, CA, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Pugliese, Francesca; Mollet, Nico R.; Meijboom, W. Bob; Weustink, Annick C.; Mieghem, Carlos A.G. van; Feyter, Pim J. de [Erasmus University Medical Center, Department of Radiology, P.O. Box 2040, CA, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Erasmus University Medical Center, Department of Cardiology, P.O. Box 2040, CA, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Hunink, M.G.M. [Erasmus University Medical Center, Department of Epidemiology, P.O. Box 2040, CA, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Erasmus University Medical Center, Department of Radiology, P.O. Box 2040, CA, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Harvard University, Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston (United States)
To validate published prediction models for the presence of obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with new onset stable typical or atypical angina pectoris and to assess the incremental value of the CT coronary calcium score (CTCS). We searched the literature for clinical prediction rules for the diagnosis of obstructive CAD, defined as {>=}50% stenosis in at least one vessel on conventional coronary angiography. Significant variables were re-analysed in our dataset of 254 patients with logistic regression. CTCS was subsequently included in the models. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was calculated to assess diagnostic performance. Re-analysing the variables used by Diamond and Forrester yielded an AUC of 0.798, which increased to 0.890 by adding CTCS. For Pryor, Morise 1994, Morise 1997 and Shaw the AUC increased from 0.838 to 0.901, 0.831 to 0.899, 0.840 to 0.898 and 0.833 to 0.899. CTCS significantly improved model performance in each model. Validation demonstrated good diagnostic performance across all models. CTCS improves the prediction of the presence of obstructive CAD, independent of clinical predictors, and should be considered in its diagnostic work-up. (orig.)
Incremental value of the CT coronary calcium score for the prediction of coronary artery disease
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Genders, Tessa S.S.; Pugliese, Francesca; Mollet, Nico R.; Meijboom, W. Bob; Weustink, Annick C.; Mieghem, Carlos A.G. van; Feyter, Pim J. de; Hunink, M.G.M.
To validate published prediction models for the presence of obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with new onset stable typical or atypical angina pectoris and to assess the incremental value of the CT coronary calcium score (CTCS). We searched the literature for clinical prediction rules for the diagnosis of obstructive CAD, defined as ≥50% stenosis in at least one vessel on conventional coronary angiography. Significant variables were re-analysed in our dataset of 254 patients with logistic regression. CTCS was subsequently included in the models. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was calculated to assess diagnostic performance. Re-analysing the variables used by Diamond and Forrester yielded an AUC of 0.798, which increased to 0.890 by adding CTCS. For Pryor, Morise 1994, Morise 1997 and Shaw the AUC increased from 0.838 to 0.901, 0.831 to 0.899, 0.840 to 0.898 and 0.833 to 0.899. CTCS significantly improved model performance in each model. Validation demonstrated good diagnostic performance across all models. CTCS improves the prediction of the presence of obstructive CAD, independent of clinical predictors, and should be considered in its diagnostic work-up. (orig.)
Diagnostic value of commercially available shear-wave elastography for breast cancers: integration into BI-RADS classification with subcategories of category 4.
Youk, Ji Hyun; Gweon, Hye Mi; Son, Eun Ju; Han, Kyung Hwa; Kim, Jeong-Ah
To evaluate the diagnostic performance of shear-wave elastography (SWE) for breast cancer and to determine whether the integration of SWE into BI-RADS with subcategories of category 4 improves the diagnostic performance. A total of 389 breast masses (malignant 120, benign 269) in 324 women who underwent SWE before ultrasound-guided core biopsy or surgery were included. The qualitative SWE feature was assessed using a four-colour overlay pattern. Quantitative elasticity values including the lesion-to-fat elasticity ratio (Eratio) were measured. Diagnostic performance of B-mode ultrasound, SWE, or their combined studies was compared using the area under the ROC curve (AUC). AUC of Eratio (0.952) was the highest among elasticity values (mean, maximum, and minimum elasticity, 0.949, 0.939, and 0.928; P = 0.04) and AUC of colour pattern was 0.947. AUC of combined studies was significantly higher than for a single study (P Shear-wave elastography showed a good diagnostic performance. Adding SWE features to BI-RADS improved the diagnostic performance and may be helpful to stratify category 4 lesions. • Quantitative and qualitative shear-wave elastography provides further diagnostic information during breast ultrasound. • The elasticity ratio (E ratio ) showed the best diagnostic performance in SWE. • E ratio and four-colour overlay pattern significantly differed between benign and malignant lesions. • SWE features allowed further stratification of BI-RADS category 4 lesions.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Sørensen, Olav Jull
The conference paper aims to develop the global value chain concept by including corporate internal value adding activities and competition to the basic framework in order to turn the global value chain into a strategic management tool......The conference paper aims to develop the global value chain concept by including corporate internal value adding activities and competition to the basic framework in order to turn the global value chain into a strategic management tool...
Predictive value of proteinuria in adult dengue severity.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Farhad F Vasanwala
Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Dengue is an important viral infection with different presentations. Predicting disease severity is important in triaging patients requiring hospital care. We aim to study the value of proteinuria in predicting the development of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF, utility of urine dipstick test as a rapid prognostic tool. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Adult patients with undifferentiated fever (n = 293 were prospectively enrolled at the Infectious Disease Research Clinic at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore from January to August 2012. Dengue infection was confirmed in 168 (57% by dengue RT-PCR or NS1 antigen detection. Dengue cases had median fever duration of 6 days at enrollment. DHF was diagnosed in 34 cases according to the WHO 1997 guideline. Dengue fever (DF patients were predominantly younger and were mostly seen in the outpatient setting with higher platelet level. Compared to DF, DHF cases had significantly higher peak urine protein creatinine ratio (UPCR during clinical course (26 vs. 40 mg/mmol; p<0.001. We obtained a UPCR cut-off value of 29 mg/mmol based on maximum AUC in ROC curves of peak UPCR for DF versus DHF, corresponding to 76% sensitivity and 60% specificity. Multivariate analysis with other readily available clinical and laboratory variables increased the AUC to 0.91 with 92% sensitivity and 80% specificity. Neither urine dipstick at initial presentation nor peak urine dipstick value during the entire illness was able to discriminate between DF and DHF. CONCLUSIONS: Proteinuria measured by a laboratory-based UPCR test may be sensitive and specific in prognosticating adult dengue patients.
Characterizing and Reaching High-Risk Drinkers Using Audience Segmentation
Moss, Howard B.; Kirby, Susan D.; Donodeo, Fred
Background Market or audience segmentation is widely used in social marketing efforts to help planners identify segments of a population to target for tailored program interventions. Market-based segments are typically defined by behaviors, attitudes, knowledge, opinions, or lifestyles. They are more helpful to health communication and marketing planning than epidemiologically-defined groups because market-based segments are similar in respect to how they behave or might react to marketing and communication efforts. However, market segmentation has rarely been used in alcohol research. As an illustration of its utility, we employed commercial data that describes the sociodemographic characteristics of high-risk drinkers as an audience segment; where they tend to live, lifestyles, interests, consumer behaviors, alcohol consumption behaviors, other health-related behaviors, and cultural values. Such information can be extremely valuable in targeting and planning public health campaigns, targeted mailings, prevention interventions and research efforts. Methods We describe the results of a segmentation analysis of those individuals who self-report consuming five or more drinks per drinking episode at least twice in the last 30-days. The study used the proprietary PRIZM™ audience segmentation database merged with Center for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) database. The top ten of the 66 PRIZM™ audience segments for this risky drinking pattern are described. For five of these segments we provide additional in-depth details about consumer behavior and the estimates of the market areas where these risky drinkers reside. Results The top ten audience segments (PRIZM clusters) most likely to engage in high-risk drinking are described. The cluster with the highest concentration of binge drinking behavior is referred to as the "Cyber Millenials." This cluster is characterized as "the nation's tech-savvy singles
Characterizing and reaching high-risk drinkers using audience segmentation.
Moss, Howard B; Kirby, Susan D; Donodeo, Fred
Market or audience segmentation is widely used in social marketing efforts to help planners identify segments of a population to target for tailored program interventions. Market-based segments are typically defined by behaviors, attitudes, knowledge, opinions, or lifestyles. They are more helpful to health communication and marketing planning than epidemiologically defined groups because market-based segments are similar in respect to how they behave or might react to marketing and communication efforts. However, market segmentation has rarely been used in alcohol research. As an illustration of its utility, we employed commercial data that describes the sociodemographic characteristics of high-risk drinkers as an audience segment, including where they tend to live, lifestyles, interests, consumer behaviors, alcohol consumption behaviors, other health-related behaviors, and cultural values. Such information can be extremely valuable in targeting and planning public health campaigns, targeted mailings, prevention interventions, and research efforts. We described the results of a segmentation analysis of those individuals who self-reported to consume 5 or more drinks per drinking episode at least twice in the last 30 days. The study used the proprietary PRIZM (Claritas, Inc., San Diego, CA) audience segmentation database merged with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) database. The top 10 of the 66 PRIZM audience segments for this risky drinking pattern are described. For five of these segments we provided additional in-depth details about consumer behavior and the estimates of the market areas where these risky drinkers resided. The top 10 audience segments (PRIZM clusters) most likely to engage in high-risk drinking are described. The cluster with the highest concentration of binge-drinking behavior is referred to as the "Cyber Millenials." This cluster is characterized as "the nation's tech
Hydrogen: The Fuel that Drill Bits Cannot Reach
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Miller, Alistair I.; Duffey, Romney B.
As realization grows of the damaging cumulative effects of CO 2 on our biosphere, the prospect of substituting hydrogen for oil-based fuels attracts growing attention. Japan provides a leading example of remedial action with the expectation of five million fuel-cell-powered vehicles in operation by 2020. But where will the fuel for these and the rest of a 'Hydrogen Age' come from? The hydrogen market used to be straightforward: small-scale or high-purity markets were supplied relatively expensively by electrolysis; the other 95% was supplied much more cheaply by reforming hydrocarbons -- mostly using steam-methane reforming (SMR) and low-cost natural gas. The recent rise in the price of hydrocarbons -- natural gas as well as oil -- plus the need to sequester CO 2 has disrupted this scenario. It seems likely that this is a permanent shift driven by growing demand for limited low-cost sources of fluid hydrocarbons. So the traditional SMR route to hydrogen will be in competition with reforming of heavier hydrocarbons (particularly coal and residual oils) as well as with electrolysis based on electricity produced from low-CO 2 -emitting sources. By 2025, new high-temperature thermochemical or thermo-electrolytic sources based on high-temperature nuclear reactors could be in contention. This paper assesses the economics of all these potential sources of hydrogen and their price sensitivities. It also considers their environmental footprints. Is hydrogen from 'clean coal' or other lower value hydrocarbons cost-effective if it is also CO 2 -free? Is intermittent low-temperature electrolysis based on nuclear- and wind-produced electricity (NuWind C ) the best way or does the hydrogen future belong to thermochemistry or thermo-electrolytic sources? How can one produce hydrogen to upgrade Canada's vast oil sands resources without the detraction of a large CO 2 processing penalty? Fortunately for our planet, switching to hydrogen is no more than a technical challenge with a
Investigating the prediction value of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging at 3 T in response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Minarikova, Lenka; Bogner, Wolfgang; Zaric, Olgica; Trattnig, Siegfried; Gruber, Stephan; Pinker, Katja; Valkovic, Ladislav; Bago-Horvath, Zsuzsanna; Bartsch, Rupert; Helbich, Thomas H.
To explore the predictive value of parameters derived from diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and contrast-enhanced (CE)-MRI at different time-points during neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) in breast cancer. Institutional review board approval and written, informed consent from 42 breast cancer patients were obtained. The patients were investigated before and at three different time-points during neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) using tumour diameter and volume from CE-MRI and ADC values obtained from drawn 2D and segmented 3D regions of interest. Prediction of pathologic complete response (pCR) was evaluated using the area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic analysis. There was no significant difference between pathologic complete response and non-pCR in baseline size measures (p > 0.39). Diameter change was significantly different in pCR (p < 0.02) before the mid-therapy point. The best predictor was lesion diameter change observed before mid-therapy (AUC = 0.93). Segmented volume was not able to differentiate between pCR and non-pCR at any time-point. The ADC values from 3D-ROI were not significantly different from 2D data (p = 0.06). The best AUC (0.79) for pCR prediction using DWI was median ADC measured before mid-therapy of NACT. The results of this study should be considered in NACT monitoring planning, especially in MRI protocol designing and time point selection. (orig.)
Investigating the prediction value of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging at 3 T in response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Minarikova, Lenka; Bogner, Wolfgang; Zaric, Olgica; Trattnig, Siegfried; Gruber, Stephan [Medical University of Vienna, High-field MR Centre, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Vienna (Austria); Christian Doppler Laboratory for Clinical Molecular MR Imaging, Vienna (Austria); Pinker, Katja [Medical University of Vienna, Division of Molecular and Gender Imaging, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Vienna (Austria); Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Molecular Imaging and Therapy Service, New York, NY (United States); Valkovic, Ladislav [Medical University of Vienna, High-field MR Centre, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Vienna (Austria); Christian Doppler Laboratory for Clinical Molecular MR Imaging, Vienna (Austria); Slovak Academy of Sciences, Department of Imaging Methods, Institute of Measurement Science, Bratislava (Slovakia); University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford Centre for Clinical Magnetic Resonance Research, Oxford (United Kingdom); Bago-Horvath, Zsuzsanna [Medical University of Vienna, Department of Pathology, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Vienna (Austria); Bartsch, Rupert [Medical University of Vienna, Clinical Division of Oncology, Department of Medicine I, Vienna (Austria); Helbich, Thomas H. [Medical University of Vienna, Division of Molecular and Gender Imaging, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Vienna (Austria)
To explore the predictive value of parameters derived from diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and contrast-enhanced (CE)-MRI at different time-points during neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) in breast cancer. Institutional review board approval and written, informed consent from 42 breast cancer patients were obtained. The patients were investigated before and at three different time-points during neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) using tumour diameter and volume from CE-MRI and ADC values obtained from drawn 2D and segmented 3D regions of interest. Prediction of pathologic complete response (pCR) was evaluated using the area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic analysis. There was no significant difference between pathologic complete response and non-pCR in baseline size measures (p > 0.39). Diameter change was significantly different in pCR (p < 0.02) before the mid-therapy point. The best predictor was lesion diameter change observed before mid-therapy (AUC = 0.93). Segmented volume was not able to differentiate between pCR and non-pCR at any time-point. The ADC values from 3D-ROI were not significantly different from 2D data (p = 0.06). The best AUC (0.79) for pCR prediction using DWI was median ADC measured before mid-therapy of NACT. The results of this study should be considered in NACT monitoring planning, especially in MRI protocol designing and time point selection. (orig.)
The incremental value of brachial flow-mediated dilation measurements in risk stratification for incident cardiovascular events: a systematic review.
Peters, Sanne A E; den Ruijter, Hester M; Bots, Michiel L
Abstract Adequate risk assessment for cardiovascular disease (CVD) is essential as a guide to initiate drug treatment. Current methods based on traditional risk factors could be improved considerably. Although brachial flow-mediated dilation (FMD) predicts subsequent cardiovascular events, its predictive value on top of traditional risk factors is unknown. We performed a systematic review to evaluate the incremental predictive value of FMD on top of traditional risk factors in asymptomatic individuals. Using PubMed and reference tracking, three studies were identified that reported on the incremental value of FMD using change in the area under the curve (AUC). Two large cohort studies found no improvement in AUC when FMD was added to traditional risk prediction models, whereas one small case-control study found an improvement. One study used the net reclassification improvement (NRI) to assess whether FMD measurement leads to correct risk stratification in risk categories. Although this study did not find an improvement in AUC, the NRI was statistically significant. Based on the reclassification results of this study, FMD measurement might be helpful in risk prediction. Evidence supporting the use of FMD measurement in clinical practice for risk stratification for CVD on top of traditional risk factors is limited, and future studies are needed.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Netseva-Porcheva Tatyana
Full Text Available The main aim of the paper is to present the value-based pricing. Therefore, the comparison between two approaches of pricing is made - cost-based pricing and value-based pricing. The 'Price sensitively meter' is presented. The other topic of the paper is the perceived value - meaning of the perceived value, the components of perceived value, the determination of perceived value and the increasing of perceived value. In addition, the best company strategies in matrix 'value-cost' are outlined. .
Valuing future citizens' values regarding risk
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Fleming, Patricia
Valuing present citizen's values regarding the risks they face is an important aspect of risk assessment and risk acceptability. Conferences like VALDOR are held for this reason. Governments like Sweden have national referendums on various risk-prone enterprises. The results of these referendums can determine the future of these programs. In the United States, when guidelines are set for determining acceptable levels of risk, the relevant federal agencies are often required to provide a comment period regarding proposed guidelines in order to ascertain the judgments, including the weights place on certain values, of individual members of society as well as stakeholder groups. After the comment period ends, the agency decides on the acceptable level of risk, taking into account the comments from present citizens. Do we also have a duty to value the not-yet-existing values of future citizens, especially if the risks created by the activities of present citizens extend into the future to citizens not yet living? If so, are there any circumstances which entitle us to de-value those not-yet-existing values. In this paper, I ground my discussion of the question of valuing future citizens' values in one of the areas of focus of the VALDOR conference: nuclear waste management and specifically the question facing the United States' program regarding an acceptable dose standard associated with the release of radioactivity into the biosphere from an underground repository. The underlying conference theme to which this discussion may be attached is community environmental justice as it applies to future citizens. I focus on the role that uncertainty plays is providing justice between present and future citizens
Valuing future citizens' values regarding risk
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Fleming, Patricia [Creighton Univ., Omaha (United States). College of Arts and Sciences/Philosophy
Valuing present citizen's values regarding the risks they face is an important aspect of risk assessment and risk acceptability. Conferences like VALDOR are held for this reason. Governments like Sweden have national referendums on various risk-prone enterprises. The results of these referendums can determine the future of these programs. In the United States, when guidelines are set for determining acceptable levels of risk, the relevant federal agencies are often required to provide a comment period regarding proposed guidelines in order to ascertain the judgments, including the weights place on certain values, of individual members of society as well as stakeholder groups. After the comment period ends, the agency decides on the acceptable level of risk, taking into account the comments from present citizens. Do we also have a duty to value the not-yet-existing values of future citizens, especially if the risks created by the activities of present citizens extend into the future to citizens not yet living? If so, are there any circumstances which entitle us to de-value those not-yet-existing values. In this paper, I ground my discussion of the question of valuing future citizens' values in one of the areas of focus of the VALDOR conference: nuclear waste management and specifically the question facing the United States' program regarding an acceptable dose standard associated with the release of radioactivity into the biosphere from an underground repository. The underlying conference theme to which this discussion may be attached is community environmental justice as it applies to future citizens. I focus on the role that uncertainty plays is providing justice between present and future citizens.
Value representations: a value based dialogue tool
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Petersen, Marianne Graves; Rasmussen, Majken Kirkegaard
Stereotypic presumptions about gender affect the design process, both in relation to how users are understood and how products are designed. As a way to decrease the influence of stereotypic presumptions in design process, we propose not to disregard the aspect of gender in the design process......, as the perspective brings valuable insights on different approaches to technology, but instead to view gender through a value lens. Contributing to this perspective, we have developed Value Representations as a design-oriented instrument for staging a reflective dialogue with users. Value Representations...
Criteria for setting the width of CCD front end transistor to reach minimum pixel noise
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Fasoli, L.; Sampietro, M.
The paper gives the criteria to calculate the width of the front end transistor integrated next to the charge sensing electrode of CCD's or, in general, of semiconductor detectors, in order to reach the minimum noise in the readout of the signal charge. The paper, for the first time, accounts for white, series and parallel, and 1/f noise contribution. In addition, it points out two different design criteria depending whether a JFET or a MOSFET is used. The attention given to the JFET is due to a lower 1/f noise component, which makes these transistors more and more appealing as input devices in very high resolution detectors. The paper shows that there is a characteristic width of the FET gate that practically doesn't depend on the noise sources but depends only on the capacitance seen by the charge sensing electrode of the detector, making possible the optimum design of the transistor prior to the knowledge of the real values of the spectral density of the noise sources, which are usually precisely known only at the end of the fabrication process. The paper shows that the pixel noise raises sharply as the transistor gate width departs from its optimum value
Bringing ecology blogging into the scientific fold: measuring reach and impact of science community blogs.
Saunders, Manu E; Duffy, Meghan A; Heard, Stephen B; Kosmala, Margaret; Leather, Simon R; McGlynn, Terrence P; Ollerton, Jeff; Parachnowitsch, Amy L
The popularity of science blogging has increased in recent years, but the number of academic scientists who maintain regular blogs is limited. The role and impact of science communication blogs aimed at general audiences is often discussed, but the value of science community blogs aimed at the academic community has largely been overlooked. Here, we focus on our own experiences as bloggers to argue that science community blogs are valuable to the academic community. We use data from our own blogs ( n = 7) to illustrate some of the factors influencing reach and impact of science community blogs. We then discuss the value of blogs as a standalone medium, where rapid communication of scholarly ideas, opinions and short observational notes can enhance scientific discourse, and discussion of personal experiences can provide indirect mentorship for junior researchers and scientists from underrepresented groups. Finally, we argue that science community blogs can be treated as a primary source and provide some key points to consider when citing blogs in peer-reviewed literature.
Human rights values or cultural values? Pursuing values to maintain ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
We argue that positive discipline in multicultural school environments needs to be based in part on human rights values that are neither solely universally interpreted nor particularistically interpreted. We report on the data generated at a research workshop held as the final dissemination process of a four-year international ...
Global Broadcast Service Reach Back Via Ultra High Frequency Demand Assigned Multiple Access Satellite Communications
National Research Council Canada - National Science Library
Arthur, Joseph
.... An integral part of the user pull is the reach back channel. The reach back channel allows users to speciiy the information they need broadcast and tailor the information to meet their mission needs...
Global Broadcast Service Reach Back via Ultra High Frequency Demand Assigned Multiple Satellite Communications
National Research Council Canada - National Science Library
Arthur, Joseph
.... An integral part of the user pull is the reach back channel. The reach back channel allows users to specify' the information they need broadcast and tailor the information to meet their mission needs...
The Ability of Sheep to Reach for Food Through Tombstone Barriers ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
animal enterprises. (McIntire ... models for predicting forwards and sideways hori- zontal~~ach at different feeding-platform heights. Since the study ... models for predicting horizontal reach included body weight and withers height. Vertical reach.
A Summary of Fish Data in Six Reaches of The Upper Mississippi River System
National Research Council Canada - National Science Library
Gutreuter, Steve
.... The six LTRMP study reaches are Pools 4 (excluding Lake Pepin), 8, 13, and 26 of the Upper Mississippi River, an unimpounded reach of the Mississippi River near Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and the La Grange Pool of the Illinois River...
Influence of gravity compensation on muscle activity during reach and retrieval in healthy elderly.
Prange, Grada Berendina; Kallenberg, L.A.C.; Jannink, M.J.A.; Stienen, Arno; van der Kooij, Herman; IJzerman, Maarten Joost; Hermens, Hermanus J.
INTRODUCTION: Arm support like gravity compensation may improve arm movements during stroke rehabilitation. It is unknown how gravity compensation affects muscle activation patterns during reach and retrieval movements. Since muscle activity during reach is represented by a component varying with
Hunters' motivations and values:
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Radder, Laetitia; Bech-Larsen, Tino
This article examines the values and motivations of South African biltong hunters. A hierarchical value map of associations between attributes, consequences and values resulted from laddering interviews with 34 hunters. The Means-End Chain approach proved useful in identifying: (a) personal value...
Besjes-de Bock, Karin M.; de Ruyter, Doret J.
This article describes five values attributed to giftedness. The ascription of values to this phenomenon resembles values attached to gifts in gift-giving processes. Whereas gift-giving often includes expectations of reciprocity, each gift possesses a numerical, utility, social, personal, and intrinsic value. Developmental models of giftedness and…
How to find the sedimentary archive of fluvial pollution in a bedrock-confined river reach
Elznicova, Jitka; Matys Grygar, Tomas; Kiss, Timea; Lelkova, Tereza; Balogh, Marton; Sikora, Martin
The Ohre River springs in the Eastern Germany and it is a tributary of the Labe (Elbe) River in Northwest Bohemia. The river received pollution from several sources during the last five centuries. Most of the pollution sources located along the upper and middle reaches, where the depositional and erosional pattern of the river is highly variable. The upper part of the catchment consists of mainly felsic rocks and the river has a broad floodplain. The middle reach and its right-bank tributaries are deeply incised into the Doupovske Hory Mts., which consists of mafic volcanic rocks; whereas the left-bank tributaries are incised into intrusive and metamorphic rocks of the Krusne Hory Mts. (Ore mountains) with several local ore mines (Ag, Pb and U) in particular in around Olovi and Jachymov. Due to the geologic and geomorphologic complexity, deposition of historical sediments in the middle reach has been spatially limited and uneven, and anomalous background concentrations of risk elements are expected. As a consequence, in the middle reach of the Ohre River it is difficult to find a useful sedimentary archive of historical pollution, though it is desired for two main reasons: (1) to decipher the undocumented and poorly described pollution history from the Krusne Hory Mts. and (2) to better understand the retention of pollutants in the transport zones of a confined river system. Based on historical maps we identified a side-bar (35x320 m) in the middle reach of the river near Straz on Ohre and aimed to describe its formation, its recent erosion/deposition history and to evaluate its sedimentary archive value. In the first half of the 19th century it was an island separated from the valley edge by a side channel. Since then there has been no apparent lateral accretion of the bar (its shape has not been changed), but the upstream part of the side channel aggraded by a sediment plug. We evaluated the current bar topography and geomorphology by a detailed field survey
Equivalence, commensurability, value
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Albertsen, Niels
Deriving value in Capital Marx uses three commensurability arguments (CA1-3). CA1 establishes equivalence in exchange as exchangeability with the same third commodity. CA2 establishes value as common denominator in commodities: embodied abstract labour. CA3 establishes value substance...... as commonality of labour: physiological labour. Tensions between these logics have permeated Marxist interpretations of value. Some have supported value as embodied labour (CA2, 3), others a monetary theory of value and value as 'pure' societal abstraction (ultimately CA1). They all are grounded in Marx....
Scientific governance and the process for exposure scenario development in REACH
Money, C.D.; Hemmen, J.J. van; Vermeire, T.G.
The primary process established by the European Commission to address the science needed to define key REACH concepts and to help rationally implement REACH's ambitions is enshrined in a series of activities known as the REACH Implementation Projects (RIPs). These are projects that aim to define the
Children's Visual Processing of Egocentric Cues in Action Planning for Reach
Cordova, Alberto; Gabbard, Carl
In this study the authors examined children's ability to code visual information into an egocentric frame of reference for planning reach movements. Children and adults estimated reach distance via motor imagery in immediate and response-delay conditions. Actual maximum reach was compared to estimates in multiple locations in peripersonal and…
A Preliminary Evaluation of Reach: Training Early Childhood Teachers to Support Children's Social and Emotional Development
Conners-Burrow, Nicola A.; Patrick, Terese; Kyzer, Angela; McKelvey, Lorraine
This paper describes the development, implementation and preliminary evaluation of the Reaching Educators and Children (REACH) program, a training and coaching intervention designed to increase the capacity of early childhood teachers to support children's social and emotional development. We evaluated REACH with 139 teachers of toddler and…
Integrating lateral contributions along river reaches to improve SWOT discharge estimates
Beighley, E.; Zhao, Y.; Feng, D.; Fisher, C. K.; Raoufi, R.; Durand, M. T.; David, C. H.; Lee, H.; Boone, A. A.; Cretaux, J. F.
Understanding the potential impacts of climate and land cover change at continental to global scales with a sufficient resolution for community scale planning and management requires an improved representation of the hydrologic cycle that is possible based on existing measurement networks and current Earth system models. The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission, scheduled to launch in 2021, has the potential to address this challenge by providing measurements of water surface elevation, slope and extent for rivers wider than roughly 50-100 meters at a temporal sampling frequency ranging from days to weeks. The global uniformity and space/time resolution of the proposed SWOT measurements will enable hydrologic discovery, model advancements and new applications addressing the above challenges that are not currently possible or likely even conceivable. One derived data product planned for the SWOT mission is river discharge. Although there are several discharge algorithms that perform well for a range of conditions, this effort is focused on the MetroMan discharge algorithm. For example, in MetroMan, lateral inflow assumptions have been shown to impact performance. Here, the role of lateral inflows on discharge estimate performance is investigated. Preliminary results are presented for the Ohio River Basin. Lateral inflows are quantified for SWOT-observable river reaches using surface and subsurface runoff from North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS) and lateral routing in the Hillslope River Routing (HRR) model. Frequency distributions for the fraction of reach-averaged discharge resulting from lateral inflow are presented. Future efforts will integrate lateral inflow characteristics into the MetroMan discharge algorithm and quantify the potential value of SWOT measurement in flood insurance applications.
Development of river flood model in lower reach of urbanized river basin
Yoshimura, Kouhei; Tajima, Yoshimitsu; Sanuki, Hiroshi; Shibuo, Yoshihiro; Sato, Shinji; Lee, SungAe; Furumai, Hiroaki; Koike, Toshio
Japan, with its natural mountainous landscape, has demographic feature that population is concentrated in lower reach of elevation close to the coast, and therefore flood damage with large socio-economic value tends to occur in low-lying region. Modeling of river flood in such low-lying urbanized river basin is complex due to the following reasons. In upstream it has been experienced urbanization, which changed land covers from natural forest or agricultural fields to residential or industrial area. Hence rate of infiltration and runoff are quite different from natural hydrological settings. In downstream, paved covers and construct of sewerage system in urbanized areas affect direct discharges and it enhances higher and faster flood peak arrival. Also tidal effect from river mouth strongly affects water levels in rivers, which must be taken into account. We develop an integrated river flood model in lower reach of urbanized areas to be able to address above described complex feature, by integrating model components: LSM coupled distributed hydrological model that models anthropogenic influence on river discharges to downstream; urban hydrological model that simulates run off response in urbanized areas; Saint Venant's equation approximated river model that integrates upstream and urban hydrological models with considering tidal effect from downstream. These features are integrated in a common modeling framework so that model interaction can be directly performed. The model is applied to the Tsurumi river basin, urbanized low-lying river basin in Yokohama and model results show that it can simulate water levels in rivers with acceptable model errors. Furthermore the model is able to install miscellaneous water planning constructs, such as runoff reduction pond in urbanized area, flood control field along the river channel, levee, etc. This can be a useful tool to investigate cost performance of hypothetical water management plan against impact of climate change in
Muscle Synergies Control during Hand-Reaching Tasks in Multiple Directions Post-stroke
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sharon Israely
Full Text Available Purpose: A muscle synergies model was suggested to represent a simplifying motor control mechanism by the brainstem and spinal cord. The aim of the study was to investigate the feasibility of such control mechanisms in the rehabilitation of post-stroke individuals during the execution of hand-reaching movements in multiple directions, compared to non-stroke individuals.Methods: Twelve non-stroke and 13 post-stroke individuals participated in the study. Muscle synergies were extracted from EMG data that was recorded during hand reaching tasks, using the NMF algorithm. The optimal number of synergies was evaluated in both groups using the Variance Accounted For (VAF and the Mean Squared Error (MSE. A cross validation procedure was carried out to define a representative set of synergies. The similarity index and the K-means algorithm were applied to validate the existence of such a set of synergies, but also to compare the modulation properties of synergies for different movement directions between groups. The similarity index and hierarchical cluster analysis were also applied to compare between group synergies.Results: Four synergies were chosen to optimally capture the variances in the EMG data, with mean VAF of 0.917 ± 0.034 and 0.883 ± 0.046 of the data variances, with respective MSE of 0.007 and 0.016, in the control and study groups, respectively. The representative set of synergies was set to be extracted from movement to the center of the reaching space. Two synergies had different muscle activation balance between groups. Seven and 17 clusters partitioned the muscle synergies of the control and study groups. The control group exhibited a gradual change in the activation in the amplitude in the time domain (modulation of synergies, as reflected by the similarity index, whereas the study group exhibited consistently significant differences between all movement directions and the representative set of synergies. The study findings support
Sediment-porewater partition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from Lanzhou Reach of Yellow River, China
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Yu Yong [Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071 (China); Xu Jian, E-mail: email@example.com [Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071 (China); Wang Ping; Sun Hongwen; Dai Shugui [Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071 (China)
Pollution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the aquatic environment has drawn much attention around the world. The occurrence of 16 priority PAHs in the sediments and corresponding porewaters in Lanzhou Reach of Yellow River, China, and their partitioning behavior between the two phases were investigated. The results demonstrated that the total PAH levels in the sediments were positively correlated with the sediment clay contents (R{sup 2} = 0.756). Concentrations of total PAHs in porewaters ranged from 48.2 to 206 {mu}g/L, and indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene (InP) was the most abundant compound measured in the porewater samples with a mean value of 42.9 {mu}g/L. The compositions of PAHs in porewaters were dominated by their compositions in the sediment samples. The in situ organic carbon normalized partition coefficients (logK{sub oc}{sup '}) of the PAHs between sediments and porewaters were significantly correlated with their octanol-water partition coefficients (log K{sub ow}) when log K{sub ow} values were less than 5.5 (naphthalene (Nap) excluded). logK{sub oc}{sup '} values of 14 PAHs were lower than those predicted by the Karickhoff relationship. This discrepancy was largest for InP, dibenzo[a,h]anthracene (DBA), and benzo[ghi]perylene (BgP). The results in present study showed the tendency of PAHs release from sediment to porewater, indicating that PAHs sequestered in the sediments may be a pollution source to aquatic ecosystem.
van Lieshout, Remko; Reijneveld, Elja A E; van den Berg, Sandra M; Haerkens, Gijs M; Koenders, Niek H; de Leeuw, Arina J; van Oorsouw, Roel G; Paap, Davy; Scheffer, Else; Weterings, Stijn; Stukstette, Mirelle J
The mSEBT is a screening tool used to evaluate dynamic balance. Most research investigating measurement properties focused on intrarater reliability and was done in small samples. To know whether the mSEBT is useful to discriminate dynamic balance between persons and to evaluate changes in dynamic balance, more research into intra- and interrater reliability and smallest detectable change (synonymous with minimal detectable change) is needed. To estimate intra- and interrater reliability and smallest detectable change of the mSEBT in adults at risk for ankle sprain. Cross-sectional, test-retest design. Fifty-five healthy young adults participating in sports at risk for ankle sprain participated (mean ± SD age, 24.0 ± 2.9 years). Each participant performed three test sessions within one hour and was rated by two physical therapists (session 1, rater 1; session 2, rater 2; session 3, rater 1). Participants and raters were blinded for previous measurements. Normalized composite and reach direction scores for the right and left leg were collected. Analysis of variance was used to calculate intraclass correlation coefficient values for intra- and interrater reliability. Smallest detectable change values were calculated based on the standard error of measurement. Intra- and interrater reliability for both legs was good to excellent (intraclass correlation coefficient ranging from 0.87 to 0.94). The intrarater smallest detectable change for the composite score of the right leg was 7.2% and for the left 6.2%. The interrater smallest detectable change for the composite score of the right leg was 6.9% and for the left 5.0%. The mSEBT is a reliable measurement instrument to discriminate dynamic balance between persons. Most smallest detectable change values of the mSEBT appear to be large. More research is needed to investigate if the mSEBT is usable for evaluative purposes. Level 2.
Political Values or the Value of Politics
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Simoska, Emilija
Full Text Available This essay was motivated by the gap between proclaimed democratic principles and the perceptions of politics which are exhibited by the citizens in transitional countries -more specifically in the Republic of Macedonia. It is based on research data collected in the past few decades, which illustrate that, in their political actions, the citizens are highly motivated by personal benefits and profits, rather than by their internalized values and ideologies. Non-democratic, authoritarian values prevail, while politics is perceived as a value itself, in the most materialistic meaning of the word. It creates a suitable milieu for growth of corruption, nepotism and clientelism. The authors conclude that such a circulus vitsiosus is a corner stone of the Macedonian political regime, and an enormous obstacle for the advancement of the participative, democratic political culture in reality, in spite of its formal acceptance.
Grip type and task goal modify reach-to-grasp performance in post-stroke hemiparesis.
Schaefer, Sydney Y; DeJong, Stacey L; Cherry, Kendra M; Lang, Catherine E
This study investigated whether grip type and/or task goal influenced reaching and grasping performance in poststroke hemiparesis. Sixteen adults with poststroke hemiparesis and twelve healthy adults reached to and grasped a cylindrical object using one of two grip types (3-finger or palmar) to achieve one of two task goals (hold or lift). Performance of the stroke group was characteristic of hemiparetic limb movement during reach-to-grasp, with more curved handpaths and slower velocities compared with the control group. These effects were present regardless of grip type or task goal. Other measures of reaching (reach time and reach velocity at object contact) and grasping (peak thumb-index finger aperture during the reach and peak grip force during the grasp) were differentially affected by grip type, task goal, or both, despite the presence of hemiparesis, providing new evidence that changes in motor patterns after stroke may occur to compensate for stroke-related motor impairment.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Beck Jørgensen, Torben; Rutgers, Mark R.
Long term changes in public values are not easily detected. One important reason is the limited availability of reliable empirical data. Job advertisements allow us to go back in history for some decades and job ads may present us with the values that are supposed to guide civil servant behaviour...... in several directions; b) job ads develop into platforms for organizational branding with an emphasis on HR-related values although national logos enter the scene (the Danish royal crown, the Dutch national emblem); c) New Public Management values do not crowd out other values, rather value intensity...
Online Advertising to Reach and Recruit Latino Smokers to an Internet Cessation Program: Impact and Costs
Fang, Ye; Moreno, Jose L; Streiff, Shawn L; Villegas, Jorge; Muñoz, Ricardo F; Tercyak, Kenneth P; Mandelblatt, Jeanne S; Vallone, Donna M
Background Tobacco cessation among Latinos is a public health priority in the United States, particularly given the relatively high growth of this population segment. Although a substantial percentage of American Latinos use the Internet, they have not engaged in Web-based cessation programs as readily as other racial/ethnic subgroups. A lack of culturally specific advertising efforts may partly explain this disparity. Objective Phase I of this study focused on the development of four Spanish-language online banner advertisements to promote a free Spanish-language smoking cessation website (es.BecomeAnEX.org). Phase II examined the relative effectiveness of the four banner ads in reaching and recruiting Latino smokers to the cessation website. Methods In Phase I, 200 Spanish-speaking Latino smokers completed an online survey to indicate their preference for Spanish-language banner ads that incorporated either the cultural value of family (familismo) or fatalism (fatalismo). Ads included variations on message framing (gain vs loss) and depth of cultural targeting (surface vs deep). In Phase II, a Latin square design evaluated the effectiveness of the four preferred ads from Phase I. Ads were systematically rotated across four popular Latino websites (MySpace Latino, MSN Latino, MiGente, and Yahoo! en Español) over four months from August to November 2009. Tracking software recorded ad clicks and registrants on the cessation website. Negative binomial regression and general linear modeling examined the main and interacting effects of message framing and depth of cultural targeting for four outcomes: number of clicks, click-through rate, number of registrants, and cost per registrant. Results In Phase I, smokers preferred the four ads featuring familismo. In Phase II, 24,829,007 impressions were placed, yielding 24,822 clicks, an overall click-through rate of 0.10%, and 500 registrants (2.77% conversion rate). Advertising costs totaled US $104,669.49, resulting in an
Large wood influence on stream metabolism at a reach-scale in the Assabet River, Massachusetts
David, G. C. L.; Snyder, N. P.; Rosario, G. M.
Total stream metabolism (TSM) represents the transfer of carbon through a channel by both primary production and respiration, and thus represents the movement of energy through a watershed. Large wood (LW) creates geomorphically complex channels by diverting flows, altering shear stresses on the channel bed and banks, and pool development. The increase in habitat complexity around LW is expected to increase TSM, but this change has not been directly measured. In this study, we measured changes in TSM around a LW jam in a Massachusetts river. Dissolved oxygen (DO) time series data are used to quantify gross primary production (GPP), ecosystem respiration (ER), which equal TSM when summed. Two primary objectives of this study are to (1) assess changes in TSM around LW and (2) compare empirical methods of deriving TSM to Grace et al.'s (2015) BASE model. We hypothesized that LW would increase TSM by providing larger pools, increasing coverage for fish and macroinvertebrates, increasing organic matter accumulation, and providing a place for primary producers to anchor and grow. The Assabet River is a 78 km2 drainage basin in central Massachusetts that provides public water supply to 7 towns. A change in TSM over a reach-scale was assessed using two YSI 6-Series Multiparameter Water Quality sondes over a 140 m long pool-riffle open meadow section. The reach included 6 pools and one LW jam. Every two weeks from July to November 2015, the sondes were moved to different pools. The sondes collected DO, temperature, depth, pH, salinity, light intensity, and turbidity at 15-minute intervals. Velocity (V) and discharge (Q) were measured weekly around the sondes and at established cross sections. Instantaneous V and Q were calculated for each sonde by modeling flows in HEC-RAS. Overall, TSM was heavily influenced by the pool size and indirectly to the LW jam which was associated with the largest pool. The largest error in TSM calculations is related to the empirically
Reaching Grid Parity Using BP Solar Crystalline Silicon Technology: A Systems Class Application
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Cunningham, Daniel W; Wohlgemuth, John; Carlson, David E; Clark, Roger F; Gleaton, Mark; Posbic, John P; Zahler, James
The primary target market for this program was the residential and commercial PV markets, drawing on BP Solar's premium product and service offerings, brand and marketing strength, and unique routes to market. These two markets were chosen because: (1) in 2005 they represented more than 50% of the overall US PV market; (2) they are the two markets that will likely meet grid parity first; and (3) they are the two market segments in which product development can lead to the added value necessary to generate market growth before reaching grid parity. Federal investment in this program resulted in substantial progress toward the DOE TPP target, providing significant advancements in the following areas: (1) Lower component costs particularly the modules and inverters. (2) Increased availability and lower cost of silicon feedstock. (3) Product specifically developed for residential and commercial applications. (4) Reducing the cost of installation through optimization of the products. (5) Increased value of electricity in mid-term to drive volume increases, via the green grid technology. (6) Large scale manufacture of PV products in the US, generating increased US employment in manufacturing and installation. To achieve these goals BP Solar assembled a team that included suppliers of critical materials, automated equipment developers/manufacturers, inverter and other BOS manufacturers, a utility company, and University research groups. The program addressed all aspects of the crystalline silicon PV business from raw materials (particularly silicon feedstock) through installation of the system on the customers site. By involving the material and equipment vendors, we ensured that supplies of silicon feedstock and other PV specific materials like encapsulation materials (EVA and cover glass) will be available in the quantities required to meet the DOE goals of 5 to 10 GW of installed US PV by 2015 and at the prices necessary for PV systems to reach grid parity in 2015
What can be learnt from an ecotoxicity database in the framework of the REACh regulation?
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Henegar, Adina; Mombelli, Enrico; Pandard, Pascal; Pery, Alexandre R.R.
Since REACh applies in all of EU, special emphasis has been put on the reduction of systematic ecotoxicity testing. In this context, it is important to extract a maximum of information from existing ecotoxicity databases in order to propose alternative methods aimed at replacing and reducing experimental testing. Consequently, we analyzed a database of new chemicals registered in France and Europe during the last twenty years reporting aquatic ecotoxicity data with respect to three trophic levels (i.e., Algae EC50 72 h, Daphnia EC50 48 h and Fish LC50 96 h). In order to ensure the relevance of the comparison between these three experimental tests, we performed a stringent data selection based on the pertinence and quality of available ecotoxicological information. At the end of this selection, less than 5% of the initial number of chemicals was retained for subsequent analysis. Such an analysis showed that fish was the least sensitive trophic level, whereas Daphnia had the highest sensitivity. Moreover, thanks to an analysis of the relative sensitivity of trophic levels, it was possible to establish that respective correction factors of 50 and 10 would be necessary if only one or two test values were available. From a physicochemical point of view, it was possible to characterize two significant correlations relating the sensitivity of the aforementioned trophic levels with the chemical structure of the retained substances. This analysis showed that algae displayed a higher sensitivity towards chemicals containing acid fragments whereas fish presented a higher sensitivity towards chemicals containing aromatic ether fragments. Overall, our work suggests that statistical analysis of historical data combined with data yielded by the REACh regulation should permit the derivation of robust safety factors, testing strategies and mathematical models. These alternative methods, in turn, could allow a replacement and reduction of ecotoxicological testing. - Research
Online advertising to reach and recruit Latino smokers to an internet cessation program: impact and costs.
Graham, Amanda L; Fang, Ye; Moreno, Jose L; Streiff, Shawn L; Villegas, Jorge; Muñoz, Ricardo F; Tercyak, Kenneth P; Mandelblatt, Jeanne S; Vallone, Donna M
Tobacco cessation among Latinos is a public health priority in the United States, particularly given the relatively high growth of this population segment. Although a substantial percentage of American Latinos use the Internet, they have not engaged in Web-based cessation programs as readily as other racial/ethnic subgroups. A lack of culturally specific advertising efforts may partly explain this disparity. Phase I of this study focused on the development of four Spanish-language online banner advertisements to promote a free Spanish-language smoking cessation website (es.BecomeAnEX.org). Phase II examined the relative effectiveness of the four banner ads in reaching and recruiting Latino smokers to the cessation website. In Phase I, 200 Spanish-speaking Latino smokers completed an online survey to indicate their preference for Spanish-language banner ads that incorporated either the cultural value of family (familismo) or fatalism (fatalismo). Ads included variations on message framing (gain vs loss) and depth of cultural targeting (surface vs deep). In Phase II, a Latin square design evaluated the effectiveness of the four preferred ads from Phase I. Ads were systematically rotated across four popular Latino websites (MySpace Latino, MSN Latino, MiGente, and Yahoo! en Español) over four months from August to November 2009. Tracking software recorded ad clicks and registrants on the cessation website. Negative binomial regression and general linear modeling examined the main and interacting effects of message framing and depth of cultural targeting for four outcomes: number of clicks, click-through rate, number of registrants, and cost per registrant. In Phase I, smokers preferred the four ads featuring familismo. In Phase II, 24,829,007 impressions were placed, yielding 24,822 clicks, an overall click-through rate of 0.10%, and 500 registrants (2.77% conversion rate). Advertising costs totaled US $104,669.49, resulting in an overall cost per click of US $4
Estimating the reliability of glycemic index values and potential sources of methodological and biological variability.
Matthan, Nirupa R; Ausman, Lynne M; Meng, Huicui; Tighiouart, Hocine; Lichtenstein, Alice H
The utility of glycemic index (GI) values for chronic disease risk management remains controversial. Although absolute GI value determinations for individual foods have been shown to vary significantly in individuals with diabetes, there is a dearth of data on the reliability of GI value determinations and potential sources of variability among healthy adults. We examined the intra- and inter-individual variability in glycemic response to a single food challenge and methodologic and biological factors that potentially mediate this response. The GI value for white bread was determined by using standardized methodology in 63 volunteers free from chronic disease and recruited to differ by sex, age (18-85 y), and body mass index [BMI (in kg/m 2 ): 20-35]. Volunteers randomly underwent 3 sets of food challenges involving glucose (reference) and white bread (test food), both providing 50 g available carbohydrates. Serum glucose and insulin were monitored for 5 h postingestion, and GI values were calculated by using different area under the curve (AUC) methods. Biochemical variables were measured by using standard assays and body composition by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. The mean ± SD GI value for white bread was 62 ± 15 when calculated by using the recommended method. Mean intra- and interindividual CVs were 20% and 25%, respectively. Increasing sample size, replication of reference and test foods, and length of blood sampling, as well as AUC calculation method, did not improve the CVs. Among the biological factors assessed, insulin index and glycated hemoglobin values explained 15% and 16% of the variability in mean GI value for white bread, respectively. These data indicate that there is substantial variability in individual responses to GI value determinations, demonstrating that it is unlikely to be a good approach to guiding food choices. Additionally, even in healthy individuals, glycemic status significantly contributes to the variability in GI value
Valuing values: A history of wilderness economics
J. M. Bowker; H. K. Cordell; N. C. Poudyal
Prior to the U.S. Wilderness Act of 1964, economics as a science was hardly considered applicable to the types of human values set forth in this pathbreaking legislation. Economics was largely confined to the purchasing and labor decisions of households and firms as well the functioning of markets and economies. However, around this time, John Krutilla (1967) in his...
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — Value of care displays – national data. This data set includes national-level data for the value of care displays associated with an episode of care for heart...
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The VSAC provides downloadable access to all official versions of vocabulary value sets contained in the 2014 Clinical Quality Measures (CQMs). Each value set...
Differential diagnosis of oligodendroglial and astrocytic tumors using imaging results: the added value of perfusion MR imaging
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Yoon, Hyun Jung [Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Department of Radiology and Center for Imaging Science, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Seoul St. Mary' s Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, Department of Radiology, College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Ahn, Kook Jin; Lee, Song; Jang, Jin Hee; Choi, Hyun Seok; Jung, So Lyung; Kim, Bum Soo [Seoul St. Mary' s Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, Department of Radiology, College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Jeun, Shin Soo; Hong, Yong Kil [Seoul St. Mary' s Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, Department of Neurosurgery, College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)
The purposes of the present study are to assess whether different characteristics of oligodendrogliomas and astrocytic tumors are visible on MR imaging and to determine the added value of perfusion imaging in conventional MR imaging when differentiating oligodendrogliomas from astrocytic tumors. We retrospectively studied 22 oligodendroglioma and 54 astrocytic tumor patients, including glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). The morphological tumor characteristics were evaluated using MR imaging. The rCBV, K{sup trans}, and V{sub e} values were recorded. All imaging and clinical values were compared. The ability to discriminate between the two entities was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic curve analyses. Separate comparison analysis between oligodendroglioma and astrocytic tumors excluding GBM was also performed. The presence of calcification, higher cortex involvement ratio, and lower V{sub e} value were more representative of oligodendrogliomas than astrocytic tumors (P = <0.001, 0.038, and <0.001, respectively). The area under the curve (AUC) value of a combination of calcification and cortex involvement ratio was 0.796. The combination of all three parameters, including V{sub e}, further increased the diagnostic performance (AUC = 0.881). Comparison test of the two AUC areas revealed significant difference (P = 0.0474). The presence of calcification and higher cortex involvement ratio were the only findings suggestive of oligodendrogliomas than astrocytic tumors with exclusion of GBMs (P = 0.014 and <0.001, respectively). Cortex involvement ratio and the presence of calcification with V{sub e} values were diagnostically accurate in identifying oligodendrogliomas. The V{sub e} value calculated from dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging could be a supportive tool for differentiating between oligodendrogliomas and astrocytic tumors including GBMs. (orig.)
Jacobs, Charlotte E.; Kuriloff, Peter J.; Cox, Amanda B.
If educators want to engage girls in learning, they must align teaching practices with girls' specific needs. In a study modeled after Reichert and Hawley's study of boys, the authors learned that lessons with hands-on learning, elements of creativity, multimodal projects, and class discussions all worked to stimulate girls'…
Neuringer, Allen
The experimental analysis of behavior (EAB) is in trouble. Financial support for basic operant-conditioning research is difficult to obtain; teaching and research positions in colleges and universities are few; and bright undergraduates join other fields for graduate study. One reason for the difficulty is that EAB basic research does not focus…
Moore, John W.
In the United States, National Chemistry Week is November 7-13. (For more NCW information, go to http://www.acs.org/ncw/.) NCW's theme, celebrating polymers, is echoed in this issue (pages 1497-1501, 1512-1513, 1521-1540). Almost certainly there will be chemists in your area spending a great deal of their time on outreach activities for children and the general public during NCW. Chances are good that many Journal readers like you will be among them. And there are probably many more outreach programs that you or your acquaintances lead during the rest of the year. This month of NCW seems an appropriate time to reflect on the tremendous benefits that outreach programs provide. Early examples of outreach involved books, public lectures, and chemical demonstrations. In 1800 Count Rumford collaborated with influential Londoners to establish the Royal Institution as a means of providing lectures on science and technology to help working people to improve their lot. Humphry Davy, Michael Faraday, and many others continued the tradition. Faraday's own interest in science was sparked in part by Jane Marcet's book Conversations in Chemistry, whose friendly style made its contents accessible and fascinating to the young, highly intelligent bookbinder's apprentice. In the United States, Benjamin Silliman, first professor of chemistry at Yale, became widely known for his textbooks on geology and chemistry and for his ability as a popular lecturer. Silliman's lecture tours took him as far from New Haven as St. Louis and New Orleans. By the mid-1800s societies for the advancement of science and of chemistry were being set up in Europe. In 1876 American chemists who gathered at Priestley's grave in Northumberland, Pennsylvania, to commemorate the centennial of the discovery of oxygen saw the need for a permanent organization and founded the American Chemical Society. By the beginning of the 20th century these societies were supporting education and public awareness of science. The first issue of this Journal described an outreach effort to place portraits of great American chemists in schools throughout the country, and a 1925 article dealt with "Educating the Public in the Use of the Metric System". A search of the JCE Online Index reveals many articles about chemistry and the public, with the number per year increasing steadily. During the last decade, for example, there have been 16 articles whose titles include "outreach" and many more that describe programs and resources for the general public. Current outreach efforts include a much broader range of activities and media. Hands-on science has become very popular, but so has virtual science on the World Wide Web. A combination of the two, which is aimed at K-8 children, can be found at the ACS Education Division's WonderNet site (http://www.acs.org/wondernet/). For older children there is Your Virtual Chemistry Club (http://www.acs.org/vc2/). Many more ACS outreach materials are described at their Web site. Outreach activities described in this Journal include programs in which high school, college, or graduate students visit schools and work with children and teachers, events in which participants compete to carry out chemical tasks, programs aimed at women and minorities, van programs in which chemicals and instruments are transported throughout broad geographical areas to support teachers and students, chemistry summer camps, and many others. The International Chemistry Olympiad (see report on page 1480) involves large numbers of students and ACS local sectionsand more than 50 countries. Outreach to outreach leaders is provided by the Institute for Chemical Education, which distributes booklets that explain how to organize and carry out programs (http://ice.chem.wisc.edu/ice/). The concept that the public is interested in science and can benefit from learning about science has expanded far beyond what Count Rumford could have imagined. Today we have books, magazines, videos, television programs, museums, theme parks, Web sites, and many other venues that include science. However, I always have a twinge of disappointment when I look at the shelves in our local bookstore and find that there are far more titles in other sciences than in chemistry. Are other sciences inherently more interestingor their practitioners inherently more literate? I think not. Popularizing chemistry is more dependent on human interaction than is popularizing many other sciences. People deal with devices that approximate Newtonian physics every day. The stars, moon, and planets are there every night, and their vast number and regular motions inspire awe. Living systems are familiar to everyone, and we can observe their behavior and classify them. But chemistry is often hidden or complicated. Cooking food changes the food chemically, but both initial and final versions, like most other substances we encounter daily, are complicated mixtures. Chemists' atomic-scale models are not accessible to our senses. In order for chemistry not to be magic, someone needs to select simple, interesting, relevant examples, demonstrate them or help the average person work with them, and then relate those examples to everyday life. Participating in and supporting National Chemistry Week and other outreach programs is crucial to the health of our discipline. Without chemists who donate their time and expertise to helping people understand and become familiar with chemistry, our fascinating subject is likely to seem dullor even scary. During National Chemistry Week, and during every other week of the year, we should extend hearty thanks to the myriad chemists and teachers whose time, energy, and expertise contribute to helping the public recognize how important and interesting chemistry is.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Williams, J.
This paper presents an examination of fair market value concepts as they pertain to producing petroleum properties. conventional petroleum economic theories of fair market value are examined in light of recent work on the market value of long-life reserves. Their work is expanded to show that sellers rely on comparable sales data for estimating FMV. Both results are used to suggest that current practices over-emphasize the discounted cash flow approach to estimating fair market value
Peek, Erik
textabstractFair value estimates of debt and equity securities play an increasingly important role in the economy. For example, International Financial Reporting Standards require companies to report many of their investments at fair value on the balance sheet or to use fair values in goodwill impairment tests. Further, the funding status of pension plans is typically assessed as the difference between the fair values of pension plan assets and pension plan commitments. In many of these situa...
M Ed Uwe Krause
Uwe Krause: Atlas of Eurpean Values De Atlas of European Values is een samenwerkingsproject met bijbehorende website van de Universiteit van Tilburg en Fontys Lerarenopleiding in Tilburg, waarbij de wetenschappelijke data van de European Values Study (EVS) voor het onderwijs toegankelijk worden
Value Conditionality of Identity
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
M M Yusupov
Full Text Available The article considers theoretical approaches to the study of values and identity, and reveals the role of values in the formation of the ethnic, regional and Russian identity on the example of Chechnya and the North Caucasus, with the sociological indicators characterizing value orientations and self-identification.
Core Values Core Values NREL's core values are rooted in a safe and supportive work environment guide our everyday actions and efforts: Safe and supportive work environment Respect for the rights physical and social environment Integrity Maintain the highest standard of ethics, honesty, and integrity
Hierarchical Classification of Values
Ergen, Gürkan
Values are of utmost importance for the creation, development and sustainability of a life worthy of human dignity. However, because even superficial views of values are regarded as values themselves, they have become relative and become degenerated; therefore, they have lost the properties--potentials and powers--essential to human dignity. This…
E. Peek (Erik)
textabstractFair value estimates of debt and equity securities play an increasingly important role in the economy. For example, International Financial Reporting Standards require companies to report many of their investments at fair value on the balance sheet or to use fair values in goodwill
de Alencar Silva, P.
Current value modeling ontologies are grounded on the economic premise that profit sharing is a critical condition to be assessed during the configuration of a value constellation. Such a condition ought to be reinforced through a monitoring mechanism design, since a value model expresses only
Besjes, K.M.; de Ruyter, D.J.
This article describes five values attributed to giftedness. The ascription of values to this phenomenon resembles values attached to gifts in gift-giving processes. Whereas gift-giving often includes expectations of reciprocity, each gift possesses a numerical, utility, social, personal, and